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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Hope for 400,000 Uninsured New Yorkers in Obama Recovery Plan

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009   

New York, NY — President Barack Obama is expected to take quick action that could help hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who have no health insurance. He has designated health care as one of the big-ticket items in his economic recovery plan.

Governor David Paterson had already proposed extending benefits to 400,000 uninsured New Yorkers, and
Gwen O'Shea with the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island says Paterson's plan is now closer to reality.

"Individuals who are uninsured would be more likely to receive coverage, and so those dollars that the federal government would provide to the states would make it possible for New York to expand those programs."

Under Obama's plan, some medium-sized and large employers that don't currently offer health insurance would pay a tax to help pay for coverage for those who are currently uninsured. Opponents of the idea say it would hurt many already-struggling employers.

O'Shea says a recovery plan that includes tax rebates to low and middle income New Yorkers will make a major difference to communities across the state and on Long Island.

"We know that they are going to reinvest those dollars almost immediately back into the local economy. That of course is what we need to see now, knowing that tax revenues in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties are down more than 20 percent. That's the biggest drop we've seen in decades."

A recent Kaiser Foundation poll found that Americans ranked reforming health care as a top priority, coming third after fixing the economy and fighting terrorism.


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Health and Wellness

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Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

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Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

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New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

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Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

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Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

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