House set to pass tax bill as Trump awaits first big legislative victory

Bill that would add more than $1tn to deficit, end key element of Obamacare, and open Alaska wildlife reserve to drilling would then head to Senate

House Republicans are poised to pass a major tax bill on Tuesday, which would set the stage for Donald Trump to achieve his first major legislative success in office.

The legislation, finalized in a conference report last week, would lower the top rate on families and individuals to 37% and the top rate on corporations to 21%.

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Fear over healthcare locks Americans in jobs – and throttles creativity | Jonathan R Goodman

What could and should make America great is the freedom to follow one’s dreams – not stay trapped in a cubicle, paralysed by fear

Millions of Americans are stuck in what some economists call “job-lock” or the inability to leave employment because of the risk of losing health insurance. A 2001 paper from Princeton’s Center for Economic Policy Studies showed, for example, that self-employed people are 25% less likely to have health insurance than office workers.

Uncertainty surr...

Americans show support for Obamacare despite Trump’s repeal attempts

  • Increase in healthcare signups on first day of annual enrollment
  • Maine votes to expand federal Medicaid scheme for low-income Americans

Millions of Americans remain committed to Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare legislation despite the Trump administration’s attempts to overturn it.

Related: Health experts say Trump's opioid response relies on magical thinking

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The Guardian view on elections in the US: cause for (cautious) celebration | Editorial

Sizable victories for the Democrats in a series of races offer cheer after a year of Donald Trump. But the party should not feel too reassured

It was the boost they needed. The jubilation of Democrats as they celebrated the results of Tuesday’s elections owed much to the despair of one year before, when they learned that Donald Trump was on his way to the White House, as well as to the extraordinary events since, which have amplified his unfitness for the presidency and the extent of Russia...

Number of US adults without health insurance up 3.5m this year, study finds

Rising premiums and political turmoil over Obamacare undermine the gains that drove the nation’s uninsured rate to a historic low

The number of US adults without health insurance is up nearly 3.5 million this year, as rising premiums and political turmoil over Obamacare undermine coverage gains that drove the nation’s uninsured rate to a historic low.

Related: 'He keeps zigging and zagging': the perils of doing a healthcare deal with Trump

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Bannon says Trump will ‘blow up’ Obamacare as subsidies cut stokes fires

  • Moderate Collins and Democrat Murphy decry cut to low-income help
  • Trump responds to healthcare critics with claim ‘millions’ will benefit

A day after Steve Bannon seemed to confirm Donald Trump’s intent to destroy the Affordable Care Act (ACA), saying the president was “gonna blow that thing up”, a Republican senator who helped dynamite two Republican replacement bills said Trump was hurting American citizens.

Related: Steve Bannon renews call for war on Rep...

Saturday Night Live: here come the Harvey Weinstein jokes – a week late

Kumail Nanjiani was likable and Kate McKinnon shone as usual. But in the dispiriting America of Harvey and Donald, the best tactic was to keep it surreal

Kumail Nanjiani – The Big Sick, Silicon Valley – is in charge tonight. But first: Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump giving an address in a hangar. This week, he explains, he’s been reversing everything Obama did: Obamacare, the nuclear deal with Iran … and ‘We’re ripping out all of the vegetables in Michelle Obama’s garden and planting M...

Trump plants bomb, says Obamacare ‘imploding’

• President ends subsidies for poor … opens door for flimsy insurance plans … threatens Iran deal … vows love for Puerto Rico

• Get the day’s politics news in 60 seconds every weekday. By Tom McCarthy

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Trump planted a time bomb under the Affordable Care Act by scrapping vital federal subsidies that help insurers extend quality coverage to low-income recipients. Then Trump said Obamacare was “imploding”.

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Trump scraps Obamacare subsidies in surprise late-night announcement

Federal payments underpinning healthcare scheme unlawful, says White House, in move that takes a further swipe at Democrats’ signature reform

Donald Trump has planted a timebomb under Obamacare, issuing a notice late on Thursday night that scraps vital federal subsidies underpinning the current healthcare system.

Related: Trump accused of sabotage after signing executive order to weaken Obamacare

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Trump chief of staff John Kelly: ‘I’m not quitting, I’m not getting fired’

  • Chief of staff makes surprise appearance to deny he’s about to leave
  • ‘Although I read it all the time pretty consistently, I’m not quitting today’

Donald Trump’s chief of staff has made an extraordinary public appearance to deny that he is about to resign or be fired.

Related: Trump accused of sabotage after signing executive order to weaken Obamacare

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