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Groton Daily Independent
Friday, July 28, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 028 ~ 22 of 54
tering away the rst six months of Trump’s presidency on unsuccessful efforts over health care.
Ryan responded not long after with a far from de nitive statement that blamed the Senate for being unable to pass anything, but said, “if moving forward requires a conference committee, that is something
the House is willing to do.”
“The reality, however, is that repealing and replacing Obamacare still ultimately requires the Senate to
produce 51 votes for an actual plan,” he said.
The insurance company lobby group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, wrote to Senate leaders Thursday
saying that ending Obama’s requirement that people buy insurance without strengthening insurance mar- kets would produce “higher premiums, fewer choices for consumers and fewer people covered next year.” And a bipartisan group of governors including John Kasich of Ohio and Brian Sandoval of Nevada also
announced against it.
On their own, the changes in the skinny bill could roil insurance markets. Yet the scenario at hand, with
senators trying to pass something while hoping it does not clear the House or become law, was highly unusual.
“We’re in the twilight zone of legislating,” said Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri.
____
Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Stephen Ohlemacher and Kevin Freking contributed
to this report.
Israeli police on high alert for prayers at Jerusalem site
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police were on high alert Friday ahead of Muslim prayers at a major Jerusalem shrine at the center of recent tensions.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said men under 50 would be barred from the site Friday following security assessments indicting Palestinians plan protests there. There are no restrictions on women.
Rosenfeld said some Palestinians barricaded themselves inside Al-Aqsa Mosque overnight in order to join protests later. Police removed them after they refused to leave, he said.
Friday prayers are the highlight of the Muslim religious week. Thousands of Muslims from around Israel and Palestinian areas typically worship at the holy compound in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Tensions have been running high at the site Arab gunmen killed two police of cers on July 14, prompting Israel to install metal detectors and other security devices.
The move outraged Muslims who claimed Israel was trying to expand its control over the site. Israel emphatically denied the allegations insisting the security measures were needed to prevent more attacks. The issue sparked some of the worst street clashes in years and threatened to draw Israel into con ict
with other Arab and Muslim nations.
Under intense pressure, Israel removed the metal detectors and said it planned to install sophisticated
security cameras instead.
Muslims had been praying in the streets outside the shrine to protest the security measures since they
were installed. They turned to pray at the sacred site Thursday after Israel removed them.
However, violence resumed as Palestinians gathering for prayers at the compound clashed with police. Palestinian factions Fatah and the Islamic militant group Hamas both issued calls earlier this week for
mass protests on Friday.
Man killed in fair thrill ride wreck joined Marines week ago By JULIE CARR SMYTH, Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A high school student who dreamed for years of joining the military and had just enlisted in the Marines was killed when a spinning and swinging thrill ride broke apart and sent several of its passengers tumbling onto the midway at the Ohio State Fair.
The 18-year-old’s girlfriend was among seven who were badly injured when the Fire Ball ung riders —