Associated Press - page 632

You might think this year’s candidates had learned from Barack Obama’s comments about bitter people who “cling to guns or religion.” Or perhaps from Mitt Romney’s apparent dismissal of the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay federal income taxes. But despite ubiquitous cellphone cameras and Twitter accounts, politicians still make regrettable off-the-cuff remarks that find their way into hostile videos and campaign ads. The latest examples come from tightly contested Senate races, where a candidate’s every sentence — uttered…

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President Bill Clinton’s top aides began debating how to build a presidential legacy days after he won re-election in 1996, newly released documents show. The 2,500 pages of documents released Friday from the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., ranged from drafts of Clinton’s speeches to memos exploring ways of dealing with climate change, Republican opponents and the media. It was the third batch of records to be released since February, part of roughly 30,000 pages of previously withheld…

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The Obama administration says its health care sign-up website was taken down briefly Friday, with consumer interest surging and only three days left to enrollment. Health and Human Services spokesman Aaron Albright said technicians took HealthCare.gov down for about 20 minutes to fix an issue affecting logins. Consumers were directed to a virtual waiting room until service was restored. They saw a message saying the site was getting a lot of visitors. Lately the site has been getting about 1.5…

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Republicans in the Florida House are pushing ahead with a major expansion of a state-backed program that helps low-income children attend private schools. Just last week it appeared that private school voucher legislation was dead for the 60-day session after the Senate sponsor withdrew his bill. But on Friday a House committee voted along party lines for a revamped version intended to win support from Senate Republicans. This time House Republicans included the expansion of the voucher program in a…

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Public support for President Barack Obama’s health care law is languishing at its lowest level since passage of the landmark legislation four years ago, according to a new poll. The Associated Press-GfK survey finds that 26 percent of Americans support the Affordable Care Act. Yet even fewer — 13 percent — think it will be completely repealed. A narrow majority expects the law to be further implemented with minor changes, or as passed. “To get something repealed that has been…

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President Barack Obama called himself a “great admirer” of Pope Francis as he sat down at the Vatican Thursday with the pontiff he considers a kindred spirit on issues of economic inequality. Their historic first meeting comes as Obama’s administration and the church remain deeply split on issues of abortion and contraception. Obama arrived at the Vatican amid the pomp and tradition of the Catholic Church, making his way to greet the pope after a long, slow procession through the…

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School districts will no longer be able to collect certain types of student data under a bill passed by the Florida Senate. The Florida Senate on Wednesday passed a measure that came in the wake of complaints about the state’s move to Common Core State Standards. The vote was 38-1. The bill (SB 188) would ban school districts from being able to collect and retain information on the political or religious affiliation of students and their parents. It would also…

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