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Health care reforms could cost 20 million their work coverage

Susan Ferrechio — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:24:00 +0000

As many as 20 million Americans could lose the health insurance they now receive from their employers under President Obama's new health care reforms, a report released Thursday shows. But the report from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation said 20 million would be the worst-case scenario and that it's possible that the number of people losing their current employer-provided insurance wouldn't exceed 5 million between 2019 and 2022. The agencies warned, however, that they can't really...

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Gingrich insists losses won't force him from the race

Susan Ferrechio — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:40:00 +0000

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Barely audible above the murmurs of disappointment at Newt Gingrich's election-night party Tuesday, were a few half-hearted bursts of optimism from supporters trying to make sense of how the only Southern candidate in the Republican presidential race could have failed to win either of the Deep South races. "Next time!" one shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "At least he didn't end up in third place," another reasoned. But in reality Gingrich's future in the 2012 Republican race couldn't look...

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Santorum routs Republican rivals in Alabama, Mississippi

Susan Ferrechio — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:32:00 +0000

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The South was charmed by Rick Santorum. The former senator from Pennsylvania and devout Catholic parlayed his message of faith and family into twin victories Tuesday night in the Alabama and Mississippi Republican presidential primaries, beating rival Newt Gingrich in Gingrich's own back yard and shutting out front-runner Mitt Romney is the Republican Party's most crucial region, the South. Santorum's wins defied poll projections showing him trailing both Romney and Gingrich, and his surging campaign...

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Gingrich, Santorum fight for survival in South

Susan Ferrechio — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 01:24:00 +0000

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- After days of barnstorming Mississippi and Alabama wooing southern voters, both Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich on Monday jockeyed to win last-minute support in their fight to become the sole conservative alternative to Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Appearing together at an energy forum in Biloxi, Miss., and in front of the same audience at the Alabama Theater in downtown Birmingham, Ala., Gingrich and Santorum took some not-so-veiled jabs at each other, Romney and, on occasion,...

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Santorum, Gingrich duke it out down south

Susan Ferrechio — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:08:00 +0000

This week's Southern primaries are shaping up as make-or-break contests for Republican presidential contenders Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, who are battling to become the lone conservative alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney. Gingrich, who won two Southern primaries but trailed Romney and Santorum in every other contest, knows the stakes could not be higher in Tuesday's primaries in Mississippi and Alabama. His own campaign aides acknowledge that the former House speaker must win both states to remain a credible...

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Romney focuses on delegates as race heads south

Susan Ferrechio — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:48:00 +0000

When Mitt Romney talked about his struggle to win over Southern voters on a Birmingham, Ala., radio show Thursday morning, the former Massachusetts governor joked about his weakness as a candidate below the Mason-Dixon line. "I realize that it's a bit of an away game," Romney told WAPI's Leland Whaley. But the problem could be a far more serious one for Romney, who is heading into one of the most difficult few weeks on the campaign trail with contests in Kansas, Mississippi and Alabama, among others, that are likely to favor...

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Senate blocks bid to speed Keystone pipeline from Canada

The Associated Press — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:36:54 +0000

By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled Senate has rejected a Republican bid to speed approval of an oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. The 56-42 vote Thursday was the latest in a series of partisan skirmishes over the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil derived from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. Sixty votes were needed for approval. President Barack Obama rejected the proposed $7 billion pipeline in January, citing uncertainty over a...

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Romney is still struggling to win over conservatives

Susan Ferrechio — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:50:00 +0000

BOSTON -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney walked away from Super Tuesday with a lot of convention delegates, but he failed in the equally crucial mission of closing the enthusiasm gap among voters as he heads into a string of hotly contested Southern primaries that could further underscore his weaknesses among conservatives. Far from clearing a path to the nomination by Super Tuesday as many had once predicted, Romney, the GOP establishment favorite, is still struggling to win over the conservative voters without whom no...

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Mitt Romney can't seal the deal on Super Tuesday

Susan Ferrechio — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 04:40:00 +0000

BOSTON - So much for Mitt Romney wrapping up the nomination by Super Tuesday. Rather than whittling down the roster of GOP hopefuls, as some had predicted months ago, Super Tuesday's 10-state contest gave each of the top three candidates important victories to crow about and failed to provide a clearer path to victory for establishment favorite Romney. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was ahead of Rick Santorum by about one-half of 1 percent of the vote in the critical swing state of Ohio, which many considered Super...

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GOP candidates face Super Tuesday showdown

Susan Ferrechio — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:24:00 +0000

It's Super Tuesday, the biggest day yet for the Republican presidential contenders, with 437 delegates up for grabs in 10 states and, many Republican leaders hope, a chance for Mitt Romney to finally clear the path to the party's nomination. At the top of Romney's to-do list is a win in Ohio, a swing state with 66 convention delegates that is widely seen as the day's top prize. Yet, while Romney had gained considerable ground in recent weeks following five straight primary victories, he remains in a virtual dead heat...

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