Archives: Morning Breakouts

President Obama travels to Iowa City for a rally where he first called for health care legislation as a candidate.

Rep. Eric Cantor, the number 2 House Republican, accuses Democrats of using reports of violence for political gain.

News outlets analyze how the health care debate has already become a proxy for 2010 election fights, with candidates and leaders in both parties wielding the issue.

"A new online information portal on aid flows around the world" aims to improve transparency and prevent billions of dollars in international aid from being misused, according to academics and aid officials who launched the tool at a conference, Reuters AlertNet reports. A working version of the portal became available for the public on Tuesday, the news service reports.

President Barack Obama sent a letter (.pdf) to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Wednesday asking the Congress "for $2.8 billion in emergency funds to provide for costs associated with relief and reconstruction for Haiti, after its devastating earthquake on January 12," Reuters reports.

"Civil society organisations from around the world on Wednesday made a coordinated appeal to the Canadian government to help pressure the Group of Eight (G8) into fulfilling its aid commitments in the fight against AIDS," which are predicted to be over $20 billion short of commitments pledged by the G8 during the Gleneagles summit in 2005, the Mail & Guardian reports.

Countries in Latin America "are bracing this year for a particularly virulent outbreak of the mosquito-borne tropical disease" known as dengue fever, after reports show an increase in the number of cases recorded this year, Agence France-Presse reports. "The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) said so far it has logged some 146,000 cases in the first three months of the year, of which 79 have been fatal. This time last year there were some 79,000 cases of dengue reported, with 26 deaths," the news service writes.

Senate Republicans found a way to send a health reform reconciliation bill back to the House, identifying parliamentary flaws, including in a student loan provision.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports on provisions for comparative effectiveness research.

Health-overhaul legislation signed into law this week will affect not only America's health care industry, but the broader economy, too.

The Wall Street Journal reports on a new study found that "nearly a quarter of the ads placed by egg-donation agencies and private couples violate" financial guidelines set by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

President Barack Obama signed an executive order Wednesday pledging that no federal funding will be used for abortion under the new health bill.

Kaiser Health News presents a selection of opinions and editorials.