October 20, 2014

Obama would bypass Congress on Iran deal . . . No one knows if the Obama administration will manage in the next five weeks to strike what many in the White House consider the most important foreign policy deal of his presidency: an accord with Iran that would forestall its ability to make a nuclear weapon. But the White House has made one significant decision: If agreement is reached, President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on it.

Even while negotiators argue over the number of centrifuges Iran would be allowed to spin and where inspectors could roam, the Iranians have signaled that they would accept, at least temporarily, a “suspension” of the stringent sanctions . . . The Treasury Department, in a detailed study it declined to make public, has concluded Mr. Obama has the authority to suspend the vast majority of those sanctions without seeking a vote by Congress, officials say. “We wouldn’t seek congressional legislation in any comprehensive agreement for years,” one senior official said. New York Times

The Thrill is gone . . . Obama made a rare appearance on the campaign trail on Sunday with a rally to support the Democratic candidate for governor in Maryland, though the event was marred somewhat by early departures of crowd members and a yelling heckler. Reuters

Bronze plan premiums to jump 14 percent in 2015 . . . ObamaCare shoppers in search of the lowest-cost plan may come down with a mild case of rate shock when 2015 exchange enrollment begins next month.
An examination of next year's rates in the biggest city in 15 states and Washington, D.C., reveals that the cost of the cheapest bronze plan will jump an average of 13.9 percent for 40-year-old non-smokers earning 225 percent of the poverty level, or $26,260. Investor's Business Daily

Why doctors hate Obamacare . . .  "Some of my patients were transferred to plans that did not include me in the physician network. In some cases this meant they had to find another surgeon to assume care while they were recovering from the first stage of a multistage surgical course. Others were enrolled in one of the Medicaid plans in which I participate.

"These plans make it difficult for me to coordinate with other specialists when treating cancer and other complex surgical patients because of the scarcity and distance of other specialists in the plan. And some could only afford plans that significantly limited their health care options. No matter which option they chose, Obamacare forced my patients to make trade-offs between pricing, access, and quality of care." Jeffrey A. Singer, MD

Ron Klain's Solyndra problem . . .  Ron Klain is a sharp-elbowed Democratic political operative with no medical expertise. Tapping him as “Ebola czar” may not be the president’s best move when, as it is, no one can believe a word the Obama administration says. And that’s not just because Mr. Klain is yet another lobbyist recruited despite Mr. Obama’s vow that his administration would shun lobbyists. Klain was also a central player in the president’s Solyndra fraud, which soaked taxpayers for over half a billion dollars for the benefit of Obama cronies. National Review

Tests on Two Ebola vaccines to start soon . . . NIH is now racing to telescope what would have been a five- to 10-year testing plan into a few months. The vaccine is scheduled to undergo full human testing by early 2015 and could be in use potentially in time to help stem the disease in stricken West Africa.

There is no assurance this vaccine will work. It has competition from at least one other vaccine . . . Either one might stop Ebola, or neither. Wall Street Journal

Military prepping Ebola response team . . . The U.S. military is forming a 30-person medical team to prepare to respond to additional cases of Ebola in the United States, the Pentagon announced Sunday. The “expeditionary medical support team” will consist of 20 critical care nurses, five doctors trained in infectious disease, and five trainers in infectious disease protocols, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement. Time



Nigeria free of Ebola . . . Nigeria was thrust in the Ebola spotlight in July after an infected air traveler introduced the virus to the capital city of Lagos. The case spurred fears that the disease would spread across the city of 21 million and throughout Africa's most populous country. In the end, Nigeria confirmed 19 Ebola cases, including seven deaths. WHO credits an aggressive government response and effective contact tracing for keeping the virus contained. "This is a spectacular success story that shows that Ebola can be contained," WHO said Monday. CNN

ISIS takes heavy losses at Kobani . . . The Islamic State group took heavy losses Sunday in the Syrian battleground of Kobane as Iraqi forces fought the jihadists buoyed by US backing for top government security appointments. AFP



Isolation period ends for Ebola patient contacts . . . Dozens of Dallas-area residents who had contact with the first Ebola patient to be treated in the United States, including the man's fiancee, were expected to be free to leave seclusion early Monday after a 21-day quarantine period expired at midnight. Fox News

Flu season to ramp up Ebola scares . . . With the annual flu season looming, hospitals and doctors are preparing themselves for emergency rooms that may become flooded with patients who fear Ebola but instead have influenza, which can cause similar symptoms in the early stages such as fever and body aches. But fear often trumps common sense, even though people should be far more worried about the flu given the toll it is known to take every year, doctors said. Reuters

Idaho city makes pastors do same-sex wedding . . . The city of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is taking a step many opponents of same-sex marriage feared would come – forcing those with religious objections to perform same-sex marriages or risk facing prosecution for violating non-discrimination laws. Daily Caller

Lefty profs throw fit over George Will appearance . . . Syndicated columnist George F. Will is scheduled to speak this week at Miami University and professors in the public school’s women’s, gender and sexuality studies program are pitching a huge fit. The faculty meltdown over Will’s speech is a response to his June column in the Washington Post about sexual assault on college campuses.  Daily Caller