Republican attempts to replace Obamacare fail
Two Republican senators said they oppose their party´s proposed alternative to Obamacare. This makes it impossible for the bill to pass in its current form. Now president Trump wants to repeal Obamacare, so Republicans can start afresh. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will be responsible for that. To repeal and replace Obamacare was one of the key campaign pledges Donald Trump made.
The two Republican senators say that the new legislation does not go far enough in repealing Obamacare. Others had already expressed their concern about cuts to Medicaid. With two new opponents the Republicans no longer have enough votes to pass the bill. Democrats said they are not willing to work together to repeal Obamacare but will co-operate to work on a compromise to improve the bill.
The Congressional Budgetary Office (CBO) stated that the new bill would have stripped 22 million Americans of health insurance. It is therefore no wonder that Obamacare is still popular among Amercians. It will be a fine line for Mitch McConnell to walk by keeping both moderates and hard-core conservatives in the party on board.
attempt (əˈtem(p)t) – der Versuch
to oppose (əˈpəʊz) – etw ablehnen, gegen etw sein
bill (bɪl) – hier: die Gesetzesvorlage, der Gesetzesentwurf
current (ˈkʌrənt) – aktuell, gegenwärtig
to repeal (rɪˈpi:l) – ein Gesetz aufheben, außer Kraft setzen
afresh (əˈfreʃ) – vorn vorne beginnen
majority (məˈʤɒrəti) – die Mehrheit
pledge (pleʤ) – das Versprechen, die Zusicherung
legislation (ˌleʤɪˈsleɪʃən) – Gesetze,
concern (kənˈsɜ:n) – die Sorge
opponent (əˈpəʊnənt) – die Gegenpartei, der Gegner
to improve (ɪmˈpru:v) – etw verbessern
Congressional Budgetary Office (kənˈgreʃənəl ˈbʌʤɪtəri ˈɒfɪs)
to state (steɪt) – etw äußern
health insurance (helθ ɪnˈʃʊərən(t)s) – die Krankenversicherung
therefore (ˈðeəfɔ:ʳ) – deshalb, daher
moderate (ˈmɒdərət) – Gemäßigte(r)
Wildfire in California
A large wildfire was burning out of control in central California late on Tuesday. The blaze started on Sunday and has rapidly grown since. It already scorched 25,000 acres and affected towns had to be evacuated. Only five percent of the fire has been contained by Wednesday morning and it continues to threaten around 1,500 homes and buildings and the power lines supplying electricity to Yosemite National Park.
The weather on Wednesday was dry and hot and the biggest concern is the wind. Marine air moving in is expected to fuel the blaze on Wednesday morning. After the early months of the year 2017 brought significant rainfall with them but the potential for large fires was expected to spike again during spring. The wildfire is the 18th time a fire has started this year in California alone and it is rapidly spreading and putting up a huge smoke plume.
Cal Fire published a map with the affected areas and is fighting to contain the fire.
blaze (bleɪz) – Der Brand, das Feuer
rapidly (ˈræpɪdli) – schnell, rasch
to scorch (skɔ:tʃ) – etw versengen
to affect (əˈfekt) – etw beeinflussen, sich auf etw auswirken
to contain (kənˈteɪn) – etw enthalten
power line (ˈpaʊəʳ laɪn) – die Hochspannungsleitung, die Starkstromleitung
to supply (səˈplaɪ) – etw bereitstellen, für etw sorgen
marine air (məˈri:n eəʳ) – die Meeresluft
to expect (ɪkˈspekt) – etw erwarten
to fuel (ˈfju:əl) – etw schüren, anheizen, nähren
to spike (spaɪk) – hier: stark steigen, zunehmen
spring (sprɪŋ) – der Frühling
to spread (spred) – etw verbreiten
plume (plu:m) – die Rauchwolke, die Staubwolke
Earthquake in Greece-Turkey
A 6,7 – magnitude quake hit the Aegean Sea near the Turkish coast with a depth of 10km. the earthquake struck in the night from Thursday to Friday. The Greek island Kos was nearest to the epicentre of the quake and appeared to be the worst hit. At least two people died and around 100 were injured. Buildings collapsed, windows were smashed and walls cracked.
In Turkey the city Bodrum was flooded as the earthquake triggered high waves. People stood up to their ankles in water and cars were lifted by the flood. Both cities are popular tourist destinations and people told how they left their hotel rooms in the middle of the night. Tourists and residents spent the night outside on beach loungers or in cars.
Many of the collapsed buildings were rather old and they were built before earthquake building codes were introduced. People were hit by falling debris from either a collapsed wall or a broken building. Some people were suffering broken bones with a number in serious condition. The army is supporting the emergency services with the rescue operation.
magnitude (ˈmægnɪtju:d) – das Ausmaß, die Größe
quake (kweɪk) – das Erdbeben, die Erschütterung
coast (kəʊst) – die Küste
depth (depθ) – die Tiefe
to strike (straɪk) – etw/jdn heimsuchen
epicentre (ˈepɪsentəʳ) – der Mittelpunkt, das Epizentrum
to smash (smæʃ) – etw zerschlagen, einschlagen
to crack (kræk) – einreißen, krachen, knacken
to flood (flʌd) – die Überschwemmung, das Hochwasser
to trigger (ˈtrɪgəʳ) – etw auslösen
ankle (ˈæŋkl̩) – der Knöchel
to lift (lɪft) – etw anheben
destination (ˌdestɪˈneɪʃən) – das Ziel
resident (ˈrezɪdənt) – der/die Bewohner(in)
lounger (ˈlaʊnʤəʳ) – der Liegestuhl, de Sonnenliege
to introduce (ˌɪntrəˈdju:s) – etw einführen, vorstellen
debris (ˈdebri:) – die Trümmer, der Schutt
condition (kənˈdɪʃən) – der Zustand
emergency (ɪˈmɜ:ʤən(t)si) – der Notfall, die Notlage
rescue (ˈreskju🙂 – die Rettung, die Befreiung