Daily Archives: July 25, 2017

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Norovirus Outbreak Undoes Progress at Chipotle Wall Street Journal (subscription) The norovirus outbreak at a Chipotle restaurant in Virginia comes at a difficult time for the beleaguered burrito maker. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has been struggling to convince customers to return to its stores after a series of food-safety crises ... and more »

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Norovirus Outbreak Undoes Progress at Chipotle - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Britain's Brexit minister said Tuesday that progress has been made in talks with the European Union on the rights of citizens living in each other's nations once the country leaves the bloc.

But after meeting Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek, David Davis said disagreements remain over the role of the European Court of Justice. The EU wants the court to be the final arbiter on many issues after a Brexit agreement, something Britain rejects.

Davis said his government wants a quick deal on the rights of one million U.K. citizens living in the EU, and three million EU citizens living in Britain.

"We want to do this quickly as a moral imperative because we want to take away the anxiety of all of those four million people and give them some certainty in the future," he said.

He noted that other top issues in negotiations "are making progress."

Those issues include how much Britain will pay to meet its obligations as part of any Brexit deal, and how to manage the border with Ireland.

But he said Britain was not willing to give the right to the EU court to become an ultimate arbiter.

"When, for example, we strike a deal, let's say, with the United States we don't give the United States' Supreme Court rights in Britain to enforce that. And the same with any other foreign power."

He said that "any future arrangements will be subject ... to U.K. Parliament's approval."

In a statement in support of the European Court of Justice, the European Parliament said on Tuesday it wants Britain's Brexit deal to be directly enforceable and to "include a mechanism in which the European Court of Justice can play its full role."

The European Parliament, which has the right to veto any future Brexit deal, said progress on one issue is not enough.

Mike Corder in Brussels contributed to this report.

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UK Brexit minister: progress made in talks on citizen rights - ABC News

Sen. John ThuneJohn ThuneMcCain returning to Senate in time for health vote Overnight Healthcare: Trump pressures GOP ahead of vote | McConnell urges Senate to start debate | Cornyn floats conference on House, Senate bills | Thune sees progress on Medicaid GOP seeks to meet referees rules on healthcare repeal MORE (R-N.D.), a member of GOP leadership, said progress is being made on a change to the GOP health bill that could unlock the support of key moderates.

The Medicaid "wraparound" would allow some states to use additional funds to help low-income people who are likely to lose Medicaid coverage afford the premiums and deductibles for private insurance.

Thune wouldn't say how much money would be attached to the proposal, but leaders have about $200 billion to play with.

"I don't think it would necessarily be $200 billion, but there would have to be some allocation," he said.

But a new study says that figure would not be enough to fund private coverage for people who would lose insurance because of a halted Medicaid expansion.

Republicans are expected to voteTuesdayon a motion to begin debate on a healthcare bill, but leaders don't yet know which bill it will be.

It will either be a clean repeal bill passed by Congress in 2015 or the repeal-and-replace bill Senate Republicans have been working on recently.

The latter proposal currently lacks the support to pass, with several moderates worrying about how it could impact those who gained coverage through ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion.

The "wraparound" proposal is a way to try to get the support of moderates such as Sens. Lisa MurkowskiLisa MurkowskiManchin on GOP lawmakers suggestion for a duel with female senators: Ill step outside with him Unhappy senators complain about healthcare process Thune: Progress being made on Medicaid 'wraparound' MORE (Alaska), Rob PortmanRob PortmanMcConnell to pin down colleagues on healthcare Unhappy senators complain about healthcare process Thune: Progress being made on Medicaid 'wraparound' MORE (Ohio), Dean HellerDean HellerThune: Progress being made on Medicaid 'wraparound' Trump slams 'sad' Republicans who won't 'protect' him Trump backers eye GOP primary challenges for Flake, Heller MORE (Nev.) and Shelley Moore CapitoShelley Moore CapitoManchin on GOP lawmakers suggestion for a duel with female senators: Ill step outside with him Trump cuts loose in front of massive crowd at Boy Scouts' Jamboree Thune: Progress being made on Medicaid 'wraparound' MORE (W.Va.)

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Thune: Progress being made on Medicaid 'wraparound' | TheHill - The Hill

Moving in the right direction.

For all the tweeting he does about repealing Obamacare, defeating Islamic State and building a wall along the Mexican border, President Donald Trump has precious little progress to show. By contrast, he has probably achieved the most in an area he mentions rarely: reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This special edition of the Trump Twitter Filter (whats that? see here) steps back to take a look at the presidents activity since he took office in January -- to which campaign promises he has paid the most attention, and how much ofthat attention reflects movement toward the goals he set out (for further explanation, see footnote ).

Despite the distractions of a developing investigation into his administrations contacts with Russia, Trump hasnt lost sight of the platform on which he was elected. Since Monday, Jan. 23 (his first full weekday in office), about 40 percent of all his tweets have mentioned one or more of the items on his campaign agenda. Heres a chart showing the weekly percentage:

Source: Trump Twitter Archive, author's calculations

In terms of the sheer number of mentions, three topics stand out: defense, immigration and health care -- a reflection of the presidents preoccupation with terrorism, his efforts to impose a travel ban from certain Muslim-majority countries and the protracted wrangling in Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare. He tweeted about defense-related topics 98 times, immigration 92 times and health care 88 times. Heres a chart:

Source: Trump Twitter Archive, author's calculations

Most of that tweeting, though, has had little to do with actual movement toward Trumps stated goals. Its hard to say whether his actions, on net, have helped or hindered the fight against Islamic State. The travel ban is incomplete and the wall remains a promise. Republicans havent been able to agree on a viable replacement for Obamacare.

That said, in one area, Veterans Affairs, there actually has been progress. Since the Senate approved his appointment unanimously in February, Secretary David Shulkin has sought to improve accountability at hospitals by publicly posting wait times and care-quality data, and has extended much-needed mental health services to veterans with less-than-honorable discharges. Even Congress has made a contribution, passing a bill to streamline the agencys hiring and firing processes -- legislation that Trump signed and tweeted about three times.

As a result, most of the presidents 10 tweets on Veterans Affairs reflected movement toward his goal of reforming the agency. Specifically, they garnered a total of 7.5 movement points, for an effectiveness ratio of 75 percent. Heres how that compares with other agenda items:

Source: Trump Twitter Archive, author's calculations

Although taking better care of veterans is far from the biggest item on Trumps agenda, its certainly a goal that mostAmericans would support. Its also a rare area in which the presidents penchant for taking credit appears to be more or lessin line with his achievements.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story: Mark Whitehouse at mwhitehouse1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Greiff at jgreiff@bloomberg.net

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Trump's Quiet Progress on Veterans Affairs - Bloomberg - Bloomberg

DOHA (Reuters) - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan left Qatar on Monday after two days in the Gulf trying to mediate in the worst row among Arab states for years but there was no sign he had made any progress.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and travel ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants. Doha denies the claims.

Turkey has been Qatar's most powerful ally in the dispute, rushing through legislation to send more troops to its base in Doha as a sign of support.

Kuwaiti and Western efforts to end the crisis have yielded little so far. The four Arab states want Qatar to reduce ties with their arch-foe Iran, close down the Turkish military base and shut the Al Jazeera TV channel, which they view as critical of their governments.

Qatari state news agency QNA said that Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, had "reviewed regional developments, specifically the Gulf crisis and efforts to contain it and to resolve it through diplomatic means..." in talks with Erdogan.

The agency said the talks also covered joint efforts to combat terrorism and reviewed defense and economic cooperation.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said Qatar would achieve more by reconsidering its position.

"The Turkish president's visit did not carry anything new, and the hasty stand his country had taken made neutrality as the best option for Ankara" Gargash wrote on his Twitter account. "A Qatari review will achieve more than repeated visits."

Erdogan was the latest senior official to tour the region to try to resolve the crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and foreign ministers from France, Britain and Germany also toured the area in recent weeks.

Several contingents of Turkish troops with columns of armored vehicles have arrived in Doha since the crisis erupted on June 5.

Under a 2014 agreement, Ankara could send in as many as 1,000 troops.

Turkey and Qatar have been important backers of the Muslim Brotherhood movement that has challenged entrenched Arab rulers and Erdogan has his roots in an Islamist political party.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

Before he arrived in Qatar, Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In Saudi Arabia, he discussed with King Salman "efforts to combat terrorism and its sources of funding", state news agency SPA said, without elaborating.

Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi in Doha and Ali Abdelaty in Cairo; Editing by Louise Ireland and Andrew Hay

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Turkey's Erdogan ends tour with no sign of Qatar progress - Reuters

TORONTO (Reuters) - Freeport-McMoRan Inc said on Tuesday that it was encouraged by recent progress in talks with Indonesia to resolve a lengthy permit dispute for its massive Grasberg mine, but will pursue arbitration if a long-term deal cannot be reached.

Arizona-based Freeport, the world's biggest publicly listed copper miner, reported second-quarter profit and production that fell short of expectations, reflecting an ongoing strike at Grasberg.

As tight global copper supplies helped lift the price of copper to five-month highs, Freeport shares surged more than 8 percent in early trade, mirroring gains by other producers of the metal.

Investors were looking past "yet another rough quarter and yet another guide down," to focus on sturdy copper prices and Freeport's positive comments on Indonesian talks, said Clarksons Platou Securities analyst Jeremy Sussman.

Freeport resumed copper concentrate exports in April from Grasberg, the world's second-largest copper mine, after a 15-week outage related to the licensing row.

A temporary license allowing concentrate exports expires on Oct. 10 and a permanent solution is yet to be found.

"We are encouraged by recent progress in our active negotiations with the Indonesian government to resolve issues involving our contractual rights," Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said in a statement.

Without a permit, Freeport said it will pursue arbitration and "significantly" reduce or defer spending on a major underground mine development plan at Grasberg. Some $700 million of the forecast 2017 capital expenditure of $1.6 billion is earmarked for the mine.

Revised rules in Indonesia require miners to divest a 51 percent stake, relinquish arbitration rights and pay new taxes and royalties. Freeport says it requires the fiscal and legal protection in its current contract.

Freeport cut about 10 percent of its Grasberg workforce of 32,000 earlier this year to reduce costs. Last week, some 5,000 unionized workers extended their strike for a fourth month to the end of August.

To mitigate that impact, Freeport used existing mine and mill stockpiles for second-quarter production and sold concentrate from inventories.

Freeport's adjusted profit of 17 cents a share trailed the consensus of 20 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, while revenue of $3.7 billion topped the view of $3.3 billion.

Freeport again cut its 2017 sales forecast to 3.7 billion pounds of copper, from 3.9 billion pounds, and 1.6 million ounces of gold, from 1.9 million ounces.

In April it cut annual guidance from 4.1 billion pounds of copper and 2.2 million ounces of gold.

Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by W Simon and Meredith Mazzilli

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Freeport says Indonesia mine talks progress, profit falls short - Reuters

Members of the Cocke County Finance Committee spent 90 minutes Monday evening discussing a new budget and came away with no progress.

Finance Manager Anne Bryant-Hurst told the committee last week the budget requests total $1.8 million more than the anticipated revenue, and that a 34 cent increase will be necessary to fund the current requests.

Mayor Crystal Ottinger said fees from whitewater rafting are down by $47,000 for July.

Chair of the committee Andy Tritt reported that state officials say the county needs a serious fix but have no recommendation.

The committee expressed concern that a major property tax increase would have a significant impact on large industry in the area.

Bryant-Hurst said the new budget is beginning with a very low balance in the general fund. Legal fees paid to outside law firms were up last year, as were jail medical costs, and the state has hiked the audit fee by 20 percent.

She said in years past, revenues have done significantly better than had been projected, but not last year.

This year we are just barely doing better than we projected, with the ending fund balance just about $250,000, she said. I dont think you will get there without a property tax increase. I dont think you will be able to take out enough of the requests to balance the budget.

She said in the past, the committee always was looking for a way to again have a budget without a tax increase, but this year, the fund balance wont allow that.

Bryant-Hurst suggested the committee first balance the budget, then set priorities and targets for looming expenditures including an industrial park and a jail, as part of long-term planning. She also pointed out that roads, recreation and schools have needs.

Sheriff Armando Fontes argued that a jail is needed to reduce the liability of the county, and he pointed to recent assaults in the jail which he said is partially due to overcrowding. He also said his administration has brought in more revenue through seizures.

Several commissioners again suggested that problem inmates be released from jail and monitored through an ankle GPS program.

Commissioner Calvin Ball said his constituents want a wheel tax over a property tax hike. However, a wheel tax likely could not be implemented in time to bring in revenue this fiscal year, because tax payers may decide to challenge such a tax.

Commissioner Clayton Skip Ellison again argued for an industrial park and Tritt said employees of the Partnership should not be employed by a non-profit but should be employees of the city or county.

The committee agreed to meet again the evening of July 31 and to invite other commissioners and department heads, in an effort to develop a budget.

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Cocke County finance committee makes little budget progress - Citizentribune

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ASHEBORO, N.C. -- The City of Asheboro is making progress on turning the Acme-McCrary & Sapona Fitness Center into the citys first community center.

The Acme-McCrary & Sapona Foundation, Inc. gifted the facility to the City of Asheboro.

It was built in 1948.

Over the last several weeks, city crews have started working on some interior issues.

[Theyve] been taking out some of the old stuff that couldn't be reused, the old bleachers, some old carpeting. It has been quite a process. So far, they have done a great job [to get] a lot of these things out of the way so this new equipment new material can be brought in," said Jody Maness, assistant recreation superintendent.

There are three floors that house a variety of useful amenities including a swimming pool, weight room, a gymnasium, a kitchen and potential office space.

Our staff people are already trying to determine what kind of classes, educational classes that the public might want and I think were talking about health and wellness education, healthy eating, maybe a cooking class or two, Mayor David Smith said.

Moving forward, the city says the top priority is a new roof.

The hope is to have a grand opening for the community center in early 2018.

35.707915 -79.813645

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Asheboro makes progress on city's first community center - myfox8.com