Articles

Federal legislation would grow, sustain veterans court programs

As veterans court programs expand nationwide, the federal government is exploring opportunities to provide additional resources to local courts. If enacted, the Veteran Treatment Court Coordination Act of 2019 would task the Department of Justice with establishing an office to provide additional funding and technical assistance to veterans courts.

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President’s power to can independent agency heads faces test

The Supreme Court is about to tell President Donald Trump whether he has more power to use a favorite phrase: “You’re fired.” A case being argued at the high court Tuesday could threaten the structure of agencies that form an enormous swath of the federal government. It has to do with whether a president can fire the heads of independent agencies for any reason.

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Buttigieg ends historic presidential campaign, urges unity

Pete Buttigieg, who rose from relative obscurity as an Indiana mayor to a barrier-breaking, top-tier candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, ended his campaign Sunday. The decision by the first openly gay candidate to seriously contend for the presidency — and among the youngest ever — came just a day after a leading rival, Joe Biden, scored a resounding victory in South Carolina.

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High court closes courthouse door on slain Mexican teen’s family

The Supreme Court  of the United States ruled 5-4 Tuesday to close the courthouse door on the parents of a Mexican teenager who was shot dead over the border by an American agent. The case tested a half-century-old Supreme Court decision that allows people to sue federal officials for constitutional violations.

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State aims to extend Healthy Indiana Plan

Indiana has submitted a request for a 10-year extension of its Medicaid alternative program, the Healthy Indiana Plan, and still included is the suspended work requirement that was imposed on some enrollees in the public assistance program but is currently under review by the courts.

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Back to the border: Notre Dame law legal aid team sees increased hardship for asylum seekers

Instead of spending his holiday season surrounded by all things merry and bright, immigration attorney Rudy Monterrosa spent days at what he described as an ominous place akin to a concentration camp. For the second year in a row, Monterrosa took a team to the Texas-Mexico border to offer free legal services to women and children seeking asylum in the United States. His experience this time, however, was quite different.

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Medicaid changes could have big state consequences

Nearly one in five Hoosiers is on Medicaid, a program that pays for medical care, hospitalization, drugs, skilled nursing and other services for low-income and disabled people. But the future of the program is now up in the air after the Trump administration announced in January it would allow states to add eligibility requirements, benefit changes and drug-coverage limits.

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Homeland Security waives contracting laws for border wall

The Trump administration said Tuesday it will waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Department of Homeland Security said waiving procurement regulations will allow 177 miles of wall to be built more quickly in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

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