World/Nation Briefs July 19, 2013
Obama rejoins battle over health care reform
WASHINGTON - Facing public doubts and embarrassing setbacks to his signature health care law, President Barack Obama stepped forward Thursday to extol the program's benefits, emphasizing that some Americans already are receiving insurance rebates and lower premiums.
Obama said the program is working the way it was supposed to with "better benefits, stronger protections, more bang for your buck." The assertion was ridiculed by Republicans, with House Speaker John Boehner calling the Affordable Care Act "a train wreck" that he will keep working to repeal.
Obama dismissed the GOP's so-far-futile votes - the House logged its 38th attempt to repeal or scale back the law on Wednesday - with an exasperated sigh and shake of his head during a White House speech.
While the fate of the health care law will play a major role in defining his legacy, Obama has not devoted much time or energy to selling it to the country, speaking on the subject only occasionally as Republicans have pressed a determined campaign to undermine the program. Obama is returning to the subject now because enrollment begins Oct. 1 for subsidized private coverage through new online markets.
South Africans celebrate upbeat Mandela reports
JOHANNESBURG -
Hospital visitors say Nelson Mandela smiled and nodded Thursday - his 95th birthday - and South Africans celebrated upbeat reports about the former president's health after weeks of worrying that he was on the verge of death.
Children sang "Happy Birthday" at school assemblies nationwide, and many honored the man known as "the father of the nation" by performing acts of charity for 67 minutes, symbolizing Mandela's 67 years of public service. World leaders praised the anti-apartheid leader's life of sacrifice and vision.
Outside the Pretoria hospital where Mandela was admitted for a recurring lung infection, well-wishers paid tribute to him and some received slices of a large birthday cake doled out from inside the compound.
Reputed Boston crime boss faces 'rat' in court
BOSTON - His hands on his hips in a you-want-a-piece-of-me stance, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi glared at James "Whitey" Bulger in the courtroom, and the two men snarled what sounded like obscenities at each other.
Bulger and his once-loyal comrade came face to face Thursday for the first time in nearly two decades as Flemmi testified against the reputed Boston crime boss at Bulger's racketeering trial.
In his brief 15 minutes or so on the stand before court recessed for the day, Flemmi, a ruthless underworld executioner, told how he and Bulger were secret FBI informants for 15 years while they ran the Winter Hill Gang, the city's murderous Irish mob.
Flemmi said he was with Bulger and heard him give information to FBI agent John Connolly "hundreds of times" over 15 years.
That comment seemed to rankle Bulger, who insists that he was never an informant and told people that being a "rat" was the worst thing anyone could do, according to testimony.
- The Associated Press