by dap | Jan 9, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Cubs have added another arm to their bullpen mix.
The Cubs acquired right-hander Matt Festa from the Texas Rangers on Thursday for cash considerations. In the corresponding 40-man roster move, infielder Miles Mastrobuoni was designated for assignment.
Festa, who utilizes a four-seam fastball, sweeper and cutter mix, posted a 4.37 ERA over 22 2/3 innings (18 games) with the Rangers last season. Originally a seventh-round pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2016, Festa experienced his most big-league success with Seattle from 2022-23, when he owned a 4.14 ERA in 61 appearances, including a career-high 53 games in 2022. The Rangers designated Festa, 31, for assignment on Monday.
Mastrobuoni had been valued for the depth he provided in the infield as a lefty bench bat. The 29-year-old appeared in 110 games in parts of two seasons with the Cubs, including 50 in 2024, which featured 25 starts with the majority coming at third base.
The Cubs have revamped their infield depth this offseason with the additions of third baseman Gage Workman, selected from the Detroit Tigers in December’s Rule 5 draft, and Vidal Bruján, acquired from the Miami Marlins last month for first baseman Matt Mervis.
by dap | Jan 9, 2025 | Daily Signal
Freshman Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas., introduced his first bill in Congress on Thursday, legislation intended to reinstate President-elect Donald Trump’s
policy regarding would-be immigrants.
The bill would restore a policy from Trump’s first term that required all asylum-seekers coming through
to remain there until their asylum hearing in an American court. President Joe Biden immediately reversed that policy upon taking office in 2021.
In an
with The Daily Signal’s Bradley Devlin on “The Signal Sitdown” podcast, Gill reviled Biden’s reversal of that policy, but also argued that Trump’s policies must be enshrined into law if they are going to last into the future.
“We had border security under President Trump. Joe Biden got rid of it. Why is that? It’s because everything’s been done through executive order,” said Gill.
Ryan Walker, vice president of Heritage Action, voiced his support for the legislation, telling The Daily Signal, “Enough is enough. Republicans campaigned on the promise to secure the border, and in November, the American people gave them a mandate to deliver. The Remain in Mexico Act is an important step to protect American citizens and begin restoring stability to our broken immigration system.”
At just 30 years of age, Gill is a young face in one of the
As his first introduced bill, the Remain in Mexico Act serves to position him as a firm ally of Trump on immigration, one of the central issues of the 2024 campaign.
“I think we all recognize this is his
” Gill told The Daily Signal.
“We have a majority in the House because of President Trump, not because of anybody else. We have a majority in the Senate because of President Trump. So, that is the vision that President Trump has cast for the party, which is an America-first agenda. That’s what we’re going to be focused on passing.”
Gill enters the House of Representatives at a time of increased bipartisan support for immigration reform.
joined Republicans in voting for the Laken Riley Act, which would require the detention of illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes. But 159 House Democrats voted against the legislation, which might have prevented the death of Riley, 22, a Georgia college student who was slain nearly a year ago on Feb. 22. An illegal alien was convicted Nov. 20 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On Thursday, the Senate overcame a legislative filibuster by a handful of liberal Democrats on a procedural vote by a margin of 84-9, easily clearing the 60-vote threshold and paving the way for a Senate vote on the measure.
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by dap | Jan 9, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
A record number of Illinois residents have signed up for Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for this year — amid uncertainties about the future of tax credits that lower the cost of those plans for most consumers.
In Illinois, 449,553 people selected health plans between Nov. 1, when open enrollment began, through Jan. 4, according to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That’s already up 12.7% from last year, when 398,814 Illinois residents selected plans during the open enrollment period. Consumers still have until Jan. 15 to select plans at HealthCare.gov in order to get coverage for this year.
Most people in Illinois get health coverage through their employers, Medicare or Medicaid, but each year many others sign up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) at HealthCare.gov.
“It’s very exciting. We’re really pleased to see such large enrollment,” said Stephanie Altman, director of health care justice and senior director of policy at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law in Chicago. She said it’s good to see so many more people enroll just ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office, given that “we expect to see a lack of support and enthusiasm for the federal marketplaces again and the Affordable Care Act” under his administration.
One thing that’s up in the air after Trump’s win is the future of enhanced tax credits that many people in Illinois and across the country depend on to help them afford coverage. The amounts of the tax credits are based largely on income, and help lower monthly premiums for many consumers who buy Affordable Care Act plans.
Nearly 90% of Illinois residents with Affordable Care Act plans received the credits in 2023, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance. The federal government has said that for this year, it expects about 80% of HealthCare.gov customers to be able to find plans for $10 a month or less, with help from the tax credits.
Though consumers have long been able to receive tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, those subsidies were expanded with the passage of the American Plan Rescue Act in 2021. The Inflation Reduction Act then extended those higher subsidies through 2025.
But with Republicans now in charge at the federal level, it’s unclear whether those enhanced tax credits will remain available after 2025. Many Republicans have long been critical of the Affordable Care Act, calling it flawed and too costly, and President Donald Trump famously tried to eliminate it when he was last in office.
Supporters of the tax credits, however, say they’re necessary to keep health coverage affordable for Americans. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that if the enhanced tax credits are not extended, the number of people without insurance would rise by 2.2 million in 2026, and by 3.7 million people in 2027.
Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Illinois, has introduced a bill that would make the enhanced tax credits permanent. Also, a coalition called Keep Americans Covered — which includes the AARP, hospital system Ascension and health insurance industry group AHIP among others — is pushing for extending the enhanced subsidies.
Illinois is seeking to better insulate itself from changing politics at the federal level by transitioning to running its own health insurance marketplace. Last year, the state awarded $6.5 million to health care organizations, as part of a navigator program, to help enroll people in Affordable Care Act health insurance this open enrollment period. And during the next open enrollment period, consumers in Illinois will select plans from a state website rather than from the federal HealthCare.gov.
The new state-based marketplace could allow Illinois to give consumers more chances to buy health insurance. It should also make it easier for people to move between Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans, as their income levels change, Altman said.
by dap | Jan 9, 2025 | Washington Times
A bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers unveiled legislation Thursday that would punish swatting with criminal penalties of up to 20 years in prison in the worst cases.
by dap | Jan 9, 2025 | Washington Times
U.S. military forces in the Pacific are deploying large numbers of drone weapons and increasing overall force readiness in preparation for a potential 2027 war with China, according to the commander of the Indo-Pacific Command.
