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Now That U.S. Economy Is Booming, Dems Say It�s Not a Key Policy Priority

A telling new survey by the Pew Research Center reveals that Democrats who considered the

economy a top priority under the Obama administration have changed their tune now that the economy

has taken off under Trump.

The results of the survey are stark.

In 2013, an overwhelming majority of the Democratic party (87 percent) said that strengthening

the economy was a top priority, whereas today just 64 percent of Democrats say they consider

the economy a key issue.

Something similar has occurred in Democrats� appreciation for the importance of jobs.

In 2013, 81 percent of Democrats said they viewed improving the nation�s job situation

as a top policy goal, while today just 58 percent of Democrats say this.

Taking the place of the economy and employment among Democrats� top priorities are global

warming and environmental protection.

Today, 68 percent of Democrats and those leaning Democratic say that addressing climate change

should be a top priority for Trump and Congress, Pew found.

By contrast, a scant 18 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners say it is a top priority

A majority of small business owners, 63.8 percent, believe that President Trump�s

policies have helped their business, according to a survey from the Job Creators Network.

More business owners�57.5 percent�believe Republicans do a better job of managing economic

issues than do Democrats (14 percent).

The survey finds the support is likely due to Trump�s ability to roll back regulations

and red tape on businesses.

A majority of businesses also support the tax reform package that was signed into law

and believe media coverage of the proposal was biased.

Sixty-eight percent of small businesses view the legislation favorably or somewhat favorably.

Fifty-eight percent said the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will benefit their business.

�Since much of the media coverage surrounding the bill has been critical (57.3 percent of

respondents viewed the coverage as biased), these numbers provide insight into what the

biggest job creators in the country are expecting to gain from the new tax relief,� the survey

explained.

Home Depot (HD) announced on Thursday that it will pay its U.S. hourly workers a one-time

bonus of up to $1,000 tied to President Trump�s tax reform.

�This incremental investment in our associates was made possible by the new tax reform bill,�

Craig Menear, chairman and CEO of the company, said in a statement.

The largest U.S. home improvement chain is joining JPMorgan (JPM), Verizon (VZ), Disney

(DIS) and others in adding to employee compensation after President Trump signed a sweeping tax-reform

bill into law.

The Home Depot bonus will be paid in addition to the retailer�s existing bonuses.

It employs more than 400,000 associates

The Trump administration�s tax reforms will accelerate global economic growth, according

to the latest forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Total economic output for the world will grow 3.9 percent in 2018 and 2019, after adjusting

for inflation.

That would be the strongest year for global growth since 2011 and represents an upward

revision of 0.2 percent since the IMF�s forecast in October.

When the IMF released its Global Economic Outlook in October, it assumed that U.S. tax

policies would remain unchanged.

In other words, it assumed Republican efforts to pass tax reform would fail.

The changes to the U.S. tax code are expected to be responsible for �about half� of

the upward revision, the IMF.

Much of that will arise from lower corporate income tax rates.

The IMF estimates that lower rates will lead to an acceleration of business investment.

As well, a larger federal budget deficit will stimulate the economy and boost U.S. growth,

according to the IMF

For more infomation >> Now That U S Economy Is Booming, Dems Say It's Not a Key Policy - Duration: 5:05.

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Trump promotes US economy with world leaders in Davos - Duration: 8:09.

For more infomation >> Trump promotes US economy with world leaders in Davos - Duration: 8:09.

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Thieves Target U.S. ATMs For 'Jackpotting' Attacks - Duration: 1:52.

For more infomation >> Thieves Target U.S. ATMs For 'Jackpotting' Attacks - Duration: 1:52.

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Trump delivers Davos speech to entice investment in US - Duration: 3:23.

For more infomation >> Trump delivers Davos speech to entice investment in US - Duration: 3:23.

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Fitness app shows location of US military bases - Duration: 1:00.

A fitness app lets you publicly share your exercise route, and it's causing some security

concerns for some remote military forces.

It's called Strava, and it lets users share their GPS tracked exercise routes to a heat map.

The heat map shows where people are exercising all over the world.

Privacy settings on the app let users decide if they'll share their exercise information.

The security concerns stem from use of the app on military property.

Some U.S. bases light up on the map, but so do some unconfirmed locations like a CIA facility

in Somalia.

A 20-year-old in Australia stumbled upon the details.

He pointed it out on Twitter, saying "US Bases are clearly identifiable and mappable."

He also said it isn't just a problem for the United States military, but for anyone with

an established exercise path.

The Strava heat map update was released in November 2017.

A Pentagon spokeswoman told CNN the department is reviewing the situation to see if any policy

changes are needed.

For more infomation >> Fitness app shows location of US military bases - Duration: 1:00.

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Healthcare in the U.S. - Duration: 6:19.

Hey there crazies.

It's been a while.

I warned you I might disappear from the vlog because of all the doctor's appointments.

The last year has been pretty hellish for me, but as you can tell I'm feeling a little better.

Anyway, I wanted to stop in to share some things I learned about medicine in general

and about how the medicine works in the U.S.

Some of it is good, some of it is bad, and some of it is middlest.

Prepare for some nuance!

Let's start with insurance companies.

They suck!

Just to clarify, I don't have insurance through any of my jobs, because part-time,

but I do have personal insurance for my wife and me through the marketplace.

Though, we don't really get the actual perks from the Affordable Care Act

because, apparently, we make too much.

Anyway, I've had a personal plan directly through an insurance company for

many years.

On top of a bunch of little glitches that I'm always calling them to fix,

Premiums go up every year, so every 2 to 3 years I have to downgrade my plan so I can keep

affording it.

For the record, that's not because of the ACA.

Premiums always go up.

It has more to do with insurance payout forecasts, than it does with government policy.

But let's set premiums aside for a minute and talk about actual medical bills.

Anyone who has a personal plan knows that they barely cover anything

at least until you meet your deductible, which of course is never.

Insurance companies always make sure that those are sufficiently large.

However, they are still helping you every time you get a bill, sort of.

Even if the insurance isn't actually paying anything, they do negotiate prices.

For medical and dental care in 2017, I paid a total $5,125.

That's the total cost my insurance company approved

not the amount that hospitals and doctors tried to charge me.

The original bills in 2017 came to a grand total of $24,764,

almost 5 times what I actually paid.

Thanks insurance company!

Even if you include the premiums I paid: $600/month for 12 months comes to $7,200.

Add that to the $5,125 from earlier

and I still only paid half of what I would have paid without insurance.

This is why people without insurance get totally screwed over in the U.S.

Although, I put negotiate in big-whopping air quotes for a reason.

What the insurance company is really doing is saying "no" to fake prices.

Let me give you an example.

Last August, I got a CT scan.

The hospital tried to charge me $4,473,

not including what a doctor wanted to charge for reading the results.

Just for the scan,

which is ridiculous!

There's no way that CT scanner costs $4,473 to run for a few minutes.

So what happens next?

The hospital bills the insurance company.

Then the insurance company comes back and says "no, that's ridiculous."

Then the hospital says "You know, you're right.

Here's a more reasonable amount."

The insurance company approves it and pays whatever they were going to pay,

which, remember is probably nothing.

And the hospital bills you for the rest, which is probably everything.

The amount that finally got approved: $447.26.

Literally 1/10th of the original amount.

1/10th !!!!!!

Which means the hospital knows they can charge $447.26 and still make a little profit,

but they tried to charge 10 times that anyway.

Ladies, Gentleman, Non-Binaries, that's what we call: "Price Gouging."

I know how a CT scanner works and I could believe it could cost a few hundred dollars to run it.

Totally believable.

The $4,473 is a fake price.

Hospitals have fake prices like these for every procedure code,

all in a record called a master ledger, grand master

charge master!

It's called a charge master.

The hospital looks like it's giving the insurance company a huge discount,

the insurance company looks like it's negotiating a price way down for you.

It's a win-win except for you and me.

Last year, I got half-off of the fake prices, but paid almost 2.5 times the real ones,

because we can't get the real prices without paying insurance premiums.

They're helping you with a problem they created, but we can't do anything about it.

This will continue without proper government involvement.

Government involvement that asks the right questions and actually solves the right problems.

In the meantime, vote accordingly and get insurance.

It's a necessary evil.

Last, but certainly not least, medical diagnosis.

I mentioned at the beginning of this rant that I've been having health trouble.

I have had an unimaginable number of blood tests, urine sample tests, stool sample tests,

a CT scan, a tilt table test, a heart ultrasound, an endoscopy, and a colonoscopy.

Everything has come back negative, except the tilt table test.

So I, for sure, know that I have Vasovagal Syncope.

Basically, my vagus nerve is super sensitive.

Unfortunately, that nerve controls a lot of unconscious activity in the human body,

so, if it gets overly-stimulated,

I get dizzy and pass out, among other things.

And, for the test to work, they had to induce it while I was hooked to a bunch of equipment.

It was the worst medical test I have ever experienced.

I'm grateful I don't have to do it twice.

Anyway, it doesn't solve all my problems.

My nerve is still getting triggered for some reason which no one can figure out.

But it did let the doctors know to get me on some medication that raises my blood pressure,

so I don't pass out

and, let me tell you, huge improvement.

I feel like a new man.

I do still have some symptoms to figure out, but they're the more mild ones.

I feel like I can actually function while we try to figure the rest of this out.

And this brings me to my last bit of knowledge:

Doctors aren't stupid.

They know what they're doing and they know a lot!

They just don't have all the answers for everything.

Nobody does.

Anyone who tells you they have all the answers is either delusional or they're lying.

Medical diagnoses is hard.

Especially for someone like me with lots of symptoms and very few definitive signs.

I'm being passed off to some super medical specialists

but they're booked out for, like, 6 months, so that appointment isn't until this summer.

In the meantime, I'm on medication that makes me a functioning human being.

I hope this video helps some of you understand how medicine works in the U.S.

or at least helps you understand what's going on with me lately

and, as usual, I'll see you in the comments.

For more infomation >> Healthcare in the U.S. - Duration: 6:19.

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Russia claims US meddling in Russian election - Duration: 0:51.

Russia says the United States is trying to meddle in the Russian presidential

election in March that's because the US Treasury has until the end of the day

Monday to hand Congress a list of wealthy Russians and their connections

to Russian President Vladimir Putin u.s. president Donald Trump also has until

the end of Monday to impose sanctions on Russia for the country's interference in

the 2016 US presidential election a Kremlin spokesman told journalists that

quote we do think that this is a direct and obvious attempt to time some sort of

action to coincide with our elections in order to influence them

he also said Russian officials will analyze the report Putin is up for

re-election in March and his only opponent Alexei Navalny was barred from

campaigning because of previous embezzlement conviction

Navalny was recently released from jail after he was arrested for organizing

illegal anti Kremlin protests

For more infomation >> Russia claims US meddling in Russian election - Duration: 0:51.

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Trump touts US in Davos amid lower-than-expected GDP - Duration: 9:49.

For more infomation >> Trump touts US in Davos amid lower-than-expected GDP - Duration: 9:49.

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Steven Mnuchin ensures UK will play vital role in US trade deals - Duration: 3:34.

For more infomation >> Steven Mnuchin ensures UK will play vital role in US trade deals - Duration: 3:34.

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North Korea warns 'foolish' US over sanctions: 'You will NEVER subject us to your laws' - DAILY NEWS - Duration: 2:56.

North Korea warns 'foolish' US over sanctions: 'You will NEVER subject us to your laws'

NORTH Korea has strongly condemned the United States for passing its own sanctions against

the hermit state claiming they are a "wild violation of sovereignty under the international

law" as tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula.

The Trump administration has issued fresh sanctions as it attempts to stifle North Korea's

nuclear and missile programme and prevent a nuclear war.

Washington has imposed sanctions on 16 individuals and six North Korea vessels for their alleged

links to the state's nuclear and missile programmes.

Among the entities to suffer are two China-based trading firms which the Treasury says exported

metals and other materials required for the state's weapon programme.

A spokesperson from North Korea's foreign ministry said in a report: "The so-called

unilateral sanctions the United States has taken under its own sanctions laws are a clear

and wild violation of sovereignty under the international law that says a sovereign state

can never be subject to the judicial power of another country under any circumstance

and a serious provocation."

The individuals included in the sanctions are members of North Korea's Workers Party

operating in China, Russia and Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region.

Among them were North Korea's vice consul in Nakhodka, Russia and an individual reportedly

involved in sending North Korean labourers to Abkhazia.

The official also said the US should stop with its "foolish" way of thinking and

"give up its anachronistic hostile policy" towards North Korea.

He claimed the sactions of the United States was intensifying tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: "Treasury continues to systematically target

individuals and entities financing the Kim regime and its weapons programs, including

officials complicity in North Korean sanctions evasion schemed."

The US has put pressure on China, which is still an ally of North Korea, to cut off the

regime financially.

An unnamed North Korean foreign ministry spokesman also said the US sanctions are a "manifestation

of heinous intention to throw a wet blanket over the inter-Korean exchange and cooperation

and to aggravate the situation".

CIA director Mike Pompeo has said North Korea is "a handful of months" away from being able

to make a nuclear attack on the United States.

For more infomation >> North Korea warns 'foolish' US over sanctions: 'You will NEVER subject us to your laws' - DAILY NEWS - Duration: 2:56.

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US soldier keeps promise to translator who saved his life - Duration: 3:31.

For more infomation >> US soldier keeps promise to translator who saved his life - Duration: 3:31.

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What to expect from Trump's first State of the Union address - Duration: 4:02.

For more infomation >> What to expect from Trump's first State of the Union address - Duration: 4:02.

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Gen. Keane: US should be taking North Korea down electronically - Duration: 3:34.

For more infomation >> Gen. Keane: US should be taking North Korea down electronically - Duration: 3:34.

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US slips to eighth in US News & World Report's rankings - Duration: 2:50.

For more infomation >> US slips to eighth in US News & World Report's rankings - Duration: 2:50.

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US pressures Iran to free American prisoner - Duration: 4:14.

For more infomation >> US pressures Iran to free American prisoner - Duration: 4:14.

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U.S. Marshals Work To Capture Violent Fugitives Before Super Bowl - Duration: 2:32.

For more infomation >> U.S. Marshals Work To Capture Violent Fugitives Before Super Bowl - Duration: 2:32.

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How to protect yourself as the flu spreads across the US - Duration: 2:55.

For more infomation >> How to protect yourself as the flu spreads across the US - Duration: 2:55.

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S. Korea, U.S. reaffirm inter-Korean talks should serve to denuclearize Pyongyang - Duration: 2:24.

And to tell us more about the defense talks,....

Dr. Bong Young-shik, a researcher at the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies,... joins

us in the studio today.

So good to see you.

Pleasure to be here.

1- So during the talks... the two sides reaffirmed their ironclad commitment and said ....that

North Korea *cannot drive a wedge in their alliance.

Tell us more about this.

2- The talks came as the two Koreas have been busy preparing for the North's participation

in the Winter Olympics.

How do you think North Korea would respond to these talks..... as South Korea and the

U.S. have committed to continued collaboration aimed at making North Korea change its behavior?

3- What can we expect in regards to the Seoul-Washington joint military drills which have been postponed

due to the Olympics.

4- Are there any chances of us seeing a dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea in the near

future.... as we have been seeing a thaw in inter-Korea relations recently.

5- Now we know there wasn't much discussion over the transfer of wartime operational control

of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul..... but first, tell us more about what

exactly this is.

6- There were expectations that Seoul and Washington would speed up the OPCON transfer.

What can we expect on this front?

7- So then what does speeding up the transfer process mean for South Korea?

Why has President Moon been pushing for this?

8- What has been North Korea's response to the OPCON transfer plan..... and what impact

would this have on inter-Korea relations?

9- Now with the PyeongChang Winter Games quickly approaching...

North Korea is likely to hold a military parade to mark the 70th founding anniversary of its

military..... just a day before the opening of the PyeongChang Olympics.

But South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said..... that the North's military

parade is irrelevant to the Winter Games and its timing is just a coincidence.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thank you for your insight today.

Sure thing.