President Obama plays Hardball tonight and then hosts Hannukah receptions at the White House.
The Hill looks at the potential problem of young people not signing up for the health-care law.
National Journal also notes that “white women” have soured on the law in the past month: “Polling provided to National Journal by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that white women have soured considerably on the law, especially in the month since its botched rollout. The skepticism runs especially deep among blue-collar women, sometimes known as “waitress moms,” whose deeply pessimistic attitudes toward the Affordable Care Act should riddle Democratic candidates with anxiety.”
USA Today: “The 20 states choosing not to expand Medicaid will lose billions of dollars in federal funds, according to a new study released Thursday. By 2022, Texas could lose $9.2 billion by not expanding Medicaid as allowed under the Affordable Care Act, while Florida could lose $5 billion over that period, the study conducted by The Commonwealth Fund shows. Commonwealth was founded in 1918 to improve health services for Americans.”
USA Today: “The number of visitors to the HealthCare.gov website Wednesday hit 310,000 by noon, an 80% increase from the same day last week, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”
Politico: “The U.S. has transferred two Guantanamo prisoners to their home country of Algeria, rejecting pleas from the men that they not be released because they were likely to be tortured or mistreated in that country.”
Former President George H.W. Bush, who loves his socks, wore a pair yesterday adorning his own face.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell talks to "Outside" magazine about her experiences inside and outside of the office. She's climbed Antarctica's Vinson Massif and summated Mount Rainier seven times, but now she faces a very different uphill climb--a hostile Congress, recent government shutdown and President Obama's wavering commitment to environmental issues. But, as Obama notes, "For Sally, the toughest part of this job will probably be sitting behind a desk."