NATO to Discuss Strengthening Greenland Security Amid Arctic Tensions 
Newly Released DOJ Epstein Files Expose High-Profile Connections Across Politics and Business 
Trump Intelligence Office Probes Puerto Rico Voting Machines Amid Election Security Concerns 
UAE Plans Temporary Housing Complex for Displaced Palestinians in Southern Gaza 
Trump Endorses Japan’s Sanae Takaichi Ahead of Crucial Election Amid Market and China Tensions 
UN Warns of Growing Nuclear Risks as New START Treaty Expires 
Trump Allegedly Sought Airport, Penn Station Renaming in Exchange for Hudson River Tunnel Funding 
U.S. Sanctions on Russia Could Expand as Ukraine Peace Talks Continue, Says Treasury Secretary Bessent 
U.S.–Iran Nuclear Talks Scheduled in Oman as Diplomatic Efforts Resume 
U.S. Justice Department Removes DHS Lawyer After Blunt Remarks in Minnesota Immigration Court 
Trump Endorses Clay Fuller in Georgia Special Election to Replace Marjorie Taylor Greene 
Nighttime Shelling Causes Serious Damage in Russia’s Belgorod Region Near Ukraine Border 
Trump Stays Neutral on 2028 GOP Successor as Vance and Rubio Emerge as Top Contenders 
Human Rights Watch Warns of Democratic Decline in U.S. Under Trump Administration 
Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks in Abu Dhabi Show Cautious Progress Amid Ongoing Fighting 
CK Hutchison Launches Arbitration After Panama Court Revokes Canal Port Licences 
Ukraine-Russia Talks Yield Major POW Swap as U.S. Pushes for Path to Peace 
The Biden administration this week proposed a new provision to the Affordable Care Act that would expand coverage to access birth control. The provision would be for women whose employers have opted out of contraceptive use on their health insurance on religious grounds.
On Monday, the Biden administration proposed a new rule under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, providing free access to birth control. The ACA requires private insurance plans to cover the recommended preventive services, including contraception, without patient cost-sharing. Current regulations grant exemptions based on moral or religious grounds.
The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that should the new provision be implemented, women that are enrolled in plans under the ACA would get birth control coverage regardless of employer exemption.
“Today’s proposed rule works to ensure that the tens of millions of women across the country who have and will benefit from the ACA will be protected. It says to women across the country, we have your back,” said HHS secretary Xavier Becerra.
In the current regulations, women enrolled in plans that do not cover contraception on moral or religious grounds can only access contraceptive services through an accommodation that employers can refuse to offer.
In the new rule, a provider would offer contraception to an employee at no cost and receive reimbursements from the insurer, who would receive credit from the government.
The new rule would also remove the employer’s moral objections as grounds for exemption from coverage but will keep religious objections in place.
The Biden administration also announced on Monday that it would end emergency COVID-19 declarations on May 11, almost three years after the country imposed sweeping pandemic restrictions in order to curb the spread of COVID-19.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly extended the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency that was implemented by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. The emergency allowed millions of Americans to gain free access to tests, vaccines, and treatments.
The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement that the declarations would be extended again until May 11 and then terminated. When the declaration expires, the costs for tests, vaccines, and treatments would be transferred to private insurance and government health plans.
