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Obama offers praise to outgoing HHS chief
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama praised outgoing Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for helping to steer his health-care law’s comeback after a rocky rollout, even as he nominated a successor aimed at helping the White House move past the political damage.
“Under Kathleen’s leadership, her team at HHS turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done,” Obama said Friday in a Rose Garden ceremony. “And the final score speaks for itself.”
Obama nominated his budget chief, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, to replace Sebelius, calling her “a proven manager” who knows how to get results.
Appeals court upholds ruling against SeaWorld
WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a regulatory safety finding against SeaWorld in the drowning of a trainer who was pulled under by a killer whale at the theme park.
In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court said SeaWorld’s challenge to the finding was unpersuasive and the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission was correct when it found that the SeaWorld park in Orlando, Fla., had violated a federal workplace safety law.
The court said SeaWorld had exposed trainers to recognized hazards when working in close contact with killer whales.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious harm.
Ukraine leader offers autonomy to regions
DONETSK, Ukraine – Ukraine’s prime minister went on a charm offensive Friday as he visited the country’s southeast, pledging to give regions more powers and to defend the rights of Russian speakers.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk met with regional officials who once opposed his new government in Kiev but not with protesters occupying government buildings in the cities of Donetsk or Luhansk. Still, he left it unclear how his ideas differed from the demands of the protesters or from Russia’s advocacy of federalization for Ukraine.
Another big earthquake rocks Nicaragua
MANAGUA, Nicaragua – A magnitude-6.6 earthquake shook Nicaragua on Friday afternoon, sending people running frightened into the streets less than 24 hours after a magnitude-6.1 quake rattled the country, the United States Geological Survey said.
There were no immediate reports of new casualties or serious damage, but the USGS said the quake was felt in El Salvador and neighboring Costa Rica.
The government raised the number of people injured in the Thursday evening quake from 23 to 200.
Associated Press
