Articles by Jennifer Epstein and Toluse Olorunnipa

Harvey Update: Trump Vows Model Recovery; Thousands Rescued; Deaths, Costs Increasing

With Texas still being lashed by rain and rescues still underway, President Donald Trump vowed that the government’s response to Hurricane Harvey would serve as a model for disaster recovery. “We want to be looked at five years, 10 years …

Trump Orders U.S. Exit from Pacific Trade Pact and Reset on NAFTA

President Donald Trump abruptly ended the decades-old U.S. tilt toward free trade by signing an executive order to withdraw from an Asia-Pacific accord that was never ratified and promising to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. “Great thing for …

President Trump Expected to Target Immigration, Taxes, Trade, Affordable Care Act

Donald Trump’s surprise election Tuesday as U.S. president means the repudiation of Barack Obama’s legacy and a strong likelihood Republicans will undo many of his accomplishments, including Obamacare and trade deals, and seek tax cuts for the rich. While Trump …

Obama: Political Gridlock Worsens Obamacare Woes

President Barack Obama said his signature health-care law has “real problems” that have been exacerbated by congressional gridlock and political polarization. “They’re eminently fixable problems in terms of strengthening the marketplace, improving the subsidies so more folks can get it, …

Obama Vetoes Republicans’ Repeal of Affordable Care Act

President Barack Obama vetoed a measure to repeal most of his signature healthcare law on Friday, releasing a statement that extolled the virtues of his biggest domestic policy achievement while excoriating Republicans for trying to dismantle it. In a message …

U.S. Weighing Sanctions Against China for Hacking

A little more than a week before China’s leader arrives at the White House, President Barack Obama escalated the fight over cyberspace, saying the U.S. is readying measures to forcefully demonstrate that economic espionage won’t be tolerated. It was the …

Florida Gov. Scott Facing Rising Seas, Climate Change Politics

When Florida Governor Rick Scott won re-election Nov. 4, he triumphed over both his Democratic challenger and California billionaire Thomas Steyer, who spent $20 million painting him as a climate-change denier. Scott, a 61-year-old Republican who during the campaign deflected …

Florida Benefits As Yield-Thirsty Investors Line Up for Hurricane Bonds

In 2008, Florida’s government-run property insurer paid Warren Buffett $224 million to agree to buy its debt if a major storm struck. Six hurricane-free years later, the state is turning investors away. With hurricane season set to start June 1, …

Florida Home Foreclosure Rate Falls But Still Triple National Average

The residential foreclosure rate in Florida, which has the highest percentage of delinquent mortgages in the U.S., declined to 6.2 percent in January, according to a report by CoreLogic Inc. That’s down from 10.1 percent from a year earlier. Florida’s …

Flood Insurance Price Increases Affecting Home Sales

Rangel Dockery and her husband bought a waterfront house in Florida four months ago, assuming their $2,000-a-year flood-insurance premium would remain about the same. After reading recently about a change in the federal flood program, they checked on next year’s …