COLU @ CONCEPTS

  GOP revives struggling health care bill and plans House vote WASHINGTON (AP) — In a startling turnabout, Republicans say they are ready to push their prized health care bill through the House and claim a victory for President Donald Trump, six weeks after nearly leaving it for dead and days after support from GOP moderates seemed to crumble anew. House leaders planned a vote Thursday on the legislation, revamped since collapsing in March to attract most hard line conservatives and some GOP centrists. In a final tweak, leaders were adding a modest pool of money to help people with pre-existing medical conditions afford coverage, a concern that caused a near-fatal rebellion among Republicans in recent days.   White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer declined to say when a vote on an Obamacare replacement might happen, but he said the chances of a vote are, "greater and greater every day." (May 3) "We will pass this bill," House Majority Leader...

With book, Ivanka Trump must walk complicated ethical line WASHINGTON (AP) — With the publication of her new self-help book, Ivanka Trump must navigate complicated ethical territory. The focus of intense public interest, the first daughter and unpaid White House adviser has somewhat sought to limit her profile. But this week she came out with "Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success," a book that developed from a women-friendly marketing campaign by her lifestyle brand. While Trump has opted to donate proceeds to charity and avoid a publicity tour, the book has generated a rash of media coverage — and some fresh questions about whether she could profit from her rising profile, particularly as her name is synonymous with her brand. Ivanka Trump has stressed that the book is a personal project written before her father, Donald Trump, was elected president in November. Citing federal ethics rules, she has said she will not do a publicity tour or media appe...

  Praying for prosperity, Nepalis carry on ancient tradition KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The last time the five-story-high chariot crashed during Nepal's Rato Machindranath festival, participants knew something bad was coming. Months later, in February 2005, then-King Gyanendra seized absolute power, and the Himalayan nation was in the grip of political unrest, an escalating communist insurgency and a dwindling economy. This year, as workers from the ethnic Newar group finished building and decorating a new chariot, they hoped for good times ahead. The 15-meter (48-foot) tall wooden chariot, which began its annual monthlong procession on Sunday, is meant to please gods so they can provide for a generous rainfall, harvest and prosperity. "We have to build it strong so that it does not collapse. If anything happens to the chariot, there will be bad luck for the country," said Krishna Dangol, the latest in a generation of chariot builders. The Rato Machindra festi...

   Anger grows in South Korea over US anti-missile system   SEONGJU, South Korea (AP) — The anger is palpable on a narrow road that cuts through a South Korean village where about 170 people live between green hills dotted with cottages and melon fields. It's an unlikely trouble spot in the world's last Cold War standoff. Aging farmers in this corner of Seongju county, more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the capital Seoul, spend the day sitting by the asphalt in tents or on plastic stools, watching vehicles coming and going from a former golf course where military workers are setting up an advanced U.S. missile-defense system. "Just suddenly one day, Seongju has become the frontline," said a tearful Park Soo-gyu, a 54-year-old strawberry farmer. "Wars today aren't just fought with guns. Missiles will be flying and where would they aim first? Right here, where the THAAD radar is." THAAD is shorthand for Terminal High Altitude Def...

   Trump seeks steps from Abbas to promote peace with Israel WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will press Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to end payments to families of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails, according to U.S. officials, one of several actions Washington believes could lead to resumed peace talks with Israel. Other actions include a Palestinian end to anti-Israel rhetoric and incitement of violence, said officials familiar with planning for the meeting. It will be Trump and Abbas' first face-to-face discussion. The issue of stipends for families of Palestinians killed or jailed in the context of the conflict with Israel is sensitive. Israel considers such payments a reward for terrorists, but stopping them seems untenable to Abbas, especially at a time of broad Palestinian support for a mass hunger strike of prisoners held by Israel. American officials said such a request was raised in preparatory talks with Palestinian officials and thr...

  Government-wide spending bill headed for a House vote WASHINGTON (AP) — A government-wide spending bill that President Donald Trump seemed to criticize Tuesday morning but now calls "a clear win for the American people" is headed for a House vote. The House is scheduled to vote on the bipartisan $1.1 trillion measure Wednesday afternoon. It is a product of weeks of Capitol Hill negotiations in which top Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi successfully blocked Trump's most controversial proposals, including a down payment on the oft-promised Trump Mexico border wall, cuts to popular domestic programs, and new punishments for so-called sanctuary cities. The White House instead boasted of $15 billion in emergency funding to jumpstart Trump's promise to rebuild the military and an extra $1.5 billion for border security. "After years of partisan bickering and gridlock, this bill is a clear win for the American people," Trump said, c...

   No trial balloons: Trump flips script with startling ideas   WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington policymakers have a time-tested method for rolling out new ideas: float a trial balloon. Spread rumors of a policy change or selectively leak it to the press, then see how it plays and proceed only if it looks doable. President Donald Trump has flipped that script. Big and startling ideas fly out of his mouth or from his Twitter feed. Then the rest of his administration scrambles to catch up — and to figure out when his statements signal new presidential policies and when they're offhand remarks that mean little. In the past week alone, Trump has suggested he's open to higher gas taxes, tweeted that a government shutdown could be a good thing and called North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un a "smart cookie" whom he'd be honored to meet under the right conditions. Trump also invited Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte, with a troubling human rights record, to visit...