Headlines

• The Supreme Court upheld the vast majority of the health law on June 28th
• The Medicaid portion of the ruling does not interfere with the enactment of most of the law

Washington, July 4 (DP.net).─ In 2010, Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable CareAct in order to increase the number of Americans covered by health insurance and decrease the cost of health care. One key provision is the individual mandate, which requires most Americans to maintain "minimum essential" health insurance coverage. (26 U. S. C. §5000A).

For individuals who are not exempt, and who do not receive health insurance through an employer or government program, the means of satisfying the requirement is to purchase insurance from a private company.

On June 28, 2012, Chief Justice Roberts announced the judgement of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court on these terms:

"Today we resolve constitutional challenges to two provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010: the individual mandate, which requires individuals to purchase a health insurance policy providing a minimum level of coverage; and the Medicaid expansion, which gives funds to the States on the condition that they provide specified health care to all citizens whose income falls below a certain threshold. We do not consider whether the Act embodies sound policies. That judgment is entrusted to the Nation's elected leaders. We ask only whether Congress has the power under the Constitution to enactthe challenged provisions."

Polonium was found to have caused the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London (2006) two years after Arafat died

Bern, July 4.─ Scientists in Switzerland claim to have found traces of polonium in the effects of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Test results presented in a television documentary for Al Jazeera showed his clothes, toothbrush and headscarf exhibited surprisingly high levels of the poisonous element.

• Steps down after 18 days of demonstrations
  VicePresident Suleiman reads on TV short statement on resignation
  

Cairo, Feb.11.─ Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt and handed power to the military, bowing to the demands of protesters who have occupied central Cairo for the past three weeks demanding an end to his 30-year rule. Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement in a statement on state television today. Bloomberg's Margaret Brennan and Lara Setrakian report on Video.

The 30-second statement on state television was read by Vice President Omar Suleiman at 6:02 p.m. local time: