10 things you need to know today: March 25, 2017
House GOP cancels do-or-die health-care vote, President Trump blames Democrats for health-care bill failure, and more

- 1. House GOP cancels do-or-die health-care vote
- 2. President Trump blames Democrats for health-care bill failure
- 3. Democrats cheer GOP health-care implosion
- 4. White House 'agenda moves on' after health-care loss
- 5. Mosul assault paused over civilian casualty concerns
- 6. Manafort to testify before House in Russia investigation
- 7. 2 remain in custody in connection to London attack
- 8. Eric Trump to share 'quarterly' business updates with President Trump
- 9. Google to shutter Gchat
- 10. Florida bests Wisconsin in nail-biter 84-83 game

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
1. House GOP cancels do-or-die health-care vote
House Republican leadership pulled the American Health Care Act from the lower chamber floor Friday afternoon, backing out on a scheduled vote just moments before it was set to begin. House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a press conference Friday he recommended to President Trump that the bill be withdrawn, and Trump agreed. As many as 34 Republicans opposed the GOP-backed health-care bill ahead of Friday's vote; if the legislation lost more than 22 Republican votes, it would not have passed the House. Ryan said Friday the withdrawal means the GOP is "moving on" from the issue of health-care reform, echoing an ultimatum the president issued to House Republicans late Thursday: Pass this bill, or live with ObamaCare.
2. President Trump blames Democrats for health-care bill failure
President Trump told reporters Friday afternoon the de facto defeat of the American Health Care Act was "perhaps the best thing that could have happened." ObamaCare is "exploding," Trump argued, and the real "losers" are House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who "own ObamaCare." Trump ultimately blamed "no votes from the Democrats" for the bill's demise, despite the fact that more than enough Republicans to sink the bill were also opposed. Several members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which was prominent among the AHCA's GOP critics, on Friday pointed instead to the president's rushed timeline and uncompromising attitude as the source of the bill's failure.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
3. Democrats cheer GOP health-care implosion
Democratic leaders were gleeful Friday over the implosion of the GOP's American Health Care Act. The bill's de facto loss is "a victory ... for the American people" and a "great day for America," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), "for our seniors, for people with disabilities, for our children, for our veterans." New Jersey's Sen. Bob Menendez (D) took to Twitter to assure Republicans "that burn is covered under the Affordable Care Act," while the House Democratic Caucus tweeted a snarky gif of a building being demolished.
4. White House 'agenda moves on' after health-care loss
The Trump administration is ready to move on to addressing tax policy after the downfall of the health-care plan it supported, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Friday. Trump is "disappointed" by the loss, Spicer conceded, but is now motivated by "a desire to do fundamental tax reform, something we haven't seen since 1986," Spicer told Fox News. "The agenda moves on." Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chair of the House tax committee, affirmed he is prepared "to work with the administration to get this done." The health-care bill failure "made a big challenge more challenging," he said, "but it's not insurmountable."
5. Mosul assault paused over civilian casualty concerns
U.S.-supported Iraqi forces paused their fight to retake the Islamic State-occupied portion of the city of Mosul on Saturday in response to concerns about a high civilian casualty rate. "The recent high death toll among civilians inside the Old City forced us to halt operations to review our plans," said a representative of the Iraqi troops. "It's a time for weighing new offensive plans and tactics. No combat operations are to go on." At least 200 people were reportedly killed in a single U.S. coalition airstrike in Mosul, and the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights counts an unconfirmed 700 civilian deaths attributable to coalition strikes and forces since the siege on the western half of the city began in mid-February.
6. Manafort to testify before House in Russia investigation
House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Friday announced President Trump's former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, offered to be interviewed over ongoing questions about Trump campaign staff's alleged collusion with Russia. FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Mike Rogers have also been asked to return for a private, classified interview with the committee, Nunes added. Ranking member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) lashed out at the decision to make the hearing private, slamming Nunes for an "attempt to choke off public info" and speculating the decision was made at the White House's behest. A poll released Friday found most Americans prefer an independent investigation.
7. 2 remain in custody in connection to London attack
Two men remain in custody Saturday for questioning in connection to the deadly attack at Westminster Bridge in London on Wednesday. The attacker, a 52-year-old English native born Adrian Russell Ajao but known as Khalid Masood, was fatally shot by police at the scene of the crime. Police are now investigating whether Masood "acted totally alone inspired by terrorist propaganda, or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him." The two men currently detained were among 11 people arrested so far; of the others, seven have been released without charges and two women have been released on bail.
8. Eric Trump to share 'quarterly' business updates with President Trump
President Trump will receive regular updates on his family business, his son Eric Trump indicated in an interview with Forbes published Friday. While maintaining he is "deadly serious" about avoiding any conflicts of interest, Eric also revealed he is keeping his father apprised of some business matters. "Yeah, on the bottom line, profitability reports, and stuff like that, but you know, that's about it," Eric said, noting the updates would likely be "quarterly." President Trump previously indicated he would not talk to his sons about the business at all.
9. Google to shutter Gchat
Google announced Friday it will shutter its beloved Google Talk service this summer. All remaining clients using Google Talk — colloquially known as "Gchat" — will be transitioned to the newer communications app, Hangouts, by June 26. Google Talk was created in 2005 as a way for Gmail users to exchange instant messages, but in 2013 the company began prompting users to switch to Hangouts, a more modern and integrated messaging system. Users still communicating over Google Talk will receive prompts to voluntarily switch to Hangouts in the coming weeks, but any remaining holdouts will be automatically transitioned.
10. Florida bests Wisconsin in nail-biter 84-83 game
The Florida Gators bested the Wisconsin Badgers in a nail-biter 84-83 game of the NCAA basketball tournament's Sweet 16 round late Friday night. After lagging behind Wisconsin for the first half of the game, the Gators pulled ahead for much of the second half. A concerted comeback by the Badgers produced a tied game with just four seconds left on the overtime clock when Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes scored two points. The game seemed finished — until Florida's Chris Chiozza sprinted down the court to make a running 3-pointer just as the buzzer rang out in Madison Square Garden. Florida will next face South Carolina on Sunday.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
China: a superpower’s slump
The Explainer After 40 years of explosive growth, China’s economy is now in deep distress — with no turnaround in sight
By The Week Staff Published
-
Retirees’ biggest surprise expense
Feature And more of the week's best financial insight
By The Week Staff Published
-
The United Auto Workers’ strike has put Democrats in a bind
Feature President Biden will have to pick a side in the dispute
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 23 September 2023
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
By The Week Staff Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 22, 2023
Daily Briefing Zelenskyy visits Washington as Biden unveils more Ukraine aid, Rupert Murdoch steps down at Fox and News Corp., and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 21, 2023
Daily Briefing Biden extends temporary protections to 470,000 Venezuelans, Republicans grill Garland on Biden and Trump investigations, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 20, 2023
Daily Briefing Zelenskyy, Biden urge UN members to oppose Russian aggression, hardline Republicans block spending bill as shutdown looms, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 19, 2023
Daily Briefing Iran, US swap prisoners in a complex deal, Canada accuses India of role in Sikh leader's assassination, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 18, 2023
Daily Briefing Protesters call for ending fossil fuel ahead of UN meetings, Trump doesn't 'even think' about going to jail, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 15, 2023
Daily Briefing A grand jury indicts Hunter Biden on gun charges, House defense spending bill stalls as shutdown looms, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
10 things you need to know today: September 14, 2023
Daily Briefing Mitt Romney says he won't run for a second Senate term, Pennsylvania police capture an escaped murderer, and more
By Harold Maass Published