For millions of people below the poverty line, no assistance for health insurance will be available in states that have refused to expand Medicaid.    

The recent attacks seem to be aimed at sabotage rather than stealing information, United States officials say.    

The people of the Oklahoma town where a deadly tornado struck could use just about everything — cleaning supplies, food, water, shelter.

Thirteen-year-old Halle Carr thought residents of her hometown could also use a hug after the twister Monday that killed 24 people in Moore.

Halle has been standing on a corner with a white sign that reads: "Need a hug? I am here!" And people are taking her up on the offer.

On Friday, people in work trucks, cars and vans loaded with belongings rolled down their windows and reached out their arms to the girl. Some shouted words of encouragement.

Halle said it makes her feel good to spread a little cheer. She said she'll come out every day, as long as she thinks she's needed.

Three men accused of fatally stabbing five people at a Denver bar that authorities say was set on fire to cover up the killings have pleaded not guilty.

Dexter Lewis and brothers Joseph and Lynell Hill each face multiple counts, including first-degree murder, felony murder, robbery and arson stemming from the attack last October. They pleaded not guilty Friday.

Prosecutors have until July 26 to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

Investigators allege the men went to Fero's Bar & Grill intent on robbery. They were arrested after an informant for the federal government in another case told authorities he was with the men during at least part of the attack. A defense lawyer in the case has questioned the informant's credibility.

A vote by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg for a failed control gun bill gained him allies for the first credible bill in years to revamp the nation’s outmoded chemical safety law.    

Three men accused of fatally stabbing five people at a Denver bar that authorities say was set on fire to cover up the killings have pleaded not guilty.

Dexter Lewis and brothers Joseph and Lynell Hill each face multiple counts, including first-degree murder, felony murder, robbery and arson stemming from the attack last October. They pleaded not guilty Friday.

Prosecutors have until July 26 to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

Investigators allege the men went to Fero's Bar & Grill intent on robbery. They were arrested after an informant for the federal government in another case told authorities he was with the men during at least part of the attack. A defense lawyer in the case has questioned the informant's credibility.

Republicans are locked in a growing dispute over future budget negotiations, splitting along generational and ideological lines on the party’s approach to dealing with the federal debt.    

The engineer of the commuter train that derailed last week in Connecticut observed an "unusual condition" on the track before the wreck, federal officials said Friday without explaining what the condition was, though they did say repair work was done last month in the area of the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board has previously ruled out foul play but it has not yet determined a cause of the May 17 crash that injured more than 70 people and disrupted service for days on the railroad used by tens of thousands of commuters north of New York City.

But the NTSB did say Friday that a joint bar, used to hold two sections of rail together, had been cracked and repaired last month and that rail sections in the area of the derailment have been shipped to Washington for further examination. Adam Lisberg, an Metropolitan Transit Authority spokesman, said the joint bar was replaced.

Metro-North railroad is conducting an inspection and inventory of all the joint bars on its main tracks, NTSB said.

The eastbound train from New York City derailed during evening rush hour in Bridgeport, came to a stop and was struck about 20 seconds later by a westbound train, NTSB said. The westbound engineer applied the emergency brakes before striking the eastbound train, NTSB said.

The eastbound engineer told investigators he saw an unusual condition on the track as he approached the area, NTSB said.

It's not clear what caused the crash but repair work done in the area weeks before it may have weakened the track, George Cahill, an attorney representing six Metro-North workers injured in the crash, said this week. He also expressed concern that wheels on the new trains were too tight.

NTSB said it has completed the on-scene phase of the investigation and will now analyze the information gathered. Investigators have collected photos, video and other evidence, completed mechanical inspections of the rail cars, the track and signal system, interviewed employees, witnesses and first responders and documented the accident site, NTSB said.

Attorneys for a 65-year-old woman injured in the crash said they have filed a lawsuit alleging negligence by Metro-North.

Attorney Joel Faxon said the suit was filed Friday in federal court in Bridgeport to gain access to witnesses and allow victims and their families to be involved in the investigation. He said it was the first federal lawsuit stemming from crash.

He said his client, Elizabeth Sorensen of Bridgeport, remains in critical condition with a brain injury and multiple bone fractures.

A Metro-North spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly gay youths as members, while continuing its policy of excluding openly gay adult leaders.    

The ruling handed down by a federal judge is peppered with stinging criticism of the policies and practices of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, saying the sheriff relied on racial profiling and illegal detentions.    

A man who wears thong underwear and a cape while riding his scooter through Wisconsin's capital city may be a strange sight. But police say he isn't breaking any laws.

Earlier this month, staff at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Madison called authorities after the man rode by in his unmentionables while students were walking to a bus.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain tells the Wisconsin State Journal (http://bit.ly/12BOaeP ) that a sergeant had a chat with the person police call Thong Cape Scooter Man. He admitted he used poor judgment in going past the school but said he did it unintentionally.

The city attorney told police the man broke no laws.

So it seems Thong Cape Scooter Man is free to ride on.

___

Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj

With the exit of P&G's CEO, Bill Ackman collected another big-game trophy. How's his fund doing? Let's check the score.

Despite President Obama’s conciliatory gesture of a review of Justice Department investigations involving journalists, some reporters say that chill has already set in.    

The collapse on Interstate 5 came as politicians had been wrestling over the millions needed to replace another aging bridge over the Columbia River.    

A man who put aside his Big Mac to help rescue three women held captive in a Cleveland house says he's not endorsing a group of restaurants offering him free burgers for life.

The restaurant where Charles Ramsey worked as a dishwasher initially created a burger named in his honor. Then more than a dozen area eateries decided a larger tribute was due.

Ramsey says in a written statement released through his attorney on Friday he doesn't endorse the northeast Ohio restaurants that are offering burgers bearing his name or promoting a lifetime of free burgers for him.

The restaurant group tells The Plain Dealer newspaper it will drop the Ramsey burger from the menu. It says it's saddened he isn't taking the offer in the spirit intended.

Taking America off “perpetual war footing,” as the president proposes to do, will not be a simple task.    

Visa and MasterCard asked a judge to declare that credit-card fees paid by retailers are legal.

An elite New York City prep school has apologized for sexual abuse perpetrated by teachers and administrators over a three-decade span.

The apology was made in a letter posted on The Horace Mann School's website Friday.

Board Chairman Steven Friedman and Head of School Thomas Kelly wrote that the "unconscionable betrayals of trust never should have happened."

The letter also said the school's board would eliminate a board position of trustee emeritus and create an advisory board on student safety.

They said a private mediation report produced 31 impact statements by abused students and that settlements had been reached "with the great majority" of those cases.

In April the Bronx district attorney's office said the statute of limitations to prosecute suspected sexual abuse had expired.

Lt. Phillip Wise of the Bethany Police Department followed the tornado so he could pull survivors from the wreckage in Oklahoma.    

At least seven people have reported complications after being injected with a potentially contaminated medication made in a pharmacy in Tennessee, federal and state health officials said.