Scripps Howard Archives

Emily interned for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 2012.

Breast cancer survivors forge bond through dragon boat racing

Originally published in the Washington Post Local Living section. An alternate version was posted on shfwire.com.

The women on GoPink!DC stretch before getting in the boat. Before every race, they adorn the boat with a dragon head and tail, a tradition that originated in China. Photo by Emily Siner

The first time Gail Messier saw a dragon, she was lying on a thin, hard table in a hospital room. A machine hovered over her chest. It was huge and smooth and radiated over her body with an invisible heat that made her raw.

Chemotherapy, surgery and now radiation — her treatment hurt, but it was saving her life. It was like a dragon, she imagined. And she was a warrior, slaying her breast cancer with it.Read More »Breast cancer survivors forge bond through dragon boat racing

Election, sequestration bring uncertainty to Va. county’s growing economy

Originally published on shfwire.com for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire

Jacquie Lopez owns Cock & Bowl, a 2-year-old European bistro in Old Town Occoquan.

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – It was a particularly mild Friday, and Jacquie Lopez was sitting outside of the restaurant she and her husband own. A ukulele player strummed a Sara Bareilles cover to entertain the handful of customers lunching on pommes frites and tomato-basil quiche. Live music, French food, black-and-white-checkered tablecloths – this is her American dream.Read More »Election, sequestration bring uncertainty to Va. county’s growing economy

Environmental officials examine Clean Air Act from state perspective

Originally published in the Anderson Independent Mail and on shfwire.com for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire.

Air quality officials Thomas Easterly, left, of Indiana, Brad Poirez, of Southern California, and Robert King, of South Carolina, tell a House subcommittee Tuesday that states need more flexibility to enforce the Clean Air Act. Photo by Emily Siner

A South Carolina health official joined his counterparts from across the country this week and said that the Clean Air Act should be amended to give state and local governments more authority.

Robert King, deputy commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, was one of eight air quality officials who spoke Tuesday at a congressional forum hosted by Rep. Edward Whitfield, R-Ky., chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.Read More »Environmental officials examine Clean Air Act from state perspective

U.S. has moral obligation to prevent genocide, Clinton says

Originally published on shfwire.com for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

WASHINGTON – Two-thirds of Americans believe that genocide is preventable, and 78 percent support U.S. military action in stopping genocide or mass atrocities, according to a poll released Tuesday by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the United States has a moral obligation to fight genocide through “prevention and partnership.” She spoke at a symposium hosted by the Holocaust Museum.Read More »U.S. has moral obligation to prevent genocide, Clinton says

Obama welcomes Baylor, NCAA women’s basketball champions

Originally published on shfwire.com for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire.

Obama welcomed the NCAA champions to the White House and praised team members for their community work. Photo by Emily Siner

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama filled out his bracket for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in March with Baylor University’s Lady Bears as the winning team.

Four months later, he congratulated the NCAA champions in person at the White House.Read More »Obama welcomes Baylor, NCAA women’s basketball champions

In a two-party country, one presidential hopeful faces steep odds

Originally published on shfwire.com.

Gary Johnson doesn’t agree with Barack Obama or Mitt Romney on most things, and he certainly doesn’t agree that either of them should be president. The best one for the job, he believes, is himself.

He’s running as a Libertarian, and that means one thing in American politics: A lot of people who might agree with him just won’t vote for him.Read More »In a two-party country, one presidential hopeful faces steep odds

Supreme Court upholds health-care law

Originally posted on shfwire.com for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire. Photos by Maddie Meyer.

A Tea Party protester rallies the outside the Supreme Court on Thursday. He was joined by hundreds of people voicing support or calling for the act’s repeal. Photo by Maddie Meyer

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Barack Obama’s key domestic policy, the Affordable Care Act, is largely constitutional.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts joined the 5-4 decision upholding most of the law. He wrote the majority opinion.

In the complex 193-page opinion , the justices primarily addressed the individual mandate and the expansion of the Medicaid program. Both issues were brought to the court on the grounds that Congress overreached its constitutional power to compel citizens and states to buy insurance or create new programs.Read More »Supreme Court upholds health-care law

Why I understood the Supreme Court decision better than CNN and FOX did

Originally posted on shfwire.com for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire.

The plaza in front of the Supreme Court draws a crowd Thursday, the day the court delivered its opinion on the health-care law. Photos by Maddie Meyer

If I had been following the health-care story from my office Thursday at 10 a.m., I would have been tracking Twitter, watching CNN and reloading the New York Times home page non-stop until I found out real updates. I would have shouted the headlines I found to everyone around me. And, of course, I would have then tried to figure out which headline had the right information.

Instead, I was in a room without my cell phone, laptop or any electronic device, and I wasn’t allowed to talk. No, I was not in a prison cell – I was inside the Supreme Court, listening to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. give the decision of the majority of justices.Read More »Why I understood the Supreme Court decision better than CNN and FOX did