No ACA rewrite, shutdown shunned

Republicans, again, didn't have enough votes Thursday night to rewrite the ACA, likely preventing a government shutdown.

WaPo's KELSEY SNELL/PAUL KANE: "Despite pressure from the White House, House GOP leaders determined Thursday night that they don't have the votes to pass a rewrite of the Affordable Care Act and will not seek to put their proposal on the floor on Friday."

"A late push to act on health care had threatened the bipartisan deal to keep the government open for one week while lawmakers crafted a longer-term spending deal. Now, lawmakers are likely to approve the spending bill when it comes to the floor Friday and keep the government open past midnight."

"The failure of GOP leaders to summon enough support for a renewed health-care push is evidence of just how difficult it is to overhaul Obamacare, despite seven years of GOP promises to repeal and replace the 2010 law. Conservatives and moderates have repeatedly clashed over what legislation should look like, most sharply over bringing down insurance premiums in exchange for sharply limiting what kind of coverage is required to be offered."

READ MORE related to Beltway: Shutdown likely averted as GOP backs off health-care push -- WaPo's KELSEY SNELL/PAUL KANE/ED O'KEEFE; Has the 9th Circuit gone 'bananas'? And can Trump break it up? -- LA Times' MAURA DOLAN

Meanwhile, economic growth greatly slowed in the first quarter -- a trend continuing from 2016.

Yahoo's MYLES UDLAND: "In the first quarter, fixed investment added 1.62% to GDP growth, led by nonresidential (read: business) fixed investment, which added 1.12%. An inventory drawdown during the quarter took 0.93% off GDP growth. Government spending subtracted 0.3% from growth, during the quarter, while imports too 0.61% off GDP. The net of exports minus imports added 0.07% to GDP."

“The increase in real GDP in the first quarter reflected positive contributions from nonresidential fixed investment, exports, residential fixed investment, and personal consumption expenditures, that were offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment, state and local government spending, and federal government spending,” according to the BEA."
 

“Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased. The deceleration in real GDP in the first quarter reflected a deceleration in PCE and downturns in private inventory investment and in state and local government spending that were partly offset by an upturn in exports and accelerations in both nonresidential and residential fixed investment.”

A candidate in the LA Council race has lost support after posting racial and other slurs online, but he declines to quit.

Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU: "Los Angeles City Council hopeful Joe Bray-Ali vowed Thursday to forge ahead with his bid for a seat representing northeast Los Angeles and MacArthur Park, despite mounting backlash over offensive remarks he made more than a year ago in an online discussion board."

"One of the biggest blows to Bray-Ali’s campaign came from seven of his potential colleagues on the City Council who took the unusual step Thursday evening of demanding the candidate drop out of the race. The councilmembers, who include Council President Herb Wesson, joined progressive organization Courage Campaign and other groups in pressuring Bray-Ali to halt his bid."

"Bray-Ali, a bicycle activist and businessman, appeared in a live Facebook video posted Wednesday evening seeking to explain online comments he made in a forum called Voat, in which he used the term “n*****” and disparaged people who are transgender and obese." 

READ MORE related to Local: LA City Council candidate loses endorsements over his comments on provocative website -- LA Times' NINA AGRAWAL; Can California become a player in presidential nominations -- Sacramento Bee's DAN WALTERS

The LAPD has issued a stern warning about Mayor Garcetti's upcoming budget: The impact to public safety will be harsh.

LA Times' DAVID ZAHNISER/KATE MATHER: "The union that represents Los Angeles police officers launched a broadside against Mayor Eric Garcetti’s budget on Thursday, warning that the spending plan will divert funds away from neighborhood patrols and to the policing of Metro buses and trains."

"Garcetti’s budget proposal for 2017-18 calls for $121 million for sworn-officer overtime, up from the $90 million planned in the current year. But about a third of the money would go to patrol the county’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which signed a contract with the Los Angeles Police Department earlier this year."

"In a letter to the City Council, the Los Angeles Police Protective League said the reduction in overtime hours for non-Metro duties would leave the LAPD with fewer officers to respond to neighborhood-level crime. Union leaders contend the shift would also increase police response times and leave some non-emergency calls unanswered altogether."

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Protesters upended expectations at Berkeley's Ann Coulter protest Thursday by resorting to shouting matches instead of violence.

LA Times' PAIGE ST JOHN/VERONICA ROCHA/CORINA KNOLL: "Authorities expected violence. They issued warnings to those in the Berkeley area to steer clear of the fray. Behind face shields and helmets, they lined the streets, girding themselves for disorder."

"But Thursday’s anticipated showdown incited by an invitation for Ann Coulter to speak at the campus turned out to be more of a shouting match than a melee, with little physical confrontation."

"A day earlier, Coulter announced she would bow out of an appearance planned at UC Berkeley that had incited protests. Free speech, the conservative commentator declared, had been “crushed by thugs.”