Trending News Today: Senate Delays Vote on Healthcare Bill

GOP Senate leaders have chosen to delay the vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) because Sen John McCain (R-AZ) will be recovering from surgery, according to Politico. At this time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is unable to give a concrete plan for rescheduling the vote, according to the article. While some lawmakers are hopeful McCain will have a recovery period of 1 week, others are skeptical that anything longer could thwart efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Moderate Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) recently said that up to 10 GOP legislators have major concerns about the BCRA, which could cause the bill to be blocked, according to Reuters. Collins is the second senator to oppose the bill outright. Since Republicans can only afford to lose 1 more vote, additional opposition could stop healthcare reform, even with a “yes” vote from Vice President Mike Pence.

It is widely thought that replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners could result in weight loss due to less caloric intake; however, results from a new study indicate that there is no link between aspartame and sucralose and weight loss, NPR reported. The data also suggests that individuals who consume artificial sweeteners are more likely to have health problems in the future, according to the study.