anchor: u.s. lawmakers have voteted narrowly to repeal barak obama's affordable health care act, also known as obamacare. against inor, 213 the republican-controlled house of representatives. the bill must now go to the senate. reviewing obamacare was a key campaign pledge for president donald ramotar -- repealing obamacare was a key campaign pledge for president donald trump.

the american medical association has criticized this new bill, saying that millions of people will lose their coverage. white house correspondent philip crowther explains just how close today's vote was. philip: it is a tight vote. all democrats decided to vote against this bill and 20 republicans also decided to vote against it. these are largely republicans who are in districts where in 2018 when the midterm elections come along, they might be in a little bit of danger if this doesn't work out for them. in other words, if a lot of americans do end up losing their health insurance, because of this bill, if indeed it makes it to the senate and is validated by the senate and is been signed into law by the president. -- and is then signed into law by the president. the previous version of this bill was going to lead to 14 million americans losing the health insurance by 2018. that was according to the cbo.

for this one, the one that has just been voted through, there actually isn't a score from the congressional budget office. that is how quickly republican leaders decided to put it on the house floor to get this successful vote that has just come through. let me tell you what republicans are doing right now. they are literally getting into boxes up on capitol hill. they will be best to the white house for a victory lap for this already underway -- that is already underway. u.s. president trump will be waiting for them in the rose garden of the white house, at least those were willing to be there with him and don't think that being seen with him might hurt their reelection chances in 2018. the victory lap, very much underway here in washington, for republicans. democrats, of course, do not like this vote at all and hope the senate will not follow suit. laura: some people might be scratching their heads. a republican presidentnt in the white house, republican-controlled congress. why is it so difficult for trump

to get through a piece of legislation that was really key to his campaign? absolutely right. this was one of his biggest campaign promises. obamacare or the affordable care act, as it is officially called, has given health insurance to a lot of americans who simply didn't have it before and who are happy to have it. also, obamacare is popular right now in the united states, more so than it was a few years ago, hence why so many republicans in the u.s. congress were so unclear about whether they were going to vote for this yes or no. in the end, there had to be all sorts of little changes to this one bill for it to get through. just a few examples for you, those with pre-existing conditions, well, they have some sort of coverage now still under this new bill, if indeed it turns into a law. all sorts of details have been changed, but you're absolutely right, it has been a real

struggle for republicans to get this done, despite the fact that they control the white house right now and the house of representatives, where the spill has just gone through -- where this bill has just gone through, and the senate, where it is headed next. laura: a police officer and 17-year-old protester have died following the latest violence in venezuela. shortages of food and other basic supplies are driving near daily protests across the country. at least 35 people have died in the last month. embattled president t nicolas maduro refuses to hold earlier elections. the recently announced plans to amend the constitution without consulting the opposition-dominated parliament. france, a day after they clashed in a brutal television debate, presidential candidates marine le pen and emmanuel macron are out meeting the voters. tomorrow will be the final day of campaigning before the runoff vote. hostile reception for le pen today, who had eggs thrown at her by angry crowds in a village

where she was visiting. macron visited a flask -- glassworks factory. macron'stile to economic programs -- they are hostile to macron's economic program. translating] i respect men and women who have traditional ideologies. i don't agree with them, but he won't stop me from working with them. -- but it won't stop me from working with them. there will be discussions on labor issues. it is just that our country needs to go forward. we are the only country in the eu that hasn't managed to solve the problem of unemployment. laura: he might not have won macron hasions, but the support of the former president of the united states, barack obama, explaining hiss reasons for supporting the centrist earlier today. theobama: i have admired campaign that emmanuel macron has run. he has stood up for liberal values.

he put forward a vision for the important role that france plays in europe and around the world, and he is committed to a better future for the french people. he appeals to people's h hopes and not their fears. anand i enjoyed speaking to him recentntly to hear about his independent movement and his vision for the future e of fran. i know that y you face many challenges, and i want all of my friends inin france to know how much i am rooting fofor your success. because of how important this election is, i also want you to know that i am supporting emmanuel macron to lead you forward. [speaking french] tuned 16.5 million people in to watch last night's encounter between macro and le pen. according to a poll, most viewers thought macro and came off best -- macron came off best. fact checkers accused le e pen f misleading the public.

le pen implied macron held an offshore bank account, something he strongly denies. andrew: what started online as an accusation is now in the hands of rage prosecutors -- of french prosecutors. it was repeated by marine le pen during her televised clash with emmanuel macron. [translating] i hope we won't discover you have an offshore account in the bahamas. andrew: this can be traced back to a right-wing site, which published what it claimed was a document that supposedly proved emmanuel macron had an offshore account in the bahamas. the document was then picked up by users on the internet forum 4 chan, before it was spread by hundreds of russia-linked twitter accounts with the #bahamas,macron and but it's authenticity was immediately called -- but its

authenticity was immediately called into question. macron himself was quick to quash the allegation. translating] i've never had an account in any type of tax haven whatsoever. this is typical of what we call "fake news." she has troops on the internet preparing the groundwork. andrew: his campaign team has filed the complaint. prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into whether fake news is being used to influence the vote. laura: an afghan warlord has returned to kabul six months after signing a peace deal with the government. hekmatyar is an islamist and is accused of carrying out numerous atrocities as the head of an islamic group. now he's calling on the taliban to join him for peace talks with the government. >> returning to kabul after more than two decades in exile, decked out with flags, flowersr,

and machine guns, the convoy carrying the afghan warlord, hekmatyar, was joined by hundreds of supporters. >> all the leaders are to be blamed for the destruction of kabul, but he has come back here for peace. that's good news for us. if peace restores the whole nation, we will be happy. reporter: once known as the butcher of cabell -- kabul, hekmatyar leads the country's second largegest militant group and was accused of numumerous atrocities during the bloody civil war of the 1990's. his bombardment of kabul led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. at the end of the conflict, hekmatyar was forced from the city by the taliban. his return hasn't been universally welcomed. >> residence of cabell -- kabul who have lost family members because of the rockets you fired on the city are not happy about him returning to kabul. >reporter: hekmatyar signed a

peace deal with the afghan government last september, pledging to abandon violence and accept the constitution. he is not the first warlord to be granted immunity for past crimes, a policy that has been strongly condemned by human rights groups and the survivors of the civil war. people are voting today in algeria, where the party that has ruled the country since independence is expected to win another five years in power. hundreds o of seats in the people's national assembly are up for grabs this thursday, but turnout is expected to be low. more than half of algeria's 30, and many under people say they feel little connection to their politicians. the country's elderly president was reelected back in 2014. he has been in power now for nearly two decades.

queen elizabeth's husband prince philip is stepping down from his royal duties, following an announcement by buckingham palace. the duke of edinburgh turns 96 next month. he will honor engagements between now and august, but then bow out of his public life for good. reporter: at nearly 96 years old, with 65 years of royal appearances under his belt, prince philip is set to retire. the buckingham palace statement made no mention of his health, but said he continues to carry out public engagements until september. during an appearance at the london critic club, the duke of edinburgh. to be in high spirits -- duke of edinburgh appeared to be in high spirits. >> [inaudible] reporter: described by the queen strenght all these years -- as "my strength all these years." he joined the british royal navy

in 1939 and served in world war ii. he caught the attention of elizabeth when she visited the britannia royal naval college. two years after the war, they married and he was forced to abandon his career to support his wife in her role as queen. famed for his humor, but also his gaffes, the duke has made off-the-cucuff remarks.. hehe speaks his mind, but has beeeen done up a few times y the memedia with criticism, some justifified, some not.. >> i hope for hihis grandchchiln to have as much humor as he does. reporter: the duke of edinburgh will continue to be associated with some 780 organizations as patron or president, though he will no longer play an active role in them. the queen, now 91, has indicated that she has no plans to retire. laura: time for a quick reminder

of our top stories this hour. u.s. lawmakers have voted to scrap obamacare. the republican-dominated house of representatives has voted narrowly to repeal the bill, but it must now be approveved by the senate. if successful, it will be president donald ramotar's first -- donald trump's first major piece of legislation. the day after the first major has --g debate, macron change inns for algeria are low as the country holds parliamentary elections. the ruling party has held power for the last six decades and is expected to maintain its grip on the national assembly. those are our top stories this hour. let's get some business news for you. kate moody is with us in the studio. starting with a look at the markets, which have been affected by the vote i was just talking about on health care.

kate: that's because it is seen as a crucial legislative test for president donald trump. when he failed to push his first failed -- first attempt through congress, stocks fell, because it was seen as a sign that he might struggle to get other business-friendly policies passed into law, things like reforming taxes and loosening regulations. the second attempt appears to have been a success for his party. it has pushed stocks upwards. investors hope he will have the cloud to get some of those other -- clout to get some of those other policies moved ahead. stocks are paring back from earlier steeper losses we saw in the session. the dow jones down about 0.1%. european investors meanwhile were tuning into wednesday's debate between macron and le pen in france. they rose on what was seen as a strong performance by their preferred candidate. cac 40 jumping 1.3% in thursday trade.

dax not far from 1%. investors are widely rooooting r a victory by the centrist newcomer, macron, because he is seen as the less radical of the two and his policies would pose the least risisk to the euro zo. we'll prices have plunged to their lowest levels in five months this thursday -- oil prices have plunged to their lowest levels in five months this thursday. this as u.s. stockpiles fell less than expected, reinforcing concerns about oversupply and whether opec will extend its production freeze past its june deadline. puerto rico has effectively filed for bankruptcy protection under a little used federal law for insolvent u.s. territories. the island has struggled for years, with more than $120 billion in debt and pension obligations. and lawsuits from its creditors have finally prompted the government to seek protection. order reagan's have been dealing with cuts to pay and pensions -- puerto ricans have been dealing with cuts to pay and pensions.

nearly 45% of the population lives below thehe p poverty lin. many are seeking to migrate to the mainland u.s. the u.s. supreme court will now a sign a court to handle the case. laura:, we are to go back to washington dc -- laura: we are going to go back to washington, d.c. president trump is about to speak. his first major piece of legislation. there he is, shaking hands with paul ryan, the speaker of the house, and other senators, who have been bust over to the white house -- bussed over to the white house for the celebration. let's take a listen. president -- >> speaker ryan, majority leader mccarthy, majority whip scalise, chairwoman mcmorris rodgers, chairman brady, chairman walden, chairwoman black, congressman macarthur, congressman meadows, and all the

principled members of congress who are standing with us here today, on behalf of president donald trump and the first family, welcome to the white house. [applause] and thanks to the leadership of president donald trump, welcome to the beginning of the end of obamacare. [cheers and applause] it was march, 2010, seven years ago, democrats passed a government takeover of health care and at that time, republicans in congress, promised the american people that law would not stand. today, thanks to the perseverance, the determination, and the leadership of president donald trump and all the support

of those gathered here, we have taken a historic first step to repeal and replace obamacare and finally give the american people the kind of health care they deserve. [applause] so, today, with heartfelt gratitude for all he has done to keep his word to the american do to and for all he will continue to make america great andn, it is my high honor distinct privilege to introduce to you the president of the united states of america, president donald trump. [applause] president trump: thank you. thank you. thank you, mike.

[cheers and applause] group.the thank you. thank you very much. this really is the group. what a great group of people. and they are not even doing it for the party. they are doing it for this country, because we've suffered with obamacare. it went through -- i went through two years of campaigning, and i'm telling you no matter where i went, people were suffering so badly with the ravages of obamacare. and i will say this, that, as far as i'm concerned, your premiums, they are going to start to come down. we're going to get this passed through the senate, i feel so confident. your deductibles, when it comes to deductibles, that were so ridiculous, that nobody got to use their current plan -- this nonexistent plan that i heard so many wonderful things about over the last three or four days.

i don't think you're going to hear so much right now. the insurance companies are fleeing. it's been a catastrophe. this is a great plan. i actually think it will get even better. this is, make no mistake, this is a repeal and replace of obamacare. make no mistake about it. make no mistake. [applause] and i think, most important, yes, premiums will be coming down. yes, deductibles will be coming down. but very importantly, it's a great plan and ultimately that's what it's all about. we knew that wasn't going to work. i predicted it a long time ago. i said it's failing. and now it's obvious that it's failing. instead. it's essentially dead. if we don't pay lots of rain money over to the insurance companies, it would die immediately -- lots of ransom money over to the insurance companies, it would die immediately. there is a lot of talent

standing behind me, an unbelievable amount of talent. that, i can tell you. [applause] and, you know, coming from a different world and only being a politician for a short period of time, how am i doing? am i doing ok? hey, i'm president. can you believe it? i thought you needed a little bit more time, they always told me, for time, but we didn't. but we have an amazing group of people standing behind me. they work so hard. they worked so long. when i said, let's do this, let's go out, just short little shots for each one of us, and let's say how good this plan is -- we don't have to talk about this unbelievable victory. wasn't it unbelievable? we don't have to say it again. it's going to be an unbelievable victory when we get it through the senate. but i said, let's go out, we have a little list of some of the people, and i think after

that list goes, if they don't talk too long, we are going to let some of the other folks just come up and say whatever you want. we want to brag about the plan, because this plan, really -- [laughter] may. we [laughter] at we are just going to talk little bit about the plan, how good it is, some of the great features. i want to thank paul ryan. he has worked so hard. [applause] i was joking, i said, you know, paul, i have been hearing, paul ryan doesn't have it. it's not working with paul ryan. he is going to get rid of paul ryan. then today, i heard paul ryan is a genius. he's come a long way. [laughter] the groups have all come together. we have the tuesday group. we have so many groups. we have the freedom caucus. they are all great people. we have a lot of groups. but they all came together. really, paul, i'd say in the

last three or four days, especially in the last day. i see mark and kevin. i see so many people. jim. we just have developed a bond. this has really brought the republican party together, as much as we have come up with a really incredible health care plan. this has brought the republican party together. we are going to get this finished, and then we are going, as you know, we put our tax plan in. it's a max of -- it's a massive tax cut, the biggest tax cut in the history of our country. i used to say the biggest as ronald reagan. now it's bigger than that. we are going to get that done next. a lot of people said how come you kept pushing health care, knowing how tough it is. don't forget, obamacare took 17 months. hillary clinton tried so hard, really valiantly, in all fairness, to get health care through. didn't happen.

we've really been doing this for eight weeks, if you think about it. this is a real plan. this is a great plan. and we had no support from the other party. so, i just want to introduce somebody to say a few words, who really has been, i think, treated very unfairly, but it no longer matters, because we won, and we are going to finish it off, and we are going to go on to a lot of other things, and we are going to have a tremendous four years and maybe, even more importantly, a tremendous eight years. but we are going to start off with just a great first year. paul ryan, come up and say a few words. congratulations on a job well done. [applause] speaker ryan: thank you, guys. thank you. first, thank you, mr. president. thank you for your leadership.

[applause] many people to name who played such an important role in helping us get to this part, but i want to thank a few people in particular. i want to thank chairman greg walden, kevin brady, diane black, pete sessions, and the members of their committees for all the hard work they put into getting us to this point. [applause] i want to thank all the other members who contributed to making this the best bill possible. it really was a collaborative, consensus driven effort. i also want to thank the team here at the white house. i want to thank tom price. i want to thank mick mulvaney. i especially want to thank reince priebus. we could not have done this without you gentlemen. you guys are the best. [applause] of course, this would not have been possible if it weren't for these two gentlemen behind me. this is the fourth presidency i

have served with. i have never, ever seen any kind of intimate like this -- kind of engagement like this. i want to thank mike pence and president donald trump for their personal involvement in getting us to where we are. thank you, gentlemen. [applause] day, but it is just one -- laura: some very satisfied republican senators and, of course, president donald trump there in washington, celebrating the fact that trump's health care bill has passed the first stage of becoming law and will repeal obamacare, as it's known. we will get some reaction from our white house correspondent in just a few minutes. this is "france 24."

05/04/17 05/04/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from tampa, florida, this is democracy now! >> the memories cannot be erased. the pain they have endured cannot be fixed. but today we have an opportunity to provide closure to these families in the form of an apology. amy: nearly 70 years ago, four young african-american men in florida were falsely accused of raping a white teenager. they became known as the