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Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran marries longtime aide

JACKSON, Miss. –  U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran — the Mississippi Republican whose 2014 primary campaign drew national attention over an aspiring blogger's photos of his bedridden wife — has married his longtime aide, his office said Monday.
The wedding to Kay Webber took place privately Saturday in Gulfport.
The senator's first wife, Rose Cochran, died in December at age 73 from dementia after living in a nursing home for 13 years.
Political blogger Clayton Kelly took pictures of a bedridden Rose Cochran in April 2014, and officials say he intended to use the images to advance allegations that the senator was having an inappropriate relationship with Webber. Cochran's aides said then that there was nothing improper about the senator's relationship with Webber.
Webber has worked for Cochran since 1981, and both are 77, spokesman Chris Gallegos said. Webber makes $165,000 a year working for the senator.
Kelly, of Pearl, faces charges of conspiracy, burglary and attempted burglary over the photograph. Kelly's lawyer questions whether any laws were broken.
Charges against three other men have been resolved.
Richard Sager, a Laurel teacher and coach who had been charged with conspiracy and tampering with evidence, entered a pretrial diversion program. His case won't be prosecuted if he successfully completes the program.
John Mary of Hattiesburg pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with investigators. Mary received no jail time and could have the conviction wiped from his record if he completes probation.
Ridgeland Attorney Mark Mayfield, who was charged with conspiracy, died by suicide in June, according to police.
The photograph controversy was only one part of a chaotic 2014 Republican primary in which Cochran was challenged by state Sen. Chris McDaniel, an Ellisville Republican. McDaniel led Cochran and one other Republican candidate in the June 3 primary. But Cochran rallied and defeated McDaniel by 7,667 votes in a runoff three weeks later, in part by making appeals to typically Democratic African-American voters.
McDaniel filed a lawsuit claiming the runoff results were tainted by voting irregularities. A circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying it was filed too late. The state Supreme Court upheld the dismissal Oct. 24.
Cochran was first elected to the U.S. House in 1972 and won his first six-year term in the Senate in 1978.
He waited until 2013 to announce he was seeking re-election, weeks after McDaniel had entered the race and lined up financial support from groups that sought to unseat longtime Republicans.
Cochran cruised to victory in the general election with 60 percent of the vote.

ObamaCare fallout? Supreme Court ruling sets up potential Obama, GOP battle

The upcoming Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act could wipe out insurance for millions of people covered by the president’s health care plan, leaving states that didn't set up their own health care markets scrambling to subsidize coverage for those left uninsured.
Twenty-six of the 34 states that would be hardest hit by the ruling have GOP governors. Twenty-two of the 24 Senate seats that are up for re-election in 2016 are currently held by Republicans. What that means is that it’s the GOP – and not the White House –that’s working on damage control.
President Obama’s landmark legislation offers subsidized private insurance to those without access to it on the job. In the Supreme Court case, opponents of the law argue that its literal wording allows the government to subsidize coverage only in states that set up their own health insurance markets.
The justices will determine whether the law makes people in all 50 states eligible for federal tax subsidies -- or just those who live in states that created their own health insurance marketplaces. The question matters because about three dozen states opted against their own marketplace, or exchange, and instead rely on the U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Healthcare.gov.
If the court rules against the Obama administration, insurance subsidies for people in those states would be in jeopardy.
If the court invalidates the subsidies in those states, the results would be “ugly,” former Kansas insurance commissioner Sandy Praeger told The Associated Press.
 "People who are reasonably healthy would just drop coverage," she said. "Only the unhealthy would keep buying health care. It would really exacerbate the problem of the cost of health insurance."
Praeger, a Republican who retired this year, called it "a classic death spiral," using a term for market collapse.
In March, the Supreme Court appeared divided along ideological lines after hearing the challenge that, if struck down, could affect up to 8 million policy holders.
If the subsidies survive, the ACA will look like settled law to all but a few passionate opponents. However, if they are overturned, the shock could carry into next year’s elections.
Here are just a few of the potential consequences:
BAD TIMING
Around the time when the court announces its decision, insurers will be working to finalize premiums and plans for the coming year. Contracts with the government for 2016 health law coverage have to be signed by early fall. If the subsidies are overturned, insurers would have to tear up their projections about markets in more than half the states.
Populous states such as Texas, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia and Pennsylvania would be among those affected.
State lawmakers could mitigate the impact by setting up their own insurance markets, or exchanges. But that can't be done overnight.
States might try authorizing an exchange, and then contracting with the federal government to run it. But that sort of end-run might prompt lawsuits from opponents of the law.
In any case, most state legislatures will be out of session by the summer.
During arguments, Associate Justice Samuel Alito raised the possibility that the court might be able to delay the effective date of its decision. Even a delay through the end of this year wouldn't buy much time. Enrollment for 2016 health law plans is scheduled to start Nov. 1.

HOUSE OF CARDS
The health law was designed as a balancing act. Insurers can't turn people away because of health problems, but most healthy people are required to contribute to the insurance pool, and the government subsidizes most of the premium for low- to middle-income households.
Take away subsidies, and the other two parts become unstable.
The law's requirement to carry insurance, never popular, would probably become the biggest target for repeal.
"My guess is there would be overwhelming political support for the elimination of the individual mandate if people can't afford the premiums," said former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who was an influential Obama adviser on health care.
Insurers would demand relief from provisions of the law intended to limit premium increases, or they might drop out of the insurance exchanges.

STICKER SHOCK FOR SELF-PAY CUSTOMERS
Many people still buy individual health care policies directly from an insurance company, bypassing the law's markets and paying the full cost. They tend to be small-business owners, self-employed professionals and early retirees.
But even they would not escape the tumult in states losing subsidies.
The health law created one big insurance pool in each state, combining customers who purchase their policies directly with those who buy through the government market. If healthy people exit the insurance exchanges in droves, premiums for those buying directly would go up. Some may be unable to afford the higher cost.
"It would set off cascading events," said Larry Levitt of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "The individual market would empty out as premiums rise significantly."

REPUBLICANS TO THE RESCUE?
Leading congressional Republicans have been walking a fine line, opposing the law in the Supreme Court case while pledging to protect consumers if their side wins.
If the subsidies are overturned, Republicans will first try blaming Obama and the Democrats for writing flawed legislation and then trying to paper over problems with regulations. Then they'll move ahead with a patch to appease angry constituents.
A bill introduced by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., would continue the subsidies for existing customers only on the federal exchange until September 2017. That would open a window for states to act, but it would ultimately leave the problem for the next president and Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is a co-sponsor.
Johnson's bill would repeal the requirements for individuals to have insurance and for larger employers to offer coverage to workers.
Obama is unlikely to accept any of those changes.
"The president is likely to veto whatever we would propose, because we don't have a willing partner," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., leader of a GOP working group on health care.

Iraq announces counterattack against ISIS in Anbar province

Iraq's government announced Tuesday that its military had launched a counterattack aimed at driving the Islamic State terror group out of the western part of Anbar province just days after militants captured the city of Ramadi.
Iraqi state TV announced the start of the operation, which was backed by Sunni and Shiite paramilitary forces, but did not provide further details. The possibility of a large-scale counteroffensive has has sparked fears of potential sectarian violence in the Sunni province, long the scene of protests and criticism against the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
The announcement of the attack came hours after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in an effort to smooth over comments made Sunday by Defense Secretary Ash Carter in which he accused Iraqi forces of showing "no will to fight" in Ramadi.
A White House statement on Monday describing Biden's call said the vice president welcomed an Iraqi decision to mobilize additional troops and "prepare for counterattack operations." Biden also pledged full U.S. support to "these and other Iraqi efforts to liberate territory from ISIL," the statement said, using an acronym for Islamic State, which is commonly known as ISIS.
Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesman for al-Abadi, had said Monday his government was surprised by Carter's comments.
"We should not judge the whole army based on one incident," al-Hadithi told The Associated Press.

More on this...

• Iraqi, Syrian forces prepare counterattacks against ISIS

• Fall of Ramadi to ISIS raises questions on admin's strategy

• Middle East expert: ISIS' resurgence 'terribly depressing'

Al-Hadithi said the Iraqi government believes the fall of Ramadi was due to mismanagement and poor planning by some senior military commanders in charge. However, he did not elaborate, and no action has been taken against those commanders.
The fall of Ramadi marked a major defeat for Iraqi forces, which had been making steady progress against the extremists over the past year with the help of U.S.-led airstrikes.
  Security forces and Sunni militiamen who had been battling the extremists in Ramadi for months collapsed as IS fighters overran the city. The militants gained not only new territory 70 miles west of Baghdad, but also large stocks of weapons abandoned by the government forces as they fled.
Meanwhile, Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani was quoted in an Iranian daily newspaper as saying that the U.S. didn't do a "damn thing" to stop the ISIS advance on Ramadi, adding that Iran and its allies are the only forces that can deal with the threat.
"Today, there is nobody in confrontation with (ISIS) except the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as nations who are next to Iran or supported by Iran," he said.

Authorities say 12 missing in Texas floods likely dead, 13 killed in Mexico tornado

Authorities in central Texas ended their search late Monday for 12 people missing after a vacation home where they were staying was swept away by a flash flood.
Trey Hatt, spokesman for the Hays County Emergency Operations Center, told reporters that rescue teams halted their search for survivors at nightfall Monday. He said "the search component is over," meaning that no more survivors are expected to be found in the flood debris. Hatt said recovery operations are expected to begin Tuesday.
Witnesses reported seeing the swollen Blanco River push the vacation house off its foundation and smash it into a bridge. Only pieces of the home have been found, Hays County Judge Bert Cobb told the Associated Press.
One person who was rescued from the home told workers that the other 12 inside were all connected to two families, Cobb said. KTBC reported that eight of the missing had traveled to the area from Corpus Christi.
The house was in Wimberley Valley, an area known for its bed-and-breakfast inns and weekend rental cottages approximately 30 miles southwest of Austin. In Bastrop County, southeast of the state capital, water from the Colorado River breached a dam at Bastrop State Park.
The Austin American-Statesman reported that emergency responders had been required to make several water rescues, all of which were successful. An exact number of rescues was not immediately made available, nor was it immediately clear whether there were any injuries.
The flooding is the result of storms that have been blamed for at least seven deaths over the long holiday weekend in the U.S., with three in Oklahoma and four in Texas. A man's body was recovered from a flooded area along the Blanco River, which rose 26 feet in an hour and created huge piles of debris. Another man was confirmed dead Monday when a tornado destroyed four homes in a subdivision outside the city of Cameron, approximately 60 miles northeast of Austin. Milam County Judge Dave Barkemeyer told the Associated Press the man died when his mobile home was destroyed at  about 4 p.m. local time Monday. Four other people were injured.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott flew over parts of the Blanco on Monday, a day after heavy rains pushed the river into surrounding neighborhoods. Abbott said the storms had "relentless tsunami-type power", and urged communities downstream to monitor flood levels and take the threat seriously. Abbott also added 24 counties to his disaster declaration, bringing the total to 37, most in the eastern half of the state.
Late Monday, the National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for southwest Harris County as the storm brought heavy rain to the Houston area. The weather service reported 5 to 7 inches had fallen there Monday night and an additional 2 to 4 inches were possible.
Authorities urged Houston residents to avoid all travel, and CenterPoint Energy reported that over 70,000 customers in the Houston area were without poewr. The Houston Rockets advised fans to remain in the arena following Game 4 of the NBA's Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors due to the severe weather in the area.
In Mexico, at least 13 people were killed when a tornado ripped through the city of Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, a city of 125,000 on the border with the U.S. Three infants were among those confirmed dead, while five others, including another infant, were unaccounted for.
Rescue workers dug through the rubble of damaged homes in a race to find victims. The twister hit a seven-block area shortly after daybreak Monday, around the time buses were preparing to take children to school.
Mayor Evaristo Perez Rivera said 300 people were being treated at local hospitals, and up to 200 homes had been completely destroyed.
"There's nothing standing, not walls, not roofs," said Edgar Gonzalez, a spokesman for the city government, describing some of the destroyed homes in a 1 square mile stretch.
Gonzalez said late Monday night that rescuers were looking for four members of a family who were believed missing, adding that there were still areas of rubble that remained to be searched.
Family members and neighbors gathered around a pickup truck where the bodies of a woman and two children were laid out in the truck's bed, covered with sheets. Two relatives reached down to touch the bodies, covered their eyes and wept.
Photos from the scene showed cars with their hoods torn off, resting upended against single-story houses. One car's frame was bent around the gate of a house. A bus was seen flipped and crumpled on a roadway.