11 million sign up for health insurance
WASHINGTON – More than 11 million people signed up for subsidized private health insurance under President Barack Obama’s law this year, the White House announced Tuesday evening.
But that preliminary statistic – 11.4 million people – comes with a couple of asterisks.
The final number could grow because the administration is offering a grace period for people who started applications but couldn’t finish them – before last Sunday’s official deadline. They have until Feb. 22, this coming Sunday.
Also, Democratic lawmakers are pressing Obama to grant a second chance to sign up for uninsured people facing tax penalties.
The final number could shrink if consumers who’ve enrolled for 2015 coverage don’t follow through by paying their share of premiums.
Hundreds evacuated near derailed oil cars
MOUNT CARBON, W.Va. – Oil cars were still burning more than a day after a train carrying 3 million gallons of North Dakota crude derailed in a West Virginia snowstorm, shooting fireballs into the sky.
Hundreds of families were evacuated after losing their drinking water and electricity when 19 tanker cars slammed into each other and caught fire, leaking oil into a Kanawha River tributary and burning a nearby house down to its foundation.
“There’s nothing there,” said Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, who toured the scene. “All you can see is a couple of blocks sticking out of the ground. There’s some pickup trucks out front completely burned to the ground.”
UN council approves Ukraine cease-fire
UNITED NATIONS – The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a Russian-drafted resolution that endorses the new cease-fire agreement on Ukraine, stresses the country’s independence and calls on all parties involved to fully carry it out, even as the deal threatened to crumble.
An expected vote over the weekend was delayed when other council members pressed Russia to add language about Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the passenger jet that was shot down last year over rebel-held eastern Ukraine. Council members said they wanted to make sure the 298 victims were not forgotten.
The resolution now reaffirms last year’s council resolution that calls for an independent investigation into the crash and for those responsible to be held accountable.
Associated Press
