Hays County Precinct 4 Deputy Constable John Ellen patrols River Road at the 7A Resort in Wimberley, Texas, Monday, May 25, 2015. Heavy rains led to historical floods along the Blanco River in Wimberley. (Jerry Lara/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
Terrible news out of Central Texas. 12 people remain missing at this hour after flash-flooding sent the Blanco River over its banks. The 12 are thought to have been staying in a home that was swept off the riverbank and smashed into a bridge. 1 teenage boy has been confirmed dead already.
6-10 inches of rain fell in the Houston area last night. Evacuations are now underway in Austin as flooding threatens homes. 81,000 are without power.
More storms are possible today. We’ve got Fox team coverage including Casey Stegall from Wimberley, Texas which was hardest hit.
At least two are dead, and several more injured after a shooting at a Wal-Mart in Grand Forks, North Dakota. More on this developing story as we get it.
We’re watching the growing GOP field of likely and declared candidates for the White House. Senator Rand Paul, Senator Marco Rubio, Ohio Governor John Kasich all making appearances today. Tomorrow it’s expected former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum will jump into the race. Carl Cameron is covering the candidates.
Senator Bernie Sanders who is running for the Democratic nomination holds a campaign kickoff event today in Vermont. Ed Henry covering.
The Supreme Court could soon make some serious news on the Affordable Care Act. The Wall Street Journal, AP, Politico, and the New York Times all writing about the ACA today. SCOTUS will rule at the end of June about whether or not the subsidies paid by the Federal Government to folks in states without exchanges are valid. It could end subsidies for more than 7 million Americans. It could also imperil President Obama’s signature legislative achievement.
The Wall Street Journal writes, “Average premiums for individual coverage in the affected states would increase by 35%, the study found, presuming that people with more medical needs would remain insured, shrinking the proportion of healthy policyholders.”
The New York Times writing about the threat to the law from SCOTUS today and also writing about the penalties for people who don’t get insurance “Obamacare's big stick doesn't seem to be scaring many people into buying health insurance.” The Times reports “.. several close watchers of the law say that the special enrollments look low enough to raise more substantial questions about whether the health law's penalty will have the intended effect of increasing sign-ups for insurance in the coming years.”
Politico has a good write up on the politics of the ACA. Jennifer Haberkorn and Rachel Bade writing,
“The growing divide between the two chambers leaves the GOP in an awkward spot. The court could gut Obamacare in June, handing Republicans a long-sought victory they couldn’t achieve legislatively. But without a backup plan that the whole party supports, the GOP has no way to blunt the political damage if millions of Americans lose the ability to pay for their health insurance.”
Charter Communications will buy Time Warner Cable for nearly 57 billion dollars in a deal that will create one of the country’s largest cable and broadband companies. It comes just a few weeks after Comcast withdrew its bid for Time Warner Cable in the face of regulator skepticism. This deal is more likely to get approval.
We get reads on durable goods, home sales and consumer confidence today.
Iraq says it will soon launch an operation to try and dislodge ISIS terrorists who’ve taken over the Anbar province. ISIS took Ramadi earlier this month and has had a string of victories against Iraq’s Army despite U.S. airstrikes and aid to Iraq.
Iran began its trial of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian who’s been detained in Iran for more than 10 months. Happening Now guest and New York Times Tehran Bureau Chief Thomas Erdbrink will be our guest to discuss the case .
For more news follow me on Twitter: @ClintPHenderson
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
