THIS JUST IN 4:58PM ET
Repealing ObamaCare would now mean kicking 4.2 million people off their new insurance plans
More than 4.2 million people have enrolled in new health insurance plans through ObamaCare's state and federal marketplaces since they went live in October, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday. Of that total — which runs through the end of February — about 943,000 enrollees signed up last month alone. The administration and health-care experts are expecting a major spike in enrollments this month as people race to get covered before the March 31 deadline to have insurance or face a fine.
Among the enrollees, 25 percent are in the crucial 18- to 34-year-old age bracket, a percentage that rose in February and is expected to rise once again this month as young procrastinators finally get around to picking insurance plans. Meaning, that dreaded death spiral — which was already something of a fantastical fear — is even less likely to happen.
And importantly for supporters of the health-care law, the ballooning enrollment figures will make it that much harder for GOP critics to keep championing an ObamaCare repeal. At this point, anyone calling for repeal is by extension trying to strip 4.2 million people, and counting, off their new health insurance.
- - - THIS JUST IN 8:24PM ET
Republican David Jolly won a special election in Florida's 13th District in a widely watched race that has been seen as a bellwether for the 2014 midterms. Jolly won 48.5 percent of the vote with nearly all ballots counted, according to the Associated Press, defeating Democrat Alex Sink, who had run an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2010.
The race attracted a lot of money for a congressional contest — more than $11 million — as well as high-profile surrogates like former President Bill Clinton. In the coming days expect to see Republicans touting Jolly's victory as evidence that ObamaCare — a hot-button issue in Florida — will be an albatross for Democrats in the midterms and possibly cost them the Senate.
- CRIME AND PUNISHMENT 6:06PM ET
It's one thing for Mariska Hargitay to catch fictional rapists in her role as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU. But Hargitay is taking things a step further with her work to help law enforcement catch real-life rapists.
At a press conference in Detroit today, Hargitay spoke on the problem of untested rape kits, an issue about which she is also producing a documentary. During the conference, Hargitay voiced her support for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's push for legislation to clear Detroit's backlog of untested rape kits.
"To me, this is the clearest and most shocking demonstration of how we regard these crimes," Hargitay said. "One would assume that if someone endures a four- to six-hour invasive examination, that that evidence would be handled with care."
In 2004, Hargitay also founded the Joyful heart Foundation, which provides support to victims of sexual crimes. Here's hoping her star power will help Worthy's office gain the resources it needs to test the backlogged kits.
Watch Hargitay's moving, tear-filled speech here:
- HUH? 4:19PM ET
"Lame stream media" critics rejoice! Your favorite punching bag, The New York Times, has a crisis on its hands. No, it's not the media-wide existential crisis of declining revenue. It's a more visceral, olfactory concern: Reporters at The Grey Lady are under attack from a distracting "meat cloud."
As the Newspaper Guild of New York reported Tuesday, Times staffers say the odor of cooking meat from a steakhouse within their building is burning people's eyes and making it difficult to breathe. And it's not the first time meat stink has tormented the office, either. The Times had the same problem last year, prompting the newspaper to work, apparently to no avail, on its ventilation system.
"For now, this is being considered a 'quality of life' issue and not a health concern," says the newspaper guild. "Nonetheless, Times managers have temporarily relocated the people who felt the effects of the fumes and said they would look into moving others if need be. Needless to say, a permanent solution to the 'meat cloud' problem is the goal."
Here's to hoping the Times solves its meat-cloud crisis, and that it never has to endure the horror of the dreaded asparagus fog.
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