HealthCare.gov brings 40,000 to 50,000 enrollees in private plans through last week, people familiar say  —  Initial reports suggest that fewer than 50,000 people successfully navigated the troubled federal health-care website to enroll in private health insurance plans as of last week, two people familiar with the matter said.

Daring to Complain About Obamacare  —  LOS ANGELES — THE Anthem Blue Cross representative who answered my call told me that there was a silver lining in the cancellation of my individual P.P.O. policy and the $5,400 annual increase that I would have to pay for the Affordable Care Act-compliant option …

Sarah Palin Struggles To Explain Her Obamacare Alternative (VIDEO)  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin attempted on Monday to explain her alternative proposal for Obamacare on the “Today Show.”  —  When asked by Matt Lauer about her alternative plan, Palin gave a rambling answer that echoed …

Sen. Jim Inhofe's son dies in plane crash near Owasso  —  Plane crashed around 4 p.m. after reporting engine trouble  —  A source close to Sen. Jim Inhofe has confirmed that his son, Dr. Perry Inhofe, was on board a plane that crashed near Owasso, Okla. on Sunday.  Perry Inhofe was killed in the crash.

Stop thanking the troops for me: No, they don't “protect our freedoms!”  —  Their claims are wrong in more ways than one  —  The millions of Americans who regularly watch nationally televised NBA games are, by now, familiar with the “NBA Cares” commercials that run quite frequently during the season.

Most Americans for Raising Minimum Wage  —  Tying minimum-wage increases to inflation is slightly less popular  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — With momentum building at the federal and state level to increase hourly base pay, more than three-quarters of Americans (76%) say they would vote for raising …

How Twitter Helped Bring a Virginia Election to Its Knees … Virginia's Attorney General race could be decided by the smallest margin in U.S. history, and Twitter might be able to claim some of the credit.  —  More than 2.2 million ballots were cast in a statewide election last Tuesday …

GEORGE CLOONEY'S RULES FOR LIVING  —  No one does the fame thing like Clooney.  He floats above it even as he uses it to embellish his influence.  He understands his place in the pantheon even as he remains hidden from the inquisitive lens.  He's the master.

What will have a greater impact in reducing the deficit: the sequester or ‘Obamacare’?  —  “If you look at the biggest thing that are cutting our deficit over the medium and long run, it's actually the Affordable Care Act, which is, you know, by bringing down the cost of health care …

State Obamacare exchanges enroll 3 pct of target so far -report  —  President Barack Obama's healthcare reform has reached only about 3 percent of its enrollment target for 2014 in 12 U.S. states where new online health insurance marketplaces are mostly working smoothly, a report released on Monday said.

5 Ways To Help Those Affected By Super Typhoon Haiyan  —  The Philippines has been ravaged by one of the worst disasters in recent memory, killing thousands and displacing countless more.  Here's how you can help right now.  —  The damage in the Philippines has been extensive.

Obama's Stunning Snub  —  GETTYSBURG - He almost was not asked to speak.  —  In October 1863, President Abraham Lincoln received the same plain envelope that was sent to hundreds of people, requesting attendance at a dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery here.

How France Scuttled the Iran Deal at the Last Minute  —  Western and Iranian negotiators were putting the finishing touches on a far-reaching nuclear deal.  Then, at virtually the last minute, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius joined in the talks.  It didn't take long for the negotiations …

Salvaging Obama  —  President Obama is under water.  His approval in the polls is low and sinking, his signature initiative is staggering from a combination of incompetence and sabotage, his foreign policy is a jumble.  Congress is a Bermuda Triangle where the most elementary White House business disappears.

The Vets We Reject and Ignore  —  TODAY, we honor the nation's 22 million veterans, including more than 2.5 million who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and other fronts in the war against Al Qaeda.  But we are turning our backs on hundreds of thousands of veterans who were discharged …

Kay Hagan seeks ‘complete’ Obamacare probe  —  Senators will ask the Obama administration for a full investigation into the bungled launch of HealthCare.gov, according to a letter being circulated by Sen. Kay Hagan.  —  The North Carolina Democrat is collecting signatures this week for a letter …

Obamacare and the failure of half-baked liberalism  —  Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.  He is the author of “Jimmy Carter” and “Governing America.”  —  (CNN) — The rollout of the Affordable Care Act has been filled with problems and controversy.

War veteran Harold Percival mourned by strangers after online appeal  —  Hundreds gather in Lytham, Lancashire for cremation of Harold Jellicoe Percival, who died in nursing home, aged 99  —  It began with a tiny notice placed by undertakers in a Lancashire newspaper: “Harold died peacefully …

In Which ThinkProgress Spins a Pro-Gun Protest  —  ThinkProgress has a story on a protest in Dallas, Texas, in which a pro-Second Amendment group rallied against Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America: … At the top of the ThinkProgress story is this rather alarming picture …

Behind Obama's lie, our own immaturity  —  Understand why he wasn't straight with us.  —  In selling the health-care plan that bears his name, President Obama has, according to the fact-checking website Politifact, said at least 34 times that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it.”

Typhoon Haiyan: survival, loss and humanity in obliterated city of Tacloban  —  Kate Hodal reports from the capital of Leyte province, where survivors are desperate for food, water and medicine  —  Typhoon Haiyan: how you can help the Philippines  —  On a stretch of road …