PBC News & Comment: Divided GOP Couldn’t Kill Obamacare

McCain cast critical vote that stopped GOP effort to kill Obamacare….now they will try to starve it to death….--political fallout will hit many Republican senators who voted “yes”, like Portman, Graham, Capito, Heller, Johnson
--Trump and GOP will try to starve Obamacare into a death spiral, undermining markets and cutting subsidies
--Dems hold together, but face similar splits over “fixing” Obamacare, too many conserva-Dems are afraid of single payer
--in many quarters, McCain is a “hero” for this vote, right after brain cancer diagnosis; but many clear-eyed observers know the Real McCain
--“scaramuccia” is an Italian word that means “unscrupulous and unreliable servant” with an affinity for intrigue….Anthony Scaramucci lives up to his name
--do-nothing Senate managed to pass Russia-Iran-North Korea sanctions
--Russia retaliates by seizing US properties in Moscow, ordering embassy cuts
--Trump telegraphs that he’s trying to create an excuse to withdraw from Iran nuke deal
--North Korea launched another missile, thought to be an ICBM
--listener Debbie Inco in Colorado tips us to Air Force Academy coverup of retaliation against sexual assault response specialists
--at Shadowproof, Kevin Gosztola reports that CIA torture consultants have amplified their Nuremberg defense
--following shutdown of CIA covert support to “moderate” Syrian rebels, Gareth Porter exposes how CIA and Hillary pressured Obama
--in direct fallout from Panama Papers, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif is booted from office after corruption investigation
--Pakistan is cracking down on online dissent, as critics are arrested
--at Black Hat confab, new smartphone malware is exposed
--Wells Fargo’s marketing scams included auto loans with insurance that borrowers didn’t know about, leading to more than 20,000 repossessions
--Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene, worth $11 billion, is buying The Atlantic magazine