Friday,  April 18, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 274 • 30 of 33

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Late sign-ups and enrollments by young adults improve outlook for Obama's health care law

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- A surge of eleventh-hour enrollments has improved the outlook for President Barack Obama's health care law, with more people signing up overall and a much-needed spark of interest among young adults.
• Nonetheless, Obama's announcement Thursday that 8 million have signed up for subsidized private insurance, and that 35 percent of them are younger than 35, is just a peek at what might be going on with the nation's newest social program.
• Still to be announced is what share of those enrolled were previously uninsured -- the true test of Obama's Affordable Care Act -- and how many actually secured coverage by paying their first month's premiums.
• "This thing is working," a confident Obama said of his signature domestic achievement. The days of website woes and canceled policies seemed far behind.
• State-by-state statistics, expected as early as next week, will provide a much fuller picture.
• ___

Steen gets winner 26 seconds into third OT, Blues knock off Blackhawks 4-3

• ST. LOUIS (AP) -- In the first period, Ryan Miller looked like the goalie who limped home 0-5. For the final 80 minutes, 26 seconds, the St. Louis Blues saw the cool, confident backstop they acquired to make the deep playoff run they've long sought.
• Miller allowed three goals on seven shots in the first period, then shut the door on the Chicago Blackhawks to pave the way for Alexander Steen's deciding goal in an epic 4-3, triple-overtime Game 1 victory on Thursday night.
• "It's not all about one period," Miller said. "I tried not to change my approach and it's nice to come out on the right side."
• Steen scored 26 seconds into the third overtime to cap the longest playoff game in franchise history, beating Corey Crawford off a pair of short passes from Steve Ott and David Backes to end the marathon.
• "I didn't know how open he was, obviously," Ott said. "He obviously buried it and the game's over. We stuck with it and we found a way to win it."
• ___

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