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Obama praises 'courageous' health vote

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. lawmakers who voted for a healthcare reform bill in the House of Representatives are "courageous," President Barack Obama said Sunday.

Speaking in the Rose Garden at the White House, Obama praised the House members who enabled the healthcare package to pass by a narrow 220-215 margin, enabling it to advance to the U.S. Senate.

"Given the heated and often misleading rhetoric surrounding this legislation I know that this was a courageous vote for many members of Congress, and I'm grateful to them and for the rest of their colleagues for taking us this far," he said. "Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and take this effort to the finish line for the American people."

The measure passed Saturday night after a day of intense lobbying, including a visit to the U.S. Capitol by Obama, who has made healthcare reform his top priority.

"For generations, the American people have called for affordable, quality healthcare for their families," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on the House floor before the vote. "Today, the call will be answered."

The first major reform of the U.S. healthcare system in four decades would provide insurance to 36 million more Americans, so 96 percent of the nation's population would be covered, supporters said. The plan, which would cost more than $1 trillion over a decade, would add a government-run health insurance option and provide subsidies for poor people to buy insurance.

The House measure has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans, who say it would amount to a government takeover of healthcare and reduce the quality of care.

"This is one of those bills that takes a system that is the best in the world and will turn it on its head, and I don't believe this is what the American people want," said Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee. "To me, this doesn't make any sense and I know it doesn't make any sense to the vast majority of people out there."

Obama and Democratic supporters in Congress say the bill would reduce costs and improve care.

The reform measure would limit how much people can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. And it would forbid insurance companies to cancel coverage because someone gets sick, deny coverage because of a pre-existing condition or put annual or lifetime caps on coverage.

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Floods, mudslides kill 91 in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- At least 91 people have died and thousands were evacuated due to heavy rain, flooding and mudslides in El Salvador, authorities said.

The Salvadoran newspaper, El Diario de Hoy, said Sunday the highest casualty count was in San Vicente, where at least 24 people were killed and an undetermined number of homes were crushed in an avalanche following three days of rain produced by "a disturbed weather area" off the Pacific coast of El Salvador, an impoverished nation of about 7 million people.

The Commandos Rescue relief group said 50 more people were missing in the areas of Ilopango, San Martin, San Jose Guayabal and San Vicente.

Directorate for Civil Protection authorities said overflowing rivers have destroyed bridges.

Authorities said the death toll could rise, as rescuers had yet to reach hard-hit areas cut off by flooding and mudslides, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The National Weather Service in Miami said the rain was not associated with Hurricane Ida, a Category 2 storm that brushed past the region when it was still rated a tropical storm.

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Hurricane Ida, Category 2, gains strength

MIAMI, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Hurricane Ida became a Category 2 storm and was gaining strength Sunday as it headed across the Gulf of Mexico toward the northern Gulf coast forecasters said.

At 7 p.m. EST, the center of the storm was about 140 miles west-northwest of Cuba and about 445 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Top sustained winds were 105 mph with higher gusts and Ida was moving toward the north-northwest at almost 12 mph.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency in his state Sunday, a move that authorizes the state's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to take certain steps to deal with the storm if necessary, CNN reported.

A gradual turn toward the north and an accelerated forward speed were forecast during the coming 24 to 36 hours. On its forecast track the storm is expected to cross the Gulf of Mexico Sunday night and Monday and draw close to the northern Gulf coast Monday night or early Tuesday, bringing high surf and heavy rain to Mississippi and Louisiana.

The storm was expected to weaken Tuesday and Wednesday.

A hurricane warning was posted for the northern Gulf Coast from Grand Isle, La., to Mexico Beach, Fla. The Mexican government has discontinued all watches and warnings for Mexico, the NHC said.

Ida is expected to produce 3 to 5 inches of rain in portions of the Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba, with some isolated areas getting as much as 10 inches.

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More snow headed for Pacific Northwest

SHORELINE, Wash., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- The northwest United States and British Columbia, Canada, hit by a major storm this weekend, can expect more snow and rain, meteorologists said Sunday.

The weekend storm, a mixture of flooding rain and heavy snow, disrupted travel Saturday, with two Cascade Mountain passes temporarily closed due to heavy snow and a third because of avalanche danger, AccuWeather.com reported Sunday.

The mountains of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia face heavy snowfall from a storm above the Gulf of Alaska that is expected to send rain and snow into the region this week, the report said.

Heavy rain and snow is expected through Washington and Oregon Monday and locally heavy rain Monday could produce street flooding and disruption travel on Interstate 5 between Seattle and Portland, AccuWeather.com said.

Snow levels in the Cascade Mountains could drop to 2,500 feet during the snowfall and some lower elevations in the area could get as much as 12 inches of accumulation.

The Seattle Times said parts of Washington could get wind gusts of as much as 50 mph through Monday.

The weather was blamed for the death of Patrick R. Duff in Shoreline, Wash. The Times said Duff, 32, died after being struck Thursday night by a tree limb broken off by a heavy gust of wind.