MH17: The first 40 bodies from the downed Malaysian jet arrived in The Netherlands this morning with solemn military honors and a row of hearses waiting with open doors. Honor guards carried the wooden coffins off a transport plane.

Ukrainian rebel leaders have been accused of misreporting the number of bodies found, and tampering with the wreckage. Some reports say the rebels have been dropping miscellaneous parts from other aircraft among the pieces of flight MH17.

As the fighting continues in Ukraine, two military jets were shot down today.

Healthcare: Two federal courts yesterday issued conflicting opinions on whether the government may subsidize healthcare insurance for low-income people. If the subsidies are ruled out, it’s a near-fatal blow to Obamacare, which is designed to make health insurance affordable.

An appeals court in the District of Columbia ruled that the government could not subsidize premiums in states where Obamacare is sold through the federal exchange. That decision hung on what was probably sloppy language in the bill. But only hours later the appeals court in Richmond, VA, ruled that the IRS regulation providing for federal subsidies through the federal exchange is perfectly acceptable.

The trouble here is that Obamacare is run through the federal exchange in 36 states. Five million people could lose their subsidy, and probably their insurance.

Wave Off: The Federal Aviation Administration ordered American carriers not to fly to Tel Aviv for 48 hours after a Hamas rocket hit six miles from the airport. In the current round of fighting, Hamas rockets have done little damage, but the US is exercising caution after the Malaysian airliner was shot down over Ukraine last week. Although they are not covered by the US decree, Air France, Lufthansa and KLM also cancelled flights to Israel. Secy. of State John Kerry arrived in Israel today to try to negotiate a ceasefire.

Big Apple: Apple computer made a $7.7 billion profit in the most recent quarter based largely on sales of iPhones, a surprisingly high percentage of them in China. Asia is where the growth is for Apple. And recent reports say Apple is running up 70-80 million of a new and larger iPhone to be ready for sale later this year. Presumably the larger screens will produce larger profits.

A note on financial reporting: Some reports said Apple made more money than expected and some said it was less. It’s like weather in New England. Wait five minutes and the report will change.

Spy V. Spy: At long last Britain plans a public inquiry into the mysterious death of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium in 2006 in a hit right out of the world of George Smiley. Litvinenko, 43, was a former KGB agent turned British citizen. He was suspected to have been poisoned while having tea at a London hotel with two Russian men, one of them also a former KGB agent. Litvinenko’s family believes he was working for the British spy agency MI6.

White Flags, Red Faces: New York police are investigating who raised white flags on the towers at each end of the Brooklyn Bridge. The flag raisings were caught on closed circuit television and the cops are looking closely. John Miller, the NYPD’s deputy in charge of counter terrorism said, “We don’t take these things lightly or as a joke or as art, or within the realm of speech.” Commissioner William Bratton was a little more terse, saying in his Boston accent, “I’m not particularly happy about the event.”

Suffer the Children: Maine Gov. Paul LePage is fightin’ mad that the feds are sending his state some of the unaccompanied children taken into custody illegally crossing the southern border. “We cannot become a state that encourages illegal immigration. We simply cannot afford it,” LePage said.

The feds are sending eight children to Maine.

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