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Jordan's King Abdullah says his country stands ready to respond to any threat from a spillover of the civil war in neighboring Syria, a day after the U.S. announced it would leave fighter jets and Patriot missiles in his country after joint military exercises end this week.

"If the world does not help as it should, and if the matter becomes a danger to our country, we are able at any moment to take the measures to protect the country and the interest of our people," Abdullah said, speaking to graduating military cadets.

He said Jordan "will emerge victorious in the face of all challenges, the way we always have in the past."

As NPR's Deborah Amos reports from Amman, the Pentagon's decision to leave the F-16s and missiles in Jordan at the conclusion of the exercises has led to speculation they could be used in establishing a no-fly zone over Syria.

The White House last week said it would provide direct military support to rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad after it established that Syria had used sarin gas against its people.

Amos says Jordan has backed the U.S. campaign against the Syrian regime and "has become a transit route for secret arms shipments and hosted a covert rebel training program."

Mortgage rates have seen a relatively sharp rise this month. The average 30-year fixed-rate loan hit 4 percent earlier in June — a big jump from the record lows of recent years. Some investors are now concerned that the housing recovery could be stifled if rates continue to rise quickly.

A little more than a year ago, Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker survived a recall election after an epic battle with unions that gave him folk-hero status with many conservatives. Some political observers now consider him a presidential contender.

But Walker is downplaying that talk, even as he takes steps that hint at national ambition.

Although the state Legislature hasn't yet passed his latest budget, Walker is already touring the state on a victory lap. At a recent stop in Milwaukee, he explained Wisconsin's publicly funded private school voucher program and his negotiations with lawmakers who were at first skeptical of vouchers.

To make his point, Walker invoked President Reagan: "He said: What do you call someone who's with you 80 percent of the time? You call him your ally."

But to say Walker only got 80 percent of what he wanted might be selling him short. Walker wanted vouchers in nine new school districts. The deal he cut would allow for a slow expansion of vouchers statewide.

It's one of many issues where Walker has mostly gotten his way with the help of a Republican-controlled Legislature.

Democratic state Sen. Bob Jauch, who has served in the Legislature for three decades under governors from both parties, says the Wisconsin government of today is different from any he's ever known.

"The majority party sees their role as conquerors instead of compromisers," he says.

Walker also proposes selling state-owned power plants, highways, prisons and even college dorms. Just two years ago, GOP lawmakers balked at the idea. This year they're mostly embracing it.

Last week, Walker said he would sign a bill that would require women seeking an abortion to get an ultrasound.

And in a state that has traditionally expanded Medicaid coverage, the governor has gone to great lengths to reject "Obamacare." He wants to turn down federal money to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act — a move that will cost Wisconsin hundreds of millions of dollars over the next several years.

Democrats like state Rep. Mandela Barnes are quick to point to Walker's political ambitions.

"The state of Wisconsin wants to see the president doomed and hopes that they'll see another one groomed," Barnes says.

Democrats here constantly play up the idea that Walker is focused more intently on running for president in 2016 than on governing the state. He dismisses that.

"I don't talk about it. I haven't talked privately, I haven't talked publicly to people about it," he says. "Everybody else in the media and a lot of pundits talk about it, but they can be the ones doing the talking. I'm going to stay focused on being governor."

But there are signs: The governor is writing a book. He was the keynote speaker recently at an Iowa fundraiser. And he's kept up an aggressive out-of-state speaking and fundraising schedule. Walker also sits squarely atop the list of Republican presidential contenders put together by Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

"Conservatives love the fact that he beat the unions and he beat the media," Sabato says. "That's the way they look at that recall election. He also managed to win what has become a blue state in most elections, certainly presidential elections."

Democrats contend that Walker's economic record should sink, not propel, his political career. Wisconsin trails all its Midwestern neighbors and most of the nation in job growth.

Polls show that Walker still polarizes voters in the state. A year after the recall attempt, his approval rating still hovers around 50 percent. But while Walker is up for re-election in 2014, no Democrats have jumped into the race for governor yet.

Call it the Affordable Care Act, call it Obamacare, call it whatever you want — it's coming. And soon. In less than four months people without health insurance will be able to start signing up for coverage that begins Jan. 1.

A lot has been said about the law, most of it not that understandable. So starting now, and continuing occasionally through the summer and fall, we're going to try to fix that.

Let's stipulate right now that there are lots of things about the health law still in dispute and a matter of intense political debate. But given that the law has not been repealed after numerous attempts, and that major pieces of the law are about to take effect, we thought it would be helpful to try to explain what's coming as dispassionately as we can.

So we'll begin with the biggest question of all — who's affected?

For the answer, let's go right to the top — President Obama himself:

"What is left to be implemented is those provisions to help the 10 to 15 percent of the American public that is unlucky enough that they don't have health insurance," Obama told reporters at a news conference in April.

That 10 to 15 percent includes more than 30 million people. Some are adults with pre-existing medical conditions who have been turned down for coverage. Some may be working at jobs at small businesses that can't afford to offer health coverage. Or they may have jobs that do offer coverage, but they don't work enough hours to qualify.

All that stuff you've been hearing about state-based insurance exchanges and marketplaces? Here's how the president explains what's going to happen for those 30 million Americans:

"What we're doing is we're setting up a pool so that they can all pool together and get a better deal from insurance companies," Obama said. "And those who can't afford it, we're going to provide them with some subsidies."

Of course it's nowhere near that simple. There are going to be a lot of details: different plans to choose from with different premiums and copayments. Some people will be eligible for various subsidies depending on the plan they choose. And some will be eligible for Medicaid, if their state decides to expand it.

There are also big worries that enrollment information might not get where it needs to go, at least not at first, and that people then might have trouble getting treatment if government and insurance company computer systems that need to be linked end up talking different languages.

Now, what about people who already have health insurance? President Obama says that's not what this year is really about.

"For the 85 to 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, this thing has already happened," he said. "And their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, better, more secure than it was before. Full stop. That's it."

By that, the president means many of the benefits of the law have already taken effect for those with insurance.

For example, "insurance companies can't drop them for bad reasons," Obama said, like because they made a mistake on their insurance application.

And noting one of the most-used provisions now in effect, "kids are able to stay on their [parents'] health insurance until they're 26 years old," the president said. More than 3 million young adults are taking advantage of that opportunity.

All this is not to say that nothing will change or that everything will be great for people with employer-based health insurance. The law hasn't actually reduced premiums, particularly the share workers pay. And while most employers who offer insurance now are expected to continue to offer it in the future, some may drop coverage and send workers to the health exchanges instead.

But for now, the focus is on the uninsured and getting them coverage.

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Do you have a question about how the Affordable Care Act will work, or how it might affect you? Email your questions to MorningEdition@npr.org.

We'll answer questions in upcoming segments.