Thad Cochran, longtime Mississippi senator, dies at 81

Former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, who served seven terms and used seniority to steer billions of dollars to his home state of Mississippi, has died. He was 81.

Cochran’s chief of staff, Brad White, said Cochran died Thursday at a veterans nursing home in Oxford.

Cochran was elected to the U.S. House…