Oct 13 2009 5:02PM
Associated Press
Update on the latest news, sports, business and entertainment:
health care OVERHAUL Senate panel approves health care reform measure
Washington (AP) A pivotal Senate committee has approved a sweeping remake of the country's health care system, delivering a long-sought boost to President Barack Obama's goal of expanding coverage.
The 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee sets up a historic debate on the Senate floor and moves health care overhaul closer to reality than it has been for decades.
Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine was the only Republican to join 13 committee Democrats in voting "yes." The 10-year, $829-billion plan approved Tuesday is aimed at extending coverage to millions more Americans, holding down costs and improving health care for all.
The Finance Committee was the last of five congressional committees to act. It produced a centrist-leaning compromise bill.
HEALTH CARE-BAUCUS Baucus wasn't sure how Snowe would vote
WASHINGTON (AP) Sen. Max Baucus says he didn't know for sure that Republican Senator Olympia Snowe would vote in favor of his health care overhaul bill until she actually did so.
The Montana Democrat said he had a strong sense that Snowe wanted to support the legislation but that she hadn't told him what she'd do.
He made his comments in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press shortly after his Senate Finance Committee passed his sweeping health care bill. Snowe was the only Republican to vote "yes." The other four congressional committees that have passed health care bills have done so without a single GOP vote.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Snowe told him this morning she'd be bucking her party to support Baucus' bill.
HEALTH CARE-SNOWE Republican Snowe is voting for Democrats' health care bill
WASHINGTON (AP) Although she voted with Democrats today to support a health care reform bill, Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine says she won't necessarily vote with them the next time.
She says the bill that emerged from the Finance Committee today tries to rein-in rising costs, and that it bolsters what works in the health care system.
Still, her support could give Democrats the 60th vote required to overcome Republican objections to the bill.
Snowe is the only Republican so far to vote for any of the health-reform bills before Congress. She joined 13 Democrats today in approving a 10-year, $829-billion overhaul plan. The committee's other nine Republicans voted against it.
Democrats have spent months addressing her concerns, and the president has sought her vote in phone calls and meetings.
MILITARY RECRUITING Pentagon: Recruiting last year was best since 1973
WASHINGTON (AP) The Pentagon says it has just finished the best recruiting year since the all-volunteer military was established in 1973.
Defense Department head of personnel Bill Carr says all services met their goals for active duty and reserve recruiting and that the quality of recruits improved during the budget year that ended Sept. 30.
He told a Pentagon press conference that it's because the department continued to spend strongly on finding recruits as fewer jobs were available in the civilian world due to the nation's economic problems.
Carr says an example of the higher quality of recruits is that nearly 95 percent of those coming into the Army were high school graduates, an 11 percent improvement over the previous year.
RUNAWAY CONVERT Florida judge to order runaway convert to return home
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) A Florida judge says he plans to order the teenager who ran away from Ohio to Florida because she feared physical harm for converting from Islam to Christianity sent back to Ohio.
The Orlando judge said Tuesday that he will sign the order when he gets the documents on 17-year-old Rifqa Bary's (RIF'-kuh BEHR'-ee) immigration status.
Bary has been in foster care in Orlando while her case was being reviewed. The judge says he will likely turn over the case to an Ohio court in the next few weeks.
Bary ran away from her parents' Columbus-area home in July, saying she feared being killed for changing religions. But a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation found no credible threats to Bary.
WALL STREET Stocks recede from highest levels of 2009
NEW YORK (AP) Stocks are ending mostly lower after a mixed earnings report from Johnson & Johnson put a damper on hopes that sales were rebounding at big U.S. companies.
The health care products maker said its sales fell more than expected. Investors are nervous that other major companies posting quarterly numbers this week will tell a similar story.
Financial stocks also fell Tuesday after an analyst lowered her rating on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to "neutral" from "buy." The Dow is down 14 at 9,871. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 3 at 1,073. The Nasdaq composite index is up 1 at 2,140.
Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.1 billion shares compared with 946.8 million Monday.
FORD RECALL Ford adds 4.5 million vehicles to defective switch recall
DETROIT (AP) Ford Motor Co. says it will add 4.5 million older-model vehicles to the list of those recalled because a defective cruise control switch could cause a fire.
Ford says 1.1 million Ford Windstar minivans will be recalled for repairs due to a small risk of fires.
The company says another 3.4 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles with the same switches also will be recalled even though there have been no reports of fires. Those vehicles mainly are trucks and SUVs.
All vehicles covered by the recall are from the 1992 to 2003 model years.
Sherwood says this is Ford's seventh recall due to the Texas Instruments speed control switches. The recalls cover a total of 14.3 million vehicles and combined are the largest in Ford's history.
WILDFIRES-STORM Some residents told to evacuate
DAVENPORT, Calif. (AP) Officials are asking residents to leave their homes in California's Santa Cruz Mountains, where summer wildfires have made conditions ripe for mudslides.
Heavy rain is falling across much of the state, and emergency officials are alerting residents in Davenport to leave. The voluntary advisory affects about 60 homes.
Residents in other areas that were burned are watching for floods and mudslides.
People living around the burn areas near the 250-square-mile Station Fire in Angeles National Forest are being warned of possible flows of mud, ash and debris.
Los Angeles County fire department Inspector Frederic Stowers says, "It's something we prepare for every year." He says thousands of sandbags have been distributed to fire stations throughout Los Angeles County, and teams are ready to help with possible evacuations.
UCLA STABBING UCLA student charged with attempted murder
LOS ANGELES (AP) A UCLA student has been charged with attempted premeditated murder in the slashing of a classmate's throat during a chemistry lab.
The district attorney's office says 20-year-old Damon Thompson will be arraigned Tuesday. He is being held on $1 million bail.
Thompson is accused of attacking a female student he was standing next to during the lab at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prosecutors say the attack on Thursday was unprovoked, and that he stabbed her five times.
Witnesses say Thomas walked calmly into a student information office after the attack and told a staff member he had stabbed someone.
The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Her condition has been improving.
NJ GOVERNOR-INDEPENDENT NEW: Independent gets noticed in tight NJ gov's race
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) It's been a swift rise for Chris Daggett, the independent candidate in New Jersey's race for governor.
He was the guy nobody heard of back in July, before he raised the amount needed to qualify for 2-to-1 matching funds. Then the 59-year-old former environmental protection commissioner delivered a strong performance in the first debate.
On Sunday, New Jersey's largest newspaper, The Star-Ledger of Newark, snubbed the major-party candidates, Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican challenger Chris Christie, to endorse the long shot.
Daggett believes he can win the Nov. 3 election. Political analysts are doubtful given his lack of money and the state's poor showing of independents.
Daggett is polling at about 12 percent, about 30 percentage points behind the other two.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-13-09 1550CDT
Source: http://www.kxmd.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=452505
Associated Press
Update on the latest news, sports, business and entertainment:
health care OVERHAUL Senate panel approves health care reform measure
Washington (AP) A pivotal Senate committee has approved a sweeping remake of the country's health care system, delivering a long-sought boost to President Barack Obama's goal of expanding coverage.
The 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee sets up a historic debate on the Senate floor and moves health care overhaul closer to reality than it has been for decades.
Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine was the only Republican to join 13 committee Democrats in voting "yes." The 10-year, $829-billion plan approved Tuesday is aimed at extending coverage to millions more Americans, holding down costs and improving health care for all.
The Finance Committee was the last of five congressional committees to act. It produced a centrist-leaning compromise bill.
HEALTH CARE-BAUCUS Baucus wasn't sure how Snowe would vote
WASHINGTON (AP) Sen. Max Baucus says he didn't know for sure that Republican Senator Olympia Snowe would vote in favor of his health care overhaul bill until she actually did so.
The Montana Democrat said he had a strong sense that Snowe wanted to support the legislation but that she hadn't told him what she'd do.
He made his comments in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press shortly after his Senate Finance Committee passed his sweeping health care bill. Snowe was the only Republican to vote "yes." The other four congressional committees that have passed health care bills have done so without a single GOP vote.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Snowe told him this morning she'd be bucking her party to support Baucus' bill.
HEALTH CARE-SNOWE Republican Snowe is voting for Democrats' health care bill
WASHINGTON (AP) Although she voted with Democrats today to support a health care reform bill, Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine says she won't necessarily vote with them the next time.
She says the bill that emerged from the Finance Committee today tries to rein-in rising costs, and that it bolsters what works in the health care system.
Still, her support could give Democrats the 60th vote required to overcome Republican objections to the bill.
Snowe is the only Republican so far to vote for any of the health-reform bills before Congress. She joined 13 Democrats today in approving a 10-year, $829-billion overhaul plan. The committee's other nine Republicans voted against it.
Democrats have spent months addressing her concerns, and the president has sought her vote in phone calls and meetings.
MILITARY RECRUITING Pentagon: Recruiting last year was best since 1973
WASHINGTON (AP) The Pentagon says it has just finished the best recruiting year since the all-volunteer military was established in 1973.
Defense Department head of personnel Bill Carr says all services met their goals for active duty and reserve recruiting and that the quality of recruits improved during the budget year that ended Sept. 30.
He told a Pentagon press conference that it's because the department continued to spend strongly on finding recruits as fewer jobs were available in the civilian world due to the nation's economic problems.
Carr says an example of the higher quality of recruits is that nearly 95 percent of those coming into the Army were high school graduates, an 11 percent improvement over the previous year.
RUNAWAY CONVERT Florida judge to order runaway convert to return home
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) A Florida judge says he plans to order the teenager who ran away from Ohio to Florida because she feared physical harm for converting from Islam to Christianity sent back to Ohio.
The Orlando judge said Tuesday that he will sign the order when he gets the documents on 17-year-old Rifqa Bary's (RIF'-kuh BEHR'-ee) immigration status.
Bary has been in foster care in Orlando while her case was being reviewed. The judge says he will likely turn over the case to an Ohio court in the next few weeks.
Bary ran away from her parents' Columbus-area home in July, saying she feared being killed for changing religions. But a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation found no credible threats to Bary.
WALL STREET Stocks recede from highest levels of 2009
NEW YORK (AP) Stocks are ending mostly lower after a mixed earnings report from Johnson & Johnson put a damper on hopes that sales were rebounding at big U.S. companies.
The health care products maker said its sales fell more than expected. Investors are nervous that other major companies posting quarterly numbers this week will tell a similar story.
Financial stocks also fell Tuesday after an analyst lowered her rating on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to "neutral" from "buy." The Dow is down 14 at 9,871. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 3 at 1,073. The Nasdaq composite index is up 1 at 2,140.
Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.1 billion shares compared with 946.8 million Monday.
FORD RECALL Ford adds 4.5 million vehicles to defective switch recall
DETROIT (AP) Ford Motor Co. says it will add 4.5 million older-model vehicles to the list of those recalled because a defective cruise control switch could cause a fire.
Ford says 1.1 million Ford Windstar minivans will be recalled for repairs due to a small risk of fires.
The company says another 3.4 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles with the same switches also will be recalled even though there have been no reports of fires. Those vehicles mainly are trucks and SUVs.
All vehicles covered by the recall are from the 1992 to 2003 model years.
Sherwood says this is Ford's seventh recall due to the Texas Instruments speed control switches. The recalls cover a total of 14.3 million vehicles and combined are the largest in Ford's history.
WILDFIRES-STORM Some residents told to evacuate
DAVENPORT, Calif. (AP) Officials are asking residents to leave their homes in California's Santa Cruz Mountains, where summer wildfires have made conditions ripe for mudslides.
Heavy rain is falling across much of the state, and emergency officials are alerting residents in Davenport to leave. The voluntary advisory affects about 60 homes.
Residents in other areas that were burned are watching for floods and mudslides.
People living around the burn areas near the 250-square-mile Station Fire in Angeles National Forest are being warned of possible flows of mud, ash and debris.
Los Angeles County fire department Inspector Frederic Stowers says, "It's something we prepare for every year." He says thousands of sandbags have been distributed to fire stations throughout Los Angeles County, and teams are ready to help with possible evacuations.
UCLA STABBING UCLA student charged with attempted murder
LOS ANGELES (AP) A UCLA student has been charged with attempted premeditated murder in the slashing of a classmate's throat during a chemistry lab.
The district attorney's office says 20-year-old Damon Thompson will be arraigned Tuesday. He is being held on $1 million bail.
Thompson is accused of attacking a female student he was standing next to during the lab at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prosecutors say the attack on Thursday was unprovoked, and that he stabbed her five times.
Witnesses say Thomas walked calmly into a student information office after the attack and told a staff member he had stabbed someone.
The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Her condition has been improving.
NJ GOVERNOR-INDEPENDENT NEW: Independent gets noticed in tight NJ gov's race
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) It's been a swift rise for Chris Daggett, the independent candidate in New Jersey's race for governor.
He was the guy nobody heard of back in July, before he raised the amount needed to qualify for 2-to-1 matching funds. Then the 59-year-old former environmental protection commissioner delivered a strong performance in the first debate.
On Sunday, New Jersey's largest newspaper, The Star-Ledger of Newark, snubbed the major-party candidates, Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican challenger Chris Christie, to endorse the long shot.
Daggett believes he can win the Nov. 3 election. Political analysts are doubtful given his lack of money and the state's poor showing of independents.
Daggett is polling at about 12 percent, about 30 percentage points behind the other two.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-13-09 1550CDT
Source: http://www.kxmd.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=452505
.