NPR 2009-10-08

According to congressional budget experts, the price tag of the Senate Finance Committee's proposed health care overhaul 1 plan will be 829 billion dollars over the next ten years. The Congressional Budget Office also said today it projects the latest version of the bill will cover roughly 94% of Americans, reducing the roles of the uninsured by 21 million by 2019. That new cost estimated as good news for Democrats 2 since it means that Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus can call his committee together for a final vote on the legislation paving the way for a vote in the full Senate.

 President is meeting again this afternoon with his national security team to continue the review of the US strategy in Afghanistan. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

 The President has made it clear he's not planning to withdraw the 6,800 troops that will be in Afghanistan by year’s end. But his generals have asked him to commit even more troops in order to pursue abroad counter-insurgency strategy. Other officials think more narrowly focused counter-terrorism strategy will make more sense.

 President Obama is trying to answer some threshold questions: where is the best place to pursue al-Qaeda, what will happen to al-Qaeda if the Taliban were to come back to power in Afghanistan. And above all how many troops are necessary to pursue a mission that the President says hasn't changed to dismantle 3, disrupt and defeat al-Qaeda. A new Associated Press poll shows only 40% of the American support the war effort and that many more Republicans than Democrats are in favor of sending in more troops. Mara Liasson, NPR News, the White House.

 Earthquake survivors 4 on Indonesia's Sumatra Island complained they have not yet received aid nearly a week after two earthquakes hit there. More than 700 people are known dead. Doualy Xaykaothao filed this reports.

 It's a slow process but since heavy machinery 5 is being used in other parts of the city. These residents next to a main road are trying to pick through what's left of their businesses. People are essentially 6 collecting jeans, cell phones, metal and whatever they can find here so that they could essentially salvage 7 what they can. One man is carrying a mattress 8, this woman is carrying a pair of jeans still with the tags on it, and another woman has some kind of a bag.

 Villagers in remote hilly terrain 9 and city residents in Padang say emergency aid is slow coming or not received at all. For NPR News, I'm Doualy Xaykaothao in Padang western Sumatra.

 The administration's plan to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay has cleared a major hurdle 10 in the Congress. Congressional negotiators today unveiled a compromise they say would allow prisoners house that facility in Cuba to be transferred to the US to face trial. Detainees could not be released in the US, however, they could serve prison sentences in the US.

 On Wall Street the Dow dropped five points today.

 This is NPR.

 The CEO of General Motors says the company's market share was up slightly for the three months ending in September though he noted 11 that it’s still below levels of a year ago. Fritz Henderson says GM control roughly 11.9% of the global vehicle market during the third quarter of three tenths of one percent from the previous quarter, but below last year's 12.4% rate. Henderson blames the decline on falling sells in the US and Canada. GM was forced to end the bankruptcy 12 earlier this year, and since the merging 13 it has been streamlined its operations and closing down dealerships.

 Italy's top court today ruled a law giving Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity 14 from prosecution 15 is unconstitutional. That ruling is likely to unleash 16 turmoil 17 in the Italian political world. From NPR Sylvia Poggioli in Rome.

 The ruling was nine to six and cannot be appealed. It said immunity requires the lengthy 18 process of a constitutional amendment 19 not a simple bill passed by parliament. It also cited that the constitutional article of the quality of all citizens under the law. There are at least three cases pending 20 against Berlusconi which will now be unfrozen. The most serious is the charge that Berlusconi bribed 21 a British lawyer to the 2,600,000 dollars in exchange for his false testimony 22 in two other corruption 23 cases. Lawyer David Mills was found guilty of having been corrupted 24 by Berlusconi and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. He is appealing. Berlusconi's spokesman said the government will not step down and will finish its term. Earlier, key Berlusconi ally Umberto Bossi vowed 25 that in the case of a negative ruling the government will bring masses of supporters into the streets. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.