NPR 2010-08-11

Five people including former Republican Senator Ted 1 Stevens are confirmed dead following a plane crash in southern Alaska last night. NPR's Martin Costi with the latest.

Ted Stevens was on board a single-engine plane that was flying in the southern part of Alaska, an area that's very popular with sports fishermen. They were apparently 2 on their way to a private lodge 3 owned by a local telecommunications company. The plane encountered some bad weather. It's not known what role, if any, the weather played in the crash. But apparently the visibility was poor, and there was rain, and another pilot in the area at the same time said he didn't think it was a good day to be out flying even though he himself was out.

NPR's Martin Costi.

The plane was carrying nine people when it went down. The newswires report that former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe was onboard and was among the survivors 4.

At a briefing today, Joe Masters, commissioner 5 of public safety in Alaska, outlined the next step in search and rescue.

"We're placing our attention to get troopers on scene in that the Alaska National Guard is assisting us, with the helicopters deployment 6 of our personnel involved taking all of them to the medical examiner's office."

That's Joe Masters, commissioner of public safety, addressing the public just moments ago.

The House Representatives returned from its August recess 7 today to pass a 26-billion-dollar cash infusion 8 for ailing 9 states. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports Democrats 11 said it was an emergency.

Without this money, Democratic leaders and President Obama said more than 100,000 teachers would be laid off before school starts. Police, firefighters and other government workers would also be vulnerable. Republicans called the bill another bailout, and all but two of them opposed it. The House had passed a version of the bill months ago, but the Senate didn't clear it until late last week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the emergency 'one-day session'.

"I thank the members on both sides of the aisle 12 for responding so quickly to the call to return to Washington to save and create jobs for the American people."

The final vote count was 247 to 161. Andrea Seabrook, NPR News, the Capitol.

In an unexpected move, New York Congressman 13 Charles Rangel delivered a speech to colleagues in the House today. Rangel faces 13 counts of ethics 14 violations 15, casting a shadow over the Democrats' efforts to retain their congressional majority. Despite that, Rangel said he's not going away.

"As much as I love you Democrats, I figure it would be easy for you I'm the guy that was raising money in Republican districts to get you here. But that doesn't mean that I criticize you for saying, "Hey, that's great then, but I'm running for reelection now.""

Another Democrat 10, California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, also faces ethics-related charges.

US stocks continue to drop today. Last check, Dow was down 54 points at 10,645.

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The H1N1 flu pandemic is officially over. The World Health Organization says the global outbreak was not nearly as feared as scientists feared a year ago. WHO Director General Margaret Chan says the virus, commonly called swine flu, has largely run its course, but would still be around during the seasonal 16 flu season. H1N1 triggered the first pandemic in more than 40 years.

A class of popular drugs that help to prevent bone loss do not increase the risk of esophageal cancer, according to a study out today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. NPR's Alix Spiegel has more.

The use of oral bisphosphonates to prevent osteoporosis has grown dramatically over the last 20 years. But starting in the mid-90s, concern emerged that bisphosphonates might increase the risk of cancer of the esophagus. The drugs can cause stomach upset and inflammation of the esophagus. To assess the risk, a group of researchers from Queen's University Belfast in the United Kingdom compared 41,000 women on bisphosphonates to 41,000 women who were not on bisphosphonates. They found almost no difference in the number of cases of cancer of the esophagus. Alix Spiegel, NPR News, Washington.

Drilling on a relief well in the Gulf 17 of Mexico was suspended because of bad weather. A BP spokesman said the company stopped its work after the National Hurricane Center said there was a 60% chance of a tropical depression developing in the next two days. The storm could reach the spot where BP's been working to seal a leaking oil well. However, BP's crew were staying put until further notice.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News, Washington.