NPR 2009-09-23

Speaking today at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York, President Obama pledged to make the issue of climate change a key US initiative. President said the nation is determined 2 to act against the threat of global climate change in order to meet our responsibility to future generations.

"The security and stability of each nation and all peoples, our prosperity, our health and our safety, are in jeopardy 3. And the time we have to reverse this tide is running out."

Meanwhile it’s not just the US that has outlined ambitious climate change goals. China today pledged to plant enough trees to cover an area, the size of Norway, as part of a broader effort to counter greenhouse gas emissions 4.

 On Capitol Hill, the last of five committees with the duty of drafting a health care bill has begun debate. NPR’s Audie Cornish has more.

The draft bill taken up by the Senate Finance Committee today requires every US citizen to have coverage 5 or face a fine. The proposal includes subsidies 6 to help those who can’t afford insurance but Democrats 7 on the committee are already concerned they are too low. Moreover Democrats, like Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, expresses disappointment that the draft does not include a government-backed insurance option.

"We need to make sure families have a real choice of health insurance plans, including a public health insurance option that keeps private insurance companies honest and keeps premiums 8 affordable 9."

Republicans on the committee say the bill will end up being too costly 10 to taxpayers 11. The committee is set to pore through more than 564 proposed amendments 12 to the legislation. Audie Cornish, NPR News, the Capitol.

ACORN 13, the community group that's come under intense fire in recent weeks has named former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger to conduct an inquiry 14 into its operations. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

ACORN has been widely criticized after an undercover video showed some of its workers advising a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute on how to evade 15 the law. The non-profit says it's asked Scott Harshbarger to look into how the group provides services for low and moderate income people so it can avoid similar problems in the future. Harshbarger was a Boston attorney and has been discussed as a possible appointee to fill Ted 1 Kennedy's vacant Senate seat. There'll have a lot of competition looking into ACORN's operations, the Justice Department’s inspector 16 general is investigating what grants the group received from his agency, and several states have also launched their own inquiries 17. Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

New government index out today shows more signs of stabilization 18 in the housing market. The monthly index from the Federal Housing Finance Agency shows that nationwide home prices rose 0.3% in July from the previous month.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 51 points, closing at 9,829. The NASDAQ was up eight points. The S&P 500 rose seven points.

This is NPR.

The brother of one of the three hikers being held in Iran said today he hopes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brings the three with him when he visits the United Nations this week. Ahmadinejad, who has recently angered the West with inflammatory statements including his continued claims the Holocaust 19 never happened. He is slated 20 to address the General Assembly tomorrow. US State Department officials said today there is no reason to think the three hikers would be accompanying the Iranian president. Three University of California Berkeley students were detained after they strayed into Iran while hiking in Iraq in July.

Former Super Bowl star Plaxico Burress has been sentenced to two years in prison. The former New York Giants receiver was charged with weapons possession after shooting himself at a nightclub. NPR’s Robert Smith has more.

Burress stood in a Manhattan courtroom. His wife and young son sat behind him. Burress spoke 21 softly, apologizing for his mistake and then he was led out of the court room to start serving a sentence. The accident had already ended his career with the New York Giants. Burress snuck an unlicensed gun into a Manhattan nightclub. The gun went off; the bullet went through his thigh 22. Originally Burress was charged with multiple gun counts but he pleaded guilty to a lesser 23 charge. With time off for good behavior, Burress will likely to serve 20 months in prison. He says he hopes to resume his NFL career when he gets out. His former teammate, Antonio Pierce, who was with Burress that night and drove him to the hospital, was not indicted 24. Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

Parts of Georgia remain underwater today. Authorities say at least eight people have died as a result of flooding in the southeastern US. The victims included a Georgian toddler swept away after a stream tore the family’s trailer in two and several motorists whose car was washed off a roadway. A Tennessee man is still missing.