NPR 2009-12-25

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

The Senate has approved the most sweeping 1 change to the nation’s health care system in decades. On a party-line vote of 60-39, this morning Senate Democrats 2 pushed through President Obama’s plan to provide coverage 3 for virtually all Americans. It marks a political milestone 4 for President Obama who today said the government was finally poised 5 to deliver on the promise of better healthcare.

“What makes it so important is not just its cost savings 6 or its deficit 7 reductions. It’s the impact reform will have on Americans who no longer had to go with out a checkup for prescriptions 8 that they need because they can’t afford them, on families who no longer have to worry that a single illness will send them into financial ruin and on businesses that will no longer face exorbitant 9 insurance rates that hamper 10 their competitiveness. “

But Republicans warned the legislation will lead to an economic train wreck 11 and were vowing 12 to keep the bill from becoming law.

The top executives of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get paid as much as 6 million dollars for their work this past year. The plans for executive pay were reviewed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. NPR’s Tammer Keith reports.

Fannie and Freddie were seized by regulators back in September of 2008 and so far have gotten more than 100 billion dollars in taxpayer 13 money to stay afloat. The new executive pay packages were worked out in consultation 14(后面有)…

during childbirth leaving Sean(Sean Goldman) in the custody 15 of her Brazilian family. US government had regarded the case as an abduction. A Brazilian judge earlier this week ruled the boy should be returned to his father.

A blast of wintery weather swept across the northern Great Plains today, canceling nearly 100 flights in Minneapolis St. Paul Airport and making road travel difficult ahead of the Christmas holiday. Minnesota Public Radio’s Tem Nelson has more.

Forecasters are calling for as much as 22 inches of snow from central Iowa to the Canadian border by the time the storm winds down on Saturday morning. Travelers drove through 6 inches of snow today and started lining 16 up at the airport in the Twin Cities before 5:00 to trying to beat the worst of the storm. Glint Sanchez of Eden Prairie, Minnesota was heading to visit his family in Florida.

“Really anxious to get on the plane and get out of Minnesota coz I guess they’re talking late today, tomorrow it’s like gonna be non-stop snow. So, so, yeah I think snow might get in this coming.”

Scores of flights were cancelled overnight because of the storm, but lines were moving quickly at the airport and flights that could get out were mostly on schedule. For NPR News, I’m Tem Nelson in St. Paul.

The traditional Christmas’ Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica was briefly 17 interrupted when Vatican authorities say a woman jumped barriers, knocking down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle 18 to begin the service. However the officials say the 82-year-old pontiff was not hurt and got up to resume his walk to the basilica's main altar. Officials say the woman who they say appeared to be mentally unstable 19 was taking into custody.

On Wall Street today the Dow Jones industrial Average rose 54 points. The NASDAQ was up six points.

This is NPR.

A report that Apple may be about to hit the market with a new product sent shares of the company stock to an all-time high today. The Financial Times citing sources says that Apple has rent a space for several days in late January at an art center in San Francisco. Apple is known for its highly staged product launches and reportedly may be working on a new product. Some say it’s a cross between a laptop computer and an iPod touch. The company has not commented on any new products launches.

Top executives of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get paid as much as 6 million dollars for their work this past year. The plans for executive pay were reviewed in filings with Security and Exchange Commission today. NPR's Tammer Keith reports.

Fannie and Freddie were seized by regulators back in September of 2008 and so far have gotten more than 100 billion dollars in taxpayer money to stay afloat. The new executive pay packages were worked out in consultation with the Obama administration’s so called Pay Czar. The CEOs will each receive 900,000 dollars in base salary, 3.1 million in deferred 20 payments and another 2 million in bonuses if they meet certain goals. In a statement, the firm’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said that on average compensation at Fannie and Freddie for 2009 was down 40% from before the government take over. But the director of the agency insisted the multi-million dollars pay packages were needed to attract and retain talent. Tammer Keith, NPR News, Washington.

Crude oil futures 21 prices moved higher today. Oil was up a dollar and 38 cents a barrel to settle at just over 78 dollars a barrel in New York.

I' m Jack 22 Speer, NPR News in Washington.