NPR 2009-08-17

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is indicating that the administration may have backed away from its insistence 1 on a government insurance entity 2 to help cover the tens of millions of Americans who do not currently have health insurance. Sebelius said the government insurer is not an essential element of an overhaul 3 of the health care system and that non-profit insurance cooperatives may suffice instead. "I think there will be a competitor to private insurers. That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing. We need some choices,we need some competitions." Sebelius was interviewed on CNN's "State of the Union".

An American man who had been sentenced to prison in Myanmar was allowed to leave that country today along with visiting Senator Jim Webb of Virginia. Webb had met with the leader of the country's ruling junta 4. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Bangkok.

Senator Webb’s rare meeting with Senior General Than Shwe yielded two immediate 5 results: the release of John Yettaw on humanitarian 6 grounds and an hour-long meeting with detained opposition 7 leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Webb told reporters today he was grateful for these gestures of goodwill 8 by the military and hoped they were something to build on in an effort to improve relations between the US and Myanmar. Sanctions against the regime aren't working, he said, it is important to find ways to end the isolation 9 of the Burmese people and improve their daily lives. Webb told reporters he’d also asked Myanmar's military rulers to release Aung San Suu Kyi before elections scheduled for next year. The generals, he said, haven't responded. John Yettaw meanwhile is in a Bangkok hospital to deal with medical issues exacerbated 10 by nearly four months in detention 11. Michael Sullivan, NPR News, Bangkok.

Bomb attacks in Baghdad today killed at least six people and wounded dozens of others in a commercial area. Civilians 12 and minority groups have become targets after the US military handed over security responsibility to Iraqi forces earlier this summer. NPR's Deborah Amos reports from Baghdad.

The deadly bombings have become a daily fact of life in Baghdad--after dark at places where people hang out at the end of the day, in the early morning where people gathered to look for work. Often the death toll 13 is low, but there is a higher cost in public confidence especially with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He has been unable to deliver on public services such as more electricity, but he has built his reputation on convincing war-weary Iraqis he could keep them safe. The steady casualty count has taken another toll. The Iraqi government announced that plans for a nationwide census 14 has been put on indefinite hold. Counting Iraqis, documenting the actual number of Iraq's diverse religious and ethnic 15 communities was considered too divisive at this time. Deborah Amos, NPR News, Baghdad.

This is NPR.

Hot, dry winds are fanning the flames of nearly a dozen wildfires in California, including a blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains that has spread over ten square miles. That fire is now about 50% contained. But CalFire spokesman John Buchanan says fire crews still face some difficult challenges. "There's some really steep terrain 16 here. In some places, it is almost like 200 feet straight down from the road. So,just hiking down and getting hand crews and stuff down there is just treacherous 17." Buchanan says more than 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze.

The State of California has reached a settlement with the makers 18 of Astro Turf that will nearly eliminate potentially dangerous lead from the company's artificial grass. Bob Hensley of Capital Public Radio has the story.

California filed a lawsuit 19 last year against Astro Turf and two other companies after tests showed excessive lead levels in their products. Manufacturers use lead to keep the colors in artificial turf from fading. Environmental organization charged that children could ingest unsafe amounts of lead by playing on Astro Turf carpets. Charles Margulis is with the Center for Environmental Health. "This is a chemical that's stunningly 20 toxic 21 to children. This can cause lifelong behavior problems, learning problems." Under terms of the settlement, Astro Turf will also pay a hefty civil penalty and attorney's fees. For NPR News, I'm Bob Hensley in Modesto, California.

Tropical storm Claudette is bearing down on the Florida Panhandle and could become the first tropical storm to hit the mainland this year. The storm has winds of at least 50 miles an hour. Forecasters are keeping an eye on two other storms farther out in the Atlantic Ocean that have potential of strengthening over the next week.

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.