Most Want Health Reform But Fear Its Side Effects

majority of Americans see government action as critical to controlling runaway health-care costs, but there is broad public anxiety about the potential impact of reform legislation and conflicting views about the types of fixes being proposed on Capitol Hill, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.Most respondents are "very concerned" that health-care reform would lead to higher costs, lower quality, fewer choices, a bigger deficit, diminished insurance coverage and more government bureaucracy. About six in 10 are at least somewhat worried about all of these factors, underscoring the challenges for lawmakers as they attempt to restructure...

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Time frame set for Ahmadinejad's inaugural

The state-owned Press TV channel's website reports that Iran's president will be sworn in between July 26 and Aug. 19. Iran's Guardian Council says it found no 'major' irregularities in his election.Reporting from Tehran -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in to his second term before the end of August after Iran's Guardian Council today ruled out the possibility of nullifying a disputed election, saying it could find no evidence of any "major" irregularities, according to the state-owned English-language Press TV satellite news channel."Fortunately, in the recent presidential election, we found no witness of major fraud or breach...

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9 fatalities confirmed in D.C. Metro train crash

WASHINGTON -- Nine fatalities have been confirmed in the worst accident in the history of Washington's Metro subway system, authorities said Tuesday morning.The updated casualty count came after rescue workers toiled through the night and into daylight this morning near the D.C.-Maryland line, where a Metro train rear-ended a stopped train during Monday evening's rush hour.A spokeswoman for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which operates Metro, confirmed shortly after 10:30 a.m. that the death toll had reached nine. Among the dead was the operator of the train that crashed into the stopped train. Jeanice McMillan, 42, of Springfield,...

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Obama expected to tackle Iran, health care in news conference

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With his young administration suddenly facing a series of stiff head winds in foreign and domestic policy, President Obama will try to recapture political momentum Tuesday with a midday news conference tackling a range of contentious issues.he president is expected to address questions being raised about his approach to the crackdown in Iran and North Korea's recent missile tests. Closer to home, he is likely to use the occasion to take on congressional critics of his health care plan as well as to discuss broader economic concerns.Obama's news conference will air on CNN and CNN.com at 12:30 p.m. ET.The No. 1 issue may be...

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Obama administration complains to WTO about China

China's being unfair to U.S. steel producers by restricting access to raw materials, the U.S. says. The complaint is the first to be filed after Obama promised aggressive action in his campaign.Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration today demonstrated its intent to be tougher on major global trading partners, filing a complaint against China for restricting access to raw materials important for U.S. producers of steel, aluminum and chemicals.The request to the World Trade Organization to begin dispute resolution talks is the first trade complaint by the administration after President Obama promised more aggressive action on such issues during the campaign. It accuses China of placing unfair export restraints on nine materials that it is a major producer of, including coke, a...

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Iran Accuses UN Chief of Meddling in Election Dispute

Iran is accusing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of meddling in its affairs after he urged the Islamic state to stop its crackdown on opposition protesters.Iranian state media quote the Foreign Ministry as saying Tuesday Mr. Ban is contradicting his duties and ignoring the facts about Iran's June 12 presidential election. Iran's government also accused the U.N. chief of being influenced by unspecified foreign powers.Mr. Ban released a statement Monday urging Iran's conservative government and reformist opposition to peacefully resolve their dispute over this month's election. Official results gave a landslide victory to the conservative incumbent, Mahmoud Ahamdinejad.Mr. Ban expressed dismay about Iran's post-election violence and urged Iranian authorities to "immediately stop" arrests...

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White House: Obama Has No Plan to Alter Tone on Iran Protests

President Obama, who is expected to hold his first Rose Garden press conference on Tuesday, does not want the U.S. to become a "political football" or "foil" to the demonstrators who are protesting Iran's disputed election outcome, the White House said.President Obama has no plans to alter his tone in response to Iran's bloody crackdown on post-election demonstrations, the White House said Tuesday."He'll continue to speak out in support of those that are seeking to demonstrate and do so in a way peacefully," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told FOX News. "We don't want to inject our government in the place of the reformers in this equation."The...

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Fresh delay for Boeing Dreamliner

Boeing has announced that it will delay the maiden flight of its new Dreamliner 787 aircraft, the latest postponement to befall the project.The flight had been due to take place on 30 June, but the US company said it had now been delayed due to a need to reinforce a side section of the plane. Only last week, Boeing told the BBC that the Dreamliner would have its first flight "in a couple of weeks".Boeing said in April it would have to postpone its first deliveries.Boeing is due to give more details about the latest postponement at a news conference later.Before the latest announcement, the long-range, medium-sized Dreamliner was already 15 months...

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More Than 75 Injured in Metro Accident Taken to Area Hospitals

At least 76 people were taken to area hospitals last night for treatment of injuries that ranged from minor to critical. Most went to Washington Adventist Hospital, Washington Hospital Center and Howard University Hospital, officials said.Officials described a chaotic scene in which hospitals braced for mass casualties, and media crews and relatives of potential victims descended upon waiting rooms and parking lots, searching for any scrap of information about what had happened.The bulk of the injured seem to have gone to Washington Adventist, near the crash site. Officials at Washington Hospital Center say seven patients were treated there....

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Europeans pressure Iran to end protest crackdown

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Europe has stepped up pressure on Iran to end its bloody crackdown on street protests, feeling less constrained to speak out than President Barack Obama — who has made engagement with the Islamic Republic a keystone of U.S. foreign policy.But like Obama, European leaders have tempered their reaction, wary of crossing a line that could make matters worse for the dissenters in Tehran and undermine efforts to contain Iranian nuclear ambitions.There has been no talk of diplomatic sanctions or curtailing business ties, which could rebound against Europe at a time when Iran is increasingly seen as an essential partner in dealing with...

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IRAN: Obama showing 'right degree of restraint,' analyst says

nthony Cordesman, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, says President Obama is showing the “right degree of restraint” in his public comments about Iran.Obama has come under domestic pressure to respond more forcefully to the disputed presidential election there. He says he does not want to give Iranian authorities grounds to claim that the protests are the result of U.S. meddling. In a statement Saturday, Obama called on the Iranian government to “stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people” and said the “United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights."Cordesman writes:...

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Obama signs landmark tobacco legislation into law

ASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday signed into law a landmark bill that gives the U.S. government broad regulatory power for the first time over cigarettes and other tobacco products.Obama, who said he began smoking as a teenager, said the law would curb the ability of tobacco companies to market their products to children."It will force these companies to more clearly and publicly acknowledge the harmful and deadly effects of the products they sell," Obama said, adding that he knew how hard it was for people to give up smoking."I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time."The...

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Obama: US Ready for Any Threat from N. Korea

U.S. President Barack Obama said his administration and the U.S. military are "fully prepared for any contingencies" involving North Korea -- including the possible launch of a long-range missile toward Hawaii.In a television interview with CBS News that aired Monday, Mr. Obama said he hopes that Pyongyang will take a path toward rejoining the international community. But he said his administration will not reward "belligerence and provocation." His comments followed reports that North Korea plans to fire a ballistic missile toward Hawaii in early July, and as U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, tracked a North Korean ship suspected...

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nternational Criticism of Iranian Government Actions Grows

International criticism of Iran's handling of a disputed presidential vote and subsequent protests is mounting, after Iranian media reported the arrest of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani's eldest daughter. German Chancellor Angela Merkel added her voice to a growing chorus of Western leaders demanding respect for civil liberties in Iran."Human rights and citizens' rights are inseparable, and that is why Germany stands behind the people, and peaceful demonstrations in Iran, who want to make use of their freedom of speech and who want to gather peacefully. I, therefore, demand that Iran's leaders allow peaceful demonstrations, allow free reporting...

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Eyewitnesses Say Iranian Police Use Force to Break Up Protest

Witnesses say Iranian riot police have fired tear gas to break up a new opposition rally in the centre of the capital Tehran, hours after a stern warning to protesters.According to eyewitness reports, Iranian police Monday attacked hundred of demonstrators attending an opposition rally in a Tehran square with tear gas. Demonstrators had gathered on Haft-e Tir Square despite the warning from Iran's Revolutionary Guards against holding unapproved rallies.Earlier, Defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi urged his supporters to continue demonstrating, but "with restraint.""The country belongs to you," Mr. Mousavi told supporters on his...

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3 Killed in Baghdad Roadside Bombing

Police in Iraq say at least three people were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a mini-bus in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City.At least 13 others were wounded in the explosion Monday. Overall violence has declined in recent months in Iraq, but sectarian strife has been evident in the capital recently.Earlier this month, the head of the main Sunni bloc in Iraq's parliament, Harith al-Obeidi, was killed after leading Friday prayers at a mosque in Baghdad.An Iraqi security official has said a suspected member of the group al-Qaida has been arrested in connection with that killing.The violence comes as U.S. combat troops prepare...

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Pakistan faces challenge of cementing victory against Taliban

The campaign against Taliban forces in the northwest has impressed observers, but they point to the next, equally important, task for the government, to address issues that help foster militancy.Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan -- The Pakistani army has exceeded expectations in its offensive against Taliban fighters in northwestern Pakistan, effectively marshaling arms, tactics and political support. But the tougher challenge will be preventing the extremists from returning, or from regrouping elsewhere."The key question is whether the army can hold the ground afterward," said Urmila Venugopalan, a South Asia expert with the defense analysis...

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World Bank cuts 2009 global growth forecast

BEIJING (AP) — The World Bank has cut its 2009 global growth forecast, saying the world economy will shrink by 2.9 percent and warning that a drop in investment in developing countries will increase poverty."The global recession has deepened," the Washington-based multilateral lender said in a report.Global trade is expected to plunge by 9.7 percent this year, while total gross domestic product for high-income countries contracts by 4.2 percent, the bank said. It said economic growth in developing countries should slow to 1.2 percent — but excluding relatively strong China and India, developing economies will contract by 1.6 percent.The bank's...

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Leading Russian survives assassination attempt

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The president of the troubled Russian republic of Ingushetia was wounded in an assassination attempt Monday when a blast hit his convoy. Yunus-Bek Yevkurov suffered a severe brain concussion, fractured ribs and a ruptured liver, his spokesman said.The president underwent surgery and his life was not in danger, spokesman Kaloi Akhigov said.Yevkurov's motorcade was headed to his office Monday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives packed in a car parked by the side of the road, law enforcement officials told local media.The blast killed Yevkurov's bodyguard and driver. Three others were seriously wounded.Russian President...

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Calm in Tehran; Authorities Confirm Hundreds of Arrests

Iran's capital appears tense but calm Monday, with no reports of the large-scale demonstrations and street violence that have gripped the city since the disputed June 12 presidential election.Supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi are urging people to turn on their car headlights in the early evening as a sign of protest and a show of solidarity.Iranian state radio reported Monday that at least 457 people were arrested Saturday - a day marked by clashes between security forces and demonstrators that resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people. Tehran's police chief says those detained had provoked civil unrest.Iran's official...

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S.Korean leader to visit Japan amid nuclear stand-off

SEOUL (AFP) — South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak will visit Japan on Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Taro Aso, Lee's office said, amid growing tensions over North Korea's nuclear programmes.During his one-day visit Lee will exchange views on topics including the North's nuclear issue, the presidential office said in a statement.Lee will also discuss the state of Korea-Japan relations and regional and international cooperation, it said.The South Korean leader is expected to brief Aso on his summit last week with US President Barack Obama in Washington.Obama warned that a nuclear North Korea is a "grave threat" and said he would not tolerate...

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West 'seeks Iran disintegration'

Western powers are seeking to undermine Iran by spreading "anarchy and vandalism", the foreign ministry says.A spokesman said foreign media were "mouthpieces" of enemy governments seeking Iran's disintegration.He spoke as Tehran remained tense but quiet amid heavy security aimed at preventing new protests against the result of Iran's presidential election.Iran's Guardian Council says it found irregularities in 50 constituencies, but denied that affected the result.Challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi says the vote was rigged in favour of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and must be re-run.Mr Mousavi has told his supporters, who have taken to the streets...

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Iran hits out at 'meddling west,' acknowledges ballot discrepancy

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran on Monday accused the West of "meddling" in its disputed presidential election even as its election authority reportedly acknowledged that the number of ballots cast in dozens of cities exceeded the number of eligible voters in those areas. Speaking to reporters, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi alleged that foreign media organizations, such as CNN and BBC, were mouthpieces of their respective governments that were exaggerating reports of police clashes with protesters who have demonstrated daily since the June 12 race.He also said that government-run news sites, such as the Iranian Student's News Agency,...

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