Health panel’s report forces dialogue on benefits for all
Washington – The government should guarantee a core set of health benefits for all Americans by 2012 even if it means raising taxes, a nonpartisan advisory panel created by Congress has recommended.
Normally, such a recommendation might not get even a polite acknowledgment in an election-year political climate in which tax increases usually are taboo.
But the legislation that created the 15-member Citizens’ Health Care Working Group requires the president to comment and five congressional committees to hold hearings.
“I think it could work as a conversation starter,” said health economist Marilyn Moon of the American Institutes for Research. “We are getting close to having a conversation on what needs to be done about health care, in part because people who have health security at the moment are less secure than they would like to be. People who have employer coverage are seeing it undermined.”
National polls recently have shown solid backing for guaranteed health insurance, even if it means raising taxes somewhat. Support evaporates, however, if it involves substantial tax increases or premium increases.
The recommendations of the national panel, which will be completed after a comment period that ends Sept. 1, call for immediate and long-range changes.
Individuals can read the recommendations on the Internet – and submit their comments – at www.citizenshealthcare.gov.
BOSTON
JFK library launching massive digital update
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is launching a massive project to post 48 million pages of documents, 400,000 photos and 1,200 hours of video on the Internet.
The late president’s papers will be digitized first, and could be available on the Internet in 18 months, said Allan B. Goodrich, the library’s chief archivist.
The entire project, which also includes 7.5 million feet of motion-picture film and 9,000 hours of audio recordings, is expected to take a decade to complete.
JONESBORO, Ark.
Substance sickens people in restaurant
More than two dozen people became ill after inhaling a substance believed to have been sprayed inside an IHOP restaurant, police said.
Authorities were trying to determine the source of the substance that forced the restaurant’s evacuation Tuesday evening. Some customers were gasping for air, and one complained of shortness of breath and a burning sensation in his nose and throat. Four were taken to hospitals, police said.
“Due to the symptoms of the victims, it is believed that some substance, such as tear gas or some similar substance, may have been sprayed in the seating area of the restaurant,” Patrolman Jonathan Landrum said.
BEIJING
Riverbank collapse floods 11 villages
The bank of a rain-swollen river collapsed early Thursday in southern China, flooding 11 villages filled with sleeping people and causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries, state media reported.
The riverbank collapse in Fujian province came amid what the government calls the worst summer flooding in some areas in three decades. At least 55 people have been killed in Fujian and two other provinces since late May from heavy rains that have caused floods and landslides and washed away part of a rail line between Beijing and Hong Kong. Twelve people are missing.
Fujian’s Changting county saw more than 3 1/2 inches of rain in two hours, sending the Bashili River over its banks and sweeping through the 11 villages around 3 a.m., the government’s Xinhua News Agency reported, citing provincial flood control officials.
Some 3,500 families lived in the villages, parts of which were covered by 6 feet of water, the report said.
LUXEMBOURG
Balkans, EU ink pact on electricity and gas
The EU signed an accord Thursday with its Balkan neighbors that guarantees investment in the region’s electricity and natural gas networks and fosters energy cooperation among nations there. It takes effect July 1.
The deal will create a supply route for natural gas from the Middle East and the Caspian region to the EU, broadening Western Europe’s range of suppliers, and let international lenders such as the World Bank fund upgrades and expand southeast European electricity networks.
EU officials estimate Balkan nations need some $30 billion in foreign investments to upgrade and expand existing electricity grids over the next decade.
LONDON
Museum extends hours for Michelangelo show
The British Museum said Thursday it will stay open until midnight for the first time to meet the demand for access to its exhibition of the works of Italian master Michelangelo.
More than 140,000 people have visited “Michelangelo Drawings: Closer to the Master,” since it opened at the end of March. Now the 247-year-old museum will remain open until midnight every Saturday until the show closes on July 25.
“The exhibition has been such an overwhelming success that we wanted to find a way to let more people see the show before the end of its run,” director Neil MacGregor said.
