NPR 2009-07-20

White House budget director Peter Orszag is defending President Obama's plan to overhaul 1 the nation's healthcare system and Mr. Obama's August target for passage of legislation by Congress. Some lawmakers from both parties are saying the bills are complex and should not be rushed. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

At the end of last week, a group of moderate Democrats 2 released a letter asking the White House and congressional leaders to slow down the passage of a healthcare bill. They said they want more time to work on details, but Orszag said on CNN that the Obama administration is still pushing for passage of a House bill by the start of August. "We think we can make that, we're working towards that. And we have to remember there are some who are advocating delay simply because they don't have anything to put on the table. That is the typical Washington bureaucratic 3 game of -"If you don't have a better alternative, just delay in the hope that that kills something is partly what's playing out here." President Obama wants to spend August and the autumn working on a final compromise between the House and Senate bills. Andrea Seabrook, NPR News, Washington.

A US military spokesman in Kabul is criticizing a video released showing an American soldier captured in Afghanistan. Colonel Greg Julian says the video which he called "Taliban propaganda" violates international law. The soldier is shown being told by his captors to call for the withdrawal 4 of US troops.

A civilian 5 transport helicopter crashed at NATO's largest base in southern Afghanistan today, killing 6 at least 16 people. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson has more from Kabul.

The nationality of those killed was not immediately known. NATO officials in Afghanistan say there were no military personnel on board the Russian MI-8 helicopter, which crashed upon take-off at Kandahar airbase.

The Russian news agency Interfax reports that the crew members and two passengers survived. The MI-8 helicopter can carry two dozen people. Hours earlier, a US army helicopter made an emergency landing in Konar province in eastern Afghanistan. The US military says those on board suffered minor 7 injuries. It was the third helicopter incident in less than a week. Taliban militants 8 shot down a MI-6 transport helicopter in Helmand province on Tuesday. Six Ukrainian civilians 9 and an Afghan child on the ground died in that crash. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Kabul.

Secretary of State Clinton says she is hopeful that India and the US can find ways to bridge their differences on how to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions 10. "The United States and India can devise a plan that will dramatically change the way we produce, consume and conserve 11 energy." Clinton said she had a fruitful discussion today with India's Environment Minister, but he had a different take on the session. He complained about US pressure to accept binding 12 limits on carbon emissions.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Wildfires have forced the evacuation of more than 17, 000 people in western Canada and have destroyed at least nine buildings so far. Craig McCauley reports from Vancouver that two of the blazes have charred 13 more than 1, 100 acres.

Evacuation orders cover half the population of West Kelowna, which is about a four-hour drive from northeastern Vancouver. The first fire started amid Saturday afternoon and quickly grew five times the size by Sunday morning. The main highway leading south out of West Kelowna linking the area to population centers in the south is also closed, having been engulfed 14 in flames Sunday night. The causes of the wildfires are so far unknown, but natural reasons are unlikely due to clear skies. Below average rainfall, tinder-dry conditions and wind gusts 15 are fueling the fires. A lightning strike in nearby Kelowna destroyed over 200 homes in 2003. For NPR News, I am Craig McCauley in Vancouver.

The dream almost came true today for Tom Watson. The 59-year-old veteran golfer came within one putt of winning the British Open golf tournament and becoming the oldest player ever to win a major tournament. But Watson missed an eight foot putt on the final hole of regulation, setting up a playoff which he lost to Stewart Cink. Watson admitted afterward 16 that the loss was heartbreaking. "It would have been a hell of a story, wouldn’t it? It would have been a hell of story. It wasn't to be and yes, it is a great disappointment. It tears at your gut 17 as it always has torn at my gut." Watson was given a standing 18 ovation 19 on the 18th green at the end of the playoff as he blinked back tears. Stewart Cink was just two years old when Watson won the first of his five British Open Championships.