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Obama health reform plan is due today WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House readied its last-ditch effort to salvage health care legislation Sunday while the Senate's Republican leader warned Democrats against the go-it-alone approach. The White House was expected to post a ver- sion of President Barack Obama's plan for over- hauling health care on its Web site on Monday, ahead of his critical and daring summit at Blair House on Thursday. The plan, which was likely to be opposed by the GOP, was expected to require most Ameri- cans to carry health insurance coverage, with federal subsidies to help many afford the premiums. Hewing close to a stalled Senate bill, it would bar insurance companies from deny- ing coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more. The expected price tag is around $1 trillion over 10 years. The conference at the White House guest resi- dence is to be televised live on C-SPAN and perhaps on cable news networks. It represents a gam- ble by the administra- tion that Obama can save his embattled over- haul through persuasion — a risky and unusual step. It was forced on the administration by the Senate special election victory of Massachu- setts Republican Scott Brown in January. He captured the seat long held by Democrat Edward M. Kennedy, who died last year. Brown's victory reduced the Democrats' majority in the Senate to 59 votes, one shy of the number needed to knock down Republican delay- ing tactics. Israel unveils new drone fleet that can fly as far as Persian Gulf TEL NOF AIR FORCE BASE, Israel (AP) — Israel's air force on Sunday introduced a fleet of huge pilotless planes that can remain in the air for a full day and could fly as far as the Per- sian Gulf, putting rival Iran within its range. The Heron TP drones have a wingspan of 86 feet (26 meters), making them the size of Boeing 737 passenger jets and the largest unmanned aircraft in Israel's military. The planes can fly at least 20 consecutive hours and are primarily used for surveil- lance and carrying diverse payloads. At the fleet's inaugura- tion ceremony at a sprawling air base in cen- tral Israel, the drone dwarfed an F-15 fighter jet parked beside it. The unmanned plane resem- bles its predecessor, the Heron, but can fly higher, reaching an altitude of more than 40,000 feet (12,000 meters), and remain in the air longer. ''With the inauguration of the Heron TP, we are realizing the air force's dream,'' said Brig. Gen. Amikam Norkin, com- mander of the base that will operate the drones. ''The Heron TP is a tech- nological and operational breakthrough.'' The commander of Israel's air force, Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, said the aircraft ''has the potential to be able to conduct new missions down the line as they become relevant.'' Flash floods kill 42 on Portuguese island FUNCHAL, Madeira Islands (AP) — Rescue workers in Madeira dug through heaps of mud, boulders and debris Sun- day, searching for victims buried by floods and mudslides that have killed at least 42 people on the popular Portuguese island. Residents looking for missing loved ones were directed by local authori- ties to the resort's interna- tional airport, where a makeshift morgue has been set up. Social services spokesman Francisco Jardim Ramos said not all the bodies had been iden- tified. The center is equipped with psychi- atric, psychological and social counseling ser- vices, he said. More than 120 other people were injured and an unknown number were missing, possibly swept away or smoth- ered, authorities said, adding the death could still rise. Of 248 people who were forced to flee their homes for tempo- rary shelters, 85 have been allowed to return home, Ramos said. Late Sunday, a spokes- woman for the British Foreign office confirmed that a British national had died, but declined to give further details. The spokeswoman spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department poli- cy. Federal authorities charge 2 inchurch fires TYLER, Texas (AP) — Federal authorities say they have charged two suspects in a series of church fires in Texas. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Tom Crowley says 19- year-old Jason Robert Bourque and 21-year-old Daniel George McAllister have been charged Sun- day with five counts of felony arson in connec- tion with fires at churches in Smith County, east Texas. Authorities believe at least 11 blazes at church- es in Texas since the start of the year have been set intentionally. Crowley says he has no information on attorneys for the suspects. 3 teen girls crossing Fla. bridge killed by train MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) — Three teenage girls were joking around and tak- ing pictures on a narrow bridge when they were hit by a train, killing them as a friend watched helplessly, police and a witness said Sunday. The girls and the fourth teenager, a boy, had been hanging out in Melbourne's downtown area — known for its shops and nightclubs — when they decided to cross the trestle around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Lt. Curtis Barger said. Their parents had dropped them off at a mall, and then they took a bus downtown where they were ''just goofing off,'' he said. The boy yelled for the girls to run when he saw the train approach, then told them to jump, Barger said. Crane Creek, about 20 feet below the bridge, is slow- moving and about 10 feet deep. The girls did not have enough time. Bruce Dumas, 53, said he was fishing under the bridge when he saw the teens walk onto the trestle around sunset. He warned them to be careful, but he said they didn't pay much attention to him. ''You know how kids are,'' Dumas said. ''They probably wanted pictures of themselves on the track.'' Few medical differences in children SAN DIEGO (AP) — More than 30 years after the world greeted its first ''test- tube'' baby with a mixture of awe, elation and concern, researchers say they are finding only a few medical differences between these children and kids conceived in the traditional way. More than 3 million chil- dren have been born world- wide as a result of what is called assisted reproductive technology, and injecting sperm into the egg outside the human body now accounts for about 4 percent of live births, researchers reported Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci- ence. The majority of assisted reproduction children are healthy and normal, accord- ing to researchers who have studied them. Some of these children do face an increased risk of birth defects, such as neural tube defects, and of low birth weight, which is associated with obesity, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes later in life, the researchers said. ''Overall, these children do well,'' said Andre Van Steirteghem of the Brussels Free University Center for Reproductive Medicine in Belgium. ''It is a reassuring message, but we must con- tinue to follow up.'' Carmen Sapienza, a geneticist at Temple Uni- versity School of Medicine in Philadelphia, noted that few of these test tube chil- dren are older than 30, so it's not known if they will be obese or have hypertension of other health problems at age 50 or older. Nepalese man seeks title of the world's shortest man KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A man who is only 22 inches (56 cen- timeters) tall left his home country of Nepal on Sun- day in a quest to be recog- nized as the world's short- est man. Khagendra Thapa Magar is traveling to Europe to campaign for the Guinness World Record title. He applied to London-based group for a place in the record book in October, soon after turning 18, but said he has not received any response. Magar's family initial- ly filed a claim when he was 14, but it was rejected because he was not an adult and there was a chance he might grow. They say doctors in Nepal have not been able to explain why Magar is so small. ''We are going to Italy to try to record his name in the Guinness Book of World Records,'' his father, Rup Bahadur Thapa Magar, told reporters in Katmandu. They plan to appear on an Italian television show to talk about his bid for the title. Once in Italy, Magar, his father and a supporter will decide on their next destination. 'Hurt Locker' takes best film at British awards show LONDON (AP) — Britain's love of the underdog triumphed Sun- day as intimate war drama ''The Hurt Locker'' beat 3D spectacular ''Avatar'' to take six prizes, includ- ing best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards. Kathryn Bigelow won the best-director battle with ''Avatar'''s James Cameron, her ex-hus- band, for her intense depiction of a bomb-dis- posal squad in Iraq. ''It means so much that this film seems to be touching people's hearts and minds,'' Bigelow said. Both films had eight nominations for the British awards, consid- ered an indicator of possi- ble success at the Acade- my Awards in Los Ange- les next month. ''Avatar'' and ''The Hurt Locker'' each has nine Oscar nom- inations. ''The Hurt Locker'' also took British prizes for original screenplay cinematography, editing and sound. 4B – Daily News – Monday, February 22, 2010 N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 PHONE: (530) 527-2151 FAX: (530) 527-5774 545 Diamond Avenue • P.O. Box 220 • Red Bluff, CA 96080 Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. DONATE YOUR VACATION newspaper dollars to the Newspaper In Education Program HELP OUR CHILDREN For more details call Circulation Department (530) 527-2151 WORLD BRIEFING