Oct. 9, 2009
The Public Observer takes a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images taken by The Associated Press.
HEALTH CARE REFORM
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a 10-year, $829-billion health care reform proposal that would extend coverage to 94 percent of eligible Americans. The bill's main author, Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., got a boost for his plan in recent days when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the health care bill would reduce the federal deficit by $81 billion over the next 10 years.
SECRETARY CLINTON TRAVELS TO EUROPE, RUSSIA
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton leaves later today for a five-day overseas trip that includes visits to Switzerland, Britain and Ireland before going to Russia. Clinton will be pressing Moscow for a strong commitment on possible tough new sanctions if Iran fails to come clean about its suspect nuclear program.
TURKEY AND ARMENIA RAPPROCHEMENT
Foreign ministers from Turkey and Armenia will sign a deal Saturday (Oct. 10) in Zurich, Switzerland, to establish diplomatic ties between the two countries, even though a major dispute remains over the World War I-era massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire. Armenia calls the slayings a genocide, while Turkey claims the death toll is inflated and the victims died as a result of civil war.
So-called "football diplomacy" has helped warm relations, with Turkish President Abdullah Gul visiting Armenia a year ago for a soccer match between the two countries. Armenian President Serge Sarkisian said he would attend a World Cup qualifier Wednesday (Oct. 14) between the two nations, if there was progress on opening a shared border.
NEW SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
The United Nations will elect five new members into the UN Security Council on Thursday to replace the five outgoing nations with terms expiring this year. The UN Security Council is comprised of five permanent members -- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China -- and 10 non-permanent members. The five permanent members have veto power over Security Council decisions, which are binding on all UN member states.
'WIZARD OF WESTWOOD' TURNS 99
John Wooden, the legendary college basketball coach who lead UCLA to 10 national championships, turns 99 on Wednesday and a site has been set up to wish him Happy Birthday. Wooden also has a new book coming out next week called "A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring."
PHOTO ROUNDUP
Here's a look at recent images taken by photographers for The Associated Press.
A woman looks at the moon through a sieve, a ritual performed before breaking fast, on the Karwa Chauth festival Wednesday in Allahabad, India. Married Hindu omen fast throughout the day and break it in the evening after looking at the moon through a sieve to seek long life for their husbands. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Amparo Martinez, left, watches as her daughter, Sorayo Martinez, 4, is given a dose of swine flu vaccine Tuesday in Oregon City, Ore. Children and health workers are the first to receive vaccines from the first batch to hit Oregon. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Sean Tucker flies his Oracle Challenger bi-plane inverted over US Marine Corps Major Nathan Miller, flying an F/A-18 Blue Angel #5 on Thursday over San Francisco Bay. The U. S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron Blue Angels and Tucker are preparing for two air shows this weekend for Fleet Week San Francisco 2009 festivities, which celebrate the area's long naval history. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
Palestinian children visiting the Marah Land Zoo outside Gaza City on Thursday look at a donkey painted in a zebra-like pattern. Zoo keepers have found a creative way to draw crowds to the Gaza zoo that suffered losses during the war with Israel. Zoo workers replaced two zebras that died of hunger during the January war with donkeys painted black and white. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
An unidentified man sits on a bench in front of the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J., on Wednesday with the New York skyline in the distance. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
Models present creationby British fashion designer Alexander McQueen for his Ready to Wear Spring Summer 2010 fashion collection, presented in Paris on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Kalamazoo Wings ice hockey players practice on pink ice at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday. The pink ice is part of the Alaska Ace's "Paint The Rink Pink" promotion, designed to focus attention on breat cancer awareness and raise money for the fight against the disease. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
A physically disabled Afghan girl waits Tuesday at the International Committee of the Red Cross orthopedic center in Kabul, Afghanistan. The center, which provides new limbs, wheelchairs and physical therapy for the disabled, has registered 91,000 disabled since 1988 and about 80 percent of them are victims of war and conflict. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
The body of an unidentified man hangs from his neck under a bridge on the old Rosarito highway as authorities stand by Friday in Tijuana, Mexico. Authorities found the dead man beaten, naked and castrated, and have not identified him but believe he is Rogelio Sanchez, a Baja California state government official who went missing this week. No suspects were named. The homicide is characteristic of Mexico's brutal drug gangs, which often dump mutilated victims in public places. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
--Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor
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