Hello on this Wednesday, September 26, 2007. I'm Kristin Volk with a UPI Headline Update.
A two-day strike against General Motors is now over. The United Auto Workers and the automaker agreed to a tentative contract earlier today. There are few details about the agreement, but both sides confirmed the deal administers retiree health care that's funded by GM and run by the UAW. The strike was the first against the automaker in 37 years.
The House has voted to expand health insurance for children. But the Democratic-led victory may be short-lived because the margin was too small to override President Bush's promised veto. The bill, which has been promoted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Steny Hoyer, would cover an extra 4 million children whose families live above the poverty level but have trouble affording private health insurance. Bush says he'll veto the legislation due to its cost, its reliance on a tobacco tax increase and its potential for replacing private insurance with government grants.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nuclear issue in Iran is now closed. He made that comment in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York yesterday. Ahmadinejad says his country is pursuing the issue legally and he will disregard burdens by arrogant powers. Under a deal brokered last month, the Iranian government agreed to a timetable for resolving outstanding issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency over its nuclear program. Iranians say their program is for peaceful power generation while Western countries fear it's trying to develop nuclear weapons.
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether states can require voters to show a government-issued photo ID before they cast a ballot. That ruling is due by the end of June and could have a major impact on the 2008 presidential election and congressional races in several states. Republicans have promoted the use of photo IDs as a way to prevent fraudulent voting while Democrats say it tends to discourage people who usually vote Democratic. They say tens of thousands of poor, elderly, disabled and foreign-born citizens do not have a valid photo ID card.
That's all for now. Check out our new special segment called "A crusade to save abandoned babies" on the homepage of upi.com. Thanks for watching.
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