U.S. President Barack Obama says progress is being made toward passing legislation to reform the way Americans pay for health care. The president is also using his weekly address to debunk what he calls "outlandish rumors" about his plan.

President Obama says health insurance reform is critical to the nation's long-term economic strength. And he is praising four committees in Congress for agreeing on what he calls "a difficult and complex challenge." "There are still details to be hammered out. There are still differences to be reconciled. But we are moving toward a broad consensus on reform," he said.

Mr. Obama says opponents of his health reform plan have been spreading false information about what the proposal will and will not do. "And let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia, or cut Medicaid (the government program to help senior citizens pay for health care), or bring about a government takeover of health care. That is simply not true," he said.

In the Republican response, Bob McDonnell, a candidate for governor of the state of Virginia, says his party also wants to fix health insurance. But he says it should be done without excessive government intervention. "We are committed to helping more Americans to get the health care coverage they need, not through nationalizing the system with a costly government-run plan, but rather by supporting free-market incentives to help small business owners to make coverage more accessible and affordable," he said.

The Labor Department announced on Friday that the nation's unemployment dipped from 9.5 percent in June to 9.4 percent in July. Mr. Obama mentions the better-than-expected data in his address, and says reforming health care is a pillar for future growth and prosperity.

McDonnell says unemployment remains high, and the solution is less government regulation, not more. "As Republicans, we believe you create those new jobs by keeping taxes and regulation low, and litigation at a minimum. Americans succeed when government puts in place positive policies that encourage more freedom and more opportunity," he said.

President Obama leaves Sunday for Guadalajara, Mexico, where he will meet with the Canadian and Mexican leaders in a two-day North American summit.

According to VOA

About 100 police officers were sent to Shaanxi province's Changqing township after villagers broke into the smelting plant Monday.

The protesters broke down the fence surrounding a special plant railway. Police say they are in control of the scene, but at least 10 trucks were damaged.

Chinese boy gets treatment for lead poisoning at a hospital in Changqing, north China's Shaanxi province, 15 Aug 2009
Chinese boy gets treatment for lead poisoning at a hospital in Changqing, north China's Shaanxi province, 15 Aug 2009
The attack comes after medical tests revealed at least 615 children in two nearby villages have excessive levels of lead in their blood. These children live near the Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Company plant.

Lead poisoning occurs when the body absorbs lead, either by eating it or breathing it in. Dr. Marie Shieh of Beijing United Family Hospital says children are more vulnerable to lead poisoning than adults.

"They absorb the lead more easily in their digestive tract, and they have gaps in their blood-brain barrier that allows the lead to be deposited in their brain," said Shieh.

Some of the children tested in Shaanxi have blood lead levels of more than 500 milligrams per liter. Any level above 200 is considered hazardous. Such high levels can lead to severe problems of the brain and nervous system.

So far 166 children were hospitalized and their medical expenses will be covered by the county government. The rest will be treated at home.

Shieh says even with treatment the effects of lead poisoning can last a lifetime.

"The problem with lead is the neurological symptoms are irreversible," said Shieh. "That means even if these kids are treated they're going to have perhaps symptoms throughout their lifetime, because the lead doesn't go away very quickly."

Local authorities ordered the smelting plant to close on August 6, about two weeks after the first lead poisoning case was reported.

Environmental protection officials in the area say the lead content in the air near the plant was more than six times higher than monitoring sites about 350 meters away. Still, they say the plant's groundwater, surface water, soil and waste discharge all meet the national standards.

The Dongling Group is one of the biggest private companies in Shaanxi province. Polluting industries are frequently placed in poorer areas of China to develop the local economy.

Before the plant opened, the county government promised to relocate those living near the plant. But only a quarter of the families had been moved by the time the poisoning cases were revealed.

As its economy has grown over the past three decades, China has suffered a series of industrial pollution incidents that have fouled the air, water supplies and soil. On many occasions, such incidents have led to large protests by people harmed by the pollution.

According to Voanews