At least 15 die in Macedonia boat sinking
OHRID, Macedonia, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- At least 15 people were killed when a tourist boat sank in southwest Macedonia's Lake Ohrid Saturday, officials said.
Ivo Kotevski, a spokesman for the Macedonian Interior Ministry, told CNN the vessel when down about 11 a.m. local time about 650 feet from shore, adding three more passengers were rescued and hospitalized in critical condition.
Kotevski told the U.S. broadcaster earlier that 54 people had been rescued from the cold waters were being treated in a nearby hotel.
Radio Bulgaria reported most of the passengers on The Ilinden were Bulgarian tourists and that early reports from local media blamed the accident on overloading. The state broadcaster quoted local reports saying Macedonia had declared Sunday a national day of mourning and that the country's transportation minister, Mile Janakievski, had offered his resignation.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has made arrangements for a Tu-154 aircraft to be sent to Ohrid to transport rescued passengers back home, Radio Bulgaria said.
White House, Baucus may draft health bills
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The White House may draft its own healthcare legislation if efforts at a congressional compromise fail, sources say.
CNN, citing sources in the administration, said the bill would be aimed at convincing Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, to become an ally. Snowe supports a plan that would have no public insurance option but would have a trigger to establish one if private insurance does not fill the gaps in coverage.
A spokesman for President Barack Obama said Friday no formal bill has been drafted by the White House.
"The president has been reviewing all of the various legislative proposals, but no decision has been made about whether formal legislation will be presented," Dan Pfeiffer, deputy communications director, said.
U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., also is reportedly planning to introduce his own bill.
Citing unnamed sources, The Washington Post reported Saturday that Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, applied pressure in a conference call to the five other members of the committee, also known as the Gang of Six, on Friday as Obama prepared to address Congress next week on healthcare reform.
The newspaper said Baucus indicated he would propose his own healthcare bill based on two months of exhaustive policy work by the committee by Tuesday if no agreement was forthcoming. As it stands, Obama is faced with a choice of preserving the liberal ideal of a government-run healthcare option to compete with private health plans or compromising with conservative Democrats and Republicans in scrapping the so-called public option.
Baucus told the Post he and his Finance Committee colleagues would meet Tuesday."
Mousavi urges continued Iran resistance
TEHRAN, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Ex-Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, issuing his first communication in weeks, says his supporters should continue their political protests.
The opposition figure, writing Saturday on his Web site Kalamenews.com, also challenged Iranian authorities to launch an investigation into the results of Iran's June presidential election, which official ballot tallies indicated incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won in a landslide despite widespread opposition, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"We shouldn't leave any stone unturned and live up to our commitments in our struggle against cheaters and liars," Mousavi wrote. "In pursuing our cause we should brave all the accusations, and we shouldn't duck any act of courage or daring."
The newspaper said Mousavi has remained unbowed despite a massive crackdown on his supporters in the wake of fierce protests over the results of the June 12 election. His followers have since undergone arrests and televised mass tribunals.
The Times said Mousavi issued his exhortation two days after the Iranian parliament disappointed reformers by approving a mostly hard-line Cabinet of Ahmadinejad loyalists. The president met Saturday with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who voiced support for Iran's nuclear program, the newspaper reported.
California fire 42 percent contained
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- California's Station fire was 42 percent contained after burning 154,655 acres and destroying at least 76 homes, U.S. Forest Service officials said.
The fire was moving through tall, thick brush in steep terrain at the eastern edge of the San Gabriel Wilderness in Los Angeles County, Incident Commander Mike Dietrich told the Los Angeles Times in a story published Saturday.
Officials were still attempting to determine the property damage toll, but it was estimated to have cost more than $37 million to battle the blaze to date.
John Tripp, Los Angeles County Fire Department chief deputy, said the fire had destroyed 76 homes to date and damaged 13 others.
Officials told the Times 10 firefighters were recently sent to the hospital after two separate incidents involving hazardous materials. One of those firefighters remained hospitalized in unspecified condition, the Times said.
Officials suspect the wildfire, which has claimed the lives of two firefighters, was deliberately set.
