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Axelrod: Public option a 'good tool'

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- The "public option" component of U.S. healthcare reform proposals is "a good tool" but doesn't define the whole effort, a top White House adviser says.

David Axelrod, a senior adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" the president still believes a government-run alternative to private insurers is necessary to provide competition where consumers without employer-provided coverage have few choices, but also hinted the White House could be flexible.

"(Obama) believes the public option is a good tool," Axelrod said. "It shouldn't define the whole healthcare debate, however."

Saying the president's goal is "promoting competition and choice," Axelrod added, "There are markets where there are insurance companies that have 90 percent of the business, states in this country, so it's very difficult to discipline the insurance companies on price and on the quality of care.

"Competition would do that and give the consumers a better break," he said.

Republicans have warned that a healthcare bill containing a public option will not pass the Senate Finance Committee because of concerns it could entice employers now paying for private plans to steer their employees into a public one.

Netanyahu to press ahead with settlements

JERUSALEM, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A close ally of Israeli leader Binyamin Netanyahu says the prime minister will go ahead with plans to build new West Bank Jewish settlement housing.

Transport Minister Yisrael Katz told Israel Radio Sunday that despite strong opposition from the United States, Netanyahu is still planning to lay out the details of adding up to 700 apartments in the West Bank within days, the BBC reported.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Netanyahu will agree to a temporary and conditional settlement halt after going ahead with the new apartments, of which Katz reportedly said, "We are not speaking about a freeze," but rather an "easing" of construction.

The Post said Netanyahu's position is supported by fellow Likud ministers Moshe Kahlon, Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told the BBC that Israel's moves to press ahead with new settlements showed that U.S. President Barack Obama has failed in his mediation efforts.

Two Baghdad blasts kill 1, injure 12

BAGHDAD, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A pair of bombings in Baghdad Sunday killed at least one person and injured almost a dozen others, an Iraq Interior Ministry official said.

The official said a car bomb detonated near an eastern Baghdad Iraqi Army checkpoint, killing at least one civilian and wounding six others, while five other civilians were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in the Karrada district of central Baghdad, CNN reported.

The U.S. broadcaster said the explosion came even as security had been heightened after last month's deadly truck bombings at the Iraqi finance and foreign ministries -- blasts that killed at least 100 people and wounded hundreds of other civilians.

La. man kills 3 family members, himself

HOLDEN, La., Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Authorities said Sunday a Holden, La., man shot his estranged wife, his son and grandson to death before turning the gun on himself.

Livingston Parish, La., authorities said the victims of the Saturday night shootings included Amber Carter, the pregnant 25-year-old daughter-in-law of Dennis Carter Sr., who police said took his own life before he could be taken into custody. Amber Carter, who was hospitalized in critical condition, CNN reported.

Police said Amber Carter's husband, Dennis Carter Jr., 26; Mason Carter, 2, the son of Dennis and Amber Carter; and 49-year-old Donna Carter, mother of Dennis Carter Jr., were killed.

Deputies issued a statement saying a neighbor reported he heard a gunshot and saw the elder Carter walking to a car with a gun in his hand. Police later spotted the car entering Interstate 12, followed it and attempted to stop it.

"However, the suspect shot himself with a handgun, in plain view of the officers, as the vehicle veered off the shoulder of the interstate near the Holden exit," police said in the statement.

CNN said Livingston Parish Detention Center records show Dennis Carter Sr., had been jailed three times in 2009 alone for allegedly violating orders of protection.