News in Brief: A Washington Roundup

Two ideological opposites in the Senate have joined forces to propose the latest in an array of congressional plans to extend affordable health care to millions of uninsured children.

Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the chamber's leading liberals, and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a prominent conservative, have unveiled legislation that would expand the umbrella of health insurance to cover half of the nation's 10 million uninsured children. The plan, which would cost more than $20 billion over the next five years, would be paid for through a...