text:
Alhambra, California (CNN) -- At first, the pool builder thought his Bobcat bulldozer struck garbage as he dug a hole in a residential backyard. After all, in the older neighborhoods of San Marino, California, people used to bury their garbage.

But the plastic bag didn't contain trash.

Jose Perez, operating the Bobcat with his father as a co-worker, asked his dad what was inside. His father grabbed an 18-inch piece of reinforcement bar to poke around.

"He looked inside it, and he mouthed to me that there were bones in it," Perez testified Wednesday in a Los Angeles County court. "He thought it was a dog, but it didn't look like a dog.

"I told him to drop it, and he did," Perez continued. "It was a human skull."

As the prosecution witness referred to the plastic bag and the pool digging project in a photograph on a big screen in court, defendant Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, in a blue jail jumpsuit, stared intently at the scene where prosecutors accuse him of murdering a man in 1985.

The skull was found nine years later, on May 5, 1994, Perez testified.

The testimony was evidence that Los Angeles County prosecutors began presenting during a preliminary hearing for the German-born Gerhartsreiter, who has garnered renown for impersonating a Rockefeller and inspiring a movie about the caper. He is now accused of killing a Southern California man who has been missing since the mid-1980s.

Frank Sheridan, a forensic pathologist, testified the skull suffered at least one blow to the forehead and at least two blows to the right side. The several fractures were made at or about the time of death, said Sheridan, who is also the medical examiner of San Bernardino County in California.

The shape of two fractures also indicated an object with a curved surface, such as a baseball bat, was used to deliver the blows, Sheridan said under questioning by a prosecutor.

"This individual was alive when these fractures occurred," said Sheridan, who examined a reconstructed version of the skull. In his career, he has performed 8,000 autopsies, he said.

"There's a lot of force involved in these blows," Sheridan added. "Each one of them would have rendered the person unconscious.

"The injuries we're talking about here would have very clearly been fatal in the absence of medical care, and they could have been fatal even with medical care," he said.

At the pool construction site, investigators eventually found nearly the entire skeleton of a man whose height was between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 7 1/2 inches, testified Judith Daye, a physical anthropologist who worked for the Los Angeles County's coroner office and reviewed the bones at the site.

The missing bones included a kneecap, four fingers and a few toes, a common occurrence with buried remains, "especially the hands and feet because the bones are very small," Daye testified.

Many discovered bones were inside clothing that was wrapped in plastic, such as the pelvis inside jeans and the upper torso bones inside a shirt, Daye testified.

The preliminary hearing, to determine whether Gerhartsreiter should be bound over for trial, is expected to last six days, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Gerhartsreiter, 50, is accused of killing John Sohus, who was 27 at the time of his 1985 disappearance. His mother once owned the San Marino home where the remains were found.

During the Wednesday hearing, Los Angeles County Judge Jared Moses rejected a defense request that Gerhartsreiter be referred to as "Mr. Rockefeller" in court. The defense attorney said he and other attorneys on the team knew Gerhartsreiter as "Mr. Rockefeller."

But the judge said: "I get individuals in court who have a number of akas," a police term meaning "also known as," but "I have never seen a circumstance in court where a person is referred to by one of his akas."

Gerhartsreiter, who has led a life of multiple identities, has denied involvement in the Sohus case. At one point in his life, Gerhartsreiter assumed the identity of "Clark Rockefeller," a cultured poseur who never seemed to have a job. A Boston tabloid dubbed him "Crockefeller."

A Lifetime movie, "Who Is Clark Rockefeller?" starred Eric McCormack as Gerhartsreiter.

Gerhartsreiter, who is being held without bail, is serving a Massachusetts sentence for kidnapping his daughter; he was transferred from a prison in that state to California in July, authorities said.

In July, one of his attorneys, Jeffrey A. Denner of Boston, said he wasn't aware of any breaks in the 26-year-old Sohus case that would warrant a charge against his client.

"I was personally surprised because there was so much time, and what new evidence could have arisen? We don't know anything," Denner said in July after Gerhartsreiter's arraignment. "Old case, new case -- he didn't do it. We maintain his innocence. He maintains his innocence."

Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian was the prosecutor at Wednesday's hearing, held in Los Angeles County's Alhambra courthouse.

The case involves 9,000 pages of investigative documents and 83 CDs, DVDs and videotapes.

The whereabouts of the dead man's wife, Linda Sohus, are unknown. Except for a few postcards that appeared to have been mailed by the couple from Paris in 1985, her friends and family have not heard from her.

Gibbons said last summer that her disappearance was still under investigation.

Gerhartsreiter has been serving a four- to five-year sentence in Massachusetts for kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter in 2008. That prison term will end in mid-2012, authorities said. Gerhartsreiter will receive credit for that Massachusetts sentence while being incarcerated in California, authorities said.

Gerhartsreiter came to the United States from Germany in 1978, according to testimony at his trial for kidnapping. After spending a few years in Connecticut, he moved to Wisconsin, where he married in a green card arrangement using his true name.

Gerhartsreiter then relocated to California.

He settled in San Marino, a wealthy community near Pasadena, where he lived under the name Christopher Chichester from 1983 to 1985.

He posed as a film student and boasted that he was of English royalty, according to Vanity Fair magazine, which profiled him in January 2009 and quoted several people who knew Chichester at the time.

As Chichester, he rented a guest house from Ruth "Didi" Sohus. Her son John and his wife, Linda, came to live with Didi Sohus during the time Gerhartsreiter lived in the guest quarters.

It is unclear what his relationship was with the couple.

Didi Sohus told investigators she believed that her son and daughter-in-law were in Europe. She filed a missing person report in July 1985, according to the Pasadena Star-News.

Didi Sohus and one of Linda Sohus' friends received postcards postmarked from Paris in mid-1985, purportedly from the couple, but investigators were suspicious of their authenticity.

Sohus sold the house in late 1985 after suffering a stroke. She died three years later.

Through luminol testing of the guest quarters where Chichester lived, investigators found what appeared to be a large amount of blood. (Luminol causes a glow when it comes in contact with blood.) It is not clear when the luminol testing took place, but police thoroughly searched the house when the remains were found and again after Gerhartsreiter's arrest in the kidnapping case.

A former neighbor quoted by Vanity Fair reported that Chichester borrowed a chainsaw from him at about the time the couple went missing. An acquaintance, Dana Farrar, said she "saw an area of dirt that had obviously been dug up and filled in" at the time, according to the Pasadena Star-News. When she asked him why, Chichester told her he was having plumbing problems.

Sheriff's detectives from Los Angeles County sought Chichester for questioning in early May 1985, but he had disappeared in a pickup truck registered to John Sohus.

He resurfaced under yet another identity, that of Christopher Crowe, in Connecticut in the late 1980s.

In late 1988, Crowe tried to sell Sohus' pickup truck to a man in Connecticut. When he couldn't produce the proper paperwork for the truck, the prospective buyer reported him to police.

Connecticut police soon learned that Chichester and Crowe were the same person, although at that time, no one knew that his true name was Gerhartsreiter.

Crowe disappeared before police could question him.

He resurfaced in Manhattan in 1993 as Clark Rockefeller.

On May 5, 1994, the workers digging in the backyard of the San Marino home to install a swimming pool for the home's new owners discovered the remains. It was not until 2010 that the remains were identified.

The investigation heated up again when authorities learned shortly after the 2008 kidnapping that Gerhartsreiter was not Clark Rockefeller. He was arrested in Baltimore, where he was hiding out with his daughter. He had already assumed a new identity: a ship's captain named Chip Smith who, with his daughter Muffy, was relocating to Chile.

His second wife, Harvard-educated financial executive Sandra Boss, testified at the kidnapping trial that she spent more than a dozen years with him before growing suspicious that Rockefeller was not who he said he was.

They met in New York and were married in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Their daughter, Reigh, was born on May 24, 2001, and her father nicknamed her "Snooks."

The couple divorced in 2007 after Boss hired a private investigator to conduct a background check, according to testimony at the kidnapping trial.

text: Alhambra

text: California

text: CNN

text: At

text: first

text: the

text: pool

text: builder

text: thought

text: his

text: Bobcat

text: bulldozer

text: struck

text: garbage

text: as

text: he

text: dug

text: a

text: hole

text: in

text: a

text: residential

text: backyard

text: After

text: all

text: in

text: the

text: older

text: neighborhoods

text: of

text: San

text: Marino

text: California

text: people

text: used

text: to

text: bury

text: their

text: garbage

text: But

text: the

text: plastic

text: bag

text: did

text: n't

text: contain

text: trash

text: Jose

text: Perez

text: operating

text: the

text: Bobcat

text: with

text: his

text: father

text: as

text: a

text: co

text: worker

text: asked

text: his

text: dad

text: what

text: was

text: inside

text: His

text: father

text: grabbed

text: an

text: piece

text: of

text: reinforcement

text: bar

text: to

text: poke

text: around

text: He

text: looked

text: inside

text: it

text: and

text: he

text: mouthed

text: to

text: me

text: that

text: there

text: were

text: bones

text: in

text: it

text: Perez

text: testified

text: Wednesday

text: in

text: a

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: County

text: court

text: He

text: thought

text: it

text: was

text: a

text: dog

text: but

text: it

text: did

text: n't

text: look

text: like

text: a

text: dog

text: I

text: told

text: him

text: to

text: drop

text: it

text: and

text: he

text: did

text: Perez

text: continued

text: It

text: was

text: a

text: human

text: skull

text: As

text: the

text: prosecution

text: witness

text: referred

text: to

text: the

text: plastic

text: bag

text: and

text: the

text: pool

text: digging

text: project

text: in

text: a

text: photograph

text: on

text: a

text: big

text: screen

text: in

text: court

text: defendant

text: Christian

text: Karl

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: in

text: a

text: blue

text: jail

text: jumpsuit

text: stared

text: intently

text: at

text: the

text: scene

text: where

text: prosecutors

text: accuse

text: him

text: of

text: murdering

text: a

text: man

text: in

text: The

text: skull

text: was

text: found

text: nine

text: years

text: later

text: on

text: May

text: Perez

text: testified

text: The

text: testimony

text: was

text: evidence

text: that

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: County

text: prosecutors

text: began

text: presenting

text: during

text: a

text: preliminary

text: hearing

text: for

text: the

text: German

text: born

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: who

text: has

text: garnered

text: renown

text: for

text: impersonating

text: a

text: Rockefeller

text: and

text: inspiring

text: a

text: movie

text: about

text: the

text: caper

text: He

text: is

text: now

text: accused

text: of

text: killing

text: a

text: Southern

text: California

text: man

text: who

text: has

text: been

text: missing

text: since

text: the

text: Frank

text: Sheridan

text: a

text: forensic

text: pathologist

text: testified

text: the

text: skull

text: suffered

text: at

text: least

text: one

text: blow

text: to

text: the

text: forehead

text: and

text: at

text: least

text: two

text: blows

text: to

text: the

text: right

text: side

text: The

text: several

text: fractures

text: were

text: made

text: at

text: or

text: about

text: the

text: time

text: of

text: death

text: said

text: Sheridan

text: who

text: is

text: also

text: the

text: medical

text: examiner

text: of

text: San

text: Bernardino

text: County

text: in

text: California

text: The

text: shape

text: of

text: two

text: fractures

text: also

text: indicated

text: an

text: object

text: with

text: a

text: curved

text: surface

text: such

text: as

text: a

text: baseball

text: bat

text: was

text: used

text: to

text: deliver

text: the

text: blows

text: Sheridan

text: said

text: under

text: questioning

text: by

text: a

text: prosecutor

text: This

text: individual

text: was

text: alive

text: when

text: these

text: fractures

text: occurred

text: said

text: Sheridan

text: who

text: examined

text: a

text: reconstructed

text: version

text: of

text: the

text: skull

text: In

text: his

text: career

text: he

text: has

text: performed

text: autopsies

text: he

text: said

text: There

text: 's

text: a

text: lot

text: of

text: force

text: involved

text: in

text: these

text: blows

text: Sheridan

text: added

text: Each

text: one

text: of

text: them

text: would

text: have

text: rendered

text: the

text: person

text: unconscious

text: The

text: injuries

text: we

text: 're

text: talking

text: about

text: here

text: would

text: have

text: very

text: clearly

text: been

text: fatal

text: in

text: the

text: absence

text: of

text: medical

text: care

text: and

text: they

text: could

text: have

text: been

text: fatal

text: even

text: with

text: medical

text: care

text: he

text: said

text: At

text: the

text: pool

text: construction

text: site

text: investigators

text: eventually

text: found

text: nearly

text: the

text: entire

text: skeleton

text: of

text: a

text: man

text: whose

text: height

text: was

text: between

text: feet

text: inches

text: and

text: feet

text: inches

text: testified

text: Judith

text: Daye

text: a

text: physical

text: anthropologist

text: who

text: worked

text: for

text: the

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: County

text: 's

text: coroner

text: office

text: and

text: reviewed

text: the

text: bones

text: at

text: the

text: site

text: The

text: missing

text: bones

text: included

text: a

text: kneecap

text: four

text: fingers

text: and

text: a

text: few

text: toes

text: a

text: common

text: occurrence

text: with

text: buried

text: remains

text: especially

text: the

text: hands

text: and

text: feet

text: because

text: the

text: bones

text: are

text: very

text: small

text: Daye

text: testified

text: Many

text: discovered

text: bones

text: were

text: inside

text: clothing

text: that

text: was

text: wrapped

text: in

text: plastic

text: such

text: as

text: the

text: pelvis

text: inside

text: jeans

text: and

text: the

text: upper

text: torso

text: bones

text: inside

text: a

text: shirt

text: Daye

text: testified

text: The

text: preliminary

text: hearing

text: to

text: determine

text: whether

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: should

text: be

text: bound

text: over

text: for

text: trial

text: is

text: expected

text: to

text: last

text: six

text: days

text: said

text: Sandi

text: Gibbons

text: a

text: spokeswoman

text: for

text: the

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: County

text: District

text: Attorney

text: 's

text: Office

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: is

text: accused

text: of

text: killing

text: John

text: Sohus

text: who

text: was

text: at

text: the

text: time

text: of

text: his

text: disappearance

text: His

text: mother

text: once

text: owned

text: the

text: San

text: Marino

text: home

text: where

text: the

text: remains

text: were

text: found

text: During

text: the

text: Wednesday

text: hearing

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: County

text: Judge

text: Jared

text: Moses

text: rejected

text: a

text: defense

text: request

text: that

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: be

text: referred

text: to

text: as

text: Mr.

text: Rockefeller

text: in

text: court

text: The

text: defense

text: attorney

text: said

text: he

text: and

text: other

text: attorneys

text: on

text: the

text: team

text: knew

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: as

text: Mr.

text: Rockefeller

text: But

text: the

text: judge

text: said

text: I

text: get

text: individuals

text: in

text: court

text: who

text: have

text: a

text: number

text: of

text: akas

text: a

text: police

text: term

text: meaning

text: also

text: known

text: as

text: but

text: I

text: have

text: never

text: seen

text: a

text: circumstance

text: in

text: court

text: where

text: a

text: person

text: is

text: referred

text: to

text: by

text: one

text: of

text: his

text: akas

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: who

text: has

text: led

text: a

text: life

text: of

text: multiple

text: identities

text: has

text: denied

text: involvement

text: in

text: the

text: Sohus

text: case

text: At

text: one

text: point

text: in

text: his

text: life

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: assumed

text: the

text: identity

text: of

text: Clark

text: Rockefeller

text: a

text: cultured

text: poseur

text: who

text: never

text: seemed

text: to

text: have

text: a

text: job

text: A

text: Boston

text: tabloid

text: dubbed

text: him

text: Crockefeller

text: A

text: Lifetime

text: movie

text: Who

text: Is

text: Clark

text: Rockefeller

text: starred

text: Eric

text: McCormack

text: as

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: who

text: is

text: being

text: held

text: without

text: bail

text: is

text: serving

text: a

text: Massachusetts

text: sentence

text: for

text: kidnapping

text: his

text: daughter

text: he

text: was

text: transferred

text: from

text: a

text: prison

text: in

text: that

text: state

text: to

text: California

text: in

text: July

text: authorities

text: said

text: In

text: July

text: one

text: of

text: his

text: attorneys

text: Jeffrey

text: A.

text: Denner

text: of

text: Boston

text: said

text: he

text: was

text: n't

text: aware

text: of

text: any

text: breaks

text: in

text: the

text: old

text: Sohus

text: case

text: that

text: would

text: warrant

text: a

text: charge

text: against

text: his

text: client

text: I

text: was

text: personally

text: surprised

text: because

text: there

text: was

text: so

text: much

text: time

text: and

text: what

text: new

text: evidence

text: could

text: have

text: arisen

text: We

text: do

text: n't

text: know

text: anything

text: Denner

text: said

text: in

text: July

text: after

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: 's

text: arraignment

text: Old

text: case

text: new

text: case

text: he

text: did

text: n't

text: do

text: it

text: We

text: maintain

text: his

text: innocence

text: He

text: maintains

text: his

text: innocence

text: Deputy

text: District

text: Attorney

text: Habib

text: Balian

text: was

text: the

text: prosecutor

text: at

text: Wednesday

text: 's

text: hearing

text: held

text: in

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: County

text: 's

text: Alhambra

text: courthouse

text: The

text: case

text: involves

text: pages

text: of

text: investigative

text: documents

text: and

text: CDs

text: DVDs

text: and

text: videotapes

text: The

text: whereabouts

text: of

text: the

text: dead

text: man

text: 's

text: wife

text: Linda

text: Sohus

text: are

text: unknown

text: Except

text: for

text: a

text: few

text: postcards

text: that

text: appeared

text: to

text: have

text: been

text: mailed

text: by

text: the

text: couple

text: from

text: Paris

text: in

text: her

text: friends

text: and

text: family

text: have

text: not

text: heard

text: from

text: her

text: Gibbons

text: said

text: last

text: summer

text: that

text: her

text: disappearance

text: was

text: still

text: under

text: investigation

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: has

text: been

text: serving

text: a

text: four-

text: to

text: five

text: year

text: sentence

text: in

text: Massachusetts

text: for

text: kidnapping

text: his

text: old

text: daughter

text: in

text: That

text: prison

text: term

text: will

text: end

text: in

text: authorities

text: said

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: will

text: receive

text: credit

text: for

text: that

text: Massachusetts

text: sentence

text: while

text: being

text: incarcerated

text: in

text: California

text: authorities

text: said

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: came

text: to

text: the

text: United

text: States

text: from

text: Germany

text: in

text: according

text: to

text: testimony

text: at

text: his

text: trial

text: for

text: kidnapping

text: After

text: spending

text: a

text: few

text: years

text: in

text: Connecticut

text: he

text: moved

text: to

text: Wisconsin

text: where

text: he

text: married

text: in

text: a

text: green

text: card

text: arrangement

text: using

text: his

text: true

text: name

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: then

text: relocated

text: to

text: California

text: He

text: settled

text: in

text: San

text: Marino

text: a

text: wealthy

text: community

text: near

text: Pasadena

text: where

text: he

text: lived

text: under

text: the

text: name

text: Christopher

text: Chichester

text: from

text: to

text: He

text: posed

text: as

text: a

text: film

text: student

text: and

text: boasted

text: that

text: he

text: was

text: of

text: English

text: royalty

text: according

text: to

text: Vanity

text: Fair

text: magazine

text: which

text: profiled

text: him

text: in

text: January

text: and

text: quoted

text: several

text: people

text: who

text: knew

text: Chichester

text: at

text: the

text: time

text: As

text: Chichester

text: he

text: rented

text: a

text: guest

text: house

text: from

text: Ruth

text: Didi

text: Sohus

text: Her

text: son

text: John

text: and

text: his

text: wife

text: Linda

text: came

text: to

text: live

text: with

text: Didi

text: Sohus

text: during

text: the

text: time

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: lived

text: in

text: the

text: guest

text: quarters

text: It

text: is

text: unclear

text: what

text: his

text: relationship

text: was

text: with

text: the

text: couple

text: Didi

text: Sohus

text: told

text: investigators

text: she

text: believed

text: that

text: her

text: son

text: and

text: daughter

text: in

text: law

text: were

text: in

text: Europe

text: She

text: filed

text: a

text: missing

text: person

text: report

text: in

text: July

text: according

text: to

text: the

text: Pasadena

text: Star

text: News

text: Didi

text: Sohus

text: and

text: one

text: of

text: Linda

text: Sohus

text: friends

text: received

text: postcards

text: postmarked

text: from

text: Paris

text: in

text: purportedly

text: from

text: the

text: couple

text: but

text: investigators

text: were

text: suspicious

text: of

text: their

text: authenticity

text: Sohus

text: sold

text: the

text: house

text: in

text: late

text: after

text: suffering

text: a

text: stroke

text: She

text: died

text: three

text: years

text: later

text: Through

text: luminol

text: testing

text: of

text: the

text: guest

text: quarters

text: where

text: Chichester

text: lived

text: investigators

text: found

text: what

text: appeared

text: to

text: be

text: a

text: large

text: amount

text: of

text: blood

text: Luminol

text: causes

text: a

text: glow

text: when

text: it

text: comes

text: in

text: contact

text: with

text: blood

text: It

text: is

text: not

text: clear

text: when

text: the

text: luminol

text: testing

text: took

text: place

text: but

text: police

text: thoroughly

text: searched

text: the

text: house

text: when

text: the

text: remains

text: were

text: found

text: and

text: again

text: after

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: 's

text: arrest

text: in

text: the

text: kidnapping

text: case

text: A

text: former

text: neighbor

text: quoted

text: by

text: Vanity

text: Fair

text: reported

text: that

text: Chichester

text: borrowed

text: a

text: chainsaw

text: from

text: him

text: at

text: about

text: the

text: time

text: the

text: couple

text: went

text: missing

text: An

text: acquaintance

text: Dana

text: Farrar

text: said

text: she

text: saw

text: an

text: area

text: of

text: dirt

text: that

text: had

text: obviously

text: been

text: dug

text: up

text: and

text: filled

text: in

text: at

text: the

text: time

text: according

text: to

text: the

text: Pasadena

text: Star

text: News

text: When

text: she

text: asked

text: him

text: why

text: Chichester

text: told

text: her

text: he

text: was

text: having

text: plumbing

text: problems

text: Sheriff

text: 's

text: detectives

text: from

text: Los

text: Angeles

text: County

text: sought

text: Chichester

text: for

text: questioning

text: in

text: early

text: May

text: but

text: he

text: had

text: disappeared

text: in

text: a

text: pickup

text: truck

text: registered

text: to

text: John

text: Sohus

text: He

text: resurfaced

text: under

text: yet

text: another

text: identity

text: that

text: of

text: Christopher

text: Crowe

text: in

text: Connecticut

text: in

text: the

text: late

text: In

text: late

text: Crowe

text: tried

text: to

text: sell

text: Sohus

text: pickup

text: truck

text: to

text: a

text: man

text: in

text: Connecticut

text: When

text: he

text: could

text: n't

text: produce

text: the

text: proper

text: paperwork

text: for

text: the

text: truck

text: the

text: prospective

text: buyer

text: reported

text: him

text: to

text: police

text: Connecticut

text: police

text: soon

text: learned

text: that

text: Chichester

text: and

text: Crowe

text: were

text: the

text: same

text: person

text: although

text: at

text: that

text: time

text: no

text: one

text: knew

text: that

text: his

text: true

text: name

text: was

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: Crowe

text: disappeared

text: before

text: police

text: could

text: question

text: him

text: He

text: resurfaced

text: in

text: Manhattan

text: in

text: as

text: Clark

text: Rockefeller

text: On

text: May

text: the

text: workers

text: digging

text: in

text: the

text: backyard

text: of

text: the

text: San

text: Marino

text: home

text: to

text: install

text: a

text: swimming

text: pool

text: for

text: the

text: home

text: 's

text: new

text: owners

text: discovered

text: the

text: remains

text: It

text: was

text: not

text: until

text: that

text: the

text: remains

text: were

text: identified

text: The

text: investigation

text: heated

text: up

text: again

text: when

text: authorities

text: learned

text: shortly

text: after

text: the

text: kidnapping

text: that

text: Gerhartsreiter

text: was

text: not

text: Clark

text: Rockefeller

text: He

text: was

text: arrested

text: in

text: Baltimore

text: where

text: he

text: was

text: hiding

text: out

text: with

text: his

text: daughter

text: He

text: had

text: already

text: assumed

text: a

text: new

text: identity

text: a

text: ship

text: 's

text: captain

text: named

text: Chip

text: Smith

text: who

text: with

text: his

text: daughter

text: Muffy

text: was

text: relocating

text: to

text: Chile

text: His

text: second

text: wife

text: Harvard

text: educated

text: financial

text: executive

text: Sandra

text: Boss

text: testified

text: at

text: the

text: kidnapping

text: trial

text: that

text: she

text: spent

text: more

text: than

text: a

text: dozen

text: years

text: with

text: him

text: before

text: growing

text: suspicious

text: that

text: Rockefeller

text: was

text: not

text: who

text: he

text: said

text: he

text: was

text: They

text: met

text: in

text: New

text: York

text: and

text: were

text: married

text: in

text: Nantucket

text: Massachusetts

text: Their

text: daughter

text: Reigh

text: was

text: born

text: on

text: May

text: and

text: her

text: father

text: nicknamed

text: her

text: Snooks

text: The

text: couple

text: divorced

text: in

text: after

text: Boss

text: hired

text: a

text: private

text: investigator

text: to

text: conduct

text: a

text: background

text: check

text: according

text: to

text: testimony

text: at

text: the

text: kidnapping

text: trial

question: What was found fractured?

answer: human skull."

text: human skull."

question: at least how many blows did the skull receive

answer: two

text: two

question: Who is accused of murder?

answer: Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter,

text: Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter,

question: who was accused of murder

answer: Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter,

text: Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter,

question: what was found after the skull's discovery

answer: nearly the entire skeleton of a man

text: nearly the entire skeleton of a man

question: who did he clam to be

answer: impersonating a Rockefeller

text: impersonating a Rockefeller

question: what was one of the false identities of  Gerhartsreiter

answer: "Clark Rockefeller,"

text: "Clark Rockefeller,"

question: What is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter accused of

answer: of killing a Southern California man who has been missing since the mid-1980s.

text: of killing a Southern California man who has been missing since the mid-1980s.

question: Who did he once claim to be?

answer: Rockefeller

text: Rockefeller


text:
Princeton, New Jersey (CNN) -- The passage of health care will certainly rank as one of the major political achievements of recent decades.

Legislation that will eventually extend health care coverage to more than 30 million more Americans, greatly expand the number of options that citizens have when purchasing health care, bring healthy citizens into the pool of the insured and thus lower costs and create important regulations on health care companies will be remembered as one of the biggest domestic policy changes since the Great Society of the 1960s.

While most attention will focus on President Obama for pulling off a Herculean task that eluded many of our great presidents, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi emerges from this battle as the real powerhouse in Washington.

She has pursued a clear ideological agenda but through pragmatic political tactics. Like the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, she stands for something, yet knows how to round up votes.

Since the 2008 election, Pelosi has been the most reliable leader Democrats have had. She has delivered on almost all of the legislation that the White House sent to Congress, even as her colleagues found themselves frustrated by a Senate that seemed incapable of governance.

At three critical points in the health care debate, Pelosi delivered.

First, she assembled a center-left coalition around the original House bill in November by pushing through a controversial amendment related to abortion that brought moderate Democrats on board with the legislation.

Second, when many Democrats, including top presidential advisers such as Rahm Emanuel, contemplated breaking up the bill after the Massachusetts election, Pelosi stood firm and defended holistic reform.

She "kept the steel in the President's back," Democrat Rep. Anna Eshoo told Politico. Finally, in the past week she displayed the kind of vote-gathering skills that have been displayed by legendary figures such as Speaker Sam Rayburn of Texas.

From the start of Obama's presidency, Pelosi has argued that Democrats should focus on maintaining partisan unity rather than on achieving bipartisan coalitions. She has implored her colleagues to act with confidence rather than out of fear. Her goal has always been to find ways to keep Democrats together rather than bringing Republicans on board.

In an era where partisan polarization makes true bipartisanship impossible, this is the most effective and realistic approach for Democrats.

Her philosophy echoes the beliefs of another powerful leader who said: "Show me a nation without partisanship, and I'll show you a tyranny. For all its faults, it is partisanship, based on core principles, that clarifies our debates, that prevents one party from straying too far from the mainstream and that constantly refreshes our politics with new ideas and new leaders." That was from a farewell statement by Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Although Americans tend to focus on the presidency and give credit to the office for what does or does not happen, we often ignore the central role that Congress plays.

During the 1930s and 1960s, legislators were essential to the success of the New Deal and Great Society, often pushing Presidents Roosevelt and Johnson in directions they were too scared to take.

Rather than the cartoonish caricature that Republicans often use of Pelosi as a left coast, left-wing fanatic, she is something much more powerful -- and threatening to their party.

When Kennedy died, many Democrats wondered who would take his place as the party's deal-maker. Now they have their answer.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Julian Zelizer.

text: Princeton

text: New

text: Jersey

text: CNN

text: The

text: passage

text: of

text: health

text: care

text: will

text: certainly

text: rank

text: as

text: one

text: of

text: the

text: major

text: political

text: achievements

text: of

text: recent

text: decades

text: Legislation

text: that

text: will

text: eventually

text: extend

text: health

text: care

text: coverage

text: to

text: more

text: than

text: million

text: more

text: Americans

text: greatly

text: expand

text: the

text: number

text: of

text: options

text: that

text: citizens

text: have

text: when

text: purchasing

text: health

text: care

text: bring

text: healthy

text: citizens

text: into

text: the

text: pool

text: of

text: the

text: insured

text: and

text: thus

text: lower

text: costs

text: and

text: create

text: important

text: regulations

text: on

text: health

text: care

text: companies

text: will

text: be

text: remembered

text: as

text: one

text: of

text: the

text: biggest

text: domestic

text: policy

text: changes

text: since

text: the

text: Great

text: Society

text: of

text: the

text: While

text: most

text: attention

text: will

text: focus

text: on

text: President

text: Obama

text: for

text: pulling

text: off

text: a

text: Herculean

text: task

text: that

text: eluded

text: many

text: of

text: our

text: great

text: presidents

text: U.S.

text: House

text: Speaker

text: Nancy

text: Pelosi

text: emerges

text: from

text: this

text: battle

text: as

text: the

text: real

text: powerhouse

text: in

text: Washington

text: She

text: has

text: pursued

text: a

text: clear

text: ideological

text: agenda

text: but

text: through

text: pragmatic

text: political

text: tactics

text: Like

text: the

text: late

text: Sen.

text: Ted

text: Kennedy

text: she

text: stands

text: for

text: something

text: yet

text: knows

text: how

text: to

text: round

text: up

text: votes

text: Since

text: the

text: election

text: Pelosi

text: has

text: been

text: the

text: most

text: reliable

text: leader

text: Democrats

text: have

text: had

text: She

text: has

text: delivered

text: on

text: almost

text: all

text: of

text: the

text: legislation

text: that

text: the

text: White

text: House

text: sent

text: to

text: Congress

text: even

text: as

text: her

text: colleagues

text: found

text: themselves

text: frustrated

text: by

text: a

text: Senate

text: that

text: seemed

text: incapable

text: of

text: governance

text: At

text: three

text: critical

text: points

text: in

text: the

text: health

text: care

text: debate

text: Pelosi

text: delivered

text: First

text: she

text: assembled

text: a

text: center

text: left

text: coalition

text: around

text: the

text: original

text: House

text: bill

text: in

text: November

text: by

text: pushing

text: through

text: a

text: controversial

text: amendment

text: related

text: to

text: abortion

text: that

text: brought

text: moderate

text: Democrats

text: on

text: board

text: with

text: the

text: legislation

text: Second

text: when

text: many

text: Democrats

text: including

text: top

text: presidential

text: advisers

text: such

text: as

text: Rahm

text: Emanuel

text: contemplated

text: breaking

text: up

text: the

text: bill

text: after

text: the

text: Massachusetts

text: election

text: Pelosi

text: stood

text: firm

text: and

text: defended

text: holistic

text: reform

text: She

text: kept

text: the

text: steel

text: in

text: the

text: President

text: 's

text: back

text: Democrat

text: Rep.

text: Anna

text: Eshoo

text: told

text: Politico

text: Finally

text: in

text: the

text: past

text: week

text: she

text: displayed

text: the

text: kind

text: of

text: vote

text: gathering

text: skills

text: that

text: have

text: been

text: displayed

text: by

text: legendary

text: figures

text: such

text: as

text: Speaker

text: Sam

text: Rayburn

text: of

text: Texas

text: From

text: the

text: start

text: of

text: Obama

text: 's

text: presidency

text: Pelosi

text: has

text: argued

text: that

text: Democrats

text: should

text: focus

text: on

text: maintaining

text: partisan

text: unity

text: rather

text: than

text: on

text: achieving

text: bipartisan

text: coalitions

text: She

text: has

text: implored

text: her

text: colleagues

text: to

text: act

text: with

text: confidence

text: rather

text: than

text: out

text: of

text: fear

text: Her

text: goal

text: has

text: always

text: been

text: to

text: find

text: ways

text: to

text: keep

text: Democrats

text: together

text: rather

text: than

text: bringing

text: Republicans

text: on

text: board

text: In

text: an

text: era

text: where

text: partisan

text: polarization

text: makes

text: true

text: bipartisanship

text: impossible

text: this

text: is

text: the

text: most

text: effective

text: and

text: realistic

text: approach

text: for

text: Democrats

text: Her

text: philosophy

text: echoes

text: the

text: beliefs

text: of

text: another

text: powerful

text: leader

text: who

text: said

text: Show

text: me

text: a

text: nation

text: without

text: partisanship

text: and

text: I

text: 'll

text: show

text: you

text: a

text: tyranny

text: For

text: all

text: its

text: faults

text: it

text: is

text: partisanship

text: based

text: on

text: core

text: principles

text: that

text: clarifies

text: our

text: debates

text: that

text: prevents

text: one

text: party

text: from

text: straying

text: too

text: far

text: from

text: the

text: mainstream

text: and

text: that

text: constantly

text: refreshes

text: our

text: politics

text: with

text: new

text: ideas

text: and

text: new

text: leaders

text: That

text: was

text: from

text: a

text: farewell

text: statement

text: by

text: Republican

text: Majority

text: Leader

text: Tom

text: DeLay

text: Although

text: Americans

text: tend

text: to

text: focus

text: on

text: the

text: presidency

text: and

text: give

text: credit

text: to

text: the

text: office

text: for

text: what

text: does

text: or

text: does

text: not

text: happen

text: we

text: often

text: ignore

text: the

text: central

text: role

text: that

text: Congress

text: plays

text: During

text: the

text: and

text: legislators

text: were

text: essential

text: to

text: the

text: success

text: of

text: the

text: New

text: Deal

text: and

text: Great

text: Society

text: often

text: pushing

text: Presidents

text: Roosevelt

text: and

text: Johnson

text: in

text: directions

text: they

text: were

text: too

text: scared

text: to

text: take

text: Rather

text: than

text: the

text: cartoonish

text: caricature

text: that

text: Republicans

text: often

text: use

text: of

text: Pelosi

text: as

text: a

text: left

text: coast

text: left

text: wing

text: fanatic

text: she

text: is

text: something

text: much

text: more

text: powerful

text: and

text: threatening

text: to

text: their

text: party

text: When

text: Kennedy

text: died

text: many

text: Democrats

text: wondered

text: who

text: would

text: take

text: his

text: place

text: as

text: the

text: party

text: 's

text: deal

text: maker

text: Now

text: they

text: have

text: their

text: answer

text: The

text: opinions

text: expressed

text: in

text: this

text: commentary

text: are

text: solely

text: those

text: of

text: Julian

text: Zelizer

question: What has Pelosi emerged as?

answer: the real powerhouse in Washington.

text: the real powerhouse in Washington.

question: what was on the bill

answer: health care coverage

text: health care coverage

question: What did Zelizer say about Pelosi?

answer: has been the most reliable leader Democrats have had.

text: has been the most reliable leader Democrats have had.


text:
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The much-maligned symbol of motoring in Communist East Germany, the Trabant, is set to make an unlikely comeback as a concept car at this year's International Motor Show in Frankfurt.

The old-style Trabi is a common sight in Germany where tourist operators use the car for local tours.

Designers have replaced the car's smoke-belching two-stroke engine with electric fuel cells and solar-powered air-conditioning.

This, they promise, is not the four-wheeled object of ridicule that rolled off production lines in East Germany from 1957 until 1991. This is the new Trabant, or Trabi as they're known, an energy-efficient city car for modern drivers.

"I think the market will be people who say the old Trabant was a cool car, and people who want to have a stylish car, and want to have a green car," Daniel Stiegler, of Herpa Miniaturemodelle, told CNN.

Herpa is not a carmaker, at least not in the traditional sense. It makes model cars and airplanes, of the type that sit in display cabinets, not garages.

Two years ago, a member of its management team, Klaus Schindler, decided it was time to make a miniature model of the Trabant. Herpa took it to the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in 2007 and were stunned by the response.

"We had a special folder where people at the fair could fill out and give it back to use. We had about 14,000 reactions on that, and most of them, 90 percent, said 'Yes, the Trabant is a really cool car, let's bring it back,'" Stiegler said.

Herpa teamed up with German auto parts maker IndiKar, which has designed a prototype to be unveiled at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in September.

They hope to attract enough interest to put the car back into production. The early response of Trabi enthusiasts to an electric version of their much-loved cars has been encouraging.

"This will be an ideal vehicle to try it on," Geoff Armitage, who had been the president or chairman of the Wartburg Trabant IFA Club UK on and off for some 18 years.

"If they go for the same type of cladding of duroplast, or western-style glass fibre, you have a light body which obviously will be an advantage for an electric car."

The original exterior of the cars was made from duroplast, a blend of cast-off cotton fibers from Russia mixed with glue.

Armitage bought his first Trabant in the Netherlands in 1987, two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Over the years, he's owned around 20 of the German cars, adding "we have several restoration projects in the yard at the moment."

Like many admirers, he appreciates the Trabi's simplicity. "They are basic technology. There is absolutely nothing that we can't repair ourselves. If we can't get the parts we can usually make them," he laughed.

"If they can do the electrical conversion, for want of a better term, in a relatively low-tech way so they keep it simple I think it could be a success," he said.

German filmmaker Maximilian Spohr spent four years making a documentary about the Trabant. He became fascinated about the car's origins as a child growing up in the East where residents faced up to a fourteen-year wait for delivery of their vehicles.

"There was only a certain contingent, a certain amount, allowed every year, because they didn't have enough screws, they didn't have enough parts," he said.

For his documentary, "A Car For A Dollar," he interviewed former Trabant engineers and owners and found an abundance of nostalgia for the old-style vehicles, despite their association with Communist repression.

"People remember it as their only partner in crime," Spohr said. "It was the one and only thing that brought them around the country. They weren't allowed to go far. This was the only vehicle they could use and it was always reliable, most times."

Many of the cars were dumped by their owners as soon as they'd driven them to freedom over the border from East to West.

Spohr said it didn't take long for nostalgia to kick in and the first Trabi appreciation meeting was held in 1990, just one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Of plans for a new, eco-friendly Trabi, Spohr says, ""I think it's great. People would probably love it, I think it will sell. Big time."

If the modern Trabant fails to materialize, there's always the option to step back in time in the original version.

Trabis can still be seen slowly weaving through traffic, particularly in Berlin and Dresden, where Trabi-Safari leads tourists in a procession of up to six cars to local points of interest.

text: LONDON

text: England

text: CNN

text: The

text: much

text: maligned

text: symbol

text: of

text: motoring

text: in

text: Communist

text: East

text: Germany

text: the

text: Trabant

text: is

text: set

text: to

text: make

text: an

text: unlikely

text: comeback

text: as

text: a

text: concept

text: car

text: at

text: this

text: year

text: 's

text: International

text: Motor

text: Show

text: in

text: Frankfurt

text: The

text: old

text: style

text: Trabi

text: is

text: a

text: common

text: sight

text: in

text: Germany

text: where

text: tourist

text: operators

text: use

text: the

text: car

text: for

text: local

text: tours

text: Designers

text: have

text: replaced

text: the

text: car

text: 's

text: smoke

text: belching

text: two

text: stroke

text: engine

text: with

text: electric

text: fuel

text: cells

text: and

text: solar

text: powered

text: air

text: conditioning

text: This

text: they

text: promise

text: is

text: not

text: the

text: four

text: wheeled

text: object

text: of

text: ridicule

text: that

text: rolled

text: off

text: production

text: lines

text: in

text: East

text: Germany

text: from

text: until

text: This

text: is

text: the

text: new

text: Trabant

text: or

text: Trabi

text: as

text: they

text: 're

text: known

text: an

text: energy

text: efficient

text: city

text: car

text: for

text: modern

text: drivers

text: I

text: think

text: the

text: market

text: will

text: be

text: people

text: who

text: say

text: the

text: old

text: Trabant

text: was

text: a

text: cool

text: car

text: and

text: people

text: who

text: want

text: to

text: have

text: a

text: stylish

text: car

text: and

text: want

text: to

text: have

text: a

text: green

text: car

text: Daniel

text: Stiegler

text: of

text: Herpa

text: Miniaturemodelle

text: told

text: CNN

text: Herpa

text: is

text: not

text: a

text: carmaker

text: at

text: least

text: not

text: in

text: the

text: traditional

text: sense

text: It

text: makes

text: model

text: cars

text: and

text: airplanes

text: of

text: the

text: type

text: that

text: sit

text: in

text: display

text: cabinets

text: not

text: garages

text: Two

text: years

text: ago

text: a

text: member

text: of

text: its

text: management

text: team

text: Klaus

text: Schindler

text: decided

text: it

text: was

text: time

text: to

text: make

text: a

text: miniature

text: model

text: of

text: the

text: Trabant

text: Herpa

text: took

text: it

text: to

text: the

text: International

text: Motor

text: Show

text: in

text: Frankfurt

text: in

text: and

text: were

text: stunned

text: by

text: the

text: response

text: We

text: had

text: a

text: special

text: folder

text: where

text: people

text: at

text: the

text: fair

text: could

text: fill

text: out

text: and

text: give

text: it

text: back

text: to

text: use

text: We

text: had

text: about

text: reactions

text: on

text: that

text: and

text: most

text: of

text: them

text: percent

text: said

text: Yes

text: the

text: Trabant

text: is

text: a

text: really

text: cool

text: car

text: let

text: 's

text: bring

text: it

text: back

text: Stiegler

text: said

text: Herpa

text: teamed

text: up

text: with

text: German

text: auto

text: parts

text: maker

text: IndiKar

text: which

text: has

text: designed

text: a

text: prototype

text: to

text: be

text: unveiled

text: at

text: the

text: International

text: Motor

text: Show

text: in

text: Frankfurt

text: in

text: September

text: They

text: hope

text: to

text: attract

text: enough

text: interest

text: to

text: put

text: the

text: car

text: back

text: into

text: production

text: The

text: early

text: response

text: of

text: Trabi

text: enthusiasts

text: to

text: an

text: electric

text: version

text: of

text: their

text: much

text: loved

text: cars

text: has

text: been

text: encouraging

text: This

text: will

text: be

text: an

text: ideal

text: vehicle

text: to

text: try

text: it

text: on

text: Geoff

text: Armitage

text: who

text: had

text: been

text: the

text: president

text: or

text: chairman

text: of

text: the

text: Wartburg

text: Trabant

text: IFA

text: Club

text: UK

text: on

text: and

text: off

text: for

text: some

text: years

text: If

text: they

text: go

text: for

text: the

text: same

text: type

text: of

text: cladding

text: of

text: duroplast

text: or

text: western

text: style

text: glass

text: fibre

text: you

text: have

text: a

text: light

text: body

text: which

text: obviously

text: will

text: be

text: an

text: advantage

text: for

text: an

text: electric

text: car

text: The

text: original

text: exterior

text: of

text: the

text: cars

text: was

text: made

text: from

text: duroplast

text: a

text: blend

text: of

text: cast

text: off

text: cotton

text: fibers

text: from

text: Russia

text: mixed

text: with

text: glue

text: Armitage

text: bought

text: his

text: first

text: Trabant

text: in

text: the

text: Netherlands

text: in

text: two

text: years

text: before

text: the

text: fall

text: of

text: the

text: Berlin

text: Wall

text: Over

text: the

text: years

text: he

text: 's

text: owned

text: around

text: of

text: the

text: German

text: cars

text: adding

text: we

text: have

text: several

text: restoration

text: projects

text: in

text: the

text: yard

text: at

text: the

text: moment

text: Like

text: many

text: admirers

text: he

text: appreciates

text: the

text: Trabi

text: 's

text: simplicity

text: They

text: are

text: basic

text: technology

text: There

text: is

text: absolutely

text: nothing

text: that

text: we

text: ca

text: n't

text: repair

text: ourselves

text: If

text: we

text: ca

text: n't

text: get

text: the

text: parts

text: we

text: can

text: usually

text: make

text: them

text: he

text: laughed

text: If

text: they

text: can

text: do

text: the

text: electrical

text: conversion

text: for

text: want

text: of

text: a

text: better

text: term

text: in

text: a

text: relatively

text: low

text: tech

text: way

text: so

text: they

text: keep

text: it

text: simple

text: I

text: think

text: it

text: could

text: be

text: a

text: success

text: he

text: said

text: German

text: filmmaker

text: Maximilian

text: Spohr

text: spent

text: four

text: years

text: making

text: a

text: documentary

text: about

text: the

text: Trabant

text: He

text: became

text: fascinated

text: about

text: the

text: car

text: 's

text: origins

text: as

text: a

text: child

text: growing

text: up

text: in

text: the

text: East

text: where

text: residents

text: faced

text: up

text: to

text: a

text: fourteen

text: year

text: wait

text: for

text: delivery

text: of

text: their

text: vehicles

text: There

text: was

text: only

text: a

text: certain

text: contingent

text: a

text: certain

text: amount

text: allowed

text: every

text: year

text: because

text: they

text: did

text: n't

text: have

text: enough

text: screws

text: they

text: did

text: n't

text: have

text: enough

text: parts

text: he

text: said

text: For

text: his

text: documentary

text: A

text: Car

text: For

text: A

text: Dollar

text: he

text: interviewed

text: former

text: Trabant

text: engineers

text: and

text: owners

text: and

text: found

text: an

text: abundance

text: of

text: nostalgia

text: for

text: the

text: old

text: style

text: vehicles

text: despite

text: their

text: association

text: with

text: Communist

text: repression

text: People

text: remember

text: it

text: as

text: their

text: only

text: partner

text: in

text: crime

text: Spohr

text: said

text: It

text: was

text: the

text: one

text: and

text: only

text: thing

text: that

text: brought

text: them

text: around

text: the

text: country

text: They

text: were

text: n't

text: allowed

text: to

text: go

text: far

text: This

text: was

text: the

text: only

text: vehicle

text: they

text: could

text: use

text: and

text: it

text: was

text: always

text: reliable

text: most

text: times

text: Many

text: of

text: the

text: cars

text: were

text: dumped

text: by

text: their

text: owners

text: as

text: soon

text: as

text: they

text: 'd

text: driven

text: them

text: to

text: freedom

text: over

text: the

text: border

text: from

text: East

text: to

text: West

text: Spohr

text: said

text: it

text: did

text: n't

text: take

text: long

text: for

text: nostalgia

text: to

text: kick

text: in

text: and

text: the

text: first

text: Trabi

text: appreciation

text: meeting

text: was

text: held

text: in

text: just

text: one

text: year

text: after

text: the

text: fall

text: of

text: the

text: Berlin

text: Wall

text: Of

text: plans

text: for

text: a

text: new

text: eco

text: friendly

text: Trabi

text: Spohr

text: says

text: I

text: think

text: it

text: 's

text: great

text: People

text: would

text: probably

text: love

text: it

text: I

text: think

text: it

text: will

text: sell

text: Big

text: time

text: If

text: the

text: modern

text: Trabant

text: fails

text: to

text: materialize

text: there

text: 's

text: always

text: the

text: option

text: to

text: step

text: back

text: in

text: time

text: in

text: the

text: original

text: version

text: Trabis

text: can

text: still

text: be

text: seen

text: slowly

text: weaving

text: through

text: traffic

text: particularly

text: in

text: Berlin

text: and

text: Dresden

text: where

text: Trabi

text: Safari

text: leads

text: tourists

text: in

text: a

text: procession

text: of

text: up

text: to

text: six

text: cars

text: to

text: local

text: points

text: of

text: interest

question: Who admires the car's simplicity?

answer: Geoff Armitage,

text: Geoff Armitage,

question: What is to be  revived as eco-friendly car?

answer: the Trabant,

text: the Trabant,

question: what will be unveileed

answer: prototype

text: prototype

question: Where is the unveiling to take place?

answer: International Motor Show in Frankfurt.

text: International Motor Show in Frankfurt.


text:
(CNN) -- "Media must cease reporting on the discovery of a body at a psychiatric hospital in Dongguan."

"Media must not report on corruption allegations relating to the eldest son of President Hu Jintao."

"Media must not report on a lawsuit against China Eastern Airlines by victims of a plane crash in 2004 in which 52 passengers were killed."

Those are just a few of more than 60 restrictions the Chinese government slapped on the media in 2009, often secretly, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

The press freedom group said it obtained written media-related orders which are published in its report, "China Clings to Control: Press Freedoms in 2009."

Tight controls were put on reporting of ethnic riots in the west of the country in July, and clear orders were issued for how to report President Barack Obama's visit to the country in November, the IFJ said in the report released Sunday.

The press was instructed not to organize questions for the public to ask Obama at a town-hall style event he did in the country and was banned from reporting on "protests or spontaneous news during Obama's visit," the IFJ report said.

It all added up to a year of increased censorship in China, on the heels of a period of relative openness around the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the group charged.

CNN's calls to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Washington were not immediately returned.

The IFJ report said that Chinese media were ordered not to report prominently on protests in Iran following the country's controversial presidential election in June.

They were barred from reporting at all on elections for the chief executive of Macau, a region of China, and were waved off stories about refugees entering China, threats to public health, political protests and corruption, the report said.

They were allowed to report about some stories in English but not Mandarin, and others in newspapers but not online, said the report, which was compiled with the help of a group called Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

That's not to mention self-censorship in the press around two key anniversaries last year: the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests and the Tibetan uprising of 1959, the IFJ said.

"Media did not need to be ordered how to report these matters -- they were very aware there was to be no independent reporting on these topics," the report said. "Most journalists and media outlets would self-censor and there would be no need for regulations or orders... self-censorship remains a matter of self-preservation."

Direct orders from the government -- sometimes containing the explicit threat of "punishment from the Central Propaganda Department" -- was only one element in Beijing's arsenal against the press, the report said.

China is clearly concerned about the Internet, the IFJ suggested.

"Online surveillance was stepped up, Web sites were entirely or partially closed, online social networks were shut down, online news portals were censored, online journalists and bloggers were detained and arrested."

Press "accreditation rules tightened further in 2009... making it difficult for online journalists to gain accreditation," the report said.

And foreign journalists encountered "acts of violence, destruction of work materials and equipment... surveillance and reprimands," the report said.

But "despite the difficulties, many journalists try to go out of the way to get the news," the IFJ said.

China hosted a World Media Summit in October, drawing the heads of some of the world's largest news organizations, including the Associated Press, Reuters, News Corporation, Russia's Itar-Tass, Kyodo of Japan and China's own Xinhua.

President Hu addressed the conference, saying "it is more important than ever before that the media should establish and uphold social responsibilities," according to Xinhua.

Hu pledged the Chinese government would safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign news media and continue to facilitate foreign media coverage of China in accordance with the law, Xinhua reported. It is not clear that he made a similar promise regarding Chinese media.

Obama criticized censorship in his November visit to China, responding to questions from the Chinese public about restrictions on the Internet.

"Because in the United States information is free, and I have a lot of critics in the United States who can say all kinds of things about me, I actually think that that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that I don't want to hear," he said.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on China to investigate alleged hacking of Google in the country -- prompting the Internet search giant to threaten to pull out of China.

"We look to the Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough review of the cyber intrusions that led Google to make its announcement. And we also look for that investigation and its results to be transparent," Clinton said.

Five years ago, Google agreed to allow some censorship by China, in exchange for the right to operate in that country's massive emerging technology market. The company now says censorship and the hacking of Chinese dissidents' Google e-mail accounts have prompted it to reconsider.

The IFJ calls itself "a non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes coordinated international action to defend press freedom and social justice through the development of strong, free and independent trade unions of journalists."

text: CNN

text: Media

text: must

text: cease

text: reporting

text: on

text: the

text: discovery

text: of

text: a

text: body

text: at

text: a

text: psychiatric

text: hospital

text: in

text: Dongguan

text: Media

text: must

text: not

text: report

text: on

text: corruption

text: allegations

text: relating

text: to

text: the

text: eldest

text: son

text: of

text: President

text: Hu

text: Jintao

text: Media

text: must

text: not

text: report

text: on

text: a

text: lawsuit

text: against

text: China

text: Eastern

text: Airlines

text: by

text: victims

text: of

text: a

text: plane

text: crash

text: in

text: in

text: which

text: passengers

text: were

text: killed

text: Those

text: are

text: just

text: a

text: few

text: of

text: more

text: than

text: restrictions

text: the

text: Chinese

text: government

text: slapped

text: on

text: the

text: media

text: in

text: often

text: secretly

text: according

text: to

text: the

text: International

text: Federation

text: of

text: Journalists

text: The

text: press

text: freedom

text: group

text: said

text: it

text: obtained

text: written

text: media

text: related

text: orders

text: which

text: are

text: published

text: in

text: its

text: report

text: China

text: Clings

text: to

text: Control

text: Press

text: Freedoms

text: in

text: Tight

text: controls

text: were

text: put

text: on

text: reporting

text: of

text: ethnic

text: riots

text: in

text: the

text: west

text: of

text: the

text: country

text: in

text: July

text: and

text: clear

text: orders

text: were

text: issued

text: for

text: how

text: to

text: report

text: President

text: Barack

text: Obama

text: 's

text: visit

text: to

text: the

text: country

text: in

text: November

text: the

text: IFJ

text: said

text: in

text: the

text: report

text: released

text: Sunday

text: The

text: press

text: was

text: instructed

text: not

text: to

text: organize

text: questions

text: for

text: the

text: public

text: to

text: ask

text: Obama

text: at

text: a

text: town

text: hall

text: style

text: event

text: he

text: did

text: in

text: the

text: country

text: and

text: was

text: banned

text: from

text: reporting

text: on

text: protests

text: or

text: spontaneous

text: news

text: during

text: Obama

text: 's

text: visit

text: the

text: IFJ

text: report

text: said

text: It

text: all

text: added

text: up

text: to

text: a

text: year

text: of

text: increased

text: censorship

text: in

text: China

text: on

text: the

text: heels

text: of

text: a

text: period

text: of

text: relative

text: openness

text: around

text: the

text: Beijing

text: Olympics

text: in

text: the

text: group

text: charged

text: CNN

text: 's

text: calls

text: to

text: the

text: Chinese

text: Foreign

text: Ministry

text: and

text: the

text: Chinese

text: Embassy

text: in

text: Washington

text: were

text: not

text: immediately

text: returned

text: The

text: IFJ

text: report

text: said

text: that

text: Chinese

text: media

text: were

text: ordered

text: not

text: to

text: report

text: prominently

text: on

text: protests

text: in

text: Iran

text: following

text: the

text: country

text: 's

text: controversial

text: presidential

text: election

text: in

text: June

text: They

text: were

text: barred

text: from

text: reporting

text: at

text: all

text: on

text: elections

text: for

text: the

text: chief

text: executive

text: of

text: Macau

text: a

text: region

text: of

text: China

text: and

text: were

text: waved

text: off

text: stories

text: about

text: refugees

text: entering

text: China

text: threats

text: to

text: public

text: health

text: political

text: protests

text: and

text: corruption

text: the

text: report

text: said

text: They

text: were

text: allowed

text: to

text: report

text: about

text: some

text: stories

text: in

text: English

text: but

text: not

text: Mandarin

text: and

text: others

text: in

text: newspapers

text: but

text: not

text: online

text: said

text: the

text: report

text: which

text: was

text: compiled

text: with

text: the

text: help

text: of

text: a

text: group

text: called

text: Chinese

text: Human

text: Rights

text: Defenders

text: That

text: 's

text: not

text: to

text: mention

text: self

text: censorship

text: in

text: the

text: press

text: around

text: two

text: key

text: anniversaries

text: last

text: year

text: the

text: Tiananmen

text: Square

text: pro

text: democracy

text: protests

text: and

text: the

text: Tibetan

text: uprising

text: of

text: the

text: IFJ

text: said

text: Media

text: did

text: not

text: need

text: to

text: be

text: ordered

text: how

text: to

text: report

text: these

text: matters

text: they

text: were

text: very

text: aware

text: there

text: was

text: to

text: be

text: no

text: independent

text: reporting

text: on

text: these

text: topics

text: the

text: report

text: said

text: Most

text: journalists

text: and

text: media

text: outlets

text: would

text: self

text: censor

text: and

text: there

text: would

text: be

text: no

text: need

text: for

text: regulations

text: or

text: orders

text: self

text: censorship

text: remains

text: a

text: matter

text: of

text: self

text: preservation

text: Direct

text: orders

text: from

text: the

text: government

text: sometimes

text: containing

text: the

text: explicit

text: threat

text: of

text: punishment

text: from

text: the

text: Central

text: Propaganda

text: Department

text: was

text: only

text: one

text: element

text: in

text: Beijing

text: 's

text: arsenal

text: against

text: the

text: press

text: the

text: report

text: said

text: China

text: is

text: clearly

text: concerned

text: about

text: the

text: Internet

text: the

text: IFJ

text: suggested

text: Online

text: surveillance

text: was

text: stepped

text: up

text: Web

text: sites

text: were

text: entirely

text: or

text: partially

text: closed

text: online

text: social

text: networks

text: were

text: shut

text: down

text: online

text: news

text: portals

text: were

text: censored

text: online

text: journalists

text: and

text: bloggers

text: were

text: detained

text: and

text: arrested

text: Press

text: accreditation

text: rules

text: tightened

text: further

text: in

text: making

text: it

text: difficult

text: for

text: online

text: journalists

text: to

text: gain

text: accreditation

text: the

text: report

text: said

text: And

text: foreign

text: journalists

text: encountered

text: acts

text: of

text: violence

text: destruction

text: of

text: work

text: materials

text: and

text: equipment

text: surveillance

text: and

text: reprimands

text: the

text: report

text: said

text: But

text: despite

text: the

text: difficulties

text: many

text: journalists

text: try

text: to

text: go

text: out

text: of

text: the

text: way

text: to

text: get

text: the

text: news

text: the

text: IFJ

text: said

text: China

text: hosted

text: a

text: World

text: Media

text: Summit

text: in

text: October

text: drawing

text: the

text: heads

text: of

text: some

text: of

text: the

text: world

text: 's

text: largest

text: news

text: organizations

text: including

text: the

text: Associated

text: Press

text: Reuters

text: News

text: Corporation

text: Russia

text: 's

text: Itar

text: Tass

text: Kyodo

text: of

text: Japan

text: and

text: China

text: 's

text: own

text: Xinhua

text: President

text: Hu

text: addressed

text: the

text: conference

text: saying

text: it

text: is

text: more

text: important

text: than

text: ever

text: before

text: that

text: the

text: media

text: should

text: establish

text: and

text: uphold

text: social

text: responsibilities

text: according

text: to

text: Xinhua

text: Hu

text: pledged

text: the

text: Chinese

text: government

text: would

text: safeguard

text: the

text: legitimate

text: rights

text: and

text: interests

text: of

text: foreign

text: news

text: media

text: and

text: continue

text: to

text: facilitate

text: foreign

text: media

text: coverage

text: of

text: China

text: in

text: accordance

text: with

text: the

text: law

text: Xinhua

text: reported

text: It

text: is

text: not

text: clear

text: that

text: he

text: made

text: a

text: similar

text: promise

text: regarding

text: Chinese

text: media

text: Obama

text: criticized

text: censorship

text: in

text: his

text: November

text: visit

text: to

text: China

text: responding

text: to

text: questions

text: from

text: the

text: Chinese

text: public

text: about

text: restrictions

text: on

text: the

text: Internet

text: Because

text: in

text: the

text: United

text: States

text: information

text: is

text: free

text: and

text: I

text: have

text: a

text: lot

text: of

text: critics

text: in

text: the

text: United

text: States

text: who

text: can

text: say

text: all

text: kinds

text: of

text: things

text: about

text: me

text: I

text: actually

text: think

text: that

text: that

text: makes

text: our

text: democracy

text: stronger

text: and

text: it

text: makes

text: me

text: a

text: better

text: leader

text: because

text: it

text: forces

text: me

text: to

text: hear

text: opinions

text: that

text: I

text: do

text: n't

text: want

text: to

text: hear

text: he

text: said

text: Earlier

text: this

text: month

text: Secretary

text: of

text: State

text: Hillary

text: Clinton

text: called

text: on

text: China

text: to

text: investigate

text: alleged

text: hacking

text: of

text: Google

text: in

text: the

text: country

text: prompting

text: the

text: Internet

text: search

text: giant

text: to

text: threaten

text: to

text: pull

text: out

text: of

text: China

text: We

text: look

text: to

text: the

text: Chinese

text: authorities

text: to

text: conduct

text: a

text: thorough

text: review

text: of

text: the

text: cyber

text: intrusions

text: that

text: led

text: Google

text: to

text: make

text: its

text: announcement

text: And

text: we

text: also

text: look

text: for

text: that

text: investigation

text: and

text: its

text: results

text: to

text: be

text: transparent

text: Clinton

text: said

text: Five

text: years

text: ago

text: Google

text: agreed

text: to

text: allow

text: some

text: censorship

text: by

text: China

text: in

text: exchange

text: for

text: the

text: right

text: to

text: operate

text: in

text: that

text: country

text: 's

text: massive

text: emerging

text: technology

text: market

text: The

text: company

text: now

text: says

text: censorship

text: and

text: the

text: hacking

text: of

text: Chinese

text: dissidents

text: Google

text: e

text: mail

text: accounts

text: have

text: prompted

text: it

text: to

text: reconsider

text: The

text: IFJ

text: calls

text: itself

text: a

text: non

text: governmental

text: non

text: profit

text: organization

text: that

text: promotes

text: coordinated

text: international

text: action

text: to

text: defend

text: press

text: freedom

text: and

text: social

text: justice

text: through

text: the

text: development

text: of

text: strong

text: free

text: and

text: independent

text: trade

text: unions

text: of

text: journalists

question: How many government restrictions on media were noted?

answer: more than 60

text: more than 60

question: Who didn't return CNN's calls?

answer: Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy

text: Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy

question: What was the press told not to do?

answer: report on corruption allegations relating to the eldest son of President Hu Jintao."

text: report on corruption allegations relating to the eldest son of President Hu Jintao."

question: How many government restrictions were places in 2009?

answer: 60

question: who noted government restrictions on media?

answer: International Federation of Journalists.

text: International Federation of Journalists.

question: Who did CNN not get return calls from?

answer: Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Washington

text: Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Washington

question: who did not return cnn calls?

answer: the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Washington

text: the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Chinese Embassy in Washington


text:
(CNN) -- At least three tornadoes caused massive damage in Virginia and injured more than 200 people on Monday, officials said.

This Suffolk, Virginia, house was destroyed by an apparent tornado Monday.

At least 200 were injured in Suffolk where a twister destroyed several homes and businesses, said Bob Spieldenner of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

The storm hit the 138-bed Sentara Obici Hospital, though Spieldenner said the facility was still operational and accepting patients.

A second tornado struck Colonial Heights -- about 60 miles northwest, near Richmond -- injuring at least 18 people, he said.

A third twister damaged several homes near Lawrenceville, about 70 miles south of Richmond, said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, which confirmed all three tornadoes.

Gov. Tim Kaine declared a Virginia-wide state of emergency as hazardous weather continued through the central part of the state.

The Suffolk twister touched down just before 4 p.m. ET and plowed its way east into Norfolk, damaging scores of homes, stores and cars and downing dozens of trees and power lines, Jackson said.  Watch as a witness describes the tornado form Â»

Video footage from the scene showed roofs torn off homes, cars flipped over, trees snapped in two and a caved-in section of a newly constructed shopping center.

Furniture, fences and mounds of other debris were tossed in streets, parking lots and lawns.  Watch the storm's massive destruction from the air Â»

A tornado warning over the area remained in effect Monday evening.

Jeff Judkins, the city's emergency management coordinator, said there also were reports of people trapped inside cars. It's the worst damage he's seen in the area, he said.

An emergency shelter will be established by Monday night, Suffolk spokeswoman Dana Woodson said.

Officials initially reported a fatality, but later determined that it was unrelated to the storm, she said. E-mail to a friend

text: CNN

text: At

text: least

text: three

text: tornadoes

text: caused

text: massive

text: damage

text: in

text: Virginia

text: and

text: injured

text: more

text: than

text: people

text: on

text: Monday

text: officials

text: said

text: This

text: Suffolk

text: Virginia

text: house

text: was

text: destroyed

text: by

text: an

text: apparent

text: tornado

text: Monday

text: At

text: least

text: were

text: injured

text: in

text: Suffolk

text: where

text: a

text: twister

text: destroyed

text: several

text: homes

text: and

text: businesses

text: said

text: Bob

text: Spieldenner

text: of

text: the

text: Virginia

text: Department

text: of

text: Emergency

text: Management

text: The

text: storm

text: hit

text: the

text: Sentara

text: Obici

text: Hospital

text: though

text: Spieldenner

text: said

text: the

text: facility

text: was

text: still

text: operational

text: and

text: accepting

text: patients

text: A

text: second

text: tornado

text: struck

text: Colonial

text: Heights

text: about

text: miles

text: northwest

text: near

text: Richmond

text: injuring

text: at

text: least

text: people

text: he

text: said

text: A

text: third

text: twister

text: damaged

text: several

text: homes

text: near

text: Lawrenceville

text: about

text: miles

text: south

text: of

text: Richmond

text: said

text: Bryan

text: Jackson

text: a

text: meteorologist

text: with

text: the

text: National

text: Weather

text: Service

text: which

text: confirmed

text: all

text: three

text: tornadoes

text: Gov.

text: Tim

text: Kaine

text: declared

text: a

text: Virginia

text: wide

text: state

text: of

text: emergency

text: as

text: hazardous

text: weather

text: continued

text: through

text: the

text: central

text: part

text: of

text: the

text: state

text: The

text: Suffolk

text: twister

text: touched

text: down

text: just

text: before

text: p.m.

text: ET

text: and

text: plowed

text: its

text: way

text: east

text: into

text: Norfolk

text: damaging

text: scores

text: of

text: homes

text: stores

text: and

text: cars

text: and

text: downing

text: dozens

text: of

text: trees

text: and

text: power

text: lines

text: Jackson

text: said

text: Watch

text: as

text: a

text: witness

text: describes

text: the

text: tornado

text: form

text: Â

text: Video

text: footage

text: from

text: the

text: scene

text: showed

text: roofs

text: torn

text: off

text: homes

text: cars

text: flipped

text: over

text: trees

text: snapped

text: in

text: two

text: and

text: a

text: caved

text: in

text: section

text: of

text: a

text: newly

text: constructed

text: shopping

text: center

text: Furniture

text: fences

text: and

text: mounds

text: of

text: other

text: debris

text: were

text: tossed

text: in

text: streets

text: parking

text: lots

text: and

text: lawns

text: Watch

text: the

text: storm

text: 's

text: massive

text: destruction

text: from

text: the

text: air

text: Â

text: A

text: tornado

text: warning

text: over

text: the

text: area

text: remained

text: in

text: effect

text: Monday

text: evening

text: Jeff

text: Judkins

text: the

text: city

text: 's

text: emergency

text: management

text: coordinator

text: said

text: there

text: also

text: were

text: reports

text: of

text: people

text: trapped

text: inside

text: cars

text: It

text: 's

text: the

text: worst

text: damage

text: he

text: 's

text: seen

text: in

text: the

text: area

text: he

text: said

text: An

text: emergency

text: shelter

text: will

text: be

text: established

text: by

text: Monday

text: night

text: Suffolk

text: spokeswoman

text: Dana

text: Woodson

text: said

text: Officials

text: initially

text: reported

text: a

text: fatality

text: but

text: later

text: determined

text: that

text: it

text: was

text: unrelated

text: to

text: the

text: storm

text: she

text: said

text: E

text: mail

text: to

text: a

text: friend

question: what struck Colonial Heights injuring at least 18 people

answer: A second tornado

text: A second tornado

question: where did the tornado land

answer: Suffolk, Virginia,

text: Suffolk, Virginia,

question: Where was the twister?

answer: Suffolk, Virginia,

text: Suffolk, Virginia,

question: what incident  damaged several homes near Lawrenceville

answer: A third twister

text: A third twister

question: what caused the injuries

answer: three tornadoes

text: three tornadoes


text:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Power-driven wheelchairs are costing Medicare and its beneficiaries nearly four times what suppliers pay for them, and competitive bidding could have reduced those costs, according to an inspector general's report released Wednesday.

Competitive bidding would have cut costs on a standard power wheelchair by nearly $1,000, the report says.

A standard power wheelchair costs the federal health insurance program for seniors an average of $4,018 to lease, compared with $1,048 for suppliers to buy, the Department of Health and Human Services' internal watchdog reported.

"Medicare and its beneficiaries paid suppliers an average of $2,970 beyond the supplier's acquisition cost to perform an average of five services and cover general business costs," the report found.

The difference was not as dramatic for more advanced wheelchairs used for physical rehabilitation patients, but at an average lease of $11,507, those chairs still cost Medicare about twice as much as the $5,880 paid by suppliers, the report found.

More than 173,000 Medicare beneficiaries received power wheelchairs in the first half of 2007, at a cost of about $686 million, the report said. The cost could have been reduced considerably had Congress not delayed a planned system of competitive bidding for what Medicare classifies as "durable medical equipment," such as wheelchairs and oxygen tanks, the report said.

Competitive bidding would have cut Medicare's average cost of a standard power wheelchair by nearly $1,000, the inspector general found.

"Medicare and beneficiary payments under the Competitive Bidding Acquisition Program would have decreased by an average of 26 percent across all included categories of [durable medical equipment], saving up to an estimated $1 billion annually," the report found. "However, Congress delayed the program and exempted complex rehabilitation power wheelchairs from future competitive bidding."

Medicare's annual budget for 2008 was $444 billion. In January, it cut its payments to suppliers by 9.5 percent to make up for what it thought competitive bidding would have saved taxpayers, according to the report.

In July, a CNN investigation found that a patient and taxpayers were billed about $1,200 over four years for a nonmotorized chair, while a nearly identical chair could be bought from the same supplier for $349.

The issue has become controversial as the Obama administration tries to overhaul the U.S. health care system and rein in the cost of Medicare.

Administration officials want to require competitive bids for items such as wheelchairs. But the American Association for Homecare, which represents many in the durable equipment industry, said the bidding program would reduce patient choice, limit access to home medical care and drive up Medicare costs by requiring more hospital stays.

text: WASHINGTON

text: CNN

text: Power

text: driven

text: wheelchairs

text: are

text: costing

text: Medicare

text: and

text: its

text: beneficiaries

text: nearly

text: four

text: times

text: what

text: suppliers

text: pay

text: for

text: them

text: and

text: competitive

text: bidding

text: could

text: have

text: reduced

text: those

text: costs

text: according

text: to

text: an

text: inspector

text: general

text: 's

text: report

text: released

text: Wednesday

text: Competitive

text: bidding

text: would

text: have

text: cut

text: costs

text: on

text: a

text: standard

text: power

text: wheelchair

text: by

text: nearly

text: the

text: report

text: says

text: A

text: standard

text: power

text: wheelchair

text: costs

text: the

text: federal

text: health

text: insurance

text: program

text: for

text: seniors

text: an

text: average

text: of

text: to

text: lease

text: compared

text: with

text: for

text: suppliers

text: to

text: buy

text: the

text: Department

text: of

text: Health

text: and

text: Human

text: Services

text: internal

text: watchdog

text: reported

text: Medicare

text: and

text: its

text: beneficiaries

text: paid

text: suppliers

text: an

text: average

text: of

text: beyond

text: the

text: supplier

text: 's

text: acquisition

text: cost

text: to

text: perform

text: an

text: average

text: of

text: five

text: services

text: and

text: cover

text: general

text: business

text: costs

text: the

text: report

text: found

text: The

text: difference

text: was

text: not

text: as

text: dramatic

text: for

text: more

text: advanced

text: wheelchairs

text: used

text: for

text: physical

text: rehabilitation

text: patients

text: but

text: at

text: an

text: average

text: lease

text: of

text: those

text: chairs

text: still

text: cost

text: Medicare

text: about

text: twice

text: as

text: much

text: as

text: the

text: paid

text: by

text: suppliers

text: the

text: report

text: found

text: More

text: than

text: Medicare

text: beneficiaries

text: received

text: power

text: wheelchairs

text: in

text: the

text: first

text: half

text: of

text: at

text: a

text: cost

text: of

text: about

text: million

text: the

text: report

text: said

text: The

text: cost

text: could

text: have

text: been

text: reduced

text: considerably

text: had

text: Congress

text: not

text: delayed

text: a

text: planned

text: system

text: of

text: competitive

text: bidding

text: for

text: what

text: Medicare

text: classifies

text: as

text: durable

text: medical

text: equipment

text: such

text: as

text: wheelchairs

text: and

text: oxygen

text: tanks

text: the

text: report

text: said

text: Competitive

text: bidding

text: would

text: have

text: cut

text: Medicare

text: 's

text: average

text: cost

text: of

text: a

text: standard

text: power

text: wheelchair

text: by

text: nearly

text: the

text: inspector

text: general

text: found

text: Medicare

text: and

text: beneficiary

text: payments

text: under

text: the

text: Competitive

text: Bidding

text: Acquisition

text: Program

text: would

text: have

text: decreased

text: by

text: an

text: average

text: of

text: percent

text: across

text: all

text: included

text: categories

text: of

text: durable

text: medical

text: equipment

text: saving

text: up

text: to

text: an

text: estimated

text: billion

text: annually

text: the

text: report

text: found

text: However

text: Congress

text: delayed

text: the

text: program

text: and

text: exempted

text: complex

text: rehabilitation

text: power

text: wheelchairs

text: from

text: future

text: competitive

text: bidding

text: Medicare

text: 's

text: annual

text: budget

text: for

text: was

text: billion

text: In

text: January

text: it

text: cut

text: its

text: payments

text: to

text: suppliers

text: by

text: percent

text: to

text: make

text: up

text: for

text: what

text: it

text: thought

text: competitive

text: bidding

text: would

text: have

text: saved

text: taxpayers

text: according

text: to

text: the

text: report

text: In

text: July

text: a

text: CNN

text: investigation

text: found

text: that

text: a

text: patient

text: and

text: taxpayers

text: were

text: billed

text: about

text: over

text: four

text: years

text: for

text: a

text: nonmotorized

text: chair

text: while

text: a

text: nearly

text: identical

text: chair

text: could

text: be

text: bought

text: from

text: the

text: same

text: supplier

text: for

text: The

text: issue

text: has

text: become

text: controversial

text: as

text: the

text: Obama

text: administration

text: tries

text: to

text: overhaul

text: the

text: U.S.

text: health

text: care

text: system

text: and

text: rein

text: in

text: the

text: cost

text: of

text: Medicare

text: Administration

text: officials

text: want

text: to

text: require

text: competitive

text: bids

text: for

text: items

text: such

text: as

text: wheelchairs

text: But

text: the

text: American

text: Association

text: for

text: Homecare

text: which

text: represents

text: many

text: in

text: the

text: durable

text: equipment

text: industry

text: said

text: the

text: bidding

text: program

text: would

text: reduce

text: patient

text: choice

text: limit

text: access

text: to

text: home

text: medical

text: care

text: and

text: drive

text: up

text: Medicare

text: costs

text: by

text: requiring

text: more

text: hospital

text: stays

question: what will be the cost

answer: average of $4,018 to lease,

text: average of $4,018 to lease,

question: What does the industry say about patient choice?

answer: limit access to home medical care and drive up Medicare costs by requiring more hospital stays.

text: limit access to home medical care and drive up Medicare costs by requiring more hospital stays.

question: How much does a power wheelchair cost?

answer: $4,018

question: what does the industry say

answer: the bidding program would reduce patient choice, limit access to home medical care and drive up Medicare costs by requiring more hospital stays.

text: the bidding program would reduce patient choice, limit access to home medical care and drive up Medicare costs by requiring more hospital stays.

question: Can competitive bidding reduce costs?

answer: would have cut

text: would have cut