If you're one of the growing number of people who work for yourself or can't get health insurance through your job, now you've got another option. The Freelancers Union, a New York-based organization for self-employed workers, contractors, part-timers, and others who don't have an employer providing them with benefits, rolled out health insurance policies in 30 states this week. But there's a catch: These plans don't offer the same protections or benefits as the group plans many workers get through their employers. You may be turned down by the insurer for medical reasons, and even if you're approved your coverage may be more limited than you'd get elsewhere.
In the end, there was no loud burst, or even a sharp pop. Instead, the springtime aftermath of the nation's housing bubble is sounding "more like a whoopee cushion," says June Fletcher, author of House Poor: How to Buy and Sell Your Home Come Bubble or Bust. "The air is coming out of the market, but slowly."
AP - President Bush, in his first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, defended his humanitarian record around the globe, telling the papal leader on Saturday about U.S. efforts to battle AIDS in Africa.
AP - A parked car bomb struck a convoy of Iraqi police commandos and gunmen opened fire on police on a foot patrol in a mostly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad on Saturday, police said.
AP - The space shuttle Atlantis, fresh from a fiery and nearly flawless launch, was in hot pursuit of the international space station on Saturday, but won't catch up until Sunday.
U.S. President George W. Bush arrived at the Vatican Saturday for talks with Pope Benedict XVI expected to focus on Iraq and global issues. A papal aide said Benedict wanted to discuss the plight of Christians in Iraq while Bush promised to be in "listening mode." Later Bush will meet with Italian leaders.
The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off into the Florida sky Friday evening, carrying seven astronauts headed for the international space station. The 11-day mission was delayed by a damaging hailstorm and overshadowed by a lurid love triangle. A couple of foam chunks came off the shuttle during launch, but officials said they posed no threat.
![[logo]](http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/bbc_news_120x60.gif "BBC News")
![[logo]](http://www.csmonitor.com/images/logo_88x31.gif "Christian Science Monitor"){kind=logo}
![[logo]](http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/section/NytSectionHeader.gif "NYT > Home Page")
![[logo]](http://www.usnews.com/usnews/images/rss/logo_rss.gif "USNews.com"){kind=logo}
![[logo]](http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/nws/th/main_142b.gif "Yahoo! News")
![[logo]](http://image.guardian.co.uk/sitecrumbs/Guardian.gif "Guardian Unlimited")
![[logo]](http://i.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/1.0/logo/cnn.logo.rss.gif "CNN.com"){kind=logo}
