澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2009-12-25（在线收听）

Good morning.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has called on Australians to spare a thought for people who may be suffering this Christmas. In his Christmas address, Mr. Rudd says 2009 has been a very difficult year for many people.

"It's a time, therefore, to reach out to our friends, our neighbors and people perhaps we may barely know, to extend the hand of friendship, wherever you are..." Mr. Rudd also thanked our defence force troops and emergency services workers out on duty today.

It's shaping up to be a wet Christmas for the eastern states of Australia with authorities preparing for major flooding. New South Wales could be in for the worst weather with ex-Tropical Cyclone Laurence expected to dump 200 millimeters of rain between Bathurst and Bourke.

United States Senate has voted in favor of one of President Obama's key domestic policies, the extension of health care to 30 million uninsured Americans. Mr. Obama has described it as historic and another step towards ending the century-long struggle to reform health care in the US.

And a family in Tasmania has raised six white boomers just in time for Christmas. According to the classic Rolf Harris carol, Santa uses six white boomers to pull his sleigh across Australia because his reindeers can't cope with the heat.

We'll have more news later.