Monday News Update: Health Care, International Women’s Day, AIG Sale to MetLife

In today’s news updates we provide links on health care, international women’s day and AIG sale to MetLife.

Obama to appeal for public support on health care

WASHINGTON — With the fate of his signature legislative initiative far from certain, President Barack Obama is taking his last-ditch push for health care reform on the road.

In a speech Monday in Philadelphia, Obama will try to persuade the public to back his plan to remake the nation’s health care system, while also urging uneasy lawmakers to cast a “final vote” for a massive reform bill in an election year.

Obama’s pitch in Philadelphia, along with a stop in St. Louis Wednesday, comes as the president begins an all-out effort to pass his health care proposals. Though his plan has received only modest public support, Obama has implored lawmakers to show political courage and not let a historic opportunity slip away.

World Marks International Women’s Day

(CNN) — The world marks International Women’s Day on Monday, an annual celebration that highlights their economic, political and social achievements.

“International Women’s Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men,” the United Nations says.

AIG in $15.5 billion unit sale to MetLife

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — AIG agreed Monday to sell its American Life Insurance Co. unit to MetLife Inc. for $15.5 billion in cash and stock, in beleaguered AIG’s second sale of an international unit in a week.

AIG said it will sell the unit, known as Alico, for $6.8 billion in cash and the remainder in MetLife equity. The deal leaves AIG as the second-largest shareholder of MetLife, with a stake of more than 20% in the company.