Just heard this on MSNBC as well. Granted they were making a major commotion about it, but has anyone done the math? 1.8 million batteries over the past three years, and 9 known cases of them actually causing a fire. According to my math that's a 0.0005% failure (or flame) rate. Hell, I think I have more of a chance of being hit by lightning.
Granted, I would also doubt that any unplugged battery/laptop would generate the heat needed to combust. Not to mention a non-pressurized cargo hold on a plane at 30,000 feet is hella cold.