AP - One by one, House Democratic fence-sitters began choosing sides Friday, and the long, turbulent struggle over landmark health care legislation tilted unmistakably in President Barack Obama’s direction.
AP - It was a bold response to skyrocketing health insurance premiums. President Barack Obama would give federal authorities the power to block unreasonable rate hikes.
AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested Friday that the United States and Israel have found a way around the worst disagreement the two allies have faced in years while international diplomats set goals for new U.S.-backed peace talks aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state.
Politico - House leaders are negotiating with some reps. to free up anti-abortion lawmakers’ votes.
Politico - Former Mass. Gov. Romney leads his GOP rivals for the party’s 2012 presidential nomination.
AP - The Agriculture Department has failed to enforce penalties against some who falsely marketed foods as organic, according to an internal department investigation.
AP - President Barack Obama promised to make overhauling the immigration system a top priority in his first year as president. He’s now in Year Two, and the odds that he’ll get to sign a bill before the November midterm elections appear long.
Reuters - Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives lobbied undecided members for support and voiced growing confidence on Friday they will win a close vote on final passage of a sweeping healthcare overhaul.
AP - As of Friday, March 19, 2010, at least 939 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to an Associated Press count.
The Christian Science Monitor - As congressional leaders and the White House push to attract the remaining votes needed to pass a healthcare reform measure this weekend, opponents are poised to take their fight to the courts, and potentially all the way to the US Supreme Court.
AP - President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care legislation won precious support from a longtime liberal holdout in the House on Wednesday and from a retired Catholic bishop and nuns representing dozens of religious orders — gaining fresh traction ahead of a climactic weekend vote.
AP - Idaho took the lead in a growing, nationwide fight against health care overhaul Wednesday when its governor became the first to sign a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government if residents are forced to buy health insurance.
AP - A retired Catholic bishop is announcing his support for President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, despite the church’s official opposition.
Politico - A federal grand jury issues document subpoenas to at least a half-dozen Nevada companies.
Politico - Oversight agency isn’t getting the cooperation it wants in investigation of $5.5M budget error.
AP - Products intended to treat cats and dogs for fleas and ticks kill hundreds of pets each year and injure tens of thousands, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday as it outlined plans to make the products safer.
AP - Buyers, beware: President Barack Obama says his health care overhaul will lower premiums by double digits, but check the fine print.
AP - A Pennsylvania lawmaker whose parents recently died of cancer is among the targets of an ad campaign by a conservative group that questions congressional Democrats’ interest in preventing the disease.
AP - As of Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at least 4,385 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
AP - The Idaho Supreme Court has denied requests from six death row inmates who said they were entitled to new trials because a U.S. Supreme Court ruling made after their convictions called on juries, not judges, to impose the death penalty.