Obama: Cambridge police acted ‘stupidly’  —  After spending most of an hour patiently reiterating his arguments for changing the health insurance system, President Barack Obama turned his press conference sharply toward an iconic moment in American race relations: The arrest …

Obama's Fifth News Conference  —  Following is a transcript of President Obama's fifth news conference, the fourth given in prime-time, as provided by Federal News Service.  —  PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good evening.  Please be seated.  —  Before I take your questions, I want to talk for a few minutes …

Durbin: No pre-recess vote on healthcare  —  Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that a pre-recess vote on healthcare reform is unlikely.  —  “We're going to take a little longer to get it right,” Durbin told The Hill when asked …

WH discloses health-care execs' visits  —  The Secret Service had earlier rejected a request for the same information, asserting executive privilege.  The issue could have been an embarassment for Obama at the presser in light of his promises during the campaign to make public White House visitors …

54 House Democrats and All Republicans Against Obamacare?  Update: Make that 69 Dems?  —  Today, Nancy Pelosi said: “I have no question that we have the votes on the floor of the House to pass this [health-care] legislation.”  But Joe Pounder of the GOP Whip's press office emails:

Bin Laden Son Reported Killed In Pakistan  —  · U.S. officials believe Saad bin Laden — a son of Osama bin Laden — has been killed by an American missile in Pakistan.  —  Saad bin Laden reportedly spent years under house arrest in Iran before traveling last year to Pakistan …

Dude, Where's My Sperm?  —  I've been freaking myself out over the past 24 hours by reading Reece Rushing's CAP report on dangerous chemicals impairing American fertility.  For the fellows, there's reduced sperm count:  —  And the ladies aren't being spared either:  —  What's to blame?  Well:

Obama: Greedy doctors are coming after your tonsils or something  —  Gee, I'm really sorry I decided to skip this for “Ghost Hunters.”  Watching The One explain how the medical industry has designs on your body parts would have been much better in hindsight.

On Wall Street, Compensation Is Rocketing Back to Pre-Crisis Levels  —  Lawmakers Warn Against Return to Pre-Crisis Levels  —  Wall Street's biggest banks are setting aside billions of dollars more to pay their executives and other employees just months after these firms were rescued …

L.I. Man Helped Qaeda, Then Informed  —  He grew up in the solid middle class of Suffolk County, the son of an engineer, the child of a couple that had emigrated from South America, a fan of football and video games, an altar boy and, eventually, a Boy Scout.

Would You Stand on Short Flights if It Meant Cheaper Fares?  —  Irish-based discount airline Ryanair recently polled 120,000 passengers on its Web site with the following question: would you be willing to stand on short flights?  —  The answer was an overwhelming “yes” - if the tickets were free.

Drunkblogging ObamaCare  —  Stephen Green listens carefully to President Obama's press conference on health care — and tries to determine whether care of his vodka-challenged liver will be covered.  (Watch PJTV's virtual health care forum here.)  —  4:48PM I'm watching Fox News tonight, instead of the usual CNN.

Oooh, Don't Forget, ‘Now Is The Time To Act’!  —  Senate Republicans e-mail me: … It's good, don't get me wrong, but they left off a few of my favorite Obama cliches, some of which are straw men, some of which are rhetorical crutches: “We inherited these problems”; “the alternative is to do nothing” …

Next up for Sanford: 2-week European vacation with family  —  Gov. Mark Sanford said he is leaving the state Thursday with his wife and sons for a two-week European vacation.  —  Sanford said the trip long has been scheduled and was meant as a last family getaway with his family's four sons while they all still are living at home.

Will Obama's health care plan mirror Clinton's '94 failure?  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — In 1994, universal health care was a key policy plan for then-President Bill Clinton.  It eventually failed.  —  Now, 15 years later, another Democratic president is taking on the challenge …

Ensign's chief of staff leaving  —  John Lopez, Sen. John Ensign's chief of staff, is leaving the senator's employ, as first reported by Sun columnist Jon Ralston.  —  Lopez is described by Republican insiders as a talented staffer, particularly adept at securing appropriations for Nevada.

After Senate vote, F-22 loses House support  —  The Senate's decisive vote this week to cut off the F-22 program is resonating in the House, where leading appropriators on Wednesday said they would back away from an effort to continue production of the radar-evading fighter.

PETA video shows Ringling Bros. handlers beating elephants  —  The world-famous Ringling Bros. circus faces fresh accusations of animal abuse today after undercover videos show handlers beating elephants before they enter the ring.  —  The tape, made by a man who posed as a stagehand for six months …

Is the Obama Health Care Plan Really Better Than Nothing?  —  By BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon  —  Candidate Barack Obama told us to judge his first term by whether he delivers quality affordable health care for all Americans, including nearly fifty million uninsured.

Orrin Hatch quits health care talks  —  The health care Gang of Seven is now down to six.  —  Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of seven senators involved in bipartisan Finance Committee negotiations, has left the talks.  —  Hatch informed Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Wednesday afternoon …