Senate Passes Health Care Overhaul Bill  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Thursday to reinvent the nation's health care system, passing a bill to guarantee access to health insurance for tens of millions of Americans and to rein in health costs as proposed by President Obama.

Yemen says Fort Hood-linked imam may be dead  —  SANAA (Reuters) - The leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and a Muslim preacher linked by U.S. intelligence to deaths at a U.S. army base are believed to have died in a Yemen air strike, a security official said on Thursday.

Census Bureau: Texas Gains the Most in Population  —  Texas gained more people than any other state between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009 (478,000), followed by California (381,000), North Carolina (134,000), Georgia (131,000) and Florida (114,000), according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates

Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won  —  In late October 2007, as the financial markets were starting to come unglued, a Goldman Sachs trader, Jonathan M. Egol, received very good news.  At 37, he was named a managing director at the firm.  —  Mr. Egol, a Princeton graduate …

Keep the Big Tent big  —  The announcement by Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith that he is switching to the Republican Party is just the latest warning sign that the Democratic Party — my lifelong political home — has a critical decision to make: Either we plot a more moderate …

There's Only One Way to Stop Iran  —  PRESIDENT OBAMA should not lament but sigh in relief that Iran has rejected his nuclear deal, which was ill conceived from the start.  Under the deal, which was formally offered through the United Nations, Iran was to surrender some 2,600 pounds …

Kerry Floats Plan to Visit Tehran  —  White House Wouldn't Oppose Trip, First by Top U.S. Official in 30 Years, to Chagrin of Iran's Opposition  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. John Kerry has suggested becoming the first high-level U.S. emissary to make a public visit to Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution …

Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins Split  —  One of Hollywood's most enduring relationships has ended - Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have broken up after more than two decades together, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.  —  “Actress Susan Sarandon and her partner of 23 years …

Lowering Commercial Volume.  —  My holiday gift to you is a topic of dinner table conversation that, if my experience is any guide, can bring about a rare moment of unanimity regardless of the politics of your assorted relatives.  I happened to casually mention during a holiday get together …

Health Care Woo  —  The health care bill passed!  As you know, my view is this: For all its flaws, if signed into law this bill would be the greatest progressive social policy achievement in over forty years.  It's fine not to be satisfied with this legislation, but it's perverse not to be happy about it.

Transcript: Obama Talks With PBS' Jim Lehrer  —  President Obama today gave an interview with Jim Lehrer, the host of NewsHour on PBS.  Here is the full transcript, as released by NewsHour:  —  MR. LEHRER: Mr. President, welcome.  —  PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you so much for having me.

And the Rest Is Just Noise  —  Why the health care bill is the greatest social achievement of our time.  —  American liberals have a habit of withdrawing into cynicism and ennui at the most inopportune moments.  The 2000 presidential election, and subsequent recount, was one such moment.