President Barack Obama Talks to Bret Baier About Health Care Reform Bill  —  This is a rush transcript of “Special Report With Bret Baier” from March 17, 2010.  This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.  —  BRET BAIER, “SPECIAL REPORT” HOST: Welcome to Washington.

Obama's pitch: Fate of presidency on the line  —  President Barack Obama had exhausted most of his health care reform arguments with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during a White House meeting last Thursday when he made a more personal pitch that resonated with many skeptics in the room.

No CBO score released Wednesday; Saturday healthcare vote unlikely  —  House Democratic leaders on Wednesday night said the long-awaited Congressional Budget Office score of the reconciliation bill will not come out until Thursday, forcing an acknowledgement that a Saturday healthcare vote is likely off the table.

Walgreens: no new Medicaid patients as of April 16  —  Effective April 16, Walgreens drugstores across the state won't take any new Medicaid patients, saying that filling their prescriptions is a money-losing proposition — the latest development in an ongoing dispute over Medicaid reimbursement.

Driehaus against Senate health plan  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's sweeping health care legislation won precious support Wednesday from Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a longtime liberal holdout in the House, but it's close to losing Rep. Steve Driehaus of West Price Hill.

The Crisis  —  Was Obama's confrontation with Israel premeditated?  —  JERUSALEM—Suddenly, my city feels again like a war zone.  Since the suicide bombings ended in 2005, life in Jerusalem has been for the most part relatively calm.  The worst disruptions have been the traffic jams resulting …

Steve Levy Plans Switch to G.O.P., Stirring Governor's Race  —  ALBANY — A governor's race that seemed all but settled is about to be upended again, by a popular Democrat from Long Island who is set to announce that he is switching parties.  The move is certain to excite Republican leaders pessimistic …

GOP plots Senate health roadblock  —  Democrats might like to think that health care reform is all but a done deal if it clears the House, but the Senate is where Republicans have been plotting for months to sentence it to a painful procedural death.  —  Republican aides have been mining …

Stupak: It's been ‘a living hell’  —  Leading a revolt against President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation over abortion has been a “living hell” for Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).  —  The telephone lines in his Washington and district offices have been “jammed” and he's gotten …

Rahm, vindicated?  —  Greg Sargent notes a new poll today indicating that liberal voters are totally unified behind passing the health care plan.  A mere three percent oppose it.  That's a public sentiment that makes it a whole lot easier for even Dennis Kucinich to come along.

Field Poll: Campbell leads GOP Senate field; Boxer fades  —  WASHINGTON - Former Rep. Tom Campbell has a six-point lead over his closest challenger in the three-way Republican primary to face Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, whose popularity has significantly eroded in the past two months, according to a Field Poll released today.

Alex Chilton, Rock Musician, Dies  —  Alex Chilton of the rock band Big Star performed at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple last November.  —  Alex Chilton, the mercurial if influential rock musician, whose work spanned an eclectic gamut from the soul songs of the Box Tops to the multiple incarnations …

The Troubled Asset Relief Program  —  Today CBO released the third of its statutory reports on transactions undertaken as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).  This report discusses CBO's estimate of the costs of those transactions initiated as of February 17, 2010 …

Al-Qaeda crippled as leaders stay in hiding, CIA chief says  —  Relentless attacks against al-Qaeda in the Pakistan tribal region appear to have driven Osama bin Laden and other top leaders deeper into hiding, leaving the organization rudderless and incapable of planning sophisticated operations …

Insurer targeted HIV patients to drop coverage  —  (Reuters) - In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV.  The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one thing going for him …

Germans Cringe at Hitler's Popularity in Pakistan  —  Germans are popular in India and Pakistan, but not always for the right reasons.  Many in South Asia have nothing but admiration for Adolf Hitler and still associate Germany with the Third Reich.  Everyday encounters with the love of all things Nazi makes German visitors cringe.

A Middle East Without American Influence? … - Spitzer: Only a Shareholder Revolution Can Fix Wall Street- I Want To Do Volunteer Work Abroad for My Vacation.  Will It Do Any Good?  - Shafer: The Most Bone-Headed Pharm-Party Article I've Ever Read- Why Won't Insurance Companies Cover Fertility Treatments for Single Women?

Cuccinelli's office confirms Virginia will sue over health care  —  A spokesman for Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) said this afternoon that Virginia will file suit against the federal government if the Democratic health care reform bill is approved by the U.S. Congress.

Unions flex muscle with bank protests  —  Labor unions are flexing their muscle this month in scores of protests against the country's largest banks, which are lobbying heavily to influence financial overhaul legislation.  —  Unions will hold roughly 200 events by March 26 aimed at Bank of America …

Rock Bottom  —  Take a good look around, Democrats, this is likely to be as bad as it's going to get.  As Kate Pickert and I note in a story out today on time.com, the 24-hour cable net cycle has been stuck on ugly process maneuverings in the vacuum of no score from the Congressional Budget Office and no bill.

Code Red Moves Cardoza and Costa to “Yes” Votes on Gov't Healthcare Takeover After Water Deal  —  Is this Another Backroom Deal to Force Obama's Bill Down the American People's Throats?  —  As a vote approaches on Obama and Pelosi's government takeover of healthcare, Code Red is now considering …

The GOP health care count: 209 no, 204 yes, 18 undecided  —  There are two ways to count votes for the Democrats' national health care plan.  The first is to tally the lawmakers who are definitely yes or leaning yes.  The second is to count the ones who are definitely no and leaning no.

What is Dodd's Too Big To Fail Solution?  —  While I tend to agree with Ezra Klein's overall argument about the need to move on financial regulation now, he misses some key points about how Chris Dodd's bill deals with the Too Big To Fail problem.  —  Ezra postulates that there are two ways …

Muslims seeking female clerk can ‘line up again’  —  FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images “For a woman who is veiled with a niqab or a burka and comes to our office asking to be photographed by a woman, the answer is no,” says Quebec health-insurance board spokesman Marc Lortie.

Friends do not Treat Friends in this Manner  —  A friend of TWS passes along this letter that Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt wrote to his congressman, Steny Hoyer:

Rep. Mike Pence: What Dems Are Doing Is Unconstitutional; I Did It Too  —  Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, the number 3 Republican in terms of leadership in the House, told The Daily Caller he thinks the self-executing rule is unconstitutional, and then admits he used it himself three times (via Steve Benen)

Attackers kill 12 in latest Nigeria fighting  —  LAGOS, Nigeria - Attackers killed 12 people Wednesday morning in a small Christian village in central Nigeria, officials said, cutting out most of the victims' tongues in the latest violence in a region where religious fighting already has killed hundreds this year.

ABC and Amanpour Close to Deal for ‘This Week’  —  ABC News is close to concluding a deal to install the longtime CNN foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour as the new host of its Sunday political discussion show “This Week.”  —  The network's interest in Ms. Amanpour …