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.

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 …

For Israel and America, a Disagreement, Not a Crisis  —  ISRAEL and America enjoy a deep and multi-layered friendship, but even the closest allies can sometimes disagree.  Such a disagreement began last week during Vice President Joseph Biden's visit to Israel, when a mid-level official …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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?

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Access, Access, Access  —  First, a question: When in American history did life expectancy improve the most?  —  Was it the late 1800s, when anesthesia made surgery easier and far more common?  Was it the 1930s, when antibacterial medicines became available?  Or recent decades, when CAT scans and heart bypasses proliferated?

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.

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.