The latest news on Health Care, Massachusetts Health Care, Abortion, Economic Recovery and Unemployment, Life in Prison, Concealed Weapons, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Colombia, Honduras, and Select Op-eds.

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Quote of the day. "Everyone is getting paid except people in front of the camera in college basketball. If we weren't putting on a great show, there wouldn't be great highlights that they now sell." Ed O'Bannion, former UCLA basketball star, explaining a lawsuit by former college athletes seeking compensation from the NCAA for the sale of content that includes their images. (USA Today)

Health care. In Televised Address, Obama Seeks to Calm Nation's Fears About Health-Care Reform "President Obama confronted increasing doubts about the impact of widespread changes to the health-care system, seeking to assure middle-class Americans on Wednesday that the landmark legislation he envisions would improve their quality of life and is essential to curing the nation's economic ills." Obama Moves to Reclaim the Debate on Health Care "President Obama tried on Wednesday to rally public support for overhauling the nation's health care system and said for the first time that he would be willing to help pay for the plan by raising income taxes on families earning more than $1 million a year." Obama strives to personalize healthcare debate for Americans "With many Americans growing anxious about his plans to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, President Obama on Wednesday sought to lay out in personal terms how they stand to gain from the legislation that he has made one of the top goals of his presidency."

Massachusetts health care. Universal health care was the easy part for Mass. "Three years after mandating that residents get health insurance and requiring employers, insurers and taxpayers to chip in, Massachusetts has yet to control soaring costs that are eating up half its budget. So it's considering an equally radical idea: changing the way doctors and hospitals are paid to reward results."

Abortion. New push in Congress for common ground on abortion "Seeking elusive common ground on abortion, prominent activists and clergy on both sides of the debate are throwing their support behind a bill aimed at preventing unintended pregnancies and supporting pregnant women." Abortion Opponents Criticize Health Reform Bills "President Obama, who has vowed to find common ground on culture-war issues, finds himself in the middle of a classic Washington dispute over abortion that is further undermining support among conservative Democrats for his ambitious health-care reform efforts."

Economic recovery and unemployment. In Economic Recovery, Employment May Be Slow to Rebound "The recession is expected to end sometime this year, but it could take far longer before millions of unemployed Americans notice."

Life in prison. Number of Life Terms Hits Record "More prisoners today are serving life terms than ever before - 140,610 out of 2.3 million inmates being held in jails and prisons across the country - under tough mandatory minimum-sentencing laws and the declining use of parole for eligible convicts."

Concealed weapons. Senate Defeats Conceal-Carry Measure That Divided Democrats "An amendment that would have allowed gun owners to carry their weapons across state lines fell just short of passage Wednesday in a vote that revealed deep divisions among the Senate's Democrats." Senate rejects bid to carry concealed weapons across state lines "The 58-39 vote, short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster, once again highlighted divisions within the Democratic Party over the gun issue. Twenty Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, joined 38 Republicans in supporting the measure."

Afghanistan. Afghan war is 'worth the effort' "U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden has told the BBC that the war in Afghanistan is in the interests of the U.S. and the U.K." Karzai pulls out of Afghan debate "The debate between Karzai and two of his biggest challengers - Abdullah Abdullah, the former foreign minister, and Ashraf Ghani, the former finance minister - was scheduled to take place on Thursday on the country's most popular television network."

Iraq. Iraq Premier and Obama Emphasize the Positive "President Obama welcomed Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq to the White House on Wednesday and said that despite occasional differences between the two nations' military forces, the United States was on track for withdrawing combat forces from Iraq by the end of August 2010." Iraq PM admits U.S. troops may stay "The Iraqi prime minister has admitted U.S. troops could stay in the country beyond 2011."

Iran. Iran opposition leader plans large-scale social movement "Iran's political crisis intensified Wednesday when the nation's main opposition figure announced that he would create a political organization to 'lay the groundwork for a large-scale social movement' stemming from his disputed election loss to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." U.S. pessimistic on Iran overtures "The U.S. secretary of state has said Washington is still willing to engage with Iran but that unrest there means Tehran is currently unable to respond."

Sudan. A split ruling in Sudan's north-south border dispute "In a ruling many hope will bolster Sudan's fragile north-south peace agreement, an international arbitration panel Wednesday awarded the northern-led government control of several key disputed oil fields while giving large swaths of contested grazing lands to the south." Court Redraws Disputed Area in Sudan "An international tribunal redefined the borders of a disputed oil-rich region between north and south Sudan on Wednesday. The ruling seeks to defuse a thorny issue in the 2005 peace agreement ending one of Africa's longest civil wars by splitting the contested zone between the two sides."

Colombia. Increased U.S. Military Presence in Colombia Could Pose Problems With Neighbors "A plan to increase the American military presence on at least three military bases in Colombia, Washington's top ally in Latin America, is accentuating Colombia's already tense relations with some of its neighbors."

Honduras. Deadlock in Honduras sparks fears of Cold War "Honduras was on a collision course with one of the region's most powerful leaders last night after its government tried to expel Venezuelan diplomats for meddling in the country's affairs." Warring parties in Honduras reject compromise deal "A last-minute push to resolve Honduras' three-week-old political crisis once again appeared to fail Wednesday, as neither of the warring parties signed a compromise cobbled together by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias. The new proposal again called for the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, limited amnesty for all parties and moving up elections by a month."

Opinion. The high-powered hidden support for Honduras' coup (Mark Weisbrot, Los Angeles Times) "Powerful special interests have flexed their muscles and confronted President Obama on the most important legislative priorities of his domestic agenda. But this kind of politics-by-influence-peddling doesn't stop at the water's edge. And in foreign policy, the consequences can be more immediate, violent and deadly."