Politico - Paul Ryan story

CQPolitics.com - House Democrats are trying to minimize their expected losses this fall by targeting a handful of Republicans, banking on a belief that voters are more frustrated with politicians in both parties than they are with the Obama administration or the Democratic-run Congress.

AP - Almost a year after President Barack Obama promised to be a 'full partner' with Mexico in its battle against drug cartels, a team of U.S. Cabinet secretaries and other top advisers will look for ways to help Mexico strengthen its law enforcement and judicial systems in meetings Tuesday.

CQPolitics.com - The first fundraising quarter ends in just a week, and some challengers and members may soon find themselves on the hot seat depending on how well they've fared in the money chase over the past three months.

AP - President Barack Obama and the Democrats have overcome their doubts and divisions to pass landmark health care legislation affecting every family and one-sixth of the economy. The president will sign the main bill at a White House ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, and a companion package of fixes is expected to be on its way to his desk soon.

AP - That Caesar salad you're about to eat? It's 800 calories, and that's without the croutons. The fettuccine alfredo? A whopping 1,220 calories. You may choose to ignore the numbers, but soon it's going to be tough to deny you saw them.

Politico - Abortion-rights and anti-abortion groups say reform is a reminder of the consequences of elections.

Politico - Some launch 'ugly' campaign aimed at killing health care bill.

AP - Attorney General Eric Holder is defending lawyers who represent unpopular clients like terror suspects. Holder says such attorneys are patriots who deserve respect.

AP - The head of the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur said Monday he expects Sudan's national elections next month to go smoothly in the region, despite fears of violence and calls for the poll's delay.

Time.com - AIPAC prepares a mass lobbying effort to demand that stopping Iran's nuclear program be the Obama Administration's focus in the Middle East

AP - A top adviser to President Barack Obama says people will embrace the health care overhaul once they 'get familiar with what is is and what it isn't.'

Politico - Strain with Israel plays out in House and Senate races across the 2010 election landscape.

Politico - Both sides say the health care battle underscored the need for reliable allies in Congress.

AFP - President Barack Obama is preparing to sign his historic health care overhaul into law at the White House before waging an all-out push to win over wary US voters ahead of November elections.

CQPolitics.com - House Democratic vote-counters started their calculus about cobbling together a majority for a sweeping health care overhaul with a reasonable assumption: that the four lawmakers who had announced their decisions to retire since voting on the original House version back in November were ripe targets.

AP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is criss-crossing the Washington power grid Tuesday, striving to explain his country's position in a widening debate over its plans to construct new housing in east Jerusalem.

Politico - In an Ideas piece, Mead argues Obama has been savvy in his negotiations with Israel.

AP - Three former Cabinet ministers have been suspended from Britain's ruling Labour Party over allegations that they tried to trade access to government officials for cash, as the country's Parliament faces a new set of ethics scandals.

AFP - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel's right to build settlements in occupied east Jerusalem ahead of potentially difficult talks with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

AP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a warmer public reception from Congress than from the Obama administration, with a top Democrat and Republican joining Tuesday to welcome a leader who has agreed to disagree with the White House over Israeli housing expansion on disputed ground.

Politico - Some liberal primary challenges appear to be moving ahead in districts where Democrats opposed the health care bill. In Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Altmire's district, Allegheny County Labor Council President Jack Shea says he might run against the second-term Democrat in a primary or as an independent. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Shea attacked Altmire for allegedly breaking a pledge to labor leaders: 'He didn't keep his word ... What he said very plainly was, at the end, the final bill, he would be there.'

Politico - After over a year of debate, President Obama signs the historic health insurance reform into law.

AP - A requirement tucked into the massive U.S health care bill will make calorie counts impossible for thousands of restaurants to hide and difficult for consumers to ignore. More than 200,000 fast food and other chain restaurants will have to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards and even drive-throughs.

AP - President Barack Obama has paid tribute to ordinary Americans who've had to wrestle with health insurance problems — and those ordinary Americans include his mother.

AP - The Supreme Court has questioned whether the federal agency that referees labor-management disputes can make decisions when it only has two people sitting on its five-member board.

AP - An Austrian diocese says a priest has resigned after admitting he abused a 17-year-old boy.

AP - Polish feminists are criticizing a slogan used in a hospital campaign promoting mammograms, saying it is sexist and encourages molestation.

AP - Leave it to Vice President Joe Biden to add a little, ahem, flair to the signing of a health care bill affecting millions of people.

AP - Religious groups from around the globe discussed Tuesday how to help the global fight against AIDS by preventing victims becoming outcasts from society.

AP - A zoo in Spain's Canary Islands says three tigers escaped from their cage after a mistake by an employee and were later shot by police.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law a vast overhaul of the nation's health care system, the most sweeping expansion of government social policy in more than 40 years.

CQPolitics.com - Just hours after President Obama signed a health care overhaul into law, the Senate was preparing to start work on legislation that would make significant changes to it.

AP - Battered by recession, more older Americans are staying put in traditional big cities to hold onto jobs, creating slowdowns in population growth at once-popular retirement destinations widely found in the South and West.

Politico - He says outbursts by congressional GOP-ers may fuel overheated rhetoric from outside the Capitol.

Politico - Sarah Palin rolled out a list of Democratic members of Congress she intends to target for defeat this year who voted for health care reform.

AP - Metro areas with largest population jumps in 2009

AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he wants to know more about the role contractors might be playing in war zones when it comes to collecting intelligence.

AP - Lady Catherine Ashton, under fire for being unqualified for her job as Europe's foreign minister, has upset the French with her flawed command of what was once the language of international diplomacy. Her diplomatic response: I will learn better French.

AP - Former Czech President Vaclav Havel has canceled a meeting with Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla due to illness, his aide said Tuesday.

AP - A cast of senior U.S. security officials pledged long-term support for Mexico's drug war while acknowledging Tuesday that an insatiable U.S. appetite for illegal narcotics is at the core of the problem.

AP - President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi poured nearly all their political strength into passing a landmark health care bill that will mark Obama's legacy and shape the elections of 2010 and beyond.

Politico - Texas Republican Randy Neugebauer has posted a fundraising video on his campaign web site citing his 'baby-killer' outburst.

AP - Thieves have stolen more than 5 million cigarettes from a truck at a highway rest area in western Germany as its driver slept in the cab.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday in a bid to ease strained ties but with dim hopes for any breakthrough in the stalled Middle East peace process.

CQPolitics.com - Even as he was apologizing Monday for screaming 'baby killer' during Sunday night's health care debate, Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) was turning the moment into a campaign fundraiser.

Politico - State-run exchanges mandate may not apply to congressional committee or party leader staffers.

Politico - Poll shows Dems favor the bill by wide margins, while GOP-ers express displeasure.

AP - As of Tuesday, March 23, 2010, at least 4,386 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

AP - Somali pirates hijacked two ships on Tuesday, including a vessel carrying fertilizer, in a series of attacks that shows the pirates are moving further east, officials said.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday in a bid to ease strained ties but with dim hopes for any breakthrough in the stalled Middle East peace process.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The top prosecutors in 13 states — 12 of them Republicans — filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the health-care bill minutes after President Barack Obama signed the landmark legislation into law.

CQPolitics.com - Even as he was apologizing Monday for screaming 'baby killer' during Sunday night's health care debate, Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) was turning the moment into a campaign fundraiser.

AP - President Barack Obama's new health care law has a gap when it comes to one of its much-touted immediate benefits, improved coverage for children in poor health, congressional officials confirmed Tuesday.

Politico - Netanyahu indicates he will only budge on settlements grudgingly.

AP - Landmark health legislation won't be enough to reduce racial gaps in unemployment and health care, the National Urban League says in urging President Barack Obama to promote a 'jobs surge' that targets hard-hit communities.