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.

McCain, GOP secretly courting another Dem to switch  —  Republicans are stepping up their efforts to persuade more House Democrats to switch parties and are zeroing in on a second-term Pennsylvanian who acknowledged the efforts but said he has “no plans” to do so.

Senate passes historic healthcare reform legislation in 60-39 vote  —  The Senate approved sweeping healthcare reform legislation by the narrowest of partisan margins early Christmas Eve morning, placing President Barack Obama closer than ever to signing a longtime Democratic priority into law.

A Democrat's view from the House: Senate bill isn't health reform  —  Editor's note: Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, a Democrat, represents the 28th Congressional District of New York.  Slaughter is the first woman to chair the House Rules Committee and the only microbiologist in Congress.

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

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.

Iran protests spread in heartland  —  Demonstrations in Esfahan and Najafabad are evidence that the opposition movement has spread beyond Tehran to include a broad cross-section of people in central Iran.  —  Reporting from Tehran and Beirut - Large-scale protests spread in central Iranian cities Wednesday …

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 …

CNN Poll: More Americans think Democratic policies better than Republican  —  Washington (CNN) - Despite the bruising battle over their health care reform proposals, congressional Democrats have maintained an advantage over their Republican counterparts on one key measure, according to a new national poll.

MSNBC Cancels ‘Dr. Nancy’  —  Breaking: TVNewser has learned MSNBC has canceled “Dr. Nancy” the NoonET health/medical show hosted by Dr. Nancy Snynderman.  —  The cancellation of “Dr. Nancy” is yet another daytime programming move by MSNBC, which has fallen to 4th and, on some days, 5th place in the daytime ratings.

Is Obama Growing Weary Of The GOP's ‘Filibuster Everything’ MO?  —  There's growing sentiment on the left—most recently evinced by SEIU President Andy Stern and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman—that the Senate's quiet acceptance of the filibuster—and therefore a 60 vote threshold for most legislation …

Senate approves $290B increase in debt limit  —  The Senate on Thursday cleared a $290 billion debt-limit increase, giving the federal government two more months of borrowing authority.  —  The vote passed 60-39, with every Democrat but Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.) supporting it.

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 …

Newsmaker: Obama on Health Reform Politics, Copenhagen Climate Outcome  —  JIM LEHRER: Mr. President, welcome.  —  PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you so much for having me.  —  JIM LEHRER: So you are completely satisfied with the health-reform bill that the Senate's about to pass?