AP - House Democrats are pushing to the brink of passage a landmark, $940 billion health care overhaul bill that would simultaneously deliver on President Barack Obama's promise to expand coverage while slashing the deficit, a strategy aimed at winning over the party's fiscal conservatives.

Reuters - The tension level in the debate on financial reform rose on Thursday as Democrats slapped back at a Republican leader's comment about "punk staffers" and a pivotal vote neared in the Senate.

Reuters - Democrats in the House of Representatives unveiled the final changes to a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Thursday, boosting subsidies to make coverage more affordable ahead of a Sunday vote on final passage.

AFP - President Barack Obama's Democrats predicted victory in a cliffhanger vote Sunday on his historic plan to extend health care coverage to some 32 million Americans who lack it now.

Reuters - President Barack Obama picked up support for healthcare reform on Wednesday from a former critic and from a group of Catholic nuns, who broke with bishops on the abortion issue and urged final passage of the Senate overhaul.

The Christian Science Monitor - The battle for healthcare reform is shifting from open-field policy fights to the obscure trenches of procedural warfare, as House Democrats look to pass the Senate bill without a direct vote.

Reuters - President Barack Obama picked up his first convert in the push for healthcare reform on Wednesday as Democrats in the House of Representatives prepared for a close weekend vote on final passage.

Reuters - Democrats in the House of Representatives on Tuesday defended their plans to pass a broad healthcare overhaul without a direct vote as President Barack Obama's top domestic priority neared a make-or-break showdown.

AP - With time and tempers short, everyone's playing hardball in the drive to pass — or stop — President Barack Obama's massive health care legislation by the weekend.