President Obama, in a fired-up, emotional speech, urged Congress to seal the deal on the massive health-care overhaul that took up much of the first year of his presidency. Democrats were nailing down the votes, securing the last holdouts before Sunday’s vote. After the House announced a plan to approve the bill without actually voting on it (called “deem and pass”), Republicans were outraged, and Democrats quickly changed their minds. The House will first vote on the changes to the Senate version of the bill, which includes many measures that House Democrats intensely dislike, before approving the Senate bill itself. Haggling over abortion language lasted much of Saturday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected adding abortion language into the bill, instead working toward a compromise that would have Obama issue an executive order preventing the government from subsidizing the medical procedure. That move might not win over the most vocal congressman on this issue, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), but Democrats hope it will win over likeminded representatives. Pelosi is working to win over about eight of the last 19 Democratic fence-sitters and looked extremely confident she could do so, saying, “We will have the votes when we bring it to the floor.”

With outrage still fresh over recent allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland, Pope Benedict XVI apologized in an open letter, referring to “serious mistakes” and telling victims “you have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry.” His statement is the first time that the Vatican has publicly commented on abuse of children within the church and the pope wrote that those accused of pedophilia must “answer before God and properly constituted tribunals for the sinful and criminal actions they have committed.” The letter did not, however, call for any major changes or even resignations in the church, saying instead that Vatican officials were planning an inspection of Irish dioceses.

In what will likely turn out to be his final speech to House Democrats on health-care reform, Barack Obama traveled to Capitol Hill today and forcefully exhorted his party to "make good on this promise." The president quoted Abraham Lincoln, couched reform in the context of an effort spanning nearly a century, and implored the legislators to vote their hearts. "This is one of those times where you can honestly say to yourself, ‘Doggone it, this is exactly why I came here. This is why I got into politics. This is why I got into public service. This is why I made these sacrifices,'" said Obama. "It is in your hands. It is time to pass health-care reform for America, and I am confident that you are going to do it tomorrow.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sharply criticized the existence of financial firms that are “too big to fail” and said policy should perhaps be changed to tackle the problem. Bernanke, speaking at the Independent Community Bankers of America conference in Florida, said those companies posed an “insidious” barrier to competition in the financial-services industry and Washington should find a way to dial back those firms that risk the global financial system. "It is unconscionable that the fate of the world economy should be so closely tied to the fortunes of a relatively small number of giant financial firms," Bernanke said. Congress is considering financial-market reforms, and the Fed chief said he supported an agency with the power to “impose losses on debt holders, override contracts, and replace managers and directors as appropriate” when the biggest companies get in trouble. Bernanke said he also wanted huge firms to have a “living will”—a plan for breaking up the company if its problems get too big to handle.

The health-care protests are getting ugly. While exiting a congressional office building on Capitol Hill, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) was assaulted with the N-word by angry Tea Partiers protesting the proposed bill. Lewis, who was subjected to beatings in Alabama during the civil-rights riots of the 1960s, responded by saying, “It surprised me that people are so mean and we can’t engage in a civil dialogue and debate.” Other lawmakers witnessed the N-word being shouted, and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) described it as a “chorus.” The Huffington Post also reported protesters referring to Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) as a “faggot.” Frank is one of the few openly gay members of Congress.

In the biggest upset of March Madness, Northern Iowa beat top seed Kansas 69 to 67 with a last-minute three-point shot by Ali Farokhmanesh. The victory of the ninth-seeded Panthers marks the first time a No. 1 seed has been defeated in the second round in six years, when the University of Alabama at Birmingham beat Kentucky and Alabama beat Stanford in 2004. The NCAA tournament has seen a large number of upsets thus far. In the showdown between 10th-seeded Saint Mary’s and 2nd-seeded Villanova, center Omar Samhan was the game's leading scorer, racking up 32 points and seven rebounds, and led St. Mary's to a 75-68 triumph. Post-game, Samhan shouted in the locker room, “Did it really happen? We won? For real?” Saint Mary’s will advance to play Old Dominion or Baylor on Thursday.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly getting on a loudspeaker system at a New Jersey Wal-Mart to ask “all blacks” to leave the store. The teen was arrested on “bias intimidation and harassment charges,” police said, though he is currently still in his parents’ custody. On March 14, an unidentified male came on the P.A. system at a Turnersville, New Jersey, Wal-Mart and announced, “All blacks need to leave the store.” A Wal-Mart spokesperson said the store is updating its P.A. system.

It's been a disastrous couple of years for community organizing group Acorn, but the end seems mercifully near. The organization is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection, The New York Times reports, finally collapsing under the weight of a loss of government funding, a series of tough attacks from the right, and numerous scandals involving fraud and incompetence. According to the Times, 15 of the group's 30 state chapters have disbanded in the last six months, while two of its largest chapters, New York and California, have broken off to form their own organizations.

Leave it to Lady Gaga to have a split dramatic enough to end up in court. Gaga is countering her ex-manager and ex-boyfriend Rob Fusari’s lawsuit with a suit of her own, claiming that she signed a contract with Fusari under false pretenses intended to manipulate an “inexperienced performing artist.” For his part, Fusari is suing the singer for $30 million in damages, claiming that her stage name was his idea and that he co-wrote songs such as “Paparazzi.” Gaga’s suit claims that Fusari was not a licensed agent rendering their 2006 contract “void and unenforceable.”

“It was kind of a joke,” when a French online journalist tweeted the gossip that French President Nicolas Sarkozy was cheating on his wife, Carla Bruni, and she was cheating on him. She had no idea if it was true, but the “news” spread internationally as it was repeated by reporters and gossip sites, and Sarkozy had to issue an angry denial during a press conference in London. Twitter users treat the service as a social-networking site, but legally, it’s considered a platform just like a newspaper or TV show and therefore subject to libel laws. By repeating the rumors, journalists—even if they were tweeting in a personal, not professional capacity—gave more credibility to the story. The fake-scandal scandal provoked much debate in France over Twitter’s legal status, with some users saying the site should be considered personal so people can say anything on it without repercussions. Legal experts, however, say that’s not the case.

Newsweek has come out with a disheartening look at America’s $6 billion effort to bring the Afghan police force up to par, a group special envoy Richard Holbrooke called “an inadequate organization, riddled with corruption.” Reports show that up to 90 percent of Afghan police officers are illiterate, 15 percent test positive for drugs, many don’t know how to use their weapons, and some sell weapons to the Taliban. Training Afghan police is a key part of U.S. troops’ planned exit from Afghanistan, and in a recent meeting Barack Obama said to military officials, “Eight years and we didn’t train police? It’s mind-boggling.” New training efforts are under way but police are still widely distrusted by the Afghan people. “We are as disappointed with the new police as we were with the old police,” said one resident.

Former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, who in the 1960s helped kick-start the environmental movement and fought for people who’d been hurt by Cold War- era nuclear programs, died Saturday at the age of 90. Udall died of natural causes at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, his family said. Udall came from a storied political family—he was the brother of 15-term congressman Morris Udall and father of Tom Udall and uncle to Mark Udall, both elected to the Senate two years ago. He served six years himself as a Democratic representative of Arizona before working for the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Udall fathered several important pieces of environmental legislation, growing public parks and protecting endangered species. "If in our haste to 'progress,' the economics of ecology are disregarded by citizens and policymakers alike, the result will be an ugly America," Udall wrote in 1963. "We cannot afford an America where expedience tramples upon aesthetics and development decisions are made with an eye only on the present." In the late 1970s, Udall sued the government on behalf of Navajo men who got lung cancer after working in uranium mines for the government. He also sued to help Nevadans who lived downwind from nuke tests conducted in their state after World War II. He was key in the eventual passage of a law that compensated radiation victims.

Steve Jobs isn’t all about the iPad. The Apple CEO made a surprise appearance at a California children's hospital to encourage the state to pass a law expanding the number of organ donors. Joined by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jobs described his own experience with illness, a rarely discussed topic for the reclusive CEO, which required a liver transplant. "I was almost one of the ones that died waiting for a liver in California last year," Jobs said, who noted that "Many others died waiting to receive one."

A lot can change in a day: As of Friday evening, seven wavering Democrats have pledged to vote in favor of the Senate health-care bill on Sunday, Talking Points Memo and others report. Among the converts, four lawmakers who voted against the House health-care bill in November: Rep. Allen Boyd (one of the House's most conservative Democrats), Rep. John Boccieri, Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, and Rep. Scott Murphy. In addition, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, who'd held out because of his stance on abortion, vowed to vote for the bill Friday, too. The new votes bring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi close to the 216 count she needs for the bill to pass. "It's looking good," she told reporters. Fox News has even announced that she's reached this magic number, with Kosmas' support.

Using arcane Senate rules that allow individual lawmakers to grind presidential appointments to a halt, the Treasury Department has seen a number of posts go unfilled for long stretches over unrelated complaints from GOP Senators. The holds are anonymous and thus their reasons are often not made public, but The Washington Post finds that the holdup centered on issues that were unaffected by the appointments in question, including a plan in Canada to ban fruit-flavored cigarettes and a dispute over online gambling. After President Obama directly challenged the GOP to speed up the process in February, over two dozen appointees were confirmed, but Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), who also blocked unemployment benefits earlier this year, still has holds on two senior Treasury officials.

Welcome back, Ro? Daytime-TV staple Rosie O’Donnell reportedly has another talk show in the works with two of the executives that put together The Rosie O’Donnell Show. After a contentious stint on The View, Rosie has been off the air since 2007, and her new show will likely launch in 2011—coincidentally when Oprah leaves her daytime-TV perch.

After generating buzz at Sundance, The Runaways finally hits theaters this weekend—but, according to most critics, it does not live up to the hype. Multiple reviewers complain that the movie exaggerates the impact the band had on the music industry. Entertainment Weekly gave the film, which stars Twilight actresses Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart, a B-, deeming it “a highly watchable if mostly run-of-the-mill group biopic." Variety was pleased with Fanning and Stewart’s performances as Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, respectively, and USA Today says the movie is “ more arty than eye-opening.” The Hollywood Reporter adds that it is “ not memorable in the sense one recalls it afterward only in flashes and impressions." The New York Times’ A.O. Scott, however, is the sole voice of positivity: “The movie may be a little too tame in the end,” he writes, “but at its best it is just wild enough.”

After experiencing a rise in sexual assaults last year, an Argentine province has legalized a chemical castration process for rapists. Authorities in Mendoza met with a scientific legal committee to come to their decision to allow the voluntary chemical process. “By using medication that lowers the person’s sexual desire and with psychological treatment, the person can be reintroduced into society without being a threat,” said Mendoza Governor Celso Jaque. Thus far, 11 convicted rapists in Mendoza agreed to the treatment in exchange for a reduction in their sentences. Some experts, however, say that the treatment is reversible and ignores the fact that some perpetrators may still enjoy inflicting pain, even if their sexual impulses are curbed. In addition to Mendoza, eight U.S. states—California, Florida, Georgia, Montana, Oregon, Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Iowa—and several European countries have already adopted chemical castration.

Fifteen years after the legal battle first began and with both major parties deceased, a federal court has ruled against Anna Nicole Smith, determining that her oil tycoon husband J. Howard Marshall had no intention of leaving her any of his $1.6 billion fortune and instead planned on leaving his estate to his son, E. Pierce Marshall. "Our only wish would be that Pierce were here to see his vindication,” said a statement from Marshall’s family. E. Pierce Marshall passed away in 2006, followed by Smith’s overdose in 2007, but the legal drama has continued as Larry Birkhead seeks support for their daughter, Dannielynn. The decision will likely be appealed again to the Supreme Court and a lawyer for Smith’s estate said, “It really is a unique decision. We have to take it farther.”

Though Nancy Pelosi warned there’d be no horse-trading in the lead-up to Sunday’s vote on health-care reform, the House bill has recently been modified to the tune of $8.5 billion in changes that benefit 11 states. Some wavering Democrats from the Pacific Northwest to the Upper Midwest urged for increasing Medicare payments to hospitals and doctors, while others hoped to secure the Obama administration’s plan for an immigration law overhaul. Rep. Jerrold Nadler said Pelosi made a deal with New York’s congressional delegation to the tune of $2.1 billion after he said they’d have problems voting for the health care reform bill without certain changes. Another $100 million was added to fund hospitals that treat poor people in Tennessee. Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn) announced Thursday he’ll vote yes. Rep Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) switched his vote after President Obama personally assured him an immigration reform package would soon follow health-care reform.

Even as a number of lawmakers who opposed the previous health-care bill switch sides, giving House Speaker Nancy Pelosi more leverage over the remaining holdouts, Democrats were still looking for a compromise that could satisfy pro-life House members this weekend. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) has indicated he'd like to vote for the bill, but wants stricter measures on abortion funding which he believes could be included in a separate bill or amendment. Stupak scheduled a press conference for 11 a.m. today, but postponed it without giving a reason. He was expected to shed some light on whether a deal is in place or indicate if his vote is a bridge too far for House leaders.

While Obama heads to the Capitol this afternoon and Democrats are busy hustling support from holdouts before Sunday’s health-care vote, the House Rules Committee is determining the procedure of the vote. According to The Washington Post, the committee has dropped the “deem-and-pass” strategy that would have bypassed the need for a separate vote. The strategy was much-criticized by Republicans and now an explicit vote will be held. Though all Republicans in the House are expected to vote against the bill and holdout Democrats are still grappling over the wording of clauses on abortion and Medicare, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “When we bring the bill to the floor, we will have a significant victory for the American people.”