Citizen Cartwright

Why, unlike Obama's daughters, Congress procrastinates

In his press conference Wednesday, President Obama prodded lawmakers to get to yes on a debt-ceiling deal, saying his 12- and 10-year-old daughters show more discipline getting their work done.

But here's what happens in Congress, says congressional scholar Norm Ornstein: "Each side thinks two things. One, that it can get more by waiting until the absolute last minute and playing a game of chicken with the other side. The second is that because inevitably there are going to be some concessions on both sides, it's a little bit easier for negotiators to justify that they did everything they could."

Then there's this explanation from Senate historian Betty Koed: "Always it's been this rush at the end of a session to get things done. Somehow it's human nature, and we have human beings in Congress."

And speaking of human beings, do I detect in Obama a certain smugness about his daughters that can be expected to erode when they start behaving like teenagers?

Obama wins first appeals court decision on health care law

Wednesday's ruling is the most significant to date, says Joan Biskupic of USA Today, not only because it's the first by an appeals court but because it's the first time a Republican appointee — Judge Jeffrey Sutton — has voted to uphold the law.

And Sutton, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, is one of the most high-profile conservative judges in the country, Biskupic says.

FDA advisers vote unanimously against Avastin as breast cancer treatment

The Food and Drug Administration will make the final decision, but it rarely ignores the recommendations of its advisers, the Los Angeles Times says.

Nearly a third of Americans live with chronic pain

It costs the country as much as $635 billion annually, and much of the suffering is preventable or could be better managed, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine.

Just five of the nation's 133 medical schools have required courses on pain, the IOM says.

Too many patients think a pill’s the answer, when there are ways to address pain such as physical therapy, stress reduction, weight loss and coping skills, says Dr. Doris Cope, pain chief at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

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Greek lawmakers pass one austerity bill, are expected to pass a second

Somalia is the sixth country being hit by U.S. drones

Lagarde becomes IMF chief at a critical time

Fed orders banks to cut debit-card fees in half, less than banks feared

Mine owner Massey Energy misled inspectors, federal investigators say

Education Department lists most expensive colleges on new website

R.I. lawmakers approve civil unions bill; gay-rights advocates oppose it

Greeks near austerity vote

The parliament is to vote Wednesday on austerity measures that have sparked nationwide strikes and the worst rioting in Athens in more than a year.

Global warming seen continuing as carbon concentration grows

The world's climate is not only continuing to warm, but it's adding heat-trapping greenhouse gases even faster than in the past, researchers from the National Climatic Data Center said Tuesday as they released the annual State of the Climate report for 2010.

Spine experts call research misleading, biased

Researchers with financial ties to Medtronic, the country's biggest maker of medical devices, overstated the benefits of the bone growth product Infuse and vastly understated its risks, the experts write in The Spine Journal.

It's patients versus FDA experts on Avastin

Breast cancer patients are fighting to keep Avastin on the market as the Food and Drug Administration considers withdrawal of the drug as unsafe and ineffective.

Also in the news

On eve of security conference, Taliban attack luxury Kabul hotel

France's Lagarde becomes first woman IMF chief

BofA nears $8.5 billion settlement over mortgage securities

New Jersey Gov. Christie signs pension-cutting bill

Google targets Facebook with new social network Google+