NPR People: Renee Montagne

President Obama has weighed in on the crisis in U.S. relations with Israel, reaffirming what he called the special bond with the Jewish state, despite the disagreement over Israeli plans to build new Jewish housing in East Jerusalem. The president was interviewed on Fox News Channel.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are headed toward a historic vote on health care at the end of this week. So far, it's a nail biter. The House needs 216 votes to approve the Senate bill, and analysts say Democratic leaders seem to have about 200. All Republicans are expected to vote against it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confronting growing political problems following last week's announcement that more Israeli settlements would be built in East Jerusalem. The announcement was made while Vice President Joe Biden was in the Middle East promoting peace talks.

Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke have earned the No. 1 seeds for the men's NCAA basketball tournament. The Jayhawks were selected as the top seed overall for this year's version of March Madness. The 65-team bracket was announced Sunday and the tourney gets under way Tuesday night.

President Obama is delaying his trip to Asia next week to focus on his big push on health care. The White House tweeted the announcement. His family was going to go with him but they will not now. The White House wanted Congress to act on the health care bill by March 18, Obama's original departure date.

New York City has reached a settlement with first responders and ground zero workers who were sickened by the dust from the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The $657 million package was negotiated by a special entity created to head off lawsuits against the city and its contractors. The plan still needs to be approved by a judge and the workers.

The South African cleric and human-rights activist Desmond Tutu joins Renee Montagne to reflect on his long life and his lasting message about forgiveness and reconciliation. His new book, Made for Goodness, is an explanation of his personal sense of spirituality and an invitation to share in his beliefs about the basic goodness of humanity.

Marines from India Company of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment have been clearing improvised explosive devices around the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in southern Afghanistan. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson has finished her traveling assignment with the group. During her time with the Marines, she witnessed Lance Cpl. Alejandro Yazzie, 23, be killed in a firefight with the Taliban.

President Barack Obama gives a speech Wednesday outlining what he sees as the way forward on health care. The president declared the issue his top domestic priority a year ago, and once again, this moment is being called the last, best chance to move forward.

Some aspects of campaigning for parliament in Iraq are familiar like billboards and television ads. Others stunts are a bit more daring, and in fact some of them have the potential to spiral into violence. Iraq's prime minister announced he would reinstate thousands of officers from Saddam Hussein's amy — while one of his rivals said he'd further purge the army of Hussein's supporters.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a tour of Latin America, is taking along satellite phones for Chilean officials. They are trying to restore communications with southern and coastal areas, devastated after Saturday's earthquake. The curfew in one of the hardest-hist areas, Concepcion, has been extended because of looting.

Toyota officials faces more questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday. On Tuesday, officials from both the Transportation Department and Toyota attempted to explain how they dealt with the safety concerns in thousands of vehicles in what has become a billion-dollar recall.

Google recently released the social networking program Buzz to compete with Facebook but there have been concerns about privacy. Google automatically signs up Gmail users for Buzz, rather than waiting for them to "opt in."

In Afghanistan over the weekend, U.S. Marines started an offensive targeting the southern Taliban stronghold of Marjah. The going has been relatively slow because attack routes have been saturated with roadside bombs.

President Obama has spent a lot of time over the last couple of weeks talking about bipartisanship. Over the weekend, there was a remarkable verbal spat between Vice President Joe Biden and former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was critical of the Obama administration on national security issues.