BOSTON (AP)—His agenda at risk, President Barack Obama fought today to save a sinking Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and the critical 60th vote needed for his health care plan while the White House and congressional Democrats scrambled to pass the legislation quickly in case of a loss. “When the chips are down, when the tough votes come on the fights that matter to middle-class families around this Commonwealth, who is going to be on your side?“ the president asked during a rally for embattled nominee Martha Coakley as he tried to energize his dispirited base in this Democratic stronghold. “Martha’s going to be on your side.“

WASHINGTON—Like a roller-coaster ride on its last twisting turns, President Barack Obama’s campaign to remake health care is barreling into final days of suspense and momentum. Democrats, led by Obama himself, are deploying this weekend to salvage an unpredictable Senate race in Massachusetts, while senior White House and congressional staffers in Washington hurry to finish work on cost and coverage options at the heart of the legislation.

WASHINGTON—In a major breakthrough, union leaders bowed yesterday to White House demands for a new tax on high-cost health plans as part of landmark health-care legislation. “We are on the doorstep” of success, President Barack Obama said. The tentative agreement on the tax, which included significant concessions by the administration, was disclosed as leading lawmakers set an informal timetable of today for a compromise on the health-care legislation.

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama and the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate said yesterday that they have made “significant progress” toward reaching a final health-care deal. The president joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a written statement late yesterday after daylong talks among senior Democratic leaders. The statement said they are “encouraged and energized” and are closer to bridging the differences.

Attorney General Bill Mims says the federal health-care bill provision mandating the purchase of health insurance may be unconstitutional. Conceding that Congress has a broad power to regulate commerce among the states, Mims said “the insurance mandate is open to constitutional challenge.“ “Although health care is an economic activity, the failure to purchase health insurance is not an economic activity,“ Mims wrote in response to a query from Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said yesterday that the health-care legislation he anticipates signing this year will have an immediate impact by expanding coverage to the uninsured and requiring insurers to accept customers regardless of pre-existing conditions. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said the measure making its way through Congress would build a new foundation for economic growth by reining in health-care costs and making affordable care more available.

OMAHA, Neb.—Sen. Ben Nelson said yesterday that he has asked Democratic leadership to extend to all states the extra Medicaid funding promised to Nebraska in the health-care reform bill. The Democrat wouldn’t say to whom he has spoken regarding the “Cornhusker Kickback” but that he would see to it that Nebraska doesn’t get a special deal.

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama signaled to House Democratic leaders yesterday that they’ll have to drop their opposition to taxing high-end health-insurance plans to pay for health coverage for millions of uninsured Americans. In a meeting at the White House, Obama expressed his preference for the insurance tax contained in the Senate’s health-care overhaul bill but largely opposed by House Democrats and organized labor, Democratic aides said. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.

WASHINGTON—Congressional Democrats and President Barack Obama began work in earnest yesterday on difficult issues still standing in the way of their national health-care overhaul after months of tortuous debate. Topping the list: how to help Americans pay for insurance premiums. Republicans weren’t invited, and they complained that the Democrats intended to deliberate behind closed doors—though lawmakers often do so in the final stages of such complex legislation.

WASHINGTON—Two House Democrats who favor a government insurance plan, a central element of health-care legislation passed in their chamber, acknowledged yesterday that it might have to be sacrificed as negotiators work out a final agreement with the Senate. Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 Democrat in the House and one who had appealed to President Barack Obama not to yield on the public plan, set out conditions for yielding himself.

INDIANAPOLIS—Health insurers get some big presents in the Senate’s health-care overhaul bill—about 20 million new customers and no competition from a new government plan. Taking advantage of those boons might take some time, though. The bill imposes hefty new taxes and coverage rules that will pinch insurers by forcing them to cover more sick people without gaining enough healthy, lower-cost customers, industry insiders say.

WASHINGTON - In an epic struggle settled at dawn, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed health-care legislation yesterday, clearing the way for compromise talks with the House on a bill to reduce the ranks of the uninsured. The vote was 60-39, strictly along party lines, one day after Democrats succeeded in crushing a Republican filibuster. One Republican, Jim Bunning of Kentucky, was absent.

Both Virginia senators voted with their fellow Democrats to pass the health-care overhaul bill in the U.S. Senate yesterday morning. “While the legislation is far from perfect, I believe it will start to curb soaring health-care costs for consumers and businesses, reduce our federal budget deficits over time, and extend the life of the Medicare program,“ Sen. Mark R. Warner said.

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill today that could define President Barack Obama’s legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country’s history.

The 60-39 vote on a cold Christmas Eve morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Vice President Joe Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted “yes.“ Republicans unanimously voted “no.“

WASHINGTON—Democrats pushed sweeping health-care legislation to the brink of Senate passage yesterday, crushing a year-end Republican filibuster against President Barack Obama’s call to remake the nation’s health-care system. “We stand at the doorstep of history,“ said Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who painstakingly pieced together the bill—and the now-controversial deals with wavering lawmakers that made its passage possible.