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Family members of military service personnel who take their own lives while deployed will get condolence letters from the president, according to a statement from President Obama, reversing a longstanding but unwritten White House policy.

Many health professionals have long called for a change to the White House’s stance on condolence letters, which they believe will help reduce the stigma associated with suicide and give social support to families.

No Mystery:

The Obama administration halted plans to have “mystery shoppers” posing as patients cold-call doctors’ offices to see how difficult it was to get appointments, the New York Times reports. The White House had said it wanted to measure access to primary-care doctors before the health-care overhaul adds more than 30 million people to the ranks of insured patients. But doctors and politicians had criticized the plan as a wasteful breach of trust.

WSJ’s Joe White reports on a new effort by the U.S. Department of Transportation encouraging drivers to put down cellphones and social networking tools while driving. Photo: Reuters/Chris Roussakis

The rest is here: News Hub: Pay Attention to the Road!/a>

Donald Berwick, who became head of Medicare and Medicaid via a controversial (and temporary) recess appointment by President Obama, will have a tough time getting confirmed by the Senate.

Eyeing a win in November, House Republicans are planning to chip away at the White House’s legislative agenda by depriving the programs of cash. Neil King discusses. Also, as gold reaches new historic highs, Brett Arends attempts to dispel some of the myths about the yellow metal.

See the original post: AM Report: GOP Aims to Erode Obama’s Agenda/a>

As BP tests out a new well-cap to contain its Gulf oil spill, the Obama Administration plans to issue a new order to halt deep-water drilling projects. Joe White and Paul Vigna discuss. Also, Melinda Beck describes how appetite works in the brain, especially when it comes to food considered pleasurable.

Original post: PM Report: U.S. to Issue New Drilling Ban/a>

This post by WSJ’s Laura Meckler also appears on the Washington Wire blog

The complex legislative maneuvering to pass health-care overhaul legislation has produced many questions and among them this: When can the White House declare victory?

Democrats may be close to pushing through their health bill, even as protesters gather at the White House and the GOP continues to apply pressure. Courtesy Fox News.

Read more here:  Democrats a Few Votes Short for Health Bill/a>

Five CEOs from the health-insurance big dogs (UnitedHealth, WellPoint, etc.) are at the White House this morning to discuss — or more accurately, take flack — over the health overhaul’s issue de jour: rising insurance premiums.