News conference

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is defending his massive health care overhaul, saying it will take time for its full benefits to take hold.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama pledged Friday to help keep fast-track Mideast peace talks from breaking down, and said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas knows "the window for creating a Palestinian state is closing." Obama said at a White House news conference that he has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend a partial moratorium on Jewish homebuilding so long as negotiations, which have been resumed, are bearing fruit.