The Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrest: When Race Matters

One of the most telling, and overlooked, aspects of the brouhaha over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the particular cast of Gates’ defenders. There was Deval Patrick, the fresh-faced black governor of Massachusetts, who called the arrest “every black man’s nightmare.” There was Vernon Jordan, noting that the event “tells us that the election of Barack Obama did not automatically erase racism.” There was former Congressman Harold Ford, moderate to a fault, passionately insisting that once Sergeant James Crowley realized Gates had not broken into his own home, the officer should have said, “I’m sorry you’re upset, sir

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Obama Health-Care Interview: On His Push for Reform

TIME senior writer Karen Tumulty sat down with President Barack Obama on Tuesday afternoon to talk about his work both in public and behind the scenes to push a health-care-reform measure through Congress. Here’s an excerpt of the full transcript, which will be published on TIME.com on July 30.

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French Unemployment Drops, Worse Expected

No one is ever going to accuse the French of knee-jerk exuberance. Case in point: the reaction to Monday’s announcement by government officials that France’s main unemployment index actually shrank in June — the first reversal in rising joblessness since April 2008.

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Health-Care Poll: Americans Support Obama’s Reform Goals

Congressional Democrats and a barnstorming President face deep skepticism from the American public about the details of their effort to change the nation’s health-care system, even as enthusiasm for the prospect of reform remains high, according to a new TIME poll. By significant margins, survey respondents said they believe the final health-reform legislation is likely to raise health-care costs in the long run , make everything about health care more complicated and offer less freedom to choose doctors and coverage .

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Rugby: South Africa edge All Blacks

World champions South Africa held off a second-half rally from New Zealand to win their Tri-Nations opener 28-19 in Bloemfontein on Saturday. The All Blacks were trailing 17-3 early in the second half and got within four points before the Springboks sealed victory when Jaque Fourie went over eight minutes from time. All Blacks took the lead through Stephen Donald’s early penalty, but South Africa hit back with 17 points without answer

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20 killed in Russia as truck plows into bus

At least 20 people were killed and 40 injured Friday as a result of a major road accident in southern Russia, officials said. Winehouse was accused of assaulting a woman at a London charity ball last year. She had pleaded not guilty to the charge of common assault

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