HUFFINGTON POST: ….[President Barack] Obama also warned that a premature strike might inadvertently help Iran: “At a time when there is not a lot of sympathy for Iran and its only real ally (Syria) is on the ropes, do we want a distraction in which suddenly Iran can portray itself as a victim?”

“I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don’t bluff,” he said in the interview. “I also don’t, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are. But (both) governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say.”

From REUTERS: All but two European Union countries signed a fiscal pact to tighten budget discipline on Friday, marking a coup for Germany that pushed for the accord to prevent a repeat of the loose spending that led to economic crisis. Only Britain and the Czech Republic did not sign the agreement, under which all other countries in the 27-nation bloc are to write a golden rule on balanced budgets into national constitutions or equivalent laws and automatic correction mechanisms if the rule is breached.

From NEWSMAX: Former President Bill Clinton took a stand between Democrats and Republicans on the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline Wednesday. At an energy conference in Maryland, he said the pipeline should be constructed, but he blamed the system’s builder, TransCanada, for the fact that it hasn’t been built yet, Politico reports.

President Bill Clinton recently published “Back to Work; Why we need smart government for a strong economy.” Most of what he says at the outset is a cogent encapsulation of what brought about our current plight, tracing the roots back to 1981. It is a good summary, although so compact that not all is readily understandable for those who haven’t read various books covering different aspects of what he discusses.

From the HUFFINGTON POST: If President Barack Obama feels the need to launch a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program, Congress will back him, a group of senators declared Wednesday. That pledge came along with the unveiling of a resolution on Capitol Hill that appeared designed to pressure Obama into taking a tougher stance on Iran, and to foreclose any option of letting Iran achieve an atomic weapon…

From NEWSMAX: Short on money and staff, Rick Santorum needs help to remain a viable threat to front-runner Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. One strategist hopes it will come from another rival, Newt Gingrich. Top adviser John Brabender says Santorum’s future may depend upon Gingrich leaving the race.

From PEW INTERNET: This report is based on findings from a pair of Pew Research Center surveys conducted in spring 2011. One is a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 2,142 adults ages 18 and older. The other is an online survey, done in association with the Chronicle of Higher Education, among the presidents of 1,055 two-year and four-year private, public, and for-profit colleges and universities…

From the HUFFINGTON POST / AP: The United States says North Korea has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and agree to a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also said Wednesday the North has agreed to alllow International Atomic Energy Inspectors to verify and monitor the moratorium on uranium enrichment and confirm disablement of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

From ZOGBY: …Here are the specifics: 78% believe Iran is actively pursuing nuclear weapons production. 89% say it is likely Israel will attack Iran if the Israeli government believes Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons. 72% say if Israel attacks Iran, it is likely the US would at some point join Israel in military action against Iran.

From the NEW YORK TIMES: While students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pay thousands of dollars for courses, the university will announce a new program on Monday allowing anyone anywhere to take M.I.T. courses online free of charge — and for the first time earn official certificates for demonstrating mastery of the subjects taught.

From USA TODAY: …More than 5 million people in the USA abuse narcotic painkillers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. More than 27,000 died from prescription drug overdoses in 2007, a fivefold increase since 1990, which parallels a tenfold increase in the medical use of painkillers such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, the CDC reports.

From USA TODAY: Sales taxes last year took the smallest percentage of consumers’ dollars since 1967 as tax-free Internet sales and untaxed services continued to erode state and local governments’ top source of revenue, a USA TODAY analysis finds…