A New York court case reminds us that schools rarely close without leaving scars. Yet policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic are choosing reforms that will make closures a fact of life.

Obama's education reforms compel competition between states and take on powerful teacher unions. But, as with Tories' free schools and pupil premium plans, the key in education remains teacher quality.

Immigration surges up the US political agenda as Arizona stiffens its laws, while in the UK parties grapple with the idea of an amnesty

Judge Stevens' retirement from the US Supreme Court after 35 years is a reminder for voters and politicians here that decisions taken now will impact long term.

A 'bloody great fight' with full transparency might be what is needed to reveal the differences between the parties

From Obama's healthcheck to Senate lobbyists, US transparency can reveal much while changing little. Over here, will the Ashcroft Freedom of Information news similarly make little impact?

Next Thursday President Obama will chair a cross-party healthcare summit, aired live on C-SPAN. He will be joined by senior House and Senate leaders from both parties. In advance of the meeting, Republicans and Democrats have been asked to submit their latest proposals for reform, to be made available online.

In the lion's den: Obama before the Republicans shows the way for UK leaders' debates

Just two months ago it looked like President Obama might soar into his first state of the union address, riding high on the passage of healthcare reform and ready to lay out a bold second year policy agenda. In the event, he rather shuffled in, weighed down by grim approval ratings, and the recent loss in Massachusetts that has put healthcare on hold.

In the end, Obama's first major defeat wasn't even close. Republican Scott Brown beat Democratic candidate Martha Coakley 52 to 47 per cent in Tuesday's Massachusetts election, seizing with both hands the Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy for 47 years. With that game over, the cameras here are now turning to back to healthcare, where Brown's victory has big implications.

It's polling day in Massachusetts, and one of those grey New England mornings when snowploughs churn the streets into a sock-wetting sludge. Democrats here are praying that the grim weather won't dent turnout; they need every vote they can get in the election to fill Ted Kennedy's vacant Senate seat.