I visited Egypt last month and spent a week covering a story with PBS News Hour crew. On my last day in Egypt, my family, who complained that I hadn’t spent much time with them, always working and running around, put together a farewell party for me. At my sister’s house, more than 25 of them started trickling in, family by family, kid by kid. We talked, laughed and cried; there was plenty of food and plenty of emotions.

The Senate Finance Committee has begun marking-up health care reform legislation introduced by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), a process that could take several days. Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan, non-profit pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington, says now immigration politics have become part of the health care debate.

When I was a child, I wanted to go to heaven. But today, after nearly 15 years in the United States, I’m absolutely sure that heaven is not for me. Before I explain my decision, let me tell you a little bit about my upbringing.