A Letter From the Publisher

Some things just don't go together: oil and water or, for journalists, long- range plans and breaking news. Few have experienced the latter truism as dramatically as Washington science correspondent Dick Thompson, who reported this week's "inside story" on how the Clinton Administration constructed its health-care package.

In January, Thompson booked a mid-September bicycle tour through Tuscany for himself and girlfriend Kirstin Nolan, an editorial aide at the Washington Post. At the White House, officials targeted May for announcing the new health plan.

In early April, Dick was assigned to report full time on how Hillary Rodham Clinton and her team...