The Early Word: Decision Time In Today's Times The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision on President Obama's health care overhaul law on Thursday, answering a few questions about the bounds of Congressional authority and the fate of the law, John H. Cushman Jr. writes. Laying out several ways the justices could rule, Mr. Cushman explains that there is still room for surprise in the court's decision, which is expected shortly after 10 a.m. With most of the Supreme Court justices being age 70 and up, the winner of this year's presidential election could have significant power to reshape the court's ideological balance, Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes. Though the older justices show no signs of stepping aside soon, the chance of a vacancy adds to the stakes in the November contest. The debate in Mitt Romney's campaign over how to characterize Mr. Obama's handling of a diplomatic crisis with China reflected "how Mr. Romney and his team respond to foreign crises and formulate policy in a highly charged political atmosphere," Richard A. Oppel Jr. writes. Mr. Romney's supporters say his eventual decision to take a hard line showed foreign policy prowess that would make him an effective president, while critics asserted that the decision was foolhardy and insubstantial. In the July 1 edition of the magazine, Steven Lee Myers examines Hillary Rodham Clinton's performance as an improbable secretary of state. Mr. Myers, the State Department correspondent for The Times, notes that over the past three-and-a-half years (and for the next six months), Mrs. Clinton has helped Mr. Obama, her 2008 rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, navigate incessant diplomatic challenges while managing the least discordant national security team in recent history. Happening in Washington In the House, lawmakers will be considering whether to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt for failing to turn over documents demanded by Republicans in their investigation of a botched gun-trafficking investigation. Economic data expected today include first-quarter gross domestic product and weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., followed by weekly mortgage rates at 10. At 10, the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance will hold a joint hearing to review the tax treatment of capital gains. At the same time, Lisa P. Jackson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will appear before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee to discuss the agency's practices.