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Politics
Supreme Court Justice Robbed
AP Photo

FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2011 file photo, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer in Richmond, Va. A Supreme Court spokeswoman says Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said Monday.

Obama
AP Photo

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

The White House said Monday legislation in the Senate that would give employers broad leeway to restrict coverage for contraception is "dangerous and wrong."

Obama
AP Photo

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

The United States is considering how an international peacekeeping force might operate in Syria.

Romney Secret Bundlers
AP Photo

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks in Portland, Maine. Romney accepted nearly $280,000 in contributions raised by a former lobbyist for Fannie Mae, despite the GOP candidate's blistering criticism of the mortgage giant. Romney and other Republicans haven't identified other so-called fundraising “bundlers,” leaving voters in the dark about who their campaigns are indebted to.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

Despite criticism of Fannie Mae by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, his campaign accepted nearly $280,000 in donations raised by a registered lobbyist who once represented the government mortgage giant and whose clients now include a private equity firm and the drug company Pfizer.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

House Republicans say they will introduce legislation to extend payroll tax cuts through the end of the year, even though bipartisan talks are stalled on a plan to make sure the cost doesn't add to federal deficits.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

President Barack Obama proposed tax increases on wealthy individuals and some corporations Monday, setting the stage for an ideological battle that won't be resolved until after the November election - if then.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

A U.S. envoy will hold talks with North Korea on its nuclear program in Beijing next week, the first such negotiations since the death of the nation's longtime leader Kim Jong Il.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

President Barack Obama's new federal budget showcases the major priorities of his presidency and sets up the top battles that will be waged on both sides in the presidential campaign.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

President Barack Obama proposed a $3.8 trillion budget on Monday for fiscal 2013 that aims to slash the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years but still envisions growth in the government's major health benefit programs. Here is the agency-by-agency breakdown:

Obama Community Colleges
AP Photo

President Barack Obama speaks about the "Community College to Career Fund" and his 2013 budget at Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

President Barack Obama called on Congress Monday to create an $8 billion fund to train community college students for high-growth industries, giving a financial incentive to schools whose graduates are getting jobs.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

President Barack Obama is sending Congress his proposed budget for the new fiscal year and traveling to a community college outside the capital to promote the plan.

Romney 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets a supporter at an election caucus in Portland, Maine, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

Movie super spies James Bond and Jason Bourne use them. So do real-life presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who says he pays his taxes, and untold numbers of Americans who don't. Swiss banks and their secretive counterparts around the globe may sound like the exclusive province of the wealthy, the mysterious or the shady, but anybody can legally open an offshore account.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

Documents detail the terms of a discounted mortgage loan received by U.S. Rep. Howard McKeon from the now-defunct Countrywide Financial Corp. under a VIP program, according to a published report.

Obama Budget
AP Photo

In this photo released by CBS News White house Chief of Staff Jacob Lew talks on CBS's Face the Nation in Washington Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. Lew, who appeared on various Sunday shows, said the new budget would put the country on track to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reductions over the next 10 years, achieved by raising taxes on the wealthy and trimming government spending. The president's budget would cut spending by $2.50 for every $1 it raises in new taxes. "In the long run, we need to get the deficit under control in a way that builds the economy," he said. "We do it in a way that's consistent with American values so that everyone pays a fair share."

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion spending plan on Monday that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade but does little to restrain growth in the government's huge health benefit programs, a major cause of future deficits.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

Documents detail the terms of a discounted mortgage loan received by U.S. Rep. Howard McKeon from the now-defunct Countrywide Financial Corp. under a VIP program, according to a published report.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping arrives in the United States on Monday for a high-profile visit where he'll be honored as if he were the president of China - the post he's expected to take next year.

APTOPIX Obama Birth Control
AP Photo

President Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius leave the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb., 10, 2012, after the president announced the revamp of his contraception policy requiring religious institutions to fully pay for birth control.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

Conservatives said Sunday the flap surrounding President Barack Obama's birth control mandate was far from over, with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell saying he'll push to overturn the requirement because it was another example of government meddling.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

It was part of John F. Kennedy's New Frontier: a government agency to work with developing countries around the world and spread democracy in the process.

Cuba Imprisoned American
AP Photo

FILE - In this March 5, 2011, file photo Cuban security forces arrive with USAID subcontractor Alan Gross, left, outside the courthouse in Havana, Cuba, where he is to stand trial. Gross sits in a military prison hospital. His family says he has lost about 100 pounds and they express concern about his health. All the U.S. diplomatic attempts to win his freedom have come up empty and there is no sign that Cuba is prepared to act on appeals for a humanitarian release.

Published Monday, Feb. 13, 2012

Piece by piece, in backpacks and carry-on bags, American aid contractor Alan Gross made sure laptops, smartphones, hard drives and networking equipment were secreted into Cuba. The most sensitive item, according to official trip reports, was the last one: a specialized mobile phone chip that experts say is often used by the Pentagon and the CIA to make satellite signals virtually impossible to track.

Mideast Egypt Syria
AP Photo

Syrian youth chant slogans beneath a revolutionary flag outside an anti-Syrian regime protest tent in Tahrir Square, the focal point of Egyptian uprising, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

President Barack Obama's chief of staff says it's only a matter of time before the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad collapses.

Republicans Conservatives Santorum 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in Washington.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

Rick Santorum says he expects to do well in the next GOP presidential contests and will be in a two-man race with Mitt Romney.

Romney 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in Portland, Maine.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

Mitt Romney takes a hard line against congressional earmarks, but the GOP presidential front-runner had a more favorable view of federal pork-barrel spending when he was governor of Massachusetts.

Republicans Conservatives Gingrich 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

From the start, it's been a roller-coaster race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Republicans Conservatives
AP Photo

Volunteers supporting Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney vie for attention as America's political right gathers for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

The dustup over contraception underscored President Barack Obama's political edge in working to attract independent voters without alienating his Democratic base. His Republican rivals are forced to keep emphasizing their conservative credentials to attract the right-leaning activists who dominate the nominating contests.

APTOPIX Paul 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, throws balloons from the stage after speaking to supporters following his loss in the Maine caucus to Mitt Romney, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, in Portland, Maine.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

A day after Mitt Romney regained some momentum in the Republican presidential contest, his rival Rick Santorum went on the attack, calling the front-runner "desperate" while promising to compete aggressively to win the state where Romney grew up.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

President Barack Obama's long-sluggish poll numbers have inched up, the unemployment rate has dropped five months in a row, the stock market shows signs of life and the Republican presidential contenders are slicing each other up in a primary battle that shows no sign of ending soon.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney got a much-needed boost Saturday, winning a key symbolic vote over former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania among some of the nation's most active Republican voters and besting the field in the Maine caucuses.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney got a much-needed boost Saturday, winning a key symbolic vote over former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania among some of the nation's most active Republican voters and besting the field in the Maine caucuses.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Mitt Romney is thanking Maine voters after the state party chairman declared him the winner of that state.

Romney 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a caucus, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, in Portland, Maine.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Mitt Romney added to his lead in the race for delegates Saturday with a narrow victory in the Maine Republican presidential caucuses.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Republican presidential contender Ron Paul says he wishes all the Maine caucuses would have met on Saturday.

Romney 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets a supporter at an election caucus in Portland, Maine, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Mitt Romney has won The Washington Times/CPAC Presidential Straw Poll of conservative activists.

Obama Budget
AP Photo

Copies of of President Barack Obama's fiscal 2013 federal budget are readied for shipment, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012, at the Government Printing Office (GPO) in Washington.

Published Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012

The new budget that President Barack Obama is sending to Congress aims to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade by restraining government spending and raising taxes on the wealthy. To help a weak economy, Obama's proposal Monday requests increases in transportation, education and other areas.

Campaign 2012 Maine Caucus
AP Photo

Mike Donahue climbs a snowy hill to plant signs in support of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul outside a caucus, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, in Portland, Maine.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

A profile of Maine, site of the Republican caucus on Feb. 11:

Obama Budget Trade
AP Photo

FILE - In this April 7, 2012, file photo then Deputy Budget Director Jeff Zients briefs reporters at the White House in Washington regarding the budget and possible government shutdown. Zeints has since replaced Jack Lew as Budget Director. The Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, release of the president’s 2013 budget proposal will ask Congress to devote millions for a new trade enforcement center and more U.S. inspectors in China as the administration takes aim at unfair trade practices.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

President Barack Obama's new budget proposal will ask Congress to devote millions for a new trade enforcement center and more U.S. inspectors in China as the administration takes aim at unfair trade practices abroad, a senior administration official said Saturday.

Michelle Obama
AP Photo

First lady Michelle Obama dances the Platypus dance at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, in Orlando, Fla., during her three day national tour celebrating the second anniversary of Let's Move.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Add another dance move to Michelle Obama's repertoire. This one has to do with a certain celebrity platypus.

Michelle Obama
AP Photo

School children reach to greet first lady Michelle Obama during a cooking contest event at the Kleberg-Rylie Recreation center in Dallas, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012. The First Lady was on hand for a filming of a healthy school lunch television program.

Published Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

In just the past few days, she's danced with cheering school kids, chatted with troops, swapped ideas with busy parents and engaged in a friendly cooking competition with stars from "Top Chef."

Romney 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in Portland, Maine.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Mitt Romney faulted President Barack Obama's original push to require church-affiliated employers to pay for birth control as an "assault on religion," but as Massachusetts governor, Romney was largely silent about a state law that required virtually the same contraceptive coverage.

APTOPIX Obama Birth Control
AP Photo

President Barack Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius leave the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb., 10, 2012, after the president announced the revamp of his contraception policy requiring religious institutions to fully pay for birth control.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

It's not like he wasn't warned.

Michelle Obama
AP Photo

First lady Michelle Obama joins experts from WebMD for a town hall on healthy families at Homestead YMCA Family Center, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in Homestead, Fla., during her three day national tour celebrating the second anniversary of Let's Move.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Gearing up for a tough political season ahead, Michelle Obama said Saturday she's trying to get as much done as possible before the general election campaign starts to drown out everything else.

UNEMPLOY DURATION
AP

Chart shows unemployed persons by duration of their joblessness.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

J.R. Childress is up before the sun, bustling about in the French colonial brick house he built. He helps pack his wife's lunch, downs some eggs or cereal for breakfast, pores over online and newspaper job listings and hopes - even prays - this will be the day when his fortunes turn around.

APTOPIX Obama Birth Control
AP Photo

President Barack Obama pauses while announcing the revamp of his contraception policy requiring religious institutions to fully pay for birth control, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

President Barack Obama is pressuring Congress to extend a payroll tax cut for the rest of the year as another deadline nears for Congress to act or see taxes go up for millions of working people.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Mitt Romney narrowly won Maine's Republican caucuses, state party officials announced Saturday, providing his campaign with a much-needed boost after three straight losses earlier this week. But the former Massachusetts governor won just a plurality of the Maine vote, suggesting he still has work to do to unite GOP voters behind his candidacy.

Romney 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign stop, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in Portland, Maine.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

Staggered by Rick Santorum's surge, Mitt Romney is trying to reset his presidential campaign by defining himself as a strict conservative.

Obama Birth Control
AP Photo

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announces the revamp of his contraception policy requiring religious institutions to fully pay for birth control, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012, in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington.

Published Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012

What birth control debate? A half-century after the introduction of the pill, acceptance of birth control by American women is virtually universal.

Republicans Conservatives Gingrich 2012
AP Photo

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, joined by his wife Callista, arrives to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012.

Published Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

A political tip sheet for the rest of us outside the Washington Beltway, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012:

Published Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

President Barack Obama expects the federal budget deficit to reach $1.33 trillion this year, administration officials said Friday evening, the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits.

Published Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

President Barack Obama expects the federal budget deficit to reach $1.33 trillion this year, administration officials said Friday evening, the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits.

Published Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

President Barack Obama attempted to quell a political firestorm over health care and religion Friday, saying he would still assure that every woman in America gets free contraception but agreeing that religious institutions will not be forced to provide it. Instead, insurers will.

Published Friday, Feb. 10, 2012

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi predicts that five large states will put Democrats in striking distance of gaining control of the House after the November elections.


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