Pelosi says five states will lift House Democrats
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.

US to raise human rights when China's Xi visits
The White House says it won't recoil from raising grave human rights concerns during a get-acquainted visit next week by China's likely future leader.

Santorum opposes allowing women to serve in combat
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says he thinks it would be wrong to allow women to serve in combat.

Not all parties are embracing revised birth control rule
The U.S. Conference of Bishops is withholding its endorsement of the change to President Obama's birth control rule until it sees the details.

2008 Edwards campaign defends 2011 spending
A lawyer for John Edwards is defending his campaign's 2011 spending, saying the expenses were related to last year's criminal probe of the former presidential candidate and a federal audit.

Perry gives tainted campaign donations to charity
Gov. Rick Perry has given $80,000 in tainted campaign donations to El Paso charities, after the original donor was convicted of bribery and fraud.

Bernanke: Weak housing has hurt consumer spending
Ben Bernanke says declines in home prices have forced many Americans to cut back sharply on spending and warns that the trend could continue to weigh on the economy for years.

First Lady teams up with chefs for tasty lunches
Michelle Obama is spicing up school lunches with cooks from Bravo's Top Chef and the Dallas Cowboys football team. 

Romney aides to speak at super PAC events
Mitt Romney's campaign will allow its senior aides to speak at fundraising events for an outside political group raising millions of dollars on its behalf.

Santorum says he wants to avoid attacks on rivals
Rick Santorum says he wants to stick to substantive issues in the campaign for the GOP presidential nomination, rather than resort to the kind of negative advertising that others have used so far this year.

Obama to sign last bill Giffords sponsored
President Barack Obama is set to sign the last piece of legislation that former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords sponsored and voted on.

GOP candidates to woo conservatives at big event
Three of the four Republican presidential candidates are addressing a major conservative gathering in Washington, giving them a high-profile stage to reshape their messages at a moment of uncertainty in the contest.

Obama birth control policy divides Democrats
Democrats are deeply divided over President Barack Obama's new rule that religious schools and hospitals must provide insurance for free birth control to their employees.

Biden 'determined' to work out birth control issue
Vice President Joe Biden says he believes the Obama administration can address concerns raised by the Catholic church and religious groups about a new birth control policy.

Obama praises Italian leader's economic efforts
President Barack Obama is praising Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti for his efforts to lead Italy out of its fiscal quagmire.

Senators renew push for campaign finance amendment
Two senators say the campaign finance system is so broken that a constitutional amendment is needed to rein in runaway spending in elections.

GOP report questions Guantanamo detainee releases
House Speaker John Boehner says there's "clear evidence" that detainees who are released from Guantanamo Bay "end up back on the battlefield."

Audit clears State Department in Keystone review
The State Department's internal watchdog has cleared the agency of any impropriety in its review of a permit for a controversial pipeline that that would carry Canadian oil across the continental United States.

Santorum defends 'good' earmarks
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is defending his use of spending earmarks in Congress saying some were necessary for defense or health programs.

Democrats propose six-week cut in jobless benefits
Congressional Democrats are urging a modest cut in the number of weeks that unemployed workers can receive jobless benefits as House-Senate talks on a payroll tax cut slowly inch along.

Kennedy moves ahead of expected congressional bid
Joseph Kennedy III has moved ahead of an expected congressional bid to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.

Gingrich hopes high road and new funds can save him
Newt Gingrich, suddenly in danger of losing his perch as Mitt Romney's strongest GOP challenger, is fine-tuning his presidential campaign.

Giffords aide to run for seat in special election
A top former aide to former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is running in the special election to serve as the interim replacement for the Arizona Democrat who was wounded in a shooting rampage a year ago.

Hoekstra launches second ad after first drew heat
Republican Senate hopeful Pete Hoekstra has launched a campaign ad days after taking heat from many sides for a spot that ran in Michigan before the Super Bowl featuring a young Asian woman speaking broken English.

House ready to pass insider trading bill
The House is ready to pass a Republican bill to ban thousands of federal officials from insider trading.

Maine is next state to weigh in on GOP race
Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are the undisputed favorites in Maine, the next state weighing in on the Republican presidential race.

Group projects 12.2 million Latino voters
A national group of Latino public officeholders is projecting that 12.2 million Hispanics will vote in the general election this November.

Romney says GOP rivals acted like Dems
Mitt Romney says he's a better tea party candidate than his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

Edwards campaign owes taxpayers but still spending
Federal elections officials say John Edwards owes taxpayers $2.1 million in public matching funds improperly received after the former North Carolina senator dropped his 2008 run for the White House.

Santorum jumps into second place in delegate race
Winning yesterday's Republican presidential caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota has propelled Rick Santorum into second place in the race for delegates.

White House attacks Romney on birth control
The White House is taking on GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney over his criticism of President Barack Obama's birth control coverage mandate.

Boehner: Congress to overturn birth control policy
House Speaker John Boehner says if President Barack Obama doesn't reverse a new policy requiring religious schools and hospitals to provide employees with access to free birth control, the Congress will.

Gingrich keeps bright tone despite losses
Newt Gingrich is keeping a chipper tone despite his poor showing in this week's GOP presidential caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota.

Judge denies requests to seal Stevens probe
A federal judge is denying requests to keep private the results of an investigation into prosecutorial misconduct in the case against the late Sen. Ted Stevens.

Losses shows Romney's conservative woes
Mitt Romney just can't shake his difficulty attracting conservatives and that reality is undercutting his effort to cast himself as the inevitable Republican presidential nominee.

Congress tries to give president line-item veto
The Republican-led House is trying to give President Barack Obama the line-item veto, a power over the purse that has been sought by both Republican and Democratic presidents.

Romney's bad day is Santorum's best in GOP race
Republican Rick Santorum is looking to capitalize on a string of stunning victories that has snapped his four-state losing streak and raised new questions about front-runner Mitt Romney's clout with conservatives.

House GOP introduces insider trading bill
House Republicans have introduced their version of a bill to ban insider trading by thousands of federal officials and prevent lawmakers convicted of a crime from collecting their government pensions.

Romney's camp downplays Santorum wins
Mitt Romney's camp is downplaying last night's triple-state win by Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum in Colorado and Minnesota's caucuses and Missouri's primary.

Senate struggles to pay for highway
Senate Democrats say they plan to take up a bill to extend federal highway programs next week, even though they haven't figured out yet how to pay for them without raiding the general treasury.

Republicans attack Obama on birth control
Republican presidential candidates are railing against what they describe as an attack on religion by President Barack Obama.

Payroll tax cut talks adrift on Capitol Hill
Prospects for extending President Barack Obama's signature payroll tax cut now seem far less certain as House-Senate talks have deadlocked over finding ways to pay for it.

Bernanke cautions about budget shocks next year
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is urging senators to resolve debates over tax cuts that expire this month and at the end of the year, saying uncertainty around both could slow the economy.

Bob Kerrey not running again for Nebraska seat
The former U.S. senator says he won't seek the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Sen. Ben Nelson.

Paul invests in search of first GOP win
Ron Paul has invested days of campaigning and money for television ads ahead of caucuses in Minnesota, where he's hoping he can eke out the first win of his Republican presidential campaign.

Santorum looks to reset campaign
Republican Rick Santorum is planning some last-minute campaigning in each of the three states holding presidential contests today.

Romney intensifies fight for social conservatives
Presidential contender Mitt Romney is fighting to win over social conservatives in Tuesday's Republican caucuses.

Messy caucuses in Nevada and Iowa raise questions
After fiascos in the two states, the term "caucus" may be on its way to becoming a bad word in the GOP lexicon.

Obama campaign asks fundraisers to back super PAC
President Barack Obama's campaign is asking top fundraisers to support a Democratic-leaning outside group that is backing the president's re-election bid, reversing Obama's opposition to "super" political action committees.

Romney: No Komen money for Planned Parenthood
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he doesn't think a prominent breast cancer charity should continue giving grants to the organization because it provides abortion services.

Gov. Perry ventures back into public eye
Rick Perry is breaking his silence after abandoning his run the GOP presidential nomination last month.

Gingrich: Nation needs a better choice
Republican Newt Gingrich says he's the candidate offering voters a stark fall choice against President Barack Obama.

Senate passes FAA bill
The Senate has passed a compromise bill that speeds up the Federal Aviation Administration's switch from old-fashioned radar to an air traffic control system based on GPS technology. It also requires opening U.S. skies to drone flights within four years.

Romney works to fend off Santorum challenge
Mitt Romney is dispatching top surrogates to attack rival Rick Santorum over Santorum's past support for spending on pork-barrel projects.

Surgeons pleased with Kirk's improvement
Doctors say Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk has been upgraded to good condition and is continuing to improve after a major stroke.

Santorum will be on Indiana ballot
GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum's campaign says it's found enough valid signatures to get his name on the state's ballot.

Hoekstra's broken English ad draws more criticism
A coalition of black ministers in Detroit called Monday for U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra to apologize for his Super Bowl ad featuring a young Asian woman speaking broken English to describe the impact of the Democratic incumbent's economic policies.

Defense cuts test lawmakers' resolve on deficits
President Barack Obama's proposed cuts in the military pose a tough test for lawmakers who arrived in Washington demanding budget cuts.

Obama: My job isn't done
President Barack Obama says he deserves re-election, despite the nation's economic troubles.

Santorum refuses to bow despite another loss
Rick Santorum has lost four straight contests, but you can't tell it from his attitude.

Gingrich woos NASCAR voters
As he charts a possible course to the Republican nomination, aides say Newt Gingrich will paint frontrunner Mitt Romney as the candidate of the PGA golf tour while the former House speaker pursues the blue collar mantle of Dale Earnhardt. 

Obama will watch Super Bowl, wishes Bears playing
The First Fan has only one complaint about Sunday's game: his favorite team isn't in it.

Obama could alter stance of federal appeals courts
A second term for President Barack Obama would allow him to expand his replacement of Republican-appointed majorities with Democratic ones on the nation's appeals courts.

Romney adds to delegate lead with Nevada victory
Mitt Romney has added to his lead in the race for delegates with a big win in the state's presidential caucuses.

Santorum, Paul look past Nevada
Republicans Rick Santorum and Ron Paul are bypassing the presidential caucuses in the state and are looking further down the nominating calendar.

Romney, Gingrich expect Romney to win in Nevada
Chief rival Newt Gingrich is bracing for defeat in a state Mitt Romney won in 2008.

Obama pressures lawmakers on housing
President Barack Obama is calling on the public to help him get a plan through Congress to expand government assistance to homeowners.

Romney campaign parts ways with debate coach
The debate coach who worked with Mitt Romney ahead of two well-received debate performances in Florida is no longer with the Republican's presidential campaign.

Santorum pushes discredited stroke claim
Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum appears to be backing a claim that the Obama administration would block medical treatment for stroke patients over age 70.

Romney, Gingrich talk jobs as Nevada caucuses loom
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are pounding President Barack Obama for failing to do enough to create jobs as they campaign in Nevada a day before the state weighs in on the GOP presidential race.

Obama: Economic recovery speeding up
President Obama says the country's declining unemployment rate is good news, but he says there are still too many Americans looking for work

Reno Gazette-Journal endorses Mitt Romney
Northern Nevada's largest newspaper is endorsing Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination.

Kerrey continues waiting game on Senate decision
Former Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey is heading into another week with no decision on whether he'll seek Nebraska's open Senate seat.

First lady trip to mark "Let's Move" anniversary
Michelle Obama is marking the second anniversary of her "Let's Move" campaign against childhood obesity.

Obama to host state dinner for British PM
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will welcome David Cameron and his wife for an official visit and state dinner in March.

Santorum warns voters of country's likely demise
Rick Santorum's campaign slogan very well could be one word: doomsday.

Paul: States should resolve land management issues
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is railing against the federal government's influence in the West, saying that states are in the best position to resolve conflicts over the management of wild horses and roads.

Romney clarifies comment about poor people
Mitt Romney says his comment about not being very concerned about poor people because they have a safety net was an accidental "misstatement" of a position he's repeated through his presidential campaign.

Santorum says daughter out of hospital
Rick Santorum says his three-year-old daughter, Bella, is home from the hospital after a bout with pneumonia.

Barr seeks Green Party presidential nod
Roseanne Barr is running for the Green Party's presidential nomination — and she says it's no joke.

House says budget should reflect economic impacts
The House has passed legislation requiring congressional budget experts to estimate how major bills will affect such economic factors as investment and employment.

Trump endorses Romney instead of Gingrich
Donald Trump is endorsing Mitt Romney for president -- saying Romney is "not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country we all love."

Voter turnout numbers point to GOP enthusiasm gap
Voter turnout numbers are pointing to a potential enthusiasm deficit for Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney.

Gingrich: 'We should care about the very poor'
Newt Gingrich says he believes "we should care about the very poor," unlike GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney.

GOP senators unveil bill to avoid defense cuts
Republican senators are trying to spare the Pentagon from nearly $500 billion in cuts that will kick in automatically next January because the congressional deficit-cutting panel failed to find a way to reduce spending.

Boehner: Feds should back off birth control order
House Speaker John Boehner says the Obama administration should reconsider a decision to make church-affiliated employers cover birth control on their health care plans.

Democrats emboldened by Republican primary race
President Barack Obama has long relished a dragged-out Republican primary that would leave the eventual Republican nominee battered before the fall election.

Paul gambles on caucus states
Ron Paul is rolling the dice on Nevada and other states like Minnesota, Kansas and Washington, hoping to keep his nontraditional presidential campaign alive by amassing Republican delegates rather than notching outright wins.

Former MF Global official says he warned Corzine
The former chief risk officer of MF Global says he warned then-CEO Jon Corzine in late 2010 of the risks in large bets on European government debt that sank the brokerage firm last fall.

Gingrich looks for a bright side in Fla. defeat
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is trying to put a positive spin on his defeat in Florida's primary as he looks to the Nevada caucuses to yet again reset the volatile GOP race.

House votes to repeal part of 2010 health care law
The Republican-led House has voted to repeal a financially troubled part of the 2010 health care law that was designed to provide affordable long-term care insurance.

Rapper K'Naan upset Mitt Romney used his song
The rapper K'Naan is upset that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used his song Wavin' Flag during his Florida primary victory speech, and is seeking legal action as a result.

Conservatives say Romney comment is cause for concern
Some conservative pundits are pointing to a comment from Mitt Romney today as evidence that he's not prepared to run against President Barack Obama.

Romney supports automatic hikes in minimum wage
Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has renewed his support for automatic increases in the federal minimum wage to keep pace with inflation.

Santorum picks up Tancredo endorsement
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has picked up an endorsement from former Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo.

Boehner: GOP nomination fight will resolve itself
House Speaker John Boehner says he understands Republican concerns about the bitter tone of the party's nomination fight and the prospect of a dragged-out battle between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Romney calls Gingrich's campaign attacks a help
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says trading attacks with rival Newt Gingrich actually helps his campaign.

Gingrich campaign needs another comeback
Newt Gingrich needs one more comeback if he's going to make good on his vow to remain a credible contender until the party convention next summer.

Ohio senator says Romney shows electability
Republican Rob Portman says Mitt Romney's Florida win shows he has the diverse appeal needed to win Ohio and the general election.

Estonia honors George W. Bush
The country is set to bestow the former U.S. president with the country's highest civil award given to a foreigner for supporting its bid to join NATO in 2004.