GOP Debate: What to Watch for in New Hampshire  —  The stage is set for the first major Republican presidential debate of the 2012 season tonight in Manchester, N.H. — and candidates are starting to assume roles.  Here is a look at who will be on the stage, who won't, and what to expect.

Rep. Anthony Weiner finally considering he may have to resign amid sexting scandal, says source  —  WASHINGTON - As a cache of embarrassing new photos appeared Sunday, Rep. Anthony Weiner finally began considering the possibility that he may have to resign.  —  A source close to the congressman told …

‘A Gay Girl in Damascus’ comes clean  —  In recent days, the world has followed closely the saga of Amina Araff, the blogger who presented herself online as “A Gay Girl in Damascus” and who drew attention with her passionate writings about the Syrian government's crackdown on Arab Spring protesters.

Medicare Saves Money  —  Every once in a while a politician comes up with an idea that's so bad, so wrongheaded, that you're almost grateful.  For really bad ideas can help illustrate the extent to which policy discourse has gone off the rails.  —  And so it was with Senator Joseph Lieberman's proposal …

Obama Seeks to Win Back Wall St. Cash  —  WASHINGTON — A few weeks before announcing his re-election campaign, President Obama convened two dozen Wall Street executives, many of them longtime donors, in the White House's Blue Room.  —  The guests were asked for their thoughts on how to speed …

U.S. pressuring Netanyahu to accept Obama's peace plan  —  Israeli source says Americans frustrated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for hampering U.S. efforts to stop Palestinians trying UN route to statehood in September.  —  Washington is pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

F.B.I. Agents Get Leeway to Push Privacy Bounds  —  WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is giving significant new powers to its roughly 14,000 agents, allowing them more leeway to search databases, go through household trash or use surveillance teams to scrutinize the lives of people who have attracted their attention.

The EPA's War on Jobs  —  Coal is from Earth, Lisa Jackson is from mercury.  —  President Obama's jobs council will make its first recommendations today on lifting hiring and strengthening the economy.  Too bad the message doesn't seem to be reaching the Administration's regulators, in particular the Environmental Protection Agency.

Syrian army ‘cracking’ amid crackdown  —  Testimonies from defected soldiers give a dramatic insight into the split apparently emerging in the security forces.  —  The escalating military offensive in northwest Syria began after what corroborating accounts said was a shoot-out between members …

ABC's Claire Shipman: ‘A Group of All White Men Are Not Going to Reach the Best Decisions’  —  ABC's “This Week” actually used the occasion of Congressman Anthony Weiner's (D-N.Y.) sex scandal to discuss whether this was “a good moment for women.”  —  During a lengthy segment …

How We're Meeting the Job Creation Challenge  —  The President's Jobs and Competitiveness Council, comprised of 26 private-sector leaders, is developing ideas that will accelerate job growth and improve America's competitiveness.  —  The U.S. economy is resilient, but the inescapable truth …

Missing Iraq money may have been stolen, auditors say  —  U.S. Defense officials still cannot say what happened to $6.6 billion, sent by the planeload in cash and intended for Iraq's reconstruction after the start of the war.  —  Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills, pictured last month, has held hearings on waste and fraud in Iraq.

Ninety Percent of Petraeus's Captured “Taliban” Were Civilians  —  During his intensive initial round of media interviews as commander in Afghanistan in August 2010, Gen. David Petraeus released figures to the news media that claimed spectacular success for raids by Special Operations Forces …

AP data show states' budget challenges differ  —  The country is pulling out of the Great Recession, but an Associated Press review of 50 balance sheets shows state budgets ravaged by declining tax revenue and bank accounts far leaner than they were when the downturn took hold.