Romney's role: The Hillary Clinton of 2012?  —  For Mitt Romney this December, it's beginning to look a lot like Clinton.  —  Like the great, fallen front-runner of 2008, here is another well-funded, Establishment-blessed, presumptive nominee whose supposedly firm hold on his party's greatest prize seems to be slip-sliding away.

Super PAC forms for Gingrich  —  A longtime executive and fundraiser for Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future organization is forming a super PAC to back the former House speaker's presidential candidacy.  —  Calling itself Winning Our Future, the new Atlanta-based super PAC materializes …

Swing States Poll: Downbeat Dems, resurgent Republicans  —  WASHINGTON - President Obama is moving to energize the Democratic base for his re-election campaign, but in the case of a dozen battleground states, he'll have to work harder than four years ago to find it.

Deadly attack rocks central Liege in Belgium  —  A gun and grenade attack in the centre of the Belgian city of Liege has killed at least two people and wounded about 25, Belgian media say.  —  They say several men threw grenades and fired on a crowd at a bus stop in Place Saint Lambert, a busy square.

Chelsea Clinton makes broadcast debut on NBC's ‘Rock Center’  —  It's no surprise whatsoever that Chelsea Clinton didn't electrify broadcast journalism with her debut Monday night on NBC's “Rock Center With Brian Williams,” because she has no experience in broadcast journalism.

Opinion: Obama would rather be university professor than president  —  After observing President Obama for the last three years, it has become obvious to me that the President might prefer to be a university professor rather than do the job he holds today.  While he may not realize that he feels …

Republican leaders say they'll have the votes to pass payroll-tax bill  —  House Republican leaders on Tuesday predicted they will have the votes to pass legislation to extend a payroll tax cut.  —  The leaders are “close” to securing enough support to pass the bill, members leaving a closed-door GOP conference meeting said Tuesday.

Conferees omit anti-gay provisions from defense bill  —  Lawmakers on Capitol Hill unveiled on Monday an agreement on major defense budget legislation that omits anti-gay provisions found in the House version of the legislation — including language that would have prohibited military chaplains …

House Dem blasts Lowe's for pulling ads from Muslim-centered TV show  —  Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday morning accused Lowe's, the nationwide home-improvement chain, of giving weight to anti-Muslim views by pulling its ads from the TLC show “All-American Muslim.”

Axelrod on Newt: “the higher a monkey climbs...the more you can see his butt.”  —  Obama 2012 Press Secretary Ben LaBolt, Strategist David Axelrod, Campaign Manager Jim Messina, Deputy Manager Stephanie Cutter at Tuesday press briefing at the DNC.  (photo by Lynn Sweet)

Millionaires on Food Stamps and Jobless Pay?  G.O.P. Is on It  —  WASHINGTON — It's an image many Americans would find rather upsetting: a recently laid-off millionaire, luxuriating next to the pool eating grapes bought with food stamps while waiting for an unemployment check to roll in.

Rep. Issa asks Obama official why illegal camping of Occupy DC was permitted  —  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Tuesday announced he wants answers on whether “political judgments played a role” in allowing Occupy D.C. protesters to remain camped in Northwest Washington.

Yearly deficit falls below $1 trillion for the first time under Obama  —  The Treasury Department forecast Monday that the budget deficit for fiscal 2012 will come in at $996 billion, the first time President Obama has presided over an annual deficit of less than $1 trillion.

Eric Holder wades into debate over voting rights as presidential election nears  —  The Obama administration on Tuesday will wade into the increasingly divisive national debate over new voting laws in several states that could depress turnout among minorities and others who helped elect the president in 2008.

House to close ‘strip club loophole’  —  The House is expected to vote Tuesday to close the welfare program's little-known “strip club loophole.”  —  The provision is riding in the midst of a payroll tax cut package filled with marquee items such as a Keystone XL oil pipeline permitting requirement …

Saudi woman executed for ‘witchcraft and sorcery’  —  A Saudi woman has been executed for practising “witchcraft and sorcery”, the country's interior ministry says.  —  A statement published by the state news agency said Amina bint Abdul Halim bin Salem Nasser was beheaded on Monday in the northern province of Jawf.

Gingrich Tax Plan Puts ‘Hole’ In Deficit: Study  —  The economic plan proposed by Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich would add $1.3 trillion to the U.S. budget deficit in 2015 alone, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Iran army declines comment on MP's Hormuz exercise remarks  —  TEHRAN (Reuters) - A member of the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee said on Monday that the military was set to practice its ability to close the Gulf to shipping at the narrow Strait of Hormuz …