PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Maine's presidential caucuses come at a critical time for Mitt Romney, the one-time Republican front-runner. Shaken by a string of failures, Romney is hoping to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat Saturday on the path to his party's nomination. The former Massachusetts governor ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal deficit was lower through the first four months of the budget year than the same period last year. Still, the deficit is expected to top $1 trillion for the fourth year in a row, putting more pressure on Congress and President Barack Obama in an election year. The defic ... Read More

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran will soon unveil "big new" nuclear achievements, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday while reiterating Tehran's readiness to revive talks with the West over the country's controversial nuclear program. Ahmadinejad spoke at a rally in Tehran as tens of thousands of Ir ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential candidate Rick Santorum implored conservatives Friday not to settle for Mitt Romney's more moderate record, and to instead insist on nominating an unapologetic conservative that "the party's excited about." Speaking to a packed crowd at the annual Conservative Politica ... Read More

 WASHINGTON (AP) - The campaign finance system is so broken that legislative changes, including a constitutional amendment, are needed to rein in runaway, secret spending in elections, congressional Democrats said Thursday. Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico said ... Read More

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The former third-grade teacher charged with committing lewd acts on students was paid $40,000 to drop an appeal of his firing, a newspaper reported Friday. The Los Angeles Unified School District settled with Mark Berndtbecause it couldn't defend his February 2011 firing, district ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama will announce a plan to accommodate religious employers outraged by a rule that would require them to cover birth control for women free of charge, according to a person familiar with the decision. Obama was expected to make the announcement at the White Hous ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) - All of a sudden, abortion, contraception and gay marriage are at the center of American political discourse, with the struggling - though improving - economy pushed to the background. Social issues don't typically dominate the discussion in shaky economies. But they do raise emotio ... Read More

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Rick Santorum stirs his ever-growing crowds when he promises to right a country awash in "immoral debt" and to replace an administration he argues has "callousness toward life and family and faith." Of the GOP presidential hopefuls, Santorum is by far the most public and emphatic ... Read More