Romney Faces Conservative Test at CPAC

Mitt Romney is taking a break from the campaign trail, no doubt preparing for his big moment Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

In other news Wednesday, Republicans increased pressure on President Obama over a mandate that requires religious schools and hospitals to provide employees with birth control. In Syria, military assault in Homs was unrelenting, despite President Bashar al-Assad's talk of peace.

So what exactly happened Tuesday night? Suddenly former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has reemerged from the pack to claim the Republican spotlight with three wins - Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri - while front-runner Mitt Romney is combing through the wreckage.

Rick Santorum's sweep of the three contests Tuesday night revived his presidential prospects and stalled Mitt Romney's momentum after his two convincing victories in Florida and Nevada.

President Obama's senior campaign strategist David Axelrod spoke with Judy Woodruff about the president's re-election campaign, the new Priorities USA Action super PAC run by former administration staffers, efforts to create jobs and the administration's ruling on contraceptives that created a firestorm among religious leaders.

A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 Tuesday against banning same-sex marriage in California, upholding a lower court's ruling. Spencer Michels reports and Gwen Ifill discusses the decision and the next steps with David Boies of the American Foundation for Equal Rights and John Eastman of the National Organization for Marriage.

President Obama's re-election team announced Monday night that it will openly support Priorities USA Action, a super PAC run by former White House aides Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney to "fill a hole in our side."

As Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich campaigned Monday in Colorado, Gingrich targeted Romney, but the former Massachusetts governor focused his attention on President Obama. Gwen Ifill discusses the state of the Republican presidential race with USA Today's Susan Page and The Rothenberg Political Report's Stuart Rothenberg.

Catholic leaders are pushing back against a new Department of Health and Human Services ruling requiring employers who offer health insurance to provide contraception free of charge. While churches are exempt from the rules, Catholic hospitals and universities must comply. Betty Ann Bowser reports on the controversy.

In an interview Monday with the NewsHour's Judy Woodruff, Speaker of the House John Boehner said that Congress gets along most of the time and that disagreements mostly occur over major bills. He also discussed his relationship with President Obama, the race for the GOP presidential nomination and the chances of a deficit deal.