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 | 2011 DECEMBER Dec. 30, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Ron Paul's 'Authenticity,' Romney's Message, Iowa's Role Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the state of the GOP presidential race, what Iowans are considering ahead of Tuesday's Caucuses and how Iowa will shape the rest of the primary season for Republicans.

   

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 | Dec. 30, 2011
 'Need to Know' Explores Evangelical Voters' Sway Over GOP Candidates in Iowa Four years ago, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee beat Mitt Romney and the other GOP candidates in the Iowa Caucuses with strong conservative evangelical support led by a man named Bob Vander Plaats. "Need to Know" correspondent Rick Karr reports on the power of Vander Plaats and the religious right in the Hawkeye State's elections.

   

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 | Dec. 30, 2011
 How Will Undecided Iowa Caucus-Goers Decide? A new NBC-Marist poll showed Mitt Romney and Ron Paul leading the GOP field in Iowa Friday, but many likely caucus-goers said they're still trying to decide which candidate they'll ultimately support on Tuesday. Judy Woodruff spoke with five still-undecided Republican voters in Iowa.

   

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 | Dec. 30, 2011
 Ahead of Tuesday's Vote, Another Poll Shows Romney, Ron Paul Ahead in Iowa Heading into the final stretch before Tuesday's first-in-the-nation Caucuses, the GOP contenders chatted up Iowan voters in cold and windy weather Friday. Judy Woodruff reports on the candidates' last-minute campaigning.

   

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 | Dec. 30, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Peeling the Onion (Or, Why Iowa and New Hampshire Really Matter) We have by now spent so many weeks consumed with the ups and downs of Republican presidential politics that we are in danger of misgauging its real impact, especially in these early days.

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 | Dec. 30, 2011
 Iowa's Emptying Nest Counties Could Spoil Romney's, Gingrich's Caucuses As the clock ticks down to the Jan. 3 Caucuses in Iowa, the major campaigns of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have not been focusing just on the larger cities like Des Moines, but also on the sparsely populated counties known as "Emptying Nests" in Patchwork Nation.

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 | Dec. 30, 2011
 The Iowa State of Play: Romney-Paul Out Front, Santorum Surging A new NBC News-Marist poll released Friday confirms the state of play in Iowa four days out from the caucuses: Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are locked in a close race for the lead, Rick Santorum is surging, and Newt Gingrich is fading.

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 | Dec. 30, 2011
 Iowa Dispatch: After 'Christmas With Ron Paul,' a Texas Respite First stop after arriving Thursday in Iowa to cover the Republican presidential Caucuses: Atlantic, a small town in the western part of the state. This is GOP territory and about 150 people - many of them young, in their teens or 20s -- were crowded into a room at the Cass County Community Center to listen to Ron Paul.

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 | Dec. 29, 2011
 Caucuses Seen as 'Very Important,' but 'You Have to Take Iowa in Context' Republican presidential hopefuls in Iowa shifted into campaign overdrive Thursday for the final leg before next week's first-in-the-nation Caucuses. Jeffrey Brown weighs the state's significance in the nominating process with Richard Norton Smith of George Mason University and Jeff Stein of the State Historical Society of Iowa.

   

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 | Dec. 29, 2011
 The Photos That Defined 2011 2011 will be remembered as a year that ended authoritative regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen. The most wanted fugitive in the world was killed in Pakistan and severe weather battered the global population. We also said goodbye to Steve Jobs, the space shuttle program and, for the most part, congressional deal-making.

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 | Dec. 29, 2011
 Woodruff: Why Iowa Is So Influential Judy Woodruff writes: As I head to Iowa to cover my tenth round of primary caucuses in the Hawkeye State, I'm every bit as excited as I was in late 1975, when I first flew to Des Moines to follow around a little-known former Georgia governor.

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 | Dec. 29, 2011
 New Polls Put Romney in GOP Driver's Seat The tumultuous Republican presidential race experienced its latest shake-up Wednesday with the release of showing Mitt Romney leading in Iowa and New Hampshire. In Iowa, the CNN poll showed Romney with the support of 25 percent of respondents. Texas Rep. Ron Paul placed second with 22 percent.

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 | Dec. 28, 2011
 In Iowa Ads, Candidates Stay Mostly Positive as Super PACs Do the Attacking Pushing closer to the Iowa Caucuses, GOP presidential candidates and the outside groups supporting them are pouring money into TV and radio ads -- spending more than $10 million in December alone. Judy Woodruff and Ken Goldstein of the Campaign Media Analysis Group discuss the potential outcome of all this spending.

   

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 | Dec. 28, 2011
 New Wrap: U.S. Warns Iran Against Blocking Passage for Oil Tankers In other news Wednesday, the United States warned Iran not to block oil traffic from the Persian Gulf. Iran had threatened this week to close the crucial Strait of Hormuz if the West embargoes Iranian oil. Also, the latest poll in the GOP presidential race reshuffled the standings, making Mitt Romney the new Iowa front-runner.

 

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 | Dec. 28, 2011
 Romney Manages Expectations Game in Iowa Mitt Romney has worked hard all year to keep expectations for the Iowa caucuses low, making infrequent campaign visits, passing on last summer's straw poll, and spending far less money than the $10 million he invested in the state in 2008.

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 | Dec. 27, 2011
 A Week Before Caucuses, Iowa Republicans Taking Final Measure of Candidates Republican presidential candidates in Iowa are all smiles this week, shaking hands and corralling votes in anticipation of the upcoming Caucuses. Judy Woodruff discusses the GOP hopefuls' final push in the Hawkeye State with state Republican Chairman Matthew Strawn and Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson.

   

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 | Dec. 27, 2011
 Is Obama Getting His Mojo Back? Barack Obama has not had an easy ride as president. He took office as the economy was collapsing, and the tone of the political debate has only grown more contentious. His approval rating plummeted. And yet going into 2012, he is not in a bad place electorally.

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 | Dec. 26, 2011
 Romney Focuses More on Iowa, Hoping to Become 'Unstoppable Force' in Primaries In a flurry of bus touring, pheasant hunting and endorsement courting, GOP presidential candidates are honing and sharing their last-minute campaign messages before next week's Iowa Caucuses. Gwen Ifill discusses the race and year in politics with The Rothenberg Political Report's Stuart Rothenberg and USA Today's Susan Page.

   

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 | Dec. 23, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Stopgap Payroll Tax Cut Deal, Iowa Caucuses, Holiday Wishes Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the payroll tax cut deal that ended the latest partisan standoff in Washington, their holiday wishes for the country and "Super PAC" attacks on Republican presidential candidates before the Iowa Caucuses.

   

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 | Dec. 23, 2011
 News Wrap: After Weeks of Partisan Standoff, Tax Cut Extension Signed Into Law In other news Friday, Congress passed a two-month payroll tax cut extension. The bill won unanimous consent, first in the Senate and then in the House -- with only a handful of lawmakers present. Also, ahead of the Iowa Caucuses, Vice President Joe Biden and Republican president candidate Mitt Romney traded jabs on the economy.

 

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 | Dec. 23, 2011
 Gwen's Take: In Case You Were Wondering, We Have Been Here Before "Politics is politics" House Speaker John Boehner opined Thursday, as he stepped before the cameras to explain why he would not back down in the payroll tax fight House Republicans have been waging with the Senate. Seldom have truer words been spoken.

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 | Dec. 22, 2011
 News Wrap: Egypt's Prime Minister Calls for 2-Month Respite From Protests In other news Thursday, Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri called for a national dialogue and a two-month respite from protests. Ganzouri spoke after recent clashes between protesters and soldiers left at least 100 dead. Also, the Italian Parliament passed the government's nearly $40 billion tax hike and pension package.

 

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 | Dec. 22, 2011
 House GOP Agrees to Tax Cut Deal, but Is Another Showdown Just 2 Months Away? Breaking an impasse Thursday afternoon, House GOP leaders set a vote on a stopgap Senate bill that extends the payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits for another two months. Judy Woodruff discusses the latest developments in Washington with Todd Zwillich of WNYC's "The Takeaway."

   

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 | Dec. 21, 2011
 From Florida, a Plea to the Middle to Re-engage With Washington proving yet again this week it's immune not only to the spirit of Christmas, but to any other effort at achieving good will, it was refreshing to pick up a book by a politician who counsels respect and compromise.

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 | Dec. 21, 2011
 Romney-Gingrich Dead Heat Produces Sharper Attacks There is a sense of deja vu with the Republican presidential race this week, as a third new national poll shows Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney tied for the lead, with Ron Paul running a distant third.

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 | Dec. 20, 2011
 Ahead of Iowa Caucuses, Gingrich's Momentum Fades as Criticism Mounts The Republican presidential race has turned into a national dead heat, especially in Iowa where the first votes will be cast in two weeks. Gwen Ifill discusses the candidates' momentum with Stuart Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report and USA Today's Susan Page.

   

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 | Dec. 20, 2011
 In Washington, a Familiar Showdown, but 'People Are Dug in Much Deeper' President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner dug in their heels Tuesday and refused to break a stalemate over extending a payroll tax cut after the House balked at approving a two-month extension. Jeffrey Brown discusses the latest back-and-forth between Democrats and Republicans with Todd Zwillich of WYNC's "The Takeaway."

   

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 | Dec. 20, 2011
 Gingrich, Romney in Dead Heat with Iowa on the Horizon Two weeks before the Iowa Republican caucuses, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich find themselves in a dead heat nationally, according to a pair of new polls.

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 | Dec. 19, 2011
 White House, GOP Ratchet Up Rhetoric on 'Responsible' Deal for Payroll Tax Cut The way forward on extending the payroll tax cut remained murky Monday as House Republicans vowed to turn back a compromise measure passed by the Senate over the weekend. Gwen Ifill discusses the stalemate with Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Gene Sperling, a senior economic adviser to President Obama.

   

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 | Dec. 19, 2011
 House GOP Reject Senate's Payroll Tax Cut Bill House Speaker John Boehner revealed Sunday that House Republicans would reject a bipartisan agreement passed by the Senate that would extend for two months a cut in the payroll tax rate for all American workers and extend unemployment insurance.

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 | Dec. 16, 2011
 Shield, Brooks on Iowa Debate, 'Rattling Sabers' Over Iran, Iraq War's Legacy Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the latest GOP presidential debate in Iowa, candidates' views on how the U.S. should deal with Iran, more brinksmanship in Congress and the formal end of the American involvement in the Iraq War.

   

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 | Dec. 16, 2011
 Ahead of Iowa Caucuses, it Could Still Be Anyone's Game in GOP On the heels of Thursday night's Republican presidential debate in Sioux City, Iowa, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney scored an endorsement from South Carolina's governor. Hari Sreenivasan reports on the latest in the race for the GOP nomination.

   

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 | Dec. 16, 2011
 GOP Insistence on Pipeline Provision Could Derail Spending Bill The House passed a $1 trillion spending bill Friday to fund much of the government through next September and avoid a federal shutdown this weekend, but both parties remain split over how to extend a payroll tax cut. Jim Lehrer reports.

   

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 | Dec. 16, 2011
 Hate Washington? Join The Club Welcome to my hometown. If there is one thing that never seems to change, it is that the rest of the country has come to hate the caricature the city has become.

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 | Dec. 16, 2011
 Gingrich, Romney Defensive in Last Debate Before Iowa Caucus The bell never rang for the Newt Gingrich vs. Mitt Romney fight many expected at Thursday night's debate in Sioux City, Iowa, as the two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination were put on the defensive by the other candidates as well as the Fox News moderators.

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 | Dec. 15, 2011
 Members of Congress 'Seem Unable to Help Themselves' in Face of Disapproval Thursday was a day of behind-the-scenes maneuvering and bargaining in Congress, as party leaders moved to avert a government shutdown and possibly end the impasse over extending a payroll tax cut. Judy Woodruff discusses the Senate's progress and Congress' sagging approval rating with The Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid.

   

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 | Dec. 15, 2011
 Poll Finds Young People Skeptical of Obama's Re-election Prospects A new Harvard University poll has potentially bad news for President Obama's hopes of re-election. Thirty-six percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 think he will lose his run for a second term, while just 30 percent predict he'll be re-elected.

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 | Dec. 15, 2011
 Congress in Familiar Territory With Shutdown on the Horizon The federal government is again facing the threat of a shutdown because of a partisan divide in Congress. The version of the story this time is that Senate Democrats don't want to pass the House Republican version of the payroll tax cut because it contains policy riders they disagree with.

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 | Dec. 14, 2011
 How Will New Voter Registration Laws Affect 2012 Election? Millions of potential voters may not be able to cast votes in 2012 after a dozen states put new restrictions in place this year. Gwen Ifill discusses the impact the new restrictions could have on the upcoming elections with New York University's Keesha Gaskins and Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation.

   

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 | Dec. 14, 2011
 News Wrap: Democrats Vow to Block GOP Payroll Tax Cut Bill In other news Wednesday, the stalemate in Congress over extending the payroll tax cut continued as Senate Democrats said they will reject a House GOP bill that would extend it, but includes a mandate that work will begin on the Keystone XL pipeline. Also, the House debated a defense spending bill worth more than $660 billion.

 

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 | Dec. 14, 2011
 Secretary Clinton Discusses Job Creation, International Policy How will America create its next 10 million jobs? That question will be the focus of upcoming discussions on Dec. 14 among PBS NewsHour correspondents, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and leaders from across the private and public sectors. You can watch the conversations live on the NewsHour's website.

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 | Dec. 14, 2011
 Romney: Gingrich an 'Extraordinarily Unreliable' Conservative Mitt Romney is turning what has been one of his biggest political liabilities -- lingering doubts about his consistency on key issues -- into a line of attack on his chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich.

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 | Dec. 13, 2011
 Obama, Senate Democrats Balk at House GOP's Version of Payroll Tax Extension The Republican-led House passed legislation Tuesday to continue a payroll tax cut extension that affects 160 million workers, but Democrats balked at a separate provision that would force federal approval of the hotly debated Keystone oil pipeline to run from Canada to Texas. Jeffrey Brown reports.

   

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 | Dec. 13, 2011
 3 Weeks Before Iowa, Gingrich-Romney Fight Gets Personal The rivalry between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney veered from political differences to personal attacks Monday, marking a sharp turn in the Republican presidential nominating fight just three weeks before the Iowa caucuses.

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 | Dec. 12, 2011
 What Would Impact of a Payroll Tax Increase Be in Your County? President Obama and Democrats are daring Republicans to let a payroll tax break expire. Such an increase in the payroll tax could hit the U.S. economy hard in two different ways when you look at the impacts using Patchwork Nation's breakdown of 12 county types.

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 | Dec. 12, 2011
 Ahead of Iowa Caucuses, GOP Candidates Engaging in 'a Nationalized Race' Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich remained the front-runner in the Republican presidential race Monday, with three weeks to go until Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses. Judy Woodruff discusses the 2012 GOP campaign with Susan Page of USA Today and Stuart Rothenberg of The Rothenberg Political Report.

 

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 | Dec. 12, 2011
 President Obama: 2012 Election 'Going to Be a Good Debate' As President Obama capped off a week of making his case for re-election with an appearance on Sunday's "60 Minutes," a fresh batch of poll numbers show 54 percent of Americans do not believe he deserves a second term.

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 | Dec. 9, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Obama's 2012 Strategy, Cordray's Rejection, Gingrich's Surge Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including President Obama's re-election strategy, Newt Gingrich's poll surge in swing states and the Republican-led effort to block Consumer Financial Protection Bureau nominee Richard Cordray from confirmation.

   

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 | Dec. 9, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Black Holes and Campaign 2012 Scientists at the University of California Berkeley have discovered something awesome: monster black holes -- 10 billion times the mass of the sun -- that suck in everything around them.

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 | Dec. 9, 2011
 GOP Rivals Try to Knock Gingrich From His Perch The polls have crowned Newt Gingrich as Republican front-runner, and now his GOP rivals have recognized the coronation by sharpening their attacks on the former House speaker.

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 | Dec. 8, 2011
 Obama Back in Campaign Mode as White House Sizes up Gingrich, Romney President Obama is still waiting for Republicans to pick a nominee to challenge him in next year's election, but that hasn't stopped him from entering the campaign fray. Judy Woodruff discusses the state of Mr. Obama's re-election campaign with The Washington Post's Anne Kornblut and The New York Times' Jeff Zeleny.

   

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 | Dec. 8, 2011
 Woodruff: Gingrich's Rise Throws New Unpredictability into GOP Race The contest for the Republican nomination for president in 2012 has suddenly grown a lot more unpredictable. With Newt Gingrich's emergence in November as a favorite among conservative voters, Mitt Romney is facing his toughest challenger yet.

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 | Dec. 8, 2011
 Gingrich's Surge Spreads to Swing States The Newt Gingrich surge has spread beyond Iowa and South Carolina, and now extends to Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released Thursday.

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 | Dec. 7, 2011
 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Nominee Cordray Faces Senate Battle Richard Cordray, President Obama's latest pick to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, faces an uphill battle for confirmation in the Senate this week. Judy Woodruff discusses the nomination and disagreement over the new agency's structure with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

   

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 | Dec. 7, 2011
 News Wrap: Rod Blagojevich Given 14-Year Sentence In other news Wednesday, the former Democratic governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, was sentenced to 14 yeas in prison for corruption. He was convicted of trying to sell the appointment to President Obama's Senate seat. Also, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was jailed on new counts of sexual abuse.

 

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 | Dec. 7, 2011
 Rick Perry's Latest TV Ad Appeals to Religious Voters Texas Gov. Rick Perry released a new television ad Wednesday aimed at courting socially conservative voters, a key voting bloc in next month's Iowa caucuses.

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 | Dec. 7, 2011
 President Obama's 2012 Pitch: 'Everyone Gets a Fair Shot' With the election 11 months away, President Obama outlined a populist argument for a second term in Osawatomie, Kan., the same town where in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt delivered his "New Nationalism" speech calling for a strong central government that "must be freed from the sinister influence or control of special interests."

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 | Dec. 6, 2011
 News Wrap: Obama Condemns Economic Inequality, Calls for Reforms In other news Tuesday, President Barack Obama condemned economic inequality in the United States during a speech in Kansas and called for progressive reforms. Also, Bank of America has agreed to pay $315 million to investors who said they were misled about risky mortgages.

 

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 | Dec. 6, 2011
 Political Storms Swirl in Cash-Strapped California The state does not have enough money to cover expenses: it will be $3.7 billion short this season. So all eyes are on the governor to see if he can rescue a state in serious trouble.

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 | Dec. 6, 2011
 Polls Show More Good News for Gingrich Another day, and two more polls affirming Newt Gingrich's position as the new front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

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 | Dec. 5, 2011
 Politics, Race Play Role in Presidential Pardons, Investigation Finds People who are white and well-connected are more likely to receive presidential pardons, a ProPublica investigation discovered this week. ProPublica's Dafna Linzer goes over the details of the investigation with Gwen Ifill.

   

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 | Dec. 5, 2011
 After Surging in Polls, How Could Newt Gingrich Clinch Nomination? A month away from the Iowa caucuses, two new polls show that the race for the Republican presidential nomination has a new frontrunner: Newt Gingrich. Judy Woodruff takes a look at the latest poll results with The Washington Post's Dan Balz and J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Company, which conducted one of the Iowa polls.

   

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 | Dec. 5, 2011
 Gingrich Leads GOP Field in Iowa, Surges in New Hampshire Former House speaker Newt Gingrich claimed the top spot in a pair of polls released in Iowa over the weekend, both of which showed him with comfortable leads ahead of the state's Jan. 3 nominating contest.

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 | Dec. 3, 2011
 Herman Cain Suspends Bid for GOP Presidential Nomination Herman Cain announced Saturday he was suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, citing the "painful price" sexual harassment and extramarital affair allegations have had on his family.

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 | Dec. 2, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Gingrich's 'Skeletons,' Bill Clinton's 'Second Act,' Tax Cuts Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the likelihood of Newt Gingrich being elected president, Bill Clinton's post-presidential work, lawmakers' struggles over the payroll tax cut extension and Rep. Barney Frank's legacy.

   

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 | Dec. 2, 2011
 Bill Clinton on Obama: 'I Think He'll Be Re-elected' In an interview with Judy Woodruff Friday, former President Bill Clinton discussed his new book, "Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy," his new collaboration with President Obama to promote energy efficiency and create jobs, his 2012 predictions and his relationship with GOP candidate Newt Gingrich.

   

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 | Dec. 2, 2011
 Woodruff: Clinton Talks Jobs, Election Year Politics Former President Bill Clinton is incapable of giving a dull interview. So when his latest book came out, a 196-page "short" look, in his words, at why government needs to be involved to get the economy moving again, I didn't have to think twice about whether it was worth talking to him about it.

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 | Dec. 2, 2011
 Saturday Is 'Decision Day' for GOP Presidential Contender Herman Cain Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Friday he would make an announcement Saturday about the future of his floundering campaign.

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 | Dec. 2, 2011
 Gingrich: 'I'm Going to Be the Nominee' Newt Gingrich is looking to bring some certainty to a Republican presidential race that has been anything but settled. "I'm going to be the nominee," the former House speaker confidently told ABC News on Thursday.

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 | Dec. 1, 2011
 Barney Frank on Dysfunction in Congress: 'Blame James Madison' Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank announced this week that he would not seek re-election next year after more than four decades in politics. Judy Woodruff and Frank discuss his legacy, his decision to retire, the U.S. housing crisis, Europe's ongoing debt problems, and dysfunction in Congress and the U.S. political system.

   

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 | Dec. 1, 2011
 News Wrap: Lawmakers Butt Heads Over Payroll Tax Cut Extention In other news Thursday, Senate Democrats and Republicans moved to block each other's plans for extending the payroll tax cut. Democrats wanted to pay for it with a surtax on millionaires, but the GOP said that would only penalize job creators. Also, auto sales in November may turn out to be the strongest in more than two years.

 

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 | Dec. 1, 2011
 Knives Getting Sharper in GOP Fight The reverberations from Mitt Romney's recent interview on Fox News are still being felt -- and the manner in which they settle could go a long way toward determining the shape of the GOP race in the coming weeks.

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 | NOVEMBER Nov. 30, 2011
 Biggest Issue in 2012? Could Be Europe Europe's current economic drama is intricately tied to American politics. And if things go bad in Europe -- really bad -- American voters and candidates will suddenly be getting acquainted with talking points centered on the fate of the euro.

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 | Nov. 30, 2011
 Amid Sagging Support, Does Tea Party Have Staying Power for 2012? The Tea Party burst on the scene as a new political force, but does it have staying power? Judy Woodruff discusses the movement's influence with The Pew Research Center's Andy Kohut and The New York Times' Kate Zernike.

   

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 | Nov. 30, 2011
 How Would Payroll Tax Extensions Be Funded? President Obama wants to extend a payroll tax cut and many Republicans do too, but both sides are far apart on how to get it done. Gwen Ifill discusses how the extension could be funded with White House National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.

   

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 | Nov. 30, 2011
 Cain to Reassess Campaign, Asks Supporters to Stick with Him A day after an Atlanta woman named Ginger White said she had a 13-year romantic affair with Herman Cain, the one-time front-runner in the 2012 Republican primary said on a conference call Tuesday that he would reassess his campaign.

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 | Nov. 29, 2011
 News Wrap: Cain Reassesses 2012 Run After Woman Claims Long-Term Affair In other news Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is reassessing his run for the White House. He spoke to staffers after an Atlanta woman claimed she'd had a 13-year affair with him. Also, protesters in Iran stormed the British Embassy.

 

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 | Nov. 29, 2011
 Ad Gives Taste of Potential Obama-Romney Election Battle The Iowa caucuses may be five weeks away, but the way that Democrats and Mitt Romney's campaign clashed on Monday, it seemed as if the general election were around the corner.

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 | Nov. 28, 2011
 Union Leader Publisher on Gingrich Endorsement: 'He's a Guy With Ideas' Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is leading in the polls and picked up a key endorsement from an influential New Hampshire newspaper. Gwen Ifill discusses the Republican presidential field and the endorsement with Union Leader Publisher Joe McQuaid and Susan Page of USA Today.

   

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 | Nov. 28, 2011
 Rep. Barney Frank Announces Plans to Retire Longtime Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., announced Monday he will not seek re-election in 2012, ending a career that stretched more than three decades fighting for liberal causes.

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 | Nov. 28, 2011
 Gingrich Looks to Build on Momentum By picking up a coveted newspaper endorsement over the weekend to go along with his front-runner status in many recent national polls, Newt Gingrich heads into the final month of 2011 with plenty of momentum.

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 | Nov. 25, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on GOP Foreign Policy Debate, Supercommittee Failure Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including GOP hopefuls' attempt to draw sharp distinctions on foreign policy during their latest debate, the shift on immigration among Republicans and the failure of the deficit supercommittee.

   

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 | Nov. 23, 2011
 Bachmann: Gingrich's Immigration Stance 'Most Liberal' in GOP Race In an interview Wednesday with Jeffrey Brown, GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., discussed her GOP rivals' views on immigration, her choice of language on the campaign trail, what the U.S. should do with enemy combatants and criticized the Obama administration for its handling of Solyndra's loan guarantee.

   

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 | Nov. 23, 2011
 GOP Hopefuls Draw Sharp Divisions on Foreign Policy at Debate Eight Republican candidates gathered Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., for their 11th debate, which centered on foreign policy and national security. Ray Suarez recaps the debate with NPR's Ari Shapiro.

   

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 | Nov. 22, 2011
 Gauging Foreign Policy's Importance in GOP Race What role will foreign policy and national security play in the Republicans' 2012 nomination fight? Judy Woodruff explores those questions and previews Tuesday night's debate with historian Richard Norton Smith and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson.

   

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 | Nov. 22, 2011
 After Failed Deficit Deal, Obama Pushes Payroll Tax Cut Extensions The failure of the deficit supercommittee echoed Tuesday on the campaign trail as President Obama pressed Republicans in New Hampshire to support extending payroll tax cuts for another year. Ray Suarez discusses the failed congressional effort with Paul Krugman of Princeton University and Martin Feldstein of Harvard University.

   

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 | Nov. 21, 2011
 Deficit Supercommittee Admits Failure: Now What? The bipartisan congressional committee charged with cutting the U.S. deficit admitted failure on Monday. Judy Woodruff discusses the legislative logjam with Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and Henry Aaron of the Brookings Institution.

   

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 | Nov. 21, 2011
 Deficit 'Supercommittee' Throws in the Towel The bipartisan co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction announced late Monday that the group had failed to reach an agreement. The so-called supercommittee had been charged with finding $1.2 trillion in deficit savings over the next decade, as part of an agreement to lift the country's borrowing limit.

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 | Nov. 21, 2011
 Supercommittee Headed for Failure Two days before its Nov. 23 deadline, the congressional supercommittee tasked with creating a plan that would cut $1.2 trillion in the federal budget appears headed for failure.

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 | Nov. 18, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Supercommittee Gridlock, Cain's Stumble Over Libya Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including gridlock in the congressional deficit supercommittee, GOP hopeful Newt Gingrich's financial entanglements and Herman Cain's stumble over questions about President Obama's handling of Libya.

   

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 | Nov. 18, 2011
 For Wisconsin Gov. Walker, Tables Turn as Unions Push Recall Effort The eyes of the nation were on the political firestorm in Wisconsin last winter when Republican Gov. Scott Walker took on the labor union representing the state's public employees. Wisconsin Public Television's Frederica Freyburg explores how the tables have since turned on Walker.

   

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 | Nov. 18, 2011
 With Deadline Nearing, What Happens if Supercommittee Talks Collapse? The congressional deficit supercommittee ended the week with no deal in hand and a Wednesday deadline looming. Jeffrey Brown discusses the stalemate over taxes and spending with Janet Hook of The Wall Street Journal.

   

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 | Nov. 18, 2011
 Gwen's Take: a Little Q&A From the Road As always, when I break out of my Washington bubble I never fail to be impressed by the degree to which people are engaged in the world around them, frustrated about what they see happening in the nation's capital, and open to hearing more than one answer to a question.

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 | Nov. 18, 2011
 Gingrich's Past Business Dealings Under Scrutiny When Newt Gingrich was preparing to launch a run for the White House earlier this year, part of the delay was reportedly his need to unwind the financial entanglements from his multi-million dollar business operation. Those dealings could now be what slows down his presidential bid.

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 | Nov. 17, 2011
 Amid Solyndra Turmoil, How Involved Should Government Be in Energy Research? Should the government help spur or back certain kinds of energy research? Jeffrey Brown discusses the political storm over the government's backing of the now-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer Solyndra with Eileen Claussen of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and Robert Bryce of The Manhattan Institute.

   

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 | Nov. 17, 2011
 News Wrap: Supercommittee Shows No Public Signs of Progress In other news Thursday, there was no public sign of movement by Congress' deficit supercommittee just days from its deadline. Instead, 72 House Republicans sent a letter opposing tax increases. Democrats also face divisions over spending cuts. Also, Italy's new government won an overwhelming vote of confidence from Parliament.

 

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 | Nov. 17, 2011
 Chu: Decisions Were Not Based on 'Political Considerations' Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a House panel Thursday that politics did not play a role in his decision to approve a $535 million loan guarantee for the now-defunct solar panel manufacturer.

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 | Nov. 17, 2011
 Chu Set to Face Tough Questions at Solyndra Hearing Energy Secretary Steven Chu appears set to push back forcefully on GOP criticism that the Obama administration's $535 million loan guarantee to the now-defunct solar panel manufacturer Solyndra was financially unwise and politically motivated.

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 | Nov. 16, 2011
 'Patriotic Millionaires' Lobby Congress for Higher Taxes on Rich Members of Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength visited Capitol Hill Wednesday, lobbying Congress for higher taxes on the rich. Jeffrey Brown discuses the group's goals with member Garrett Gruener, who founded Ask.com.

   

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 | Nov. 16, 2011
 Woodruff: Florida School Aims to Buck Economic Downturn Despite the economic downturn -- and budget cuts for higher education -- one Florida university is meeting the challenge by helping students launch their own businesses and partnering with industries to help them find jobs.

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 | Nov. 16, 2011
 Supercommittee Edging Toward Failure After another day of private meetings and negotiations on Capitol Hill, the 12-member Congressional supercommittee was apparently no closer Tuesday to its mandated $1.2 trillion deficit reduction deal, and all signs point to a process that will remain gridlocked until the Nov. 23 deadline.

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 | Nov. 15, 2011
 Congressional Deficit Panel Gridlock Persists as Deadline Nears Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill still seemed miles apart on a deficit-reduction agreement on Tuesday, with just eight days to go before a self-mandated deadline. Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports.

   

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 | Nov. 15, 2011
 Cain Stumbles on Libya Questions Herman Cain struggled Monday during a question-and-answer session with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about whether he supported President Obama's handling of the uprising in Libya.

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 | Nov. 14, 2011
 Deficit Super Committee Stuck in Stalemate as Deadline Nears After more than three months of work, the congressional panel charged with finding ways to cut the nation's budget deficit seems to be stuck in neutral. Judy Woodruff discusses the deadlock with super committee member Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.

   

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 | Nov. 14, 2011
 Time Running Out for Supercommittee Time is running out for the bipartisan Congressional supercommittee charged with cutting at least $1.2 trillion from the nation's deficit over 10 years, and members are trying to avoid automatic spending cuts to military and domestic projects in the absence of a compromise.

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 | Nov. 11, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on GOP Race After Perry Flub, 'Occupy' Movement Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry's lapse at the latest GOP debate, Herman Cain's attempt to move past sexual harassment claims and the "Occupy" movement.

   

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 | Nov. 11, 2011
 Perry Pokes Fun at Flub on 'Late Show' Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent Thursday working feverishly to turn the corner on his much maligned brain freeze in Wednesday night's debate. He did no fewer than seven nationally televised interviews, additional radio interviews and ended the day at the Ed Sullivan theater doing David Letterman's Top Ten list.

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 | Nov. 10, 2011
 Perry Campaign Looks to Rebound From Embarassing Debate Gaffe Texas Gov. Rick Perry moved to rebound from his embarrassing gaffe at the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday. Judy Woodruff and NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian recap the highlights of the debate.

   

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 | Nov. 10, 2011
 Woodruff: What Does Political History Tell Us About the Cain Conundrum? Rick Perry did Herman Cain a favor in the Michigan GOP debate. By failing to remember the name of the third federal agency he intended to shut down if elected president, he claimed unflattering next-day headlines that might have otherwise at least been shared by Cain.

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 | Nov. 10, 2011
 Veterans Jobs Bill Only Part of Obama Jobs Plan to Pass Senate In a rare showing of bipartisanship in the Senate, a small portion of President Obama's jobs bill designed to help military veterans find employment passed by a vote of 94 to 1 Thursday.

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 | Nov. 10, 2011
 Perry Launches Damage Control After Major Debate Flub You know you didn't have a good night as a presidential candidate if you need to get up early to do a round of morning show interviews in which you have to assert you're staying in the race.

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 | Nov. 9, 2011
 Ohio Voters Reject Law Curbing Union Rights Voters around the country went to the polls on Tuesday to answer some critical ballot questions. Judy Woodruff examines the results in Ohio, where voters overturned a law curbing union rights, with Ohio Public Radio's Karen Kasler.

   

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 | Nov. 9, 2011
 Labor Scores Big Win in Ohio; 'Personhood' Rejected in Miss. Two high-profile ballot measures in Ohio and Mississippi headlined this year's off-year elections, and both were resoundingly defeated Tuesday.

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 | Nov. 8, 2011
 Cain Denies Harassment Claim, Vows to Stay in Race GOP hopeful Herman Cain went before cameras late Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz. to deny allegations made by a Chicago-area woman that he made unwanted sexual advances toward her more than a decade ago. Judy Woodruff and Political Editor David Chalian discuss the scandal's impact on Cain's bid for the White House.

   

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 | Nov. 8, 2011
 Cain Says Bialek's Harassment Claim 'Simply Didn't Happen' GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain held a news conference Tuesday to "absolutely reject" any claims that he had sexually harassed women, one day after Sharon Bialek publicly accused Cain over an alleged 1997 incident.

 

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 | Nov. 8, 2011
 Voters Head to Polls With Union Rights, Abortion at Stake Both Mississippi and Kentucky are home to gubernatorial contests Tuesday, but those elections for the highest office in the state are being overshadowed by controversial and base-energizing ballot measures in Ohio and Mississippi.

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 | Nov. 7, 2011
 Will Latest Cain Harassment Allegations Go Beyond 'He Said, She Said'? Herman Cain faced new accusations of sexual harassment on Monday when a Chicago-area woman went before television cameras with graphic details. Judy Woodruff discusses what the fresh allegations mean for Cain's White House bid with Politico's Jonathan Martin.

   

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 | Nov. 7, 2011
 Fourth Woman Accuses Cain of Unwanted Advances Sharon Bialek, who sought GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain's help in 1997 when she was looking for a job, said Monday that he made inappropriate and unwanted sexual advances, allegations that Cain has denied.

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 | Nov. 7, 2011
 Poll Shows Why Romney Isn't Gaining Traction With Voters A new ABC/Washington Post poll tested a number of GOP candidate attributes and found that Mitt Romney is running even or behind on each of them other than electability.

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 | Nov. 4, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Americans' Pessimism, Scandal's Impact on Cain Candidacy Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the sexual harassment claims against Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain plus the mood of the American electorate while the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high.

   

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 | Nov. 4, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Super Committees and Honey Badgers Now that baseball season is over, where will syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks spend their leisure hours? They'll likely be back to the heavy lifting of political news.

   

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 | Nov. 4, 2011
 Democrats Claim to Have 'Breeze' at Their Backs in Quest to Regain House In a confident but cautious pitch to reporters Friday at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, DCCC Chairman Rep.

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 | Nov. 4, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Condoleezza Rice Tells Her Story When former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice walked into our interview at her publisher's office in New York this week, she was as composed as ever -- happy to be out of Washington and now free to tell her side of a tumultuous story.

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 | Nov. 4, 2011
 Unemployment Dips to 9%, 80,000 Jobs Added in Oct. The October jobs report shows that stubbornly high unemployment continues to hang over America's economic psyche. And no matter how successful President Obama is at preventing a double-dip recession, the impact of high unemployment on the country's continued pessimism remains his political problem.

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 | Nov. 3, 2011
 Jobs Bills Fail in Senate Amid More Partisan Mud-Slinging As Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain finds himself immersed in allegations of sexual harassment, the government of Greece nears collapse and 14 million Americans are out of work, it's business as usual on the Senate floor with leaders of both parties taking daily pot shots at each other.

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 | Nov. 3, 2011
 Rice on Bush Years: 'We Were Under a lot of Stress and Strain' In a new memoir, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice details her experiences during turbulent times around the world while serving in the George W. Bush administration. Gwen Ifill and Rice discuss "No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington."

   

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 | Nov. 3, 2011
 Will a Generational Divide Define 2012 Election? With the 2012 presidential election a year away, the Pew Research Center examines the state of the American electorate and the divisions that fall along age lines. Judy Woodruff reports.

   

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 | Nov. 3, 2011
 Anybody But Romney? In national polls, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sits firmly in the 25 percent support range. So why is Romney having a hard time locking down front-runner status? When Patchwork Nation looks back to the last presidential campaign, we're not sure Romney's struggles within the GOP base are such a surprise.

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 | Nov. 3, 2011
 Cain Launches Blame Game, Regroups on Strategy Herman Cain has stopped talking about the sexual harassment allegations against him. It's a new strategy for the embattled GOP contender who has been leading in the polls for the last few weeks.

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 | Nov. 2, 2011
 Cain's Whole Message 'Consumed' by Harassment Claims Herman Cain faced a third day of scrutiny over sexual harassment allegations on Wednesday, when a third woman said he made inappropriate remarks to her during his time as the head of the National Restaurant Association. Ray Suarez discusses the new allegations and the political impact with Jeff Zeleny of The New York Times.

   

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 | Nov. 2, 2011
 Cain Struggles to Contain Sexual Harassment Story From the moment Politico broke the Herman Cain story on Sunday evening, it seemed inevitable that more facts and details would emerge about the claims of sexual harassment against the Republican presidential contender when he was CEO of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s.

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 | Nov. 1, 2011
 California Voters Fed-Up With Gridlock as Budget Crunch Lingers Spencer Michels reports from California, where the government gridlock is compounding concerns about the state's budget.

   

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 | Nov. 1, 2011
 Super Committee Urged to 'Go Big' on Deficit Cuts There are just over three weeks to go until the Congressional Super Committee's deficit reduction report is due. Kwame Holman provides an update on the progress.

   

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 | Nov. 1, 2011
 Gridlock Grips California Government Californians are discontented, to the point of disgust. They are angry at their government, especially the legislature, which is so polarized it couldn't agree on a budget until Gov. Jerry Brown slashed and burned state services. Spencer Michels reports.

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 | Nov. 1, 2011
 Cain's Consistency Questioned After Day of Public Appearances Heading into the second 24 hours of a candidacy consuming story, Herman Cain has several things going for him. Foremost, there have been no additional facts brought to light beyond what Politico initially reported Sunday evening about two women who claimed to have been on the receiving end of inappropriate behavior.

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 | OCTOBER Oct. 31, 2011
 Cain Confident He Can Win Nomination, Says Harassment Claims Are 'Baseless' In an interview with Judy Woodruff, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain said Monday that allegations that he sexually harassed two women were "baffling" and, that in his opinion, his behavior had not been inappropriate. He also discussed his foreign policy plans and his 9-9-9 tax plan.

   

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 | Oct. 31, 2011
 Herman Cain: Sexual Harassment Allegations Are 'Baffling' In an interview with The PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff on Monday afternoon, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain said allegations that he sexually harassed two women were "baffling" and, that in his opinion, his behavior had not been inappropriate.

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 | Oct. 31, 2011
 Cain Faces Scrutiny After Allegations of Sexual Harassment This was supposed to be the week that Herman Cain won over some establishment street cred without damaging his outsider brand. But it will most certainly not be the week Cain envisioned, as he's likely to face questions regarding a POLITICO story about two women who accused him of sexual harassment in the late 1990s.

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 | Oct. 28, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Obama's Standing With Voters, Cain's 'Authentic' Ad Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including where President Obama stands with voters ahead of next year's election, presidential hopeful Herman Cain's campaign ads and Texas Gov. Rick Perry's flat-tax proposal.

   

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 | Oct. 28, 2011
 Ala.'s Sen. Beason on Aborigines, 'the Clip' We asked Ala. state senator Scott Beason about some comments he made which some have called racist. In one, he referred to a casino's black patrons as 'aborigines'. And earlier this year, Beason told Alabama Republicans to "empty the clip and do what has to be done," in order to address illegal immigration.

 

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 | Oct. 28, 2011
 Pick Your Poison: How Compromise Ceased to Be a Choice It happened again the other day. Someone in the audience I was speaking to in Newark, N.J., wanted to know: "Is compromise too much to hope for in Washington?"

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 | Oct. 28, 2011
 Despite Rhetorical Gridlock, House Leaders Claim to Want a Deficit Deal A day after Democrats on the bipartisan supercommittee leaked a proposal to "go big" and reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years by cutting entitlement spending and raising taxes, Republicans introduced a counteroffer: $2.2 trillion in deficit reduction that includes cuts but no tax increases.

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 | Oct. 27, 2011
 Woodruff: Being Thankful for a Free Press Meeting and listening to three extraordinarily brave women journalists this week -- who face threats of violence and jail time for their reporting -- reminds us yet again how lucky we are to be able to work in a country with a free press.

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 | Oct. 27, 2011
 The Cain Conundrum He is leading in the national polls. He is running a close second to Mitt Romney in early and critical nominating states. His campaign claims it is raising more than $1 million per week. But Herman Cain can't seem to cross the critical threshold with the Republican establishment, the press and, most importantly, the voters.

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 | Oct. 26, 2011
 Super Committee Considers Spending Cuts, Tax Hikes as Deadline Looms With its Thanksgiving deadline drawing ever closer, the congressional deficit "super committee" held a rare public hearing Wednesday over its debt negotiations, but there have been few signs of progress in the members' efforts to cut more than $1 trillion from the federal budget. Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports.

   

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 | Oct. 26, 2011
 Obama's Student Loan Relief Plan: How Helpful Would it Be? President Obama outlined a plan to speed up help for millions of Americans struggling with the cost of higher education. Gwen Ifill discusses the president's effort to ease the burden of student loans with "Generation Debt" author Anya Kamenetz and Jeff Selingo of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

   

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 | Oct. 26, 2011
 Flat Taxes: How Would GOP Plans Affect Different Community Types? As the early stages of the 2012 campaign progress, a new question has come into play: Are the rich really different? Or, more specifically, should they be treated differently in the U.S. tax code?

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 | Oct. 26, 2011
 Romney Steps in Ohio Labor Fight, Endorses Collective-Bargaining Limits Mitt Romney made an about-face Wednesday during a campaign stop for Virginia Republicans and wholeheartedly endorsed an Ohio ballot measure that would restrict the right for public employees to bargain collectively.

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 | Oct. 26, 2011
 Romney Provides Fodder for Opponents After Ohio Visit Mitt Romney stopped by an Ohio Republican Party phone bank on Tuesday to support a get-out-the-vote effort for an off-year, big ballot initiative in a couple of weeks. The support he lent, however, appeared to be only rhetorical in nature.

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 | Oct. 25, 2011
 Perry's Last Bid to Regain the Right Texas Gov. Rick Perry came out of the gate in the 2012 Republican nomination process with a bang: After announcing his candidacy on Aug. 13, Perry dominated many of the polls by mid-September. He has since plunged in the polls.

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 | Oct. 25, 2011
 With 20% Flat-Tax Plan, Perry Eyes Distinction From GOP Field GOP hopeful and Texas Gov. Rick Perry unveiled his flat-tax proposal Tuesday at a South Carolina plastics plant. Judy Woodruff discusses his and other candidates' ideas for reforming the U.S. tax code with Stephen Moore of the conservative Club for Growth and Robert Kuttner, co-editor of The American Prospect magazine.

   

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 | Oct. 25, 2011
 The Perry Re-Launch With just over two months to go before the Iowa caucuses kick off the nominating process, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is in the midst of a campaign re-launch to get his White House bid back on course.

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 | Oct. 24, 2011
 Political Checklist: Perry's Flat Tax Plan and Obama's Executive Plan Senior Correspondents Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian discuss Texas Gov. Rick Perry's plans to announce a flat tax proposal -- a policy that Woodruff and Ifill say sounds like a simple solution, until voters look at the details.

   

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 | Oct. 24, 2011
 President Obama Moves From 'Pass This Bill' to 'We Can't Wait' White House advisers unveiled a new focus on executive actions President Obama can take in the face of congressional opposition to his jobs bill. Team Obama is moving from "pass this bill" to "we can't wait."

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 | Oct. 21, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on VP Switcheroos, Occupy Movement, World Series Picks Why are there rumors every presidential cycle that the incumbent will switch his (so far his) vice president out for someone else? Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times Columnist David Brooks weigh in on that idea as well as whether the Occupy Wall Street movement is a liability for President Obama.

 

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 | Oct. 21, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Iraq Withdrawal, Gadhafi's Demise, Feisty GOP Debate Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the killing of Moammar Gadhafi, President Obama's announcement of U.S. troops withdrawing from Iraq by the end of the year, plus the feistiest GOP presidential debate thus far.

   

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 | Oct. 21, 2011
 Why the End of Gadhafi May Not Help Obama At a time when nothing seems to be going right domestically for the no-longer-novice president, his presence on the international stage is looming ever larger. But how much does this help a president who is becoming so unpopular at home?

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 | Oct. 21, 2011
 Senate Blocks State Aid for Teachers, First Responders President Obama's plan to break his jobs bill into pieces doesn't seem to be enhancing the chances that legislation actually gets to his desk for his signature. The Senate blocked the first stand-alone measure, one that was aimed at providing states with federal aid to retain or hire teachers, police officers and firefighters.

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 | Oct. 20, 2011
 Romney, Perry Praise News of Gadhafi's Death Two of the leading Republican candidates to face President Obama in the presidential election next year cheered the news that ousted Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi had been killed -- in the midst of a campaign that has been largely dominated by the economy and domestic issues.

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 | Oct. 20, 2011
 Romney vs. Perry Battle Moves Off Stage The newly combative tone dominating the Republican nomination race is likely to stay with us for the next few months. In the 36 hours since the CNN debate in Las Vegas concluded, the skirmishing between the campaigns has remained at a boil.

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 | Oct. 19, 2011
 Heavyweights Romney, Perry Spar in Latest Debate; 9-9-9 Plan Draws More Scrutiny The clashes came early and often Tuesday night as seven Republican presidential contenders squared off in Las Vegas. Gwen Ifill recaps the eighth GOP debate and checks the accuracy of candidate statements with Political Editor David Chalian and Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post.

   

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 | Oct. 19, 2011
 Woodruff: GOP Candidates Spar Over Illegal Immigration Some of the most remarkable exchanges in Tuesday evening's GOP debate in Las Vegas came over immigration, making the debate at times seem like a contest to see who would be toughest at keeping outsiders out.

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 | Oct. 19, 2011
 GOP Contenders Clash in Feistiest Debate of the Year The Tuesday night debate in Las Vegas among seven Republican presidential hopefuls proved to be a far more contentious affair than any of the previous encounters.

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 | Oct. 18, 2011
 Frontline's 'Lost in Detention' Examines Immigration Policy Enforcement A year-long investigation by Frontline and the American University Investigative Reporting Workshop examines the current U.S. immigration enforcement system and stories of hidden abuse in detention centers.

 

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 | Oct. 18, 2011
 In Vegas, Stakes Are High as Republicans Set for Fifth Debate in Six Weeks As the 2012 Republican candidates prepare for Tuesday night's debate in Las Vegas, two new polls show why the battle for the nomination has thus far felt like a campaign of debates and little more.

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 | Oct. 17, 2011
 Outside Super PACs Poised to Dominate 2012 Spending When it comes to financing presidential campaigns, the money raised by individual candidates may count less in the 2012 election than past contests. Gwen Ifill discusses the potential might of the new super PACs with Tara Malloy of the Campaign Legal Center and the Heritage Foundation's Hans von Spakovsky.

   

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 | Oct. 17, 2011
 California 'Dream Act' Offers Undocumented Students Path to Higher Education On October 8 California governor Jerry Brown signed Bill AB131 into law, enabling undocumented students who meet state residency requirements to have access to state public funds for higher education.

 

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 | Oct. 17, 2011
 Occupy Wall Street Movement Expands to International Cities Following weeks of protests in New York and other cities in the United States, demonstrators took to the streets in locations around the world in similarly fashioned protests over the weekend, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

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 | Oct. 17, 2011
 Obama's Bus Tour Rolls On Despite Death of Jobs Bill President Obama heads out on the road Monday to kick off his three-day "American Jobs Act" bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia.

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 | Oct. 14, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Herman Cain, Occupy Movement, Detroit, iPhone 4S In this week's edition of The Doubleheader, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, New York Times columnist David Brooks and I chat about Herman Cain's surge in recent polls, the merits of his 9-9-9 plan of the plan by The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler) and the Occupy Wall Street movement's growth.

   

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 | Oct. 14, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Cain's Poll Surge, 'Hunger for Something Else' in GOP Race Columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's recent surge in the polls, how much religion is factoring into the GOP race for Mitt Romney and others, the lack of long-term economic fixes, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry's teetering support.

   

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 | Oct. 14, 2011
 Ohio Voters Weigh Repeal of Controversial Collective-Bargaining Law A controversial new Ohio law aimed at restricting the collective-bargaining rights of 360,000 unionized public employees has led to a major political fight and a voter referendum in this battleground state. Gwen Ifill reports on the issue that has both sides spending millions to mobilize their voters for an off-year election.

   

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 | Oct. 14, 2011
 Jobs Dominate Political Agenda for Obama, Republican Rivals Jobs dominated the political agenda for President Obama and his Republican rivals on Friday, as everyone seemed to agree on the need to do something but there was little agreement on what to do. Ray Suarez reports.

   

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 | Oct. 14, 2011
 Gwen's Take: The Danger of the Sweeping Conclusion Breaking news: Herman Cain has endorsed Mitt Romney. If that's news to you, it's because it happened four years ago.

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 | Oct. 14, 2011
 Rick Perry's Second Act Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, is set to begin his second act as a presidential contender Friday. After weeks of panned debate performances, plummeting poll numbers, and a controversy over Mitt Romney's religion injected into the campaign by a Perry supporter, the Texas governor plans to give his first major policy speech.

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 | Oct. 13, 2011
 GOP Lawmakers Counter Obama's Jobs Bill With Tax, Spending Reform Plan Responding and reacting to public calls for jobs, Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled their own jobs plan, "The Jobs Through Growth Act" -- one they say will create 5 million jobs.

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 | Oct. 13, 2011
 Cain Surges to Top of GOP Presidential Field Businessman Herman Cain has skyrocketed to the front of the GOP pack as former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney continues to struggle to broaden his appeal among Republicans, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

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 | Oct. 12, 2011
 Cain's 9-9-9 Plan, 'Romneycare' Scrutinized at Dartmouth Debate Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Godfather's Pizza chief executive Herman Cain took center stage at the Republican primary debate at Dartmouth College on Tuesday night. Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian recap the debate.

   

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 | Oct. 12, 2011
 Democrats Consider Piecemeal Approach to Blocked Jobs Bill Senate Republicans blocked the Democrats' version of President Obama's $450 billion jobs bill on Tuesday, saying it would not work and might make things worse. But the president and Democrats pledged to keep pushing for the legislation. Kwame Holman reports.

   

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 | Oct. 12, 2011
 Woodruff: GOP Contenders Point the Finger at Washington for Economic Woes One by one, each of the eight GOP contenders took turns attacking the federal government, even blaming Washington rather than Wall Street for the 2008 financial collapse.

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 | Oct. 12, 2011
 After GOP Blocks Obama Jobs Plan, Senate Dems Turn to Piecemeal Approach Senator Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said Wednesday that after progress on President Obama's jobs bill was blocked Tuesday, Democrats will introduce the jobs plan piece-by-piece in the hopes of finding provisions that Republicans will support.

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 | Oct. 12, 2011
 Romney's Strong Debate Performance Keeps Him On Course Despite being the focus of other contenders' questions, Mitt Romney delivered a smooth, confident, and commanding performance in a debate with seven of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination at Dartmouth College Tuesday night.

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 | Oct. 11, 2011
 Lawmakers Question Whether Obama's Jobs Bill Has the Right 'Forumla' Senate Republicans moved Tuesday to block President Obama's $447 billion jobs bill. Judy Woodruff leads a debate over the proposal, which includes a combination of tax cuts and infrastructure spending, with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

   

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 | Oct. 11, 2011
 Romney Urges Perry to 'Repudiate' Jeffress Remarks on Mormonism Chris Christie got right to work at his newest job Tuesday. Immediately upon ascending to star surrogate for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Christie fielded a reporter's question about the Perry-campaign-approved introducer at last week's Values Voters Summit, Pastor Robert Jeffress, and his calling Mormonism a "cult."

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 | Oct. 11, 2011
 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to Endorse Mitt Romney One week after ruling out a potential presidential bid, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie planned Tuesday to endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination. The announcement was expected to come at a 3 p.m. event in Lebanon, N.H., hours before GOP hopefuls were scheduled to debate at Dartmouth College.

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 | Oct. 10, 2011
 Mitt Romney's Mormonism Marks Tricky Territory for GOP Rivals After endorsing Gov. Rick Perry at the Value Voters Summit in Washing on Friday, Baptist minister Robert Jeffress focused on GOP candidate Mitt Romney's faith, saying, "Mormonism is a cult." Judy Woodruff discusses the role of religion in the Republican presidential race with the Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody.

   

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 | Oct. 10, 2011
 GOP Contenders Sidestep Controversial Comments About Mormonism Navigating spurts of massive media attention to his Mormon faith is nothing new for Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney. And he is once again, after a Baptist Pastor from Dallas, Robert Jeffress, referred to Mormonism as a "cult" shortly after introducing Gov. Rick Perry at the Values Voters Summit.

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 | Oct. 7, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Romney's Electability, Cain's 9-9-9 Plan, Wall St. Protests Columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including GOP contender Mitt Romney's foreign policy vision and electability, rival Republican candidate Herman Cain's "9-9-9" plan to overhaul the U.S. tax code, plus the Occupy Wall Street protests that are spreading beyond New York City.

   

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 | Oct. 7, 2011
 Romney: Voters Must Replace Obama to 'Keep America Strong and Get Back to Work' After outlining his foreign policy proposals Friday in South Carolina, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney sat down with Judy Woodruff to discuss his vision for a new "American century," how he would handle relations with Israel, President Obama's jobs bill and his opponents economic plans.

   

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 | Oct. 7, 2011
 Mitt Romney to Rick Perry: Show Us Your Economic Plan Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney sat down with Judy Woodruff Friday to discuss the war in Afghanistan, his GOP rivals and how he would get more Americans back to work. In this preview clip, Romney chides GOP rival and Texas Gov. Rick Perry for not releasing his economic plan.

 

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 | Oct. 7, 2011
 Romney Hopes for Faster Afghanistan Withdrawal if Generals OK Plan After outlining his foreign policy vision Friday at The Citadel, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney sat down with Judy Woodruff and discussed the war in Afghanistan, his GOP rivals and how he would get more Americans back to work. This is their complete interview. A shorter version aired on the NewsHour broadcast.

 

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 | Oct. 7, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Controlling The Stage: A Politician's Primer Politics is not an ego-free business. And why should it be? I got a taste of that this week as New Jersey's Chris Christie and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin took themselves out of presidential consideration.

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 | Oct. 7, 2011
 Romney Blasts Obama's Foreign Policy in Major Speech On Friday, Mitt Romney plans to turn his critiques of President Obama into a blistering campaign rallying cry when he takes the stage at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., for what his advisers describe as a major foreign policy speech.

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 | Oct. 6, 2011
 Obama to Congress: Vote on Jobs Bill or Find Better Idea President Obama called a news conference Thursday where he pressed members of Congress to vote for his jobs package or present a better idea. Judy Woodruff reports.

   

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 | Oct. 6, 2011
 Obama to Congress on Jobs Bill: 'This Is Not a Game' President Obama challenged members of Congress to vote for his $450 billion jobs plan or explain why not. "This is not a game," he said at a White House press conference.

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 | Oct. 6, 2011
 Morning Line: The Palin Primary Begins Perhaps the most astonishing part of Sarah Palin's decision not to seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination is how easily and completely it was overshadowed by the death of Steve Jobs.

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 | Oct. 5, 2011
 Dems Pitch New Plan to Fund Jobs Bill: A Tax on Millionaires Democratic leaders in the Senate proposed a surtax on millionaires on Wednesday to pay for President Obama's jobs bill. Jeffrey Brown discusses the move and its prospects with WNYC Radio's Todd Zwillich.

   

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 | Oct. 5, 2011
 Reid Pitches Tax on Those Making More Than $1 Million to Fund Jobs Plan Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has proposed replacing the tax increases offered by President Obama to pay for the president's $447 billion dollar jobs package with a surtax on millionaires -- raising the top rate to 39.6 percent on individuals with an adjusted gross income of more than $1 million.

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 | Oct. 5, 2011
 Woodruff: Comparing Wall Street Protesters to the Tea Party Fair or not, I keep comparing this week's protests on Wall Street and against corporate interests across the country with the tea party movement that first gained national attention in late 2008 and early 2009.

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 | Oct. 5, 2011
 Perry's $17 Million Fundraising Haul After weeks of playing defense on substance (Social Security, immigration) and style (three successively weak debate performances), the Perry campaign gets to boast of its splashy third quarter fundraising win with $17 million raised in just over half the three month period due to Perry's late entry into the race on August 13.

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 | Oct. 5, 2011
 Local Issues Trump National Politics as Tomblin Wins in West Virginia Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin, who took over as governor 11 months ago when Joe Manchin was elected to the Senate, withstood weeks of negative campaigning -- and millions of dollars spent by outside Republican interests -- to defeat GOP businessman Bill Maloney in Tuesday's special gubernatorial election.

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 | Oct. 4, 2011
 Christie Hangs Onto His Hat: What Happens to GOP Field? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Tuesday that he will not join the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Judy Woodruff discusses what his decision means for the campaigns of the rest of the GOP contenders with Political Editor David Chalian and Jeff Zeleny of The New York Times.

   

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 | Oct. 4, 2011
 House OKs Spending Bill to Avert Government Shutdown for Now The House of Representatives passed a stopgap spending measure Tuesday in a 352-66 vote, once again temporarily avoiding a government shutdown and potential backlash from voters.

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 | Oct. 4, 2011
 Christie: 'Now is Not My Time' New Jersey governor Chris Christie put to rest speculation that he might join the fray for the 2012 GOP nomination Tuesday in a new conference after weeks of entreaties, saying "In the end, what was always the right decision remains the right decision today: Now is not my time."

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 | Oct. 4, 2011
 Christie Reportedly Passes On 2012 Presidential Run New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has reportedly decided against running for president in 2012. Christie is set to make his intentions known at a 1 p.m. ET press conference in Trenton, N.J. Stay with the Rundown for updates.

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 | Oct. 3, 2011
 Political Checklist: Shifting GOP Primary Calendar and Rick Perry's Sign Problem This week Senior correspondents Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian consider whether the accelerated Republican primary calendar benefits the front-runner candidates at the expense of candidates who need more time to make their case to Republican voters.

   

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 | Oct. 3, 2011
 Perry's Sign Problem Could Spell Another Long Week Ahead Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. Rick Perry came under fresh scrutiny Sunday in the aftermath of a story published by the Washington Post detailing the existence of a racially charged sign at the entrance of a West Texas ranch leased by the governor's family.

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 | SEPTEMBER Sept. 30, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on al-Awlaki's Death, Occupy Wall St., Wildcard Wednesday Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks comment on the legality of killing Anwar al-Awlaki, the Occupy Wall St. protests and wildcard Wednesday in this episode of the Doubleheader.

   

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 | Sept. 30, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on al-Awlaki Killing, Florida's Primary Bid, Candidates' Styles Columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the possibility of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie joining the GOP 2012 field and Florida's bid to move its primary to January.

   

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 | Sept. 30, 2011
 Florida Moves Primary to January, Others Likely to Follow Florida is now first on the 2012 calendar, but it's not expected to stay there for very long.

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 | Sept. 30, 2011
 The Perry vs. Romney Battle Escalates As the political world awaits to compare the Romney and Perry 3rd quarter fundraising totals -- and to see Perry's promised better debate performance on October 11 -- the candidates themselves are doing anything but sitting quietly on the sidelines.

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 | Sept. 29, 2011
 Gingrich on New 'Contract With America,' Jobs, Brain Research, Elites After unveiling his "21st Century Contract with America," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spoke with Judy Woodruff about his policy proposals, including efforts to create jobs, ramp up research into brain science and overhauls of Medicare and Medicaid. This is the third in a series of conversations with GOP contenders.

   

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 | Sept. 29, 2011
 Perry Walks Back His Words On Immigration Defense Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, has been spending the better part of the last week cleaning up his Orlando debate performance. Wednesday he said it was "inappropriate" to refer to opponents of his Texas policy to allow illegal immigrant students in-state tuition as heartless.

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 | Sept. 28, 2011
 As Filing Deadlines Loom, Will Chris Christie Make Bid for Presidency? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is not yet running for president, but many Republicans are yearning for him to throw his hat into the ring. Judy Woodruff and Political Editor David Chalian discuss the likelihood that Christie will enter the race and the effect that would have.

   

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 | Sept. 28, 2011
 Calls for Christie to Run Echo Past Presidential Races This week's cries for New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie to jump into the race for president are just the latest in a long strand of entreaties to prominent political figures to "save" their party, and even the country, by joining the fray.

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 | Sept. 28, 2011
 Pennsylvania Electoral College Proposal Divides GOP Officals, Public Republican elected officials at the state and national level are divided over a proposal that would award the state's Electoral College votes during presidential elections based on congressional district -- instead of awarding all of the state's 20 votes to the winner of the entire state.

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 | Sept. 28, 2011
 Christie Listening to 'Every Word' of 2012 Encouragement Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., refused to definitively rule in or out a 2012 presidential run during a high-profile speech and Q&A session at the Reagan Presidential Library Tuesday evening. In fact, Christie was more explicit than ever before that he is considering taking the presidential plunge.

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 | Sept. 27, 2011
 Efforts to Woo Chris Christie Into the GOP Race Intensify It's decision time for Chris Christie, with entreaties coming his way from Republicans who are still actively seeking someone that they can get excited about (not Mitt Romney) -- who can also play to a general election electorate (perhaps not Rick Perry).

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 | Sept. 26, 2011
 Senate, House Deal on Track to Avert Government Shutdown The Senate moved toward striking a deal on a short-term funding bill that would keep the government operating through mid-November. Jeffrey Brown and David Chalian discuss the implications of the deal.

   

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 | Sept. 26, 2011
 After 100 Days as Chicago's Mayor, How Is Rahm Emanuel Faring? Late last year, Rahm Emanuel left his post at the White House to launch his successful bid for mayor of Chicago. WTTW's Eddie Arruza profiles the Windy City's new mayor after 100 days on the job.

   

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 | Sept. 26, 2011
 Candidate Obama Engages His GOP Opponents On Fundraising Swing President Obama began his three-day Western fundraising trip (containing seven events with an expected $8 million haul), shedding any pretense that the campaign season is not yet in full swing.

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 | Sept. 23, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Romney vs. Perry, Disaster Aid Deadlock in Congress Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including the latest debate among GOP 2012 hopefuls and the House showdown over disaster aid funding.

   

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 | Sept. 23, 2011
 Fla. Events Reveal Dividing Lines Between Perry, Romney Supporters A series of GOP events in Florida have further sharpened the divisions between the GOP 2012 hopefuls and their supports. Jim Lehrer and Judy Woodruff discuss the highlights of the GOP debate and other events.

   

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 | Sept. 23, 2011
 GOP Debate Recap: Candidates Seek to Draw Lines of Distinction Leading contenders, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, drew sharp lines of distinction between each other at the GOP debate in Orlando on Thursday night. Judy Woodruff reports.

 

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 | Sept. 23, 2011
 The Doubleheader: What's Obama's Real Goal for His Jobs Plan? Mark Shields and David Brooks join this week's Doubleheader guest host, NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian, to discuss the politics behind President Obama's ongoing campaign to get his jobs plan passed. Chalian asks why, if the plan has little chance of passing, is the president traveling around the country to promote it?

   

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 | Sept. 23, 2011
 Obama Offers States an Exit to Parts of 'No Child Left Behind' Law President Obama said on Friday that No Child Left Behind, which President Bush signed into law in 2002, is not working. Jeffrey Brown discusses the major changes to the law and what they mean for students and schools with Fairfax County Superintendent Jack Dale and Education Trust President Kati Haycock.

   

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 | Sept. 23, 2011
 Debate Night: When the Questions Count as Much as the Answers If you are a political junkie like me, there can never be too many candidates' debates. FOX? CNN? MSNBC? Have at it. The more they talk, the more we learn.

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 | Sept. 23, 2011
 Perry Delivers an Unsteady Performance at Republican Debate After his performance in Thursday night's debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his team will have to work overtime to assuage concerns among supporters, donors, voters, party poo-bahs and the press that he might not be ready for primetime.

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 | Sept. 22, 2011
 GOP Hopefuls Get Warmed Up for Florida Showdown Seven of the nine Republican presidential contenders who will take to the debate stage in Orlando Thursday night took part in an afternoon kick-off event for a meeting known as Presidency 5, giving the candidates -- and the party faithful -- a chance to warm up for the night's main event.

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 | Sept. 22, 2011
 Disaster Aid at Center of Funding Battle in House The latest battle over U.S. federal funding is a tug-of-war over disaster aid. Judy Woodruff discusses the battle, and fears that it could lead to a government shutdown, with The Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid.

   

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 | Sept. 22, 2011
 Readers Respond on the Question of Poverty in the U.S. My blog post last week raised questions about whether most journalists understand what life is like for the tens of millions of Americans who are living in poverty -- and provoked quite a few comments.

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 | Sept. 22, 2011
 Front-runners Romney, Perry Provide Debate Preview The two men in what has become a two-man race for the Republican presidential nomination each conducted national interviews Wednesday to help set the stage for Thursday night's debate in Orlando, Fla. If Rick Perry and Mitt Romney get their way, the debate will be "Obama Lite" vs. Electability.

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 | Sept. 21, 2011
 House Kills Spending Bill With Disaster Relief Funds A bill that would fund the U.S. government past Sept. 30 unexpectedly failed in the House of Representatives Wednesday evening as 43 Republicans broke with party leaders and Democrats objected to a cut to an electric-vehicle program they said will cuts jobs.

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 | Sept. 21, 2011
 Ron Paul Says His Campaign Exceeds His Own Expectations Texas Rep. Ron Paul said Wednesday that the great success of his campaign is forcing the Republican primary debate process to include the ideas he's talked about for years -- ideas that often have garnered little coverage.

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 | Sept. 21, 2011
 Perry, Romney Tee Off on Obama Over Palestinian Statehood President Obama may have thought he was leaving domestic squabbles behind when he headed for the U.N. General Assembly this week. But as the Palestinian Authority seeks statehood recognition at the United Nations, his Republican opponents seized the opportunity to portray his administration as not strong enough on Israel.

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 | Sept. 20, 2011
 President Obama's Deficit Plan Rallies His Base The political reaction to President Obama's deficit reduction plan has pretty much gone according to script. Republicans are charging the president with "class warfare," and Democrats are cheering the president for drawing the battle lines.

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 | Sept. 19, 2011
 Obama's Deficit Plan Hits Opposition on Hill, But Frames 2012 Fight President Obama on Monday called for $1.5 trillion in new taxes aimed at wealthy Americans as part of a plan to reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years. Gwen Ifill discusses the proposal with Phillip Swagel of the American Enterprise Institute and Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

   

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 | Sept. 19, 2011
 Political Checklist: GOP Calls Obama's Deficit-Reduction Plan 'Class Warfare' President Obama on Monday unveiled his new recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on deficit reduction -- a $3 trillion, 10-year package that would increase taxes on the wealthy and make some changes to entitlement programs.

 

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 | Sept. 19, 2011
 Obama Calls for Taxes on Wealthy in Deficit Reduction Plan President Obama will call for $1.5 trillion in new taxes as part of plan to find more than $3 trillion in savings.

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 | Sept. 19, 2011
 Watch Full Video: Obama Details Plan to Cut Deficit by $3 Trillion President Obama detailed his plan for deficit reduction in a speech Monday morning in the White House Rose Garden. Watch his full remarks and read House Speaker John Boehner's response to the plan.

 

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 | Sept. 16, 2011
 Brooks and Marcus on Prospects for Obama's Jobs Plan, Solyndra Saga New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus review top political news, including former Vice President Cheney's new memoir, the special election in New York, the GOP response to the president's jobs plan and more.

   

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 | Sept. 16, 2011
 Cheney Reflects on Civil Liberties, Terror Fight, Bush Team "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir" by former Vice President Dick Cheney chronicles his 40 years in American politics. Judy Woodruff and Cheney discuss the new book and much more.

   

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 | Sept. 16, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Searching for Bottom: Why Everybody Had A Bad Week By now it is old news that the President of the United States is in a deep political hole, with daylight growing ever farther away

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 | Sept. 16, 2011
 President Obama Puts Another Rough Week to Bed President Obama closes out another very tough week Friday, one in which he faced a continued stream of negative economic data, a Congress that doesn't seem eager to pass his jobs bill as is, an investigation of a botched green-tech stimulus program and an electoral rebuke in two House special elections.

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 | Sept. 15, 2011
 Recordings of Jacqueline Kennedy Offer Rare Glimpse of Life With JFK The new book, "Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life With John F. Kennedy," includes never before heard audio recordings of interviews conducted with the former first lady in 1964. Ray Suarez discusses the rare and intimate glimpse with presidential historian Michael Beschloss, who edited and annotated the book.

   

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 | Sept. 15, 2011
 Dem Senator Suggests Obama Jobs Plan Won't Pass in Full House Speaker John Boehner offered his first major response to President Obama's new American Jobs Act in a speech Thursday. Jeffrey Brown discusses the politics of job creation with Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.

   

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 | Sept. 15, 2011
 Boehner: 'Tax Increases Destroy Jobs' House Speaker John Boehner R-Ohio, responded to President Obama's $447 billion jobs plan Thursday at the Economic Club of Washington, where he stuck to themes of tax reform, a decrease in regulation and government spending cuts.

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 | Sept. 15, 2011
 Speaker Boehner to Present GOP's Economic Fixes One week after President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, plans to present his policy prescriptions for job growth and the economy.

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 | Sept. 14, 2011
 Failed Solar-Panel Company's Federal Loan Backing Sparks Congressional Probe Did the Obama administration inappropriately push along financial help for a now-bankrupt solar-panel company? Ray Suarez speaks with The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig about the details of the administration's public embrace of Solyndra, which is now the focus of a congressional probe.

   

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 | Sept. 14, 2011
 Can Obama, Democrats Overcome Economic Issue in 2012? Democrats lost two House races Tuesday when Republicans won special elections in New York City and Nevada. Gwen Ifill discusses what the results -- and some new polling -- mean with New York One's Errol Louis and NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian.

   

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 | Sept. 14, 2011
 Woodruff: With Poverty on the Rise, Are Reporters Getting the Whole Story? Washington has suffered some job loss, but less than the rest of the country; the same goes for New York, where much of the rest of the journalism establishment resides. We know a few who have lost work, but it's not an intimate part of our lives.

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 | Sept. 14, 2011
 Democrats Suffer Defeat on Home Turf in Special Election Democrats went 0-2 Tuesday night in the House special elections in New York City and Nevada. The results, especially the GOP upset in New York, are sending real fears throughout the Democratic Party about what can be done to avert similar disaster at the polls next November.

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 | Sept. 13, 2011
 'Tension City' Reflects on Jim Lehrer's Decades Moderating Presidential Debates In his new book, "Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain," NewsHour Executive Editor Jim Lehrer looks back at more than 40 years of televised political debates in America. Jeffrey Brown and Lehrer discuss his unique front-row seat to history as a 10-time presidential debate moderator.

   

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 | Sept. 13, 2011
 Rivals Put Rick Perry to the Test in Tea Party Debate At Monday night's CNN/Tea Party-sponsored event in Tampa, Fla., eight Republican presidential hopefuls were on stage, but the party's new front-runner, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, was the one put to the test by many of his rivals. Kwame Holman recaps the debate.

   

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 | Sept. 13, 2011
 How Do Tax Cuts, Hikes Fit Into Obama's American Jobs Act? President Obama continued to make a case for his American Jobs Act on Tuesday, but GOP leaders remain skeptical. Judy Woodruff discusses the tax aspect of the president's plan to spur job creation with two former top economic advisers, Austan Goolsbee and Martin Feldstein.

   

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 | Sept. 13, 2011
 Jim Lehrer on 'Tension' of Candidates, Moderators in Presidential Debates In his new book out Tuesday, NewsHour Executive Editor Jim Lehrer, known as "the dean of moderators," looks at more than 40 years of televised political debates in America and draws on his own presidential moderating experience since 1988.

 

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 | Sept. 13, 2011
 NY Dem Engel Says Special Election Shouldn't be About Israel While the seat vacated by Anthony Weiner has been safe for Democrats for years, their candidate, David Weprin, is behind in late polling to Republican Bob Turner -- raising the possibility that the party could lose a district that is dominated by registered Democrats.

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 | Sept. 13, 2011
 Perry Turns Into Punching Bag at Republican Debate It seems the old saying "Don't mess with Texas" doesn't apply to Republican presidential debates, as Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent much of Monday night's CNN/Tea Party-sponsored event in Tampa, Fla., under withering attack from many of his rivals on the stage.

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 | Sept. 12, 2011
 Would President Obama's Plan Create 'Right Kind' of U.S. Jobs? Flanked by workers in industries he says would be helped by his jobs plan, President Obama announced Monday that he was sending his American Jobs Act to Congress. Gwen Ifill discusses the plan's scope and expected effectiveness with Dartmouth College's Matthew Slaughter and the University of California, Berkeley's Robert Reich.

   

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 | Sept. 12, 2011
 Political Checklist: Will Republicans Support Obama's Jobs Plan? EmbedVideo;Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff take a look at the politics behind President Obama's new jobs plan: can he successfully frame opposition to his plan as opposition to economic recovery? And how will Republicans respond?

   

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 | Sept. 12, 2011
 Ahead of Debate, Perry Adjusts Approach to Social Security Texas Gov. Rick Perry is trying to "fix" a political problem he created for himself in the last Republican presidential debate. The front-runner for the nomination previews his adjusted approach to talking about Social Security in an op-ed in Monday's USA Today.

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 | Sept. 12, 2011
 Pawlenty Backs Former Rival Romney for President Tim Pawlenty was once seen as potentially the biggest threat to Mitt Romney's quest for the Republican presidential nomination. Today, the former governor of Minnesota has become Romney's most high-profile endorser to date.

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 | Sept. 9, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Obama's Jobs Speech, Perry's Debate Debut Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including President Obama's $447 billion jobs plan, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry sparring over Social Security and the economy at Wednesday's GOP debate, plus the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

   

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 | Sept. 9, 2011
 9/11's Fading Role in Political Conversation The terrorist attacks of 9/11 have wielded significant impacts on politics and war policy in the United States. -- but does that dialogue continue, 10 years later?

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 | Sept. 9, 2011
 Remembering a Morning of 'Chaos' on Capitol Hill On the morning of 9/11, I was in the House gallery broadcast booth readying for the day. It was a day much like any other. While driving in, I remembered remarking out loud what a crystal blue day it was.

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 | Sept. 9, 2011
 What Do You Want in a Jobs Plan? Before, during, and after President Obama's speech to Congress, we asked what you would include in a jobs plan.

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 | Sept. 9, 2011
 A Decade Since 9/11: Reporters Reflect on the Day That Changed Everything On the night of September 11, 2001 and for the nights, months and years that followed, we did as most Americans did -- hung flags on our front porches, wept for the lost lives, said a prayer or two. But we also observed and investigated and absorbed the events of the day that would change the jobs we do.

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 | Sept. 9, 2011
 Obama Takes Jobs Speech on the Road On Friday, President Obama will pick up where he left off after laying out his $447 billion American Jobs Act proposal to a joint session of Congress Thursday. Mr. Obama will head to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's hometown of Richmond, Va., to begin his sales pitch.

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 Analysts React: Can Obama's Plan Deliver on Job Growth, Bipartisan Support? President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to outline his plan for job creation. Judy Woodruff discusses the president's address with NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian, former Director of the Congressional Budget Office Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Center for American Progress' Heather Boushey.

   

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 Video, Analysis, Tweets: Obama's Jobs Speech President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress Thursday to outline his plan for job creation and reviving a stumbling economy.

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 Romney, Perry Sparring at Center of GOP Contenders' Debate Wednesday night's GOP debate focused most attention on the two leading contenders, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who sparred over their records on job creation. Ray Suarez recaps the debate and looks at where the contenders stand in the nomination fight after the latest round of debate.

   

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 Full Text: Obama Vows to Spur Job Creation, 'Jolt' Economy in Speech to Congress President Obama addresses a joint session of Congress on Thursday evening to outline his plan for job creation and reviving a stumbling economy. Below is the text of his remarks, as released by the White House. This page was updated on Sept. 10.

   

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 What Can Obama Do to Spur Job Creation? President Obama will address a joint session of Congress on Thursday evening to outline his plan for job creation and reviving a stumbling economy. Judy Woodruff previews the speech with former director of the Congressional Budget Office Douglas Holtz-Eakin and former economic adviser to Vice President Biden, Jared Bernstein.

   

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 What Job Seekers Are Hoping to Hear in Obama's Jobs Speech When President Obama outlines his jobs plan Thursday evening before a joint session of Congress, many of America's unemployed will be listening for specifics that will help them out of the unemployment line and into a job. We interviewed folks o find out what they are hoping the president will say in his speech.

   

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 Appeals Court Throws Out Health Reform Challenge In one of the biggest victories for President Obama's health care reform overhaul, a federal appeals court dismissed two high-profile cases questioning the law's constitutionality.

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 Cantor Tries Softer Tone Ahead of Obama Speech With President Obama set to address a joint session of Congress about his new jobs agenda, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said Thursday he was looking for areas of agreement .

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 | Sept. 8, 2011
 Perry, Romney Spar at Republican Debate It is far more often the case than not that hyped political events don't live up to expectations, but Wednesday night's GOP debate at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., was the exception that proves the rule.

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 | Sept. 7, 2011
 Brennan: Post-9/11, U.S. Has 'Right Balance' Between Civil Liberties, Security In an interview with Judy Woodruff, White House Chief Counterterrorism Adviser John Brennan discusses the strength of al-Qaida after the death or capture of high-level leaders and the difficult-to-detect threat of homegrown terror.

   

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 | Sept. 7, 2011
 How Will Perry Change Dynamic in GOP Debate? Before President Obama presents his plan to spur job creation on Thursday night, eight Republican hopefuls will debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian preview the debate, which will be the first to include GOP front-runner Rick Perry.

   

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 | Sept. 7, 2011
 Political Checklist: What Can Obama Accomplish in His Jobs Speech? David Chalian and Gwen Ifill preview two major political events. Wednesday night Republican presidential candidates face off in another debate - frontrunner Rick Perry's first. Thursday night President Obama will address a joint session of Congress to seek support for his new jobs plan.

 

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 | Sept. 7, 2011
 Perry-Romney Battle to Take Center Stage at Debate All eyes will be on Texas Gov. Rick Perry as he participates in his first debate of the presidential campaign Wednesday night. In just a little over three weeks, Perry has skyrocketed to the head of the pack and will be wearing the largest target at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.

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 | Sept. 6, 2011
 Romney Rolls Out Jobs Plan as Obama's Approval Rating Hit New Lows A pair of polls out Tuesday show that many Americans have deep concerns about President Obama's overall job performance and his handling of the economy. Judy Woodruff discusses the polls and the 2012 campaign, including Mitt Romney's new jobs plan, with NPR's Ari Shapiro.

   

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 | Sept. 6, 2011
 Romney's Jobs Road Map: Cut Taxes and Decrease Regulation Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney unveiled his jobs plan Tuesday -- a series of 59 ideas he claims will update America's economic plan to combat high unemployment while shrinking government.

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 | Sept. 6, 2011
 Romney to Prescribe Economic Fix and Unveil Jobs Plan As a new round of national polling out Tuesday tells us, there is nothing more top of mind for American voters than the issue of jobs and the economy. Mitt Romney has talked about the issue almost to the exclusion of all others throughout his campaign.

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 | Sept. 5, 2011
 Economic Slump Brought a 'Tough Year for Labor' How powerful are labor unions in the U.S.? Ray Suarez looks at the state of labor unions -- on a day honoring Americans who work -- with the Heritage Foundation's James Sherk, AFL-CIO's Thea Lee and The New York Times' Steven Greehouse.

   

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 | Sept. 5, 2011
 Obama Rallies Support for Jobs Speech as GOP Contenders Woo Voters in S.C. President Obama used a Labor Day event in Detroit to preview the jobs speech he'll give Thursday evening as Republican presidential contenders targeted the president, and each other, at a forum in South Carolina. Judy Woodruff and David Chalian assess what's at stake as the 2012 presidential campaign goes into full swing.

   

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 | Sept. 5, 2011
 Obama Rallies Support Ahead of Jobs Speech Ahead of a prime-time speech on Thursday on ways to spur job creation, President Obama delivered an address at a GM lot in Detroit, Mich. to gin up support for his plan. Several Republican presidential contenders also seized on the holiday to promote their economic platforms.

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 | Sept. 2, 2011
 Shields and Brooks(es) on Rick Perry vs. Mitt Romney, NCAA Football Scandals Mark Shields and David Brooks joined Hari Sreenivasan Friday for another edition of The Doubleheader, where the guys weigh in on the battle for the top spot in the Republican primary between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, as well as President Obama's highly anticipated jobs speech.

   

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 | Sept. 2, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on 'High Bar' for Obama's Jobs Speech, Funding Disaster Relief Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including the bleak August jobs report, what President Obama needs to say in his prime-time speech on job creation and who should foot the bill for relief efforts after disasters such as Hurricane Irene.

   

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 | Sept. 2, 2011
 Obama's Donor Base for 2012: What We Know, What We Don't President Obama's public approval numbers may be down, but he still has a large number of supporters -- and they are ponying up for his re-election bid. In the second quarter alone, he took in more than $33 million in individual campaign donations.

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 | Sept. 2, 2011
 Obama Drops Proposed Clean Air Rules President Obama has reversed course on proposed smog standards, a victory for business interests that had decried the smog restrictions on the grounds that they should be postponed -- until at least 2013 -- due to the recession.

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 | Sept. 2, 2011
 Split-Screen: The Art of Watching 2 Things at Once We have to face the facts. Our lives -- and most certainly our politics -- are becoming a series of split-screens. Do we follow the latest jobs numbers or the latest hurricane headed for the Gulf? The flooding in Vermont and New Jersey or the wildfires and drought in Oklahoma and Texas?

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 | Sept. 1, 2011
 Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Presidential 'Losers' How much do you know about failed presidential candidates who managed to change history -- despite failing in their bid to win the nation's highest office?

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 | Sept. 1, 2011
 Where the GOP Field's Money Comes From, What it Means Saying you like a candidate is one thing, but when your support turns into dollars, ah, there's the real vote of confidence. So with the almighty dollar as a guide, what do the bases of the top Republican contenders look like?

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 | AUGUST Aug. 31, 2011
 Labor Leader Trumka: Job-Creation Plans Require 'Boldness' When it comes to jump-starting the struggling U.S. economy, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka proclaimed Wednesday, "This is a time for boldness." The labor leader spoke at his union's annual Labor Day news conference in Washington.

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 | Aug. 29, 2011
 New Obama Economic Adviser Focused on Jobs, But Will Agenda Change? In light of President Obama's selection Monday of Princeton economist Alan Krueger as the new head of the Council of Economic Advisers, there were questions throughout policy and economic circles about just what kind of message the president is sending with his new nominee.

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 | Aug. 29, 2011
 Tar Sands Pipeline Plan Renews Energy vs. Environment Debate A proposed pipeline would carry oil from Canadian tar sands fields to Texas refineries, but the project has sparked high-profile protests. Jeffrey Brown discusses the controversial Keystone XL pipeline proposal with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research's Robert Bryce and environmentalist Bill McKibben.

   

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 | Aug. 29, 2011
 Proposed Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Elicits Protests At organized sit-ins in recent weeks, demonstrators gathered at the White House to voice their objections to the controversial pipeline, citing concerns over the environmental impacts of the $7 billion proposal. View a map of its path.

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 | Aug. 26, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Rick Perry's Rise, Cheney's Book and Peyton Manning It has been forever and a day since we got the band back together.

   

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 | Aug. 26, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on GOP's Zeitgeist, Whether Obama Gets Credit for Libya Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry's leapfrog over Mitt Romney in the national polls and whether President Obama deserves -- or is getting -- credit for helping topple Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

   

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 | Aug. 26, 2011
 Environment vs. Economy in 2012 In every election there are a few issues that shape the look and feel of the campaign, and even in the earliest stages of the 2012 race, one issue has emerged: economy vs. environment. Many GOP hopefuls have already made a point of talking about the voter concerns as a choice -- the economy and jobs or environmental regulation.

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 | Aug. 26, 2011
 Remembering and Reimagining August 28, 1963 Somewhere in that sea of optimistic humanity on August 28, 1963 was my father, who had boarded a bus with a group of other African-American preachers to be there for what came to be known as the "I Have A Dream" speech.

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 | Aug. 26, 2011
 Despite Perry's Gains, Romney Remains Strong in Florida This week saw Texas Gov. Rick Perry leapfrog Mitt Romney in the national polls, but the former governor of Massachusetts is still holding on strong in the key battleground state of Florida.

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 | Aug. 25, 2011
 Huntsman: I Can 'Put the Numbers Together to Actually Win in 2012' In an interview Thursday with Jeffrey Brown, presidential hopeful and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said that wealthy Americans will need to share sacrifices to help get the U.S. economy back on track. He also discussed the latest developments in Libya, extending the payroll tax cuts and his rivals for the Republican nomination.

   

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 | Aug. 25, 2011
 Huntsman: I Wouldn't Hesitate to Call on Rich to Sacrifice In an interview Thursday morning with The PBS NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown, GOP presidential hopeful and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Americans of all income levels -- including the wealthy -- will need to share sacrifices to revive the American economy.

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 | Aug. 25, 2011
 Texas Gov. Rick Perry: The GOP's New Front-runner Texas Gov. Rick Perry opened up a 12-point advantage over Mitt Romney in the latest Gallup survey released Wednesday, despite -- or perhaps a result of -- a campaign launch marked by controversy.

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 | Aug. 24, 2011
 Debating the Politics of Confirming President Obama's Judicial Nominees At this point in his presidency, the pace of President Obama's judicial appointees being confirmed is behind that of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Judy Woodruff discusses the politics of confirmation with Curt Levey of the Committee for Justice and Caroline Fredrickson of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

   

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 | Aug. 24, 2011
 Why the Sioux Are Refusing $1.3 Billion Members of the Great Sioux Nation could pocket a large sum set aside by the government for taking the resource-rich Black Hills away from the tribes in 1877. But leaders say the sacred land was never, and still isn't, for sale.

 

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 | Aug. 24, 2011
 Poll: Perry Moves to Front of GOP Pack Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a double-digit lead on previous frontrunner Mitt Romney in the survey of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents on which candidate they are likely to support for the GOP nominee for president in 2012.

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 | Aug. 24, 2011
 Jeb Bush: 'You Can't Just Be Against the President' Democrats may have used the strategy to win elections in 2006 and 2008, but Jeb Bush has a stern message for those seeking the GOP nomination in 2012: "You can't just be against the president."

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 | Aug. 23, 2011
 News Wrap: Stocks Gain Amid Hopes of New Fed Stimulus Program In other news Tuesday, Wall Street shot back up amid speculations that the Federal Reserve might try a new stimulus program. Also, Hurricane Irene swept past the Turks and Caicos Islands with the southeastern Bahamas next in its path. It marks the first hurricane in three years to seriously threaten the United States.

 

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 | Aug. 23, 2011
 GOP Presidential Hopefuls Cautiously Cheer Gadhafi's Fall Republican presidential hopefuls, irrespective of their initial policy position on U.S. military action in Libya, all praised Moammar Gadhafi's removal from power as a positive development. Unsurprisingly, none of the contenders gave President Obama any credit for initiating the policy that helped achieve that desired goal.

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 | Aug. 22, 2011
 'Americans Elect' Group Challenges U.S. Presidential Primary Process A nonprofit organization called Americans Elect is aiming to host an online national political convention and upend the way candidates are nominated for the U.S. presidency. Judy Woodruff reports on the latest attempt to push American politics away from a system dominated by two parties.

   

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 | Aug. 22, 2011
 Among GOP Field, Huntsman Stakes Out the Center Jon Huntsman and his campaign team seem to have come to the conclusion that remaining invisible in the GOP presidential nomination battle isn't an option that allows for success.

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 | Aug. 19, 2011
 Marcus and Gerson on GOP Candidates' Language, Presidential Vacations Washington Post columnists Ruth Marcus and Michael Gerson, sitting in for NewsHour regulars David Brooks and Mark Shields, weigh in on the week's top political news, including Rick Perry's first week on the presidential campaign trail, President Obama's Midwestern bus tour and where and when presidents should take vacations.

   

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 | Aug. 19, 2011
 Homeland Security to Focus on Deporting Criminals Under New Immigration Rules The Obama administration on Friday unveiled new immigration rules, which will allow the Department of Homeland Security to focus more on deporting criminals. Ray Suarez discusses the new rules with Dan Stein of the Federation for American Immigration Reform and Angela Maria Kelley of the Center for American Progress.

   

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 | Aug. 19, 2011
 Huntsman Seeks to Steal Some of Perry's Spotlight In a move that is far more about trying to gain some attention and traction than it is about a desire to have a full-fledged policy debate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman tweeted the most aggressive and sharp contrast within the GOP field since the race began.

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 | Aug. 18, 2011
 Obama's Approval Rating Hits New Low on Economy President Obama's approval rating on his handling of the economy has sunk to a new, very low 26 percent, according to a Gallup poll out Wednesday, 11 points lower than the same poll recorded in mid-May.

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 | Aug. 17, 2011
 'Tough Guy' Rick Perry Makes Waves on Republican Campaign Trail Texas Gov. Rick Perry entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination just days ago, but he is already making waves by touting his state's job growth and low taxes as a model for the nation. Judy Woodruff discusses the background and style of the newest official GOP hopeful with Paul Burka of Texas Monthly.

   

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 | Aug. 17, 2011
 Campus and Careers Counties Brace for Potential Debt-Ceiling Deal Fallout Some winners and losers have begun to emerge from the debt-ceiling deal to cut trillions of dollars from the U.S. budget. In Patchwork Nation, the high-tech university centers known as Campus and Careers are likely to take a series of hits and that could spell trouble for Democrats who rely on these counties for support.

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 | Aug. 17, 2011
 Obama to Present Jobs Plan in Post-Labor Day Speech In addition to flooding the airwaves and newspapers with images of President Obama in the heartland hearing from rural and small-town Americans, the White House informed reporters Wednesday that the president plans to give a major jobs speech immediately after the Labor Day holiday on Sept. 5.

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 | Aug. 16, 2011
 Iowans on What They Know and Want to Know About Rick Perry, GOP Field Texas Gov.

   

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 | Aug. 16, 2011
 News Wrap: Rick Perry Takes Heat for Criticism of Fed's Stimulus Effort In other news Tuesday, GOP hopeful Rick Perry criticized the Federal Reserve's economic stimulus efforts and warned that the Fed's chairman would be in trouble if he injects more money into the system. Also, the U.S. military estimated that millions of dollars in security funds for Afghanistan have been acquired by the Taliban.

 

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 | Aug. 16, 2011
 President Obama to Unveil Economic Plan in September During a trip to Iowa on Monday, President Obama announced that in September he will unveil "a very specific plan to boost the economy, to create jobs and to control our deficit."

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 | Aug. 15, 2011
 5 Questions for David Chalian on Election 2012 Michele Bachmann's poll ratings, third party candidates and a "boring" political fight? NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian tackles some of your questions on the election season in this Q&A.

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 | Aug. 15, 2011
 How 'Bloody' Will GOP Nomination Fight Get? The GOP presidential field reshuffled over the weekend when Texas Gov. Rick Perry joined the race, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty dropped out and Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Ames Straw Poll. Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian discuss the GOP contenders and President Obama's campaign-style Midwestern bus tour.

   

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 | Aug. 15, 2011
 Political Checklist: The GOP Field After Ames Fresh off the campaign trail in Iowa, Gwen Ifill and David Chalian talk to Judy Woodruff about their experience covering the Ames Straw Poll, Tim Pawlenty's exit and Rick Perry's entrance to the race. We also get a look at some of the Iowa State Fair food David and Gwen sampled.

   

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 | Aug. 15, 2011
 Reshuffled Republican Field Takes Form With Texas Gov. Rick Perry's entrance into the race, Tim Pawlenty's departure from it and Rep. Michele Bachmann's weekend straw poll victory solidifying her top-tier Iowa status, the dynamics driving the battle for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination began to solidify.

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 | Aug. 14, 2011
 Pawlenty Drops White House Bid Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced Sunday he is ending his campaign for the White House.

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 | Aug. 13, 2011
 Bachmann Victorious in Iowa Straw Poll; Paul Places Second Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann took her surging candidacy to a new level by taking first place in the Iowa Straw Poll with 4,823 votes. Texas Rep. Ron Paul came in a very close second with 4,671 votes. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty placed a distant third with 2,293 votes.

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 | Aug. 12, 2011
 Shields, Lowry on GOP Hopefuls in Iowa, Obama's Tough Times Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and National Review Editor Rich Lowry weigh in on the week's top political news, including the outcome of the Republican debate in Iowa, Mitt Romney's front-runner campaign style, Rick Perry's presidential campaign strategy, the new deficit super committee and some bad weeks for President Obama.

   

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 | Aug. 12, 2011
 How Will Iowa Straw Poll Shape GOP Field? After Thursday night's Republican debate in Iowa, GOP presidential hopefuls headed to the State Fair to court voters ahead of Saturday's GOP straw poll. Judy Woodruff discusses how the debate played out and what's expected in the weekend poll with Gwen Ifill.

   

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 | Aug. 12, 2011
 GOP Hopefuls Woo Iowans at State Fair Ahead of Straw Poll After a long night of debating each other, the Republican 2012 hopefuls flocked to the famous Iowa State Fair for the fried food, amusement rides and potential voters. Gwen Ifill reports from Des Moines.

   

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 | Aug. 12, 2011
 Gwen's Take: And They're Off: The GOP Campaign, in Full Effect DES MOINES, Iowa | About halfway through my grilled pork chop on a stick at the State Fair, I was reminded why covering politics in Iowa is so different than anywhere else.

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 | Aug. 12, 2011
 Pawlenty, Bachmann Have Most at Stake in Straw Poll The Iowa GOP Straw Poll has a terrible track record at predicting the winner of the caucuses the following year. In fact, the winner of the Republican caucuses is often not the party's eventual presidential nominee. But those facts won't alter the outsized attention this weekend's festivities will receive.

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 | Aug. 12, 2011
 Woodruff: America's Growing Disillusion with Washington If there was ever a time Americans would be justified in throwing their shoe -- or something a lot heavier -- at the TV set, radio or whatever device brings them the latest news from Washington , now would be that moment.

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 | Aug. 12, 2011
 Pawlenty, Bachmann Square Off in Debate Ahead of Iowa Straw Poll "Minnesota nice" went out the window Thursday night when former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann, both Republicans from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, took each other on directly in a manner that clearly suggested each one sees the other as their main obstacle to a strong showing at the Iowa Straw Poll on Saturday.

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 | Aug. 11, 2011
 In Absentia, Perry Manages to Steal Some Thunder From GOP's Iowa Debate Following months of speculation, a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced Thursday that he will join the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Judy Woodruff and David Chalian discuss Perry's impact on the Republican field and preview Thursday night's GOP presidential debate in Iowa.

   

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 | Aug. 11, 2011
 Bipartisan Deficit Super Committee to Play by Different Rules Than Congress House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi named three Democrats to the 12-member Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction on Thursday. Margret Warner discusses the committee's members, its unique rules and its deficit-reduction goals with Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and NPR reporter Andrea Seabrook.

   

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 | Aug. 11, 2011
 Berwick Recess Appointment Part of a 'Fundamentally Broken' System If most Americans haven't heard much about the man who now oversees two of the nation's biggest entitlement programs -- Medicare and Medicaid -- it's in part due to the political fight surrounding his appointment.

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 | Aug. 11, 2011
 Ask Political Editor David Chalian Your Questions on Iowa Straw Poll, 2012 With the Iowa Straw Poll set for this weekend and news that Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be contending for the Republican presidential nomination, NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian is taking your questions about the state of the 2012 election.

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 | Aug. 11, 2011
 Guide to the Super Committee The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction -- otherwise known as the "super committee" -- is charged with putting a plan forward to cut at least $1.5 trillion from the U.S. deficit.

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 | Aug. 11, 2011
 Pelosi Picks Leadership Democrats for Super Committee House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced Thursday her selections for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, rounding out the group of 12 with three prominent Democrats.

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 | Aug. 11, 2011
 Iowa Debate, Straw Poll Will Set Stage for Fall Campaign Eight candidates seeking the 2012 Republican presidential nomination will debate Thursday night in Iowa. The most significant development in the race since most of these competitors last squared off in June has been President Obama's weakened support among voters amid an unpopular debt deal and persistently weak economy.

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 | Aug. 10, 2011
 Wis. Voters Weigh in With 'Mixed Verdict' for GOP, Democrats Wisconsin Republicans defied a bid to oust them from control of the state Senate Tuesday in recall battles waged fiercely by anti-tax groups and public employee unions. Margaret Warner discusses the meaning of the recall results and the Badger State's political direction with Craig Gilbert of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

   

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 | Aug. 10, 2011
 McConnell, Boehner Announce Super Committee Picks Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner announced the appointees from their respective chambers to serve on a joint committee to address debt, one of the conditions of last week's deal to avoid default.

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 | Aug. 10, 2011
 What Does the Wisconsin Recall Fight Reveal About the Electorate? The Democrats came close in their recall fight in the Wisconsin state senate, but they wound up a seat short -- two wins in six tries. So the upper chamber in Madison stays in the hands of the GOP -- and there is still another set of votes next week, where two Democrats face recall challenges.

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 | Aug. 10, 2011
 Wisconsin Republicans Keeps Control of State Senate Democrats in Wisconsin came up one seat short of ousting Republicans from control of the state Senate in Tuesday's recall elections.

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 | Aug. 9, 2011
 Fed's Rate Freeze Punctuates Day of Wild Market Trading The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday that it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero for the next two years, where it's been since December 2008. Judy Woodruff discusses how the markets reacted to the announcement with Mesirow Financial's Diane Swonk and Neil Irwin of The Washington Post.

   

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 | Aug. 9, 2011
 Wall Street Whiplash: Markets Rebound as Investors Push Aside Fears, for Now Wall Street rallied sharply late Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average rebounding more than 500 points in the hours before the closing bell. But that only came after a long day of market gyrations. Judy Woodruff reports.

 

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 | Aug. 9, 2011
 Texas Gov. Perry Looks to Steal Some Thunder As soon as advisers to Texas Gov. Rick Perry confirmed that he would make his presidential intentions clear this weekend at stops in South Carolina and New Hampshire, the Iowa GOP Straw Poll took a bit of a hit.

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 | Aug. 8, 2011
 Iowa GOP Chair: Fluid Field May Give Straw Poll Greater Impact AMES, Iowa | "This is a great week to be an Iowa Republican," a grinning Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn told a cluster of national and local reporters Monday afternoon.

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 | Aug. 8, 2011
 Dow Closes Down 600 Points in Worst Day Since 2008 Stocks plummeted Monday in their worst showing since 2008, sending the Dow below 11,000 and rattling investor confidence in the latest hit to the U.S. economy. The dive follows Friday's news that Standard & Poor's was downgrading the United States' AAA credit rating.

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 | Aug. 8, 2011
 Obama: Economic Problems Stem From a 'Lack of Political Will' In a televised statement Monday, President Obama acknowledged concern over Standard & Poor's downgrading of the United States' credit rating but indicated it was a wake-up call for Washington as much as an economic shift.

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 | Aug. 8, 2011
 Political Checklist: Credit Downgrade Fallout and GOP's Iowa Straw Poll Political Editor David Chalian and Judy Woodruff discuss the political fallout from Standard & Poor's decision Friday evening to downgrade the U.S. credit rating and examine which political party stands to lose from the downgrade. Chalian also previews his trip to Iowa this week for the Republican straw poll.

 

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 | Aug. 8, 2011
 Credit Downgrade Becomes Political Football The intensity and scale of the Obama administration pushback against Standard & Poor's downgrading of America's credit-worthiness from AAA to AA+ has been swift and severe. So, too, are the potential consequences.

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 | Aug. 5, 2011
 S&P Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating From AAA for First Time Hours after U.S. markets closed Friday, credit rating agency Standard & Poor's announced it downgraded the credit rating of the United States for the first time in the ratings' history.

 

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 | Aug. 5, 2011
 Underground Protest Organization Coming Online From Syria The Syrian uprising is escalating as the size, number and geographic range of protests have continued to increase day-by-day. We have a conversation with "Alexander Page" - a spokesman for the week-old organization calling itself the Coalition of Free Damascenes for Peaceful Change,

 

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 | Aug. 5, 2011
 Shields and Douthat on Disdain for Washington After Debt Deal, FAA Showdown Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist Ross Douthat sort through the week's top political news, including their takes on the American public's disgust with Washington, the July jobs report and the partial FAA shutdown.

   

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 | Aug. 5, 2011
 News Wrap: Syrian Regime Proclaims Victory in Hama Crackdown In other news Friday, the Syrian government continued to open fire on demonstrators calling for an end to President Bashar Assad's regime. And at least seven people were killed by troops in a Mogadishu camp for famine victims when looting began during food distribution.

 

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 | Aug. 5, 2011
 Gwen's Take: All the King's Horses and All the King's Men As some of the steam cools from the vitriolic debt-ceiling debate, Washington is left to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. It is not clear anyone knows how.

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 | Aug. 5, 2011
 Woodruff: Dissecting the Dysfunction It's possible we'll look back on this period at some distant time in the future and smile, but right now, that's hard to imagine.

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 | Aug. 5, 2011
 President Obama Can Tout Improved Jobless Rate When President Obama heads to the Washington Navy Yard Friday to speak about getting America's veterans into the workforce, he'll have some forward progress to tout on the overall unemployment rate.

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 | Aug. 4, 2011
 Bloomberg: Americans Worry That U.S. Is Losing Competitive Edge On Thursday's NewsHour, Jeffrey Brown interviews New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg about his new plan to tackle the disadvantages facing young black and Latino men in schooling and jobs. Brown also asked Bloomberg about Thursday's market sell-off and the overall state of the economy.

 

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 | Aug. 4, 2011
 FAA Shutdown Coming to an End, But Funding Fight Still Looms Congressional leaders announced Thursday they had reached a bipartisan agreement to temporarily extend funding for the Federal Aviation Administration, which would end the nearly two-week partial shutdown but leave long-term funding in question. Jeffrey Brown discusses the deal with Public Radio International's Todd Zwillich.

   

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 | Aug. 4, 2011
 Reid: Deal Made to End FAA Shutdown Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday afternoon that a bipartisan compromise has been reached to end the partial Federal Aviation Administration shutdown that put thousands of transportation and construction workers out of work indefinitely.

 

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 | Aug. 4, 2011
 Cutting the Debt - and Federal Jobs - as Unemployment Rises As Congress looks to cut spending, an obvious target is trimming the federal payroll. But there are about 2 million federal employees and 85 percent of them work outside the Washington, D.C., metro area. Patchwork Nation examines where the federal jobs are and how cuts could ripple across the country.

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 | Aug. 4, 2011
 'Super Committee' Picks Pose Tough Challenges for Leaders The moment President Obama signed into law the Budget Control Act of 2011, congressional leaders were immediately presented with a new deadline: 14 days to decide which lawmakers they would appoint to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction created under the freshly-inked deal.

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 | Aug. 3, 2011
 After Long Debt Battle, Is Current Version of U.S. Government Sustainable? After many months of heated debate, Washington was finally able to compromise on a debt deal to avert a government default this week. Judy Woodruff discusses how the battle over the debt ceiling compares to other politically polarized times with Yale University's Beverly Gage and Harvard University's David King.

   

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 | Aug. 3, 2011
 Tepid Economy at Heart of Global Market Volatility At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Obama said the debt deal had averted "a massive blow" to the economy, but it wound up being another rocky day for global markets. Jeffrey Brown discusses the latest on the markets and the economy with Liz Ann Sonders of Charles Schwab & Co. and PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian.

   

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 | Aug. 3, 2011
 Obama Takes Economic Team on Burger Run After Debt-Limit Deal A day after signing a compromise debt-ceiling bill into law, President Obama took his economic advisers to lunch at a Capitol Hill burger joint.

 

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 | Aug. 3, 2011
 With Debt Deal Done, Obama Turns to Re-election Campaign President Obama took to the Rose Garden on Tuesday afternoon to publicly put the debt and deficit deal behind him and point the spotlight once again on jobs. One job that the president will clearly be focused on Wednesday is his own.

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 | Aug. 2, 2011
 Raise the Roof: Debt Crisis Averted, But Debate Far From Over The Senate passed a bipartisan agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and cut spending Tuesday. President Obama quickly signed the deal, but it couldn't stop a sell-off on Wall Street. Jeffrey Brown discusses the compromise bill with University of California, Berkeley's Robert Reich and Stanford University's John Taylor.

   

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 | Aug. 2, 2011
 White House Releases an Inside View of the Debt Negotiations The White House released 20 photos Tuesday of the closed-door negotiations with Congressional leaders over the debt deal. President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 on Aug. 2.

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 | Aug. 2, 2011
 Senate Passes Debt Deal, Ends Crisis Hours Before Default President Obama said Tuesday afternoon that the emergency default-prevention bill that cleared both houses of Congress in the past day is merely a first step toward making sure the nation lives within its means.

 

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 | Aug. 2, 2011
 Watch Live: Obama to Make Statement at 12:15 p.m. ET President Obama is expected to deliver a statement at 12:15 p.m. ET in the Rose Garden of the White House.

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 | Aug. 2, 2011
 Most Americans See 'Ridiculous' Process in Washington House Speaker John Boehner got his votes. He passed a debt limit increase tied to significant deficit reduction with two-thirds of his conference supporting the bill. He only lost 28 of those 87 House freshmen and, most importantly for his legacy, he avoided becoming the face of default and potential economic calamity.

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 | Aug. 1, 2011
 Amid Debt-Ceiling Drama, Interest Rates Have Hardly Followed the Script On Wall Street, stocks initially rallied Monday on the news of a debt-ceiling deal, but a weak report on manufacturing killed the surge. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports on the financial world's reactions to the drama over a debt deal as part of his series on Making Sen$e of financial news.

   

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 | Aug. 1, 2011
 From Left and Right, Opposition to Debt Deal Remains As the Senate prepares to take up a compromise bill to raise the national debt ceiling, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are noting their opposition to the compromise. Jeffrey Brown discusses the opposing arguments with Reps. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., and Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.

   

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 | Aug. 1, 2011
 White House Demands Revenues in Next Steps of Deficit Battle The debt-ceiling deal hammered out by President Obama and congressional leaders over the weekend passed the House late Monday and is set for a Senate vote midday on Tuesday. Judy Woodruff discusses the deal and the ongoing debate in Washington with Jack Lew, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget.

   

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 | Aug. 1, 2011
 Biden Says Dems Frustrated with Bill, but Expects it to Pass Vice President Joe Biden met with separately with House and Senate Democrats to try to sell them on the debt limit deal agreed to by President Obama and other congressional leaders Sunday night.

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 | Aug. 1, 2011
 Can Leaders Find Enough Votes for Debt Ceiling Agreement? If members of Congress from both parties and in both chambers follow their leaders, the United States is all but assured of avoiding default thanks to a last-minute agreement reached with President Obama on Sunday.

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 | JULY July 30, 2011
 President Obama Announces Deal to Raise Debt Ceiling President Obama announced Sunday evening that he had reached an agreement with party leaders in Congress that will cut the deficit, raise the debt ceiling and create a bipartisan, bicameral committee of members of Congress to identify further deficit cuts.

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 | July 29, 2011
 Boehner Bill Passes House, Focus Shifts to Senate House Republicans rallied enough conservatives Friday evening to pass Speaker John Boehner's debt-limit bill after days of delay. Senate Democrats say the bill will not pass in that chamber, but it is likely to be used as a legislative vehicle to pass a new compromise bill in the Senate.

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 | July 29, 2011
 Shields and Gerson on Debt Bill Scramble, Reid's Next Moves Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson dissect the week's top political news, including lawmakers' race against the clock to avoid default.

   

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 | July 29, 2011
 Senate Plots Next Moves on Debt Limit in Race to Avoid Default Senate Democrats vowed to stay in session around the clock to resolve the debt crisis on Friday. House Republicans modified their plan and President Obama appeals again for compromise. Judy Woodruff and David Chalian discuss the latest on the stalemate on Capitol Hill.

   

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 | July 29, 2011
 How Will New Fuel Efficiency Rules Affect Consumers? President Obama, flanked on stage by executives from the country's leading automakers, announced new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks Friday that would double the current requirement to 54 mpg.

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 | July 29, 2011
 Senate Dems Slam New Boehner Plan, Ask McConnell for Help Senate Democratic leaders angrily denounced Speaker Boehner's new debt-limit bill Friday, saying it was dead on arrival in the Senate, and called on Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to help them come up with a bipartisan agreement before the end of the day.

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 | July 29, 2011
 Boehner Bill May Be Revived in House Several House Republicans exiting a closed door meeting in the basement of the Capitol Friday morning said that House Speaker John Boehner was altering his debt-limit bill in a way that would allow it to pass, just hours after House leadership failed to secure enough votes for the plan.

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 | July 29, 2011
 Debating the Debate: When Words Substitute for Action As Washington's debt ceiling debate approaches its deadline, those of us who watch and cover it anxiously await its drop-dead date. Or skyrocketing interest rates. Huge tax hikes. Bottom lines. Gimmicks. Smoke and mirrors. Ticking clocks. You name it, someone has said it.

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 | July 29, 2011
 President Obama: 'Plenty of Ways Out of This Mess' The morning after House Speaker John Boehner failed to secure enough support to hold a vote on his debt-limit plan in the House, President Obama made a statement to the press Friday, calling the situation "increasingly urgent" with the debt ceiling deadline now four days away.

 

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 | July 29, 2011
 Decision to Delay Debt Vote Produces Only Losers Thursday night's decision by Republican leaders to scrap a vote to raise the debt ceiling dealt House Speaker John Boehner a stunning loss, despite the fact that the plan's prospects had been uncertain given the strident opposition among GOP conservatives and a united wall of Democratic dissent.

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 | July 29, 2011
 House GOP's Vote Delay on Boehner Plan Adds Uncertainity to Debt Endgame House Republicans failed to secure the support necessary to pass Speaker John Boehner's debt-limit increase plan Thursday night, forcing the GOP leadership to delay a vote on the measure as the United States inches toward its borrowing limit.

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 | July 28, 2011
 Bachmann's 'Titanium Spine' Doesn't Bend Under Questioning Rep. Michele Bachmann took to the podium Thursday in Washington at a sold-out National Press Club luncheon to restate her commitment against voting for a debt ceiling increase and take questions on controversies surrounding her presidential campaign.

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 | July 28, 2011
 From Ohio to Nevada, Voters Fed Up With Debt Ceiling Deadlock A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll found 80 percent of American are either dissatisfied or angry with the federal government's inability to reach a compromise to avert default. Judy Woodruff discusses the public mood with a reporter and a political columnist.

   

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 | July 28, 2011
 In Obama-Boehner Debt Ceiling Standoff, Who Will Blink First? It was poised to be a decision day in the House of Representatives on Thursday as Speaker John Boehner faced a key test of his leadership. Jeffrey Brown and David Chalian discuss the debt plan vote, which was abruptly postponed late in the day by the GOP leadership.

   

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 | July 28, 2011
 House GOP Leaders: Boehner Bill Reflects Compromise House Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team urged passage of their short-term debt limit increase Thursday, calling it a compromise that the Senate needs to pass.

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 | July 28, 2011
 Obama Preps Emergency Plan if Debt Deadline Passes With No Deal With six days left before the debt ceiling deadline arrives, there will be no shortage of reporters trying to glean intelligence from President Obama's closed-door meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Thursday afternoon.

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 | July 28, 2011
 House Republicans Rally, But Senate Dems Throw Cold Water on Boehner Plan House Republicans met Thursday in the basement of the Capitol, ahead of an evening vote on Speaker John Boehner's biggest test yet: can he rally House Republicans to his version of a debt limit deal, and in the process strengthen his hand as the negotiations reach the final stage?

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 | July 28, 2011
 Watch Live: Boehner Plan Debate in the House House Speaker John Boehner's plan to cut the deficit by $917 billion over 10 years and immediately raise the debt ceiling by $900 billion will be debated on the floor of the House of Representatives, starting at 2 p.

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 | July 28, 2011
 House Speaker Boehner Faces His Biggest Test When the House votes on Speaker John Boehner's plan to cut the deficit by $917 billion over 10 years and immediately raise the debt ceiling by $900 billion, it will, at once, represent the most meaningful vote of his term and an entirely meaningless vote in actually solving the looming debt ceiling deadline.

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 | July 27, 2011
 Plouffe: We Won't Accept Boehner's Short-Term Deal A vote on Speaker Boehner's debt plan was delayed until Thursday after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill would cut $850 billion instead of the promised $1.2 trillion. Gwen Ifill discusses the ongoing stalemate with President Obama's senior political adviser, David Plouffe, and Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill.

   

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 | July 27, 2011
 Woodruff: Animosity Abundant in Washington From almost any vantage point, Washington looks pretty dysfunctional these days. I've covered Washington through six administrations, and don't remember a time when the animosity was as thick as it is now.

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 | July 27, 2011
 Boehner's Debt Ceiling Plan Hits Snag, Vote Delayed Speaker John Boehner's challenge became tougher when the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said his plan would have only $850 billion in spending cuts -- far below the $1-$1.2 trillion he had been seeking in order to pass the first $900 billion tranche of a debt ceiling increase.

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 | July 26, 2011
 As Debt Deadline Draws Close, Parties Dig in, Markets Prepare Mondayt's dueling speeches by President Obama and House Speaker Boehner only seem to reinforce the state of the stalemate over raising the debt ceiling. Jeffrey Brown discusses the entrenchment in Washington with The Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib, The New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin and The Financial Times' Gillian Tett.

   

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 | July 26, 2011
 Can the Boehner Plan Pass? House Speaker John Boehner's two-step deficit reduction proposal would cut $1.2 trillion immediately while lifting the debt ceiling by $1 trillion. It is not yet clear if he will have sufficient support from within his own party to pass the measure in the House.

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 | July 26, 2011
 Oregon Congressman David Wu to Step Down Amid Sexual Allegations Embattled Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., announced Tuesday he will resign amid allegations he had a sexual encounter with an 18-year-old woman.

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 | July 26, 2011
 No Deal in Sight After Obama, Boehner Address Nation The back-to-back speeches by President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, a rare event outside of the annual State of the Union event, were evidence of the seriousness of the debt limit situation.

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 | July 25, 2011
 Obama, Boehner Still 'Quite Far Apart' on Debt Deal President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner butted heads yet again Monday night over the way to resolve the nation's debt crisis. In back-to-back speeches, the two leaders outlined great fundamental differences that remain with barely more than a week to go before an Aug. 2 deadline to raise the national debt limit.

 

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 | July 25, 2011
 Boehner: Obama's Not Getting a Blank Check House Speaker John Boehner addressed the nation after President Obama Monday about the approaching debt-limit deadline and the political stalemate between top lawmakers over deficit-reduction proposals. Here are his full remarks as prepared for delivery.

 

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 | July 25, 2011
 Obama: Americans Should Be Offended by '3-Ring Circus' Over Debt Limit President Barack Obama addressed the nation Monday about the approaching debt-limit deadline and the political stalemate between top lawmakers over deficit reduction proposals. Here are his remarks as prepared for delivery.

 

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 | July 25, 2011
 LaHood on FAA Furloughs: Congress Must Pass Long-Term Funding The Senate adjourned Friday without reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration's budget, which left nearly 4,000 employees out of work immediately. Ray Suarez discusses the status of the FAA's budget problems and what could be done to fix them with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

   

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 | July 25, 2011
 Party Leaders Dismiss Rival Debt Plans as Debate Hits Home Stretch With little more than a week until the U.S. debt-ceiling deadline, lawmakers on both sides of Capitol Hill offered competing plans on Monday on how to avert a crisis. Gwen Ifill discusses the impact on Americans if a deal is not reached with IHS Global Insight's Nariman Behravesh and the Pew Center on the States' Kil Huh.

   

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 | July 25, 2011
 Watch Live at 9 p.m. ET : Obama Addresses Nation About Debt Talks President Obama will address the nation from the White House at 9 p.m. ET Monday regarding the state of the debt-ceiling negotiations as the Aug. 2 deadline to reach a deal looms a little more than a week away.

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 | July 25, 2011
 White House Backs New Deficit Plan From Senate Dems Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid officially unveiled the outlines of his debt reduction proposal Monday afternoon at the U.S. Capitol -- as expected, it would cut $2.7 trillion from the deficit over ten years.

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 | July 25, 2011
 No Debt Deal in Sight as Leaders Propose Rival Plans Congressional leaders and President Obama aren't closer to a deal on raising the debt limit Monday morning after talks collapsed late Friday and party leaders met throughout the weekend to find a way to avoid a government default.

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 | July 22, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Debt Limits and NFL Lockouts It has been a rare feat in recent times due to summer schedules, but we managed to get another episode of the Doubleheader with columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks recorded Friday. We stopped taping a few minutes before House Speaker John Boehner called off the debt talks and the president held a news conference.

 

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 | July 22, 2011
 Boehner Calls Off Debt Talks; Obama: 'We Have Run Out of Time' Speaker John Boehner released a statement Friday saying, in part, "I have decided to end discussions with the White House and begin conversations with the leaders of the Senate in an effort to find a path forward.

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 | July 22, 2011
 Shields and Brooks: After Debt Talks 'Meltdown,' What's the Path Forward? Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks dissect the week's developments in the debt-ceiling debate, including the latest breakdown in talks between the White House and congressional Republicans, plus the "Gang of Six" plan and a possible compromise by Sens. Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid.

   

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 | July 22, 2011
 Debt Deal Stalemate Spills Into Weekend for Obama, Congress House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama blamed each other Friday over who's at fault for the latest breakdown in the debt-ceiling negotiations as an Aug. 2 deadline draws nearer. Kwame Holman reports on the continuing stalemate.

   

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 | July 22, 2011
 Obama Urges Compromise as Senate Rejects House Debt Plan With no deal yet on raising the nation's borrowing limit before August 2, the Senate put to rest the possibility that the House Republicans "cut, cap and balance" plan would pass in that chamber by voting 51 to 46 along party lines to effectively defeat the measure.

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 | July 22, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Eating One's Peas and Other Dilemmas It's a conundrum. We in the news business are constantly justifying to ourselves why we cover the stories we cover, and why you should care. It is the second part of that formula that confounds news decision makers on a daily basis. Because if you don't care, you don't watch. And we kind of like it when you watch.

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 | July 22, 2011
 Democrats Unhappy Over Possible Deal Focused on Cuts President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner may be close to a deal that lowers the deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years, which would be mainly achieved through spending cuts and entitlement reforms with the promise of revenue increases through tax reform at some point next year.

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 | July 21, 2011
 Conrad: Any Debt Deal Would Resemble 'Gang of 6' Plan There were mixed signals out of Washington Thursday as to whether progress is being made over reaching a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline. Judy Woodruff discusses the "Gang of Six" plan to reduce the deficit with two of its members, Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D.

   

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 | July 21, 2011
 Dodd-Frank Law at 1: a Progress Report A year after President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act, the effort to shape how the sweeping financial reforms take effect is very much an ongoing issue in Washington and New York. We ask five experts, including former FDIC chair Sheila Bair, how the new regulations are taking shape.

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 | July 21, 2011
 In Wis., Different Recall Votes, but a Newly Motivated Democratic Base? What are the Wisconsin recalls actually about? Not every vote is focused on the balance of power in the state Senate or Gov. Scott Walker's limiting the powers of public-sector unions. Some are about more local and personal issues.

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 | July 21, 2011
 Boehner, Pelosi Offer No Hints of Debt Deal Progress The leaders of both parties in the House of Representatives gave little reassurance Thursday morning that the two sides were making progress toward raising the debt limit, just 12 days before the Aug.

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 | July 21, 2011
 Obama Open to Short-term Increase in Debt Ceiling With negotiators running out of time to raise the country's borrowing limit, President Obama signaled Wednesday he would be willing to accept a short-term increase in the debt ceiling if lawmakers were close to nailing down a comprehensive deficit reduction plan.

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 | July 20, 2011
 Can Ron Paul Turn His Ideas' Newfound Resonance Into 2012 Votes? Judy Woodruff reports on how dramatically life has changed in the four years since her last interview with Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, and how that could work to his advantage in 2012.

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 | July 20, 2011
 Ron Paul: 'Freedom Is a Young Idea and We're Throwing It Away' Judy Woodruff sat down with Texas Rep. Ron Paul Wednesday to discuss his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination and the ongoing debt-ceiling negotiations. The interview is the first in a series of conversations with GOP contenders seeking to take on President Obama in the 2012 election.

   

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 | July 20, 2011
 'Gang of 6' Debt Plan Gains Momentum as Aug. 2 Deadline Looms The effort to raise the country's borrowing limit saw the resumption of talks between President Obama and top congressional leaders on Wednesday. Kwame Holman reports on the lawmakers' race against the Aug. 2 deadline.

   

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 | July 20, 2011
 Ron Paul on Proponents of Raising Debt Ceiling: 'I Think They're Misled' In an interview Wednesday with The PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff, Republican presidential candidate and longtime Texas Rep. Ron Paul said "you can't solve the problem of debt by raising the debt limit." Watch the rest of Judy's interview with Ron Paul on Wednesday's NewsHour broadcast.

 

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 | July 20, 2011
 Can the 'Gang of Six' Bridge the Divide? The framework crafted by a bipartisan group of six senators calls for a down payment of $500 billion in savings. Going forward the measure would push lawmakers to cut discretionary spending, reform Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and overhaul the tax code..

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 | July 19, 2011
 'Gang of 6' Plan Could Offer GOP Path to Debt Deal President Obama praised the work of the bipartisan "Gang of Six," who released the framework of a deal Tuesday that would cut roughly $4 trillion from the deficit over the next decade. Judy Woodruff and Political Editor David Chalian discuss the state of play in the ongoing debt-ceiling negotiations.

   

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 | July 19, 2011
 President Obama: Gang of Six Deficit Reduction Plan Is 'Good News' With the United States just two weeks away from defaulting on its debt unless a deal is reached to raise the debt limit, a bipartisan group of senators presented a possible new way forward Tuesday when they introduced a new debt reduction plan.

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 | July 19, 2011
 In Wisconsin's Bars, Coffee Shops and Bowling Alleys, Little Mention of Recalls Voters in Wisconsin are headed to the polls Tuesday for the second time in a week as part of another spate of recall elections. Boy, people in Wisconsin must love recalls, right? Well, not really. Driving around the state and talking to people show an electorate that is at once engaged and ambivalent, depending on where you are.

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 | July 19, 2011
 Conservative Groups Oppose McConnell-Reid Debt Plan Just as the McConnell-Reid backup plan on the debt ceiling is gaining steam in the Senate as the likeliest outcome that avoids default, conservative groups are ramping up pressure to take it down.

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 | July 18, 2011
 House Republicans Push Vote on Debt Plan With Little Future Tea Party supporters in the House pushed a "Cut, Cap and Balance" program on Monday, demanding a vote even though the House plan has little chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Kwame Holman reports on the debt-ceiling stalemate and the Senate's debt plan crafted by party leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell.

   

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 | July 18, 2011
 Debate Over Consumer Agency Continues as Obama Taps Cordray to Lead President Obama tapped former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Judy Woodruff leads a debate over the agency's role, responsibilities and funding with the Roosevelt Institute's Jeff Madrick and David Hirschmann of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

   

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 | July 18, 2011
 Political Checklist: Voting on a Debt Plan That Can't Pass NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian asks Senior Correspondents Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill why House Republicans are voting for their "cut, cap and balance" deficit reduction plan if they know it has no chance to pass the Senate.

   

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 | July 18, 2011
 Congress Prepares for Show Votes on Debt Ceiling The United States Congress will once again become a Kabuki theater troupe this week when the House of Representatives puts the "cut, cap and balance" plan on the floor Tuesday despite it having nearly no chance of becoming law.

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 | July 15, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Debt Ceiling Drama and the Roger Clemens Mistrial Mark Shields and David Brooks returned to the Doubleheader with Hari Sreenivasan after a summer hiatus and jumped right into the debt limit drama at the center of politics in Washington this month.

 

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 | July 15, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Political Risks, Rewards of Debt Standoff Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including the debt limit standoff and President Obama's campaign fundraising haul.

   

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 | July 15, 2011
 Governors Tell Washington: Find a Compromise on Debt Limit Govs. Scott Walker, R-Wis., and Jack Markell, D- Del., speak with Ray Suarez on the impact the debt limit debate could have across the country. They join the NewsHour from the National Governors Association's Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, where these and many other questions are being debated.

   

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 | July 15, 2011
 As Clock Ticks, a 'Big' Deal on Deficit Remains Elusive There were no White House deficit talks Friday, but the behind-the-scenes maneuvering continued. In a public statement, President Obama called for Congress to produce a "serious plan" over the weekend.

   

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 | July 15, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Why Are Grand Bargains So Elusive? I've been afflicted this week with a disorienting sense of deja vu that affects any reporter who has covered Washington long enough. Even the most consequential and operatic standoffs begin to seem eerily familiar.

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 | July 15, 2011
 Taking Wisconsin's Temperature as the Recalls Go On Ah, summer in Wisconsin. Brats on the grill, time at the lake -- and recall elections. The Badger State's recall-palooza got underway this week on Tuesday with six Democratic primaries that selected the candidates that will challenge six incumbent Republican state senators for their seats in August.

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 | July 15, 2011
 Obama: 'Running Out of Time' on Debt Negotiations President Obama took to the news conference podium Friday at the White House amid stalled negotiations on raising the debt-ceiling and tackling the federal deficit.

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 | July 15, 2011
 President Obama: It's 'Decision Time' on Raising Debt Ceiling The weeklong series of White House meetings with President Obama and congressional leaders has produced one concrete result: There will be no meeting Friday. President Obama will instead use his bully pulpit, which Friday will be the White House press briefing room podium, to frame the current state of affairs.

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 | July 14, 2011
 Is the U.S. Prepared for Battle in Cyberspace? Ray Suarez interviews Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn about a newly released U.S. cybersecurity strategy and some of the threats that prompted it.

   

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 | July 14, 2011
 Pentagon Gears Up for the Digital Battlefield The Department of Defense is gearing up for a different kind of conflict -- on the digital battlefield -- with a new cybersecurity strategy.

   

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 | July 14, 2011
 News Wrap: FBI Probing Phone-Hacking Allegations at Murdoch's U.S. Holdings In other news Thursday, it was widely reported that the FBI is investigating whether a Rupert Murdoch tabloid in Britain tried to access voice mails of Sept. 11 victims. Also, a federal judge in Washington declared a mistrial of the perjury trial of Roger Clemens.

   

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 | July 14, 2011
 Debt Ceiling Deadlock Sounds Fresh Alarms on Wall Street The debt ceiling deadlock in Washington led to increasingly urgent appeals for action Thursday. Judy Woodruff discusses the economics and politics of the standoff with the Wall Street Journal's David Wessel and The Washington Post's Lori Montgomery.

   

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 | July 14, 2011
 Minnesota Lawmakers in Talks to End Government Shutdown Early Thursday, Gov. Mark Dayton accepted the budget proposal state Republican lawmakers submitted on June 30th, prior to the state's 14 day-long government shutdown.

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 | July 14, 2011
 Democrats Spell Out Debt Default Consequences Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks with Sen.

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 | July 14, 2011
 Frustration, Deadlock Dominate Talks on Lifting Debt Ceiling If the threat of a credit rating downgrade from Moody's Investors Service and a warning of possible "financial calamity" from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke doesn't bring congressional leaders and President Obama closer to an agreement, what will?

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 | July 13, 2011
 Obama's $86 Million Haul Leaves GOP Competitors Far Behind The Obama campaign announced Wednesday that it raised $86 million over the last three months for both President Obama's re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian go over the numbers.

   

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 | July 13, 2011
 Despite Intensifying Pressures on Debt Ceiling, Deal Still Elusive At a House hearing Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke painted a stark picture of what a national default would mean and underscored the urgency of a debt-ceiling deal between the White House and congressional leaders. Judy Woodruff reports on the ongoing deadlock over a deal.

   

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 | July 13, 2011
 Woodruff: Young Entrepreneurs Pursue Opportunity in a Tough Economy You often hear it said these days that there's no way the "next" generation will have it as good as their parents did. But if the group of young entrepreneurs who came to Washington Wednesday has a say, that widely-held perception will prove to be dead wrong.

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 | July 13, 2011
 California Prisoners, Politicians Ponder Impact of Supreme Court Ruling California's Solano State Prison and at the other 32 state prisons are bubbling with speculation about what will happen to the state's 143,000 inmates in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling ordering the state to cut 10,000 inmates from the prison population by November, and another 33,000 within two years.

 

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 | July 13, 2011
 President Obama Hauls In $86 Million for Campaign, DNC He may have to fight sky high unemployment, persistent economic pessimism and an energized political opposition to win re-election, but if he loses President Obama will not be able to blame it on being underfunded.

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 | July 12, 2011
 What Happens if Lawmakers Don't Reach Debt-Ceiling Deal by Deadline? Debt-ceiling negotiations crept along Tuesday as both sides agreed on the need for action, but not on the fundamentals of a deal. Gwen Ifill discusses the specifics of what would happen if negotiators don't reach an agreement by the Aug. 2 deadline with Jay Powell of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

   

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 | July 12, 2011
 McConnell Presents Plan to Put Debt Limit Hike Burden on Obama Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., laid out a surprise alternative in the debt limit negotiations Tuesday that would essentially leave it up to President Obama to raise the debt ceiling and allow Republicans to vote against the increase.

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 | July 12, 2011
 House Republican Leaders Hold Ground on Taxes House Republican leaders made clear once again Tuesday that they wouldn't support any increase in current tax rates as part of any effort to reduce the deficit and raise the federal debt ceiling.

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 | July 12, 2011
 Clock Is Ticking on Debt Ceiling Agreement After yet another meeting at the White House Monday, the bipartisan group of congressional leaders charged with hammering out a deal with President Obama agreed to meet again on Tuesday.

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 | July 11, 2011
 Durbin: 'Slow Going' Inside Debt Limit Talks President Obama and congressional leaders returned to the negotiating table Monday afternoon, but a deficit-reduction deal remains elusive as the Aug. 2 deadline nears for raising the debt limit. Gwen Ifill discusses the latest developments in the partisan stalemate with Sen. Dick Durban, D-Ill., and Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill.

   

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 | July 11, 2011
 Political Checklist: Watching the Obama-Boehner Debt-Talk Dance Political Editor David Chalian and senior correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff sat down to assess President Obama's Monday news conference, which came ahead of the third round of debt limit negotiations at the White House.

   

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 | July 11, 2011
 Obama: No Stopgap Extension on Debt Ceiling President Obama said Monday that a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling will not be possible if Republicans are unwilling to compromise, but he declared: "We are going to get this done" by the Aug. 2 deadline.

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 | July 11, 2011
 Watch Live at 11 a.m. ET: President Obama's News Conference President Obama will update reporters Monday on the status of deficit and debt ceiling talks.

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 | July 11, 2011
 Debt Ceiling Negotiations Enter Round 3 The debt and deficit negotiations are now aimed at accomplishing two goals. The first goal for all sides sitting around the table is to get a deal in place by Aug. 2 to avoid any negative impact on the economy. The second goal, which is being pursued concurrently, is to emerge from the talks as the political winner.

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 | July 10, 2011
 No Deal Yet After Sunday Debt Limit Meeting Congressional leaders left the White House Sunday evening without news of a deal to reduce the federal deficit and raise the debt limit after meeting with President Obama for the second time on the issue.

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 | July 8, 2011
 Brooks and Marcus on Jobs Numbers, Debt Deal Reality, U.K. Media Scandal New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus walk through the week's top political news, including the ongoing debt-ceiling talks in Washington, the dismal June jobs numbers and what lessons the American media can take away from the News of the World scandal rocking Britain.

   

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 | July 8, 2011
 Dismal Unemployment Report Suggests Recovery May Be Stalling The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June as employers added the fewest jobs in nine months. Jeffrey Brown discusses the grim jobs reading and the stubbornly high employment gap between black and white Americans with Pomona College's Cecilia Conrad and Mesirow Financial's Diane Swonk.

   

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 | July 8, 2011
 Scolding and Scheming: Politics at Its Best The president knotted his tie and strode into the White House press briefing room Thursday to announce that he'd just concluded a "very constructive" meeting with members of Congress. You can tell it must have been "very constructive," because Mr. Obama employed the phrase twice in three minutes.

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 | July 8, 2011
 President Obama Gets His Monthly Jobs Report Card A jobs report does not an election make, but the Obama economy is in a rut and the president is going to find it harder and harder each month to earn the patience of the American people.

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 | July 7, 2011
 Condolence Letter Policy Shift Opens Conversation on Military Suicides The White House announced this week that President Obama will now send condolences to families of troops who kill themselves in combat zones. Jeffrey Brown discusses the policy change and ongoing concerns over military suicides with retired Army Gen. Ronald Griffith and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's Paul Rieckhoff.

   

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 | July 7, 2011
 News Wrap: EPA Unveils New Power Plant Pollutants Rule In other news Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule that power plants must install technology to reduce two pollutants -- sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Also, a new report found that Medicaid coverage could mean better health and financial security for millions more poor and uninsured Americans.

   

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 | July 7, 2011
 Can Obama, Congress Pull off a 'Big Deal' on Deficit Despite Political Perils? President Obama and congressional leaders met Thursday to discuss how to raise the nation's debt limit. Judy Woodruff discusses the meeting, which President Obama called "constructive," and the political pitfalls confronting lawmakers with Naftali Bendavid of The Wall Street Journal and Andy Kohut of the Pew Research Center.

   

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 | July 7, 2011
 Budget Battle Closes in on Medicare, Medicaid Few details have emerged from the closed-door deficit reduction talks, but members of both parties now admit one thing: Changes could be on the way for Medicare and Medicaid.

 

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 | July 7, 2011
 Pelosi: House Democrats Won't Support Entitlement Cuts in Debt-Limit Deal While Republicans in the House and Senate have been declaring for weeks that they won't support any type of tax increase as part of a debt-limit deal, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi drew her own line in the sand Thursday: House Democrats won't support Social Security or Medicare benefits cuts as part of a deal.

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 | July 7, 2011
 Obama: White House Debt Limit Meeting 'Constructive,' but No Deal Yet President Obama said Thursday that he had a very constructive meeting with congressional leaders about how to raise the nation's debt limit, but that they would meet again Sunday after weekend of staff- and member-level negotiating to reassess where the status of a deal stands.

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 | July 7, 2011
 Obama, Congress Search for Grand Bargain on Debt Ceiling At his news conference last week, President Obama called on members of Congress to "do something big" when it comes to raising the country's debt ceiling. It appears he plans to hammer home the point with top House and Senate lawmakers when they arrive at the White House Thursday morning.

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 | July 6, 2011
 State of Disagreement: Divisions Grow in Minnesota Budget Battle Minnesota's government shutdown continued Wednesday as Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers remained at a standstill over spending and taxes. Judy Woodruff discusses how the state's budget divide compares to the nation's with The Star Tribune's Rachel Stassen-Berger and The Pew Center on the States' Susan Urahn.

   

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 | July 6, 2011
 Lawmakers Remain Divided on Deficit Fundamentals as Deadline Draws Closer The Senate gave up its Fourth of July recess to focus on raising the U.S. debt ceiling, but there was no sign Wednesday that lawmakers were close to reaching an agreement on the basic divide: tax hikes vs. spending cuts. Kwame Holman reports on the latest developments in the negotiations.

   

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 | July 6, 2011
 Twitter Town Hall Showcases Social Media's Political Potential In a "Twitter town hall" Wednesday at the White House, people across the country tweeted questions for President Obama to answer. Jeffrey Brown discusses the town hall and how technology is changing politics with techPresident's Andrew Rasiej, The Brookings Institution's Darrell West and The Washington Post's Cecilia Kang.

   

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 | July 6, 2011
 Sparring Continues on Capitol Hill as Lawmakers Prepare to Meet with Obama Lawmakers are continuing to stake their claim on two very different solutions to the deficit problem as leaders from both parties in both chambers of Congress prepare to meet with President Obama to continue talks on extending the nation's debt limit while reducing the deficit.

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 | July 6, 2011
 Judy Woodruff: Amid All the Debate Over Debt, Where Does Job Growth Fit In? Judy Woodruff writes: "I came away from my interview with Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas on Tuesday's NewsHour still curious about the answer to this question: Why aren't employers hiring more people?"

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 | July 6, 2011
 @BarackObama Responds to Jobs, Deficit Questions in First Twitter Town Hall In a live "Twitter town hall" meeting Wednesday, President Obama fielded tweeted questions about jobs, taxes and the debt-limit debate, sparred with the House Speaker John Boehner and asked American tweeters for their ideas to reduce the deficit.

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 | July 6, 2011
 Obama to Host Twitter Town Hall Sure, President Obama may use his 2 p.m. ET Twitter event to move the ball rhetorically on the deficit talks, but his hosting of the first ever White House town hall on the popular micro-blogging social media site is well worth noting.

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 | July 5, 2011
 Sen. Cornyn to Obama: Take Tax Increases Off the Table President Obama announced Tuesday that he will host bipartisan congressional leaders at the White House for continued talks on a deal to reduce the nation's deficit and raise its debt limit. Judy Woodruff discusses the negotiations with Republican John Cornyn of Texas, who sits on the Senate Budget and Finance committees.

   

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 | July 5, 2011
 Medicare Coverage of Pricey Cancer Drugs Spark 'Rationing' Debate As health care costs play an ever-increasing role in Washington's budget drama, Medicare officials announced last week they will continue to pay for two extremely expensive cancer treatments despite lingering questions about their effectiveness.

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 | July 5, 2011
 Political Checklist: Congressional Debt Deadlock In this week's edition of the Political Checklist, Political Editor David Chalian tells Senior Correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff about viewing the 4th of July fireworks from the White House -- and the upcoming fireworks that President Obama is watching even more closely.

 

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 | July 5, 2011
 Congress Gets Back to Work on Debt Ceiling The debt/deficit problem facing the country didn't go away over the Fourth of July holiday. As Aaron Sorkin's fictional President Bartlet once said, "My point is this: Break's over."

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 | July 4, 2011
 Campaign Cash Race Is on for GOP '12 Contenders, Obama Campaign Republican presidential contenders spent the July 4 holiday on the campaign trail. Lately most have spent their time feverishly dialing for the dollars they will need to support their campaigns. NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian updates us on the race for campaign cash.

   

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 | July 4, 2011
 Oil Spill Cleanup in Yellowstone River, Shinawatra Named Thai Prime Minister Teams of federal and Exxon Mobile workers in Montana are trying to contain and assess the damage from tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil that gushed from a ruptured pipe beneath the banks of the Yellowstone River over the weekend.

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 | July 1, 2011
 Shields, Gerson on Bachmann, Parties' Willingness to Budge on Spending, Taxes Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson dissect the week's top political news, including President Obama's rebuke of Congress for the stalled debt-ceiling talks, what created the housing bubble and Rep. Michele Bachmann's formal foray into the 2012 presidential race.

   

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 | July 1, 2011
 Protecting Its Fannie: How Mortgage Giant Primed the Bubble, Covered Its Assets As part of his Making Sen$e series, Paul Solman reports on the new book, "Reckless Endangerment," which argues that for the past 20 years, Fannie Mae, a government-sponsored enterprise that increases money for homeownership, pursued profits for itself and bought risky loans that inflated a housing bubble that eventually burst.

   

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 | July 1, 2011
 News Wrap: Minnesota's Government Shuts Down After Failed Budget Deal In other news Friday, Minnesota's state government was closed for business. The shutdown began after Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican leaders failed to reach a budget deal. Also, new abortion laws are being challenged in Kansas and South Dakota.

 

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 | July 1, 2011
 Gwen's Take: The View from Aspen ASPEN -- Since we established in this space that I am a professional skeptic, I arrived at the Aspen Ideas Festival -- a kind of Rocky Mountain think-fest -- prepared for a pretty dreary recounting of where the nation stands right now.

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 | July 1, 2011
 As Debt Deadline Looms, Leaders Remain Far From Agreement Washington's debt talk theater delivered an encore presentation Thursday, with Obama administration officials and Republicans in Congress trading verbal jabs, one day after the president admonished lawmakers for not acting with a sense of urgency to raise the federal government's $14.3 borrowing limit.

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 | JUNE June 30, 2011
 White House Chief of Staff Daley: U.S. Default 'Will Not Happen' White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley speaks with Jeffrey Brown about stalled debt talks and President Obama scolding Congress in his Wednesday news conference.

   

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 | June 30, 2011
 Colbert on Campaign Finance: 'I Am a Super PAC and So Can You' The Federal Election Commission told comedian Stephen Colbert Thursday that he can use his television program's resources to support his political action committee -- known as a Super PAC -- but some major expenses must be disclosed.

 

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 | June 30, 2011
 Obama Tells Congress to 'Get it Done'; Will Lawmakers Listen? The view down Pennsylvania Avenue from the U.S. Capitol to the White House might seem a bit longer than normal Thursday following the scolding President Obama gave Republican leaders for their approach to negotiations on raising the debt ceiling.

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 | June 29, 2011
 Vietnam's 'Haunting' of Post-War Presidents Explored in New Book "Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama," written by the father and daughter team of Marvin and Deborah Kalb, examines the war's lingering grip on several generations of civilian leaders and military strategists. Judy Woodruff and the authors discuss the shadow still cast by America's "lost war."

   

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 | June 29, 2011
 Debt Battle Growing More Urgent, but GOP, Democrats Not Budging Yet At a White House news conference Wednesday, President Obama insisted that congressional leaders put everything on the table, including spending, benefits programs and tax increases, in order to reach a debt limit deal. Jeffrey Brown discusses ongoing negotiations with Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J.

   

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 | June 29, 2011
 NewsHour Connect: The End of Collective Bargaining in Wisconsin Wisconsin's controversial new collective bargaining law - which brought tens of thousands of protesters to the state capitol in February - takes effect on Wednesday. Hari Sreenivasan spoke to Micki Maynard of Changing Gears about the impact.

 

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 | June 29, 2011
 California Voters Ask: What Happened to Our State? A remarkable thing happened in California this past weekend. Voters came together to talk about how to get their state government back on track. Remarkably, there was little yelling -- mostly they listened respectfully to one another. Judy Woodruff reflects in this Rundown post.

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 | June 29, 2011
 Watch Live: President Obama's News Conference Watch President Obama's news conference live from the East Room of the White House Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.

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 | June 29, 2011
 Obama to Hold News Conference Amid Debt Ceiling Talks The last time President Obama held a major news conference, an earthquake and tsunami had just struck Japan, the revolt in Libya was a month old, a budget deal had yet to be hammered out to avert a government shutdown, the unemployment rate was below 9 percent, and the president had yet to declare he is running for re-election.

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 | June 28, 2011
 News Wrap: Taliban Claim Responsibility for Kabul Hotel Attack In other news Tuesday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a deadly bomb attack on Kabul's InterContinental Hotel. Also, Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen lent his support for President Obama's Afghanistan troop drawdown plan.

 

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 | June 28, 2011
 President Obama, Palin Head to Iowa The Iowa caucuses are a little less than eight months away, but the Hawkeye State will be the center of the political universe Tuesday as it plays host to President Obama and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

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 | June 27, 2011
 After N.Y. Passes Same-Sex Marriage Law, What's Next for Proponents, Foes? Thousands of marchers and spectators at New York City's annual LGBT Pride March this weekend hailed the state's brand-new same-sex marriage law. Jeffrey Brown discusses the state Legislature's vote with the National Organization for Marriage's Maggie Gallagher and Democratic New York Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell.

   

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 | June 27, 2011
 Bachmann Enters GOP Field With Jolt of Tea Party Energy Michele Bachmann chose her birthplace, Waterloo, Iowa, to announce her formal bid for the GOP presidential nomination on Monday. Judy Woodruff discusses the launch of her campaign with Des Moines Register political columnist Kathie Obradovich.

   

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 | June 27, 2011
 Blagojevich Joins Ranks of Illinois Gubernatorial Convicts After 10 days of deliberations, a federal jury convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Monday of trying to sell President Obama's former Senate seat, and of trying to extort executives for campaign donations. Hari Sreenisvasan discusses the trial and pending sentencing with Phil Ponce of WTTW's "Chicago Tonight."

   

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 | June 27, 2011
 Blagojevich Found Guilty on Corruption Charges Jurors found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty on nearly all counts he faced in a retrial, including charges that he tried to sell President Obama's open U.S. Senate seat. Blagojevich had denied any wrongdoing.

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 | June 27, 2011
 Political Checklist: N.Y. Enacts Same-Sex Marriage, Bachmann Enters Race In this week's edition of the Political Checklist, senior correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff join Hari Sreenivasan for a look at the latest official GOP hopeful and New York's new same-sex marriage law.

 

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 | June 27, 2011
 Bachmann Rides Momentum Into Race for GOP Nomination The 2012 GOP presidential field will get a serious jolt of Tea Party fervor Monday when Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann formally kicks off her campaign in Waterloo, Iowa. She couldn't have picked a better time to launch a bid if she tried.

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 | June 25, 2011
 New York Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill Into Law; Supporters Rejoice Celebrations erupted in the streets of New York on Friday, after a late night vote in the state legislature sent a same-sex marriage bill to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign into law.

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 | June 24, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on GOP Tax Divide, Obama's Troop Drawdown, Debt Ceiling Debate Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including the breakdown in bipartisan budget and deficit talks, the House's rebuke of President Obama over war powers and the Libya mission, and the president's new troop withdrawal timetable for the Afghan war.

   

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 | June 24, 2011
 Cracks Emerge in Republican Opposition to Raising Taxes to Curb Deficit Bipartisan budget deficit talks led by Vice President Joe Biden reached an impasse Thursday over Republican objections to raising taxes. Judy Woodruff reports on the debate within the Republican Party over how to curb the deficit.

   

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 | June 24, 2011
 U.S. Role in Libya Rankles Congress, Revives Questions on War Authority The House rendered a split decision on Libya Friday, rejecting an authorization of U.S. military involvement, but stopping short of ending funding for the mission. Jeffrey Brown discusses the fight between the White House and Congress with Norman Ornstein of The American Enterprise Institute and The Takeaway's Todd Zwillich.

   

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 | June 24, 2011
 House Rebukes White House Over Libya Authorization The House of Representatives on Friday overwhelmingly rejected formal authorization of the U.S. military involvement in Libya, but also voted down an attempt to cut off money for the operation. Jeffrey Brown reports.

 

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 | June 24, 2011
 Gwen's Take: The Skeptics vs. the Cynics I am a great champion of the notion that it helps to be skeptical, but hurts to be cynical. But weeks like this one make it tough to distinguish between the two.

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 | June 24, 2011
 A Skeptic's Guide to the 2012 Debate Over Manufacturing Job Losses In the next few Patchwork Nation posts, we'll explain why voters expecting the next president to turn the economy around in a big way are likely to be disappointed. In this post: the problems for manufacturing and a skeptic's primer on the economy.

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 | June 24, 2011
 House Rejects Measure to Authorize Libya Mission for a Year The House of Representatives voted 295-123 Friday against a measure to authorize U.S. involvement in Libya for another year, formally registering an objection to President Obama's authorization of NATO-led air strikes. The measure is likely symbolic since it is not expected to passed in the Senate.

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 | June 24, 2011
 With Debt Talks Stalled, It's Up to Obama and Boehner With five weeks to go before the U.S. government could begin defaulting on its financial obligations, it's now up to President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to settle the differences between their two parties over raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

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 | June 23, 2011
 White House, GOP Budget Deficit Talks Hit a Wall: Now What? Budget deficit negotiations between Vice President Joe Biden and GOP lawmakers broke down Thursday after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor pulled out over the question of raising taxes. Judy Woodruff discusses the breakdown and what's ahead with The Washington Post's Lori Montgomery and The Wall Street Journal's Damian Paletta.

   

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 | June 23, 2011
 Gates: I Was ' Strong Advocate' for Afghanistan Surge to End in Summer 2012 In an interview Thursday with Jim Lehrer, outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed President Obama's new timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, how he would define success in that war and the chances of a negotiated settlement with the Taliban plus the U.S. role in Libya and his tenure at the Pentagon.

   

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 | June 23, 2011
 Obama Solicits Support for Afghanistan Drawdown Amid Varied Reactions President Obama announced Wednesday that 10,000 U.S. troops are slated to leave Afghanistan by the end of this year and another 23,000 will pull out by the end of 2012. Kwame Holman reports on the range of responses to the president's withdrawal timetable from Washington to Kabul.

   

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 | June 23, 2011
 Obama and Boehner Take Center Stage as Republicans Walk From Biden Talks House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., announced Thursday that they were pulling out of the deficit reduction and debt-limit extension negotiations led by Vice President Biden.

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 | June 23, 2011
 Angry Times in California California's Legislature is terribly unpopular. In March, just 16 percent of the public approved of the job they were doing. So there was a collective cheer you could almost hear when the state controller announced he was not going to pay legislators starting June 15, because they failed to produce a truly balanced budget.

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 | June 23, 2011
 Obama's Middle Ground Is Between a Rock and a Hard Place By seeking the middle ground in unwinding U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, President Obama now finds himself on an island.

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 | June 22, 2011
 Al Gore's Critique Sparks Debate Over Obama's Record on Global Warming In a "Rolling Stone" article, former Vice President Al Gore criticized President Obama's record on climate change. Gwen Ifill discusses what Mr. Obama has and hasn't done with The Center for International Policy's Glenn Hurowitz, The Center for American Progress' Daniel Weiss and The American Enterprise Institute's Ken Green.

   

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 | June 22, 2011
 How Will Drawdown Affect U.S. Mission in Afghanistan? In a primetime address Wednesday, President Obama will unveil his plan for the size and pace of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Judy Woodruff discusses the politics influencing the president's decisions with The Washington Post's Ruth Marcus and The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol.

   

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 | June 22, 2011
 Obama Picks Pace of Drawdown From Afghanistan, America's Longest War President Obama is widely expected to announce Wednesday evening that 5,000 U.S. troops will head home this summer from Afghanistan and another 5,000 will leave before the end of the year. Gwen Ifill and Margaret Warner preview what's expected in the president's speech and the plan for withdrawing from the nation's longest war.

 

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 | June 22, 2011
 McConnell: We Shouldn't Talk About Default Consequences Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday he wasn't interested in discussing the negative economic consequences that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said are inevitable if Congress does not agree to raise the federal debt ceiling by August 2nd, and instead focus on negotiations.

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 | June 22, 2011
 President Obama Faces Difficult Test in Afghan Speech President Obama has to tout the real successes in the war effort (killing of Osama bin Laden, diminishing al-Qaida's strength, increasing Afghan military and police capacity to protect their own nation) while also arguing for why a major presence of U.S. troops is still needed for years to come.

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 | June 21, 2011
 Huntsman Joins GOP 2012 Field, Touting Varied Resume, Hobbies Former two-time Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman ended months of speculation Tuesday by officially launching his campaign for president at New Jersey's Liberty State Park. Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian discuss Huntsman's presidential prospects and the developing GOP presidential field.

   

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 | June 21, 2011
 Obama Preps Afghanistan Drawdown, but Debate Lingers on End Goals President Obama will announce plans for the initial U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan Wednesday. Jeffrey Brown discusses what the president's options are with retired Army Lt. Col. John Nagl of the Center for a New American Security, author Phyllis Bennis and Brian Katulis of the Center for American Progess.

   

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 | June 21, 2011
 Obama to Unveil Timetable for U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan White House officials confirmed that President Obama will announce plans for the initial U.S. troop drawdown from Afghanistan in a primetime speech Wednesday night. Jeffrey Brown reports.

   

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 | June 21, 2011
 Live Coverage On-Air and Online: Obama's Afghan War Drawdown Speech President Obama will address the nation in a primetime speech Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET to announce his decision on the scope and pace of a U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan.

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 | June 21, 2011
 Kerry, McCain Introduce Resolution to Authorize Limited U.S. Role in Libya Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced a resolution in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday that would authorize a limited military presence in Libya, heading off an effort in the U.S. House to cut off funding for the military intervention.

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 | June 21, 2011
 Huntsman Formally Launches Bid for GOP Nomination Jon Huntsman, former Utah governor and ambassador to China under President Obama, formally announced his candidacy Tuesday morning in Jersey City, N.J.

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 | June 21, 2011
 Obama Set to Announce Afghanistan Troop Drawdown President Obama is set to make a highly-anticipated announcement in a Wednesday address on the number of U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan beginning in July.

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 | June 21, 2011
 Huntsman to Launch Campaign With Biography, Style Up Front One truism of American presidential politics is that biography is not destiny. But biography is a key gateway for a huge swath of voters to decide whether or not a candidate is worth giving a hearing.

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 | June 20, 2011
 News Wrap: White House Defends Obama's Authority on Libya In other news Monday, White House officials defended the president's stance that the U.S. mission in Libya does not constitute hostilities, amid reports that the Department of Justice and the Pentagon disagreed.

 

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 | June 20, 2011
 Political Checklist: Huntsman Ready to Jump Into 2012 Fray Gwen Ifill and David Chalian marvel at the fact that more Republican candidates, including former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, are getting into the 2012 race in late June.

 

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 | June 20, 2011
 The Morning Line: Perry Weighs White House Run Texas Gov. Rick Perry roused the audience at the Republican Leadership Conference over the weekend, leading many to wonder if he will make a run for the White House.

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 | June 17, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on War Powers Debate, Obama's Inner Circle, Bachmann Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks weigh in on the week's top political news, including the debate over congressional approval for the U.S. mission in Libya, the state of deficit talks, the "insular" inner circle surrounding President Obama and Michele Bachmann's GOP debate performance.

   

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 | June 17, 2011
 Harry Reid Confident of 'Substantial' U.S. Troop Drawdown in Afghanistan Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told Jim Lehrer Friday that he's confident that President Obama will soon announce a "substantial" withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. He also stood by the president's assertion that the War Powers Act does not apply to the mission in Libya and thus, does not need congressional approval.

   

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 | June 17, 2011
 Reid on Biden Deficit Talks: No Vacation Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday said progress is being made in the deficit reduction and the debt ceiling negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden, but said congressional recesses are getting in the way.

 

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 | June 17, 2011
 Reid Backs Obama on Libya: 'This Thing Will Be Over Before We Know it' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday stood by President Obama's assertion that the War Powers Act does not apply to the American mission in Libya and thus, does not need congressional approval. "This thing will be over before we know it," Reid predicted in an interview with Jim Lehrer, which airs on Friday's NewsHour.

 

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 | June 17, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Under the Big Top, Part II: Enough About Me - What Do You Think? Gwen Ifill looks back at the week that was in politics and media in Gwen's Take.

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 | June 17, 2011
 The Morning Line: Days Later, Pawlenty Lands Clean Jab at Romney

 

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 | June 16, 2011
 Boehner Rejects White House Rationale on Libya Sparring between Congress and the White House over whether U.S. involvement in Libya adheres to the War Powers Resolution escalated Thursday when House Speaker John Boehner said a White House report claiming it didn't need congressional approval for the operation "didn't pass the straight-face test."

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 | June 16, 2011
 Outgoing Secretary Gates on U.S.-Pakistan Ties: 'We Need Each Other' With Robert Gates' days at the Pentagon numbered, Kwame Holman looks back at the retiring defense secretary's service during tumultuous times under Presidents Bush and Obama.

   

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 | June 16, 2011
 News Wrap: Rep. Anthony Weiner Reverses Course, Resigns In other news Thursday, at a senior center in Brooklyn, Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner said he would resign from Congress, marking the end of a three-week scandal over online relations with several women. Also, President Obama drew more fire from Congress for saying he does not need its approval for the U.S. role in Libya.

 

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 | June 16, 2011
 Weiner Announces Resignation From Congress, Apologizes for Scandal Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., announced Thursday afternoon that he would succumb to bipartisan calls for him to resign his seat over a weeks-long Internet scandal.

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 | June 16, 2011
 The Morning Line: Romney's the Man to Beat

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 | June 15, 2011
 Divided Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Collective-Bargaining Restraints The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to uphold a controversial law, backed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, to deny some public workers their right to collective bargaining. Judy Woodruff discusses what's ahead in the ongoing legal and political battles with Wisconsin Public TV's Adam Schrager, who's been covering the story.

   

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 | June 15, 2011
 Libya, War Powers Start White House, Congress on Collision Course The Obama administration said Wednesday that the U.S. is not engaged in sustained fighting in Libya and has no troops on the ground, so there's no need for congressional approval. Jeffrey Brown discusses the War Powers Resolution legal wrangling with American University's Jamin Raskin and The New York Times' Charlie Savage.

   

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 | June 15, 2011
 Obama Refutes Challenges to War Powers Authority Over Libya The White House on Wednesday defended the president's authority to pursue military action in Libya. The administration argued that the U.S. is not engaged in sustained fighting and has no troops on the ground, so there's no need for congressional approval and no violation of the War Powers Resolution. Jeffrey Brown reports.

 

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 | June 15, 2011
 Woodruff: Two Parallel Conversations on the Debt Crisis When it comes to addressing the U.S. debt crisis, there seem to be two parallel universes, operating just a few blocks away from each other in Washington.

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 | June 15, 2011
 What Is the War Powers Resolution of 1973? House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent President Obama a letter Tuesday claiming that he will soon be in violation of the War Powers Resolution, as the 90-day mark of the U.S.' involvement in NATO air strikes in Libya approaches.

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 | June 15, 2011
 The Morning Line: Huntsman Gets Ready to Rumble Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman has been on the sidelines for the first two Republican presidential debates of the 2012 campaign.

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 | June 14, 2011
 Puerto Rico Gov. Fortuno on Obama Visit, Ongoing Statehood Debate In the wake of President Obama's brief visit to Puerto Rico Tuesday, Ray Suarez discusses the president's visit, the ongoing debate over statehood plus the state of the island's economy with Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno.

   

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 | June 14, 2011
 Obama Makes First Presidential Visit to Puerto Rico in 50 Years President Obama's brief Tuesday visit to Puerto Rico's capital was the first official trip to the commonwealth by a sitting president since JFK. Ray Suarez reports on the president's visit and what it might mean for his 2012 campaign.

 

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 | June 14, 2011
 In GOP's N.H. Debate, a 'Tough Night' for Pawlenty as Bachmann Builds Buzz New Hampshire played host to its first 2012 Republican presidential debate Monday with the candidates spending most of the evening criticizing President Obama's performance in the White House. Gwen Ifill and Political Editor David Chalian review the debate's highlights and lowlights.

   

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 | June 14, 2011
 The Morning Line: Romney Emerges an Emboldened Frontrunner From Debate Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney walked into his first debate of the 2012 nomination contest with a significant lead in national and New Hampshire polls.

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 | June 13, 2011
 Obama Pledges to Grow Economy as New Faces Join GOP Debate in N.H. President Obama pledged Monday at an energy-efficient lighting plant in North Carolina to make good on a promise to grow the economy. Meanwhile, Republican presidential hopefuls were preparing for a second debate. Judy Woodruff gets an update on the 2012 campaign from Political Editor David Chalian, reporting from New Hampshire.

   

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 | June 13, 2011
 Political Checklist: Debate Offers Insight into GOP Field Judy Woodruff and Hari Sreenivasan preview Monday's Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, the first of the election cycle. They also look at President Obama's effort to promote his jobs agenda in North Carolina.

 

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 | June 13, 2011
 The Morning Line: Republican Presidential Campaign Goes Primetime The leader of the pack always has a target on his or her back heading into a debate, but Mitt Romney might be able to breathe easy Monday night since it's still very early in the campaign.

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 | June 10, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Bad Economic News, Anthony Weiner and the NBA Finals New York Times columnist David Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Political Editor David Chalian discuss President Obama's ability or inability to handle the economy and the ongoing Rep. Anthony Weiner scandal.

 

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 | June 10, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Gates' Legacy, Gingrich Campaign 'Meltdown,' Weiner Fallout Columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including what's ahead for the Pentagon and NATO as Defense Secretary Gates nears retirement, how Newt Gingrich will fare in 2012 after losing so many key campaign staffers and what lessons can be gleaned from the Rep. Anthony Weiner scandal.

   

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 | June 10, 2011
 The Palin Emails: 5 Places to Dig In A reading frenzy has begun after the release of a collection of emails between Sarah Palin and her staff, officials and family.

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 | June 10, 2011
 Comparing the Budget Proposals, Visually The Washington Post has an informative and interactive graphic to help you sort through some of the various budget proposals, but Paul Solman has a couple of warnings.

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 | June 10, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Washington Follies, June Edition Gwen Ifill looks back at the week that was in politics and media in Gwen's Take.

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 | June 10, 2011
 New Alabama Immigration Law Tougher Than Arizona's SB-1070 Measure With the stroke of a pen, Alabama's Gov. Robert Bentley signed into law this week a bill described on all sides of the immigration debate as the toughest enforcement measure in the country to date.

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 | June 10, 2011
 The Morning Line: Gingrich Vows to Carry On Despite Staff Exodus The former House speaker will need to convince voters that the past 30 days was just an aberration and not emblematic of what his presidency would look like.

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 | June 9, 2011
 What Defense Budget Reforms Could Panetta Accomplish? With Leon Panetta facing confirmation hearings over his secretary of defense nomination, Jeffrey Brown discusses how Panetta could handle major challenges within the massive defense budget with Gordon Adams, who supervised nation security budgets under President Clinton, and Heritage Foundation research fellow Mackenzie Eaglen.

   

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 | June 9, 2011
 Senators Split Over Military Budget Priorities at Panetta Confirmation Hearings For Leon Panetta, the transition from the CIA to the Pentagon has come in the midst of the Afghan war, NATO's mission in Libya and a battle over impending defense budget cuts. At his confirmation hearing Thursday, senators split over how he would handle challenges including the military budget. Jeffrey Brown reports.

 

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 | June 9, 2011
 Key Aides Resign from Gingrich Campaign Newt Gingrich's rocky start to his presidential campaign became even rockier Thursday when his campaign manager, top spokesman, and lead consultants in the key early states resigned en masse from the campaign.

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 | June 9, 2011
 Panetta Faces Budget Questions in Senate Confirmation Hearing Leon Panetta, director of the CIA and Defense Secretary Robert Gates' likely successor, is all but assured confirmation but faces questions over the future of a Defense Department managing operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya in light of budget constraints.

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 | June 9, 2011
 The Morning Line: Obama's Election Map Might Need an Update President Obama's path to the White House in 2012 may be different than it was in 2008.

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 | June 8, 2011
 Big Banks Lose Vote on Debit Card Rules The Senate defeated a measure Wednesday that would have delayed implementation of a cut in the fees banks are allowed to charge retailers for each debit card transaction.

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 | June 8, 2011
 New Grads Adapt to Job Market Realities This month's bad news about jobs -- that fewer were created in the private sector in May than at any time in almost a year -- couldn't come at a worse time for young people.

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 | June 8, 2011
 The Morning Line: Obama to Renew Focus on Jobs President Obama repeated his oft-used line Tuesday about how when he wakes up in the morning his first thought is about how to get more Americans back to work.

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 | June 7, 2011
 What More Could, Should Government Do for U.S. Economy? A new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that 57 percent of those surveyed say an economic turnaround has not yet begun in the U.S. Gwen Ifill discusses what's next for the economy -- and the political implications -- with USA Today's Susan Page, Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner and Tom Binnings of Summit Economics.

   

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 | June 7, 2011
 Political Checklist: Job #1 for Obama Still Economy David Chalian, Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff look at the political implications of a Washington Post/ABC poll released Tuesday showing that six in 10 Americans are unhappy with President Obama's handling of the economy.

 

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 | June 7, 2011
 The Morning Line: Pawlenty Rolls Out Economic Plan Shocking as it may be, President Obama and every serious contender for the Republican nomination agree on one important fact: The 2012 presidential election is going to be fought and won on the economy.

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 | June 6, 2011
 Remembering Diplomat Lawrence Eagleburger Lawrence Eagleburger held crucial foreign policy posts under five different presidents and was anything but an ordinary diplomat. Margaret Warner remembers his life and career.

   

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 | June 6, 2011
 Weiner Admits to Sending Lewd Photos, Faces Call for Ethics Investigation Rep. Anthony Weiner, D - N.Y., went before cameras Monday to admit to sending sexually explicit photos and messages to several different women. Jeffrey Brown discusses the scandal with NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian.

   

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 | June 6, 2011
 Weiner Admits Sending Lewd Photos, Says He Will Not Resign Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., admitted Monday that he sent a lewd photo on Twitter and apologized to his wife and family, but said he would not resign as a result of the scandal, saying it did not affect his "official duties."

 

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 | June 6, 2011
 The Morning Line: Santorum Enters 2012 Race Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is the latest official entry into the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

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 | June 3, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on 'Discouraging' Jobs Report, Debt Debate, Romney vs. Palin Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the "discouraging" May jobs report, how unemployment could affect the debt-ceiling debate in Washington and how GOP candidate Mitt Romney might fare in races against Sarah Palin and President Obama.

   

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 | June 3, 2011
 Understanding the Palin Equation for 2012 As Sarah Palin travels the countryside, many are still wondering if she'll eventually throw her hat in the ring for the GOP presidential nomination. Patchwork Nation explores what its 12 county types can tell us about her chances and challenges in the first four big nominating contests.

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 | June 3, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Lines in the Sand Drawing lines in the sand is a time-honored Washington tradition. Then there are those political figures who have little use for that sort of clarity.

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 | June 3, 2011
 The Morning Line: Amid Poor Jobs Report, Obama Will Tout Autos Success On a day when President Obama heads to Ohio to tout the successful rescue of the American auto industry, he'll have to combat brutal headlines about a labor market that seems entirely stalled.

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 | June 2, 2011
 Mitt Romney Names Job Growth as Top Priority in 2012 Race Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney formally entered the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination Thursday at a New Hampshire farm owned by two of his supporters. Judy Woodruff discusses the evolving 2012 political field with Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center and Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker.

   

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 | June 2, 2011
 Romney Formally Launches 2012 Presidential Campaign In a speech in Stratham, N.H. Thursday former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said President Obama has "failed America" and pledged economic reforms to "bring this country back." Romney is considered the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

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 | June 2, 2011
 The Morning Line: Frontrunner Romney Officially Launches 2012 Campaign You can circle today on your calendar as a turning point in the 2012 campaign for the Republican nomination for president.

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 | June 1, 2011
 Palin's Bus Tour Draws Media Buzz, But 'So Far it's Not a Campaign' For the past four days, much media attention has focused on 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's bus tour. Gwen Ifill talks to The Washington Post's Dan Balz about whether the former Alaska governor appears headed toward a run for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

   

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 | June 1, 2011
 Amid 'Serious Negotiations' on Debt, Can Obama and GOP Find Common Ground? President Obama met with congressional Republicans Wednesday to talk about a debt-reduction deal, but none was made. The meeting followed Tuesday night's largely symbolic House vote that rejected any stand-alone increase to the debt ceiling. Jim Lehrer discusses the prospects for a deal with Political Editor David Chalian.

   

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 | June 1, 2011
 The Morning Line: House GOP Heads to White House After Blocking Debt Limit Hike Who says Republicans and Democrats can't agree on anything? On Tuesday's PBS NewsHour, Judy Woodruff got Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam, R-Ill., and Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., to agree that Tuesday night's vote on raising the debt limit was "a joke."

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 | MAY May 31, 2011
 Reps. Clyburn, Roskam Debate Thinking Behind Debt-Ceiling Showdown House Republicans late Tuesday were staging what would be a largely symbolic vote on a bill ostensibly aimed at raising the U.S. debt limit by an additional $2.4 trillion, but without any spending cuts. The measure is not expected to pass. Judy Woodruff leads a debate between Reps. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., and James Clyburn, D-S.C.

   

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 | May 31, 2011
 The Morning Line: Sarah Palin's Road Show Mix equal parts U.S. history lesson, family summer vacation and an unconventional presidential test run and what you get is Sarah Palin's "One Nation" bus tour.

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 | May 31, 2011
 Political Checklist: Debt Ceiling Vote Symbolism Political Editor David Chalian is joined by Senior Correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff for a look at the debt ceiling vote and Sarah Palin's bus tour.

 

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 | May 31, 2011
 Political Checklist: Debt Ceiling Vote Symbolism The House of Representatives is preparing to hold a symbolic vote on raising the government's debt ceiling without spending cuts, a vote that is sure to fail as Republicans have said that they won't support any increase in the limit without substantial cuts to spending.

 

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 | May 27, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Patriot Act, N.Y. Race Upset, Medicare Politics, Palin Tour Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the Patriot Act extension clearing Congress being signed by President Obama, the 2012 GOP presidential field and the Ryan Medicare plan's impact on a New York House race.

   

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 | May 27, 2011
 The Gospel According to Bill Clinton It never gets old listening to Bill Clinton. Like a thoroughbred watching the race from the sidelines, he is always champing at the bit to get back on the track. That became clear once again this week, when I was invited to interview the 42nd President.

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 | May 27, 2011
 Romney Set to Formally Declare Candidacy in New Hampshire On the eve of Mitt Romney's first trip to Iowa, home of the first-in-the-nation caucuses, the Union Leader reports that he plans to formally declare his candidacy next week in New Hampshire, home of the first-in-the-nation primary.

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 | May 26, 2011
 Afghan War Amendment to DOD Bill Falls Just Short The U.S. House of Representatives nearly approved an amendment that would have moved the U.S. toward a faster exit from the war in Afghanistan.

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 | May 26, 2011
 'Gang' of Senators Looks to Overcome Partisanship to Fix Debt, Deficit Issues Judy Woodruff writes about her interview Thursday with four members of the so-called Gang of Six senators who are working across party lines in hopes of addressing the long-term U.S. debt challenge.

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 | May 26, 2011
 DNC Chair Says Special Election Wins 'Bode Well' for Democrats in 2012 The head of the Democratic National Committee said Thursday that a recent string of special election victories "really bode well" for the party's chances in 2012.

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 | May 26, 2011
 Bolstered by NY Win, Dems Look to Retake the House in 2012 Just two days after Democrat Kathy Hochul won a special election to the House of Representatives in a solidly Republican New York district, the head of the party's House campaign cited the victory as evidence that Democrats could regain control of the House of Representatives in 2012.

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 | May 26, 2011
 Supreme Court Upholds Ariz. Law on Employing Illegal Immigrants The Supreme Court has upheld a 2007 Arizona law that targets business that hire illegal immigrants in a 5-3 decision.

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 | May 26, 2011
 GOP Seeks to Move Budget Debate Beyond Medicare One day after seeing an electoral rebuke to the House GOP budget proposal that overhauls Medicare into a voucher-like system for future beneficiaries, only five Republican Senators defected in support of it after Democrats forced a vote on it Wednesday night.

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 | May 25, 2011
 Senators Forced to Go on the Record on Paul Ryan's Budget Plan Majority Leader Harry Reid forced his Senate colleagues Wednesday to show where they stand on the House Republican budget blueprint that would end Medicare as a single-payer health insurance guarantee, creating a possible political liability.

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 | May 25, 2011
 Republicans Get Wake-Up Call From New York House Race Upset Democrats hailed Kathy Hochul's upset victory Tuesday in a special U.S. House election in New York where Republicans hold a considerable voter-registration advantage. Political Editor David Chalian and Judy Woodruff discuss what role the Republican Medicare plan played and what clues the election might offer for 2012's races.

   

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 | May 25, 2011
 Clinton on Medicare's Role in New York House Race; Prospects for Budget Deal Mr. Clinton spoke with NewsHour senior correspondent Gwen Ifill at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation-sponsored 2011 Fiscal Summit in Washington, D.C.

 

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 | May 25, 2011
 The Bigger Message From NY-26 Democrats are celebrating their win in New York's 26th congressional district. A few months ago, their candidate Kathy Hochul was seen to be a distant also-ran in a solid Republican district. Now, according to still uncertified results she's congresswoman-elect.

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 | May 25, 2011
 Obama, Cameron Pledge to 'Turn Up the Heat' on Gadhafi In a joint news conference Wednesday in London, President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron said they would maintain pressure on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to step down, despite an ongoing military stalemate between government forces and rebels on the ground.

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 | May 25, 2011
 Democrat Hochul Pulls Upset Win in New York House Race In a decisive victory Tuesday, Democrat Kathy Hochul defeated Republican Assemblywoman Jane Corwin, 47 percent to 43 percent, in a heavily GOP congressional district.

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 | May 24, 2011
 Frontline's 'WikiSecrets' Explores Mysteries of Bradley Manning On Tuesday's edition of Frontline, entitled "WikiSecrets," correspondent Martin Smith unravels the mysteries of Bradley Manning, the Army private who allegedly stole thousands of classified government documents and shared them with WikiLeaks. In this excerpt, Frontline reveals the hacker who blew the whistle on Manning.

   

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 | May 24, 2011
 Netanyahu: Israel Would Surrender Some Settlements for Peace Deal Addressing Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday insisted Israel is ready to seek peace with the Palestinians, and for the first time acknowledged that Israel would give up some West Bank settlements for a deal, but said that he will not accept "indefensible" 1967 boundaries. Kwame Holman reports.

   

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 | May 24, 2011
 News Wrap: Obamas Begin Rare U.K. State Visit; Mubarak Faces Trial In other news Tuesday, President Obama and the first lady began a full state visit to the United Kingdom -- only the second ever accorded to a sitting American president. In Afghanistan, 10 people were killed and 28 were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.

 

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 | May 24, 2011
 All Eyes on Battle for House Seat in Upstate New York If Democrats score an upset victory in a special House election Tuesday in upstate New York, they'll claim it was all about rejecting the GOP budget plan and its controversial overhaul of Medicare.

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 | May 23, 2011
 From Campaign Trail to Capitol Hill, GOP Faces Questions on Medicare Plan Republicans continue to face questions about the party's plan to overhaul Medicare after former House Speaker Newt Gingrich charged that it amounted to "right-wing social engineering" last week, but later changed his stance. Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports on the GOP's efforts to get the plan back on track.

   

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 | May 23, 2011
 Political Checklist: GOP Field Clearer With Pawlenty In, Daniels Out EmbedVideo;In just the past day, the 2012 Republican presidential field has become clearer as Indiana governor Mitch Daniels opted out of the race and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty went all in with a new web video.

   

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 | May 23, 2011
 Obama Kicks Off European Tour, Militants Raid Karachi Military Base President Obama is in Moneygall, Ireland, for the first stop in his six-day European tour, a town where his great-great-great grandfather reportedly was raised.

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 | May 23, 2011
 Pawlenty Officially Launches 2012 Campaign for White House Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, gets his moment in the spotlight Monday when he officially declares his candidacy for the White House at a 12:30 p.m. EDT town hall in Des Moines, Iowa.

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 | May 20, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Goodwin Liu, Brooks the Meme and the Macho Man In this edition of The Doubleheader, columnists David Brooks and Mark Shields tackled the filibuster of President Obama's judicial nominee Goodwin Liu, kidded about a picture of Brooks that has gone wild online and remembered wrestler Randy Savage, aka the Macho Man.

   

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 | May 20, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Gingrich's Chances, Obama 'Spanking' Israel, Arab Leaders Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the developing GOP 2012 presidential field, President Obama's Middle East and Arab world policy address and call for Israel to return to 1967 border lines, plus the president's praise for the CIA.

   

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 | May 20, 2011
 Gingrich Campaign Suffers Setbacks as GOP's 2012 Field Sees Topsy-Turvy Week In a week that was supposed to be about bolstering his presidential campaign, Newt Gingrich outraged many Republicans when he dismissed Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal to reform Medicare in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." Ray Suarez reports on the stumble and other developments in the race for the GOP nomination.

   

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 | May 20, 2011
 Harman: Netanyahu Could 'Be the Peacemaker Israel Has Been Seeking' President Obama met Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after delivering a U.S. policy speech calling for a return to pre-1967 borders. Judy Woodruff discusses what comes next in the peace process with former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and former California Democratic Rep. Jane Harman.

   

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 | May 20, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Dog Whistle Politics: You Talking to Me? The past several days have handed me a cluster of excuses to return to one of my favorite topics: what happens when politicians speak in code.

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 | May 20, 2011
 Huntsman Gives Debut Interview as Likely Presidential Candidate The former U.S. ambassador to China and Utah governor emerged largely unscathed from his first TV interview since returning stateside and stepping up his activity as a likely presidential candidate.

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 | May 19, 2011
 After Obama Speech, What's Next for Arab World, Israeli-Palestinian Relations? In a speech Thursday, President Obama called for support of democratic reforms in the Arab world and steps toward peace in the Middle East. Jeffrey Brown discusses the president's address and U.S. policy with reporter Mona Eltahawy, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk and American University of Beirut's Rami Khouri.

   

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 | May 19, 2011
 Bahrainis 'Thrilled and Surprised' by Obama's Call for Dialogue In a speech Thursday, President Obama pledged aid to Arab nations that are shifting toward democracy and renewed calls for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state settlement. Margaret Warner reports from Bahrain on reactions to the president's address, which called for dialogue between that nation's government and the opposition.

   

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 | May 19, 2011
 Obama Endorses Key Palestinian Border Demand, Pledges Aid to Egypt, Tunisia In a speech about U.S. policy in light of recent Arab world uprisings, President Obama pledged economic support Thursday to Egypt and Tunisia as they work toward democracy. He also endorsed the 1967 borders of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Judy Woodruff reports.

 

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 | May 19, 2011
 Republicans Block Vote on Obama Judicial Nominee Goodwin Liu Goodwin Liu, a law professor up for a lifetime appointment on Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, is the first of Mr. Obama's judicial nominees to be blocked.

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 | May 19, 2011
 President Obama to Address Arab Spring, 'Turn the Page' on Policy in Region President Obama takes the stage to address U.S. policy as protesters demanding change across the Arab world appear to have stalled in their mission, as the conflict in Libya remains in a stalemate and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process seems moribund.

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 | May 18, 2011
 Debate Over Rising Gas Prices Heats Up in Congress Two bills focused on oil company tax breaks, deep-sea drilling and reducing rising gas prices have reignited energy policy debates on Capitol Hill. Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports on the political fight over prices at the pump.

   

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 | May 18, 2011
 Many Different Communities, No Clear GOP Leader The 2012 election cometh, and as of right now the Republican field of candidates seems unsettled at best. Patchwork Nation's 12 types of county offer an interesting way to parse the views of the American electorate.

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 | May 18, 2011
 Grand Deal on Deficit Reduction Unlikely as Coburn Quits Talks The quest for a bipartisan solution to the country's short- and long-term deficit problems got a lot tougher Tuesday when Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., walked away from the negotiating table.

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 | May 17, 2011
 As GOP Field Takes Shape, Gingrich on Defensive Over Medicare Remarks The GOP's 2012 presidential nomination battle shifted once again Monday when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who hasn't officially entered the race, announced he'd raised $10 million in one day. Political Editor David Chalian speaks with Gwen Ifill about the GOP field and Newt Gingrich's controversial Medicare comments.

   

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 | May 17, 2011
 Consensus on Gas Policy in Congress Remains Unlikely Both major political parties in Congress can agree on at least one thing: The price of gasoline in America -- at $4 a gallon -- is a bad thing. Agreeing on what, if anything, should be done about that reality isn't as easy.

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 | May 17, 2011
 Romney Hits the Jackpot in Las Vegas Fund-raiser Mitt Romney's haul from his Las Vegas call-day exists, for the time being, in a vacuum, without any other figures for comparison. And that was precisely the campaign's goal as it set out to boast financial prowess, intimidate the opposition and build momentum for Romney's second attempt at winning the White House.

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 | May 16, 2011
 Romney Raises $10 Million in One Day The all-but-formally announced presidential candidate Mitt Romney raised $10.25 million in campaign cash Monday, according to his campaign, via an 800-person phone bank operation headquartered in Las Vegas that he promoted in a telephone call and Facebook video event Monday.

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 | May 16, 2011
 How Does the U.S. Debt Ceiling Work and Why Does it Matter? The United States government hit the legal limit for the amount of money it can borrow Monday, but Treasury officials say they can take other measures to pay the bills. Ray Suarez discusses questions about how the debt ceiling works and the ongoing political debate with The New York Times' Binyamin Applebaum.

   

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 | May 16, 2011
 Q&A: New York Times Reporter on Next Steps in Government Debt Limit Debate As the United States government officially hits its $14.3 trillion borrowing limit Monday, New York Times finance and banking reporter Binyamin Appelbaum laid out what some of the potential consequences might be.

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 | May 16, 2011
 Donald Trump Nixes Presidential Run Billionaire real estate tycoon and reality TV star Donald Trump announced Monday he will not run for president in 2012. He predicated that he would have won both the Republican nomination and the general election should he have chose to run.

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 | May 16, 2011
 Political Checklist: We've Hit the Debt Ceiling, Now What? Gwen Ifill and David Chalian examine why, if the nation has hit its limit for borrowing, has there been no outcry from the markets or the political system? Gwen suggests that Wall Street is well-aware that Congress is known for making politics out of the debt ceiling increase, but always raises the limit before it is too late.

   

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 | May 16, 2011
 Gingrich Calls GOP Budget 'Right Wing Social Engineering' Former House speaker Newt Gingrich broke from his party leadership on the Hill by stiff-arming the budget drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and passed last month in the House.

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 | May 13, 2011
 Shields and Gerson on Immigration Reform, Gingrich's 2012 Bid Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson discuss top political news, including the realities of immigration reform and the shape of the 2012 GOP presidential field.

   

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 | May 13, 2011
 Napolitano: 'Heightened State of Alert' Continues After Bin Laden's Death In a newsmaker interview with Judy Woodruff on Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano discusses what impact the death of Osama bin Laden will have on security in the U.S.

   

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 | May 13, 2011
 Woodruff: When Politics Is A Family Affair Watching all the anticipation Thursday night over how the wife of Indiana governor Mitch Daniels would handle herself in front of a large Republican party crowd reminded me of so many political campaigns, when all eyes are on the candidate's spouse.

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 | May 13, 2011
 Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl to Retire The sixth announcement by a Democratic senator this year puts Democrats in an even tougher position as they try to maintain a majority in the Senate.

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 | May 13, 2011
 Rep. Paul Launches 2012 Bid, Hopes Third Time's the Charm Rep. Ron Paul made it official Friday, becoming the second full-fledged presidential candidate in the GOP's 2012 field, coming on the heels of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's move Wednesday.

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 | May 12, 2011
 Tax Breaks for Oil Companies: Good for Business or Unfair Advantage? Lawmakers targeted the oil industry's tax breaks and profits in budget debates Thursday. Judy Woodruff discusses the debate over tax breaks for oil production and other rules with The Energy Program at Public Citizen's Tyson Slocum and The American Petroleum Institute's Brian Johnson.

   

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 | May 12, 2011
 McConnell Optimistic on Spending Deal That Will 'Astonish the American People' In a newsmaker interview with Jim Lehrer on Thursday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell discusses what's next for budget talks and other spending issues.

   

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 | May 12, 2011
 Obama, Congress Work on Recipe to Reduce National Debt President Obama met with top lawmakers again Thursday, to continue working on a deal to reduce the nation's deficit. Ray Suarez reports on the battle lines being drawn by both parties, from spending cuts to new taxes.

   

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 | May 12, 2011
 McConnell Rules Out Tax Increases In Debt Limit Deal Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was upbeat Thursday after he and other Republican senators met with President Obama, but repeated his position that any increase in the debt ceiling will include spending cuts, and no tax increases.

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 | May 12, 2011
 Romney Aims to Tackle His Health Care Conundrum Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a tough assignment Thursday when he takes the stage at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to discuss health care.

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 | May 11, 2011
 GOP 2012 Contenders The Republicans seeking to make Barack Obama a one-term president begin their quest for the GOP nomination.

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 | May 11, 2011
 GOP 2012 Field Taking Shape With Gingrich Bid Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich launched his official bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination Wednesday. Can he re-introduce himself to the electorate? Jim Lehrer discuss the news with NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian.

   

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 | May 11, 2011
 Will Wisconsin's Recall Elections Hold Clues to 2012? With the 2012 presidential race in early stages and the political press looking for clues about the mood of the electorate, politics in Wisconsin has become a national story.

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 | May 11, 2011
 How Will Gingrich's Political Past Determine His Future? He may have left public office in the '90s, but Newt Gingrich will announce Wednesday that he's running for president in a manner very befitting of 2011.

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 | May 10, 2011
 U.S. Steps Up Challenge to China on Human Rights The Obama administration has stepped up criticism of China's human rights record in recent days. Judy Woodruff discusses the issue with Human Rights Watch's Phelim Kine and former President of the U.S.-China Business Council Robert Kapp.

   

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 | May 10, 2011
 Debt Debate Heats Up in Washington as Borrowing Limit Looms With the federal government set to hit its legal limit on borrowing in less than a week, House Speaker John Boehner outlined new debt ceiling negotiation terms. Kwame Holman reports on the politics of the debate.

   

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 | May 10, 2011
 Obama Renews Call to Fix 'Broken' Immigration System The president visited El Paso, Texas, Tuesday to launch a public campaign for immigration reform. Ray Suarez discuses the new push with Hernan Rozemberg and Michel Marizco, senior correspondents for "Fronteras: The Changing America Desk," a network of National Public Radio stations across the southwest focusing on border issues.

   

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 | May 10, 2011
 Obama Makes Immigration Reform Pitch in El Paso President Obama traveled to El Paso, Texas, Tuesday to renew his call for reforming immigration law, praising the work his administration has done in securing the border with Mexico and touting citizenship opportunities for some illegal immigrants already in the country.

 

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 | May 10, 2011
 President Obama to Renew Push for Immigration Reform When President Obama takes to the stage Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, and launches the next phase of his public campaign to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, he'll be doing so against the backdrop of the recently released 2010 Census data.

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 | May 9, 2011
 U.S. and Pakistan: Will a Strategic Partnership Falter After Bin Laden Raid? After bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces during a raid in Abbottabad, tensions are on the rise between the U.S. and Pakistan. Ray Suarez discusses the future of U.S.-Pakistan relations with former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlin and Lawrence Wright, author of a book that focuses on the origins of al-Qaida.

   

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 | May 9, 2011
 Accusations, Anger in Pakistan After Abbottabad Raid There are growing tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden. Ray Suarez reports on the latest reactions to the raid.

 

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 | May 9, 2011
 For President Obama, Back to the To-Do List Is there any doubt that President Obama woke up Monday morning and thought, "Hey, let's do last week again. That was fun."?

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 | May 6, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Secretive SEALs, Obama's Bin Laden Raid, GOP Debate Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including President Obama's standing after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the military elite that carried out the mission and the first debate among 2012 GOP hopefuls.

   

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 | May 6, 2011
 Without Heavy Hitters, First GOP Debate Does Little to Shape Race The lack of attendance by Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and other top-tier presidential hopefuls at Thursday night's GOP debate was notable enough to get its own round of questioning.

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 | May 5, 2011
 After Shutdown Showdown, Lawmakers Appear 'Prepared to Work Together' on Budget In Washington, Vice President Biden met with top lawmakers Thursday to begin a new round of high-level budget, deficit and spending negotiations. Jeffrey Brown discusses the looming debt deadline and the issues at play with The Washington Post's Lori Montgomery.

   

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 | May 5, 2011
 Amid Bin Laden Inquiries, How Can U.S., Pakistan Rebuild Relations? After a U.S. raid killed Osama bin Laden, questions are being raised about what Pakistan knew about the al-Qaida leader's location. Judy Woodruff examines how his discovery will impact U.S.-Pakistani relations with Shuja Nawaz, who has written frequently on Pakistan's military, and former CIA station chief Robert Grenier.

   

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 | May 5, 2011
 How Will History View Obama's Decision on Bin Laden? President Obama traveled to New York City Thursday to place a wreath in honor of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and mark the killing of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. Jim Lehrer discusses the significance of President Obama's decision to carry out the raid with historians Beverly Gage and Michael Beschloss.

   

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 | May 5, 2011
 Gas Prices, Government Debt Return to Forefront in Congress Thursday on Capitol Hill represented a significant shift in narrative, as attention turned from the minute details of the death of Osama bin Laden to the looming debate over the budget, the debt ceiling and gas prices.

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 | May 5, 2011
 Clinton Describes Iconic Situation Room Photo, 38 'Intense' Minutes Speaking in Rome on Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave her perspective on what was happening in the White House Situation Room when the now-iconic photo was taken during the risky Sunday raid on Osama bin Laden's compound.

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 | May 5, 2011
 GOP '12 Hopefuls Set to Debate, Obama Heads to Ground Zero In South Carolina, five Republican presidential hopefuls will take to the stage for what will be the first of many debates as the battle for the GOP nomination moves into its next phase. Earlier in New York, President Obama will participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the site of the World Trade Center.

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 | May 4, 2011
 Obama's Bin Laden Photo Decision: Move on or More Proof? Citing national security risks, President Obama said Wednesday that photos of Osama bin Laden's body will not be released. Ray Suarez discusses the president's decision and its effects with former White House counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke and former Deputy National Security Adviser Juan Zarate.

   

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 | May 4, 2011
 House Votes to Cut Funding for State Health Insurance Exchanges House Republicans advanced their latest bill to dismantle the new health care law, with a Tuesday night vote to defund state health insurance exchanges.

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 | May 4, 2011
 Gwen Ifill: Getting the Bin Laden Story My flight from Seattle had just touched down at Reagan Washington National airport late Sunday night when I clicked on my BlackBerry. It immediately began buzzing with an alarming stream of emails and tweets. An hour later, the president would announce that Osama bin Laden, the terror scourge, had been killed by U.S. forces.

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 | May 4, 2011
 Obama Decides Against Release of Bin Laden Body Photos President Obama told CBS News that he has decided against releasing photos of Osama bin Laden's body: In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday's 60 Minutes, President Obama says he won't release post-mortem images of Osama Bin Laden taken to prove his death.

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 | May 4, 2011
 President Obama to Tell His Side of the Story President Obama plans to sit down with Steve Kroft of CBS' "60 Minutes" on Wednesday to tell his version of events leading up to and overseeing the killing of Osama bin Laden.

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 | May 3, 2011
 Chambliss: Pakistan Must 'Get Serious,' Deliver Mullah Omar, Zawahiri The Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to congratulate U.S. troops and the intelligence community for the assault that killed Osama bin Laden, but the incident also put the future of U.S.-Pakistani relations in question. Gwen Ifill discusses the countries' strained ties with Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Mark Udall, D-Colo.

   

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 | May 3, 2011
 'Bin Laden Bounce': Obama's Approval Rating Jumps, Except for Economy There are, of course, huge military, intelligence and national security implications caused by the death of Osama bin Laden, but political reverberations are also at play.

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 | May 3, 2011
 Panetta: Obama Couldn't See Bin Laden's Death, but Received 'Geronimo' Signal In a newsmaker interview with Jim Lehrer on Tuesday, CIA Director Leon Panetta describes the final tense seconds of the commando raid on the compound housing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan -- and the culmination of a nearly 10-year manhunt.

 

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 | May 3, 2011
 Obama Pleads for Bipartisanship in Bin Laden Aftermath At Monday's previously scheduled White House dinner with congressional leaders, committee chairs and ranking members of both parties, President Obama highlighted the sense of American unity surrounding the death of Osama bin Laden and appealed to the lawmakers for more bipartisan action moving forward.

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 | May 2, 2011
 What's Next for U.S. Military in Fight Against Al-Qaida? What effects will Osama bin Laden's death have on al-Qaida? Gwen Ifill speaks with the New America Foundation's Steve Coll and the Center for Advanced Studies on Terrorism's Farhana Qazi about U.S. military and intelligence operations, and what the operation revealed about the U.S. relationship with its ally, Pakistan.

   

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 | May 2, 2011
 The World Reacts to Osama Bin Laden's Death President Obama's announcement late Sunday that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. troops in Pakistan sparked celebrations at Ground Zero in New York City, outside the White House and elsewhere.

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 | May 2, 2011
 Political Checklist: Bin Laden Death Yields Political Capital for Obama A day after the dramatic announcement that U.S. forces had killed Osama bin Laden, the world's most-wanted terrorist, David Chalian, Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff assess how the news could impact President Obama's political standing.

 

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 | May 2, 2011
 The Politics of the Killing of Osama Bin Laden It will take days, if not a few weeks, for the full political impact of President Obama's announcement that Osama Bin Laden has been killed to take hold.

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 | May 1, 2011
 Osama Bin Laden Killed in Pakistan, President Obama Says President Obama told the nation Sunday night that Osama bin Laden, long-hunted leader of the al-Qaida terror group and mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight in Pakistan following a lengthy intelligence operation.

 

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 | APRIL April 29, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Oil Subsidies, Town Halls, Drafts and Playoffs As many as "two billion" viewers may watch tonight's Doubleheader with syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times Columnist David Brooks.

 

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 | April 29, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Obama vs. Trump, Security Team Shuffles Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times Columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including the release of the president's long-form birth certificate, budget battles in Congress and changes in the administration's national security team.

   

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 | April 29, 2011
 Ala., Miss.,Tornado Victims Struggle to Cope With Worst Storm Damage in Decades President Obama traveled to Alabama to meet with tornado victims and tour the devastation left by the Wednesday storms. Ray Suarez discusses the latest conditions and the search-and-rescue efforts with Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox and the National Weather Service's Jack Hayes.

   

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 | April 29, 2011
 This Week in Health Reform Republicans have spent much of their two-week congressional recess fending off questions from voters about their new budget proposal, which includes a revamping of the Medicare system.

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 | April 29, 2011
 Obama and Palin: The Script's the Same Imagine how proudly gratified I was this week to scroll through my Twitter feed and discover that Barack Obama and Sarah Palin have so much in common.

 

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 | April 28, 2011
 Giffords Travels to Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch as Recovery Progresses Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' recovery from a gunshot wound marks a milestone as she travels to watch husband Mark Kelly command Space Shuttle Endeavour's final flight. Despite regaining some abilities, she face many more challenges. Ray Suarez discusses her recovery with the National Rehabilitation Hospital's William Garmoe.

   

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 | April 28, 2011
 How Will Leadership Shuffle Affect National Security Policy? President Obama officially announced leadership changes to his national security team. Jim Lehrer discusses the staff shuffle and its policy implications with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Jessica Tuchman Mathews, former CIA Acting Director John McLaughlin and former Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Jack Keane.

   

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 | April 28, 2011
 Santorum Blasts Obama's Foreign Policy as 'Failure' Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., slammed President Obama's foreign policy decisions in a speech on Thursday, saying that the president "will not or cannot lead" on the world stage.

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 | April 28, 2011
 Obama Officially Names Panetta, Petraeus to Top Security Posts Publicly announcing what White House officials had confirmed Wednesday, President Obama held a news conference Thursday at the White House alongside CIA Director Leon Panetta, his choice to succeed Defense Secretary Robert Gates when he retires, and Gen. David Petraeus, who will shift to lead the CIA.

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 | April 28, 2011
 For President Obama, 'Birther' Issue Is a Teachable Moment For years now, conspiracy theorists have stoked false rumors about President Obama's place of birth. On Wednesday, the president called their bluff, and in doing so, attempted to shift the country's focus back to more serious issues.

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 | April 27, 2011
 Budget Battles Reignite Animosity Between Congress, D.C. Government Kwame Holman reports on the historically tense relations between Congress and the District of Columbia's residents and local politicians. The two worlds collided recently when Congress and President Obama reached a budget agreement in part through provisions affecting abortion services and private-school voucher programs in D.C.

   

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 | April 27, 2011
 With Birth Certificate Release, Obama Urges Shift in National Dialogue In response to revived, high-profile skepticism about his U.S. citizenship, President Obama released his long-form birth certificate Wednesday -- again showing he was born in Hawaii -- and said he didn't have time for "silliness." Jim Lehrer and The Washington Post's Dan Balz discuss whether the "birther" issue is now settled.

   

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 | April 27, 2011
 The City of Washington: A Lifetime of Federal Control Throughout its history, one factor has remained constant in terms of who is in charge of the District of Columbia: Congress. The district is not a state, and that constitutional reality has shaped its development. We take a look at some of the major milestones in the evolution of the city under federal control.

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 | April 27, 2011
 Obama Releases Full Birth Certificate, Calls Controversy 'Silliness' The White House today released President Obama's long-form birth certificate, hoping to put an end to speculation that he has been lying about where he was born.

 

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 | April 27, 2011
 Donald Trump's New Hampshire Adventure Donald Trump New Hampshire will get its first look at Donald Trump as a potential presidential candidate when the real estate tycoon and reality TV star visits the Granite State Wednesday.

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 | April 27, 2011
 Afghan Pilot Kills 9 at Airport; Panetta, Petraeus to Shift Security Roles According to sources cited by the AP, CIA chief Leon Panetta will be tapped as defense secretary and Gen. David Petraeus will lead the CIA. An Afghan air force pilot opened fire on NATO troops at the Kabul airport, killing eight NATO soldiers and one contractor, reportedly after a dispute broke out.

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 | April 26, 2011
 RNC Chairman: 'We're Not Winning the Future' Under Obama's Leadership Reince Priebus doesn't mince words when it comes to his number one goal as Chairman of the Republican National Committee: "Defeat Barack Obama and make him a one-term president."

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 | April 26, 2011
 Barbour's Surprise Adds Further Uncertainty to GOP Field Surprise. That one word, more than any other, summed up the reaction to Haley Barbour's decision not to run for president next year -- and for good reason.

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 | April 25, 2011
 Haley Barbour Not Running for President Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is ending his nascent campaign for the presidency, his office announced Monday. Barbour will continue as governor of Mississippi and policy chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

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 | April 25, 2011
 Could 2011 Be the Spring of the Tea Parties' Discontent? Following historic Republican victories in the House and in state legislatures throughout the country in 2010, Tea Party supporters saw a new chance to rein in government at the national and state levels.

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 | April 25, 2011
 Republicans Get a Tough Break on Spring Recess When House Republicans voted on their 2012 budget the Friday before the congressional recess, there figured to be plenty of stories over the course of the following two weeks about how the plan was being received in their home districts.

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 | April 22, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Debt Ceilings, Dodgers Takeover and NHL Playoffs In this week's Doubleheader with syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks, we discussed how the arguments over the U.S. debt ceiling don't seem to be disappearing. As for the politics of sports, Major League Baseball's takeover of the Los Angeles Dodgers might be a good idea for another team.

 

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 | April 22, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Public's View of Libya Efforts, Debate on Entitlements Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news with Jim Lehrer, including Americans' opinions of the U.S. involvement in the Libya intervention and the brewing legislative battles over the deficit and the debt ceiling.

   

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 | April 22, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Confidence, Conviction and Campaign 2012 When William Donald Schaefer, a former mayor and Maryland governor, died this week at age 89, I was reminded what it was like to report on someone like that. You had to accept that he would get in your face at the drop of a hat, but it was never boring.

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 | April 22, 2011
 Sen. Ensign Resigns Amid Ethics Investigation Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is resigning from his seat in order to avoid further investigation and action from the Senate Ethics Committee looking into any possible wrongdoing related to his affair with a former senior aide's wife.

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 | April 21, 2011
 Obama vs. Ryan Plans: What Medicare Costs Are Saved, Shifted? Controlling mounting Medicare costs has become a central flash point in the budget deficit battle. Judy Woodruff discusses the brewing Medicare debate with Gail Wilensky, a former Medicare oversight official in the first Bush administration, and Chris Jennings, a former senior health adviser to President Clinton.

   

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 | April 21, 2011
 New Poll on Libya Offers Warning Sign to President Obama As Moammar Gadhafi remains in power and a stalemate continues between the rebel forces and Gadhafi's military, President Obama has turned his focus domestically by working to avert a government shutdown, laying out his vision for how to rein in the debt and deficits facing the country and launching his re-election campaign.

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 | April 20, 2011
 Polls Show Support for Fixing Deficit, but Not for Remedies The storyline after November's midterm elections was that voters had sent a clear message to lawmakers in Washington to reduce the size and scope of government. And it appears many Americans still feel that way.

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 | April 19, 2011
 Declining Polls, Negative Treasury Rating Cast Shadow Over Obama Budget Message President Obama traveled to northern Virginia on Tuesday for the first of a weeklong series of town-hall meetings aimed at building support for his budget plan. The stop comes as two new polls revealed declining support for his presidency and a growing public anxiety about deficits and the economy. Judy Woodruff reports.

   

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 | April 19, 2011
 As the GOP Chases Public Sector Unions, Small Towns Feel a Pinch From Wisconsin to Ohio to Indiana, the new Republican powers in statehouses have made clear that one of their chief targets is public sector unions.

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 | April 19, 2011
 Poll, Credit Rating Complicate Obama's Mission on Deficit On a day when he's scheduled to hold the first of a series of town halls to sell his vision for bringing down the deficit, President Obama is greeted by a new poll that shows 57 percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy and fresh headlines about the dangers of the country's debt.

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 | April 18, 2011
 Obama Hits the Road to Sell Deficit Reduction Plan President Obama put forward a plan last week to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years. Now he has to sell it to the American people.

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 | April 15, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Shields and Brooks on Gamesmanship, Sportsmanship After a spring hiatus, Mark Shields and David Brooks are back under the same roof and swung by before Friday's program for a new Doubleheader. They disagreed on the level of political gamesmanship happening in Washington, and weighed in on fair punishments in professional sports.

 

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 | April 15, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on 'Flexible' U.S. Policy in Middle East, Deficit Plans Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including President Obama's declaration of a military stalemate in Libya and the looming battles in Washington over the debt ceiling and the 2012 budget.

   

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 | April 15, 2011
 The Bully Pulpit Advantage: Budgets, Deficits and 2012 A few weeks ago, I mused in this space about why anyone would want to be president. This week, I had an epiphany. And so did Rep. Paul Ryan.

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 | April 15, 2011
 House Passes Ryan 2012 Budget Proposal The House of Representatives passed a measure that would cut $5.8 trillion in spending over the next ten years and include major reforms to Medicare and Medicaid. Senate Democrats, as well as the president, have vowed to block the plan, proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

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 | April 15, 2011
 Democratic Maneuvering Exposes House GOP Budget Divide Republicans averted an embarrassing loss on their preferred budget proposal Friday after Democrats employed a procedural tactic hoping to expose divisions between House conservatives and their leaders.

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 | April 15, 2011
 Vote on Ryan Budget Sets Stage for 2012 If you weren't paying close attention this week, you may have missed it. But make no mistake about it, this was the week that defined the contours of the political battle set to dominate the discourse for the next 19 months.

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 | April 14, 2011
 Krugman on Obama Deficit Plan: 'Not Perfect,' More Plausible Than GOP's A week after Rep. Paul Ryan released the Republican 2012 budget blueprint, President Obama offered his plan for reducing the deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. Jeffrey Brown discusses the competing visions with Princeton University's Paul Krugman and the American Action Forum's Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

   

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 | April 14, 2011
 Bipartisan Budget Deal Clears Congress; House Takes Up GOP's 2012 Plan On Thursday, the House and Senate approved the bipartisan budget compromise to fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year. The House then turned its attention to the budget for next year, specifically the Republican plan. Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports on the latest developments.

   

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 | April 14, 2011
 House Passes $38.5 Billion Budget Deal to Fund Government The last-minute deal reached last Friday to prevent a government shutdown passed its biggest hurdle Thursday when it cleared the House of Representatives, despite fears that conservative House Republicans could scuttle the deal because it did not cut enough money from the federal budget.

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 | April 14, 2011
 House Vote on Budget Compromise Looks to Be Rocky Remember that much heralded 11th-hour deal to cut $38.5 billion from this year's federal spending in order to avert a government shutdown? Well, it turns out actual savings in this year's spending are only about 1 percent of that sum, and conservatives are none too pleased.

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 | April 13, 2011
 Geithner on Potential Deficit Deal: 'We're Closer Than People Think' President Obama spelled out his plan Wednesday for cutting the deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner speaks with Jim Lehrer about the president's budget goals and the likelihood of getting cooperation from congressional Republicans.

   

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 | April 13, 2011
 Obama Unveils Plan to Save $4 Trillion via Spending Cuts, Tax Reform In a speech at George Washington University, President Obama called for cutting the U.S. deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. His plan includes ending tax cuts for incomes above $250,000, reducing defense spending by $400 billion and exacting $480 billion in savings from Medicare and Medicaid. Kwame Holman reports.

   

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 | April 13, 2011
 Republicans: President Obama's Plan a 'Disappointment' President Obama's deficit-reduction roadmap, a response to the House Republicans' long-term budget plan, was met immediately with support from his fellow Democrats -- and derision from Republicans.

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 | April 13, 2011
 Obama Unveils Roadmap for Reducing Deficit by $4 Trillion President Obama officially unveiled his own proposal for reducing the national deficit Wednesday in a speech at George Washington University, calling for $4 trillion in cuts over the next 12 years through spending cuts and tax reform.

 

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 | April 13, 2011
 What Gets Cut? A Look Into Winners and Losers of the Budget Deal Congressional leaders and the White House averted a government shutdown by agreeing to cut almost $40 billion in federal spending on non-entitlement and non-defense projects from current levels. The NewsHour took a sample of some of the programs and departments to see how they fared.

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 | April 13, 2011
 Obama to Unveil 'Grand Bargain' on Deficit and Debt Reduction President Obama is set to give a major speech on his plan to address the nation's deficits and debt.

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 | April 12, 2011
 Budget Deal Cuts Target EPA, Homeland Security, But Education Spared New details of the $38.5 billion budget deal that avoided a government shutdown revealed that the Environmental Protection Agency and Homeland Security were among those impacted. Ray Suarez discusses the cuts with Naftali Bendavid, congressional correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

   

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 | April 12, 2011
 House Republicans Release Details of Last-Minute Budget Deal House Republicans have released details of the budget deal agreed to late Friday that averted a government shutdown and set spending levels for the rest of fiscal year 2011.

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 | April 12, 2011
 For Romney, a Challenging Path to GOP Nomination The moment Mitt Romney officially tossed his hat into the 2012 presidential ring, the press coverage immediately turned to describe why the perceived front-runner is a flawed contender for his party's nomination.

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 | April 11, 2011
 Government Stays Open, But Parties Ready for More Budget Brawling After striking a deal to dodge a federal government shutdown late Friday, congressional leaders shifted their focus on Monday to raising the debt ceiling and lowering the deficit in next year's budget and beyond. Judy Woodruff reports on the two battles promising to dwarf the political intensity of their predecessor.

   

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 | April 11, 2011
 Mitt Romney Jumps Into 2012 Presidential Contest Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the perceived frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president in 2012, officially threw his hat into the ring Monday afternoon.

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 | April 11, 2011
 Shutdown Showdown Just the Start of Spending Debate on Capitol Hill On this week's edition of the Political Checklist, Judy Woodruff and David Chalian explain how last week's near-government shutdown was just a preview to bigger debates over raising the debt ceiling, budgets and entitlement reform.

   

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 | April 11, 2011
 The Civil War: Between the Battles April 12, 2011, marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the U.S. Civil War, the deadliest war in American History. To mark the anniversary TIME published The Civil War: An Illustrated History.

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 | April 11, 2011
 Obama and GOP Prepare for Much Bigger Fights Ahead Political leaders in Washington were able to avoid a government shutdown by reaching a deal centered on $38.5 billion in spending cuts for the remaining six months of the fiscal year. The debate over the fiscal crisis facing the United States now moves from the billions to the trillions.

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 | April 9, 2011
 Shutdown Watch Liveblog: 11th-Hour Deal to Avert Shutdown House Speaker John Boehner spoke just before 11 p.m. ET following a closed-door meeting and announced the House Republicans had reached a deal with the White House and the Senate just before the 11th hour to avert a government shutdown.

 

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 | April 8, 2011
 Brooks, Marcus on 'Absurdity' of Shutdown Debates, Paul Ryan's Budget Plan New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus discuss the battles over the short- and long-term government budgets, including deadlocked negotiations over funding for this fiscal year and GOP Rep. Paul Ryan's budget proposal for fiscal year 2012.

   

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 | April 8, 2011
 Budget Battle Lines Drawn Over Spending, Planned Parenthood as Shutdown Nears Federal agencies prepared for a shutdown as negotiators struggled to reach a budget compromise. Jeffrey Brown discusses the latest on the budget talks with Todd Zwillich, Washington correspondent for WNYC radio.

   

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 | April 8, 2011
 Health Care Issues Key in Budget Battle All the week's budget negotiations are, in a sense, just a prelude to the real fight. Wrangling over next year's budget is just beginning.

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 | April 8, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Ideology vs Idiocy: The Shutdown Showdown As the shutdown showdown approached its third or fourth climax late this week, I found myself in Flint, Mich.

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 | April 8, 2011
 Boehner, Reid Tweets Show Disagreement on the Disagreement As the Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid told Jim Lehrer on the NewsHour Thursday night, the two sides in the high-stakes budget debate can't even agree on what they disagree about, in public at least. Tweets from Boehner and Reid Friday show ongoing disagreement over the sticking points of the negotiations.

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 | April 8, 2011
 Lawmakers Must Beat Midnight Deadline to Avoid Shutdown When the clock strikes midnight Friday the federal government will run out of money and all non-essential operations will grind to a halt unless Democratic and Republican negotiators are finally able to resolve the differences over spending cuts and policy provisions that have divided them for weeks.

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 | April 7, 2011
 As Shutdown Deadline Nears, Lawmakers 'Can't Agree What They Disagree On' For the third time in three days, President Obama met with congressional leaders but failed to reach a budget agreement to avoid a government shutdown. Jim Lehrer talks to The Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid and Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe about continuing budget brinksmanship that has Democrats and Republicans worried.

   

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 | April 7, 2011
 What Does Wisconsin Special Election Mean for Democrats, Republicans? The political world, especially the left, is abuzz over Tuesday's special state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin. The official lead swung Thursday back to incumbent David Prosser over Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg. There will almost certainly be a recount and possibly more lead changes as the count continues.

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 | April 7, 2011
 What a Possible Government Shutdown Means Across the Nation See how public media stations are covering the story, and how a shutdown could play out in states around the nation, from parking enforcement to garbage collection to national parks.

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 | April 7, 2011
 With Shutdown Imminent, 'Narrow' Differences Remain Congressional leaders have taken budget negotiations to the brink of a federal government shutdown, and Thursday is almost certainly the point of no return.

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 | April 6, 2011
 Leaders Optimistic After White House Summit, but Shutdown Still Looms President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid emerged from a White House meeting late Wednesday with no deal to avert a government shutdown, but all said progress was made.

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 | April 6, 2011
 Judy Woodruff: The Budget Debate and When Yin and Yang Don't Meet There is in Chinese philosophy, the concept we know as yin and yang: dark and light, cold and hot, male and female. Very simply put, the idea that opposites only exist in relation to each other. It takes a little stretching, but not much, to apply this to the brewing debate over reining in spending by the federal government.

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 | April 6, 2011
 Van Hollen: Tea Party Wing Has Taken Over House Budget Talks Gwen Ifill talks to Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, about the state of a budget stalemate for the rest of this fiscal year, the prospects for a government shutdown and what's at stake in negotiations for future budgets.

   

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 | April 6, 2011
 News Wrap: House Budget Committee Begins Debate on GOP Proposal In other news Wednesday, the House Budget Committee began its markup of the GOP proposal to cut nearly $6 trillion in spending across 10 years. The plan would restructure Medicare and other federal health care programs. Also, opposition forces in Ivory Coast moved to oust Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power.

 

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 | April 6, 2011
 If Government Shuts Down, Where Would Blame Fall? Both Democrats and Republicans insisted they wished to avoid a government shutdown, but the budget stalemate continued Wednesday after both sides failed to agree on a deal. Jim Lehrer discusses the negotiations with Naftali Bendavid, congressional correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

   

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 | April 6, 2011
 Boehner, GOP Leaders Defend Budget Negotiations In a news conference Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders defended ongoing budget negotiations in the face of a possible government shutdown if an agreement is not reached by Friday.

 

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 | April 6, 2011
 White House Warns of Shutdown Consequences The White House Office of Management and Budget warned Wednesday that a failure by Congress to appropriate money to fund the federal government before midnight on Friday would have a direct impact on the economy.

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 | April 6, 2011
 Budget Negotiations Down to Wire, Shutdown Looming Two days. That's all congressional leaders have to agree on billions in cuts to a trillion-plus dollar budget in order to avert a government shutdown at midnight Friday.

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 | April 5, 2011
 The Government Shutdown Showdown, the Tea Party and Emptying Nesters To shut down or not to shut down? As the budget battles go on in Congress, that is the question in Washington.

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 | April 5, 2011
 Rep. Ryan on Proposed Cuts: 'Our Budget Literally Pays Off the Debt' President Obama and Republican lawmakers failed to break their budget impasse Tuesday, hastening the threat of a government shutdown. Judy Woodruff talks to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who unveiled a plan calling for deep cuts and dramatic changes in federal spending on social programs.

   

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 | April 5, 2011
 Top Democrats, Republicans Continue Talks as Shutdown Deadline Nears President Obama met with key congressional leaders Tuesday, but the meeting failed to break the budget stalemate. If they don't agree on a deal by Friday, the government will shut down. Jeffrey Brown reports.

 

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 | April 5, 2011
 Rep. Ryan Reimagines U.S. Social Safety Net Via Budget Reform Proposal As part of an ambitious budget plan he unveiled earlier in the day, Rep. Paul Ryan on Tuesday afternoon called for an overhaul to the American social safety net, including reforms to Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, housing assistance and job training. Read an excerpt of Judy Woodruff's interview with him.

 

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 | April 5, 2011
 White House, Congress Remain at Odds in Push to Avoid Shutdown House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Tuesday that GOP lawmakers and the White House had failed to reach an agreement three days before a potential government shutdown.

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 | April 5, 2011
 Ryan's 'Path to Prosperity' Met with Immediate Opposition Minutes after Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and his Republican colleagues rolled out the sweeping 'Path to Prosperity,' House and Senate Democrats began portraying it as an assault on the social safety net for American seniors.

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 | April 5, 2011
 House GOP Budget Plan Seeks More Than $5 Trillion in Cuts Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., unveiled a House GOP budget proposal Tuesday that seeks some $5.8 trillion in cuts, including a reshaping of key entitlement programs and some tax reforms.

 

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 | April 5, 2011
 Ryan Risks Political Backlash With GOP Budget Rollout As Congress wrangles over relatively minuscule reductions in non-defense discretionary spending for the remainder of the fiscal year, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is taking the long view Tuesday as he rolls out the House Republican budget for FY 2012 and puts a marker down on major reforms to Medicaid and Medicare.

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 | April 4, 2011
 Obama Looks to Grassroots Base, Battlegrounds With 2012 Bid In a YouTube video posted Monday, President Obama announced his candidacy for the 2012 election and filed official paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. Gwen Ifill discusses the announcement with political editor David Chalian.

   

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 | April 4, 2011
 Political Checklist: GOP to Unveil a Budget, Obama Opens Re-Election Bid In this week's Political Checklist, Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff and David Chalian look at the details of the looming April 8 government shutdown deadline as well as Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's Tuesday budget announcement, which is expected to advocate cuts to both the top tax rate and to entitlements.

 

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 | April 4, 2011
 Holder: Alleged 9/11 Conspirators to Face Military Trials Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks, and four others will face military commissions at Guantanamo Bay instead of federal trials in the U.S.

 

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 | April 4, 2011
 President Obama Launches 2012 Re-election Campaign "It Begins With Us" is the name of the video that the Obama 2012 campaign emailed to its 13 million supporters shortly after 5 a.m. EDT Monday, marking the official launch of the president's re-election effort.

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 | April 1, 2011
 Shields and Gerson on Jobless Rate Realities, Obama's Plan in Libya Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson weigh in on top political developments, including the latest jobless figures, President Obama's handing of the Libya conflict and the budget battle on Capitol Hill.

   

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 | April 1, 2011
 Survey Shows Boost in Obama Approval Ratings Among 'Millennials' President Obama is starting to regain the trust of a key demographic that helped elect him in 2008, according to a new poll from Harvard University released on Thursday.

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 | April 1, 2011
 Iowa, I Hear You Calling I have this little theory that has long served me well. Everything, I believe, is politics. This is why I love politics and don't mind politicians. So it is with no small amount of anticipation that I look forward to the 2012 campaign.

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 | April 1, 2011
 Jobs Up, Unemployment Down as Economy Continues Recovery The economy added 216,000 jobs to the payroll in March, and the unemployment rate ticked down a notch to 8.8 percent, according to reports released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday morning.

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 | MARCH March 31, 2011
 Sen. Cardin, Rep. Pence Split Over Government Shutdown The battle over this year's budget edged closer to resolution as House Republicans and Senate Democrats moved toward compromise on a deal that would cut $33 billion from current spending levels. Judy Woodruff discusses the budget showdown and government shutdown prospects with Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.

   

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 | March 31, 2011
 Collective-Bargaining Battles Remain a Hot Topic in Midwest After weeks of emotionally charged rallies and bitter legislative disputes, the battles over public employees' collective-bargaining rights remain hot in several Midwestern states. But the arenas where those battles will play out are shifting.

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 | March 31, 2011
 Congress, White House Make Progress On Budget, But No Deal Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner's spokesman are in agreement on one key thing: Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to.

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 | March 30, 2011
 Obama Outlines Energy Goals: Is U.S. Balancing Conservation, Consumption? In a speech at Georgetown University on Wednesday, President Obama spelled out an energy road map centered on reducing dependence on oil imports. Gwen Ifill discusses the president's plan with the Bipartisan Policy Center's Jason Grumet, Rice University's Amy Jaffe and the New Yorker's Elizabeth Kolbert.

   

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 | March 30, 2011
 Tea Party Poses a Dilemma for Boehner in Budget Battle As the clock ticks once again toward the government shutdown deadline - April 8 - the NewsHour asked Todd Zwillich, Washington correspondent for the Takeaway radio program from Public Radio International and WNYC, to explain the influence of the Tea Party-inspired Republican freshman in the House of Representatives.

 

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 | March 30, 2011
 'Rawhide Down': Former Secret Service Agent Revisits Reagan Shooting Scene Jerry Parr is credited with saving President Reagan's life twice on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley, Jr. opened fire. Thirty years later, the former Secret Service agent agreed to return to the scene of the shooting.

 

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 | March 30, 2011
 Rising Republican Star Rubio Steps Into the Spotlight Sen. Marco Rubio, the rising Republican star from the Sunshine state, has decided to step more directly into the national spotlight that has been craving him since his arrival in the Capitol in January.

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 | March 29, 2011
 Obama Lays Out Strong Defense for Military Action in Libya President Obama spent much of his speech Monday night defending his decision to use military force in the coalition effort to protect civilians in Libya. His defense was forceful, grounded in a worldview where America still plays the role of unique leader and tied to the country's core values.

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 | March 28, 2011
 Watch Live: President Obama's Address on Libya Intervention At 7:30 p.m. ET Monday, President Obama will speak at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., to address the American people and answer lingering questions about the U.S. role in the coalition military mission in Libya. Watch live NewsHour coverage via Ustream.

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 | March 28, 2011
 Remembering Geraldine Ferraro, First Female Major Ticket VP Candidate Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run as a vice-presidential nominee on a major party ticket, died Saturday at age 75 after a long struggle with multiple myeloma. Gwen Ifill has an excerpt from a 1984 vice presidential debate with then-Vice President George H.W. Bush plus a later interview with Jim Lehrer about that debate.

   

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 | March 28, 2011
 Obama's Libya Address: Confronting a 'Known Messy Situation' President Obama delivers a prime-time speech Monday on the U.S. mission in Libya. Gwen Ifill discusses the stakes of the speech with Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus and Politico columnist Roger Simon.

   

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 | March 28, 2011
 Supreme Court Revisits Campaign Finance With Arizona Public-Funding Arguments The Supreme Court on Monday weighed the constitutionality of a law regulating public funding of state political campaigns in Arizona. Ray Suarez talks with the National Law Journal's Marcia Coyle about the joined cases' oral arguments.

   

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 | March 28, 2011
 White House: U.S. Seeks to Be on 'Right Side of History' in Libya Intervention As President Obama prepares to address the nation Monday night on the American military role in the fighting in Libya, White House officials brought a two-fold message to reporters during a background session.

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 | March 28, 2011
 Political Checklist: Obama's Libya Speech, Budget Battle and Geraldine Ferraro In this week's edition of the Political Checklist, Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff take an in-depth look at what President Obama needs to accomplish with his address to the nation Monday evening about the conflict in Libya.

 

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 | March 28, 2011
 President Obama Set to Address Nation on Libya President Obama probably feels pretty good about making his big speech on Libya on a day when the lead headline in the New York Times is: "Rebels In Libya Make New Gains Amid Airstrikes."

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 | March 26, 2011
 Geraldine Ferraro Dies at 75 Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice presidential candidate for a major party and former Democratic congresswoman, died Saturday at the age of 75, according to a statement from her family.

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 | March 25, 2011
 Shields and York Preview Obama's Libya Address, 2012 Republican Field Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York discuss the week's news, including the growing list of Republican candidates for the 2012 presidential nomination and President's Obama handling of the coalition mission in Libya.

   

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 | March 25, 2011
 Open GOP Presidential Field Kicks Up Campaign Speculation Though still lacking a frontrunner, the Republican field for the 2012 presidential nomination gained momentum this week as former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced his formation of an exploratory committee. Judy Woodruff sorts through the crowd of potential GOP candidates with Political Editor David Chalian.

   

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 | March 25, 2011
 Gingrich Says He's 'Closer' to Running for President Than Not Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Friday that he is four or five weeks away from officially jumping into the presidential race, saying he is closer to running than not running, while also rejecting the idea that likability is an important factor in determining who becomes president.

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 | March 25, 2011
 Health Reform Headlines The health reform law turned one this week, and opponents and proponents of the bill each used the occasion to advance their messages.

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 | March 25, 2011
 Rocks and Hard Places: Why Governing Is So Hard Every four years as I set off to cover another presidential election cycle, I secretly ask myself: why do any of these people want to be president? Consider the choices that have faced the current president just within the last few weeks.

 

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 | March 25, 2011
 The Morning Line: Steve King: Iowa Conservatives Looking for Their Obama Republican Congressman Steve King says Iowa conservatives might be looking for "a fresh face, a new candidate" in 2012 -- similar to how "Barack Obama stepped into that role for the Democrats here" in 2008.

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 | March 24, 2011
 The Morning Line: Welcome Home, Mr. President President Obama's schedule on his first day back at the office since launching U.S. military strikes in Libya has him behind closed doors throughout the day...for now.

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 | March 23, 2011
 Health Care Reform: You Asked, We Found Answers On Monday, we asked for your questions on health care reform. It's been one year since the law passed, and polls show that many Americans say they're still confused about the law. We put your questions before four analysts.

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 | March 23, 2011
 Judy Woodruff: Research, Health and the Spending Debate -- Part Two If there is an army girding to do battle against government spending on medical research, that Army is laying low for now.

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 | March 23, 2011
 Detroit's Population Decline: 1 Person Departed Every 22 Minutes Tuesday's release of the 2010 census data showed a dramatic decline in Detroit's population.

 

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 | March 23, 2011
 Political Checklist: Health Reform's Uncertain Future and Conflict in Libya The Political Checklist is back this week, and Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff and David Chalian look into how public opinion regarding President Obama's signature health insurance reform law is reverberating in American politics one year after it was signed into law.

   

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 | March 23, 2011
 The Morning Line: Health Care Reform Turns One A lot has happened in the year since President Obama signed health reform into law. And despite all the campaign rhetoric, legislative battles and legal action, public opinion seems to be right where it was when the president put ink to paper and Vice President Joe Biden proclaimed the occasion to be "a big [bleeping] deal."

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 | March 22, 2011
 And They're Off...Pawlenty Launches '12 Republican Race With yet another highly produced Hollywood-style video, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has taken the plunge as the first major contender for the Republican presidential nomination to open an account with the Federal Election Commission for the purposes of eventually setting up a full-blown campaign.

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 | March 21, 2011
 Pawlenty Takes His First Step Toward '12 GOP Nomination Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Monday he has formed a presidential exploratory committee, making him the first major Republican candidate to take an official step toward running for the GOP nomination in 2012.

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 | March 21, 2011
 As Commander in Chief, Obama Seeks Contrast With Bush Both in his ultimatum to Moammar Gadhafi on Friday and again in his remarks Saturday in Brazil announcing military action against Libyan government forces, President Obama appeared wary of leading a war weary nation onto a third battlefield.

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 | March 19, 2011
 Warren Christopher, Secretary of State and NewsHour Regular, Dies at Age 85 Of all the occupants of the lofty seventh-floor offices of the Secretary of State, perhaps none wanted to appear on the NewsHour more than Warren Christopher, whose death was announced Saturday morning.

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 | March 18, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Military Action in Libya, U.S. Attitude on Nuclear Power Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss President Obama's pressure on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to stop attacks on civilians, plus the shifts in opinion on U.S. nuclear policy in light of the ongoing crisis in Japan.

   

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 | March 18, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Afghan War, March Madness and Social Animals In this week's Doubleheader, columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss a proposal to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, plus their college basketball picks and David's new book.

 

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 | March 18, 2011
 Supporters Gear Up for Health Reform's First Birthday Next Wednesday the health care reform law turns one, and the White House and other supporters of reform are planning a public relations push to mark the birthday.

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 | March 18, 2011
 Gwen's Take: Mixed Signals: When to Send Them, How to Read Them I was sitting behind the wheel on Pennsylvania Avenue Thursday afternoon in the kind of traffic clog that those of us who live in Washington, D.C., have become accustomed to. The clamor of sirens signaled that President Obama's motorcade was about to pass.

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 | March 18, 2011
 President Obama Heads to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador As President Obama makes his first presidential foray into Latin America, he does so with a pair of international crises in Japan and Libya far from resolved.

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 | March 17, 2011
 Shutdown Averted Again After Senate Spending Vote The Senate passed another stopgap spending measure Thursday that will give congressional leaders and the White House another three weeks to work out a longer-term spending agreement.

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 | March 17, 2011
 House Budget Chief Ryan: GOP Walking Into 'Political Trap' on Budget Reforms Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Thursday predicted a long partisan battle ahead on the federal budget deficit, accusing Democrats of ignoring the problem and stressing that it could be a defining issue in the 2012 elections.

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 | March 17, 2011
 U.S. House Votes to Cut NPR Funding The House approved a measure Thursday to bar federal funding of National Public Radio. The bill also prohibits public radio stations from using federal money to pay NPR dues.

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 | March 17, 2011
 House GOP Makes Another Run at Cutting NPR Funding House Republicans are putting funding for NPR back on the chopping block Thursday. On Tuesday, the House passed a three-week temporary spending bill with $6 billion in cuts, including $50 million from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS.

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 | March 16, 2011
 Japan's Nuclear Crisis Raises Energy Questions in U.S. Kwame Holman reports on how Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis is renewing the debate about the use of nuclear power in the United States.

   

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 | March 16, 2011
 Judy Woodruff: Research, Health and the Spending Debate -- Part One For all their efforts, Oscar hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco weren't enough to lift the TV viewing audience for the Academy Awards over what they were in 2010. It was an eager, but far smaller audience who gathered in Washington last night to honor work that may arguably have a more lasting impact.

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 | March 16, 2011
 April 8 Looms in Battle Over Budget April 8 looms as the deadline by which a continuing resolution must be passed funding the government for the remaining six months of the year -- or a shutdown will occur.

 

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 | March 15, 2011
 Divided House Passes Second Stopgap Budget The House of Representatives approved another temporary spending measure Tuesday that will cut spending and keep the government operating for another three weeks, provided it also passes in the Senate.

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 | March 15, 2011
 Some Republicans Plan to Break Ranks Over Stopgap Funding The most important vote tally to watch Tuesday will be the one that indicates how many Republicans in the House voted against the three-week continuing resolution brought to the floor by the GOP leadership.

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 | March 14, 2011
 Barbour May Follow in Brewer's Footsteps on Controversial Immigration Policy Mississippi governor and potential Republican presidential contender Haley Barbour addressed a Chamber of Commerce audience in Chicago Monday, where he spent most of his time on criticizing President Obama's handling of the economy.

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 | March 14, 2011
 President Obama to Push for Reforms to 'No Child Left Behind' As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama was often critical of the implementation of No Child Left Behind and the lack of full federal funding accompanying the law, but he always placed himself in the camp that thought the law should be mended, not ended.

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 | March 14, 2011
 Obama Pushes Overhaul of No Child Left Behind, but Testing Remains Central On at least one of the major domestic issues he campaigned on -- education -- there's general consensus that President Obama has been plowing ahead as advertised, even if both sides don't agree with him.

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 | March 11, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Obama's Libya Stance, Wisconsin Union Fight Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's top political news, including President Obama's response to the conflict in Libya and the stalemate over the federal budget, plus Wisconsin's controversial collective-bargaining bill being signed into law and the life of David Broder.

   

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 | March 11, 2011
 Obama News Conference Tackles Libya's Revolt, Budget Stalemate In a White House news conference originally intended to address rising gas prices, President Obama also discussed U.S. response to Libya and the federal budget stalemate. Jim Lehrer reports.

   

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 | March 11, 2011
 Senate, House Leaders Agree on Another Stopgap Funding Bill Congressional leaders announced Friday afternoon that they reached an agreement on another measure to fund the government after March 18, delaying any possible government shutdown until at least April 8.

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 | March 11, 2011
 In News Conference, Obama Addresses Disaster in Japan, Oil Prices, Libya In a news conference Friday afternoon, President Obama called the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan a "catastrophic disaster," adding that images of the aftermath have been "heartbreaking.

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 | March 11, 2011
 President Obama Has a Full Plate Ahead of News Conference When President Obama takes the podium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to take questions from the press, he does so with a great many unresolved issues on his plate.

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 | March 11, 2011
 Rest in Peace, David Broder There have been a lot of reminiscences shared about David Broder this week. Writers write. That's how we celebrate, and that's how we grieve. And I haven't been able to stop reading everyone's version of life with Dave, and marveling at how often the stories overlap.

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 | March 10, 2011
 Reps. Ellison, McCaul Weigh Radicalization Concerns Against Singling Out Islam Margaret Warner talks to Homeland Security committee member Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim member of Congress, about Thursday's controversial hearing about the radicalization of Muslims within the United States.

   

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 | March 10, 2011
 Congressional Hearing on Radicalization of U.S. Muslims Draws Ire, Praise Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., called to order a Homeland Security Committee hearing on the radicalization of Muslims within the United States to much praise, criticism and intense interest. Witnesses included the first Muslim elected to Congress and the Los Angeles County sheriff. Margaret Warner recaps the controversial hearing.

   

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 | March 10, 2011
 News Wrap: Pro-Gadhafi Forces Claim to Recapture Key Oil Port In other news Thursday, forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi claimed to have recaptured the key oil port of Ras Lanouf, which rebels seized a week ago. Gadhafi's forces attacked the port with tanks and warplanes. Meanwhile in Brussels, NATO officials announced an around-the-clock surveillance of Libyan airspace.

 

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 | March 10, 2011
 Wisconsin Protesters Vow to Fight Vote to Curb Bargaining Rights Wisconsin's state Assembly on Thursday approved limits on collective bargaining for public employee unions following a controversial vote in the state Senate late Wednesday that caught Democratic legislators and union leaders off-guard. Jim Lehrer talks with Frederica Freyberg of Wisconsin Public Television about the next steps.

   

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 | March 10, 2011
 Rep. King's Radicalization Hearings Draw Strong Feelings on Capitol Hill Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., opened his controversial hearings to examine Muslim radicalization in America amid a chaotic atmosphere Thursday on Capitol Hill by offering a defense of the proceedings.

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 | March 10, 2011
 The Morning Line: King Hearings Spark Vocal Debate Thursday's House Homeland Security hearing on "the extent of radicalization in the American Muslim community" has sparked a national debate about more than just the threat of homegrown terrorism.

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 | March 9, 2011
 Wis. Senate's Surprise Vote to Restrict Bargaining Stuns Unions, Democrats In a swift move that caught Democrats and union leaders off-guard, Republicans in Wisconsin's state Senate approved a bill Wednesday night that would curtail collective-bargaining rights for most public unions and could potentially end a three-week standoff that has captured national attention.

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 | March 9, 2011
 Va. Gov. McDonnell: Walker Trying to Help Wisconsin Gain Economic Edge Margaret Warner talks with Republican Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell about the continued stalemate across the country between state legislatures and public-employee unions over benefit cuts, collective bargaining and budget deficits.

   

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 | March 9, 2011
 Obama Nominates Commerce Secretary Locke for China Ambassador Post President Obama formally nominated Commerce Secretary and former Washington Gov. Gary Locke to be ambassador to China Wednesday. If confirmed, he will succeed former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who is likely to seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

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 | March 9, 2011
 Spending Debate Continues After Senate Rejects House GOP Plan The Senate rejected H.

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 | March 9, 2011
 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist David Broder Dies at 81 Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist David Broder died on Wednesday of complications from diabetes, his newspaper, The Washington Post, reported. He was 81.

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 | March 9, 2011
 E-mails Show Possible Crack in Wisconsin Stalemate As Democrats in the Wisconsin state Senate reached the end of their third week hiding out in Illinois, there was a possible glimmer of movement away from each side's fortified positions in the battle over collective bargaining rights and slightly toward compromise.

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 | March 8, 2011
 Banks, Retailers Clash Over Move to Cap Debit Card 'Swipe Fees' Banks, retailers and lawmakers are preparing for a showdown over hidden "swipe fees" banks charge retailers when consumers make debit card purchases. Judy Woodruff talks with the American Bankers Association's Nessa Feddis and the National Retail Federation's Mallory Duncan about the battle over fees and the impact on consumers.

   

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 | March 8, 2011
 GOP, Democrats Spar Over Spending Cuts as Budget Battle Threatens Shutdown Lawmakers have until March 18 to reach a budget agreement to keep the government operating, but the two parties disagree greatly on the amount to cut from this year's spending. Gwen Ifill talks with Political Editor David Chalian about the continuing budget stalemate as lawmakers prepare for the next showdown over spending.

   

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 | March 8, 2011
 Republican Leader Hints at More Short-Term Spending Bills Even as the Senate was preparing Tuesday to vote on two different proposals for funding the federal government until Sept. 30.

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 | March 8, 2011
 Senate's Votes on Budget Expected to Fail Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have a pretty good idea about how far apart they are when it comes to funding the government for the rest of the fiscal year, but they're expected to vote Tuesday on two measures to find out for sure.

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 | March 7, 2011
 Republican John Ensign Latest Senator to Announce Retirement Nevada Republican John Ensign announced Monday he will not seek reelection in 2012, ending a Senate career marred by Ensign's admission of an extramarital affair.

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 | March 7, 2011
 Political Checklist: Obama's Options in Libya, Late Start to 2012 Cycle On this week's edition of the Political Checklist, David Chalian, Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff look at how the White House is handling the situation in Libya and the option of opening American oil reserves to keep gas prices down.

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 | March 7, 2011
 Republican Presidential Hopefuls Take the Stage in Iowa The first big Hawkeye State cattle call in the battle for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination is set to take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET at Point of Grace Church in Waukee, Iowa.

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 | March 4, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Shields and Brooks on Money, Muslims and the NFL Mark Shields and David Brooks shed some light on the rhetoric behind the federal spending debate in Congress. They also touch on a controversial set of hearings about Muslims in America, as well as the stalled NFL labor talks.

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 | March 4, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on U.S. Facing Tough Calls on Libya, Pension Woes Columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks sort through the top political stories of the week. including the "civil war in the making" in Libya, the brewing pension problems across the United States and what's being done to avoid a government shutdown.

   

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 | March 4, 2011
 Gwen's Take: The View From Indiana This otherwise unprepossessing state capitol has in recent weeks morphed into one of several hot spots around the nation that are testing what it means to govern and be governed, Gwen Ifill writes from Indiana.

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 | March 4, 2011
 Wisconsin Budget Stalemate Reaches Tipping Point Republican Gov. Scott Walker announced Thursday that he would start sending layoff notices to 1,500 state workers Friday unless the impasse over his budget repair bill is resolved.

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 | March 3, 2011
 AFL-CIO's Trumka: No American Should Face Choice Between Rights, Job Judy Woodruff talks to Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, a voluntary federation of 57 U.S. and international labor unions. Many AFL-CIO members would be affected by pending state-level legislation that would cut collective-bargaining rights for public employees.

   

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 | March 3, 2011
 Iowa GOP Chair Strawn Defends State's No. 1 Spot in Presidential Campaign Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matt Strawn visited Capitol Hill Monday to defend his state's perch as the very first place to vote for a candidate to run against President Obama in 2012, highlighting the power the Iowa caucuses have in determining who wins presidential nominations.

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 | March 3, 2011
 Obama, Calderon Assess Drug War, Economy and a '21st Century Border' In a news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, President Obama praised a "new era of respect, cooperation and partnership between our two countries," pointing to the "strong bond between our two societies.

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 | March 3, 2011
 Gingrich Ready to 'Test the Waters' of 2012 Presidential Bid The former speaker of the House is expected to announce that he plans to start testing the presidential waters at a news conference at the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta.

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 | March 2, 2011
 Obama's Foreclosure Program Slammed Anew for Ineffectiveness Two years after it was launched with far more ambitious goals, the Obama administration's main program to prevent foreclosures came under fire in Congress Wednesday while the Treasury Department received a final barrage of criticism from the departing inspector general of the TARP program.

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 | March 2, 2011
 After Senate Passes Spending Measure, New Countdown Begins The Senate moved swiftly to pass the House's two-week spending measure Wednesday by a 91-9 vote, virtually ensuring that the federal government will remain open after March 4. The short-term measure, however, only extends funding through March 18.

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 | March 2, 2011
 Pain at the Pump Across Patchwork Nation As protesters march throughout the Middle East, forcing regime changes, they have set the oil markets into a panic.

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 | March 2, 2011
 Senate Approves Two-Week Spending Measure On Wednesday the Senate passed a two-week, stopgap funding bill designed to avert a government shutdown by a 91-9 vote, one day after the House approved the measure 335-91 with support from most House Republicans and a majority of Democrats.

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 | March 2, 2011
 Making Sen$e: Earth to Paul- Wisconsin is Not Rhode Island! Paul has spent the past few days responding to some of the many questions and comments we received regarding last week's broadcast story, "In Tiny Rhode Island, a Massive Public Pension Crisis Looms" and the Making Sen$e web piece, "Paying For Public Pensions.

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 | March 2, 2011
 Former House Speaker Gingrich Prepares to Make His Move Newt Gingrich has indicated that he'll soon clarify his intentions for a presidential run.

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 | March 1, 2011
 Protests in Wisconsin, Elsewhere Stir Debate on Public vs. Private Pay, Benefits Wisconsin public employees continued another week of protests as Gov. Scott Walker presented his budget plan for the coming year to the state Assembly. Jeffrey Brown talks with Harley Shaiken of the University of California, Berkeley, and the Cato Institute's Chris Edwards about public- vs. private-sector benefits and pay.

   

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 | March 1, 2011
 House Moves to Avert Shutdown for Two Weeks, But Battles Remain The GOP-led House passed a bill that extends the government budget for two weeks and cuts $4 billion from this year's spending. Senate leaders and President Obama have expressed support for the bill. Judy Woodruff talks with Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican Rep. Allen West of Florida about the agreement.

   

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 | March 1, 2011
 House Approves Two-Week Spending Bill The House took a major step toward averting a federal government shutdown Tuesday by passing a bill that would extend government funding until March 18, giving Congress two weeks to hammer out a compromise on a longer-term funding solution.

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 | March 1, 2011
 Gov. Walker: Tuesday Is Deadline for Bill Thousands rally outside Wisonsin's capitol building protesting the proposed budget repair bill.

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 | FEBRUARY Feb. 28, 2011
 President Obama Shifts on Health Care Reform Law for States President Obama announced he supports a change allowing states to opt-out of certain provisions of the health care reform law at an earlier date. Judy Woodruff talks with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, about the president's compromise with opponents of the law.

   

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 | Feb. 28, 2011
 Threat of Government Shutdown Fades With New Spending Proposal Kwame Holman reports on a Republican-backed proposal gaining support from some Democrats that could reduce the threat of a government shutdown.

   

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 | Feb. 28, 2011
 Political Checklist: Obama Meets the Governors Amid Wisconsin Stalemate Last week, Gwen Ifill and David Chalian discussed the very real possibility that the federal government could face a shutdown if GOP House leaders and Senate Democrats could not come to an agreement on spending.

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 | Feb. 28, 2011
 Iowa's Top Republican Sizes Up 2012 Field Iowa's Republican governor, Terry Branstad, talked to the NewsHour about the GOP's highest-profile contenders, including Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.

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 | Feb. 28, 2011
 Two-week Stopgap Puts Talk of Shutdown on Hold Senate Democrats have signaled they can support a two-week funding measure put forward late last week by House Republicans that contains $4 billion in cuts from current spending levels.

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 | Feb. 25, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Walker's Prank Call, Shutdown Prospects, Carmelo Anthony The Doubleheader is back this week, and Mark Shields and David Brooks tackle Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's phone call with a blogger who pretended to be billionaire and conservative financier David Koch.

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 | Feb. 25, 2011
 Shields, Brooks on Collective Bargaining's Future, Shutdown Chances, Libya Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's political news, including possible 2012 Republican presidential candidates, state budget crises, the threat of a federal government shutdown on March 4 and U.S. response to the Libya uprising.

   

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 | Feb. 25, 2011
 Govs. Daniels, Schweitzer on Looming Federal Government Shutdown Governors across the U.S. are struggling to balance budgets and slash spending in a tough economic climate. Judy Woodruff talks to Republican Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Democratic Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer about the collective-bargaining battle and what impacts a federal government shutdown would have on their states.

 

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 | Feb. 25, 2011
 Close To The Edge: Tales from Tripoli, Madison and Washington When I was just a young thing, I loved a song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five called "The Message." "Don't push me, 'cuz I'm close to the edge," the refrain went. "I'm trying not to lose my head." A lot of people seem to be losing their heads of late.

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 | Feb. 25, 2011
 With Public-Sector Unions in Spotlight, How Does Voting Public View Them? What started in Wisconsin as a budget fight about wages and bargaining power of public-sector unions has grown into a national fight as protests have spilled over into other states. The debates are fundamentally about the future of unions and cold hard politics, but where is the public on that debate? That depends.

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 | Feb. 25, 2011
 Governors Making Their Annual Visit to the White House President Obama waves to guests as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House earlier this week.

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 | Feb. 24, 2011
 Poll: 1 in 5 Americans Believe Health Reform Was Repealed More than one in five Americans incorrectly believe that the health care reform law has been repealed, and another 26 percent aren't sure, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll released Thursday.

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 | Feb. 24, 2011
 Fundamental Disagreements Over Public Employees' Rights The standoff in Wisconsin between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and a combination of state workers and Democratic state lawmakers over cutting the rights of public employee unions raises one of those fundamental questions about our system of government that is seldom addressed.

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 | Feb. 24, 2011
 President Obama's Views on Same-sex Marriage Are Evolving The news out of President Obama's Justice Department that the administration will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court should come as no big surprise. Mr. Obama has long been publicly committed to legislatively repealing the 1996 law.

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 | Feb. 23, 2011
 In Policy Shift, President Orders Halt to Legal Defense of Marriage Law President Obama ordered the Justice Department to stop defending a 1996 federal law defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. Gwen Ifill talks with Charlie Savage of The New York Times about the implications of the president's decision.

   

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 | Feb. 23, 2011
 What Would a Government Shutdown Look Like? "Shutdown" has been a buzzword in Washington this week, as tensions continue to rise in Congress over reaching a budgeting agreement for the rest of the fiscal year before the current one expires.

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 | Feb. 23, 2011
 Chicago Votes in Rahm Emanuel as Its Next Mayor From helping to run the country to running Chicago, Rahm Emanuel has had quite a year. The former White House chief of staff defeated a field of six candidates with 55 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff, and can now plan to start his dream job May 16.

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 | Feb. 22, 2011
 Showdown Over Bargaining Rights, State Budgets Spreads Beyond Wisconsin Indiana lawmakers followed their Wisconsin counterparts' example by leaving the state to halt a bill that would curb the influence of labor unions. Gwen Ifill talks to reporters in New Jersey, Indiana and Ohio, where state budget deficits are going head-to-head with the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

   

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 | Feb. 22, 2011
 Political Checklist: Wisconsin Standoff, Spending Showdown and Chicago In this week's edition of the Political Checklist, Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondent Gwen Ifill look at the political standoff in Wisconsin, the spending showdown in Congress and the Chicago mayoral race.

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 | Feb. 22, 2011
 Lack of Unity Dooms One Montana Tea Party, May Speak to Wider Problems Patchwork Nation has noted in the past that Tea Party organizations are less an organized movement that loose affiliation of interest groups. That description has proven true in Ronan, Mont., where the sudden rise and stunning collapse of one local Tea Party organization offers a look at some of the challenges the groups face.

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 | Feb. 22, 2011
 South Dakota's Thune Says 'No' to 2012 Presidential Run John Thune is going to pass on 2012. The second-term South Dakota senator announced Tuesday he would not seek the Republican presidential nomination next year.

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 | Feb. 22, 2011
 The Toxic Revenger: Supreme Court Considers a Crime of Passion On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that has it all: passion, betrayal, revenge, and hair loss. There's something for everyone, including constitutional law scholars, political strategists, readers of supermarket tabloids, and groups pushing to repeal last year's health care reform law.

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 | Feb. 22, 2011
 Stalemate Over Labor Rights Continues in Wisconsin Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will directly address the residents of his state Tuesday about the "current fiscal year challenges, the divisions which have arisen over the past week and his positive vision for moving Wisconsin forward," according to his aides.

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 | Feb. 21, 2011
 Government Shutdown Possible as Congress Debates Budget Cuts The prospect of a federal government shutdown inched closer after the House passed a funding measure calling for $61 billion in cuts to this year's budget. President Obama has threatened to veto the bill. Judy Woodruff talks with the New York Times' John Harwood about whether lawmakers will strike a deal by the March 4 deadline.

   

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 | Feb. 21, 2011
 Gov. Walker Rejects Compromise as Wisconsin Union Protests Continue Protests continued in Wisconsin's capitol as Gov. Scott Walker refused to negotiate with striking public employees about collective bargaining rights. Judy Woodruff talks to Jason Stein, capitol reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

   

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 | Feb. 21, 2011
 Chicago Mayoral Race in Finals Days Chicagoans head to the polls on Tuesday to vote for the city's first new mayor in more than 20 years, and the candidates are in their final push for voters' support.

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 | Feb. 21, 2011
 Wisconsin Governor Rejects Talks; At Least 30 Reported Killed in Afghan Blast After six days of protests in Wisconsin over a bill that would curb collective bargaining rights and other benefits in an attempt to narrow the state's budget deficit, Republican Gov. Scott Walker stood behind the legislation in an interview on Fox News Sunday.

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Medicaid Shortfalls, Public Unions and Spring Training It's always a pleasure to have the boys of spring and summer -- syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks -- back in action together. In this week's Doubleheader, we discuss the big jump states face in Medicaid expenditures.

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 House Passes Spending Measure With Deep Cuts In a flurry of floor activity, the House moved to wrap up legislative business Friday on a bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. The House and Senate have until March 4 to reach an agreement or the federal government will be forced to close.

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Boehner's 'New World Order,' Wisconsin Protests Columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss the week's top political news with Jim Lehrer, including the House's spending deliberations, Speaker Boehner's willingness to lose a few battles, fights over government funding and the future of public employee unions and collective bargaining amid protests in Wisconsin.

   

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 House's Spending Debate Continues as Possible Government Shutdown Nears Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports on the fourth day of deliberations in the House of Representatives over spending cuts and a continuing resolution to fund the government.

   

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 News Wrap: Man in Afghan Army Uniform Kills 2 NATO Soldiers in Attack In other news Friday, a man wearing an Afghan army uniform opened fire on NATO troops in Afghanistan today, killing two German soldiers, but it was unclear if the attacker was actually an Afghan soldier. Separately, a suicide car bomber hit a Khost police station, killing 11 and wounding 41. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

   

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 Wisconsin Public Workers Union Rights Go Head-to-Head with State Budget Woes A push to reduce state workers' benefits and eliminate collective bargaining caused a furor this week as protesters descended on Wisconsin's Capitol. Judy Woodruff examines the predicament with Jonathan Williams of the American Legislative Exchange Council and Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers.

   

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 High Tech and High Fashion as Obama Woos Silicon Valley Leaders On President Obama's trip to Silicon Valley Friday, there were echoes of a debate raging around the country: how much should the government invest to help spur job growth vs. how much should it focus on austerity?

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 Gwen Ifill: Meaning What You Say It's a familiar cycle. Voters say they want new faces and fresh thinking in Washington. But once the newcomers arrive in the nation's capital, they discover themselves consigned to back benches and basement offices.

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 Wisconsin, Other State Legislatures Consider Eliminating Collective Bargaining Republican state senators in Wisconsin tried for a second day Friday to vote on a bill that would take collective bargaining rights from public workers.

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 | Feb. 18, 2011
 House Lawmakers Put Finishing Touches on Spending Bill The House will meet at 9 a.m. Friday for what's expected to be the fourth and final day in what has turned into a marathon debate over a bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year.

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 Senate Pair Risks Backlash Seeking Bipartisan Fix for Deficit, Debt Crisis As debate continues over President Obama's budget proposal, Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Mark Warner discuss their bipartisan approach to addressing the debt crisis -- and the pitfalls they face in doing so.

   

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 Medicaid Recipients Nervous as States Start Chopping to Fill Budget Holes Governors across the U.S. are desperately looking for ways to fill huge budget gaps. Most are required by law to balance their budgets, which means big cuts in state spending on all programs, including Medicaid. That has many recipients worried. Betty Ann Bowser reports on battles in Arizona and elsewhere.

   

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 Wisconsin's Crowded Capitol: Collective-Bargaining Protest Grows Amid the firestorm in Wisconsin over whether to scrap collective-bargaining rights for public employees, Ray Suarez speaks with Wisconsin Public Television Capitol reporter Adam Schrager, who has been covering the protests this week -- described as the largest in Madison since the 1960s.

   

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 News Wrap: China Warns U.S. Not to Impose Will Through Internet Freedom Push In other news Thursday, China's foreign minister warned the U.S. not to interfere in its affairs after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new $25 million campaign promoting Internet freedom. Also, in a new U.S. intelligence estimate, Iran's leaders are divided over how far to push the country's nuclear program.

 

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 In Wis., Thousands Protest Anti-Collective Bargaining Bill Thousands of demonstrators have descended on Wisconsin's Capitol building this week to protest a bill that would strip state workers of their collective bargaining rights. On Thursday, Democratic lawmakers left the state in an attempt to stall voting on the bill proposed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 Federal Spending, Visualized: 2012 Budget Proposal Edition With the unveiling of President Obama's 2012 budget proposal this week, we're updating our post from last week about the many ways news organizations and graphic designers have visualized the federal budget.

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 Democratic Lawmakers Stall Vote in Wisconsin, Protesters Gather at Capitol Wisconsin Police officers are looking for Democratic lawmakers who left the capitol before a scheduled vote on a bill that would strip state workers of their collective bargaining rights on Thursday.

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 Risking Common Ground in a Partisan-Dominated Budget Battle It's just beginning to emerge in public - with hints from a handful of senators about entitlement cuts - but something does appear to be taking shape that would address the debt monster looming over Washington.

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 | Feb. 17, 2011
 Republicans Plan Vote to Cut $61 Billion From Budget House Speaker John Boehner may have lost an intra-party skirmish on funding for an alternative engine for a fighter jet and Democrats may have wooed enough Republicans to restore funding for police officers, but the big moment many new members have been waiting for is due to arrive later Thursday.

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 | Feb. 16, 2011
 Defense Spending Battles Brewing as House Axes Backup F-35 Engine Funds The Obama administration defended its military budget before Congress, sparking new political conflict between Democrats and Republicans. Jim Lehrer talks with Political Editor David Chalian about the looming battles between the parties.

   

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 | Feb. 16, 2011
 Sen. Bernie Sanders: 'I've Got a Lot of Problems With the President's Budget' Judy Woodruff talks to Sen. Bernie Sanders, the longtime Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats and serves on the Senate Budget Committee, about the debate on spending and cuts in the president's budget blueprint for 2012.

   

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 | Feb. 16, 2011
 News Wrap: Israel Says Iran About to Send Warships to Syria In other news Wednesday, Israel warned that Iran is preparing to send two warships to Syria via the Suez Canal. The Egyptian body that oversees the canal denied the claim. The GOP-led House moved ahead with a bill eliminating $61 billion from this fiscal year's government spending despite a veto threat from President Obama.

 

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 | Feb. 16, 2011
 Budgets and Continuing Resolutions: What's the Difference? If you've been trying to keep track of Capitol Hill this week, you might be confused: Is the House considering President Obama's budget? How much is being cut from the budget? And what is a CR?

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 | Feb. 16, 2011
 Military Budget Criticized for Spending Too Much, Not Spending Enough As Defense Secretary Robert Gates heads to Capitol Hill Wednesday to begin pushing for the Obama administration's defense budget, the Pentagon's spending plans are taking flak from the political left and right.

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 | Feb. 16, 2011
 On Capitol Hill, a Budget Faceoff Now that President Obama has unveiled his budget proposal and gone before reporters to defend it, we can start paying attention to the real budget battle in town.

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 | Feb. 15, 2011
 Rand Paul: 'Our Whole Economy Is Equal to Our Debt Now' Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a co-founder of the Senate Tea Party Caucus, speaks with Gwen Ifill about President Obama's 2012 budget proposal, plus his vision for further spending cuts and bringing down the U.S. national debt.

   

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 | Feb. 15, 2011
 Obama Touts Budget Plan as Republicans Seek Deeper Spending Cuts President Obama continued promoting his budget blueprint for 2012 on Tuesday and called on both parties to prepare for tough decisions about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Judy Woodruff talks with Political Editor David Chalian about the budget battles between Democrats and Republicans, and Congress and the White House.

   

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 | Feb. 15, 2011
 Rand Paul on President Obama's Budget Outlook: 'Mind-Boggling' To hear Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tell it, Democrats and Republicans are still missing the big picture when it comes to the country's fiscal situation. "I think both sides haven't woken up to the enormity of the problem," Paul told the NewsHour's Gwen Ifill in a one-on-one interview Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

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 | Feb. 15, 2011
 President Obama Defends 2012 Budget In a news conference Tuesday, President Obama defended his proposed 2012 budget, acknowledging that "there will be plenty of arguments in months to come, and everybody's going to have to give a little bit.

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 | Feb. 15, 2011
 House Republicans Seek to Fulfill Campaign Pledge on Budget House Republicans campaigned on a pledge to cut $100 billion from the budget this year, and they're seeking to fulfill that pledge as they kick off Tuesday's debate about how to fund the government through Sept. 30.

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 | Feb. 14, 2011
 Cuts, Deficit Highlight 2012 Budget Blueprint, But Battles Loom in Washington President Obama submitted his $3.7 trillion federal budget blueprint for 2012. Gwen Ifill speaks with White House Budget Director Jack Lew about the details of the budget and Judy Woodruff has the Republican reaction from Sen. Rob Portman, a member of the Senate Budget Committee and former budget director under George W. Bush.

 

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 | Feb. 14, 2011
 Political Checklist: President Obama's Budget a 'Starting Point' After President Obama unveiled his 2012 budget proposal Monday, Political Editor David Chalian spoke with Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff about the limits -- and possibilities -- of a budget that likely will be rejected by House Republicans.

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 | Feb. 14, 2011
 President Obama's Opening Bid for 2012 Budget: $3.73 Trillion President Obama's message of "Winning the Future" in his State of the Union address was the poetry. Now comes the prose.

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 | Feb. 11, 2011
 Gwen's Take: When Sending Signals Matters, When It Doesn't When cast against the backdrop of dramatic events in Egypt, the Washington wallpaper this week begins to look kind of beside the point. This week's events in Tahrir Square were more dramatic than any movie script and certainly more riveting than any Washington debate.

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 | Feb. 11, 2011
 The Doubleheader: Mark Shields Responds to Reddit Questions In this week's Doubleheader, columnist Mark Shields answers questions posed to him by the Reddit community -- just as his usual sparring partner David Brooks did last week.

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 | Feb. 11, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on GOP Candidates' Plausibility, Egypt's Bottom-up Revolution Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks analyze the week's news, including the resignation of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and the candidates eyeing the 2012 Republican presidential nomination at the Conservative Political Action Conference meeting in Washington.

   

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 | Feb. 11, 2011
 At CPAC, Field Appears Wide Open for 2012 Republican Nomination At the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Republican presidential hopefuls began pitching their candidacies to the conservative faithful. Judy Woodruff reports.

   

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 | Feb. 11, 2011
 Health Reform Watch: De-funding Efforts Begin, Berwick on the Hill GOP De-funding Effort to Start Next WeekRepublican lawmakers said Wednesday that they plan to use a spending bill that they'll bring to the House floor next week in their first effort to de-fund the health reform law.

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 | Feb. 11, 2011
 On Day 2 of '12 Cattle Call: Thune, Romney, Pawlenty, Daniels, Paul The largest annual gathering of conservatives got underway Thursday as more than 11,000 activists flocked to Washington to size up their potential choices for the 2012 Republican nomination.

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 | Feb. 11, 2011
 Obama Administration Unveils Fannie, Freddie Proposals to Much Debate More than two years after the housing bubble collapsed and the financial crisis struck, one debate that looms large in Washington is about to be re-ignited Friday: What can and should be done about the housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?The debate has roiled continuously for years between Republicans and Democrats.

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 | Feb. 10, 2011
 Issa, Cummings Debate Costs, Benefits of Easing Business Regulations Business leaders have long complained that government regulations are costly and threaten jobs, and the GOP-led House addressed the topic at a committee hearing. Judy Woodruff talks with two members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Republican Darrell Issa and Democrat Elijah Cummings.

   

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 | Feb. 10, 2011
 News Wrap: Demonstrators in Iraq Demand End to Corruption, Prisoner Abuse In other news Thursday, more than 3,000 Iraqis protested prisoner abuse and court-system corruption in the streets of Baghdad. The demonstrations were one of the biggest since political unrest began in Egypt and Tunisia. In northwestern Pakistan, a suicide bomber killed at least 31 troops at an army training camp.

 

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 | Feb. 10, 2011
 Sen. Jon Kyl Expected to Announce Retirement Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, is expected to announce Thursday that he is retiring at the end of his term in 2012, the Washington Post and other media organizations are reporting, ending a 25-year career in Congress and leaving an open seat in the 2012 election.

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 | Feb. 10, 2011
 Census Data Start to Show Katrina's Long-Term Impact on New Orleans Long before last year's Census, it was clear that New Orleans was a changed city. A drive past the vacant homes in the Lower Ninth Ward five-plus years after Hurricane Katrina makes that clear. But the scope of the change is only becoming apparent now as the 2010 data begin to trickle out.

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 | Feb. 10, 2011
 CPAC Sets the Stage for 2012 GOP Hopefuls The list of confirmed speakers for this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) set to get underway Thursday reads like a who's who of potential Republican contenders for the party's 2012 nomination.

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 | Feb. 9, 2011
 Spending Battle Faces Major Hurdles in House Congress has until March 4th to come to an agreement on how to continue to fund the government, and that job could be difficult, especially for House Republican leaders who have lost two of the past three bill votes on the House floor since Tuesday evening.

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 | Feb. 9, 2011
 Geithner Confident Congress Will Raise Debt Ceiling Despite Critics Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner expressed confidence Wednesday that Congress will vote to raise the ceiling on the national debt.

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 | Feb. 9, 2011
 Webb's Retirement Complicates Democrats' Hold on Senate Majority Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., the former Navy secretary who rode the 2006 Democratic wave to a United States Senate seat from Virginia, announced his plan to retire Wednesday, which also happens to be his 65th birthday.

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 | Feb. 9, 2011
 Economy, Spending on the Menu for Obama's Lunch With GOP President Obama will welcome the top three Republicans in the House of Representatives for lunch Wednesday at the White House, part of his renewed outreach to GOP lawmakers since the "shellacking" suffered by Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections.

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 | Feb. 8, 2011
 Republicans Rekindle Abortion Debate on Capitol Hill Throughout the 2010 midterm election cycle, one of the most familiar, and accurate, narratives was that social issues had played a very diminished role in the fight for control of Congress.

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 | Feb. 8, 2011
 Political Checklist: Obama's Chamber Speech, Rumsfeld 'Re-Litigates' the Past In this week's Political Checklist, senior correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff speak with Political Editor David Chalian about President Obama's speech to the Chamber of Commerce and whether it marks a pro-business shift for the White House.

 

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 | Feb. 8, 2011
 Federal Spending, Visualized In his State of the Union address, President Obama said that, "Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the first time." Some graphic designers have already tried to find new ways to show what federal spending looks like.

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 | Feb. 8, 2011
 Rumsfeld Settles Scores, Spreads Responsibility for Iraq War "At its heart, it is a revenge memoir," writes NewsHour senior correspondent Gwen Ifill in her Washington Post review of former secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld's new book, "Known and Unknowns.

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 | Feb. 7, 2011
 Reagan Remembrance Offers Chance to Take Stock of Current Political Climate Three thousand miles from the White House, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan proved to be an unusual, even audacious event, much like the man himself. Judy Woodruff files a dispatch from the ceremony.

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 | Feb. 7, 2011
 Obama Faces the Opposition in Speech to Chamber of Commerce It will be a very short trip across Lafayette Park Monday morning as President Obama makes his way to speak at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. But don't let the physical distance fool you.

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 | Feb. 4, 2011
 The Doubleheader: David Brooks Responds to Reddit Questions We run a tight ship here in public media land, but nevertheless Mark Shields was late to the party Friday. He missed the bus or boat or whatever, but New York Times columnist David Brooks fielded questions by himself from our viewers in the Reddit community.

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 | Feb. 4, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Obama's Egypt Stance, Debt-Limit Fight Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks discuss the week's political developments, including the most recent unemployment report, the U.S. response to unrest in Egypt and the brewing fight in Washington over government debt.

   

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 | Feb. 4, 2011
 Ronald Reagan on 'There You Go Again,' Other Notable Debate Moments Sunday marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of former President Ronald Reagan and begins a yearlong celebration of his life and legacy. Watch an excerpt of a 1989 interview with Jim Lehrer in which he explains the backstory behind some of the highlights -- and low points -- of his presidential debates.

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 | Feb. 4, 2011
 Health Reform Watch: In Courts and Congress, Health Reform Faces Challengers The health reform law faced major challenges this week in the courts and in Congress.

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 | Feb. 4, 2011
 What If Health Reform Had No Mandate? Politicians, Experts Weigh In In the wake of a second ruling from a federal judge this week who found the insurance mandate in the health reform law to be unconstitutional, there's a growing amount of chatter in the health policy world about whether lawmakers need to create a backup plan to the mandate.

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 | Feb. 4, 2011
 President Obama Likely to Face Questions on Egypt When President Obama takes the stage with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he will face his first series of public questions from the press about the crisis in Egypt since it has escalated over the course of the last week.

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 | Feb. 3, 2011
 News Wrap: Egypt Unrest Rattles Energy Market, Prompts Senate Hearing In other news Thursday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony that unrest in Egypt has rattled energy markets but is only one factor in rising oil prices. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization reported that a 3.5 percent rise in its December food-price index marked the seventh month of increases.

 

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 | Feb. 3, 2011
 Divided Congress Starts Drawing Budget Battle Lines President Obama is 10 days away from releasing his budget proposal, but that isn't stopping Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill from staking out their territory in the coming fight over how to fund the government.

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 | Feb. 3, 2011
 President Obama's Push for Innovation Hits Happy Valley The crisis in Egypt has largely sidelined President Obama's plan to sell his "Winning the Future" message delivered in his State of the Union address. Think back over the last week if you have seen President Obama doing anything other than deal with Egypt.

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 | Feb. 2, 2011
 Health Care Repeal Fails in the Senate Republican efforts to repeal President Obama's signature health care reform law failed in the Senate Wednesday after supporters of repeal failed to garner the necessary 60 votes to overcome a procedural hurdle.

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 | Feb. 2, 2011
 As Health Reform Challenges Proceed, States Face Big Decisions After four conflicting court rulings on the health care reform law, Ray Suarez looks at what's next for states and patients with Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress and Thomas Miller of the American Enterprise Institute.

   

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 | Feb. 2, 2011
 As Recession Lingers in Evangelical Epicenters, How Will Voters React? By most standard measures -- gross domestic product, consumer spending and the like -- the United States is in the midst of a steady, albeit very slow economic recovery. But in the town of Nixa in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri, the recession is very much alive.

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 | Feb. 2, 2011
 Senate to Vote on Repeal of Health Care Reform Law As most of official Washington keeps its eyes on the streets of Cairo, the Senate on Wednesday will continue its ongoing debate over President Obama's health care reform law.

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 | Feb. 1, 2011
 Kerry: U.S. Needs New 'Egyptian-People-Centric Policy' Ray Suarez speaks with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., about the situation in Egypt and the U.S. government's fine line between the longstanding alliance and supporting democratic reforms. In a New York Times editorial, Kerry called on President Hosni Mubarak to step aside.

   

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 | Feb. 1, 2011
 Senators Introduce Spending 'Straightjacket' A Republican and Democratic Senator introduced a bill Tuesday that would force Congress to make difficult long-term spending cuts by capping the amount of money the federal government could spend relative to the country's Gross Domestic Product.

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 | Feb. 1, 2011
 Brown Looks to Spend Political Capital on Fixing California's Budget Mess Jerry Brown -- California's new Democratic governor -- is getting away with something that most politicians these days can only dream about. He has plunged into California's huge budgetary mess, proposing extensions of some tax increases and further slashing the budget. And he has lived -- even prospered -- to tell the tale.

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 | Feb. 1, 2011
 Democrats Select Charlotte to Host 2012 Convention In 2008, President Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win North Carolina in more than two decades, and with Tuesday's announcement that the 2012 Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte, it's clear he wants to go two-for-two in the Tar Heel State.

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 | Feb. 1, 2011
 Players in Egypt's Opposition Movement Tens of thousands of protesters are filling the streets in Cairo today, responding to the call for a one-million strong demonstration against President Hosni Mubarak.

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 | Feb. 1, 2011
 Judge's Health Care Ruling Sparks Political, Legal Debate In the most sweeping denouncement of the law to date, a federal judge in Florida ruled Monday that the entire health care overhaul enacted last year is unconstitutional.

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 | JANUARY Jan. 31, 2011
 Political Checklist: Egypt Crisis Changes the Agenda at the White House In this edition of the Political Checklist, Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff discuss how a foreign affairs crisis like the popular revolt in Egypt forces a White House to change its script.

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 | Jan. 31, 2011
 Obama Administration Taking Cautious Approach to Egypt As thousands of protesters in Egypt continue to call for an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, the Obama administration is being careful not to advocate a specific outcome in the conflict, instead calling for an "orderly transition" to a more representative form of government in the country.

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 | Jan. 28, 2011
 The Doubleheader With Shields and Brooks: Egypt, SOTU and Reddit We're back. It's 2011, and we're bringing our brand of political flavor to new audiences around the globe. Watch Hari Sreenivasan's web-only interview with Mark Shields and David Brooks.

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 | Jan. 28, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Obama 'Recalibrating' Stance on Egypt, State of the Union Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks speak with Jim Lehrer about the week's top developments, including the Obama administration "recalibrating" the U.S. stance on the growing political unrest in Egypt and the president's messages in his latest State of the Union address.

   

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 | Jan. 28, 2011
 As Egypt's Protests Spread, All Eyes on Army's Allegiance, Next Moves Judy Woodruff examines the U.S. response to the crisis in Egypt with Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations, who just returned from Egypt; Samer Shehata, assistant professor of Arab politics at Georgetown University, and Mary-Jane Deeb, chief of the African and Middle East division at the Library of Congress.

   

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 | Jan. 28, 2011
 Health Reform Headlines: Administration Lays Groundwork for Health Care Fight President Obama said he's open to efforts to "tweak" the new health care law, but said he was "not willing to just refight the battles of the last two years.

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 | Jan. 28, 2011
 Why the Best Part of the State of the Union Address Wasn't the Speech Seldom have I watched the president's annual speech to the joint session of Congress with anticipation that had so little to do with the contents of the address itself.

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 | Jan. 28, 2011
 Biden Enjoying Vice Presidency, Friendship With Obama Vice President Biden says running with Barack Obama in 2008 was "the best decision I've made."

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 | Jan. 27, 2011
 Financial Crisis Commission Divided Over Causes, Culprits Behind Meltdown A bipartisan commission charged with investigating the causes of the financial crisis released its findings Thursday, but the members' conclusions fell along party lines. Judy Woodruff speaks with the chairman, Phil Angelides, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was part of the dissenting Republican minority.

   

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 | Jan. 27, 2011
 Exclusive | Biden: Mubarak Is Not a Dictator, But People Have a Right to Protest In an exclusive interview with Jim Lehrer, Vice President Joe Biden discussed the U.S. attitude toward intensifying anti-government protests in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East, plus the White House's agenda for the economy and gun control, disagreements with Republicans and his relationship with President Obama.

   

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 | Jan. 27, 2011
 Exclusive: Biden Discusses Unrest in Egypt, Keeping U.S. Competitive In an exclusive interview with the NewsHour, Vice President Joe Biden told Jim Lehrer Thursday afternoon that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the target of anti-government demonstrations in Cairo, is someone he knows "fairly well" and does not consider to be a dictator.

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 | Jan. 27, 2011
 Experimenting with the State of the Union and HTML5 In this year's State of the Union coverage, we added two twists that we hope you like. We worked with our friends at Universal Subtitles to subtitle and translate the speech into as many languages as possible through crowdsourcing. We also took the analysis in our Annotated State of the Union and synchronized it to the video.

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 | Jan. 27, 2011
 Tea Time on Capitol Hill Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul started off Thursday's first meeting of the Senate Tea Party Caucus on Capitol Hill with this question: "Is the Tea Party still a force in America?"

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 | Jan. 27, 2011
 Watch Live: President Obama Answers Questions on YouTube President Obama is answering user-submitted questions on his State of the Union address in a special interview on YouTube Thursday.

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 | Jan. 27, 2011
 Possible '12 Opponents Romney, Palin Criticize Obama Most national polls show former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney at or near the top of any potential Republican field in 2012, and Wednesday night he inched closer to announcing another run for president.

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 Despite Bipartisan Push, Parties' Differences Linger Over Spurring Growth Republicans and Democrats agree on the need for growth -- but seem to perpetually disagree on how it can be achieved. Ray Suarez takes a closer look at the debate and the differences with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Douglas Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum.

   

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 News Wrap: House Passes Bill to Halt Public Financing for Presidential Campaigns In other news Wednesday, the GOP-led House passed a bill that would end public financing for presidential campaigns. Republicans said it would save $617 million over 10 years. Also, the Federal Reserve said it will maintain efforts to boost the economy and will continue buying Treasury Bonds as part of a $600 billion program.

 

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 On the Road, President Continues State of the Union Message of Growth A day after his State of the Union address focused on job creation and innovation, President Obama toured an energy technology firm to promote his economic message. Correspondent Kwame Holman recaps the day, then Gwen Ifill talks to public media reporters about how the president's message and the GOP response were received.

   

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 State of the Union Reactions From Public Media Stations Around U.S. Reactions continue to roll in regarding President Obama's latest State of the Union address ), plus the pair of responses from the GOP.

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 Looking for an Elusive Middle Ground on Government Spending For all the comity on display at the State of the Union address, finding a political middle ground on the issue of government spending looks tough.

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 Obama Road Tests Message on Economic Competitiveness in Wisc. President Obama took his State of the Union message on the road Wednesday, traveling to Manitowoc, Wisc., to speak at Orion Energy Systems, a company that focuses on energy technology.

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 Help Translate the State of the Union We're collaborating with the team at Universal Subtitles on a unique project around this year's State of the Union.

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 State of the Union Has the Feel of a Re-election Launch President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night was far closer to the launch of a re-election campaign than to a listing of policy prescriptions or a tough love conversation with the American people about the inevitable hard choices that are before us.

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 Pence, Gillibrand, Brown and Gingrey React to the State of the Union Speech The NewsHour spoke with lawmakers from both parties at the U.S. Capitol immediately following President Obama's State of the Union address for reactions to the speech.

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 | Jan. 26, 2011
 Annotated Republican Response to 2011 State of the Union Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan delivered the GOP response to President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address. Click on the red links to the left of the text to take a closer look his speech through expert analysis, NewsHour videos and more. The text of the remarks is as prepared for delivery and released by the GOP caucus.

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 Full Text of Obama's 2011 State of the Union Following is the full text of President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery and released by the White House press office.

 

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 Annotated 2011 State of the Union Address Click on the red links to the left of the text to take a closer look at President Obama's 2011 State of the Union address through expert analysis, NewsHour videos and more. The text of the remarks below is as prepared for delivery and released by the White House.

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 Gibbs on Deficit: 'We Did Not Get Into This Overnight' White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs talks to Gwen Ifill about spending and the budget deficit as part of a preview of President Obama's State of the Union address.

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 Shields and Gerson on Bipartisan Mood, Deficit Debate and GOP Response Jim Lehrer previews the politics surrounding Tuesday's State of the Union address with syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, from the cooperative spirit behind this year's seating chart to the Republican response and disagreements on issues like the deficit and economic growth.

   

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 Illinois Senators Cross Partisan Seating Divide Judy Woodruff talks to two Illinois senators -- Democrat and majority whip Dick Durbin and newly-elected Republican Mark Kirk -- on why they will be seated together in a show of bipartisanship during the president's speech.

   

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 Gibbs: President to Make 'Very Hard Choices' On Deficit Gwen Ifill talks to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about the message the president hopes to convey to Congress and the American people in his State of the Union address.

   

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 President Obama to Focus on Jobs, Government Spending in State of the Union At the midpoint of his term, President Obama is expected to emphasize bipartisanship to address critical issues, including the economy and federal spending, as he reaches out to a Republican-dominated House of Representatives in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman has a preview.

   

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 Bipartisan Seating at State of the Union Pairs Odd Couples, Friendly Foes Amid new calls for political civility, several lawmakers attending tonight's State of the Union have signed on to a bipartisan seating plan. The plan has led to some interesting seat pairings. We've asked the NewsHour's political team to help us recap a few of those "odd couples."

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 | Jan. 25, 2011
 President Obama to Offer 'Robust Agenda' in State of the Union White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett took to the morning shows Tuesday to preview President Obama's State of the Union address, saying that the president will be presenting "a robust agenda that lends itself to strong bipartisan support."

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 | Jan. 24, 2011
 Emanuel Seeks Expedited Appeal After Judges Boot Him From Chicago Ballot A panel of judges ruled Monday that former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's name cannot be included on the ballot for Chicago's mayoral race because he did not meet residency requirements in the two years leading up to his announcement. Ray Suarez examines the case with Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times.

   

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 | Jan. 24, 2011
 On Eve of State of the Union, Battles Loom Over Federal Spending Cuts Congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports on debate in the House over steep spending cuts proposed by Republicans, and Jeffrey Brown looks at the fight over how to handle the nation's growing debt with Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute.

   

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 | Jan. 24, 2011
 State of the Union: Live NewsHour Coverage On-Air, Online and Mobile President Obama will address a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening to deliver his latest State of the Union address. No matter where you happen to be on Tuesday, the PBS NewsHour will bring you the most comprehensive coverage and analysis of the president's speech and the Republican response by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.

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 | Jan. 24, 2011
 Political Checklist: State of the Union Preview In this week's Political Checklist, NewsHour Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff preview President Obama's State of the Union address.

 

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 | Jan. 24, 2011
 Ahead of State of the Union, Drawing Battle Lines on Budget Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., took to the Sunday morning airwaves to draw the anticipated budget battle lines in the upcoming dominant debate in Washington as they pre-sponded to President Obama's State of the Union address.

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 | Jan. 24, 2011
 Accused Shooter Loughner to Appear in Court, Car Bombs Kill Iraqi Pilgrims Jared Lee Loughner, the accused shooter in the Arizona shooting rampage, is expected in court Monday afternoon for a preliminary hearing on charges of murder and attempted murder.

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 | Jan. 21, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on GOP's Repeal Effort, Obama's Overtures to Business, China Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks sort through the week's top political news, including President Obama's outreach to big business and China's president, plus the Republican-led vote in the House to repeal last year's health reform law.

   

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 | Jan. 21, 2011
 Now in Houston, Giffords Faces Myriad Therapies to Regain Simple Skills Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' ambulance passed scores of well-wishers as she was taken to Houston for the next phase of rehabilitation after being shot. Judy Woodruff discusses what therapies she faces with Dr. Alexander Dromerick of Georgetown University Hospital and Dr. Christina Kwasnica of St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix.

   

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 | Jan. 21, 2011
 Obama Presses for an Economy in 'Overdrive': Will Jobs Soon Follow? President Obama on Friday named General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt to lead a panel on job creation and economic competitiveness. Jeffrey Brown discusses the White House's evolving relationship with big business with former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich and John Makin of the American Enterprise Institute.

   

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 | Jan. 21, 2011
 DeMint Becomes Latest to Boycott CPAC Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., announced Friday he was skipping this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, siding with critics who feel the annual gathering of conservative activists has become too friendly with pro-gay and libertarian groups.

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 | Jan. 21, 2011
 Kennedy, King and the Power of Words I am not such a fan of celebrating anniversaries for their own sake. Much of what we say on such occasions is rote - if not trite - and the true meaning of observance is easily lost. But there were two occasions this week that made me rethink

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 | Jan. 21, 2011
 Crowds Gather as Motorcade Transfers Giffords From Hospital to Airport Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is being transported from Tucson to Houston for further rehabilitation, another step in a long journey to recovery after being shot in the head at a constituent meet-and-greet event earlier this month at a grocery story. Well-wishers gathered along her ambulance's route as she headed to an airport.

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 | Jan. 21, 2011
 President Hu Visits Chicago, Iran Nuclear Talks Resume in Istanbul Chinese President Hu Jintao is in Chicago on the second stop of his state visit to the United States, visiting a prep school and an exhibit on Chinese companies operating in the Midwest.

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 | Jan. 21, 2011
 President Obama Taps GE's Immelt to Head New Jobs Panel President Obama has picked Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, to head a new jobs panel.

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 Mayors Meet With Obama About Economic Crunch, Infrastructure Needs Judy Woodruff talks to Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett and Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx about their meeting Thursday with President Obama and Vice President Biden, where they addressed how to cope with the economic crunch facing cities across the U.S.

   

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 Kennedy's Inauguration Still Captivates, 50 Years Later On the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy inauguration, we look back on President Kennedy's speech, as well as some never-before-seen photos from the event.

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 As China's Economy Grows, How Hard Should U.S. Push on Currency, Human Rights? Continuing his U.S. visit, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with political and business leaders. Jeffrey Brown evaluates the final day of his visit and the impact on the business world with Myron Brilliant of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Thea Lee of the AFL-CIO and Yukon Huang of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

   

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 House Ways and Means Among Panels Working on Health Reform Alternatives The House Ways and Means Committee announced Thursday that its first hearing will be on Wednesday, one day after President Obama's State of the Union address.

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 Why Is JFK's Legacy So Enduring? Americans love to take note of anniversaries, both good and bad. This week, many are remembering President John F. Kennedy's Inauguration, 50 years later.

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 Conservative Republicans Target $2.5 Trillion in Federal Budget Cuts Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Getty Images file photoMembers of the Republican Study Committee, the conservative caucus among House Republicans, unveiled Thursday the Spending Reduction Act of 2011, a sweeping list of spending cuts the group says could trim $2.

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 Education and Health Targets for State Budget Cuts Several governors throughout the country have announced their budget proposals for 2011.

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 Hu to Meet With Congressional Leaders, S. Korea Accepts North's Idea for Talks Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Obama at a news conference Wednesday at the White House.

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 | Jan. 20, 2011
 At Midpoint of Presidency, Obama Is on the Upswing In the aftermath of the tragic shootings in Tucson and following a lame-duck congressional session full of positive headlines for the White House, President Obama "is riding a surge of public support," according to Jonathan Weisman and Danny Yadron of the Wall Street Journal.

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 | Jan. 19, 2011
 House Votes to Repeal Health Reform Law The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to repeal last year's landmark health reform legislation -- a mostly symbolic vote since the Democratic-led Senate is unlikely to pass repeal and might not even consider the measure.

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 | Jan. 19, 2011
 House Republicans Pass Health Reform Repeal as Democrats Defend Law House Republicans fulfilled a campaign promise Wednesday, passing what was largely viewed as a symbolic repeal of the health care reform law. The measure is not likely to clear the Senate. Betty Ann Bowser reports on the day's events, then Gwen Ifill talks to Political Editor David Chalian about the politics behind the debate.

   




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 | Jan. 19, 2011
 News Wrap: Lieberman Confirms Departure From Senate In other news Wednesday, former Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman officially announced that he will not run for a fifth Senate term in 2012. Lieberman, who won re-election as an independent said it's time to move on.

 

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 | Jan. 19, 2011
 Obama, Hu Emphasize Cooperation President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao answered reporters' questions in a news conference at the White House Wednesday after meeting with business leaders from both countries. Both presidents emphasized cooperation and the need for a positive relationship between the two powers.

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 | Jan. 19, 2011
 Health Reform Debate Revisited: What's the Tone in a New Congress? House Republicans are delivering on a campaign promise that helped fuel their many of election victories last year by debating a measure to repeal last year's health reform law.

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 | Jan. 19, 2011
 Sen. Lieberman to Bow Out, Will Not Run for Re-election in 2012 Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., has had one of the more fascinating career trajectories of any modern political leader. According to several Democratic sources, Lieberman plans to announce that he will not seek re-election in 2012.

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 | Jan. 18, 2011
 House Leaders Frame Next Steps for Round 2 of Health Reform Debate On a day when debate began on the House floor over whether to repeal the health care law passed last year, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer both met with the media in separate news conferences.

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 | Jan. 18, 2011
 Despite Long Odds, GOP-Led House Takes Aim at Health Reform Repeal The GOP-led House of Representatives restarted debate Tuesday over repealing last year's health reform bill, but the measure is not expected to clear the Senate. Betty Ann Bowser reports on the day's developments, and Judy Woodruff gets more from Republican Dan Lungren of California and Democrat Anthony Weiner of New York.

   




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 | Jan. 18, 2011
 North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad Not Seeking Re-Election North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad, who has served in the Senate for the last 24 years, said Tuesday that he will not seek re-election next year, marking the first Democratic senator to announce his or her retirement ahead of the 2012 election.

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 | Jan. 18, 2011
 House Takes Up Health Reform Repeal With Congress returning to scheduled business this week, the House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner, is set to take up a proposed repeal of the health care reform law.

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 | Jan. 18, 2011
 Congress Starts Up Repeal of Health Care Reform Law The House of Representatives returns to work Tuesday after putting legislative business on hold for a week to reflect on the Jan. 8 shootings in Tucson, Ariz., that left six people dead and 13 others wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

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 | Jan. 17, 2011
 Poll: Support for Health Care Repeal Drops As the House of Representatives gears up to vote this week on a proposed repeal of the health care reform bill, public support for the move is falling.

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 | Jan. 17, 2011
 Giffords' Condition Upgraded to Serious Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier makes a surprise visit after 25 years in exile; new riots break out in Tunis ahead of government announcement.

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on Obama's Tucson Speech, Calls for Political Civility Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks analyze the week's news, including the president's address at the Tucson memorial service.

   

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 Giffords' Staff Keeps Office Open While Coping With Shooting's Aftermath Members of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' staff have kept her office open, even as the Congresswoman fights to recover from a gunman's attack. Tom Bearden reports from Tucson.

   

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 Republican Party Ousts Steele, Elects Priebus Chairman It took seven rounds of balloting, but when all the votes were finally tallied Friday the early frontrunner to replace Michael Steele as chairman of the Republican National Committee secured the party's top job.

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 RNC Chairman Michael Steele Drops Bid For Second Term Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has ended his candidacy for a second term.

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 President Obama Remembers Ambassador Holbrooke President Obama was joined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, and a crowd of dignitaries Friday at the Kennedy Center for a service honoring Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke.

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 At Arizona Hospital, Spontaneous Vigil Grows University Memorial Hospital, where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is in intensive care, was chaotic. Frustrated police officers did their best to direct heavy traffic through a maze of satellite trucks and news vehicles that lined every nearby street.

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 Patchwork Nation: The Gun Law Divide When Congress returns to Washington to begin work in earnest following the shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 other people in Tucson, gun control advocates will likely be making the case for new measures.

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 Biden Chooses Clinton Vet as New Chief of Staff Vice President Joe Biden announced today that Bruce Reed, who was most recently executive director of the Simpson-Bowles debt commission and is a veteran of the Clinton administration, will replace Ron Klain as his chief of staff.

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 Of Symbols and Meaning: Part Two Last week in this space, I mused about how quick we can be to over interpret events and ascribe tenuous meaning to actions that so often defy explanation.

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 | Jan. 14, 2011
 RNC Chief Steele Meets His Political Fate It's Election Day for the 168 members of the Republican National Committee. They will head into a hotel ballroom just outside of Washington Friday afternoon to select a new face as leader of the party until a presidential nominee emerges from the still undefined pack.

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 | Jan. 13, 2011
 Obama's Call for Civil Discourse Resonates Around the Country Reporters give a broader reaction to the president's speech on the Tucson tragedy from public broadcasting stations in New York, Ohio, California, and Oklahoma.

   

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 | Jan. 13, 2011
 Wasserman-Schultz on Giffords' Progress and the 'Power of Friendship' Jeffrey Brown talks to Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla., a friend and colleague of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who was with her when she opened her eyes in the hospital.

   

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 | Jan. 13, 2011
 Obama Speech Evokes Emotional Moments in Tucson Tom Bearden reports from Tucson on thoughts and feelings after President Obama's speech remembering the victims of Saturday's shooting rampage.

   

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 | Jan. 13, 2011
 Portraits of Loughner Reveal Descent Into Disruptive Behavior Ray Suarez talks to David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post and Kirk Johnson of the New York Times about what friends and neighbors are saying about alleged Tucson gunman Jared Loughner's mental state and background.

   

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 | Jan. 13, 2011
 Youngest Victim of Tucson Shooting Laid to Rest Mourners remembered 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green Thursday in Tucson, the first of the funerals for the six victims killed on Saturday. Doctors treating Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said there were signs of progress in her recovery.

   

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 | Jan. 13, 2011
 Veteran Texas Senator to Retire in 2012 Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, announced Thursday that she will not run for a fifth term in 2012, leaving a wide-open Republican primary.

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 | Jan. 13, 2011
 Pawlenty Appears Primed for a White House Run Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's whirlwind media tour swept through Washington, D.C., Thursday, the city he hopes to make his home a little more than two years from now.

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 | Jan. 13, 2011
 The Morning Line: President Obama's Call For Civility The Morning Line starts off this Thursday with a look at some of the reporting on President Obama's remarks at Wednesday's memorial service in Tucson.

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Obama Delivers 'Intensely Personal' Tucson Speech Gwen Ifill gets perspective on President Obama's Tucson speech from historians Ellen Fitzpatrick And Michael Beschloss; Kari Watkins, the Executive Director Of The Oklahoma City National Memorial And Museum; and The Reverend Janet Vincent of Saint Columbia's Episcopal Church In Washington, D.C.

 

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 President Obama Calls For Talk That Heals, Not Wounds President Obama traveled to Tucson Wednesday to help memorialize those who died in the shooting rampage that took place there last Saturday, and to honor those who are still struggling with their wounds.

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Full Speech: Obama Urges Civility at Tucson Memorial President Obama joined thousands of mourners at the University of Arizona's McKale Center to remember the victims of Saturday's shooting in Tucson.

 

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Full Coverage: Memorial in Tucson The NewsHour is planning live streaming online coverage of Wednesday's Tucson memorial service at 8 p.m. ET, followed by a special edition of the broadcast.

 

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 In Times of Tragedy, Presidents Often Called on as 'Comforters-In-Chief' President Obama's address in Tucson will echo a broader role presidents must play as leaders of national mourning. Jim Lehrer looks back on presidential responses to national crises with historian Michael Beschloss and Ellen Fitzpatrick, professor of history at the University of New Hampshire.

   

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Communities Torn by Tragedy, Violence Seek to Redefine 'Normal' All too often, the country has mourned tragedies like the Tucson shooting spree through major memorials and services. After a report from Tom Bearden in Tucson, a panel reflects on how communities recover from unexpected violence.

   

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Should Security Be Increased for Lawmakers? Judy Woodruff examines the impact of Saturday's shooting on other members of Congress with Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.

   

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Nation Remembers Victims of Tucson Shootings At a memorial service on the University of Arizona campus, President Obama will remember the victims of Saturday's shooting and honor those still recovering from their injuries.

   

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Arizona Tragedy Reveals Complexities of American Attitudes Toward Guns Last weekend's tragedy in Tucson has stirred up several conversations, including one about the nation's gun laws.

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Photo Essay: Politicians Targeted by Assassins The shooting of Rep.

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 Politicians Targeted by Assassins Law enforcement is calling the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the murder of six others in Tucson, Ariz.., an assassination attempt. We take a look at some of the failed and successful assassinations of American presidents and members of Congress throughout history.

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 | Jan. 12, 2011
 President Obama Set to Address Nation at Memorial Service President Obama is set to deliver remarks about Saturday's shooting rampage in front of thousands at a memorial service Wednesday evening on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson, with millions more Americans watching around country, all listening for words of compassion, strength and hope.

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 | Jan. 11, 2011
 Gun Rights, Restrictions Under Scrutiny After Arizona Shooting Arizona's gun laws are being examined in light of the Tucson tragedy as details emerge about how alleged gunman Jared Lee Loughner obtained the weapons.

   

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 | Jan. 11, 2011
 Doctors Have High Hopes for Giffords' Recovery Rep. Gabrielle Giffords showed signs of a promising recovery Tuesday. Gwen Ifill has the latest on the lawmaker's condition and the investigation into the Arizona shooting.

   

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 | Jan. 11, 2011
 Loughner Described as Troubled Loner, Biden Meets with Karzai in Afghanistan Jared Lee Loughner, accused of killing six people and wounding 14 others, including Rep.

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 | Jan. 11, 2011
 As Rhetoric Swirls, Political Centrists Look to Seize Moment Before President and Mrs. Obama touch down in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday to lead the country in a memorial for the victims of the shooting rampage there, the Obama administration will work carefully to determine just how much they want the president to delve into the political debate that has been spawned by these tragic events.

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Giffords Faces Uncertain Road for Medical Recovery Judy Woodruff gets more on the medical condition of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords from Dr. Peter Rhee, the chief of trauma and emergency surgery at University Medical Center in Tucson.

   

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Brown on California Budget Cuts: 'Better to Take Our Medicine Now' While the nation was transfixed by the tragedy in Tucson, California's new governor, Jerry Brown, announced Monday a plan that could dramatically alter the state's welfare, health care, education and other programs.

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Arizona Attack Puts Power of Political Rhetoric Back in the Spotlight The tragic shooting in Tucson, Ariz., has revived the debate on the power of words and the state of political rhetoric. Jim Lehrer gets the views of columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks as well as Professors Beverly Gage of Yale and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the University of Pennsylvania.

   

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Tucson Reels From Shooting Tragedy, Plans Public Memorial Service Tucson's Mayor Robert Walkup gives details on how the city of Tucson is handling a gunman's attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and offers new details on plans for a public memorial service.

   

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Arizona Shooting Suspect Makes First Court Appearance Tom Bearden reports from Tucson on the aftermath of Saturday's shooting massacre, which killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords gravely wounded.

   

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Tom DeLay Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Tex., who was found guilty on charges of money laundering in November, was sentenced to three years in prison by a Texas judge Monday.

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Political Checklist: Reaction to Shooting of Rep. Giffords, Others in Arizona In this week's edition of the Political Checklist, Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff reflect on Saturday's shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz, and 19 others at a political meet-and-greet in Tucson on Saturday.

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Video: White House Observes Moment of Silence President Obama called for a national moment of silence to remember the six victims killed in the Arizona attack at a political event.

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 | Jan. 10, 2011
 Shooting of Rep. Giffords Pauses Partisan Rhetoric in Washington A week that looked to be full of heated partisan rhetoric as Republicans work to repeal the health care reform law will instead have a much more subdued tone.

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 | Jan. 8, 2011
 Congresswoman Shot by Gunman in Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the head by a gunman Saturday in Tucson, Ariz., the Associated Press is reporting.

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 | Jan. 7, 2011
 Shields and Brooks on the New Congress, Obama's Staff Revamp The 112th Congress has convened and President Obama has started making big changes to his senior staff. Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks assess these and other top political headlines.

   

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 | Jan. 7, 2011
 New to Washington, Ohio's Renacci Aims to Keep Outsider Perspective In the second in a series of conversations with members of the new Republican House majority, Ray Suarez shadows incoming Rep. Jim Renacci, a former car dealer from Northeastern Ohio, as he and his family travel to Washington to settle him into his new home and office ahead of a busy initiation into the ways of Congress.

   

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 | Jan. 7, 2011
 News Wrap: GOP Advances Attempt to Repeal Health Reform In other news Friday, the new Republican majority in the House took a formal step in an attempt to repeal health care reform. Democrats fired back, saying millions of Americans will be hurt if the law is repealed. In Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed 17 people in a bathhouse near the Pakistan border.

 

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 | Jan. 7, 2011
 Health Reform Watch: Repeal Vote Set for Wednesday House Sets up Wednesday Vote on RepealThe showdown over health care reforms continues.

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 | Jan. 7, 2011
 Where Does the Tea Party Stand With Americans, New Congress? At the dawn of a new Congress, how much influence does the Tea Party hold with lawmakers and the American people? We break down a Pew poll by Patchwork Nation's 12 community types.

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 | Jan. 7, 2011
 Of Symbols and Meaning: Or, How to Read Too Much Into Anything Just a few weeks before Christmas in 1996, I was seated in the front row in an auditorium at the Old Executive Office Building across from the White House.

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 | Jan. 7, 2011
 Obama to Name Sperling as Head of National Economic Council President Obama is set to name Gene Sperling as director of the National Economic Council. Sperling currently serves as counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and headed the council during the Clinton administration.

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 | Jan. 6, 2011
 Ways and Means Chairman Camp: 'We Will Have $100 Billion in Cuts' Judy Woodruff talks to Republican Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan, who serves as the new chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, about budget-cutting goals, raising the federal debt limit and what the GOP can expect to accomplish regarding the health care reform law.

   

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 | Jan. 6, 2011
 House Reads Constitution, Trims Budgets as GOP Targets Health Reform A busy second day of the 112th Congress began with a reading of the Constitution on the House floor. Though some Democrats joined in the reading, the parties sparred over the deficit with Democrats' asserting that budget-cut exemptions could add to the shortfall and Republicans pledging to overturn the health care reform law.

   

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 | Jan. 6, 2011
 News Wrap: Daley Named White House Chief of Staff; al-Sadr Back in Iraq In other news Thursday, William Daley, part of a Chicago political dynasty, was named White House chief of staff. Also, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who commanded a militia combating U.S. and Iraqi troops, returned to Iraq from four years of exile. His political movement is now part of Iraq's new government.

   

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 | Jan. 6, 2011
 Dueling Deficit Messages Mark Early Days of Congress Senate Democrats came out swinging Thursday against the new House Republican majority, claiming that proposed exemptions and tax cuts will increase the federal deficit.

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 | Jan. 6, 2011
 Judy Woodruff: Battles Brew Over the 14th Amendment While members of Congress took turns reading the Constitution out loud on the House floor Thursday -- a move initiated by the new Republican majority -- there's a serious battle just getting underway over one section of the document that has provided the legal underpinnings of our country for over 200 years.

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 | Jan. 6, 2011
 William Daley to Be Named Obama's Next Chief of Staff President Obama is expected to name William Daley as his chief of staff in a statement at the White House Thursday afternoon.

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 | Jan. 6, 2011
 Watch Live: Constitution Reading in the House Members of the House will read the entire U.S. Constitution on Thursday morning.

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 | Jan. 6, 2011
 Day 2 of New Congress: Read Constitution, Cut Spending A civics lesson will transpire before C-SPAN cameras at 10:30 a.m. Thursday as Republicans have scheduled a reading of the U.S. Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives, a symbolic move viewed as a nod to the Tea Party movement that swept many of the 87 new GOP lawmakers into office.

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 | Jan. 5, 2011
 Gibbs Exiting White House as More Staff Changes Expected for Obama Calling his years working with President Obama an "honor and a privilege," Robert Gibbs announced Wednesday that he will step down to become an outside adviser to the president. Judy Woodruff talks to Political Editor David Chalian about the latest departure from the administration and the anticipation of more personnel changes.

   

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 | Jan. 5, 2011
 Boehner: Partisan 'Scar Tissue' Can't Be Ignored in Congress The 112th Congress convened Wednesday with Republicans regaining the House majority and Ohio's John Boehner taking over as House speaker. Ray Suarez reports on the day's ceremony and previews the congressional battles ahead, then Jim Lehrer talks to historian Michael Beschloss and congressional expert Norman Ornstein for more.

   

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 | Jan. 5, 2011
 Boehner Takes Gavel to Become Speaker of the House After two decades in Congress, Ohio Republican John Boehner is now the 61st speaker of the House of Representatives.

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 | Jan. 5, 2011
 Boehner Set to Take the Speaker's Gavel, Putting GOP in Control After 20 years in Congress and a midterm election that saw his party net 63 seats, Ohio Republican John Boehner will become the 61st Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

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 | Jan. 4, 2011
 Debating Rules of Debate: Is Senate in a 'Constant Filibuster'? As the Senate prepares to reconvene, Jim Lehrer leads a debate between Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., over a Democratic proposal to adjust the filibuster rules in the Senate.

   

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 | Jan. 4, 2011
 New Congress Kicks Off With Vows to Cut Spending: What's on the Table? John Boehner vowed on election night to cut spending, and he takes the speaker of the House gavel with the backing of a GOP majority. Gwen Ifill gets details on what congressional spending cuts could be on the horizon from Diane Lim Rogers of the Concord Coalition and James Horney of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

   

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 | Jan. 4, 2011
 Better Days Ahead in 2011? Measuring American Optimism in the New Year Say this about Americans: they are nothing if not hopeful. While 2009 and 2010 may have brought economic trouble and pain, the mood among most Americans is surprisingly upbeat going into 2011, according to a December Pew poll. We break down the numbers by each of the 12 Patchwork Nation community types.

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 | Jan. 4, 2011
 The World According to Kal The work of Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher, the Economist's editorial cartoonist, is the subject of an exhibit at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco.

 

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 | Jan. 4, 2011
 Will Presidential Nomination 'Hostage-Taking' Lead to Confirmation Reforms? There is a growing consensus in Washington that the presidential appointment process is nearing a breaking point.

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 | Jan. 4, 2011
 The Morning Line: Welcome Home, Mr. President After nearly two weeks out of town, President Obama returns to the White House Tuesday morning with a pretty hefty to-do list.

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 | Jan. 3, 2011
 New Governors Confront Daunting State Budget Woes The New Year rings in the start of some new governors' terms -- and nearly all of them face budget shortfalls. Gwen Ifill discusses state budget woes with three public media reporters: John Myers of KQED Public Radio in California; Karen Kasler of Ohio Public Radio and Television; and Karen DeWitt of New York State Public Radio.

   

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 | Jan. 3, 2011
 Jerry Brown to California: 'Here I Come (Right Back Where I Started From)' Correspondent Spencer Michels writes: Jerry Brown wasn't movie-star smooth at his inaugural ceremony Monday. But there was something real about him, which is probably part of the reason he won the race for governor of California over former eBay boss Meg Whitman.

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 | Jan. 3, 2011
 Tough Decisions Ahead for New Governors For many of the newly-elected governors assuming leadership this week, the traditional honeymoon period is going to be marred by a grim dose of reality.

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 | Jan. 3, 2011
 Political Checklist: First Week of the New Congress In this week's edition of the Political Checklist, Political Editor David Chalian and Senior Correspondents Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff discuss the Republican agenda as the party retakes control of the House of Representatives this Wednesday.

 

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 | Jan. 3, 2011
 The Morning Line: Republicans Hunt For a New Party Chief Michael Steele's tenure as chairman of the Republican National Committee appears to be coming to an end.

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