Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:47:05 GMT

In 1979, Ron Paul, right of sign, and other members of Congress stood on a truckload of simulated gold bricks to show their opposition to giving up the Panama Canal. But for Mr. Paul, the interest in gold went deeper, especially after President Richard M. Nixon abandoned the gold standard.Ron Paul’s political views are unusual, and, as a closer look at his life reveals, unusually constant, shaping not only his career in Congress but also how he has lived his life.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:48:01 GMT

President Obama, shown at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington last week, and his campaign team have focused on Mitt Romney from the beginning of the Republican contest.Obama campaign aides are spending their time, they say, looking for Mitt Romney missteps, and they have been rewarded.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:50:05 GMT

Mitt Romney is keeping his focus on President Obama, but his aides say they are keeping a close watch on his Republican rivals and Newt Gingrich.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:56:46 GMT

Critics say the allocation of $507 million in special funds in the budget for the Army Corps of Engineers could be a way to direct money to pet projects.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:11:08 GMT

In their commentary in the hours after the voting in Nevada, the four candidates laid out different realities for the weeks ahead.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:58:01 GMT

People at a Saturday evening caucus had to sign a declaration stating that they could not attend a daytime caucus because of their religious beliefs.A special Saturday night caucus intended to accommodate Orthodox Jews became the scene of controversy and confrontation after caucusgoers were told they had to sign a legal declaration.

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Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:53:58 GMT

Mitt Romney celebrated his victory in Las Vegas on Saturday.Mitt Romney won handily in the Nevada caucuses with the help of groups he has struggled to persuade before, including strong Tea Party supporters and very conservative voters.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:18:01 GMT

Sheldon and Miriam Adelson have given $10 million to a “super PAC” that supports Newt Gingrich.The casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has relayed assurances that he will donate millions more toward defeating President Obama even if his candidate is not the nominee, associates said.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:28:48 GMT

People close to Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul insist that these men are funny in private. Really, they are.Few in the Republican field of presidential candidates would be carved into a Mount Rushmore of (intentionally) funny politicians.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:30:07 GMT

Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1998 in Ireland, where he helped promote a program sponsored by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. His campaign said he had been invited by Habitat for Humanity.Newt Gingrich’s record as speaker shows that his ties to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae run deeper and farther back than he has acknowledged.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:00:34 GMT

President Obama after speaking on Friday on the economy at a fire station in Arlington, Va.Two dueling realities — an improving economy that remains very weak — create serious political risks for top advisers to President Obama and Mitt Romney.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:51:02 GMT

Rabbis Eli Davidowitz, left, and Dani Locker at the Kollel Books and Judaica center. Jews have a rich history in Las Vegas.As the number of Orthodox Jews in Nevada continues to grow, a special Republican caucus has been organized for Saturday night, and is expected to draw a few hundred Sabbath observers.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:04:04 GMT

At a Roanoke County, Va., meeting, dozens opposed the county's paying $1,200 to a nonprofit.Suspicious of government initiatives, protesters linked to the Tea Party are denouncing all manner of measures they equate with a 1992 United Nations resolution, Agenda 21.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:38:12 GMT

The Secret Service has made its presence known since joining Mr. Romney on the trail after his victory in Florida.The moment a political campaign is assigned a Secret Service detail -- for Mitt Romney, it was Thursday -- tends to be a turning point, with a political downside as well as an upside.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:57:47 GMT

Newt Gingrich, with his wife, Callista, said at a rally in Las Vegas on Friday that his goal was the “exact opposite” of Mitt Romney's.With polls showing a double-digit lead over Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney met with business leaders in northern Nevada. Mr. Gingrich, meanwhile, cast himself as the insurgent spoiler at a Las Vegas rally.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:50:41 GMT

The rock group Survivor, around 1979. Their hit “Eye of the Tiger” was used by Newt Gingrich.Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are just the latest Republicans to stop using songs at their rallies after songwriters complained that the campaigns had played the pieces without permission.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:53:54 GMT

After several years of stopgap financing, a longterm plan will help pay for such items as airport expansion.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:34:14 GMT

A job applicant received assistance at an employment fair in Modesto, Calif., this week.The front wheels have lifted off the runway. Now, Americans are waiting to see if the economy can truly get aloft.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:57:16 GMT

With 243,000 jobs created in January, the economy is starting to look more positive. That might be a plus for the president in the November election.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:48:09 GMT

Newt Gingrich set up his speaking and consulting business as an S corporation, which exempted this portion of his income from Medicare taxes, an unusual move for a business based on services.

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Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:00:32 GMT

The unsigned letter purporting to be from Mullah Muhammad Omar was sent last year and also pressed the president to release Taliban prisoners.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:19:15 GMT

Clockwise from top left: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mark R. Warner, Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Elizabeth Warren.Whether Barack Obama wins or loses in November, the Democratic Party’s attention will immediately turn to 2016.

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Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:14:52 GMT

The Times tracked donors to “super PACs” as they filed reports detailing their activities in the final three months of 2011.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:14:26 GMT

It is one of the most convoluted arrangements in Washington for complying with campaign finance laws - and that is saying something.

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Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:21:40 GMT

Despite his weak showing in Nevada, Newt Gingrich says he is well-placed to do well in the March 6 "Super Tuesday" contests.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:33:05 GMT

A special Saturday night Republican caucus intended to accommodate orthodox Jews who couldn't vote until after sundown became the scene of controversy and confrontation after caucusgoers were told that to gain admittance they had to sign a legal declaration under penalty of perjury that they could not attend their daytime caucus because of "my religious beliefs."

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Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:34:19 GMT

After losing a second state in less than a week to Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich vowed not to quit the Republican race, charting an itinerary to campaign widely over the next few months.

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Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:40:15 GMT

If Mr. Romney loses the Republican presidential nomination, it is likely to be because of the one region that has yet to give him a victory: the Midwest.

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Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:08:05 GMT

The economic and political changes of the past four years have established Nevada as a major battleground this fall.

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