Romney credits change in tactics for Florida surge (AP)

Romney credits change in tactics for Florida surge (AP)
Emboldened GOP wants to abolish state income taxes (AP)
State Dept: Americans take refuge at Cairo embassy (AP)
Syrian troops push back in fight on Damascus edges (AP)
Pythons apparently wiping out Everglades mammals (AP)
Questions remain in deadly Florida highway crash (AP)
Senator's stroke shows they can hit the young, too (AP)
Winter cold snap kills 36 in eastern Europe (AP)
Nearly 14-pound baby boy born in Des Moines (AP)
'All in the Family' director John Rich dies at 86 (AP)
Gingrich stays on attack in Florida with one day left (Reuters)
EU leaders struggle to reconcile austerity, growth (Reuters)
Democrats slam Tea Party ties in Oregon special election (Reuters)
U.S. consumers fizzle out even as incomes rise (Reuters)
Arrests in Oakland protests rise to more than 400 (Reuters)
Syrian forces kill 25 in Damascus suburbs: activists (Reuters)
Relief in U.S. food prices seen as crop supplies grow (Reuters)
Pentagon suspends flights of 15 F-35 fighter jets (Reuters)
Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa sees "draconian" cuts ahead in Obama's budget (The Christian Science Monitor)
Mitt Romney: From South Carolina loss to big Florida surge (The Christian Science Monitor)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:18 PM PST

AP - Looking for a convincing win, a confident Mitt Romney said Monday the Florida primary is breaking his way and urged voters to send Newt Gingrich "to the moon." Gingrich claimed he's gaining ground and will stay in the race until summer.

Emboldened GOP wants to abolish state income taxes (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:17 PM PST

AP - A year after Republicans swept into office across the country, many have trained their sights on what has long been a fiscal conservative's dream: the steep reduction or even outright elimination of state income taxes.

State Dept: Americans take refuge at Cairo embassy (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:18 PM PST

AP - Three American citizens barred from leaving Egypt have sought refuge at the American Embassy in Cairo amid growing tensions between the two allies over an Egyptian investigation into foreign-funded pro-democracy groups.

Syrian troops push back in fight on Damascus edges (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:18 PM PST

AP - Syrian forces heavily shelled the restive city of Homs on Monday, and troops pushed back dissident troops from some suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus in an offensive trying to regain control of the capital's eastern doorstep, activists said.

Pythons apparently wiping out Everglades mammals (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:18 PM PST

AP - A burgeoning population of huge pythons — many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big — appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals in the Everglades, a study says.

Questions remain in deadly Florida highway crash (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:25 PM PST

AP - Just hours before a pileup that killed 10 people, authorities had closed a stretch of highway smothered in smoke and fog due to a three-vehicle crash that left a passenger seriously injured. Why they reopened it just minutes before the second crash — and who made the call — remained murky Monday, with the Florida Highway Patrol refusing to answer questions as national investigators hinted they might join the inquiry.

Senator's stroke shows they can hit the young, too (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 12:54 PM PST

AP - When a stroke hits at 52, like what happened to Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, the reaction is an astonished, "But he's so young."

Winter cold snap kills 36 in eastern Europe (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:18 PM PST

AP - A severe and snowy cold snap across central and eastern Europe has left at least 36 people dead, cut off power to towns, and snarled traffic. Officials are responding with measures ranging from opening shelters to dispensing hot tea, with particular concern for the homeless and elderly.

Nearly 14-pound baby boy born in Des Moines (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 12:46 PM PST

AP - An Iowa woman has given birth to a boy weighing 13 pounds and 13 ounces — without the aid of surgery.

'All in the Family' director John Rich dies at 86 (AP)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 12:02 PM PST

AP - Television director John Rich, who won an Emmy Award for the memorable "All in the Family" scene showing Sammy Davis Jr. planting a kiss on Archie Bunker, has died in Los Angeles at 86.

Gingrich stays on attack in Florida with one day left (Reuters)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 10:01 AM PST

Reuters - U.S. Republican Newt Gingrich scrambled to revive his fading hopes in Florida on Monday, lashing out at rival Mitt Romney as a liberal party insider the day before the state's crucial presidential primary.

EU leaders struggle to reconcile austerity, growth (Reuters)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:05 PM PST

Reuters - European leaders agreed on a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone on Monday and 25 of the 27 EU states backed a German-inspired pact for stricter budget discipline, but they struggled to reconcile fiscal austerity with economic growth.

Democrats slam Tea Party ties in Oregon special election (Reuters)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 12:29 PM PST

Reuters - An Oregon special election in which national Democrats have sought to paint the Republican congressional candidate as a Tea Party radical foreshadows a tactic the party will employ in its quest to take back Congress seats lost in the 2010 election.

U.S. consumers fizzle out even as incomes rise (Reuters)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 09:43 AM PST

Reuters - U.S. consumer spending was flat in December as households put the largest rise in income in nine months into their savings, potentially signaling slower consumption early in 2012.

Arrests in Oakland protests rise to more than 400 (Reuters)

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 09:30 PM PST

Reuters - Crews cleaned up Oakland's historic City Hall on Sunday from damage inflicted overnight during violent anti-Wall Street protests that resulted in about 400 arrests, marking one of the largest mass arrests since nationwide protests began last year.

Syrian forces kill 25 in Damascus suburbs: activists (Reuters)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:14 PM PST

Reuters - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed at least 25 people Monday as they battled their way deep into eastern suburbs of Damascus to seize them back from rebels, activists said from the edge of the sprawling capital.

Relief in U.S. food prices seen as crop supplies grow (Reuters)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 11:51 AM PST

Reuters - After being hammered by record high food prices in 2011, which helped ignite the Arab Spring uprisings, consumers worldwide may find some relief in 2012 if U.S. farmers, induced by last year's high crop prices, plant more fields to grain this year.

Pentagon suspends flights of 15 F-35 fighter jets (Reuters)

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 01:16 PM PST

Reuters - The Pentagon's F-35 program office said on Monday it was suspending high speed ground and flight operations of 15 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets after discovering improperly packed parachutes under the pilot's ejection seat.

Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa sees "draconian" cuts ahead in Obama's budget (The Christian Science Monitor)

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 09:00 PM PST

The Christian Science Monitor - Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) is currently president of the US Conference of Mayors. He previously served as speaker of the California Assembly. He was the guest speaker at the Jan. 18 Monitor breakfast in Washington.

Mitt Romney: From South Carolina loss to big Florida surge (The Christian Science Monitor)

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 01:23 PM PST

The Christian Science Monitor - In the final days and hours before the Republican primary in South Carolina, Newt Gingrich surged ahead in the polls, leaving Mitt Romney scrambling to make the best of an increasingly losing situation. Romney got shellacked in that race, losing to Gingrich by nearly 13 points.