BARACK OBAMA

House Speaker John Boehner, hoping to spare fellow Republicans a second embarrassing defeat over payroll tax cuts, is prepared to navigate around rebellious Tea Party-aligned lawmakers to get a deal, according to congressional aides.

Beyonce took a political stance with her mother Tina Knowles and designed a t-shirt for President Obama's political reelection campaign. The white crew neck t-shirt features quotes like, Yes We Can and Words do inspire, and will sell for retail at $45 per shirt beginning on Feb. 7th.

For all the hand-wringing about Mitt Romney being insufficiently conservative, the last few days have demonstrated how a Romney candidacy would give voters a clear alternative to the progressive vision articulated by President Barack Obama.

The trade deficit widened in November to its largest in five months, suggesting imports weighed on economic growth a bit more than expected during the fourth quarter.

Religion is an important issue to the Republican voters and this is posing a challenge to Republican front runner Mitt Romney in the conservative South Carolina state.

Obama was set to announce the request, which could open the door to further consolidation in Washington, in a late morning address at the White House.

A new word has become more common the Obama administration's lexicon: veto. After three years spent cultivating the image of a middle ground-seeking compromiser-in-chief, the White House appears to have made a 180-degree turn. Three veto threats have been floated against major pieces of legislation. President Barack Obama suddenly refuses take any gruff from Congressional Republicans.

First Lady Michelle Obama is now on Twitter. Fans said hello to mo as she joined one of the Internet's biggest social networking sites on Thursday.

New consumer financial chief Richard Cordray has been calling the heads of some of the top U.S. banks in an effort to build support for his agency, which is viewed skeptically by the financial industry.

After a virtual tie with Rick Santorum in Iowa and a 16-point win over Ron Paul in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney is looking ahead to South Carolina and Florida -- and new polls show him leading in both states. But can he keep that up?

One dedicated Little Monster has combined clips from President Obama's speeches over the past three years with the instrumental version of Gaga's Born This Way, creating a karaoke video of the president karaoke-ing to the LGBT pop anthem.

Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney criticized President Barack Obama for his stance on Israel on Thursday, telling a Florida crowd that if elected he would stand with our friends.

The U.S. government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars housing suspected terrorists in the military prison since 2002. So far, only six people have been convicted by a military commission.

Several airlines have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation in an effort to overturn new rules regulating the industry's advertised rates.

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel said in a legal memo that the Senate was unable to perform its constitutional duties on presidential nominees, despite holding "pro forma" sessions aimed at blocking recess appointments.

Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett said he would donate $1 to paying down the national debt for every dollar donated by a Republican in Congress. The only exception is Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell -- for whom Buffett said he would go $3-to-$1.

Angelina Jolie is holding a live video chat with fans on Thursday night. She will discuss her new movie In the Land of Blood and Honey and take user questions.

U.S. President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, together with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), raised more than $68 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina said on Thursday.

Last summer, comedian Tracy Morgan went on a lengthy rant which showcased some homophobic sentiments he harbored during a Nashville stand-up gig, causing a major backlash from fans and the media. While many have forgotten about the offensive anti-gay tirade or have simply moved onto criticizing other celebrities, NBC has plans to rehash the controversial rant and air as a part of its hit show, 30 Rock, written by Tina Fey.

@MichelleObama wrote her first tweet on Thursday morning at 8 a.m. ET. In a second tweet, she announced that the social media account will be managed by campaign staff, with any tweets from the First Lady herself signed '-mo.'

Paul has struck a chord among many of the electorate and may ultimately influence the policy direction of the Republican Party.