BARACK OBAMA

A high school student confronted Rick Perry at a campaign stop in Decorah, Iowa, about his support for the military's former don't ask, don't tell policy, making Perry the latest Republican candidate to be challenged by a child on a gay-rights issue.

In a transcript of the interview posted on the 60 Minutes web site Obama said his accomplishments measure against those of former U.S. presidents including Lyndon B. Johnson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is attempting to gain traction among Iowa GOP primary voters with plan to rein in dictatorial federal courts.

Politician Jules Manson, a former city council candidate and rabid Ron Paul supporter, posted an extremely racist tirade against President Obama following the signing of the NDAA, calling him a monkey and urging the n***r's assassination. Manson's tirade prompts a look at Paul's past associations with white supremacy groups, but those who call Paul racist go too far.

Ron Paul has overtaken both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in the latest poll ahead of the Iowa caucuses, which will be held on Jan. 3. The poll showcases a remarkable rise by Paul, who has exemplified a slow and steady growth campaign model.

China could record a rare trade deficit next year, which would test both Beijing's resolve to go slowly on policy easing and its trading partners' ability to adapt.

On Monday, two countries mourned for their deceased leaders; and while North Korea's Kim Jong-il and Czech Republic's Václav Havel were very different men, they are akin in their larger-than-life personae.

The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il from a heart attack over the weekend has prompted an avalanche of reaction from around the globe.

President Barack Obama's backtracking from his earlier stand to veto the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has put Americans under the risk of losing their human rights. The Senate and Congress have already passed the bill and Obama now seems ready to sign a piece of legislature that could become a draconian piece of legislature making U.S. citizens vulnerable to legal abuse.

A tax break for 160 million American workers was in doubt Monday in the face of strong opposition from Republicans in the House of Representatives who have rejected a two-month extension overwhelmingly approved by the Senate over the weekend.

Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney receives millions of dollars a year in a retirement agreement with Bain Capital, nearly 13 years after he left the private equity firm he helped start, the New York Times reported Monday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while on a train trip, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear programme.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while on a train trip, state media reported Monday morning, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear program.

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich threatened Sunday to have federal judges arrested if they disagreed with his policies as president, ratcheting up his attacks on the judiciary as he tries to halt a slide in his campaign.

One day after saying he favored the payroll tax reduction extension agreement approved by the U.S. Senate, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he and his caucus will oppose the tax reduction deal. Boehner said House Republicans now want additional budget reductions to finance the extension agreement.

It has been widely-noted that Texas Congressman Ron Paul's 2012 White House bid enjoys the devotion of many die-hard supporters.

The real purpose of the SOPA and NDAA bills is to target Occupy Wall Street, Anonymous and other web-based movements that have fueled revolutionaries both here and abroad.

The fate of an expiring tax break for 160 million American workers was in doubt on Sunday after the top Republican lawmaker declared his opposition to a two-month extension passed overwhelmingly by the Senate.

Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright jailed by Communists who became Czech president and a worldwide symbol of peace and freedom after leading the bloodless Velvet Revolution, died at 75 on Sunday.

Americans are making progress in working down their heavy debt burden, but they are struggling to break out of another funk holding back the economy: their deep pessimism.

Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney sought to create doubts about rival Newt Gingrich among South Carolina conservatives on Saturday by criticizing his highly paid work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac.