'OBAMACARE' READY TO LAUNCH--Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius gestures while speaking during a news conference at the Treasury Department in Washington in April, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is unfolding as a national experiment with American consumers as the guinea pigs: Who will do a better job getting uninsured people covered, the states or the feds?
MOVING FORWARD-- In this Nov. 1, 2012, photo, President Barack Obama waves to supporters during a campaign event at Cheyenne Sports Complex in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, file) by Calvin Woodard Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — This is what "Forward" looks like. Fast forward, even.
HAWKISH ON TERROR--President Barack Obama speaks at the House Democratic Issues Conference in Lansdowne, Va. For all of his liberal positions on the environment, taxes and health care, Obama is a hawk when it comes to the war on terror. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) by Lara JakesAP National Security WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — For all of his liberal positions on the environment, taxes and health care, President Barack Obama has proved to be a hawk when it comes to fighting terrorism.
15-YEAR-OLD SLAIN--This undated family photo provided by Damon Stewart shows 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton of Chicago. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Damon Stewart) (NewsOne)--As the...
CIVIL RIGHTS DEMONSTRATION--In this May 3, 1963 file photo, a 17-year-old civil rights demonstrator, defying an anti-parade ordinance of Birmingham, Ala., is attacked...
by Paul J. WeberAssociated Press Writer BRYAN, Texas (AP) — Adam Lanza's mother was among the tens of millions of U.S. gun owners. She legally had a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle and a pair of handguns, which her 20-year-old son used to kill 20 children and six adults in 10 minutes inside a Connecticut school. GUN LOVER-- In this Dec. 19 photo, gun store owner Dave Burdett talks about gun rights as he displays a hand gun in his store in College Station, Texas. Burdett, who owns an outdoors and adventure shop across the street from the sprawling Texas A&M University campus in College Station, says his affinity for guns is rooted in history, not sport. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
by Seanna Adcox Associated Press Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Gov. Nikki Haley appointed Rep. Tim Scott to the U.S. Senate on Monday, making him the South's first Black Republican senator since Reconstruction in a state whose politics is steeped in the history of slavery and Civil War. HISTORIC APPOINTMENT--United States Rep. Tim Scott, left, speaks during a news conference as South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley looks on at the Statehouse on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt) "It speaks to the evolution of South Carolina and our nation," Scott, 47, said of his appointment to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Jim DeMint, a conservative who reigned his post with four years left in his second term to head a right-leaning think tank.
