The call from the Central Intelligence Agency came on a December afternoon in 2009 while Gary Anderson was skiing with his three children. It’s about your wife, the agency man said. Standing inside Eagle Rock ski lodge in Pennsylvania, Anderson pleaded for details. The CIA official said simply: Where are you? We’ll meet you. Read full article > >

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For CIA family, a deadly suicide bombing leads to painful divisions

When Rick Santorum entered the House in 1991, he joined with a group of other freshmen to shame the House leadership into releasing the names of those who bounced checks at the House bank.

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The Long Run: Santorum Rose Quickly From Reformer to Insider

An examination of some of the earmarks Rick Santorum got as a senator from Pennsylvania suggests that they paid off in the form of campaign contributions.

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As Rick Santorum Secured Earmarks, 2006 Donations Flowed In

As Republicans gathered for their national convention in Philadelphia a decade ago, Rick Santorum, who was then an up-and-coming senator from Pennsylvania, launched a charity he said would improve the lives of low-income residents in his home state. Read full article > >

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Santorum charity for the poor spent most of its money on management, political friends

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — Republican front-runner Mitt Romney warned his supporters Saturday against complacency as his rivals prepared to gang up on him in a nationally televised nighttime debate with the goal of breaking his stride toward the GOP nomination. Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, looking to translate his near-victory in Iowa into a solid second-place finish here on Tuesday, kept up his punishing pace of appearances Saturday. As others rested before the debate, he campaigned into the late afternoon, sharply criticizing Romney and dismissing questions about whether he would have a more difficult time defeating President Obama than Romney would. Read full article > >

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Mitt Romney under attack from other GOP candidates ahead of N.H. debate

Surging Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has gone from a man of modest income to millionaire since losing his U.S. Senate seat in 2006, earning much of it by working as a conservative commentator on Fox News and advising industry and lobby firms. Santorum earned $1.3 million in 2010 and the first half of 2011, according to his most recent financial disclosure form. The largest chunk of his employment earnings — $332,000 — came from his work as a consultant for groups advocating and lobbying for industry interests. That included $142,500 to help advise a Pennsylvania natural gas firm, Consol Energy, and $65,000 to consult with lobby firm American Continental Group, and its insurance services client. Read full article > >

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Santorum experienced major jump in income after leaving Senate

The near-tie in Tuesday night’s Iowa Republican caucuses left the political world wondering: Who really won? By the numbers, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney did — claiming 30,015 votes to 30,008 for former Pennsylvania senator R ick Santorum . But, measured by the candidate who gained the most from what happened in Iowa, it’s clear that Santorum emerged victorious. Read full article > >

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Why Rick Santorum (really) won Iowa

DES MOINES — Two days before the voting begins in the wildest Republican race anyone can remember, the GOP candidates for president were engaged in a frenzy of old-school retail politicking acutely aware that a poor finish in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses would probably end some of their prospects. On Saturday evening, the Des Moines Register released a poll showing a highly volatile race, with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney holding a slight lead at 24 percent among likely caucus attendees and Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) in second with 22 percent. But former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, showing a late burst of momentum that has brought him from the back of the pack to 15 percent, was poised to move into second place if he can continue gaining over the next two days. Read full article > >

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Iowa caucuses: GOP presidential hopefuls making final push before Tuesday vote

Perhaps I should begin by confessing a vested interest: Having called the attention of readers nine days ago to the Rick Santorum Iowa surge that is now the object of considerable journalistic interest, I have a pundit’s vested interest in having an early call pan out. (We’ll talk about my mistakes another day.) As I see it, only one thing can stop the former Pennsylvania senator from doing exceptionally well in Tuesday’s caucuses, and that is Texas Gov. Rick Perry hanging on to the support he now has. Read full article > >

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E.J. Dionne Jr.:
The Santorum-Perry showdown

The authorities in Pennsylvania and New York City say they have made no connection between Joshua Rubin, the owner of Whisk Bakery Cafe, and the area in Pennsylvania where his body was found.

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Death of Coffee Shop Owner, Joshua Rubin, Leaves Questions

A look at the largest online school company’s operations raises serious questions about whether its schools — and full-time online schools in general — are a good deal for children or taxpayers.

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Online Schools Score Better on Wall Street Than in Classrooms

Lobbied Pennsylvania to open one when he was 11.

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Newt Loves Zoos

It’s a common refrain in a part of eastern Pennsylvania called “Hillary Country”: “I’m heavily Democratic. But if the right Republican came along, I would be open to voting for him.”

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Obama Faces Hurdles in ‘Hillary Country’

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday threw out a petition by the City Council of Pennsylvania’s debt-choked capital of Harrisburg, saying it had been legally barred by state law from seeking bankruptcy protection and, in any case, had no authority to file it. Judge Mary D. France issued the ruling after hearing more than two hours of arguments by lawyers as to whether the bankruptcy petition, filed last month by a divided City Council, satisfied various legal issues and could move forward despite the objections of the city’s mayor, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, Dauphin County, bond insurers and others. Read full article > >

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Federal judge dismisses bankruptcy filing by Pennsylvania’s capital city, calls it illegal

Officials are furious over the sentence in the manslaughter case of a Pennsylvania couple who adopted a 7-year-old son from Russia.

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Russia Angry at Penalty Against Dead Adopted Boy’s Parents