For President Obama, the days leading up to his re-election kickoff have been spent straddling the precarious line between hawk and dove, and possibly redefining his party for years to come.

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White House Memo: For Obama, a Delicate New Balance on National Security

MOSCOW — The authoritarian system Vladimir Putin built is propelling him toward virtually assured victory in Sunday’s presidential election, but its increasingly visible weaknesses present grave challenges in the days ahead for him, Russia and the world. Read full article > >

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Putin heads toward Russia’s presidency

BEIJING — In the days after Kim Jong Il’s death, China’s most powerful leaders hurried to the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, where they fanned across the embassy’s parquet floor and bowed three times to Kim’s portrait. One Chinese state councilor was “hardly” able to keep back tears , North Korea’s state-run news agency later said. Read full article > >

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Amid N. Korea succession, China makes push for stability

Are the days of “public broadcasting” over? PBS officials have told member stations that the science shows Nature and Nova will have “promotional breaks” during the show rather than airing before and after as they currently do. The plan has been hotly…

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PBS to Air Promotional Breaks

Workers entered one of the damaged reactor buildings at Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant Thursday for the first time since it was rocked by an explosion in the days after a devastating earthquake, the country’s nuclear safety agency said.

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Workers Enter Japan Nuclear Reactor Building

The scandal in Missouri over Senator Claire McCaskill’s private plane is the kind of unforced error that could come back to haunt Democrats in the days after the 2012 election.

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The Caucus: Stir Over Senator’s Private Plane

Sarah Palin is such a maverick that she even has beef with Fox News. Her cold relations with chairman Roger Ailes reportedly date back to the days after the Tucson shooting, when Palin wanted to defend herself against critics who blamed the rampage on…

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Palin Feuds With Fox News Chief

When the remains of a Vietnam War soldier buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery were identified in 1998 using DNA, Pentagon officials proudly said that the days of interring service members as “unknown” could well be over.

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For first time in decades, Arlington National Cemetery must bury multiple ‘unknowns’

MP David Morris on the days he shared a stage with Rick Astley

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Pop to Parliament

The stresses of the campaign trail can drive a candidate to act strangely, but senior staffers of U.S. Rep. David Wu (D-OR) say that in the days before the November election their boss’ behavior was so alarming they demanded he enter a hospital for…

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Congressman Urged to Seek Psych Help

The 7/7 ringleader received guidance in phone calls from Pakistan in the days before the bombings, the inquests have been told.

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‘Pakistan advice’ days before 7/7

As the days pass since the shooting spree, Arizona appears to be slipping back into its old ways.

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Political Memo: Talk of Bipartisan Progress Fading in Arizona

Not-so-lame ducks after all. In a speech to reporters Wednesday, President Obama praised the work the 111th Congress in the days before adjourning. After months of partisan rancor, Congress managed to come to a vote on several key pieces of…

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Obama Praises Post-Election Legislation

Jody McIntyre says he will file a formal complaint against the police in the days to come.

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Police ‘drag protester from wheelchair’

Gone will be the days of the mute button during commercial breaks. After decades of debate and noise, Congress passed the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation or CALM Act on Thursday. The legislation will bring commercials down to the same…

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Congress Quiets TV Ads