Rick Perry endorses Romney

In this Oct. 18, 2011, file photo Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, right, spar during a Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas.

(Credit: AP Photo)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry endorsed likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney Wednesday after campaign aides to Newt Gingrich, whom he endorsed earlier, confirmed he plans to end his bid next week.

Perry, who also ran for the nomination but ended his campaign in January, said in a statement, "Mitt Romney has earned the Republican presidential nomination through hard work, a strong organization, and a disciplined message of restoring America after nearly four years of failed, job-killing policies from President Obama and his administration.

"...Mitt's vision and record of private-sector success will put America back on the path of job creation, economic opportunity and limited government."

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McCain seeks more information on USSS scandal

Sen. John McCain

(CBS News) Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona said the amount of information he is receiving on the Colombian misconduct scandal is lacking and "unacceptable."

"We need to know the facts," McCain said. "We need to know the impact of this potential misconduct....Yet, we are being denied access to the information we need in order to make informed judgments or take needed actions. This is entirely unacceptable."

McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee, and his colleague Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), who chairs the same committee, received a briefing Wednesday by the Department of Defense on the Colombian incident involving up to 20 women and twelve Department of Defense service members.

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RNC calls for investigation of Obama trips

(Credit: CBS/AP)
(CBS News) The Republican National Committee on Wednesday requested that the Government Accountability Office investigate President Obama's use of government funds for campaign trips, crying foul over Obama's trips to attend fundraisers and to rally support for student loan legislation on college campuses.

"Throughout his administration, but particularly in recent weeks, President Obama has been passing off campaign travel as 'official events,' thereby allowing taxpayers, rather than his campaign, to pay for his reelection efforts," says the letter from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus to GAO Comptroller Gene Dodaro. "Given the recent excesses, waste, and abuse uncovered in the General Services Administration, the GAO should be particularly sensitive to misuse of taxpayer dollars."

It's unlikely the letter itself will lead to any official action. A GAO spokesman said the agency, which is the investigative arm of Congress, acts only on requests from lawmakers. However, Kirsten Kukowski, an RNC spokeswoman, expressed confidence that a member of Congress, presumably a Republican, would be willing to request an investigation on the party's behalf.

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Obama camp: "Welcome to the general election"

(Credit: Carolyn Kaster)

Updated 8:55 p.m. ET

(CBS News) The Obama campaign announced the official open of the president's re-election effort.

In a conference call with reporters, Mr. Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina began by saying, "Welcome to the general election."

Messina announced that the president and First Lady Michelle Obama will hold two rallies on Saturday, May 5. The first will take place in Columbus at Ohio State University and the second in Richmond, Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The announcement to reporters coincided with a text message alert to supporters with the greeting "Big news."

The Obama campaign launches into general election mode after the Republicans "settled for their candidate," Messina said.

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Senate passes bill to keep post offices open

U.S. Postal Service trucks are seen parked near the loading dock at the U.S. Post Office sort center Aug. 12, 2011, in San Francisco. (Credit: Getty Images)

Updated 6:30 p.m. ET

(CBS News) The U.S. Senate passed legislation Wednesday afternoon that would preserve post office services now set to be slashed due to the agency's financial problems.

The measure, which passed 62-37, eases the Postal Service's money woes by reimbursing the agency to the tune of $11 billion for overpaying into federal workers' retirement fund.

The Senate bill would slow or prevent the closing of many low-revenue post office locations that have been slated to close. It also prohibits the elimination of Saturday delivery for at least two years to allow cost-cutting measures to go into effect. In addition, the measure authorizes the Postal Service to offer buyouts and early retirement incentives to its employees.

Without legislative action before May 15, the Postal Service would be forced to close post offices and mail processing centers, cut Saturday delivery and possibly lay off workers to address more than $8 billion worth of losses.

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GOP unveils competing bill to protect women

WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD)

(Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
(CBS News) House Republicans introduced a framework today to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) after a week of steady pressure from Senate Democrats who tried to paint Republicans as anti-women.

VAWA was signed into law in 1994 in an effort to curb acts of stalking, rape and domestic violence against women. The law also ensured law enforcement personnel and treatment centers had resources to help victims.

Senate Democrats are considering a bill that would expand protections to Native Americans, gays, lesbians and undocumented immigrants as well.

House Republican women held a news conference today on Capitol Hill to show that Republicans have their own plan for extending the law.

The GOP bill would increase penalties for stalkers who target minors and the elderly by adding five years to a perpetrator's prison sentence. It would also provide funding to clear the backlog of untested rape kits that lawmakers say is as high as 400,000.

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Gingrich's ten nastiest comments about Mitt Romney

Republican presidential candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, and former Speaker of the House Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, right, take part in the Republican debate, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa.

(Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

(CBS News) Newt Gingrich is set to formally suspend his campaign next week and officially endorse his main rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney. It could be an awkward moment.

Gingrich has not been shy about expressing a low opinion of Romney during the fight for the GOP nomination. Here's a countdown of 10 of the worst things Gingrich had to say about the former Massachusetts governor:

10. He's out of touch and thinks we're stupid

"We're not going to beat Barack Obama with some guy who has Swiss bank accounts, Cayman Island accounts, owns shares of Goldman Sachs while it forecloses on Florida and is himself a stockholder in Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac while he tries to think the rest of us are too stupid to put the dots together to understand what this is all about."

Mt. Dora, Fla. Jan. 26, 2012

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Rubio breaks with GOP consensus on foreign aid

(CBS News) Marco Rubio, the young Florida senator widely regarded as a top vice presidential possibility for presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney, called for a more robust and active U.S. presence abroad in a wide-ranging address that also revealed more moderate positions than some in his party would prefer.

In particular, Rubio advocated for the United States to take a leading role in forming international coalitions and reducing its reliance on institutions like the United Nations Security Council, where countries like China and Russia can block action with a single vote.

"In those instances, where the veto power of either China or Russia impedes the world's ability to deal with a significant threat, it is the United States that will have to organize and lead coalitions with or without Security Council resolutions," Rubio said.

Rubio called that his chief difference with the Obama administration and elaborated on it during a question-and-answer period. He said "the president's administration has somewhat often had an over-reliance on institutions, global institutions, whether it's the Security Council or it's the United Nations to take the lead on some of these issues."

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Analysis: Rubio is this election's Palin

Will Romney choose Rubio as a running mate?


This post originally appeared on Slate.

Marco Rubio is this year's Sarah Palin. As a possible vice presidential pick, he is popular with the grassroots. He is an envoy to a key part of the electorate and has crossover political appeal. He has successfully bucked his party establishment, and those who have seen him work say he's skilled. He's an easy and talented campaigner, and he'd wow them in Tampa the way Palin did in St. Paul, Minn. He is also fundamentally at odds with his potential running mate's message and criteria for his vice president.

Mitt Romney is the candidate of executive experience. It's not just that he was a "business guy" for 25 years. He was a business guy who made tough decisions. He told us this often during the primaries. Romney's key critique of President Obama is that he lacks such experience. In evaluating possible veeps, Romney has said, above all else, he wants to pick someone who can step into the job if necessary. That means Romney's No. 2 must have the same kind of experience--or at least some of it. Maybe just a hint? A thimble? Marco Rubio, at age 40, has none. (Unless someone counts two years as a part-time city commissioner.)

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Capitol Police investigating threat against Rubio

Republicans vow to reverse birth control policy (Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The U.S. Capitol Police are investigating a threat against first-term Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who has risen to national prominence in recent weeks as he has been discussed as a possible running mate for presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

"We are working with local law enforcement in Miami. USCP currently has an active open investigation re: the report of a threat against Sen. Rubio," Lieutenant Kimberly Schneider, a spokesperson for the Capitol Police, said in an email. Rubio lives in West Miami.

The FBI told CBS News it is aware of the threat. West Miami Police Chief Nelson Andreu told Miami CBS station WFOR that the Capitol Police vetted the threat and determined it to be credible.

The Capitol Police would not discuss the nature of the threat. Rubio's office referred all questions to the Capitol Police.

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