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Updates and analysis from the Nevada Republican caucuses.br clear=both style=clear: both;/ br clear=both style=clear: both;/ a href=http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=4a7c08b1f4647e582f46ff3ce0a0b884p=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=4a7c08b1f4647e582f46ff3ce0a0b884p=1//a

pLouisiana's Medicaid program on Wednesday started providing health care through private managed care networks in nine parishes around New Orleans, the first step in a sweeping revamp of the program that provides care to the poor./p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FWxM9TRlFW7syMg52uQRzRkXOIw/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FWxM9TRlFW7syMg52uQRzRkXOIw/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FWxM9TRlFW7syMg52uQRzRkXOIw/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/FWxM9TRlFW7syMg52uQRzRkXOIw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/yCSWzrK3XWE" height="1" width="1"/

Mitt Romney, who won the state in the 2008 primary race with strong support from Mormons, entered Saturday’s caucuses with a commanding lead.br clear=both style=clear: both;/ br clear=both style=clear: both;/ a href=http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=78cd0d22a2a70f2388dcd8f46715af83p=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=78cd0d22a2a70f2388dcd8f46715af83p=1//a

The Republicans who met in Room 207 of Palo Verde High School gave Mitt Romney a lopsided victory.br clear=both style=clear: both;/ br clear=both style=clear: both;/ a href=http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=db023be09d8d529721d49d7807bae03cp=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=db023be09d8d529721d49d7807bae03cp=1//a

The economic and political changes of the past four years have established Nevada as a major battleground this fall.br clear=both style=clear: both;/ br clear=both style=clear: both;/ a href=http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=52d9486cff0db1eac4be224b2200a2a8p=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=52d9486cff0db1eac4be224b2200a2a8p=1//a

pA multibillion-dollar stimulus push to modernize the nation's power grid is raising cybersecurity concerns, as the Department of Energy's official watchdog reports that dozens of grant recipients came to the table with inadequate security plans.#160;/p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EtJ6cviwDPZt0or3kmI4WJwn0ro/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EtJ6cviwDPZt0or3kmI4WJwn0ro/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EtJ6cviwDPZt0or3kmI4WJwn0ro/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/EtJ6cviwDPZt0or3kmI4WJwn0ro/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/UDAI0Lb0um8" height="1" width="1"/

Don't be fooled by the deserts and mountains, when it comes to elections, Nevada is an urbanized state.br clear=both style=clear: both;/ br clear=both style=clear: both;/ a href=http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=c03e71fcf67f716da2354849fc739699p=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=c03e71fcf67f716da2354849fc739699p=1//a

pRepublicans Rick Santorum and Ron Paul looked beyond Saturday's presidential caucuses in Nevada, eyeing contests further down the nominating calendar and signaling the results were unlikely to change their strategy in a race that seemed to have become a two-man contest between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.#160;/p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/rTwfsv08soP-15MA92fE-FY6nx8/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/rTwfsv08soP-15MA92fE-FY6nx8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/rTwfsv08soP-15MA92fE-FY6nx8/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/rTwfsv08soP-15MA92fE-FY6nx8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/JenVuzOcT28" height="1" width="1"/

pPennsylvania officials are wading into the controversial territory of drug-testing welfare recipients, testing out a new program Republicans say is meant to prevent beneficiaries from getting a "free ride."#160;/p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/M_fpOxtCZr19jpktojahHniZE0Q/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/M_fpOxtCZr19jpktojahHniZE0Q/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/M_fpOxtCZr19jpktojahHniZE0Q/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/M_fpOxtCZr19jpktojahHniZE0Q/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/3T1lOKm8qak" height="1" width="1"/

Newt Gingrich’s record as speaker shows that his ties to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae run deeper and farther back than he has acknowledged.br clear=both style=clear: both;/ br clear=both style=clear: both;/ a href=http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=0b58582d7d237090b1c02da726bbfbd5p=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=0b58582d7d237090b1c02da726bbfbd5p=1//a

Sen. Frank Lautenberg says Komen Foundation was right to reverse its decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood.div class="feedflare" a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=nAuxyd8ZDzM:-DA4T1iwbew:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=nAuxyd8ZDzM:-DA4T1iwbew:7Q72WNTAKBA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=nAuxyd8ZDzM:-DA4T1iwbew:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?i=nAuxyd8ZDzM:-DA4T1iwbew:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=nAuxyd8ZDzM:-DA4T1iwbew:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=nAuxyd8ZDzM:-DA4T1iwbew:gIN9vFwOqvQ"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?i=nAuxyd8ZDzM:-DA4T1iwbew:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~4/nAuxyd8ZDzM" height="1" width="1"/

Defense Secretary Panetta spoke publicly this week about some sensitive matters. CNN's Barbara Starr reports.div class="feedflare" a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=s3Af9I8kAz8:tf4F0hDwW0w:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=s3Af9I8kAz8:tf4F0hDwW0w:7Q72WNTAKBA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=s3Af9I8kAz8:tf4F0hDwW0w:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?i=s3Af9I8kAz8:tf4F0hDwW0w:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=s3Af9I8kAz8:tf4F0hDwW0w:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://rss.cnn.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?a=s3Af9I8kAz8:tf4F0hDwW0w:gIN9vFwOqvQ"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/rss/cnn_allpolitics?i=s3Af9I8kAz8:tf4F0hDwW0w:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/cnn_allpolitics/~4/s3Af9I8kAz8" height="1" width="1"/

pRussia and China vetoed a United Nations resolution Saturday calling on Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, despite fresh appeals by President Obama and other world leaders following the deadly assault by Syrian forces on the city of Homs.#160;/p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/VatdLFg7JQeUiJZ105qnfEqsDko/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/VatdLFg7JQeUiJZ105qnfEqsDko/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/VatdLFg7JQeUiJZ105qnfEqsDko/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/VatdLFg7JQeUiJZ105qnfEqsDko/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/U_gLCDQkNis" height="1" width="1"/

pPresident Barack Obama on Saturday accused the Syrian regime of showing a "disdain for human life and dignity" after the massacre of hundreds of civilians in the flashpoint city of Homs./p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/2DFuRsaB3RONjLRSYKl9RP4p7kM/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/2DFuRsaB3RONjLRSYKl9RP4p7kM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/2DFuRsaB3RONjLRSYKl9RP4p7kM/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/2DFuRsaB3RONjLRSYKl9RP4p7kM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/wD_hkQ-L-a8" height="1" width="1"/

pRepublicans are gearing up for another showdown over the Canada-to-Texas Keystone pipeline, pushing a bill that would compel approval of the project after President Obama denied a critical permit.#160;/p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/yKb5s8dlUCLy4VhISfn-XOJTiXw/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/yKb5s8dlUCLy4VhISfn-XOJTiXw/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/yKb5s8dlUCLy4VhISfn-XOJTiXw/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/yKb5s8dlUCLy4VhISfn-XOJTiXw/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/HdyItJGROQY" height="1" width="1"/

pRepublican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Friday he will fight an Indiana election board's ruling that he does not have enough support to appear on the state ballot in the May 8 primary.#160;/p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/rDFkOIW1xaF3GQ1VF2Vu08p9-vQ/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/rDFkOIW1xaF3GQ1VF2Vu08p9-vQ/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/rDFkOIW1xaF3GQ1VF2Vu08p9-vQ/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/rDFkOIW1xaF3GQ1VF2Vu08p9-vQ/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/y69h94r83i0" height="1" width="1"/

pPresident Obama is rallying support for his plan to expand government assistance to homeowners, pressuring Congress to help lower lending rates for millions of strapped homeowners.#160;/p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/xPRms4W3jXTgLyDEKHwKVYZL89I/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/xPRms4W3jXTgLyDEKHwKVYZL89I/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/xPRms4W3jXTgLyDEKHwKVYZL89I/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/xPRms4W3jXTgLyDEKHwKVYZL89I/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/YInXJWyVTaw" height="1" width="1"/

pAfter a string of hard-fought elections, Mitt Romney was looking to sail to a relatively smooth victory Saturday in the Nevada presidential caucuses -- as Newt Gingrich and the rest of the Republican field turned their attention to the contests ahead.#160;/p pa href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/xdmNnt9rTZFUCPTyGhkt4mULyzA/0/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/xdmNnt9rTZFUCPTyGhkt4mULyzA/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/abr/ a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/xdmNnt9rTZFUCPTyGhkt4mULyzA/1/da"img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~at/xdmNnt9rTZFUCPTyGhkt4mULyzA/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~4/hACry7z9cpc" height="1" width="1"/

Two dueling realities — an improving economy that remains very weak — create serious political risks for top advisers to President Obama and Mitt Romney.br clear=both style=clear: both;/ br clear=both style=clear: both;/ a href=http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=0774cd0c16c36b8610811ff0c5ca66adp=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=0774cd0c16c36b8610811ff0c5ca66adp=1//a

Political news from today's Times, plus a look at the president's weekly address.br clear=both style=clear: both;/ br clear=both style=clear: both;/ a href=http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=6e0232158b24797ed08c9bf600783322p=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=6e0232158b24797ed08c9bf600783322p=1//a