Report: Most states do poor job in guarding against corruption
(CNN) - Most American states are doing a subpar job in protecting against corruption and assuring accountability, according a study released Monday.
The joint report - from the Global Integrity nonprofit advocacy group, Public Radio International and Center for Public Integrity investigative news organization - used data on a host of measures to score all 50 states.
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House GOP budget chief aims at tax code
New York (CNNMoney) - In a year when political stalemate is expected to block any real progress on fiscal reforms, House Republicans will take a swing at tax reform in their fiscal year 2013 budget proposal due out on Tuesday morning.
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, the lead writer on the budget, and his caucus will call for a reduction in individual tax rates and brackets. Instead of today's six brackets, with rates from 10% to 35%, they are calling for just two - 10% and 25%. It's not clear how much income would fall under each bracket.
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Karen Santorum: Rick is not 'anti-women'
(CNN) - As her husband and other conservatives face criticism in the ongoing debate over contraception coverage, Karen Santorum asserted Monday that the Republican presidential candidate is not "anti-women."
"Women have nothing to fear. When it comes to contraceptives, he will do nothing on that issue," Santorum said on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight.
Pro-Obama super PAC takes heat over Maher comments
(CNN) - The senior strategist for Priorities USA, a super PAC supporting President Barack Obama, on Monday responded to criticism over accepting a million dollar donation from comedian Bill Maher, who has taken heat for crude comments he's made about certain conservative women.
"I'm not going to stand here and defend vulgarity, no matter who's using it," Bill Burton said on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFrtont." "I'm also not going to accept the Republicans' selective outrage over when they get mad over who uses what terms."
Romney and allies outspend Santorum and backers 7-1 in Illinois
Washington (CNN) - Mitt Romney and the super PAC backing his candidacy, Restore Our Future, have spent almost $4 million on broadcast and cable ads in Illinois, according to the latest media buy information.
Meanwhile, Rick Santorum and the super PAC backing his bid–Red, White and Blue Fund–purchased $530,111 in television time in the state. That equates to a 7-1 spending advantage for Romney.
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Romney jumps on Santorum over unemployment comments
(CNN) - Mitt Romney's campaign seized on a comment by Rick Santorum Monday, in which the former Pennsylvania senator mentioned he does not care about the unemployment rate.
Following Santorum's speech in Moline, Illinois, Romney's team blasted out an email to reporters with a link to a five-second clip of Santorum saying: "I don't care what the unemployment rate is going to be. It doesn't matter to me."
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Romney can't escape birth control questions in Illinois
Peoria, Illinois (CNN) - Mitt Romney tried to make his final day before Tuesday’s Illinois primary all about the economy, but in the end he couldn’t escape the distracting questions about birth control that have seeped into the Republican presidential discussion for weeks on end.
Romney faced two questions about contraception as he wrapped up his last event Monday, a sun-splashed outdoor town hall on the campus of Bradley University in Peoria.
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CNN’s GUT CHECK for March 19, 2012
CNN's GUT CHECK | for March 19, 2012 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle
DEVELOPING: A senior administration official tells CNN there are “no plans” for the president to mark the two year anniversary of health care reform. White House spokesman Jay Carney had been vague on the issue during his daily briefing. “I have no announcements to make about the president’s schedule in that regard,” Carney told reporters.
The fight for the Republican nomination, by the numbers
Washington (CNN) - As the Republican primary reaches its halfway point, the question of inevitability is a main topic of conversation. Is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who holds a sizable lead in delegates, destined to be the Republican nominee for president in 2012?
While Romney's campaign says yes, his three rivals argue otherwise.
FULL STORYRomney hammers Obama's 'assault on freedom' in Chicago speech
Chicago (CNN) - With an increasingly insurmountable delegate lead over his Republican opponents and the wind at his back heading into Tuesday's Illinois primary, Mitt Romney sought Monday to re-frame the presidential contest as a battle between himself and President Barack Obama over the future of the economy.
Speaking at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, where Obama once served on the advisory board, Romney said the president has pursued an "assault on freedom" with stifling business regulations and high taxes.
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