Obama holds edge over Romney in general election matchup, poll finds

Boosted by improved public confidence in his economic stewardship, President Obama for the first time holds a clear edge over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a hypothetical general-election matchup, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

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Mitt Romney’s misfire on the national anthem

“We are the only people on the earth that put our hand over our heart during the playing of the national anthem. It was FDR who asked us to do that, in honor of the blood that was being shed by our sons and daughters in far-off places.”

Editorial Board: A line of would-be immigrants? There isn’t one.

IN THE VENOMOUS debate over illegal immigration, there is a point of agreement between President Obama and some of his would-be Republican rivals, including former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. They’d like to see undocumented immigrants “get to the back of the line” for citizenship. Unfortunately, that convergence of views distorts rather than illuminates the debate.

For some black women, economy and willingness to aid family strains finances

The Great Recession carried special pain for black women like Jane Ladson.

She had always been the one her family turned to when they needed help, and she didn’t hesitate to give it. She helped pay for weddings and rent. She made room for her nephew when her brother died of AIDS. And even now in her 50s, she took in a baby that wasn’t her own.

A Super Bowl’s spoiled snacks

Media revolutionaries picked an excellent year to actively discourage Americans from watching the year’s highest-rated telecast on stupid, old, outdated televisions. Had you not occupied yourself with at least two other devices, you might have drifted off during Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday night on NBC. Live or not, the night felt somehow like a rerun.

Military preparedness does not come cheap

Here’s something for critics of the country’s defense budget to ponder: After I was confirmed as secretary of the Navy in May 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asked me and the other service secretaries to work with Congress to gain approval for a pending supplemental appropriation to the defense budget. This was not a war supplemental; it was still four months before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Pentagon was simply running out of money.

Egypt to prosecute Americans, including Sam LaHood, in NGO probe

CAIRO — Nineteen Americans will face criminal charges as part of a probe of the funding of pro-democracy groups, Egyptian officials announced Sunday, a provocative move that could deprive Egypt of crucial aid from the United States and upend one of Washington’s most important bilateral relationships.

George Huguely’s trial in Yeardley Love’s death starts Monday with jury selection

CHARLOTTESVILLE — It’s been nearly two years since University of Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love was found dead facedown in a pool of blood on a pillow in her bed.

Within hours, her ex-boyfriend, George Huguely V, a lacrosse player from Chevy Chase, was charged with murder and jailed in Charlottesville, where he remains.

Obama administration’s Afghanistan endgame gets off to bumpy start

With war fatigue growing and an election looming, the Obama administration has bumpily embarked on its endgame in Afghanistan.

In recent weeks, closed-door strategizing over Taliban peace talks, the pace of NATO’s combat handover and withdrawal, and the future of U.S. relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan have suddenly become part of the public and political debate.

Diesel report’s publication delayed as industry demands to see documents first

Publication of a landmark government study probing whether diesel engine exhaust causes lung cancer in miners — already 20 years in the making — has been delayed by industry and congressional insistence on seeing study data and documents before the public does.

Online dating has its pros and cons, meta-analysis says

Social scientists have confirmed what most singletons have known for years: Online dating is a crapshoot.

A new analysis of 400 academic studies explores whether online dating represents a dramatic shift in the way people seek mates (it does) and whether it is ultimately a good thing for daters (eh . . . sorta).

Jennifer Rubin: Romney cleans up

The results from Nevada’s caucus trickled in at a snail’s pace last night. In the end Mitt Romney won overwhelmingly, winning in virtually every segment of the electorate. In wildly contrasting speeches an energized Romney pumped up the crowd and went after the president; Newt Gingrich had what can only be described as a public meltdown.

Newt Gingrich campaign offers detailed plan to carry on

LAS VEGAS — In a meeting room at the Palazzo hotel here over the past week, Newt Gingrich mapped out a detailed strategy that would keep him in the presidential race all the way to the Republican convention in August.

Obama to announce Veterans Job Corps

President Obama will announce details Friday for a $1 billion Veterans Job Corps that the White House says will put up to 20,000 veterans to work over the next five years on projects to preserve and restore national parks and other federal, state and local lands.

Abramoff’s back, scolding lobbyists

During Wednesday’s balmy afternoon, a familiar scene in Washington unfolded: There was Jack Abramoff, sitting in his usual window seat at Eli’s, the kosher Dupont Circle deli, greeting the regulars.

It was as though the ex-lobbyist had never left. By “left,” we mean “was incarcerated in the federal pen,” and by “ex-lobbyist,” we include “convicted felon.”

Commerce agency’s system infected by virus, may be victim of cyber attack

A virus has infected the computer network of a job-development agency in the Commerce Department, forcing it to block employees from the Internet for 10 days.

The attack, discovered two weeks ago, targeted computers at the Economic Development Administration, which is responsible for making business-development grants to distressed communities to help them create jobs.

Bud Light Platinum has got the blues

Anheuser-Busch InBev is introducing a new beer, Bud Light Platinum, and they’re doing it in grand style by buying a pair of 30-second spots during the first quarter of the Super Bowl, a marketing strategy that is certainly setting the company back several million dollars.

David Choe, the art world’s soon-to-be Facebook millionaire

One of the most interesting stories to come out of the Facebook IPO windfall is that of David Choe, the scrappy street artist who was given the choice of cash or stock for the murals he created in the company’s first headquarters.

Super Bowl 2012: Giants beat Patriots 21-17 in a heartstopping repeat of 2008 title game

INDIANAPOLIS — There was no perfect season on the line this time, but the New York Giants did it again to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Quarterback Eli Manning engineered the big drive in crunch time when the Giants needed it and New York beat the Patriots, 21-17, on Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in another down-to-the-wire Super Bowl between these rivals.

Washington Wizards try to regroup against the visiting Raptors

When Randy Wittman took over as coach of the Washington Wizards on Jan. 24, the team was coming off an embarrassing 103-83 loss to Philadelphia that in part caused Flip Saunders his job. In their five subsequent games, the Wizards won twice, albeit against lowly Charlotte, and played with enough resolve two other times to indicate an on-court transformation may be at hand.

Capitals vs. Bruins: Brooks Laich is hurt in Washington’s 4-1 loss

The Washington Capitals suffered a momentum-halting 4-1 loss to Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins on Sunday afternoon. It’s also possible they absorbed yet another injury to a key player.

Versatile forward Brooks Laich limped out of Verizon Center on crutches and sported an immobilizer on his left knee after getting crunched along the end boards in the second period by Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.

Car bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan, kills seven outside police headquarters

KABUL — At least five Afghan police officers and two civilians were killed Sunday when a car bomb was detonated outside the main police headquarters in Kandahar, officials said.

An additional 19 people, six of them police officers, were wounded in the blast, provincial officials said. Children also were among the victims.

U.S. to elevate Special Operations forces’ role in Afghanistan

The U.S. military is planning to elevate the role of Special Operations forces in Afghanistan as it shifts away from a combat focus to a mission that places greater emphasis on advising Afghan forces and raids to kill top insurgent leaders, senior U.S. officials said.

Your Facebook friends have more friends than you

The average Facebook user has 245 friends. But the average friend on Facebook has 359 friends.

So says the latest study by the Pew Center’s Internet and American Life Project. But how could it be true that your friends, on average, are more popular than you?

Super Bowl halftime: NBC, NFL apologize for M.I.A.’s gesture, expletive

This time, the problem with the Super Bowl halftime show was a flip, not a slip.

NBC and the NFL have apologized for an obscene gesture and expletive by M.I.A. near the end of the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show starring Madonna.

Review: Step Afrika at Sidney Harman Hall

From the first minutes of Step Afrika’s Saturday afternoon performance at Sidney Harman Hall, the troupe’s most obvious assets were apparent: Their synchronization is airtight, their sense of rhythm is failsafe, and they’ve got a likable, impish sense of humor.

K Street: The route of all evil, or just the main drag?

It’s the symbol of all that’s wrong with Washington, the front line where the Occupiers dug their anti-authoritarian trenches, the boulevard that has been shorthand for capital corruption during recent Republican debates.

Book review: ‘Defending Jacob,’ by William Landay

In the publicity material for William Landay’s “Defending Jacob,” its publisher and several advance readers liken the novel to Scott Turow’s “Presumed Innocent,” arguably the finest of American legal thrillers. The hype is justified. I don’t think Landay’s novel has quite the elegance or gravitas of Turow’s, but it’s an exceptionally serious, suspenseful, engrossing story that deserves and should achieve a large audience.

Romania PM Emil Boc resigns after protestsRomania's Prime Minister Emil Boc resigned on Monday after weeks of nationwide protests against austerity measures and before a parliamentary election due late this year.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II marks 60yrs on throneQueen Elizabeth II marks 60 years as monarch on Monday with a deliberately low-key programme of visits to eastern England, kicking off five months of diamond jubilee celebrations.

Myanmar panel says Suu Kyi can run for ParliamentSuu Kyi announced her intention last month to run in the April elections but was waiting for official approval from the commission, which said it had to scrutinize her eligibility.

Egypt to try 19 Americans in case straining tiesIgnoring a US threat to cut off aid, Egypt has referred 19 Americans and 24 other employees of nonprofit groups to trial before a criminal court on accusations they illegally used foreign funds to foment unrest in the country.

Candidate TV ad raises sensitivity question in USThe portrayal of a young Asian woman speaking broken English in a Super Bowl ad being run by a US Senate candidate against the state of Michigan incumbent is bringing charges of racial insensitivity.

Israel undecided on Iran attack: ObamaUS President Barack Obama has said that Israel has not made a decision yet on attacking Iran's nuclear installations, noting that he still prefers to use diplomacy.

China bans airlines from paying EU carbon chargesChina's airlines are banned from paying charges on carbon emissions imposed by the European Union, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Snow cuts off UK from EuropeMany people spent the night in cars as traffic ground to a halt on roads and most flights for destinations in Europe were cancelled as swathes of snow swamped Britain amidst severe warnings by the weather office.

Romney on a roll, sails to easy victory in NevadaRepublican frontrunner Mitt Romney cruised to an easy victory in Nevada on Saturday, crushing his three remaining rivals and taking firm command of the party's volatile presidential nominating race.

Look at Indian democracy, Gilani tells PakPakistan prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday pointed to the "stark difference" in the continuity of the democratic systems of India and Pakistan and said conspiracies were being hatched against his government to prevent the holding of elections to the Senate next month.

'JFK took virginity of intern in White House'Then US president John F Kenendy took the virginity of a White House intern in a side room a few feet away from where staffers were drinking at an afterwork party, the Daily Mail quoted a new book as saying.

Judge bans autistic woman from having sexAn autistic woman was banned from having sexual intercourse on the ground that she lacks the mental capacity to consent to the act, the Daily Mail reported.

Europe stability in China's interests: WenChina's Premier Wen Jiabao said a stable Europe was key to stability at home, in comments published Sunday, at the end of a week that saw Germany's chancellor visit Beijing.

Egypt sends 43 NGO workers to trial over fundsEgyptian officials say 43 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, have been referred to trial before a criminal court for allegedly being involved in banned activity and illegally receiving foreign funds.

Fall of Assad would weaken 'axis of evil': IsraelDenying its involvement in the Syrian crisis, Israel said the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's regime would weaken "axis of evil" and could lift relatively moderate Sunni forces to power in Damascus.

Europe cold: Death toll rises to 300The Arctic cold snap that has hit Europe for over a week had claimed nearly 300 lives by Sunday, brought air travel chaos to London and dumped snow as far south as Rome and even North Africa.

Suicide car bomb kills 7 in KandaharSeven people were killed Sunday in a suicide car bomb attack on police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, a bastion of Taliban militancy, the interior ministry said.

Suicide car bomb kills 7 in KandaharSeven people were killed Sunday in a suicide car bomb attack on police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, a bastion of Taliban militancy, the interior ministry said.

Fidel Castro releases two-volume memoirFormer Cuban President Fidel Castro presented a two-volume memoir at a public ceremony in Havana, where he referred to the mistake of believing that with socialism all economic problems are solved, official media said Saturday.

Use of Twitter stokes row at Khmer Rouge courtControversial tweets by a Khmer Rouge tribunal judge have inflamed a damaging public spat between the UN and Cambodia and raised questions over how Twitter is used in the courts.

Chinese to be taught in Pakistani schoolsChinese will soon be taught in schools across Pakistan, said a minister.

Flights cancelled as snow swamps UKIn the wake of heavy snowfall and severe weather warnings, London’s Heathrow Airport cancelled 30 per cent of flights that were scheduled to take off on Sunday.

Romney's easy win in Nevada caucusesRepublican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney cruised to victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night, notching a second straight triumph over a field of rivals suddenly struggling to keep pace.

Did Mullah Omar write to US for prisoners’ release?The message intended for president Barack Obama, reportedly expressed impatience that the White House had not yet transferred five former senior Taliban officials out of Guantanamo Bay military prison.

Iran flexes muscles, begins military exercisesThe latest military maneuvers got under way following stern warnings by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, about any possible US or Israeli attacks against Tehran’s nuclear facilities.