Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is no stranger to budget battles. But now, the former congressman faces what could be some of the toughest budget decisions of his career — how to cut more than $480 billion from the Pentagon's bottom line.

After Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in Tucson, Ariz., a year ago, there was a national call for a return to civility in our political dialogue. What happened?

Front-runner Mitt Romney was hardly bruised in Saturday night's debate, though his rivals exchanged their share of blows. Time is tight to hurt his campaign with the New Hampshire primary bearing down on Tuesday.

Scientists aren't sure what's wrong with the orcas in Puget Sound, but they're hot on the trail. A team of researchers is relying on a secret weapon with a killer nose to sniff out the mystery.

Republican candidates are battling in New Hampshire this weekend, ahead of Tuesday's make-or-break primary. With six main candidates still in the race, a main point of contention among them is: Who's the REAL conservative?

The small New England state, which holds its primary on Tuesday, may not be racially diverse. (In fact, it's 93.9 percent white.) But its residents defy stereotypes with their political independence. More voters in the state are registered "undeclared" than Republican or Democrat.

In the year that's followed the shooting that left six dead and 13 wounded — including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) — the nation has mourned with Tucson as the city has healed.