CNN examines statements made by Republican presidential candidates during Wednesday night's CNN/Republican Party of Arizona debate in Mesa, Arizona.
Newt Gingrich criticized the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for characterizing Iran as a "rational actor" in international affairs and defending the possibility of preventing an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites
 The statement: "The fact is this is a dictator, Ahmadinejad, who has said he doesn't believe the Holocaust existed. This is a dictator who said he wants to eliminate Israel from the face of the Earth. This is a dictator who said he wants to drive the United States out of the Middle East. I'm inclined to believe dictators ... If you think a madman is about to have nuclear weapons, and you think that madman is going to use those nuclear weapons, then you have an absolute moral obligation to defend the lives of your people by eliminating the capacity to get nuclear weapons." FULL POST
CNN examines statements by Republican presidential candidates during Thursday night's CNN/Republican Party of Florida debate in Jacksonville, Florida.
Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich both accused each other of having financial interests in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The statements: "We discovered, to our shock, Gov. Romney owns shares of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Governor Romney made $1 million off of selling some of that. Governor Romney has an investment in Goldman Sachs, which is, today, foreclosing on Floridians." - Gingrich
"First of all, my investments are not made by me. My investments, for the last 10 years, have been in a blind trust, managed by a trustee. Secondly, the investments that they have made, we learned about this as we made our financial disclosure, have been in mutual funds and bonds. I don't own stock in either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. There are bonds that the investor has held through mutual funds. And, Mr. Speaker, I know that sounds like an enormous revelation, but have you checked your own investments? You also have investments through mutual funds that also invest in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." - Romney FULL POST
CNN examines statements by Republican presidential candidates during Monday night's CNN Republican debate in Tampa, Florida.
Mitt Romney said Newt Gingrich lobbied during Medicare Part D battle
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney accused former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of having lobbied in favor of Medicare Part D, the federal program that provides drugs for senior citizens. Romney said other congressmen said they were lobbied by Gingrich at the time.
The exchange between the two candidates included the following statements: "You have congressmen who say that you came and lobbied them with regards to Medicare Part D." - Romney
"I didn't lobby them." - Gingrich
"It is not correct to describe public citizenship, having public advocacy as lobbying. Every citizen has the right to do that." - Gingrich
"If you're getting paid by health companies, if your entities are getting paid by health companies that could benefit from a piece of legislation and you then meet with Republican congressmen and encourage them to support that legislation, you can call it whatever you'd like. I call it influence peddling. It's not right." - Romney FULL POST
CNN examines statements by Republican presidential candidates during Monday night's CNN Southern Republican Debate in Charleston, South Carolina.
Rick Santorum on President Obama's budget cuts
The statement: "We have the president of the United States who said he is going to cut veterans benefits, cut our military, at a time when these folks are four, five, six, seven tours, coming back, in and out of jobs, sacrificing everything for this country. And the president of the United States can't cut one penny out of the social welfare system and he wants to cut a trillion dollars out of our military and hit our veterans, and that's disgusting."
Louisiana flooding - As many as three million acres in Louisiana could be flooded by the surging Mississippi River, according to Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is urging residents to take precautions immediately. Rising water could reach levels unseen since 1927, which has many people fearful. The region is still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Flooding has already forced casinos in Tunica, Mississippi, to close. About 600 people in Tunica have had to leave their homes.
Iran hikers trial delay - The trial of two American men whom Iran accuses of spying has once again been delayed. A Swiss diplomat tells CNN that Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were not brought from jail to the courthouse Wednesday, and that no reason was given. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran. Sarah Shourd, a third U.S. citizen who was arrested on the border between Iraq and Iran in 2009 along with Fattal and Bauer and also accused of espionage, refused to attend Wednesday's hearing. Shourd, Bauer's fiancee, was released from an Iranian jail on bail last year and allowed to leave Iran on "humanitarian grounds." Shourd said she would not return because she was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder after spending 14 months in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
California college shooting - Three people have been killed in a shooting in a parking garage on the campus of San Jose State University. Police say it's unclear if the victims were students. The identities of the deceased have not been released pending autopsy results.
Newt Gingrich's presidential run? -Â The former Republican speaker of the House is expected to officially announce Wednesday that he's running for the White House in 2012. He's already been traveling to some of the early primary states like Iowa. At the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Gingrich took jabs at President Barack Obama.
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