Why a Saudi blogger faces a possible death sentence for three tweets

No budget? No problem! The strange politics behind a budgetless America.

7:07 pm ET - President Obama has proposed a federal budget. Congress looks sure to ignore it, and Senate Democrats show no desire to pass any budget. It would be the fourth straight budgetless year. 

• Congress poised to scale back unemployment benefits from 99 weeks

Is Rick Santorum facing a brewing 'women problem'?

6:57 pm ET - Recent statements about women, and passages from his 2005 book, have put Rick Santorum on the defensive. Even within GOP ranks there are signs of a gender split.

• The Vote: Can Mitt Romney convince Arizona he is a true conservative?
• The Vote: Will Mitt Romney's aversion to the auto bailout hurt him in Michigan? (+video)

Why Ahmadinejad is eager to show off new Iran nuclear facilities

4:24 pm ET - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could boost his sagging political standing at home by wrapping himself in the mantle of the Iran nuclear program, which is popular with Iranians. He is set to unveil new facilities Wednesday.

• Terrorism & Security: Iran accuses Israel of setting up attacks on its own diplomats
• Backchannels: Israel blames Hezbollah and Iran for attacks on diplomats. Is it right? (+video)

Why Pentagon, facing 'doomsday' spending cuts, refuses to plan for them

1:15 pm ET - Pentagon brass say they won't even brook the possibility that $487 billion in mandated spending cuts – their 'doomsday' scenario – will actually come to pass. But if Congress doesn't blink, say analysts, the Pentagon will be in dire straits.

Putin vows to halt Russia's population plunge with babies, immigrants

2:06 pm ET - If current trends continue, Russia's population will drop from 143 million to 107 million by 2050. Putin vowed in a newspaper article yesterday to reverse that trend if elected. 

Xi Jinping, future Chinese president, faces test on first White House visit (+video)

8:40 am ET - Xi Jinping, China's president-in-waiting, will be greeted with friendly words of cooperation in his first White House visit. But the underlying US-China tensions will be hard to hide.

• Getting to know Xi: White House prepares to meet China's new man
• China's Vice President Xi is in town: what 6 international newspapers say

India's economy loses its luster

3:51 pm ET - India's much-heralded economic boom is faltering, with stock index declining 25 percent. Speed bump or meltdown?

Do ex-daughter-in-law's allegations change Jerry Sandusky case?

4:05 pm ET - A judge ruled Monday that Jerry Sandusky can receive visits from most of his grandchildren. But a former daughter-in-law said Monday that Sandusky molested one of her children.

Health-care fraud crackdown nets $4.1b. Is that a lot?

3:05 pm ET - Officials say nearly $4.1b was recovered last year in the health-care fraud crackdown, an Obama priority, but it's unclear if that reflects the success of law enforcement or the magnitude of the problem. 

In Frankfurt, Europe's banking capital, Occupy soldiers on

2:19 pm ET - Even amid last week's record low temperatures in Europe, a hardy group of protesters kept Frankfurt's Occupy encampment going between towering bank buildings.  

America's big wealth gap: Is it good, bad, or irrelevant?

11:18 am ET - The gap between rich and poor is at its widest since the Roaring '20s. Obama complains that it's unfair, but a growing chorus of economists and sociologists say it's worse than that.

Nigeria's new police chief vows crackdown on corruption

12:39 pm ET - Nigeria's acting inspector general Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar admits that Nigerian police have committed extrajudicial killings and run criminal rackets. That will change, he says.