Politics

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich wants to put underprivileged pre-teen American kids to work as school janitors to help pull them out of poverty.

Never one to mince words (or go a day without ruffling feathers), Newt's issue has never been a lack of brains, but that he comes across as ... mean.

Speaking at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government last week, Gingrich outlined, informally, his proposal to ease child labor laws in the U.S.

"These schools should get rid of unionized janitors," he said. "Have one master janitor, pay local students to take care of the school instead."

"The kids would actually do work; they'd have extra cash; they'd have pride in the schools," he added. "They'd begin the process of rising."

Education is seen as the key to upward mobility, as well as hard work, yet the budget cuts championed by some politicians make that harder.

It's difficult to say if he's trying to make a point about self-reliance, or eschewing union employees in favor of exploiting the working poor.

With Gingrich, it's hard to tell. But it's never uninteresting.

A judge has set the trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards to begin January 30, a week earlier than when prosecutors and defense lawyers sought.

In federal court, U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles signed an order Tuesday setting the schedule for Edwards' trial on charges of campaign finance violations.

Edwards was indicted following an exhaustive investigation in June.

John Edwards is accused of asking two wealthy campaign donors to provide nearly $1 million in secret payments used to hide pregnant mistress Rielle Hunter.

Making matters even worse is the fact that he was a serious candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for the White House in 2007 and early 2008.

His wife, the late Elizabeth Edwards, was also battling cancer at the time.

Edwards says he knew nothing of the checks, cash and private jets used to fly Rielle Hunter across the country and put her up in luxury homes and hotels.

We are not the judge or jury in the case, and every American has the constitutional right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence ... but come ON.

Oscar Ortega, a man with an apparent obsession with President Barack Obama, has been arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with shooting at the White House.

After the Secret Service discovered two bullets struck the residence Friday night while the president was away, authorities launched a full scale investigation.

One bullet smashed into a window of the mansion but was halted there by ballistic glass. Additionally, a round of ammunition was found on the exterior.

The arrest of Oscar Ortega (also known as Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez), came after officials linked the 21-year-old from Idaho Falls, Idaho, to the gunfire.

A U.S. Park Police crime bulletin issued before Ortega's arrest said he has mental health issues and "should be considered unstable with violent tendencies."

Authorities are investigating his mental health and say there are indications he believed his attack on the White House was part of a personal mission from God.

There are also indications the man had become obsessed with Obama and the White House, according to two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A tip from someone who saw and ID'd Ortega, who was captured Wednesday at a hotel near Indiana, Pa. led to his arrest, a Secret Service spokesman said.

Hillary Clinton was posing for photos with Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang after their recent meeting in Honolulu when someone decided to crash that party.

The Secretary of State must have caught it out of the corner of her eye, because a second or two after the fact, she realized what happened and seriously cracked up.

A random, scantily-clad Hawaiian dude running around with a flaming torch while you're trying to pose with a dignitary will have that effect. Pretty funny stuff:

Hillary Clinton Streaker

Herman Cain's wife, Gloria Cain, says the claims of sexual harassment against the GOP presidential candidate simply don't ring true because that's not who he is.

The Georgina businessman "totally respects women," according to his wife, who adds, "he would have to have a split personality to do the things that were said."

In an interview to be aired Monday during Greta Van Susteren's Fox News show On the Record, Gloria Cain said she can't believe the claims against her spouse:

Gloria Cain Interview

Cain is accused of harassing women - Karen Kraushaar, Sharon Bialek and two others - when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Gloria Cain said of those allegations:

"To hear such graphic allegations and know that would have been something that was totally disrespectful of her as a woman, I know that's not the person he is."

Cain's wife of 43 years is often described as "gentle" and "the nicest woman you'll ever meet." The two were married in 1968, and have two adult children.

Herman Cain, who has risen to the top of some national polls in the race for the Republican nomination, has denied wrongdoing in the last couple of weeks.

His unfocused responses to the claims, along with joking about Anita Hill, have made it tough for him to move forward with his White House bid, however.

Will the allegations against Cain derail his campaign?

Presidential hopeful Herman Cain, already facing allegations of sexual harassment from four women, was caught joking about Anita Hill during a campaign stop this week.

A college professor, Hill infamously became the poster woman for such claims when she made them 20 years ago about Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.

A Fox News camera caught Cain laughing about Hill during a campaign visit to Kalamazoo, Mich., Thursday, when a supporter brought up the professor's name.

"You hear the latest news today? Anita Hill is going to come …" a man told Cain. "Is she going to endorse me?" Cain joked, as he and the crowd laughed heartily ...

Herman Cain Anita Hill Joke

Herman Cain insisted later that he wasn't trying to insult Hill.

"We walked into this room and ... one of my supporters said, 'Anita Hill was trying to contact you' and my response was, 'Is she going to endorse me?'" he said.

"He said it in a humorous way. I gave a humorous response."

The Republican continues to fend off allegations that he sexually harassed four women when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Karen Kraushaar allegedly received a settlement to leave the group along with another woman. Sharon Bialek alleges Cain tried to grope her at a later date.

Joking about Hill, while essentially harmless, is not likely to help Cain, who some say has been less than forthcoming, shake the story that has dogged him for weeks.

How will the sexual harassment allegations impact Cain?

In a new interview, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords documents her story of untold strength and resilience after surviving an assassination attempt back in January.

Giffords was shot in the head at an event in her native Arizona and nearly died.

In addition to her recovery, Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, opened up about her new book Gabby: A Story of Hope and Courage, to ABC.

If you don’t mind getting teary-eyed at your desk at work, watch the preview below, which features footage of Giffords’ inspirational and painful road back.

Watch these clips of the Congresswoman, her spouse and Diane Sawyer:

Gabrielle Giffords Interview With Diane Sawyer

The good news for Texas Gov. Rick Perry? This was unquestionably the brightest moment of his White House campaign since his announcement back in August.

The bad news? It only came about due to his unbelievable debate brain freeze the previous night, after which Republican voters likely wrote him off for good.

Might as well make the best of it in any case, right?

The politician, to his credit, poked fun at himself by reading The Late Show with David Letterman's Top 10 List Thursday. The category: Top 10 Rick Perry excuses ...

Rick Perry Top 10 List

We won't give them away here, because you should really watch the clip for the full effect. But Mitt Romney's handsomeness and Justin Bieber's paternity are involved.

Texas Governor Rick Perry produced by far the most memorable moment of Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, and his campaign likely ended in the process.

Already characterized as unready for prime time after several poor debate performances cast serious doubts on his candidacy, Perry hit a new low last night.

It's one thing to have a bad outing ... but Perry never has a good one, and in this almost comical clip, he had no idea what he was even talking about on stage:

Rick Perry Stumbles in Debate

Perry tried to name three federal agencies he would eliminate if he is elected president, but came up with just two: the Commerce and Education Departments.

Struggling to come up with #3, Perry received encouragement from one of his rivals, Rep. Ron Paul, who suggested he should actually eliminate five agencies.

Someone then suggested that maybe Perry was talking about the Environmental Protection Agency. No, he said that wasn't the third. But what was it, then?

No clue. After an awkward pause, he drew a blank, offering only a simple "Oops."

You wonder why virtual unknown Herman Cain became the Tea Party darling ...

Karen Kraushaar was sexually harassed by Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain in the 1990s and left her job because of it, she said yesterday.

The became the second woman to come forward and put a name and face behind accusations that Cain sexually harassed her when she worked for him.

Karen Kraushaar, now a spokeswoman for the Inspector General's Office in the U.S Treasury Department and a former journalist, is pictured below:

Kraushaar was one of the two women who received a financial settlement of about $45,000 after accusing Cain of sexual harassment in the 1990s. She worked at the National Restaurant Association while Cain headed the trade group.

Sharon Bialek, who went public earlier, offered many more details.

"She is a professional who had to leave her job because of Herman Cain. It is quite simple," a former National Restaurant Association employee said of Kraushaar.

The latest Herman Cain accuser told the N.Y. Times she hoped she and other accusers might hold a joint press conference "where all of the women would be together with our attorneys and all of this evidence would be considered together."

"These allegations can be considered together as a body of evidence."

Cain said Kraushaar's allegations were the only ones he remembered, but that they - like the rest of the salacious claims made against him - are not credible.

Will sexual harassment allegations derail the Cain Train?