It's no coincidence that the four-year-old story about state Sen. Mike Haridopolos' "book deal" resurfaced this week. After all, he's running for U.S. Senate, and that makes him target practice for both the right and left.

While a fellow Minnesotan, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, is garnering the headlines and momentum in the Republican presidential contest in Iowa, home of the first caucus contest, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty looked to generate some traction of his own Monday as he doubled down his efforts in the Hawkeye State.

For Pawlenty to have a shot at the Republican nomination, he will have to do strongly in Iowa -- especially as New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary, appears locked up for Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

Florida led the nation in employment gains from April to May with 28,000 new jobs, but a report released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors paints a somewhat dimmer picture.

Using economic models from IHS Global Insight, the report identifies years by which U.S. cities will return to pre-recession employment levels. No Florida metro market is expected to hit that target this year or next. Just one -- the relatively small Palm Coast region south of Jacksonville -- is expected to reach that target by 2013.

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota on Monday formally launched her bid to become the Republican presidential nominee in 2012.

Looking to be the first member of the U.S. House directly elected to the presidency since James Garfield did it in 1880, Bachmann made an informal announcement earlier in the month during a debate with the various Republican presidential candidates in New Hampshire.

Speaking in her old hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, Bachmann called for a constitutionally conservative government, which she insisted the Founding Fathers intended.

Is it just me, or do these guys in the mainstream media have the memory of a fruit fly?

The debt limit negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden imploded Thursday when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., announced that he was not attending any more meetings.