Highlights of Obama's $3.8 trillion budget

Highlights of the 2013 budget that President Barack Obama sent to Congress on Monday:

FILE - In a Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 file photo, singer Dionne Warwick holds her trophy for "Musical Lifetime Achievement" during the 47th Golden Camera award ceremony in Berlin. Warwick has postponed a Valentine's Day concert at at The Palace Theater in Greensburg, western Pennsylvania after the death of her cousin Whitney Houston. Warwick's concert at The Palace Theater will instead be held March 2. Tickets for Tuesday night's concert will be honored for the new show.

Authorities: Houston was underwater in tub

Whitney Houston's life was a doleful cover of other addiction-riddled pop stars who put their talent and themselves at risk. 1329220250 Video Available Photo Gallery Available

Obama's budget could impact California _ if it survives

California has a big stake in the debate begun Monday with release of the Obama administration's proposed fiscal year 2013 budget, even if the sprawling document has only a short lifespan.

President Barack Obama speaks about the "Community College to Career Fund" and his 2013 budget, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va.

GOP critics hit Obama's $3.8 trillion budget

President Barack Obama feels he has struck just the right budget balance between providing more short-term support for the economy while putting forth a long-term plan to get control of the government's soaring budget deficits. 1329220246 Video Available Photo Gallery Available

FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2011 file photo, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer in Richmond, Va. A Supreme Court spokeswoman says Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies.

Justice Breyer robbed at West Indies vacation home

Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed last week by a machete-wielding intruder at his vacation home in the West Indies, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said Monday.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012.

US sees 'challenges' for peacekeepers in Syria

The Obama administration said Monday it backs Arab League plans to end ongoing violence in Syria but noted several obstacles to deploying a proposed international peacekeeping force to the country and stopped short of a full endorsement of the idea. Photo Gallery Available

White House attacks contraception bills

The White House said Monday legislation in the Senate that would give employers broad leeway to restrict coverage for contraception is "dangerous and wrong." Photo Gallery Available

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks in Portland, Maine. Romney accepted nearly $280,000 in contributions raised by a former lobbyist for Fannie Mae, despite the GOP candidate's blistering criticism of the mortgage giant. Romney and other Republicans haven't identified other so-called fundraising “bundlers,” leaving voters in the dark about who their campaigns are indebted to.

Most of Romney's top fundraisers remain anonymous

Despite criticism of Fannie Mae by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, his campaign accepted nearly $280,000 in donations raised by a registered lobbyist who once represented the government mortgage giant and whose clients now include a private equity firm and the drug company Pfizer. Photo Gallery Available

Poll: Santorum surges past Romney; both Republicans trail Obama

President Barack Obama for the first time has opened a sizable lead over his most likely Republican opponents, thanks to growing support among independent voters, according to a new Pew Research Center poll.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012.

Capitol Hill weighs GOP payroll tax gambit

House lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill to weigh a proposal by GOP leaders to extend the 2-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax through the end of the year and add the approximately $100 billion cost to the nation's $15 trillion-plus debt instead of scrounging around the budget for ways to pay for it. Photo Gallery Available

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