Politics

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Rep. Dean Heller, Nevada Republican, announced a long-expected U.S. Senate bid Tuesday. He easily won re-election to a third House term in November. (Associated Press)

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton conferred Monday night with a representative of the National Transitional Council, which represents the Libyan opposition. (Associated Press)

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Egyptians will be voting "yes" or "no" to nine proposed changes in the referendum on Saturday. Passage could mean parliamentary and presidential elections will be held before the end of this year. (Associated Press)

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Mohammed Ahmed Atiya heads the supreme judiciary council overseeing the referendum on constitutional amendments. Egypt is transitioning to democracy after 30 years of authoritarian rule. (Associated Press)

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Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is seeking to fight the demographic forces hollowing out the Farm Belt and to protect Kansas' political clout in Congress. (Associated Press)

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A campaign to "buy stamps" is a half-joking effort to save the post office in Freeport, Kan., a town of just five people. (Associated Press)

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (center) speaks during a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil el-Arabi (second from right) after their meeting in Cairo on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Mrs. Clinton pressed Egypt's transitional leaders to follow through on pledges for democratic reform after the ouster of the country's longtime autocratic president in a popular revolt. (AP Photo/Grace Kassab)

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil el-Arabi during a media presentation in Cairo on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Mrs. Clinton is pressing Egypt's transitional leaders to follow through on pledges for democratic reforms after the ousting of the country's longtime autocratic president in a recent popular revolt. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

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The U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard," changes the guard as the body of former Army Cpl. Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of World War I, lies in honor in the Memorial Amphitheater Chapel at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. He died on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, at his West Virginia home at age 110. Mr. Buckles enlisted in the Army on Aug. 14, 1917, at the age of 16; he was discharged in 1920. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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** FILE ** The United States Senate holds a ceremony to honor Frank Woodruff Buckles (seated), at 107 the oldest living American veteran of World War I, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 18, 2008. From left are Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat; Richard Rovsek, organizer of the event; and Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia Democrat. (The Washington Times)

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The U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard," changes the guard as the body of former Army Cpl. Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of World War I, lies in honor in the Memorial Amphitheater Chapel at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks with reporters aboard her aircraft on her way from Paris to Cairo on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Mrs. Clinton was expected to press Egypt's transitional leaders to follow through on pledges for democratic reform after the ouster of longtime autocratic President Hosni Mubarak in a popular revolt. (AP Photo/Paul J. Richards, Pool)

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U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, testifies Tuesday on Capitol Hill before the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Associated Press)

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In this Feb. 2, 2011 photo released by Tec Petaja, John Paul White, left, and Joy Williams, right, of The Civil Wars, pose with Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum, second left, and Taylor Swift in Nashville. (AP Photo/Tec Petaja)

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Afghans move a casket containing the body of Malang Malik, a provincial council member who killed in a blast in Mehtarlam in Laghman province, northeast of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. An Afghan government spokesman said the council member was killed while walking near his home. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a joint news conference with Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle in Berlin on Monday, March 14, 2011, at which the government said it is suspending for three months a decision to extend the life of its nuclear power plants. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

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This screen grab from Bahrain TV shows troops arriving in Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on Monday, March 14, 2011. The Saudi-led military forces were deployed to prop up the Bahraini monarchy against widening demonstrations, launching the first cross-border military operation to quell unrest since the Arab world's rebellions began in December. (AP Photo/Bahrain TV via APTN)

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Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour sounded like a 2012 GOP presidential candidate in a speech before the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce on Monday. (Associated Press)

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"We're still waiting for them to bring something — anything — new to the table," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. (Associated Press)

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Children play at the SOS children's home in Malakal, southern Sudan, in 2005. More than 100 orphans were trapped between fighting forces over the weekend when rebel troops battling southern Sudan's army invaded an orphanage, officials said. (Associated Press)