WASHINGTON (AP) — In a dramatic appeal, wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords urged Congress on Wednesday to enact tougher curbs on guns, saying, "too many children are dying" without them.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday a drop in GDP in the fourth quarter is driven in large part by a decrease in defense spending and accused Republicans of "political brinkmanship" for threatening to let more defense cuts take effect. White House spokesman Jay Carney said a looming March 1 deadline when defense cuts take effect absent a broader budget deal stands to hurt the U.S. economy and taxpayers unless addressed. He said Republican threats to let the cuts take place amount to "political brinkmanship" that harms only Americans. ...

ROME (Reuters) - Soccer players do not usually enter a nation's political fray but when the country is Italy, the player is Mario Balotelli and the person running for office is his new boss Silvio Berlusconi, all bets are off. Balotelli, the hot-tempered forward who had been playing for Manchester City, is poised to sign for AC Milan, the club owned by the former prime minister vying for a political comeback. The timing of the deal and its potential electoral implications were not lost on anyone, least of all Berlusconi's centre-left opposition. ...