Barack Obama

Mitt Romney will no longer be called the "presumptive" GOP presidential nominee after Tuesday's Texas primary, which will enable him to secure the 1,144 delegates required to clinch the official title.

While Texas has 155 delegates to offer, the former Massachusetts governor requires just 60 more to reach the threshold, according to The Associated Press tally.

After a long roller coaster ride with other GOP candidates threatening his nomination, Romney's campaign will now focus on defeating President Barack Obama in November. Most Republicans are now rallying behind the candidate. more >>

Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney shared the stage with his 2008 presidential campaign rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) today at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in San Diego, where they observed Memorial Day and Romney spoke about the need for a strong U.S. military.

Romney noted the threats posed by Iran and its nuclear ambition; China and its military superpower aspiration; and Mexico and its drug-related violence, and said that the U.S. has chosen to maintain a strong military not only to win wars, but to prevent them.

"Because a strong America is the best deterrent to war that ever has been invented," Romney said to a crowd of some 5,000 people, the Los Angeles Times reported. more >>

President Barack Obama on Friday prayed for all the service members who have given their lives in the nation's wars as he proclaimed Memorial Day 2012, to be observed Monday.

"Our nation endures and thrives because of the devotion of our men and women in uniform, who, from generation to generation, carry a burden heavier than any we may ever know," Obama said in his prayer for peace. "On Memorial Day, we honor those who have borne conflict's greatest cost, mourn where the wounds of war are fresh, and pray for a just, lasting peace."

The president said the American fabric was "stitched with stories of sons and daughters who gave their lives in service to the country they loved." more >>

Newt Gingrich, the one-time front-runner in the 2012 Republican primary, says he forgives the party's presumptive nominee for running hard-hitting ads against him earlier this year.

"Mitt Romney did what he had to do to become the nominee," Gingrich told Chris Matthews on MSNBC's "Hardball" on Thursday. "He's worked at this for six years … When he got to the crunch, he was tough enough and smart enough to beat me in Florida."

When Matthews asked Gingrich if the accusations Romney aimed at him were true, he said "no." more >>

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will be honoring retiring member Rep. Barney Frank (Mass.) next week for the 25th anniversary of his "coming out of the closet" as an openly gay congressman.

The DCCC is organizing the fundraiser hosted by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House Minority Leader, and DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., according to USA Today. Tickets for the May 30 Democratic fundraising event start at $100 for individuals and go up to $5000 for PACs.

"Barney is an inspiration to all of us as one of the first openly gay congressmen to serve in the House," his openly gay colleague Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) wrote in an email sent by the DCCC. "This event will be particularly moving for me as it will be one of our last events with him before he retires this year." more >>

E. J. Dionne, a liberal columnist for The Washington Post, suggested in a Monday blog post that Catholic leaders who are opposing the Obama administration's birth control mandate could be doing so to help Republicans in the November elections.

Dionne was responding to the Monday lawsuits from 43 Catholic agencies. They sued the Obama administration over the requirement to provide coverage for contraception, sterilization and some abortifacient drugs in their health plans. These agencies did not qualify for the religious exemption because the exemption defines religious groups as only those that primarily hire and serve coreligionists, and for which religious worship or instruction is not their primary function.

The U.S. Catholic Church will also focus on religious freedom issues for an event called "Fortnight for Freedom," to be held for two weeks this summer. more >>