Ari Shapiro

Mitt Romney has spent days defending himself against attacks on his record in the private sector. Now on the campaign trail near Pittsburgh, he's taking a newly aggressive tone towards President Obama.

It's a bit less likely now than a week ago that you'll hear people accuse the Supreme Court of being politicized.

That's because this week, the court ended its session with two controversial decisions — neither one of which was decided on the usual and predictable split between the five justices appointed by Republican presidents and the four appointed by Democrats.

But that doesn't make the court any less of a political animal.

In the days following President Obama's announcement that he supports same-sex marriage, anecdotal evidence suggested that the political position had a financial payoff.

Young voters helped secure President Obama's victory in 2008. But the economy has hurt them in the last few years, and now Republican challenger Mitt Romney sees an opening.

Restore Our Future, the superPAC supporting GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is expecting a $10 million boost from a single donor.

The Wall Street Journal reports that gift is coming from a man who just a few months ago was spending money to attack Romney.

In May, Mitt Romney outraised President Obama for the first time. The former Massachusetts governor took in about $17 million more than Mister Obama. What's the significance of the shift?

^{Note: We've asked NPR journalists to share their top five (or so) political Twitter accounts, and we're featuring the series on #FollowFriday. Here are recommendations from reporter Ari Shapiro (@Ari_Shapiro).}

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney picked up two big endorsements this week from GOP foreign policy luminaries: former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and George Shultz.

At this point in the presidential race, endorsements are pretty routine. But these particular endorsements are important, since Romney has encountered some skepticism from foreign policy experts in his party.

Some Republicans expected the long, bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to alter their party's traditional interventionist view. Those Republicans are disappointed in Romney.

NPR is exploring what the American dream means to our culture, our economy and our politics. On All Things Considered, we explored what President Obama and Democrats think of the American dream. In this installment, the Republican perspective.

President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney agree that the American dream is out of reach for too many people today. They disagree on how to fix the problem.

Mitt Romney won the GOP presidential primary in Texas Tuesday night. By some counts, that gives him the last delegates he needed to formally secure the Republican nomination. He celebrated in Las Vegas with a campaign event and a fundraiser. But his victory was overshadowed by campaign surrogate Donald Trump who has a gift for finding the spotlight.

The American Dream is a crucial thread in this country's tapestry, woven through politics, music and culture.

Though the phrase has different meanings to different people, it suggests an underlying belief that hard work pays off and that the next generation will have a better life than the previous generation.

But three years after the worst recession in almost a century, the American Dream now feels in jeopardy to many.

The town of Lorain, Ohio, used to embody this dream. It was a place where you could get a good job, raise a family and comfortably retire.

A Quinnipiac University poll out this week found Mitt Romney with a 6-point lead over President Obama in Florida. That would seem to be very good news for the presumptive Republican nominee in what may be the biggest swing state this fall.