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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Popular Gov. Joe Manchin won the Democratic nomination Saturday and will face GOP primary winner and wealthy businessman John Raese in the race to fill the Senate seat vacated by the late Robert C. Byrd.

Raese defeated a crowded field of Republicans and becomes part of the GOP quest to dismantle the Democratic Senate majority as high unemployment and the slow economic recovery take a toll on their political prospects this fall.

In Louisiana, scandal-tainted Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter easily beat two little-known challengers and will meet Democratic Rep. Charlie Melancon, who won his party’s primary, in November.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — Primary voters are set to head to the polls this weekend, this time in Louisiana and West Virginia.

In Louisiana, GOP Sen. David Vitter is expected to easily overcome a primary challenge Saturday in his first appearance on the ballot since a 2007 prostitution scandal.

In West Virginia, voters are choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for a November special election to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd, a Democrat.

Full Story at CNN.com

Fort Bragg, North Carolina (CNN) — It’s been clear for months that the fighting in Afghanistan is more intense than it’s been since the war there started nearly nine years ago. Yet, from the midst of those increasingly violent firefights come some amazing stories of heroism.

On Monday, seven soldiers will receive public recognition for their actions during a Silver Star ceremony at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The medals — the third-highest award for valor in the Army — are being awarded for five separate battles over a span of more than two years.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — Health care reform was “a long overdue victory for America’s consumers and patients” and Americans are “already seeing a wave of change,” President Barack Obama said Tuesday as he touted the success of his signature domestic policy initiative.

But health insurers must not use health care reform as an excuse to raise rates, and the government will make sure they don’t, Obama said.

He was speaking 90 days after the passage of the Affordable Care Act and patients’ bill of rights.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — Voters in three states head to the polls Tuesday, and in one of those states history might be made:

South Carolina

South Carolina Republicans could make state Rep. Nikki Haley their first female gubernatorial nominee. She’s in a runoff against U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett.

Haley just missed out on winning the nomination outright in the June 8 primary, capturing 49 percent of the vote in a four-candidate field

Full Story at msnbc.com

PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she’s angry over comments by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that the Obama administration will sue the state over its new immigration law.

In a June 8 media interview in Ecuador that began circulating Thursday in the U.S., Clinton said President Barack Obama thinks the federal government should determine immigration policy and that the Justice Department “will be bringing a lawsuit against the act.”

Full Story at msnbc.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Sarah Palin is wading into Minnesota’s governor’s race to throw her support to a “straight talking hockey dad” locked in a tight race to be the Republicans’ favored candidate in November.

Palin posted her support for state Rep. Tom Emmer on her Facebook page Thursday.

Full Story at CNN.com

New York (CNN) — New York’s Commission on Public Integrity is charging Gov. David Paterson with an ethics violation for accepting free tickets to the first game of last year’s World Series, the commission said Wednesday.

Paterson violated the state’s restriction on gifts for public officials in October when he sought free tickets to the game in Yankee Stadium between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies, the commission said. The commission also said Paterson lied under oath about intending to pay for the tickets.

Full Story at msnbc.com

AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Rick Perry easily dispatched Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to win the Republican nomination for Texas governor on Tuesday in a heated primary that highlighted the growing anti-Washington mood among voters in this year’s midterm elections.

Hutchison was once seen as the candidate who could deliver Perry’s first election loss in a lifetime of public office. But the governor, a darling of the social conservatives, forcefully and successfully painted the senator as too entrenched in Washington politics.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON – President Obama will propose on Monday giving the federal government new power to block excessive rate increases by health insurance companies, as he rolls out comprehensive legislation to revamp the nation’s health care system, White House officials said.

The president’s legislation aims to bridge differences between the bills adopted by the House and Senate late last year, and to frame his debate with Republicans over health policy at a televised “summit” meeting on Thursday.