Updated at 1 a.m. ET: WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum canceled his Sunday morning campaign events and planned to spend time with his hospitalized daughter.

“Rick and his wife Karen are admitting their daughter Bella to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia this evening,” spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement Saturday night, adding “Rick intends to return to Florida and resume the campaign schedule as soon as is possible.”

Santorum had been scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and attend church in Miami. Officials did not cancel Sunday’s afternoon events in Sarasota and Punta Gorda.

(CNN) — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is “recovering well” after skull surgery Wednesday, officials at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston said.

The Arizona Democrat had a cranioplasty procedure, officials said.

Doctors will discuss the procedure and Giffords’ next step in rehabilitation at a Thursday morning press briefing.

Jared Lee Loughner is accused of opening fire outside a Tucson, Arizona, supermarket where Giffords was meeting with constituents in January. Six people — including a federal judge — were killed and 13 others were wounded in the attack.

(CNN) — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, recovering from a gunshot wound to the head suffered January 8, is regaining part of her ability to speak and recently asked for toast while having breakfast, staffers said Wednesday.

Spokesman C.J. Karamargin would not divulge what else Giffords has said, other than that she has spoken other words “within the last few days.”

“It’s very good news,” he said.

HOUSTON — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords got a dramatic send-off from her hometown Friday as throngs of sign-carrying well-wishers lined the streets to wave at the ambulance taking the wounded congresswoman from the hospital to the airport, where she was flown to Houston just two weeks after she was shot.

The trip by ambulance, jet and helicopter took her to a Houston hospital where she will undergo weeks of rigorous rehabilitation.

CNN) — Here’s the thing: Blaming Arizona is easy.

In the wake of the terrible shooting at that congressional town hall meeting, it is simple to point to a rampant culture of easy gun access, intolerance, and anti-government fever and say, “Sure, this man was unbalanced, but the wild winds of the Grand Canyon State blew him over the edge.”

Just ask Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who jumped into the fray with his reaction. “Well, I think we’re the Tombstone of the United States of America,” he said, evoking his state’s storied history. “We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.”

NEW YORK – It was called a “Christmas miracle,” but a last-minute compromise by Congress will provide a smaller aid package than originally envisioned to help victims of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the responders sickened as they worked in its smoldering ruins.

The measure passed by Congress and sent to President Barack Obama on Wednesday would provide up to $4.2 billion in new aid to survivors and responders, $2 million less than originally proposed. Obama said he is eager to sign it.

The White House shifted into Christmas mode on Friday as Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha accepted the gift of an 18½-foot Douglas fir from Pennsylvania as the official White House Christmas Tree.

A military band played “Oh Christmas Tree” during the ceremony.
Story: Obama needs 12 stitches after being hit on lip during basketball game

WASHINGTON — Partisan tensions on Capitol Hill are delaying efforts to fix an error in the federal health care law that could cost Children’s Hospital Boston and others like it millions of dollars in added drug costs.
Correcting the error would require changing just 47 words in the 1,880-page law, a task that a previous Congress might have accomplished in an afternoon. Instead, with Republicans fighting to repeal the health care bill rather than fix it and Democrats loath to acknowledge its flaws, months have passed with no resolution, and prospects for one in the lame-duck session are limited.

CLEVELAND — Former President Jimmy Carter, on a trip promoting his new book, developed an upset stomach on a flight to Cleveland on Tuesday and was staying at a hospital overnight at his doctor’s recommendation.

Carter’s grandson, Georgia state Sen. Jason Carter, said his 85-year-old grandfather was doing fine.

“He’s definitely resting comfortably and expected to continue his book tour this week,” Jason Carter said. “I haven’t talked to him, but nobody in the family is concerned.”

Washington (CNN) — Faced with a divided public over his signature legislative achievement, President Barack Obama on Wednesday hailed the health care reform bill passed in March as important for helping both the government and the American people deal with rising medical costs.

The measure endured a bitter political fight that saw no Republicans vote for its final approval, and recent polls show it remains controversial as Democrats face congressional elections in November amid a tough climate due to lingering economic woes.