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VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI began his eighth year as pope on Tuesday after spending the waning days of his seventh driving home his view of the Catholic Church, with a divisive crackdown on dissenters and an equally divisive opening to a fringe group of traditionalists....

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Newt Gingrich's daughter said Tuesday that the former House speaker will "reassess" his campaign after the vote in Delaware, potentially setting the stage for his exit from the Republican presidential race....

A man saved his own life by using a doner kebab to stem blood from a knife wound to his neck, a court hears.

CHICAGO (AP) -- The trial of the man charged with murdering three of Jennifer Hudson's family members resumed Tuesday with the Oscar-winner shutting her eyes as a police officer described finding her dead family members....

The westbound M4 reopens after a crash near the second Severn crossing in which one person was seriously injured, say police.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond strongly denies claims he lobbied the UK government over News Corp's plan to take control of BSkyB.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The U.S. Justice Department, citing "insurmountable legal and evidentiary barriers," won't reopen its investigation into the deadly 1970 shootings by Ohio National Guardsmen during a Vietnam War protest at Kent State University....

Update (8:53 PM): All States essentially called for Romney as he notches easy wins across the board. Ann Romney gives a great introduction to Mitt and shows she is leaps and bounds the best first lady candidate the Republicans have had in decades. Why she is a sure game-changer this year. Romney delivers a strong pro-economic message, while the Obama campaign continues bored and tired "Republicans hate women; Republicans hate Dogs; Republicans hate immigrants" attacks. Romney speach summed up: "It's the economy. And we are not stupid."

Update (8:30 PM): It may be early in the counting process, but Newt Gingrich is doing worse in the Rhode Island Republican Primary (6.5% of the vote) than "Uncommitted" (9.5% of the vote) is doing against Obama in the Democratic primary. The mighty Ron Paul is easily outperforming Gingrich in Rhode Island and Connecticut. But both states have already been called for Romney, who leads with 60%+ of the vote in each.

Not too long ago, Tuesday's were the greatest days in politics. Tuesday, Jan. 3 2012 kicked off the GOP primary as Rick Santorum surprised the field by winning the "first in the nation" caucus. Romney rebounded a Tuesday later by taking a win in New Hampshire, the "first in the nation primary." Then there was Florida, on Tuesday the 31st, as Newt was dealt a devastating blow by the Romney campaign in the "first in the penalized by the RNC primary." You get the point (all without even mentioning "Super Tuesday."

Today a handful of states voted in the GOP Primary, including biggies New York and Pennsylvania along with Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island. But there is no polling, no build-up, no breathless "this is a must-win state for fill-in-the-blank" columns. The attack ads have dissipated. It's game over. (No, no, no. Not technically, but yes. It is.)

So, here is a "Where are They Now" and follow up to all of the great contenders of the 2012 GOP Primary that gave us almost a year of excitement.

Newt Gingrich: The closest contender after the closest contender to Romney, Newt is millions in debt but has vowed to battle all the way to Tampa. Newt misses the days of being carpet-bombed by Mitt Romney and eviscerated by SuperPAC's and is currently "insulted" that camp Romney is ignoring him altogether. If he asks nicely, Restore Our Future might throw a web attack ad his way. For the eternally optimistic Newtons, here's a bit about his Delaware efforts.

Rick Santorum: On the "yes I dropped out but pay attention to me anyway" front, Santorum will be appearing on CNN tonight (Piers Morgan, 9:30 PM!) to probably not endorse Mitt Romney. While Santorum was definitely the luckiest of the anti-Romney candidates (peaking right before Iowa), I'm not so sure of the long-term attachment of the people who supported him.

Ron Paul: I'm not sure he has conceded the 1988 election yet, but no future GOP primary will be the same without Ron Paul. This has without a doubt been his most successful run yet. Paul is currently in Texas, soaking in the broad support and accolades of college students (half of whom will turn around and vote for Obama in November). But at least he is having fun and his campaign isn't in debt. (Oh, and now he passes the torch to Rand, who will launch presidential bids for the next 4 decades.)

Mitt Romney: After insulting Newt Gingrich by only attacking President Obama, Romney will be delivering an insultingly-titled speech in New Hampshire tonight named "A Better America Begins Today." Doesn't he know he hasn't won the primary yet? All 57 states haven't voted yet, and Newt is guaranteed to finish top-3 in the rest of them. (I kid, I kid.)

And now that a year of obsessing over the GOP nomination is complete, the process for obsessing over the vice presidential nominee selection can now being. Here' to a solid 4 months of that.

Photo: Bryan Mullenix, Getty Images

Also Known as Tuesday (Where Are They Now?) originally appeared on About.com Conservative Politics: U.S. on Tuesday, April 24th, 2012 at 17:46:51.

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SEATTLE (AP) -- Space-faring robots could be extracting gold and platinum from asteroids within 10 years if a new venture backed by two Silicon Valley titans and filmmaker James Cameron goes as planned....

The rejection of the resignation plan for the embattled police chief in the Trayvon Martin case leaves the city in "limbo," the city manager said Tuesday.

Spanish police arrest 22 people and break up a gang trying to smuggle Iranians into Britain through the Canary Islands.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte appealed to a polarized Dutch Parliament on Tuesday to help him make painful budget cuts rather than let the country drift in political limbo until new elections....

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte appealed to a polarized Dutch Parliament on Tuesday to help him make painful budget cuts rather than let the country drift in political limbo until new elections....

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte appealed to a polarized Dutch Parliament on Tuesday to help him make painful budget cuts rather than let the country drift in political limbo until new elections....

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports from the Jalozai refugee camp in the North West Frontier province of Pakistan.

A fugitive accused of stealing $2 million from an armored truck he was driving and killing his partner was caught early Tuesday in Florida, according to the FBI.

Was today a sneak preview of the GOP ticket for 2012? CNN's Jim Acosta reports.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- The aide who helped John Edwards hide his pregnant mistress says the former presidential candidate directed him to seek money from rich friends to provide the woman a monthly allowance....

Manager Ally McCoist warns that the Scottish FA's sanctions against Rangers could put the club out of business.

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- An armored car guard accused of killing his partner in Pittsburgh and making off with more than $2 million was arrested in Florida on Tuesday after nearly two months on the run when someone called Pittsburgh police to report his whereabouts, authorities said....