2012 | featured news

In case you missed the memo, some (all?) of the 2011-12 TV season's best new series have been held till midseason this year. So what does that mean for you? First, that the season so far has kinda been a big ol' ball of bummer, right? But more importantly, some seriously kickass premieres are coming your way, and pronto.

While 2011 was a big year for political unrest, another uprising was afoot in the world of content creators and artists. Everywhere you look, artists are taking more control over their own economic well being, partly because the Internet has enabled them to do so.

New laws going into effect Sunday cover some of the nation's most contentious issues, from immigration to abortion, while others deal with tanning beds, tuition and where you can sell a pet.

Sarah Palin says it's not too late for someone to jump into the Republican presidential race. Asked by Fox Business Network's "Follow the Money" about the likelihood that she'd become a candidate, the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee said it's not too late for "folks" to jump in. Said Palin: "Who knows what will happen in the future."

A "super PAC" associated with Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign launched a $3.1 million ad buy in Iowa on Thursday, starting with an ad attacking President Obama's job-creation record and touting Romney's.

It will be great for TV ratings, that’s for sure. A group of pole dancing advocates wants the activity, more commonly associated with dim nightclubs, recognized as an Olympic sport. The Pole Fitness Association and other pole dancing advocacy groups are circulating petitions to have vertical dance, which they compare to gymnastics, added to the London 2012 lineup.

An acceleration in the pace of U.S. economic growth in the second half of this year is expected to ebb as 2012 gets underway, although the odds of another recession have receded to one-in-four, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

Leaving little to the imagination, a Chicago-area woman on Monday accused Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain of making a crude sexual advance more than a decade ago when she was seeking his help finding a job. "Come clean," Sharon Bialek challenged Cain at a news conference in New York at which she described herself as "a face and a voice" to support other accusers who have so far remained anonymous.

GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul did not rule out a third-party bid for the White House, but said he's not inclined to do so if he doesn't win the Republican nomination. The Texas congressman, who is making his third run for the White House, made his comments Sunday on CNN's State of the Union program.

Key proposals from the Republican presidential candidates might make for good campaign fodder. But independent analyses raise serious questions about those plans and their ability to cure the nation's economic and housing woes.