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• Biden OK with equal rights for married gay couples
• Gingrich: Romney has earned the GOP nomination
• Biden says no 'stagnation' in employment numbers
• Putin to be sworn in as president of divided Russia
• Greek far-right leader savors electoral success
• GOP leaders start to rally around Romney _ sort of
• Biden 'absolutely comfortable' with gay marriage
• Netanyahu seeks September Israel election
• Biden OK with equal rights for married gay couples
• For "Mr. Normal" Hollande, it's bye-bye to bling
• VP Possible Ayotte Says She Has 'Better Experience' Than Obama in 2008
• Socialist Hollande ousts Sarkozy as French leader
• Serbian right-wing tied with liberals in elections
• Rage of Greeks in election endangers bailout
• Sarkozy's sparkle faded in re-election bid
• Poll shows left winning French parliament vote in June
• Greece's young leftist Tsipras delivers political earthquake
• Victorious French left reclaims the Bastille
• 'This Week' Extra: Roundtable Post-Show Thoughts
• Suspected U.S. drone kills two Yemeni al Qaeda men
• Congressional Intel Chairs Say Taliban Is 'Stronger'
• U.S. prosecutors say ready for long haul in 9/11 case
• Armenian president's party set to keep power - exit poll
• Paul wins majority of delegates from Maine GOP
• Sunday Sound: Heard on 'This Week'
• Russian police battle anti-Putin protesters
• David Axelrod: Obama Campaign Launching New Advertising Campaign This Week
• Greek Socialist leader calls for pro-bailout unity government
• Merkel's party may lose power in northern German state
• Feelings run deep in Wis. recall; few undecided
• Job disability a headache for recovery
• Heavy fighting rocks eastern Syria ahead of poll
• John McCain: President Obama Leading from Behind on Foreign Policy

Biden OK with equal rights for married gay couples Posted: Vice President Joe Biden says he's "absolutely comfortable" with gay couples who marry getting the same civil rights and liberties as heterosexual couples, a stand that gay rights advocates interpreted as an endorsement of same-sex marriage.

Gingrich: Romney has earned the GOP nomination Posted: Former White House candidate Newt Gingrich says Mitt Romney has "earned the right to represent the Republican Party" against President Barack Obama and that he'll help Romney's campaign in any way he can.

Biden says no 'stagnation' in employment numbers Posted: Vice President Joe Biden says the latest job numbers show an economy still struggling to recover, but not one where hiring suddenly has stalled.

Putin to be sworn in as president of divided Russia Posted: MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin will be sworn in as Russia's president at a glittering ceremony on Monday, hours after clashes between police and protesters laid bare the deep divisions over his return to the Kremlin for six more years. The former KGB spy will take his oath before nearly 2,000 guests in the Kremlin's St Andrew Hall, the former throne room with sparkling chandeliers, gilded pillars and high Gothic vaults, before being blessed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and taking charge of the nuclear suitcase. ...

Greek far-right leader savors electoral success Posted: ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's extreme-right Golden Dawn party savored unprecedented success in Sunday's general election by promising to rid Greece of illegal immigrants, branding journalists "liars" and warning all "traitors" to run scared. Little more than an obscure fringe group barely a year ago, the party is set to blow past estimates and enter parliament for the first time with as much as 8 percent of the vote. ...

GOP leaders start to rally around Romney _ sort of Posted: Republican party leaders are starting to rally around Mitt Romney, but it's not exactly a stampede of support for the expected GOP presidential nominee.

Biden 'absolutely comfortable' with gay marriage Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday he was "absolutely comfortable" with allowing same-sex couples to marry, staking out a position on a hot-button social issue that appeared to differ from that of his boss, President Barack Obama. In an interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Biden was pressed on whether the Obama administration would seek to legalize gay marriage in a second White House term. He said he personally was open to the change. "The president sets the policy. ...

Netanyahu seeks September Israel election Posted: TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he supported holding an early general election in four months' time, a ballot polls say could strengthen his hand as Israel confronts Iran's nuclear ambitions. The next national vote was not due until October 2013, but new legislation that might force ultra-Orthodox Jews to serve in the military and an upcoming budget debate have threatened to unravel a governing coalition of religious and nationalist parties once seen as one of the most stable in Israel's history. ...

Biden OK with equal rights for married gay couples Posted: Vice President Joe Biden says he's "absolutely comfortable" with gay couples who marry getting the same civil rights and liberties as heterosexual couples, a stand that gay rights advocates interpreted as an endorsement of same-sex marriage.

For "Mr. Normal" Hollande, it's bye-bye to bling Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - Francois Hollande, the man who plans to be France's "Mr Normal" president, has stopped going to work by scooter but told voters he will still take the train and do the family shopping as head of state - at least, he jokes, "if the fridge is empty". As soon as he ended his 15-minute victory speech on Sunday, he was whisked away under police escort, underlining the limits to "normality" that security will impose. But the declaration of intent was part of the strategy that swept him to power. ...

VP Possible Ayotte Says She Has 'Better Experience' Than Obama in 2008 Posted: Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., says that she's focused on remaining a senator, not becoming the vice presidential nominee, but added that she's more qualified to be president than President Obama was when he ran in 2008. "I have, some would say, better experience than Barack...

Socialist Hollande ousts Sarkozy as French leader Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - Socialist Francois Hollande swept to victory in France's presidential election on Sunday in a swing to the left at the heart of Europe and promised to start a pushback against German-led austerity policies. Hollande led conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy by 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent with 83 percent of votes counted, the Interior Ministry said, bringing the centre-left back to government in Paris after a decade in opposition. "Europe is watching us," the president-elect said in a victory speech in his constituency of Tulle in central France. ...

Serbian right-wing tied with liberals in elections Posted: BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia's incumbent liberals and right-wing opposition were tied for control of the Balkan country on Sunday after knife-edge elections in which the party of late Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic emerged as kingmaker. The opposition Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) claimed victory and said it would open coalition talks without delay. But the results suggested the liberal Democratic Party, in power since Milosevic's ouster in 2000, was better placed to find allies for a new government. The SNS won 24.7 percent, ahead of the Democrats on 23. ...

Rage of Greeks in election endangers bailout Posted: ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek voters enraged by economic hardship mauled traditional ruling parties in an election on Sunday, putting the country's future in the euro zone at risk and threatening to revive the region's debt crisis. The latest official results, with over 50 percent of the vote counted, confirmed projections showing the only two major parties supporting an EU/IMF bailout that keeps Greece from bankruptcy would struggle to form a workable coalition. Conservative New Democracy and Socialist PASOK, who have dominated Greece for decades, were holding less than 35 percent of the vote. ...

Sarkozy's sparkle faded in re-election bid Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - Nicolas Sarkozy's vigor at the podium, his man-of-the-people way of speaking and his impassioned promises of a break with a stagnant past in France swept him to the presidency in 2007. Yet his popularity ratings slid so fast and so far, as many found him brash and too cozy with the rich once in power, that his frenetic campaign for a second term, along with a promise to govern differently if re-elected, fell flat. Socialist Francois Hollande swept to victory on Sunday with a decisive 51. ...

Poll shows left winning French parliament vote in June Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - The first opinion poll for France's parliamentary election in June, conducted as France elected Socialist Francois Hollande as president in Sunday's runoff vote, put the left far in the lead with 44 percent of the vote. The survey by Ifop gave the centre-right, grouping the UMP conservative party with centrist allies, 32 percent and the far-right National Front 18 percent, level with the score its leader Marine Le Pen won in April's first-round presidential vote. The left's tally grouped the Socialist Party with far-left parties and Greens. ...

Greece's young leftist Tsipras delivers political earthquake Posted: ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's youngest political leader Alexis Tsipras was the big beneficiary of Sunday's national election as austerity-fatigued voters catapulted his Left Coalition party towards second place. Tsipras, 37, benefited from a stinging electoral rejection of conservative New Democracy and socialist PASOK, the two parties that dominated Greek politics since the fall of the junta in 1974. Opinion polls indicated that his party had a good chance of coming third in the race but overtaking PASOK delivered the political earthquake Tsipras was hoping for. ...

Victorious French left reclaims the Bastille Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - Giddy revellers thronged Paris's Bastille square on Sunday as Socialist Francois Hollande swept to a presidential election victory, erupting into cheers and rejoicing not seen since the party's only other elected president won power 31 years ago. Tens of thousands of Hollande supporters gave a huge cry of joy as a giant screen showed him as victor, echoing the spontaneous street party in the same historic venue that followed Francois Mitterrand's 1981 election. ...

'This Week' Extra: Roundtable Post-Show Thoughts Posted: Following the "This Week" roundtable today, we asked our roundtable participants to expand on their discussion. Here are their views. Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren: First, and as an aside, imagine my amusement at being asked questions posed by ABC's Jake Tapper, who has...

Suspected U.S. drone kills two Yemeni al Qaeda men Posted: ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - Two Yemeni members of al Qaeda were killed by a missile strike on their car on Sunday, in what residents and the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia group described as a U.S. drone attack. The Yemeni government called the attack an air strike. Washington and Yemen do not acknowledge U.S. drone attacks on militants in the country, which have taken place regularly for years. Yemen's branch of al Qaeda has plotted abortive overseas attacks and is a major concern for Washington, which is waging an assassination campaign against suspected members using drone and missile strikes. ...

Congressional Intel Chairs Say Taliban Is 'Stronger' Posted: As 10,000 U.S. troops prepare to leave the Afghanistan over the next six months, two top lawmakers, just back from a trip to the region, on the House and Senate Intelligence Committee said they are concerned that the Taliban is growing stronger. "I think we both say...

U.S. prosecutors say ready for long haul in 9/11 case Posted: GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors and defense attorneys for five defendants in the September 11 attacks dug in on Sunday for a long legal battle that one lawyer said may never be resolved. The military tribunal is not expected to start for almost another year and if Saturday's 13-hour arraignment was an accurate preview, the trial will be chaotic and drawn out with continuing disputes about torture and whether a military trial is appropriate. The defendants on Saturday refused to enter pleas and demanded a full reading of the charges against them. ...

Armenian president's party set to keep power - exit poll Posted: YEREVAN (Reuters) - President Serzh Sarksyan's Republican Party will keep its grip on power after a parliamentary election in Armenia on Sunday, final results of an exit poll showed after voting ended in the South Caucasus country. The exit poll released by Gallup International Association put the party on course to win more than 43 percent of the votes in an election that passed off without any of the violence that marred the last national poll in 2008. ...

Paul wins majority of delegates from Maine GOP Posted: With Mitt Romney's nomination all but decided, Ron Paul supporters wrested control of the Maine Republican Convention and elected a majority slate supporting the Texas congressman to the GOP national convention, party officials said as the two-day convention neared its end Sunday. The results gave the Texas congressman a late state victory.

Sunday Sound: Heard on 'This Week' Posted: Below are some of the notable comments made Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." DAVID AXELROD 1) Mitt Romney's 'Blunderbussing' With Attacks on Obama Administration Over Handling of Chinese Dissident  David Axelrod bashed Mitt Romney for attacking the Obama administration's handling of Chinese dissident Chen...

Russian police battle anti-Putin protesters Posted: MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian riot police beat protesters about the head with batons and detained more than 400 on Sunday after clashes broke out at a Moscow rally by thousands of people against Vladimir Putin on the eve of his return to the presidency. Opposition leaders Alexei Navalny, Boris Nemtsov and Sergei Udaltsov were among those detained during violence that showed the depth of divisions and tensions in Russia as the former KGB spy starts his six-year third term on Monday. ...

David Axelrod: Obama Campaign Launching New Advertising Campaign This Week Posted: President Obama's senior campaign adviser David Axelrod said this morning on "This Week" that the Obama campaign would unveil this week an advertising campaign focused on the president's accomplishments. "You'll see us unveil an advertising campaign, an extensive advertising campaign, that is very much about where we...

Greek Socialist leader calls for pro-bailout unity government Posted: ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos called for a national unity government of all pro-bailout parties, but warned that forming such a coalition would be difficult. In his first public comments since polls closed in Sunday's election, Venizelos said his PASOK party had paid the price for handling the country's sovereign debt crisis. "For us in PASOK this day is extremely painful," he said. "We knew the price would be big but we decided to pay it. We embittered people to protect the nation's future. "The possibility of a national unity government must be explored. ...

Merkel's party may lose power in northern German state Posted: BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives were in danger of being ousted from power in another German state on Sunday after the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) said they wanted to form a three-way coalition with two smaller centre-left parties. The Christian Democrats' (CDU) vote fell to 31 percent, their worst result in the state since 1950, but they were still just the largest party in the rural region between the Baltic and North Seas, a projection by Germany's ARD TV network showed. The SPD, which won 29. ...

Feelings run deep in Wis. recall; few undecided Posted: Al Trossen feels like a wanted man. The former Teamster voted for embattled Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in 2010 but isn't sure who to support in the state's historic recall election next month.

Job disability a headache for recovery Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Monica Soltes was excited 10 years ago to leave Merrill Lynch and start her own business as an independent financial planner in San Diego. After she fell off a porch at her cousin's cottage and broke her elbow, her dreams unraveled. Following multiple surgeries that confined her to bed, Soltes was diagnosed with a hormonal disease that is weakening her bones. She also ran out of money, signed up for disability benefits and has been unable to work again. The 47-year-old from Michigan is among the 8.7 million American workers on the U.S. ...

Heavy fighting rocks eastern Syria ahead of poll Posted: AMMAN (Reuters) - Fighting between rebels and President Bashar al-Assad's forces erupted in an oil producing province in eastern Syria, residents and activists said on Sunday, the eve of a parliamentary election the authorities say shows reforms are under way. Rebels armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked tank positions in the east of the provincial capital Deir al-Zor, in response to an army offensive against towns and villages in the tribal area bordering Iraq that has killed tens of people and stopped others reaching supplies and medical care, they said. ...

John McCain: President Obama Leading from Behind on Foreign Policy Posted: Sen. John McCain was critical of President Obama's foreign policy record this morning on "This Week," saying that the administration has been "leading from behind" on the issue of Syria and its broader Middle East policy. "How could we not stand up for these people? ...

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