(Reuters) - U.S. forces will cede the lead role in combat operations in Afghanistan next year, but will keep fighting alongside Afghan troops, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday, as the Obama administration struggled to clear up confusion over its Afghan exit strategy.

(Fox News) The Republican presidential candidates fanned out across the country Wednesday, as they prepared for a new round of elections which will require a greater human touch than the debate- and ad-driven campaigns of delegate-rich Florida.

(Fox News) Mitt Romney crushed Newt Gingrich in the Florida Republican presidential primary Tuesday night, surging from a second-place finish in South Carolina to sweep the winner-take-all contest and reassert his frontrunner status.

(Reuters) - Florida's Republican voters go to the polls on Tuesday in a high-stakes presidential primary election, with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney holding a commanding double-digit lead in polls over rival Newt Gingrich.