WASHINGTON - Sen. Joe Lieberman has decided to retire in 2012.

Democratic officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Tuesday that the independent from Connecticut would not seek a fifth term in 2012.

The 68-year-old Lieberman won his fourth term in 2006 as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to businessman Ned Lamont, but he continues to side mostly with Senate Democrats...

The race for the Senate continues to heat up as Republicans lead for two seats currently held by Democrats -- Nevada and Washington -- while another Republican has closed into striking distance for an open seat in Connecticut.

Republican Linda McMahon has taken a bite out of Democrat Richard Blumenthal's lead in Connecticut while her fellow GOPers Dino Rossi and Sharron Angle cling to slim leads over entrenched Democrats in Washington state and Nevada.

With just three weeks to go, control of the U.S. Senate may hang on a handful of ballots in these key states...

Democrats have a mountain to climb in West Virginia.

The latest Fox News battleground state surveys of five key states shows Republicans in good position to gain two seats and hold two seats left open by GOP retirements. Democrats, meanwhile, are well-positioned to hold only one.

The polls in West Virginia, Connecticut, Nevada, Missouri and Ohio show varying degrees of success for Democrats in dealing with low approval ratings for President Obama and his policies...

New England activist groups are developing a strategy to claim their region for homosexual "marriage" in the next three years.

Peter Sprigg of Family Research Council notes Connecticut and Massachusetts have already legalized same-sex marriage, leaving four states for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) to target.

"Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, a Boston-based gay rights group, is strategizing a program they call 'Six by Twelve,'" he explains. "They want to have all six New England states legalize same-sex marriage by the year 2012"...

A judge cleared the way Wednesday for gay marriage in Connecticut, a victory for advocates stung by California's referendum that banned same-sex unions in that state.

Minutes after a judge entered a final ruling, the New Haven city clerk's office issued its first marriage license to a gay couple. It went to Barbara and Robin Levine-Ritterman of New Haven, one of the eight couples who successfully challenged a state law prohibiting gay marriage...