© Rick Friedman/Corbis After weathering several weeks of pressure from his Republican rivals, Mitt Romney released his tax returns early this morning, revealing that he made $45 million over 2010 and 2011, and he'll pay 14 or 15 percent of that in taxes. That may seem like a lot—a $6.2 million dollar check to the IRS is enough to make the average American blush—until you look at Romney’s chief opponent, Newt Gingrich, who raked in $3.2 million in 2010, but clocked in at a 31.7 percent tax... READ ON

Unrelated image of Mitt Romney holding Dino Flintstone via Rick Friedman/Corbis During the GOP debate last night in South Carolina, Mitt Romney was asked yet again if he intended to make his tax returns public. The former governor of Massachusetts first avoided the question, then hemmed and hawed, then gave a resounding…maybe? It’s not the first time Romney, the former chief executive of Bain Capital, a successful private equity firm, has performed a verbal do-si-do on stage with regards to this... READ ON

© Rick Friedman/CorbisBecause the state wants it that way!New Hampshire's primaries have informally been the earliest since 1920, but over the years, the state has passed laws to ensure that its primaries will remain the first in the... READ ON

Every week, I used to wander into the New York Times archives to find the first time the paper covered various topics (like The Walkman). In honor of tonight's Iowa Caucus, we're bringing back "The First Time News Was Fit to Print." Here are the first times The Times mentioned each of the remaining GOP candidates. Mitt Romney February 28, 1960 A Maverick Starts a New 'Crusade' George Romney feels that he has pat across the compact car. Now he is turning his missionary fervor to a campaign to reshape... READ ON