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Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie named his lieutenant governor, Brian Schatz, to fill the Senate seat left vacant following the death of the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D).

Abercrombie, a Democrat, chose Schatz from a list of three finalists forwarded to him by the state Democratic party. Inouye, who served almost 50 full years in the Senate, died on Dec. 17.

"No one can fill Sen. Daniel K. Inouye's shoes, but together, we can all try to follow in his footsteps," Schatz said in a press conference in Hawaii.

Schatz, flying to Washington with President Obama aboard Air Force One, Tweeted that he was eager to support the president's agenda. The president was returning early from a Christmas break in Hawaii. 

The other finalists for the position included Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, whom Inouye had preferred as his successor, and Esther Kiaaina, the deputy director of the state's Department of Land and Natural Resources.

"Senator Inouye conveyed his final wish to Governor Abercrombie," Jennifer Sabas, Inouye's chief of staff, said in a statement. "While we are very disappointed that it was not honored, it was the Governor's decision to make."

Abercrombie said Inouye's views and wishes weighed on his decision-making process, but "no one and nothing is preordained." He said the possibility of a special election to fill Hanabusa's seat weighed on him in choosing Inouye's successor.

"Sometimes you have to set aside personal considerations in order to look for the good of the whole," the governor, a former congressman, said at a press conference.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office said Schatz would be sworn in to office on Thursday afternoon or early evening, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reported. The Senate reconvenes on Thursday to take up the urgent business of reaching a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1.

While the mood may be icy when it comes to political sparring in Washington, there was a warm bit of good cheer in the U.S. Senate.  Minnesota's Sen. Al Franken, inspired by an old grade school tradition from his childhood, organized a Secret Santa gift exchange again this year.  The parties regularly tangle over government spending, but the senators did agree to a $10 spending cap for gifts. 

Aides say a bipartisan group of 60 senators participated by picking names, mostly across the aisle, keeping those identities secret and then delivering small presents at a gathering over eggnog and seasonal treats Monday night.

Frank Fey / U.S. Senate Photographic Studio

Sen. Al Franken, right, speaks with colleagues during the gift exchange.

Not just any fruitcake was served -- the Senate kitchen began making fruitcake a few months ago, giving the brandy enough time to soak the cake.  Due to fog that delayed some flights and therefore postponed Senate votes, some members were not able to attend the Monday party but were spotted exchanging wrapped gifts on the Senate floor late Tuesday.

Among the gifts given and received:

• Sen. Franken received a VHS copy of the movie "Tunnel Vision" and a DVD of  "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29" from Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barasso.
• Franken, in turn, gave Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman a mahnomin porridge kit from Hell's Kitchen, a popular restaurant in Minneapolis. Sen. Franken serves that breakfast porridge at his weekly breakfast with constituents.
• Florida Republican Marco Rubio gave Godiva chocolates to Delaware Democrat Chris Coons. 
• North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan gave her state's famed peanuts to fellow Democrat Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
• New Hampshire Republican Kelly Ayotte gave Hagan a book, "1,001 Gardens you Should See Before You Die."
• Wyoming's Mike Enzi, R-WI, gave Virginia Democrat Mark Warner a George Washington University T-shirt and a book on bicycling.  Aides say Enzi "refrained from getting him a book on freestyle BMX tricks because of the safety issues Sen. Enzi works on."
• Alaska Democrat Mark Begich presented a cookbook and wine from his home state to Missouri's Claire McCaskill.
• Nebraska Republican Mike Johanns gave Nebraska wine to Florida Democrat Bill Nelson.
• Johanns received a shirt for his undergraduate alma mater, St. Mary's University, from Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar.
• Montana Democrat Jon Tester gave home state chocolates to Ohio Republican Rob Portman.
• Portman gave Louisiana's Mary Landrieu a Cincinnati favorite, Graeter's Buckeye Blitz ice cream.
• Arkansas Republican John Boozman gave Georgia's Saxby Chambliss Mason jar wine glasses.

In 2011, the participation was a bit better, with 62 senators exchanging gifts. This year, with much year-end business left to complete, senators may spend more of the holiday season together as the “fiscal cliff” looms.

Some will become household names, and some may be doomed to a quick re-election defeat or to toil away in anonymity. But every two years, new freshmen members of Congress descend on Capitol Hill, representing the country's changing landscape with their politics and their life stories. 

The new ranks will be flush with record-breakers when they arrive in Washington. The 113th Congress will welcome the first openly gay senator, the first Asian-American woman in the Senate and first bisexual member of Congress. A new Latino senator -- one of just three -- is already snagging headlines for voicing a new vision of the Republican party. A record-breaking 20 women will serve in the upper chamber, and 78 will be seated in the United States House. Sixteen new members served in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Four new LGBT individuals were elected, almost doubling the number of openly gay lawmakers on the Hill.  

While the whims of a 24-hour news cycle can elevate any fresh face at the drop of a hat -- or the click of a tweet -- here's a first look at 10 interesting new people to watch as the 113th Congress convenes. 

TED CRUZ, R-Tex.
Even before being sworn in, newly elected Texas senator Ted Cruz grabbed headlines last week when he delivered a wide-ranging speech about the future of the GOP, coining "opportunity conservativism" to describe his vision for a Republican rebranding.

Cruz, a Cuban-American whose support from Tea Party groups propelled him to victory over Texas Lt. Gov David Dewhurst in a July primary, said in remarks at an American Principles Project event that Mitt Romney's "47 percent" comment should have been flatly disavowed by conservatives.

Sen.-elect Ted Cruz, R-Texas speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 13.

"We embraced in that comment, and in the narrative we made to this country, the Democrat notion that there is a fixed and static pie," he said. "The essence of the conservative message should be we want a dynamic nation where anybody with nothing can achieve anything."  

The freshman -- who benefited from endorsements by Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint -- will add to the Senate's ranks of Tea Party-aligned conservatives, while his legal background as a solicitor general and onetime Supreme Court law clerk will likely make him a sought-after voice on Constitutional issues.

Video: Cruz says Obama Obsessed With Raising Taxes

Look for Cruz, one of just three Latino senators, to join colleague Marco Rubio as an influential voice in Republican soul-searching over their the party's drubbing with minority voters in the 2012 election.

HEIDI HEITKAMP, D-N.D.
The daughter of a school custodian, Heidi Heitkamp once spent a summer working on a highway construction crew to put herself through school. The Democrat served as North Dakota's attorney general and as the executive of an energy company before scoring an upset win last month over Republican Senate candidate Rick Berg. 

The onetime director of Dakota Gasification Company, which operates a plant that turns coal into natural gas, Heitkamp is squarely at odds with her party's own standard bearer on energy issues. Asked during a campaign forum what she would tell President Barack Obama about the nation's energy policy, she flatly stated that the administration is "wrong." 

Heidi Heitkamp smiles as she speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at the Coordinated Campaign HQ in Grand Forks, N.D, on Nov. 5.

"You're wrong on energy. You're headed in the wrong direction. You made bad decisions," she said, according to The Associated Press. "You promised that you would promote clean coal technologies, that you would be a champion of coal, and you haven't done it." She also urged the president to replace Energy Secretary Steven Chu and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. 

A Democrat who eked out a narrow win in a state that voted for Mitt Romney by 20 points, Heitkamp faces targeting by Republicans hoping to lure red-state Democrats over to their side on key issues. She'll be a player on agriculture issues; she has said she's been offered a spot on the Senate agriculture committee and that she hopes to help shepherd a five-year Farm Bill to passage. 

TAMMY BALDWIN, D-Wis.
Tammy Baldwin would have made history just as the first female senator from Wisconsin, but she captured the national spotlight as the first openly gay person ever elected to the United States Senate. Although she is a longtime advocate of LGBT rights, Baldwin's sexual orientation never became a major issue in her bitter race against former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, which racked up a $65 million advertising bill between the two candidates. 

Tammy Baldwin celebrates her victory over Republican candidate Tommy Thompson on election night on Nov. 6 in Madison, Wis.

Before her Senate run, Baldwin served seven terms in the House, sitting on the House Energy and Commerce Committee as well as earlier stints on the bodies that cover judiciary and budget matters.

In 2009, she authored a legislative amendment requiring that insurance companies allow children to stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26, one of the more enduringly popular pieces of the Obama administration's health-care law. And with her swearing-in still weeks away, she has already jumped into the fray on the ongoing fiscal cliff talks, urging the president to adopt the "Buffett Rule," which would tax Americans with incomes over $1 million at a minimum 30 percent effective tax rate.

Video: Baldwin ‘honored’ to be first openly gay senator 

"In addition to letting the Bush-era tax cuts expire for incomes above $250,000 as you have pledged to do, we believe it is imperative to enact a safeguard to ensure that the highest-earning Americans cannot subvert the progressivity of the tax code through loopholes and special rates not available to middle-class families," she and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., wrote in a November 29 letter. 

ANGUS KING, I-Maine
As the dust settled from the 2012 election, all eyes in Washington briefly turned to the mustachioed new senator from the deep blue state of Maine.

Angus King, the state's first independent to be elected to the Senate, had not formally indicated during his three-way race whether he would caucus with Democrats or Republicans for purposes of organization. On Nov. 14, King -- who served two terms as the state's independent governor -- announced that he would align with Democrats. 

Senator-elect Angus King on Nov. 13 in Washington, D.C.

In a statement, King said he considered forgoing any formal alliance with either party but that Senate rules would render him dramatically less effective to his constituents as a truly unaffiliated member of the body because of seniority. "I have decided to affiliate with the Democratic Caucus because doing so will allow me to take independent positions on issues as they arise and at the same time be an effective representative of the people of Maine," he said. 

With his pledges to work across the aisle, King would join a long lineage of Maine legislators who fashioned themselves as compromise-minded moderates. His predecessor, Republican Olympia Snowe, was one of only three GOP senators to support the Obama stimulus package in 2009 and voted to confirm both Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court.

(Snowe was joined on those and many other party-bucking votes by colleague Susan Collins, also from Maine.) 

King hopes to be a player on the issues of campaign finance and reform of the Senate filibuster, which King said has been employed "excessively" in recent years. 

ELIZABETH WARREN. D-Mass.
A longtime thorn in the side of Wall Street's big banks, Elizabeth Warren first earned a national profile when foes successfully campaigned against her appointment to the directorship of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a watchdog body that she masterminded. 

U.S. Sen.-elect Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., left, faces reporters during a news conference in Boston on Nov. 8.

Warren, a Harvard Law School professor who helped oversee the bank bailout, has used blunt rhetoric to paint banks as remorseless perpetrators of the financial crisis. "Wall Street CEOs --  the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs -- still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them," she said during her speech at the Democratic National Convention.

In November, Warren defeated Republican Senator Scott Brown, who rose to national prominence when he won the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in a special 2010. 

Video: Elizabeth Warren says her win is 'a win for the middle class'

Now, Warren is widely expected to play a role in Democrats' attempts to further reform the banking industry, with a possible appointment to the Senate Banking Committee. But the financial lobby has reportedly mounted an effort to keep her off the panel that drafts industry regulation, meaning that her high-profile clashes with Wall Street could get yet more ink in the coming months. 

TAMMY DUCKWORTH, D-Ill.
An Iraq War helicopter pilot who lost both legs in a 2004 grenade attack, Tammy Duckworth will walk the halls of Congress on prosthetic limbs. After defeat in a 2006 run, Duckworth won her second bid for the U.S. House by defeating Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh, a Tea Party devotee, in the state's newly redrawn 8th District. 

In what she describes as her "bonus time" after the attack that could have left her for dead, Duckworth has championed the rights of disabled veterans, serving as an assistant secretary in the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Obama administration. 

Tammy Duckworth arrives to pose for a class picture with other new members of the 113th Congress on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 15 in Washington D.C.

Duckworth advocates for some cuts to military spending, a position that frequently earns her fellow Democrats the label of "weak on national security." But as a Purple Heart recipient with a high profile and a long family history of military service, she will be a visible advocate for the paring down of the defense budget while enjoying relative immunity from Republicans wary of questioning her record.

(Just ask Walsh, her Republican opponent, who faced a blistering outcry during the campaign after he implied that Duckworth was not a "true hero" because of frequent mentions of her disability.)  

Not that Duckworth is a shrinking violet from the harder edge of politics. "There's nothing anyone can say to me or do to me -- short of actually pointing a gun and shooting at me -- that's going to be as bad as it was in Iraq and that year I spent recovering," she recently told NBCNews.com in an interview. "So it's really freeing."

KYRSTEN SINEMA, D-Ariz.
Fresh off a nasty campaign in which opponents painted her as a hippie who enjoys the occasional "pagan ritual," Arizona freshman Kyrsten Sinema is no stranger to tough campaigns. The first openly bisexual member of Congress, Sinema -- who served as an Arizona state house member and senator -- can also boast leading a 2006 effort to defeat a same-sex marriage ballot initiative in Arizona. 

Rep.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is seen during a news conference with newly elected Democratic House members, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 13.

The 36-year-old social worker, who once quipped that she's a "Prada socialist" in a magazine interview, jousted with Gov. Jan Brewer on education issues during her tenure in the legislature, warranting a hefty contribution from the governor's political action committee to Sinema's opponents. Education policy, jobs, and addressing foreclosures will be her top priorities as a federal lawmaker.

Video: Congress’ first bisexual lawmaker proud of ‘diverse’ class

Sinema's spokesman recently told The New York Times that the new congresswoman, who was raised a Mormon, supports a "secular approach" to government. 

TED YOHO, R-Fla.
The country met Ted Yoho this year through his hogs. A large animal veterinarian in north central Florida, the conservative won national attention for a quirky ad that featured piggy-looking "career politicians" in business suits feeding at a trough alongside real porkers.

In this 2012 photograph provided by the candidate's campaign, Ted Yoho poses for a photo.

Yoho, a proponent of the consumption-based Fair Tax, has said that he won't be put into political "handcuffs" by signing anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist's pledge. "If you sign a pledge like [Norquist's], you've got handcuffs on," he told NPR.

The upset winner of a primary against 12-term incumbent Rep. Cliff Stearns, Yoho imitated NFL player Tim Tebow's prayerful victory kneel for supporters after his win.

He has promised constituents that he will serve no longer than eight years in Congress.

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, R-Okla.
When his father's illness forced Markwayne Mullin to quit college and take over the family plumbing business, the 20-year-old and his wife turned a flailing enterprise into a small eastern Oklahoma empire. Mullin, now 35, won the House seat vacated by retiring Rep. Dan Boren, running under the banner "A rancher. A businessman. Not a politician!" 

Republican candidate Markwayne Mullin, right, answers a question during a debate at Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla., on Oct. 29, 2012.

The Tulsa native -- a social conservative who vehemently opposes "amnesty" proposals -- has promised to take a no-frills attitude to the halls of Congress. Casually dressed on election night, he joked with supporters that he defied his campaign staff's request that he wear a suit to deliver his victory speech. "They got me this far, and boots are going to take me all the way there and bring me all the way back" from Washington, he said. 

SEAN PATRICK MALONEY, D-N.Y. 
A former senior adviser in President Bill Clinton's administration, Sean Patrick Maloney also worked as a staffer for New York governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson before mounting his own political run. 

Maloney unseated Republican Rep. Nan Hayworth in a New York's redrawn 18th District. 

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Sean Patrick Maloney is interviewed at Roll Call in Washington, D.C., July 19, 2012.

The first openly gay New York congressman, Maloney and his partner Randy Florke have three adopted children together. 

Maloney once told New York Magazine that his hero is fictional lawyer Atticus Finch and came in third in New York's 2006 Democratic primary for attorney general.

In addition to his career as a behind-the-scenes political aide, Maloney also made a name at two prestigious New York law firms. He was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP before moving to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. 

ALAN GRAYSON, D-Fla.

He's ba-ack. 

Alan Grayson, the quotable liberal firebrand whose zippy insults served as cable catnip during his previous stint in Congress, will be back on the Hill again next year. After losing his 2010 re-election bid, Grayson moved to a new Orlando district and sailed to victory this year over Republican Todd Long.

Rep. Alan Grayson listens to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testify during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Oct. 1, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

The man who disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner once labelled as "one fry short of a happy meal," has garnered frequent outrage for his rhetorical bombs. He was forced to apologize after referring to a banking lobbyist as a "K Street whore"; he said Florida Gov. Rick Scott would have "blood on his hands" if he did not implement some parts of the health-care plan; and he accused Republicans of offering only the health-care proposal that sick people should "die quickly." 

He was roundly beaten by Republican Daniel Webster in 2010 but will return having won by a 25 point margin in a redrawn district. 

Cable news bookers, start your engines. 

By Brooke Nevils
Rock Center

LLANGYNWD, Wales - About two hundred miles away from the Greenwich, England, arena where her purebred horse Rafalca competed in the London Olympics, Ann Romney stroked the nose of Magic, a Welsh pony.

"You're so pretty, Magic," said Mrs. Romney.

In the rugged coal country of southern Wales, you see a different side to Ann Romney: she is at one point teary-eyed, another laughing, but always a tough defender of her husband.  She talked at length about her life with multiple sclerosis, her conversion to the Mormon faith and her decision to stay home to raise her five boys.

As Rock Center Correspondent Natalie Morales found in her exclusive interview with the wife of presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, scheduled to air Thursday at 10pm/9c on NBC's Rock Center, this coal miner's granddaughter is much more than an owner of an Olympic dressage horse.

Mrs. Romney is a first-generation American.  Her father, Edward Davies, emigrated to the United States from this part of Wales in 1929, at age 15.

"It's very emotional for me to come back and to know what kind of life my grandfather lived, and my father," said Mrs. Romney, touring a coal mine much like the one in which her grandfather began working at age six.

The Davies family settled in Detroit, where a nearly 16-year-old Ann met 18-year-old Mitt at a party, and the high school sophomore's "heart went aflutter."  Four years to the day after their first date, they were married.

"We are partners, true partners in every sense of the way," she told Morales. "I don't think he could do it without me. I don't believe he could.  I couldn't obviously be here without him either."

Despite her steadfast support on the campaign trail, Mrs. Romney -- much like her sons -- was not so keen on her husband's role in public life after his failed bid for the Republican nomination in 2008.

"After the election was over and [John] McCain was the nominee, I made a decision that I would never do it again," she said. "You know who your husband is. You know-- I know what a good person he is. And oh - the negative - it's so hard as a wife to sit there and listen to that."

But when Morales asked why she changed her mind, Mrs. Romney said, "We have a reason why we're running and it's because I believe in my heart that Mitt is going to save America, that economically we are in such difficult times and that he is the person that’s going to pull us through this."

The criticism that plagued the Romneys during the 2008 campaign has continued, particularly in regards to their reported $250 million fortune and the issue of their tax returns.

When pressed by Morales, Mrs. Romney stood her ground. "We have been very transparent to what's legally required of us,” she said. “There's going to be no more tax releases given."

Mrs. Romney said if they release any more information, "it will only give them more ammunition."

In regards to their finances,  she said "there's nothing we're hiding."

"It's been managed by a blind trust since before Mitt was governor, you know, 2002 forward,” she told Morales.  “And so, you know, I'll be curious to see what's in there too."

Editor's Note: Natalie Morales' full interview with Ann Romney aired Thursday, August 16 on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams.

London Calling: Romney begins first full day of meetings while on his overseas trip… Dem group hits Romney on fundraiser with London bankers tied to LIBOR scandal… Romney’s press-corps faux pas: He doesn’t take questions from U.S. reporters… Yesterday’s contrast on guns b/w Obama and Romney… Breaking down Romney’s interview with Brian Williams… Three months of merged data from our NBC/WSJ/Telemundo Hispanic oversample… And this week’s 10 hottest advertising markets. 

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for the presidential election, arrives in Downing Street to meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron on July 26, 2012 in London, England.

*** London Calling: On his first full day of business and meetings on his overseas trip, Mitt Romney has already met with former British PM Tony Blair, current Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, and Deputy PM Nick Clegg. At publication time, he will visit with British PM David Cameron, and then he holds a fundraiser at 1:05 pm ET. “I’ve begun a number of conversations with leaders present and past and recognize of course the unique relationship which exists between our nations, our commitment to common values, our commitment to peace in the world and our desire to see a stronger and growing economy,” Romney said during his meeting with Miliband, per the pool report. “Obviously, the world is a tumultuous and dangerous place and certainly in many regions in the world and we have great interests – a common effort to see greater peace and prosperity. I also appreciate the work of the military of this great nation and our joint effort in Afghanistan. The people of Great Britain have sacrificed enormously in helping bring peace to that nation.”

*** LIBOR pains: The Democratic-leaning group Americans United for Change is up with a web video noting that in attendance at Romney’s fundraiser in Britain will be bankers with ties to the LIBOR interest-rate scandal. As the New York Times has written, “Several of the events’ hosts are top executives at banks tied to the interest rate-fixing scandal that is now engulfing London’s financial and political world, linking Mr. Romney, however superficially, to a messy moment in the continuing debate over Wall Street excesses.” More: “The former chief executive and a top lobbyist for Barclays, the bank at the center of the scandal, helped organize a Romney fund-raiser. The former chief executive, Robert E. Diamond Jr., has since withdrawn his name as the event’s co-host.”

*** Romney’s press-corps faux pas: During his meeting with Miliband, according to the pool report, Romney answered questions from British reporters but did not take any questions from the American reporters, which isn’t protocol. In fact, it’s considered a bit of an insult to the U.S reporters who are following the presumptive GOP presidential nominee overseas. Even bringing this up will lead some to say, “There goes the media, whining again.” But folks, those of us that have traveled overseas and been involved in these VERY limited press avails have rarely seen heads of democracies TOTALLY ignore their own press corps but answer ANOTHER press corps’ questions. Sure, it would have looked REALLY bad had Romney ignored the U.K. questions. But is the campaign so intent on limiting media access that the candidate won’t call an audible when standing next to a leader from another country who DOES want to take questions? This is a bipartisan challenge for the press corps. Every president in the modern era has decided to pick up on some aspect of limiting media access to the president from their predecessor. The public never cares, because most of them distrust at least half of the press corps. But folks, it’s a slippery slope. Where did Obama get the idea of calling on an ordered list of questioners at press conferences? From George W. Bush. OK, our rant is over.

*** A contrast on guns: In a span of just hours, President Obama and Mitt Romney offered a contrast on guns in the wake of last week’s shooting in Colorado. Speaking before the National Urban League last night in New Orleans, per NBC’s Ali Weinberg, Obama said that Americans shouldn’t have access to assault weapon, especially those who are mentally ill or who have criminal records. “We recognize the tradition of gun ownership being passed on from generation to generation -- that hunting and shooting are part of the cherished national heritage,” he said. “But I think a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of shooters, not in the hands of criminal; that they belong on the battlefield of war not on the streets of our cities. I believe the majority of gun owners agree we should do everything possible to prevent criminals and fugitives from purchasing weapons.” Obama also said that “we should check out a persons' criminal record before they can check out at a gun store, that a mentally unbalanced individual should not be able to get his hands on a gun so easily.” This was the most Obama has said on guns in his 3 ½ years in the White House, but it didn’t contain any specifics on how to achieve these things.

*** Romney: Changing a law won’t make bad things go away: Meanwhile, in his interview with NBC’s Brian Williams in London, Romney flatly stated, “I don't happen to believe that America needs new gun laws,” adding: “A lot of what this young man did was clearly against the law. But the fact that it was against the law did not prevent it from happening. (However, as NBC’s Garrett Haake pointed out yesterday, the guns the Colorado shooter purchased were LEGAL.) Romney went on to say, “We can sometimes hope that just changing a law will make all bad things go away. It won't. Changing the heart of the American people may well be what's essential to improve the lots of the American people.”

*** On his tax returns: Also in his interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, Romney -- once again -- said he wasn’t releasing his tax returns prior to 2010. “I'm following the same precedent that was put in place by John McCain. Two years, and by the way, hundreds of pages of returns for the Democrat operatives to go through and twist and distort and to turn in different directions and try and make a big deal out of.” Romney continued, “[W]hat we've noted is our Democrat friends, take what's there, twist it, distort it, dishonestly use it in attack ads. I just don't wanna give 'em more material than is required.” By the way, this reasoning subtlety implies there is something in there he’s embarrassed about in some form. Never have understood using the excuse of someone else will find something in it to make a negative out of it.

*** On whether his economic plan is similar to George W. Bush’s: Then when Williams asked Romney if his economic policies -- including lowering taxes and reducing regulation -- were different than George W. Bush’s, he replied, “[M]y policies are very different than anything you've seen in the past,” he said, citing 1) expanding domestic energy production, 2) promoting free trade, 3) balancing the budget, 4) creating educational opportunities for workers, and 5) lowering taxes and lessening regulations. But just an FYI: almost all of those prescriptions (energy production, free trade, education, taxes, and regulation) were pursued by the Bush administration.

*** On his faith and his heritage: Williams asked Romney why he doesn’t talk more about his faith and heritage. Romney’s answer: “I speak  actually quite regularly about the fact that my dad was born in Mexico, that with revolution in Mexico, my dad, then I think aged five or six, came back to the U.S. with his family. That they went broke multiple times. His dad was a contractor. My dad didn't complete college, but went on to be head of a car company and then a governor. I think it's a remarkable story.  And I'm very proud of my heritage. I'm without question, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I'm proud of that.  Some call that the Mormon Church, that's fine with me. I'll talk about my experiences in the church.  There's no question they've helped shape my perspective.”

*** And on “Anglo-Saxon” and Rafalca: In addition, Romney said he disagreed with the unnamed Romney “adviser” quoted in the London Daily Telegraph who suggested Obama didn’t understand the United States’ Anglo-Saxon relationship with Great Britain: “I can tell you that we have a very special relationship between the United States and Great Britain. It goes back to our very beginnings -- cultural and historical. But I also believe the president understands that.” And he said he was unable to explain the sport of dressage -- in which the Romneys’ horse is competing in the Olympics -- or even when the Romney horse is competing: “I have to tell you. This is Ann's sport. I'm not even sure which day the sport goes on. She will get the chance to see it. I will not be watching the event. I hope her horse does well. But just the honor of being here and representing our country and seeing the other Olympians is something which I'm sure the people that are associated with this are looking forward to.” (Really? Romney, who’s attending the Olympics, doesn’t know when his wife’s horse is competing or even the rules of the sport? OK….)

*** Our merged NBC/WSJ/Telemundo oversample: With now three months of merged data from our NBC/WSJ/Telemundo Latino oversample, we have a treasure trove of numbers to understand the Latino electorate. According to this merged data, Obama leads Romney here by 40 points, 65%-25%. But there’s an interesting split here. Romney does a bit better among English-speaking Latinos (trailing Obama 64%-26%) than Spanish-speaking Latinos (69%-20%). And he does a bit better among Latinos born in the U.S. (trailing 57%-29%) versus those born outside the U.S. (73%-19%).

*** This week’s 10 hottest markets: Below is our latest weekly look at the 10 hottest advertising markets in the presidential race (per advertising points for the week of 7/23 to 7/29). Reminder: Colorado is missing because of the decisions by both campaigns to pull their ads down post-Aurora. A few other observations: 1) In most of these markets, Obama and Romney are running fairly even, but GOP outside groups are giving Team Romney the edge in advertising points; 2) the states here are Ohio (3 markets), Virginia (2), Florida (2), North Carolina (2), and Nevada (1); and 3)  Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA is this week’s No. 1 market.

1. Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA: 4 advertisers (Obama 1100, Romney 1000, Crossroads GPS 650, RNC 215)

2. Tampa, FL: 5 advertisers (Romney 840, Obama 775, Crossroads GPS 670, American Crossroads 600, Priorities USA 200)

3. Cincinnati, OH: 5 advertisers (Romney 1100, Obama 1000, Crossroads GPS 400, American Crossroads 265, RNC 100)

4. Toledo, OH: 5 advertisers (Obama 1000, Romney 980, Crossroads 400, American Crossroads 350, RNC 200)

5. Reno, NV: 5 advertisers (Obama 1300, Romney 650, Crossroads GPS 450, American Crossroads 370, RNC 250)

6. Greenville-New Bern, NC: 5 advertisers (Romney 970, Obama 600, Crossroads GPS 550, American Crossroads 515, RNC 350)

7. Richmond-Petersburg, VA: 5 advertisers (Obama 1200, Romney 1100, Crossroads GPS 270, Priorities USA 240, RNC 125)

8. Columbus, OH: 6 advertisers (Obama 1000, Romney 1000, Crossroads GPS 370, American Crossroads 260, Priorities USA 140, RNC 150)

9. Orlando, FL: 5 advertisers (Obama 875, Romney 860, Crossroads GPS 475, American Crossroads 425, Priorities USA 274)

10. Charlotte, NC: 5 advertisers (Romney 1000, Obama 800, American Crossroads 420, Crossroads GPS, 390, RNC 240)

Countdown to GOP convention: 32 days

Countdown to Dem convention: 39 days

Countdown to Election Day: 103 days

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Denis Balibouse / Reuters

Mark Kelly, NASA astronaut and commander of mission STS-134, walks with NASA astronaut Greg Johnson, ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori and other roped party members walk from the Refuge des Cosmiques back to L'Aiguille du Midi near Mont-Blanc in Chamonix July 23.

Denis Balibouse / Reuters

Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, center, stands with her husband Mark Kelly, right, NASA astronaut and commander of mission STS-134, and mountain guide Vincent Lameyre before Kelly and two other astronauts walked from L'Aiguille du Midi to the Refuge des Cosmiques near Mont-Blanc in Chamonix July 23.

Slideshow: Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords

Saul Loeb / EPA

A look at the Arizona lawmaker's rise to prominence — from high school to Capitol Hill.

Launch slideshow

Reuters reports: CHAMONIX, France- Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, still recovering from wounds after being shot last year, traveled high up into the French Alps on Monday with her astronaut husband Mark Kelly.

Giffords, who still uses a wheelchair much of the time, was on her first trip outside the United States since she was shot in the head by a gunman in January 2011 as she met local people outside a Tucson supermarket.

She rode the two-stage cable car to a station with spectacular views of Mont Blanc and other peaks in France, Italy and Switzerland. Full story

NBC’s Chuck Todd recaps last night’s Republican debate and previews President Obama’s State of the Union address.