Sen. Ben Nelson will retire, aides say

The Democrat from Nebraska will not seek reelection in 2012.

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Dec. 16, 2011

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), center, answers media questions after he met with fellow Senate Democrats on a deal on a payroll tax cut that had been struck with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Dec. 1, 2011

Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Mary Schapiro and Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Gary Gensler talk to, from left to right, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) prior to a hearing before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee on Capitol Hill.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Oct. 6, 2011

From right to left, Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) head to the floor as parliamentary wrangling between Republicans and Democrats begins on the jobs bill on Capitol Hill.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Oct. 11, 2011

Nelson waits for an elevator outside the Senate floor after voting against President Obama's American Jobs Act. The bill failed to pass the Senate. Senate Democrats may now break the legislation up into parts that will garner bipartisan support in the Senate and House.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Oct. 11, 2011

Nelson arrives at the Capitol for the vote on President Obama's jobs bill, which is expected to fail in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Nelson said he will not support the president on the bill.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Sept. 20, 2011

Nelson speaks to reporters before going to the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon on Capitol Hill.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

July 13, 2011

Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), left, Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), center, and John Thune (R-S.D.), listen during a meeting to discuss flooding along the Missouri River on Capitol Hill.

Carolyn Kaster / AP

April 1, 2009

Gen. David Petraeus, left, greets Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) while arriving for testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington.

Win McNamee / Getty Images

Feb. 11, 2011

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) is surrounded by reporters after leaving Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office in the Capitol.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

June 26, 2005

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), left, tours an exercise area for detainees with Joint Task Force Commanding Gen. Jay Hood, right, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Nelson said he saw no evidence of prisoner abuse or poor housing conditions on his trip to the U.S. military prison.

David DiMartino / AP

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

James Gandolfini stars as Tony Soprano in the critically acclaimed HBO series 'The Sopranos.' The show received 16 Emmy nominations Thursday, July 22, 1999, including best dramatic series and best actor for Gandolfini. It is the first cable show ever recognized in the dramatic series category. (AP Photo/HO, HBO, Anthony Nesta) Original Filename: EMMY NOMINATIONS.jpg ORG XMIT: LA109

James Gandolfini dies at 51

James Gandolfini, whose portrayal of a brutal, emotionally delicate mob boss in HBO’s “The Sopranos” helped create one of TV’s greatest drama series and turned...

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 19: Vice President Joe Biden speaks before the Frederick Douglass statue now permanently placed in the US Capitol's Emancipation Hall in Washington, DC on June 19, 2013. The statue of the abolition leader was chosen by District residents to represent them in the Capitol because of his stance on self governance according to Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). The statue by artist Steven Weitzman, was blocked from it's placement in the Capitol for years, a victim of rules that stated that only the 50 states can display statues of their favored sons and daughters in the Capitol. The House and Senate passed a resolution last month allowing DC to be represented in Emancipation Hall which features statues of notable leaders nominated by each state. (Photo by Linda Davidson / The Washington Post)

Frederick Douglass statue unveiled in the Capitol

The carving of the famed abolitionist and District advocate finds its place inside the halls of Congress.

TV presenter and conservationist Anneka Tanaka-Svenska wears a hat designed by Louis Mariette during the first day of Royal Ascot, in Berkshire, west of London, on June 18, 2013. The five-day meeting is one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar. Horse racing has been held at the famous Berkshire course since 1711 and tradition is a hallmark of the meeting. Top hats and tails remain compulsory in parts of the course while a daily procession of horse-drawn carriages brings the Queen to the course. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNISADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Photos of the day

Royal Ascot, protests in Brazil, Lego exhibition, flooding in India, Cheetah-Cub robot and more.

Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Animal views

Rodent exhibition, swimming with elephants, Mexico’s feline mayoral candidate and more.

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 18: Madonna attends the Dolce & Gabbana and The Cinema Society screening of the Epix World premiere of 'Madonna: The MDNA Tour' at The Paris Theatre on June 18, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Madonna, Michael Buble, Barbara Streisand, Jackie Chan, Jerry Seinfeld, Estelle and other celebrities.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Johnathon’s journey

Johnathon Carrington graduated Friday as the valedictorian of his neighborhood school, Dunbar High, and is headed to Georgetown University. But Carrington, 17, is nervous, and so are...

In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil’s other soccer fields

With the Confederations Cup opening this week and the World Cup one year away, all eyes are on Brazil, where soccer is arguably played with more passion and art than anywhere else....

Inmates walk at a high-security male prison camp outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk May 14, 2013. High-security male prison camp number 17 is intended to house male inmates who are serving a sentence for the first time, and have been convicted for serious crimes. Prisoners at the facility work in wood and metal processing shops, manufacture furniture, sew clothes and do other kinds of work. They can also take part in educational, sport and cultural programs. Picture taken May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin (RUSSIA - Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY) ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 4 OF 29 FOR PACKAGE 'INSIDE SIBERIA'S PRISONS' SEARCH 'ILYA PRISON' FOR ALL IMAGES

Life in a Siberian prison

A look inside a high-security prison camp outside Krasnoyarsk, Russia

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