The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that Republican House candidate Tony Zirkle is defending his speech to a group celebrating Adolf Hitler’s birthday, saying he appeared simply because he was asked. Zirkle, who is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge 2nd District Rep. Joe Donnelly , D-Ind., said he will speak to any group that invites him. Porter County Republican Chairman Chuck Williams condemned Zirkle’s speech Sunday to the American National Socialist Workers Party in Chicago, where he “stood in front of a painting of Hitler, next to people wearing swastika armbands and with a swastika flag in the background.”

The Idaho Statesman reports that Sen. Larry E. Craig , R-Idaho, told a Boise radio station that he had intended to retire long before his arrest for disorderly conduct in a men’s room incident at the Minneapolis airport, apparently contradicting earlier statements. “It’s probably difficult for some to believe, but my wife and I had already decided that I would retire about a year ago,” Craig said. Craig, who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct but is now fighting to reverse that plea, announced his intention to resign after the arrest became public, but later changed his mind.