NATIONAL BRIEFS

WASHINGTON: President gives a sermon

President Barack Obama stood before Christian clergy and lay leaders and took on the mantle of pastor in chief. "I have to be careful," he joked at the White House's Easter prayer breakfast. "It's always a bad idea to give a sermon in front of professionals." With that, he gave a sermon, telling the story of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane and his eventual crucifixion, a sacrifice that "puts in perspective our small problems relative to the big problems he was dealing with." No president has faced such sustained hostility over issues of faith, including Republican charges he is waging a "war on religion," widespread suspicion about the sincerity of his Christian faith and the persistent legend that he is a practicing Muslim. More moderate groups have generally seen Obama's record on faith issues in a much more favorable light.

Still in the race, Newt says

Newt Gingrich, millions in debt, described Mitt Romney as "far and away the most likely" GOP nominee. Running for president "turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be," he said on "Fox News Sunday." He said Romney did a good job building a substantial machine, adding he has no regrets. Despite acknowledging what appears to be his inevitable defeat, the former House speaker isn't ready to drop out, he said. He wants to influence the party's platform, interested in promoting increased domestic oil production and personal Social Security savings accounts. If Romney is nominated, Gingrich said he'll campaign for him.

ALASKA: Snow record for Anchorage

A spring snowfall has broken the nearly 60-year-old snow record of Alaska's largest city. Inundated with nearly double what they're used to, Anchorage residents had been expecting to see this season's fall surpass the 1954-55 record of 132.6 inches. The 3.4 inches that fell by Saturday afternoon brought the total to 133.6 inches. None had fallen since mid-March, and the halt had given residents a chance to clear snow-laden roofs and city crews to widen streets squeezed by mountains of snow.