WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama plans to give the Jersey Shore a boost with a post-Memorial Day visit to showcase recovery efforts in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. The White House says the president will tour the coastline with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday and speak about the need to expand economic opportunities for middle-class families hit by the storm. He plans to meet with business and home owners who have benefitted from the recovery. Obama and Christie were a picture of bipartisanship after Sandy hit in October.

By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lois Lerner, the Internal Revenue Service official who this week asserted her right not to answer questions about the controversy over extra scrutiny for conservative groups, took administrative leave on Thursday, a congressional source close to the matter said. Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel announced her replacement in a employee memo. Werfel replaced Acting Commissioner Steve Miller, who was fired by President Barack Obama over the controversy last week.

WASHINGTON - Two years after his already pun-friendly surname became associated with a lewd Twitter scandal, Anthony Weiner officially kicked off his mission for political redemption on Thursday, hitting the campaign trail in his improbable bid to become mayor of New York City. The disgraced onetime congressman, forced into retirement after he confessed to sending crotch shots to some of his female Twitter followers, has acknowledged he faces an uphill battle.

By Taiga Uranaka TOKYO (Reuters) - Investors in Japan might keep a close eye on sales of the homely horse mackerel as an early warning of any trouble ahead. The good news is that in the more confident Japan of 2013, tuna remains king. So says Mizuho Securities economist Kenta Ishizu, who believes he has found a leading indicator of Japanese consumer demand that relies on two of the most common items on a sushi menu: Japanese horse mackerel and tuna.