President Obama will try to divert some attention away from his Republican rivals today, holding his first White House news conference of  the year as voters head to the polls in 10  Super Tuesday  contests.

Obama's last  news conference was in November during the  Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference  in Hawaii. Today's 1:15 p.m. conference  is the president's first such event to take place  at the White House since October.

Expect the president to field questions on the 2012 presidential race and the state of the economy.

On foreign policy, growing worry over Iran's suspected nuclear program and the possibility of an Israeli military strike on Iran will also  likely come up - the news  conference follows by a day Obama's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office. The ongoing violence in Syria will also likely make the list of topics  addressed.

This will not be the first time the president has sought to counterprogram the Republican primaries. Last Tuesday, the day of the Michigan primary, the president gave a rousing speech touting his bailout of the auto industry and attacking Republicans who opposed the move.

Later this afternoon, the president will attend a $716,000  closed-press afternoon re-election  fundraiser in Washington, where he'll mingle with 20 of his wealthiest supporters.

This evening, the president will discuss the economy with members of the Business Roundtable at an event at the Newseum in downtown D.C.