Obama to hold press conference on Super Tuesday

President Barack Obama will hold his first news conference of the year Tuesday, the same day his Republican rivals face off in 10 voting contests.

White House spokesman Jay Carney announced the Tuesday afternoon news conference on Twitter. Obama held his last full news conference in November during the APEC summit in Hawaii.

Tuesday's news conference comes amid an uptick in the U.S. economy. But the Obama administration has found itself dealing with several pressing foreign policy concerns, including the violent government crackdown in Syria and rising tensions in the Middle East over Iran's disputed nuclear program.