NBC poll: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul neck-and-neck in Iowa; Newt Gingrich in 5th  —  In the past two weeks, support has fallen sharply in Iowa for Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich.  NBC's Chuck Todd reports.  —  By NBC's Mark Murray  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney …

Romney son makes Obama birth certificate joke  —  After getting a question about whether Mitt Romney will release his income tax returns in Concord, N.H., Romney's son Matt made a crack about President Obama's college grades and birth certificate:

In early book, Rep. Ron Paul criticized AIDS patients, minority rights and sexual harassment victims  —  Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Texas Rep. Ron Paul has distanced himself from a series of controversial newsletters from the 1980s and 1990s that bore his name and included inflammatory and racially charged language.

Mitt Romney: ‘I Am Not A Wall Street Guy, Classically Defined’ … 2012 Election , Mitt Romney , Elections 2012 , Iowa Caucuses , Mitt Romney Iowa , Mitt Romney Iowa Caucus , Romney Iowa , Caucus , Iowa Caucus , Iowa Caucus 2012 , Iowa Caucuses 2012 , Mitt Romney 2012 , Mitt Romney Wall Street …

Keynes Was Right  —  “The boom, not the slump, is the right time for austerity at the Treasury.”  So declared John Maynard Keynes in 1937, even as F.D.R. was about to prove him right by trying to balance the budget too soon, sending the United States economy — which had been steadily recovering …

Gingrich tears up while discussing his mother at Iowa town hall  —  Newt Gingrich choked up while discussing his mother's struggle with mental illness during a town-hall meeting in Des Moines.  —  Gingrich was asked to speak about a time his mother affected him at the event sponsored by CafeMom …

Have the youth given up on Obama?  —  Editor's Note: Brad Chase is a partner with Capitol Media Partners, a Los Angeles-based communications and public affairs consultancy.  —  By Brad Chase - Special to CNN  —  In 2008, the youth vote helped sweep Barack Obama into office.

An Uproar on the Web Over $2 Fee by Verizon  —  The Web lit up with howls of protest on Thursday as word of a planned new Verizon Wireless fee spread wildly — and somewhat inaccurately.  —  The $2 monthly fee, which takes effect Jan. 15, will apply to people who make one-time credit or debit card payments on the phone or online.

Yahoo!.  Now with Friends. … Search Web … DESTINATION 2012  —  THE TICKET  —  THE SIGNAL  —  REMAKE AMERICA WHITE HOUSE  —  CONGRESS  —  THE COURTS … Blog contained threats of violence like ‘I want [Muslim] blood on my hands’  —  The Council on American-Islamic Relations …

Electric car company that received a $529M federal loan recalls vehicles  —  An electric vehicle manufacturer that received a $529 million loan from the Energy Department is recalling 239 vehicles.  —  The Transportation Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) …

Fox Apologizes For Poll Asking If Jews Killed Jesus Christ  —  Fox Latin America was trying to promote a National Geographic Christmas special on Facebook.  So a staffer set up a poll for users to drum up some interest ahead of the program.  The problem?  The staffer who set up the poll …

Gingrich Floats Choosing Sarah Palin as Vice President, Energy Secretary  —  Last night during a tele-town hall hosted by Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition, a caller asked Newt Gingrich if he would consider choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate if he wins the Republican nomination.

2011: The Year the Wheels Fell Off  —  The coming year will not give us a break from the steady stream of political knavery, green graft and governmental stupidity that 2011 delivered, though it will surely provide a flood of politically-induced comedy.  —  JANUARY: An enterprising BBC reporter …

Obama delays request for $1.2T debt limit increase  —  HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama is delaying his request for another $1.2 trillion increase in the nation's debt limit at the request of congressional leaders.  —  It's basically because of a technicality.

Gingrich Is Making Romney Better  —  The most memorable campaign line so far isn't ‘9-9-9’ or ‘Oops.’  —  So the first third of the Republican presidential race is ending.  The first third is the introduction: “This is who I am, this is what I want to do, this is why you want to choose me.”

Muslim villagers burn houses of Christian family Upper Egypt  —  Average:  —  ShareThis  —  views:  —  Send to friend  —  Dozens of residents of the village of Baheeg in Assiut, Upper Egypt, burnt three houses owned by a Christian family after a Christian villager allegedly published …

Ohio Rep. Steve Austria to retire, sparing GOP primary showdown  —  Rep. Steve Austria (R-Ohio), forced by redistricting into a primary scuffle against a fellow Republican, announced Friday that he will not seek reelection to the House.  —  The decision spares the GOP a potentially bloody intra-party showdown for the seat.