ReutersDec. 26, 2011: Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum
takes a break from pheasant hunting in Adel, Iowa.With 45 percent of
Iowa Republican voters undecided and a roller-coaster ride about to come to
a screeching stop next Tuesday with the GOP caucuses, it may be
Rick Santorum's turn to take the final ascent and surprise the political
class by ... doing better than expected?Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, has
been touted as the sleeper candidate by none other than 2008 Iowa
caucuses winner Mike Huckabee. He has relentlessly campaigned in the state, hitting
all 99 counties and moving his family out there. He has held
350 campaign events in the past year.He has received key endorsements from
well-known social conservatives in the state, and has had solid performances at
each of the debates. And he's running an old-school style campaign that
Iowa voters expect in the retail-style politics of the Hawkeye State.T
already nearly come to blows over oil fields in this disputed region.
In 2008, a 24-hour standoff developed between their respective security forces over
a section of an oil field in Kirkuk, an ethnically-mixed area the
Kurds want to annex.Baghad warns it could punish Exxon Mobil and that
the company's existing contracts could be in jeopardy. But so far it
has taken no punitive measures.Many analysts doubt that it will, considering Baghdad's
profound need for foreign investment.Outside the Kurdish zone, Exxon Mobil and Shell
are already developing one of Iraq's biggest oil fields, the 8.6 billion-barrel
West Qurna Stage 1 field in southern Basra province. Exxon Mobil is
also expected to lead a multibillion dollar project in Basra, a Shiite
stronghold, that will help make available the water needed for oil development.Baghdad's
oil policy is not a "long-term sustainable program that would attract foreign
capital into Iraq," said Fadel Gheit, chief economist with
's authority."We would be better if they could not do anything for
the next year because they are killing jobs. And we are desperate
for those jobs," he said.Obama finds himself in a conundrum. If he
avoids the controversy with Republicans, he risks angering his base, including union
activists, a key element for his reelection next year. If he stirs
up trouble with the GOP, he then risks paying a heavy political
cost.Fox News' Doug Luzader contributed to this report.
BEIJING A long-awaited government report said design flaws and sloppy management
caused a bullet train crash in July that killed 40 people and
triggered a public outcry over the high cost and dangers of China's
showcase transportation system.A former railway minister was among 54 officials found responsible
for the crash, a Cabinet statement said Wednesday.The crash report was highly
anticipated by the public. Regulations required the government to release the report
by Nov. 20. When that date passed, the government offered little explanation,
drawing renewed criticism by state media, which have been unusually skeptical about
the handling of the accident and the investigation.The Cabinet statement cited "serious
design flaws and major safety risks" and what it said were a
string of errors in equipment procurement and management.The report affirmed earlier government
statements that a lightning strike caused one bullet train to stall and
a sensor failure allowed
western Massachusetts.Prince hanged herself in January 2010 after classmates taunted her
after she dated a popular boy. She had recently moved from Ireland
to South Hadley, a rural town about 100 miles west of Boston.Five
students later accepted plea deals in criminal cases connected with bullying that
preceded her death. None involved prison time.Prince's death drew international attention and
was among several high-profile teen suicides that prompted new laws aimed at
cracking down on bullying in schools. All school districts in Massachusetts are
now required to develop bullying prevention plans.After unsuccessful attempts to gain access
to details of the settlement, which was reached with the town and
its insurer in November 2010, Bazelon sought a court order to release
the information under the state's public records law.In an order dated Dec.
23, Superior Court Judge Mary Lou-Rup ruled in favor of Bazelon, saying
the town had not shown what harm would be c
BAGHDAD An oil exploration deal between U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil
and Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region is fueling political tensions in a country
where a post-U.S.-troop withdrawal spike in violence and political turmoil is clouding
the climate for foreign investments sorely needed by Iraq.Baghdad's anger over the
deal highlights the long-simmering power struggle between the Kurdish and central governments.
The dispute is building momentum as Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki faces criticism
over his stewardship of a country where, years after the 2003 U.S.-led
war to topple Saddam Hussein, development remains a distant dream for millions.The
deal "will certainly contribute to further complicating the relationship" between the Kurds
and Baghdad, said Gala Riani, Middle East and North Africa Regional Manager
at the London-based IHS Global Insight.It "may also raise tensions in border
areas which have already become more restive as a result of the
withdrawal of the
