Iowa: Romney 23%, Gingrich 20%, Paul 18%  —  For the fifth straight survey, the GOP field has a new frontrunner in Iowa.  —  On this first release video, Scott Rasmussen reveals Mitt Romney as the new frontrunner in the Iowa Caucus.  —  Although this video is available to everyone, most of the content on Rasmussen Reports is not.

Winnowing the Field  —  A hard-fought presidential primary campaign is obscuring the uncharacteristic degree of unity within the Republican party.  It has reached a conservative consensus on most of the pressing issues of the day.  All of the leading candidates, and almost all of the lagging ones, support the right to life.

A Bipartisan Way Forward on Medicare  —  Allowing private plans to compete with traditional Medicare will help lower costs and spur innovation.  —  Few issues draw more heated partisan rhetoric than the future of Medicare.  Seniors are a reliable and powerful voting bloc …

U.S. War in Iraq Declared Officially Over  —  BAGHDAD — The United States military officially declared an end to its mission in Iraq on Thursday even as violence continues to plague the country and the Muslim world remains distrustful of American power.  —  In a fortified concrete courtyard …

Payroll tax cut and spending bill stall in Senate, raising threat of shutdown  —  Negotiations over how to extend a payroll tax holiday for 160 million Americans and avoid a government shutdown this weekend ground to a halt Wednesday after a standoff in the Senate over how to proceed.

Rudy Giuliani Carves Up Mitt Romney on Morning Show  —  Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani has some thoughts on the GOP field, and he generously shared them with cable news audiences this morning in appearances so sharp they could be used in anti-Romney ads.  —  “It may be that Newt is appealing …

Americans face Guantánamo detention after Obama climbdown  —  Defence funding bill allows American citizens to be arrested as terrorists on home soil and held indefinitely without trial  —  Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military …

‘Dismal’ prospects: 1 in 2 Americans are now poor or low income  —  Juan Morena sits on a Los Angeles, Calif., sidewalk as he waits for the St. Francis Center soup kitchen to open on Sept. 13.  —  By Associated Press  —  WASHINGTON - Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans …

Obama's Justice Department joins Britain's ‘Climategate’ leaker manhunt  —  I have seen apparent proof that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Criminal Division, is working with United Kingdom police to pursue the leaker of the 2009 and 2011 “Climategate” emails.

Herman Cain's Cabinet dream: DOD  —  Herman Cain says that if he could be a Cabinet secretary, he wants to be head of the Department of Defense.  —  In an interview with Barbara Walters, who chose Cain as one of the “10 Most Fascinating People” of the year, the former presidential hopeful was asked what Cabinet position he would like.

China's epic hangover begins  —  China's credit bubble has finally popped.  The property market is swinging wildly from boom to bust, the cautionary exhibit of a BRIC's dream that is at last coming down to earth with a thud.  —  Chinese stocks are flashing warning signs.  The Shanghai index has fallen 30pc since May.