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 …

Stormfront Founder Don Black Says White Supremacists Thought Ron Paul Was ‘One of Us’  —  Ron Paul was a hot topic this week on the talk radio show hosted by prominent white supremacist Don Black and his son Derek.  Mr. Black said he received Mr. Paul's controversial newsletters …

WordPress Takes Down “Bare Naked Islam” Blog After Threats From CAIR  —  WordPress took down Bare Naked Islam Blog today after threats from CAIR.

Occupy Hawaii Island Movement Plans Protest Near Pelosi's Posh Hawaiian Hotel  —  BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN - U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, one of the most powerful supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement, may be in the right place at the right time to protest with the Big Island branch of the movement, Occupy Hawaii Island.

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 …

IOWA NOTEBOOK: Occupy Caucuses?  —  Rick Perry speaks at Smokey Row coffee shop  —  After days of chasing after campaigns, I find myself in the unusual position of waiting for the campaign to come to me.  Rick Santorum will be here in Davenport this evening for a 7 p.m. event …

Beutler brushes off Senate speculation; Nelson staff mulls campaign funds  —  Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler on Thursday brushed aside reports putting him on a wish list of leading 2012 Democratic Senate prospects in the wake of Sen. Ben Nelson's decision not to seek re-election.

An Election Year Dawns Without Keith Olbermann  —  Keith Olbermann, who came to Current TV this year to remake the channel and compete against his old home, MSNBC, is sitting out the biggest political nights of the season.  —  Despite being the biggest star on the fledging channel …

Source: Al Qaeda leader sends veteran jihadists to establish presence in Libya  —  (CNN) — Al Qaeda's leadership has sent experienced jihadists to Libya in an effort to build a fighting force there, according to a Libyan source briefed by Western counter-terrorism officials.

Customers Encouraged to Use Options to Avoid Single Payment Fee That Starts Jan. 15  —  Customer Inquiries  —  For customer inquiries, please call 800-922-0204 or go to  —  Verizon Wireless offers customers numerous free and simple payment options and we encourage customers to use those options.

Americans See Views of GOP Candidates Closer to Their Own  —  Obama, Bachmann furthest away on ideological scale  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans perceive Jon Huntsman, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul as closest to themselves ideologically, and Michele Bachmann and Barack Obama as furthest away.