It's good to be the boss: Mitt Romney stirs controversy by telling business execs in New Hampshire, "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me." (He was talking about health insurance companies) ... Buddy who? Poll shows Buddy Roemer (he's former congressman and Louisiana governor) has pulled ahead of Rick Perry in NH. "It's a lead of eight people versus six people, but still," says one blogger ... Homesick: White House Chief of Staff William Daley quits after less than a year in job, says he wants to go back to dear old Chicago ... Tensions escalating: Iran's Revolutionary Court sentences US citizen Amir Mirza Hekmati to death for spying; US says charges false ... BFFs: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Iranian Premier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad meet, ridicule US, vow to "unite forever" ... Back to cold turkey: Study finds nicotine patches and gum don't help smokers quit permanently, may even make things worse ... Twitterin' Tebowers: Fans of Denver QB Tim Tebow send record number of tweets following Tebow's dramatic overtime defeat of Pittsburgh.
Tuesday, Jan. 10
Opening it up: Mitt Romney wins big in New Hampshire, more than 16 points ahead of Number Two finisher Ron Paul; last-minute Rick Perry surge beats Buddy Roemer by 821 votes ... Perry pleads with voters in South Carolina to "give me a second look." Maybe they've seen enough already ... Money talks: Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson gives $5 million to campaign of his pal Newt Gingrich ... Wardrobe malfunction: "90210" star AnnaLynne McCord accidentally sends fan pic partially revealing a nipple; it ends up on Twitter ... How we gonna get our sugar high? Hostess Brands Inc., maker of Twinkies, prepares to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Wednesday, Jan. 11
Conduct unbecoming: US says it's investigating video showing group of Marines urinating on corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan ... Bombs away: Scientist involved in Iran's nuclear program killed by blast in Tehran, fourth one in two years ... Tokers rejoice: Researchers find occasional pot smoking not harmful to lungs, but caution more research needed ... Nothing to see here: Investigation by LA County Sheriff's Department finds no new reason to suspect foul play in drowning of actress Natalie Wood in 1981 ... $4,900 minimum round trip, unlimited ice included: All staterooms booked on MS Balmoral for cruise marking 100th anniversary of Titanic disaster, which killed 1,500 on April 15, 1912.
Thursday, Jan. 12
Cheese-eating surrender monkeys: Attack ad by Newt Gingrich compares Mitt Romney to John Kerry, points out they're both from Massachusetts and speak French ... Vulture capitalism: Romney trying to fend off attacks on his role in private equity firm Bain Capital ... Meanwhile C-SPAN is inundated with prank calls inquiring about the size of Romney's penis ... Deep military doo-doo: Investigating officer recommends court martial for Pvt. Bradley Manning, who fed secret info to Wikileaks; he could get life ... Ready to deal? Speaker of Iranian parliament says Iran interested in "serious" talks with other countries about its nuclear program ... Sure to be a hot tourist attraction: North Korea announces body of Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il will be embalmed, put on display like corpse of Lenin in Kremlin.
Friday, Jan. 13
You break-a da rules, you lose: Federal judge says Gingrich, Perry, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman can't get on Virginia primary ballot after they miss filing deadline ... Piling on: Obama campaign team wades into Republican fray, attacks Romney for destroying jobs while running Bain Capital ... Playing nice: US to restore full diplomatic relations with Myanmar (formerly Burma) as reward for adopting democratic reforms ... Affairs of the heart: Trial of John Edwards on campaign fund fraud charges delayed after docs say he has life-threatening cardiac problem, needs surgery ... Slight miscalculation: Cruise ship Costa Concordia strikes rocks in Mediterranean, capsizes; at least five dead, 15 missing; captain claims rocks weren't on charts ... Glad somebody thought it was funny: Transcripts of Federal Reserve meetings from 2006 reveal officials joking about housing bubble and saying economy still looked healthy.
Saturday, Jan. 14
Looks like the man to beat: Reuters-Ipsos Poll shows Romney with 21-point lead in South Carolina; Santorum and Ron Paul tied for distant second ... Sounding like spokesman for Occupy movement, Gingrich slams Romney at candidates' forum for destroying jobs while at Bain Capital ... Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert's SuperPAC airs ad calling Romney a "serial killer" because he killed off corporations and US Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are people. Seems perfectly logical to us ... Are you there, God? It's me, Tim: Despite presumed divine assistance, Tim Tebow's Denver Broncos humiliated by New England Patriots, 45-10, eliminated from NFL playoffs.
Sunday, Jan. 15
Oops, our bad: Owner of Italian cruise ship says "significant human error" by Capt. Francesco Schettino probably to blame for disaster; two more bodies found in ship, bringing known death toll to seven ... Meanwhile passengers say Schettino was drinking at bar with "beautiful woman" shortly before ship hit rocks ... Big day for Big Blue: NY Giants stun Green Bay, 37-20; will play San Francisco 49ers for NFC championship ... Consolation prize? Now that Tim Tebow's season is over, Katy Perry's mom wants to fix her daughter up with him. Mom reportedly says Tebow's "the perfect guy" for Katy, who recently split with Russell Brand.
