 |  | 
January 02, 2012 | | JUDGMENT DAY Now that the three surprise frontrunners have emerged in Iowa—with Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum in a dead heat, according to the final poll—it's clear that the ads are shaping the caucuses' outcome. As Judith Grey reports, the anti-Gingrich barrage took its toll, and Santorum proves the ground game still matters. PERSON OF INTEREST Los Angeles police have detained a “person of interest” in connection with the arsons plaguing the city—they’re questioning a native of Germany who might have been motivated by a dispute with immigration officials. When a small group of witnesses saw the man in the back of a squad car Monday morning, they gave him the finger. Rick Savage, a music producer who saw the incident, said the man in question smiled back in a strange way. “It was creepy,” he said. Inside the man’s minivan, police found materials that could have been used to start fires. REALITY CHECK Newt Gingrich is admitting defeat. Lagging in the polls just a day before Iowa’s caucuses, the former speaker said that attacks from other candidates have made it nearly impossible for him to pull off an upset. “I don’t think I’m going to win,” he told reporters. “If you look at the numbers, that volume of negativity has done enough damage.” Still Gingrich said he’d persevere, and “tomorrow night will be a victory because I’m still standing.” The latest poll out of Iowa, conducted by Public Policy Polling, shows Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum in a dead heat for first. HIDING Despite Syria's efforts to withdraw the military to the outskirts of cities, snipers are still a threat and gunfire continues, the head of the Arab League said Monday. Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said gunmen are still an insidious presence on rooftops, although security forces have supposedly left residential areas alone for now and pulled tanks and heavy weapons out of urban centers. The regime also reportedly freed about 3,500 prisoners. Arab League observers have been in the country since Tuesday to oversee a peace plan, but there hasn't been a letup in violence as the government continues to crack down on protesters, even with the monitors watching. SEXY BEAST Mitt Romney might be in a dead heat with Ron Paul and Rick Santorum in Iowa, but he's proving himself to be the frontrunner in keeping up with pop culture gossip. “I've been looking at some video clips on YouTube, of President Obama—then-candidate Obama—going through Iowa making promises,” Romney said while campaigning Sunday in the state that's about to hold the nation's first caucuses. “The gap between his promises and his performance is the largest I've seen since, well, the Kardashian wedding and the promise of ‘till death do us part.’” That zinger—comparing Obama to Kim Kardashian, who is famously divorcing Kris Humphries after only 72 days—got a laugh this morning from Romney's wife, Ann. “He likes to have fun,” she told Fox News Monday, saying her two daughters-in-law, who read gossip magazines, help Mitt get a leg up on the important pop culture news of the day. REALITY Brad Goreski's Star Turn Rachel Zoe's former styling assistant talks to Isabel Wilkinson about starting over after his painful breakup with Zoe. | | 
GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors.  GET The Yes List Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast.
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment