I’m sorry…WHAT…?!

From The Huffington Post

COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa — Down more than 10 points in the polls here only weeks ago, Mitt Romney appears to be surging back days before Iowans head to their caucuses.

Two polls released over the weekend showed Romney ahead of rival Mike Huckabee by several points, while another survey out Sunday has Romney in a statistical tie with the former Arkansas governor.

That’s a far cry from early November, when a surging Huckabee took the front-runner mantle from Romney and never looked back. While Iowa’s caucuses — the first test of the presidential contest - are difficult to poll given only a small percentage of the state actually turns out for the caucus meetings, the polls may indicate a change in attitudes in Iowa.

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From The Huffington Post

North Korea failed Monday to meet a year-end deadline to finish disabling its atomic plants and declare all its nuclear programmes, a key element in a six-nation disarmament accord.

The United States, Japan and South Korea expressed regret at the delay, which came amid a report that the communist state has slowed down the disabling work it began in November.

It was supposed to have completed the disablement and handed over the declaration by December 31 in return for one million tons of fuel oil or equivalent energy aid, and diplomatic benefits.

The disablement, financed and supervised by the US, had been expected to miss the deadline for technical reasons. But according to a report by Japan’s Kyodo News, the North has also told the US it is reducing the shifts of workers carrying out the operation.

A Pyongyang official reportedly warned last week of a slowdown because of a delay in providing the promised energy aid.

The status of work on the declaration was unclear but some analysts predicted it will be delayed for months.

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From The Huffington Post

“Don’t count out Warren Buffett.”

That’s how I began my post one week ago as I launched our ‘2007: The Year in Warren’ countdown, going from #10 to #6 of the top 10 trends and events of the year, as covered here on Warren Buffett Watch.

That was before Buffett showed us again why you can’t count him out, as he turned what should have been an uneventful holiday week into a whirlwind of activity.

So, slightly delayed, but fortified with new material, here comes the ‘final countdown’ from #5 all the way to #1.

#5 RIDING THE RAILS

Warren Buffett placed a big bet on a railroad this year, picking up shares of Burlington Northern in a series of purchases that has Berkshire owning almost a fifth of the freight carrier’s outstanding stock, with the possibility of going to 25 percent or more.

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From The Huffington Post

Actress Jennifer Garner has been honored as the 2007 West Virginian of the Year by her hometown newspaper.

The Sunday Gazette-Mail says it chose Garner for her dedication, hard work and service as an ambassador and role model for West Virginia.

Garner is balancing the raising of her 2-year-old daughter Violet, her marriage with fellow actor Ben Affleck and a career that includes a starring role in “Cyrano de Bergerac” on Broadway, the new film “Juno,” and two more films yet to shoot.

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From The Huffington Post

Buoyed by the still unsettled field, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is growing increasingly enchanted with the idea of an independent presidential bid, and his aides are aggressively laying the groundwork for him to run.

On Sunday, the mayor will join Democratic and Republican elder statesmen at the University of Oklahoma in what the conveners are billing as an effort to pressure the major party candidates to renounce partisan gridlock.

Former Senator David L. Boren of Oklahoma, who organized the session with former Senator Sam Nunn, a Democrat of Georgia, suggested in an interview that if the prospective major party nominees failed within two months to formally embrace bipartisanship and address the fundamental challenges facing the nation, “I would be among those who would urge Mr. Bloomberg to very seriously consider running for president as an independent.”

Next week’s meeting, reported on Sunday in The Washington Post, comes as the mayor’s advisers have been quietly canvassing potential campaign consultants about their availability in the coming months.

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From The Huffington Post

Supporters of long-shot presidential hopeful Ron Paul say the Montana Republican Party’s quirky caucus rules could create an opening for their candidate that other states don’t offer.

Under the “closed caucus” system recently adopted by the Montana GOP, voting in the Feb. 5 caucus will be limited to about 3,000 Republicans who hold party posts, such as members of Congress, statewide officeholders and precinct captains. That includes hundreds of volunteer precinct posts that have long been vacant and that some candidates are now scrambling to fill with supporters.

At least three presidential candidates _ former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Paul, a Texas congressman _ are organizing in the state. A fourth candidate, John McCain, recently hired a Montana campaign chair.

“Some of the minor candidates are scrambling here to win in a small state so they can say, ‘Look, we won somewhere,’” said political scientist Craig Wilson, a professor at Montana State University-Billings.

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