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4A Daily News – Tuesday, December 20, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING North Korea mourns Kim Jong Il PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Kore- ans marched by the thou- sands Monday to their capi- tal's landmarks to mourn Kim Jong Il, many crying uncontrollably and flailing their arms in grief over the death of their ''Dear Leader.'' North Korean state media proclaimed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, a ''Great Successor,'' while a vigilant world watched for any signs of a turbulent tran- sition to the untested leader in an unpredictable nation known to be pursuing nuclear weapons. South Korea's military went on high alert in the face of the North's 1.2 million- strong armed forces follow- ing news of Kim's death after 17 years in power. North Korea said Kim died of a heart attack on Saturday while carrying out official duties on a train trip. Presi- dent Barack Obama agreed by phone with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to closely monitor develop- ments. On the streets of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, people wailed in grief, some kneeling on the ground or bowing repeatedly. Children and adults laid flowers at key memorials. A tearful Kim Yong Ho said Kim Jong Il had made people's lives happier. ''That is what he was doing when he died: working, traveling on a train,'' he said. Gift Ideas Cedar Chests Hattrees Chair Side Table Halltrees Glider Rockers Curios Recliners Bookcases Tehama Family Fitness Center 2498 South Main St • Red Bluff 528-8656 www.tehamafamilyfitness.com Lamps Latex Pillows Barstools Vanities Chevel Mirrors Furniture DEPOT 235 So. Main St., Red Bluff (530) 527-1657 © 2011 PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company. Trade/service marks are the property of PlainsCapital Corporation, PlainsCapital Bank, or their respective affiliates and/or subsidiaries. Some products may not be available in all states. This is not a commitment to lend. Restrictions apply. All rights reserved. PrimeLending, A PlainsCapital Company (NMLS no: 13649) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a state-chartered bank and is an exempt lender in the following states: Licensed by: AZ Dept. of Financial Institutions- mortgage banker lic no. BK 0907334; Licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act- lender lic no. 4130996. MON.-FRI. 9:00-6:00 SAT. 11:00-5:00 9:00-5:00 SUN. Show someone you really care by giving them Better Health and Happiness This Christmas! With a gift certificate from Premier Fitness Facility Tehama County's Tempurpedic Pillows Super PACs chipping away at Gingrich MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — More than $1 mil- lion in negative advertising — much of it bankrolled by Mitt Romney's allies — has eroded Newt Gingrich's standing in Iowa and thrown the Republican presidential race here wide open two weeks before the first votes. The former House speaker's Iowa slide mirrors his newfound troubles nationally, and it has boost- ed Romney's confidence while fueling talk that liber- tarian-leaning Texas Rep. Ron Paul could pull off a win in the leadoff caucus state on Jan. 3. ''It's very disappointing to see so many of my friends who are running put out such negative junk, '' Gin- grich said Monday as he arrived in Davenport, pok- ing at his opponents even as he insisted he was running an upbeat campaign. ''I real- ly wish they would have the courage to be positive.'' Despite his chiding, attacks against him are all but certain to continue. For one, the Restore Our Future political action committee, made up of former Romney staffers from his failed 2008 bid, plans to spend $1.4 mil- lion more over the next two weeks, including on a new ad beginning Tuesday that's expected to be aimed at Gin- grich. That would bring to roughly $3 million the amount spent by the group against Gingrich. Aides for several cam- paigns competing against Gingrich as well as outside independent groups aligned with the candidates say their internal polls find that he has fallen over the last week from the top slot in Iowa. And a national Gallup poll released Monday found Gingrich's support plum- meting: He had the backing of 26 percent of Republican voters nationally, down from 37 percent on Dec. 8. Rom- ney's support was largely unchanged at 24 percent. Congress moves toward standoff WASHINGTON (AP) — Partisan to the core, Con- gress careened toward a hol- iday-season standoff Mon- day on legislation to prevent a Social Security payroll tax increase for 160 million workers on Jan. 1. ''It's time to stop the non- sense. We can resolve these differences and we can do it in a way that provides cer- tainty for job creators and others,'' said Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. He said the House would reject a bipartisan two-month exten- sion that cleared the Senate over the weekend and seek negotiations on a bill to renew the cuts through 2012. In an acid response, Sen- ate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused Boehner of risking a tax increase for millions ''just because a few Shop Local This Christmas angry tea partyers raised their voices.'' The Nevada Democrat ruled out new negotiations until the two- month measure is enacted. That left the two parties approaching Christmas- week gridlock over an effort to pass core elements of President Barack Obama's jobs program — renewal of the tax cuts and long-term unemployment benefits — that Republican and Demo- cratic leaders alike said they favored. It was the latest and like- ly the last such partisan con- frontation in a year of divid- ed government that brought the Treasury to the brink of a first-ever default last sum- mer, and more than once pushed the vast federal establishment to the edge of a partial shutdown. Iraqi authorities seek arrest of Sunni VP BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's Shiite-led government issued an arrest warrant Monday for the Sunni vice president, accusing him of running a hit squad that assassinated government and security officials — extraordinary charges a day after the last U.S. troops left the country. The vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, left Baghdad on Sunday for the semiau- tonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan, presumably hop- ing that Kurdish authorities would not turn him in. Investigative judges banned him the same day from trav- eling outside of Iraq. The move against the country's highest-ranking Sunni official marked a sharp escalation in sectarian tensions, raising fears of a resurgence of large-scale bloodshed. Although many Iraqis welcomed the Ameri- can withdrawal, ending the BOOK BARN 619 Oak St., Red Bluff (530) 528-Book 2665 HOLIDAY HOURS Open: Tuesday thru Saturday Dec. 27th to 31st Closed: January 3rd-Jan 7th nine-year U.S. war, there are also considerable fears here that violence will worsen. ''Iraq is slipping into its worst nightmares now, and Iraqi people will pay a high price because of the struggle among political blocs after the pullout of U.S. troops,'' said Baghdad-based politi- cal analyst Kadhum al- Muqdadi, a Shiite. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Obama administration had expressed its concerns to all of the parties involved regarding the issuing of the warrant. Kim Jon Un to take over PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — With the sudden death of his father, Kim Jong Un went from being North Korea's ''Respected General'' to ''Great Successor'' — a heady and uncertain promo- tion for a young man virtu- ally unknown even to the North Korean people just a year ago. Word of Kim Jong Il's death, announced Monday two days after he suffered a fatal heart attack, thrusts his 20-something son in the spotlight as the future head of a nation grappling with difficult nuclear negotia- tions and chronic food shortages. Within hours of breaking the news of his father's death, state media urged the nation's people to rally around Kim Jong Un and to ''faithfully revere'' their next leader. The son has not appeared publicly since the announcement of his father's death. The death speeds up a succession process that began in earnest a little more than a year ago — scant time to gain experi- ence, build political clout and allay skepticism at home and abroad that he can lead a nation of 24 mil- Experience the Magic of Christmas in Historic Downtown Red Bluff 35 Boutique & Gift Shops 12 Antique Dealers, Galleries & Jewelers 6 Full Service Home Stores 7 Good Restaurants 50 Service & Professional Businesses Sponsored by Downtown Red Bluff Business Assoc. 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Abroad, there was wide- spread speculation through- out 2009 about who would succeed the iron-fisted ruler. AT&T to drop T-Mobile takeover bid LOS ANGELES (AP) — AT&T Inc. said Mon- day that it is ending its $39 billion bid to buy T- Mobile USA after facing fierce government objec- tions. The cellphone giant said that the actions of the government to block the deal do not change the challenges of the wireless phone industry, which it says requires more air- waves, known as spec- trum, to expand. The deal would have solved that problem for a time, and without it, ''cus- tomers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled,'' AT&T said in a statement. It called on the govern- ment to quickly approve its purchase of unused spectrum from Qualcomm Inc. and come up with leg- islation to meet the nation's long-term needs. AT&T, the nation's second-largest wireless carrier behind Verizon Wireless, faces paying Deutsche Telekom $3 bil- lion in cash and may have to enter into a roaming agreement with Deutsche Telekom, while transfer- ring it the rights to spec- trum it doesn't need for the rollout of its planned, next-generation ''4G'' network.