Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/51611
4A Daily News – Monday, January 2, 2012 WORLD BRIEFING Paul, Santorum argue that they are electable DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — With time run- ning short, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and other Republican presi- dential contenders insisted they could beat President Barack Obama as they worked to per- suade undecided Iowa Republicans aching to win the White House to choose them over chief rival Mitt Romney. ''I'm the candidate that actually was able to win in states, as a con- servative, in getting Democrats and indepen- dents to vote for us,'' Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who is surging in the race and is a favorite among cultural conserv- atives, said in an inter- view on CNN. ''Mitt Romney has no track history of doing that.'' Paul, a libertarian- leaning Texas congress- man who Romney has said is outside the GOP mainstream, countered the suggestion that he's a fringe candidate. In an interview with ABC from his home state, where he was spending the weekend, Paul insisted: ''I'm electable. Obama next fall. They hope they can sway the roughly half of likely caucus-goers who say they are undecided or willing to change their minds two days before the leadoff presidential caucuses. A Des Moines Regis- ter poll released Satur- day showed Romney and Paul locked in a close race, with Santorum ris- ing swiftly to challenge them. Nearly half of likely Iowa caucus- goers view Romney as the Republican most likely to win the general election. He was far ahead of Santorum and Paul, who was viewed as the least likely to win. South Korean president open to North Korea I've been elected 12 times in Texas, when people get to know me.'' With Romney in a position of strength in Iowa, both Santorum and Paul went directly at the former Massachu- setts governor's chief argument — that he is the most electable Republican in a head-to- head matchup against Established 1902 nuclear talks SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president opened the door Monday to possi- ble nuclear talks with North Korea and warned the neighboring country to avoid any provoca- tions, saying the Korean peninsula is at a crucial turning point. Tod Dolling 3rd Generation Travis Dolling 4th Generation Lee Myung-bak's comments in a national- ly televised speech come as the young son of the late Kim Jong Il takes power in North Korea as Supreme Com- mander of the military and ruling party leader after Kim's death last month. The North vowed Sunday in a New Year's message that it would bolster its mili- tary and defend the son, Kim Jong Un, ''unto death.'' 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''But there should be a new opportunity amid changes and uncertain- ty.'' Lee also warned that that state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA ''does have a con- tractual liability to Exxon Mobil,'' compa- ny spokesman Patrick McGinn said in an email. He said the award is for $907,588,000. Venezuelan govern- ment officials did not respond to messages on Sunday seeking com- ment. ''The dispute is not South Korea would sternly respond to any North Korean attack. In 2010, 50 South Koreans died in attacks blamed on the North. North Korea has reg- ularly criticized Lee since he took office in 2008 and ended a no- strings-attached aid pol- icy toward the North. Lee sought to link aid to progress in North Korea's nuclear disar- mament. Ranger dies after shooting at Mt. Rainier MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. (AP) — A Mount Rainier National Park ranger was fatally shot following a New Year's Day traffic stop, and the 368-square-mile park in Washington state was closed as dozens of offi- cers searched for the armed gunman over snowy and rugged ter- rain. Pierce County Sher- iff 's spokesman Ed Troyer said late Sunday afternoon Benjamin Colton Barnes, a 24- year-old believed to have military experi- ence and survivalist skills, was a ''strong person of interest'' in the slaying of Margaret Anderson. Authorities recovered Barnes' vehi- cle, which had weapons and body armor inside, Established 1922 GEO GROWNEY MOTORS 1160 Main St., Red Bluff (530) 527-1034 "We Aim To Please" Geo. Growney Sr. 1922 Geo. Growney Jr. 1966 Mike Growney 2002 Established 1958 330 Walnut St., Red Bluff (530) 527-5700 M-F 8am-6pm • Sat 10am-4pm Established 1964 Troyer said. Authorities believed the gunman was still in the woods with an assault rifle. They asked people to stay away from the park, and for those already inside to leave. Troyer said there were about 100 people hunkered down in lodges and cabins on the mountain. They were told to stay put because they could be in the line of fire. Armored vehi- cles were being brought in to ferry them safely out of the park. ''We do have a very hot and dangerous situa- tion,'' he said. Arbitration body awards $908 million in dispute CARA CAS, Venezuela (AP) — An international arbitration body has awarded Exxon Mobil Corp. nearly $908 million in a dispute with Venezuela over compensation for the nationalization of its assets, the company said Sunday. Exxon Mobil sought arbitration after Presi- dent Hugo Chavez's government national- ized an oil project in the country in 2007. The decision by the International Chamber of Commerce confirmed over Venezuela's power to expropriate assets, but rather the failure of PDVSA to comply with contractual provisions to compensate Exxon Mobil,'' McGinn said. Moon countdown complete LOS ANGELES (AP) — NASA kicked off the new year with a pair of probes circling the moon in the latest mis- sion to understand how Earth's closest neighbor formed. There was no cham- pagne popping in the mission control room at the NASA Jet Propul- sion Laboratory when the Grail spacecraft arrived back-to-back over the New Year's weekend, but several scientists and engineers celebrated by blowing noisemakers. ''It's a really good feeling to have not one but two of our twins in orbit,'' project manager David Lehman said Sunday after the mis- sion was deemed suc- cessful. The action began on New Year's Eve when Grail-A swung over the south pole, fired its engine and braked into orbit around the moon. 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