nicole collins, fox news. >>> the president and mrs. obama spent the holidays visiting at the marine corps base in hon that hugh honolulu. many of the men and women stationed at the base in hawaii served in afghanistan and iraq. >>> seven people were killed in an attack aimed at the interior ministry. the attack was one of several in the last week. prime minister al maliki officials issued a warrant for vice president of iraq. >>> an explosion in nigeria killed 56 people. islamist extremists took control of the church. the pope said in his post christmas address that violation leads to pain, destruction and death and only respect and reconciliation can bring about peace. >>> the arab league is trying to reign in the violence in syria. syria turned into a blood pat bath. syrian forces killed several hundreds in the past week. opposition leaders say they doubt the monitors will have much of an impact. >>> in north korea, thousands are gathering to mourn the death of kim jong-il. fox's david lee miller has the latest. >> reporter: the 14 y

choice for the 2012 republican ominee - ron paul continues tt enjoy strong support there - but as nicole collins g-o-p contenders are taking aim. aim. (collins intro)with a little more than a week until iowans decide their choice for the 2012 republican nominee -ron paul continues to enjoy strong support there - and other g-o-p contenders are taking aim.(pkg)looking to derail texas congressman ron paul in the fiist in the nation caucus state.rival campaigns plan to air fresh t-v ads and hit the phones to persuade undecided caucus-goers.steve hayes says: pll the talk about the ron paul surge - the support that he has out there - the momentum that he has potentially going into these january 3 caucuses is real. mitt romney, michelle bachmann, rick perry and newt gingrich kick off iowa bus tours tuesday night - as rick santorum goes hunting with iowa conservatives. aside, the winner of the 2008 iowa caucussss mike huckabee, says the outcome may boil down to the elements.huckabee says: "if the weather is good, mitt romney is in better shape. iff the weather is bad and it's real tough to get out, ron

nicole collins fox news. >> newt gingrich is lashing out saying fraud is the reason he is not on thegop presidential primary ballot. 1500 signatures were voided after being fraudulently collected by a paid campaign worker candidates needed to submit 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot only romney and paul made it on the ballot. >>> a man has been starving himself for voting rites, hits the three week mark there is stress on his kidneys but reremains in otherwise good health. he is urging congress towards giving more control over the budget law. >>> national park service extended the group's permit on freedom plaza through the end of february. police have been called in to remove unsafe structures, the most recent incident was tuesday night police removed a 12 by 12 wooden structure. >> military reducing the number of generals and admirals from top ranks with the war in iraq over and troops coming home, pentagon is trimming its top brass washington post reports the pentagon cut 27 jobs for generals and admirals since march. >>> time 7:10 a.m. up next a look at other stories making

nicole collins from capitol hill. >> reporter: iowa rejected mitt romney four years ago but this time around his prospects appear to have brightened. >> how are you? good to see you. >> reporter: appearing confident and campaigning hard in iowa's final stretch, former massachusetts governor mitt romney pulling his largest crowds yet and arguing he's the most electable. >> i think people know me pretty well because i ran four years ago and they want to make sure that whoever we nominate can actually beat barack obama. >> reporter: a new poll has romney inching ahead of ron paul in iowa while rick santorum over takes newt gingrich for third place. >> do better than a week ago. >> reporter: however a new american research group survey paints a different picture with gingrich in second leading paul and san to your knowledge -- san to santorum. keeping his eye on conservative south carolina. >> considering i'm 20 points ahead in some of the states it will be fairly foolish for me not to stay in the race. it is a long way from here to picking a nominee. >> reporter: texas governor rick perr