POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world. Click on the headlines for more.

WASHINGTON/POLITICAL:

CNN: Romney projects confidence on eve of Iowa caucuses
Mitt Romney on Monday rallied supporters in Iowa on the eve of that state's caucuses, encouraging them to get out the vote and speaking confidently about his chances to earn the GOP's nomination for the presidency.

CNN: Obama returns to chilly Washington, political scene
President Barack Obama returns Tuesday to a chilly Washington, going from a family holiday in Hawaii to a decidedly different climate rife with political battles, overseas crises and continued economic uncertainty.

CNN: Four years later, some Iowa Democrats have mixed feelings about Obama
Daniel Bradshaw, a young barber at Platinum Kutz in central Des Moines, hovers over a customer's half-trimmed head, clippers in hand, talking about the good old days of 2008.

CNN: Depth of Paul supporters could make difference in Iowa
In the sport of presidential politics, Republican candidate Ron Paul has an impressive ground game, a robust team of staffers and volunteers in Iowa and beyond.

NATIONAL: 

CNN: Body identified as man sought in Mount Rainier park ranger shooting
National park officials said Monday afternoon that the man found dead in Washington's Mount Rainier National Park is Benjamin Colton Barnes, the suspect in the shooting death of park ranger Margaret Anderson the previous day.

CNN: Man charged with arson in case of California fires
A 24-year-old man was charged Monday with arson in connection with a rash of car and building fires across the Los Angeles area, authorities said.

CNN: Occupy DC demonstrators bolstered by migrating NYC Occupiers
Some "Occupy" demonstrators who've clashed with police in New York City have migrated south as the new year begins, joining their colleagues in the nation's capital where authorities continue to allow protest camps at two locations.

CNN: N.Y. police probe attacks on mosque, house that serves as Hindu temple
Video released Monday shows a person throwing a Molotov cocktail toward a residence in New York City that also serves as a Hindu temple in one of three such attacks reported by police in the city.

INTERNATIONAL:

CNN: Iran test-fires missiles in Strait of Hormuz exercises
Iran test-fired two missiles Monday, the final day of its naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, state-run media reported.

CNN: Taliban, allies form leadership council
Pakistani Taliban factions and their allies have set up a council of elders in hopes of coordinating efforts against NATO troops in Afghanistan, a spokesman said Monday.

CNN: Mexican police tortured 5 suspects, human rights commission says
Mexican federal police in Ciudad Juarez tortured five people to force confessions that they killed an officer and participated in a car bomb attack, the nation's human rights commission alleged.

CNN: South Sudan gains control of town where ethnic tensions flared, official says
South Sudan's government has gained control of a remote town that had been under attack by fighters from a rival tribe, the nation's information minister said Monday.

BUSINESS:

CNN Money: Stocks in 2012: Up, up, but not away
The stock market's stomach-churning roller coaster will keep running, but unlike last year's flat finish, Wall Street experts anticipate stocks will end 2012 on a high note.

CNN Money: Iowa's economy: Not issue No. 1?
If there is one state where the economy might not be issue No. 1, it's Iowa.
That's because the first state to begin presidential candidate selection has emerged relatively unscathed from the housing bubble and financial crisis that wreaked havoc on other parts of the country.

CNN Money: FHA says: Flip that house
Flippers, the real estate investors who buy homes on the cheap and quickly resell them at a profit, just got a reprieve from the Federal Housing Administration.

In Case You Missed It…
CNN's Tom Foreman explains how the Iowa GOP caucus works and how it differs from the Democrats' process.