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Sunday, Feb 05th

Last update:07:29:30 PM GMT

Headlines:

Iowa caucus: Newt Gingrich trounces Mitt Romney among Fox viewers

Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday

Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: Obama defends middle class

Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: Rick Scott hits an epic new low

Daily Kos Elections Polling Wrap: No 'co-leader'—Newt is the guy

Fox Business launches war on 'anti-corporate' Muppets

Senate Republicans filibuster Obama judicial nominee Caitlin Halligan

Verizon Adds 4G LTE Droid Xyboard Tablets

Like Gollum drawn to the ring, Jon Huntsman decides to becomes a climate change skeptic

Barack Obama gains another union endorsement, from AFSCME

White House will use foreign aid to advance gay rights. Hillary Clinton makes historic speech

Midday open thread

Select a news topic from the list below, then select a news article to read.

Facebook Buys Foursquare Competitor in Location-Based Play

Facebook recently announced plans to nix its Foursquare-like Places feature, but the social-media giant apparently has no plans to exit the popular geo-tagging space. Facebook reportedly has snapped up a location-based service to better equip its location-based tool chest.

CNN Money was the first to report that Facebook has acquired Texas-based Gowalla for an undisclosed amount. Facebook has publicly declined to comment, but CNN reports that the tech will fold into Facebook's Timeline feature.

Gowalla launched in 2009 as a direct competitor to Foursquare, the leading service in the...

Five things you should know about the state of the GOP race

Screen capture from Ron Paul's official website

So Newt's surging and Romney's nervous? He's still in the lead in New Hampshire, and just a few days ago, Jonathan Bernstein wrote:

Forget Newt’s surge. Romney is still the favorite.

Bernstein's comments were partly based on the absence of a grassroots "Stop Romney' campaign. Actually, if there is one in Iowa, it's on the Gingrich side:

"With Gingrich it's a mixed bag," he said. "The leadership wants to endorse a candidate that will win...

Southwest Airlines Gains in May on Revenue Passenger Miles

J. R. Ransom

Southwest Airplines gains in May - Stephanie Cabrera

Southwest Airlines is the busiest airline at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

Many visitors to Taos fly to Albuquerque, New Mexico on Southwest Airlines.

Video 28sec. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) is tipping higher after the company said it flew 9.2 billion revenue passenger miles in May, up from 8.3 billion a year ago.

Available seat miles increased 4.2% to 11.1 billion.

The load factor for the month was 82.7%, compared to the combined load factor of 77.9% a year ago.

Southwest shares are up 0.71%, or $0.08, to $11.31.

Week In Review With Daniel Schorr

Early Saturday morning, thousands of NATO soldiers began a massive offensive against the Taliban in the Helmand province. Host Scott Simon reviews the week in the news with NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr.

Somber Moments Mark Opening Ceremonies

The Winter Games opened in Vancouver Friday night. Amid the spectacle, the opening ceremonies paused to mark the death of a Georgian luge racer earlier in the day. But the celebration and pageantry went on, as Canada welcomed athletes from around the world. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.