NPR 2012-01-03

 In presidential politics, Rick Santorum is spending this last day before the Iowa caucuses 1 trying to keep his momentum 2 going. The latest polls show Mitt 3 Romney is still favored among the GOP candidates, but only narrowly--a margin 4 Santorum is hoping to bridge.

 
"We are not looking for a chief executive officer for this country, we are looking for a commander-in-chief."
 
Romney, meanwhile, is focusing his final hours of campaigning in Iowa on parts of the state he won four years ago, hoping to ensure supporters turn up at tomorrow evening's caucuses.
 
Police in Southern California say they've identified a possible suspect in the arson 5 fires that have torched over 50 cars this weekend. Several blazes have spread to adjacent buildings but no serious injuries are reported. NPR's Larry Abramson reports police haven't said who the suspect is, and they haven't yet filed any charges. 
 
A sheriff's deputy found and detained a man who officials say may have links to arson fires that have terrorized Los Angeles and surrounding cities since they began early Friday. Police Chief Charlie Beck says he's confident authorities have caught the car arsonist 6, but Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told CNN the investigation 7 is still ongoing 8.
 
"There was one firefighter who was slightly injured, more than $2m in damage, and it could have been much worse. But again, at this point, this person is only a person of interest."
 
Police say the man in custody 9 was identified with the help of surveillance video and eyewitnesses 10 who placed him at the scene. They still have not identified the potential suspect. Larry Abramson, NPR News.
 
Iran's navy says it test-fired a surface-to-surface cruise missile today during military exercises near the Strait of Hormuz. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports the announcement follows other missile tests over the weekend.
 
Iran's official news agency quoted naval 11 commander Mahmoud Mousavi as saying the long-range surface-to-surface missile named Qader marked a significant improvement in its capabilities 12. Earlier Iran announced the test-firing of a surface-to-air missile and said more tests would follow. Oil prices have been in jittery 13 as Iran conducted the military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz through which large amounts of crude oil pass. Iran is also making fresh nuclear claims, asserting that it has created nuclear fuel rods, an achievement many Western experts doubted Iran had the capacity for. If true, it would be a significant milestone 14 for Iran's nuclear program, which the West believes includes a weapon's component 15 despite Iranian denials. Peter Kenyon, NPR News.
 
The speaker of Iraq's parliament who is Sunni is warning human rights violations 16 are threatening the country's fledgling democracy. The televised statement ratchets up Iraq's sectarian and political crisis triggered last month when the government of Shia Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki issued an arrest warrant for the country's top Sunni politician.
 
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Jordan is spearheading another effort to revive peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Negotiators are due to meet in Jordan tomorrow for the first time in more than a year. Palestinian envoy 17 Saeb Erekat warns there will be no breakthrough unless halting Israeli settlements are part of the formula. 
 
"We hope that the Israeli government would reciprocate 18 these Jordanian efforts by announcing cessation of settlement activities"
 
Israel says peace talks should resume with no preconditions.
 
New York City police are looking into a string of attacks in Queens last night involving home-made bombs. WNYC's Yasmeen Khan reports police are investigating them as bias 19 crimes against Muslims.
 
Police say Molotov cocktails 20 were used in the arson attacks which targeted a bodega, two houses and an Islamic center. A fire at one of the homes caused extensive damage, but there were no injuries in any of the attacks and there was minimal 21 damage to the other sites. Meesam Razvi is a spokesman for the Islamic center called the Imam Al-Khoei Foundation. He says he's been fielding calls from anxious community members.
 
"We have a school that's going to be in session tomorrow morning, so there've been some concern of course, and we are conveying to them that the school is going to be business as usual."
 
Police say they are studying surveillance video from the bodega, and the attack on one of the houses. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says police are also looking at connections to incidents outside of New York City. For NPR News, I'm Yasmeen Khan in New York.
 
Today's Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena California has ended without incident. Extra police were on hand because of a planned anti-Wall Street demonstration 22. Some 5,000 occupiers followed the parade, peacefully protesting. 
 
I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.