1. Romney faces renewed conservative criticism.
GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney faced a fresh round of conservative criticism Thursday as New Hampshire's top newspaper urged Republicans to back rival Newt Gingrich and resurrected charges that the former governor helped pave the way for President Barack Obama's health care reforms. "Gingrich's record of conservative accomplishment is unparalleled and his beliefs and vision are passionate and clear," wrote Joe McQuaid, publisher of the New Hampshire Union Leader. Romney, in contrast, was "governor of the most liberal state in the country and managed to beat Obama at delivering Obamacare."
Conservatives must rally around Gingrich "or face the very real prospect of having Barack Obama walk all over" Romney, McQuaid argued.
2. 60 slain in Iraq bombings.
Attackers killed at least 60 people in Iraq on Thursday in strikes that targeted Shiites and renewed fears of sectarian violence, authorities said. The deadliest attack was a suicide bombing targeting Shiite pilgrims just west of the southern city of Nasiriya. It killed at least 36 and wounded 72 others, police and Interior Ministry officials said. A series of blasts in Baghdad left 24 dead and dozens wounded, an Interior Ministry official said. The violence raged as Shiites made a pilgrimage to the city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, leading up to Arbaeen, one of the holiest days of the Shiite calendar. It arrives next week and marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed in a seventh century battle in the Iraqi city.
3. Detroit automakers are (finally!) making profits.
Analysts are in widespread agreement in forecasting better industrywide sales in 2012 and beyond. They see sales rising from 12.8 million in 2011 to between 13.5 million to 14 million this year and close to 15 million by 2014 or 2015. "In terms of profitability and outlook, this is the best conditions we've had for the U.S. auto industry in a long, long time," said Jesse Toprak of TrueCar. From 1999 to 2007 the industry enjoyed sales of between 16 million to 17 million vehicles. Like the housing bubble, this auto-sales bubble was also fed by cheap credit.  But even with robust sales the automakers began to suffer. A refusal to fix Detroit's inefficient corporate culture and costly labor agreements were bleeding profits.