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October 30, 2011 | | VATICAN Pope Benedict is now 84, the same age his predecessor was at the time of his death, and he’s clearly starting to slow down. Earlier this month, when he started using a rolling platform to navigate St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican journalists wondered aloud if he was unwell, and preparations for the inevitable began in full. But he might not have to die to relinquish the papacy, reports The Daily Beast’s Barbie Latza Nadeau—he could retire. FRONTRUNNER Despite releasing a bizarre ad featuring a smoking campaign manager, Herman Cain is still going strong. With about nine weeks to go before the important Iowa caucuses, a Des Moines Register poll showed the pizza mogul leading the field in Iowa with 23 percent support among likely caucus goers, while Mitt Romney is right behind him with 22 percent. Texas Rep. Ron Paul is third with 12 percent support. FREAK WEATHER At least three deaths have been blamed on the unseasonably early October snowstorm that hit the northeastern U.S. Saturday. A snow-filled tree fell on an 84-year-old man in Pennsylvania. A motorist died in Connecticut, and a third person was killed in Massachusetts, when a man ignored police barricades and touched a metal guard rail that had been charged by downed power lines. The freak storm broke records: New York City was slammed with up to two inches per hour, and Vermont was expected to get 15 inches. But the system is forecast to move out by Sunday afternoon. More than two million customers were without power early Sunday morning, and air travelers remain stranded. STAYING PUT President Obama might be vowing to pull all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of the year, but officials and diplomats tell The New York Times that the administration is planning to boost American troops in the Persian Gulf region even after the withdrawal. This could include new combat forces in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, with an eye on the threat of Iran. OCCUPY Police in Portland, Ore., arrested about 30 demonstrators early Sunday after members of the Occupy Portland movement refused to leave a park. Police began grabbing about 27 to 30 protesters at Jamison Square in an affluent district of the city after midnight when the protesters sat in a circle and refused to leave. There was no violence during the arrests. Earlier Saturday night, about 20 Denver protesters were arrested, while rallies were held across the state of California. | | 
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