(Image source: Flickr/Dave Delay)

BY HARUMENDHAH HELMY

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

In U.S. news — an historic caucus result. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defeated Rick Santorum ... by just eight votes in Iowa. Ron Paul comes in third. Fox News has more on the rankings.

“After a disappointing fifth place finish last night, Texas Governor Rick Perry says he’s going to go home to Texas to rethink things. He’s also canceled some campaign stops that he’s scheduled for today in South Carolina. … The Perry campaign spokesperson said Thursday would be the earliest any decision could be made. And how about Newt Gingrich? Finishing fourth in Iowa, but the former house speaker telling his supporters he looks forward to a great debate in the Republican Party.”

Still in U.S. news -- after finishing sixth in the caucus last night, Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann is ending her presidential campaign. CNN explains.

“We will say for the next week, Mitt Romney must win New Hampshire. Well, the Michele Bachmann dynamic in this campaign was Michele Bachmann must win Iowa to prove she was a viable contender. Not even close, Suzanne. This is a simple case of simple math. She didn’t prove herself in the one place she most needed to prove herself.”

Also, in U.S. news -- President Barack Obama is set to announce a recess appointment to install the chief to a new federal bureau. With the move, Obama is sidestepping the Senate confirmation process -- and MSNBC says one group isn’t going to take it with open arms.

“A breaking news -- the, uh, Republicans aren’t going to be happy about it, President Obama making a recess appointment. He’s going to put Richard Cordray, the former attorney general of Ohio, as chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. … The Senate is on a holiday break. Politico is calling this a defiant display of executive power.”

In world news — after nearly two decades of courtroom battles, an Ecuador appeals court upholds the decision that American oil giant Chevron must pay $18 billion in damages for pollution.

That hefty sum makes it the most expensive environmental lawsuit in history — though Chevron is expected to continue its appeal. euronews has more.

“Chevron was originally found to be liable in February last year and ordered to pay 8.6 billion dollars. But the amount has been more than doubled since the company failed to make an apology which was a stipulation of the first ruling. The accusation is that a subsidiary of Chevron at the time, Texaco, dumped oil-drilling waste in unlined pits, polluting the forest and causing illness in indigenous people.”

In business news — Yahoo! has named PayPal President Scott Thompson as its new CEO. He will be the company’s fourth chief in less than five years. An analyst tells CNBC Thompson has quite a bit to prove.

“I think he’s been a very capable executive at PayPal, but that’s an incredibly different business than what Yahoo! has. He needs to come in and show people that he has a real vision, and that he can execute it.”