Oil above $99 in Asia on Europe's austerity move (AP)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia ? Oil rose above $99 a barrel Tuesday in Asia in sync with gains in regional equity markets after Europe took measures to battle its debt crisis.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up $1 at $99.78 a barrel at midday Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 78 cents to finish at $98.78 on Monday.

European leaders agreed Monday on a new treaty to stop overspending and put an end to the region's crippling debt woes. They also pledged to stimulate growth and employment amid fears of a looming recession. Greece and its bondholders are also inching closer to a deal to significantly cut the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout.

"The announcements in the eurozone helped ease concerns but crude prices are going to be choppy going forward. The market is grappling with a weaker demand scenario and uncertainties in the supply side coming from Iran," said Natalie Robertson, commodities analyst at ANZ Banking Group in Melbourne.

Iran has welcomed international weapons experts into the country in hopes of refuting claims that it is building a nuclear weapon. That eased concerns about possible military action in the region.

Still, Europe plans to embargo Iranian oil this summer to pressure Iran about its nuclear program. If that happens, Iran says it could retaliate by blocking passage through the Persian Gulf, where tankers carry one-sixth of the world's oil exports.

The U.S. is ready to implement sanctions on Iran's central bank that will make it harder for Iran to sell oil. India has however, joined China in saying it will not cut back on crude imports from Iran.

In other energy trading, heating oil rose 2.8 cents to $3.07 per gallon and gasoline futures were up 1.8 cents to $2.89 per gallon. Natural gas fell 6 cents to $2.65 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_as/oil_prices

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Arsenal advances in FA Cup

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updated 8:27 p.m. ET Jan. 29, 2012

LONDON - Arsenal kept its bid to end a seven-year trophy drought on track Sunday, scoring three times in eight second-half minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Villa led 2-0 at halftime on goals by Richard Dunne and Darren Bent, prompting near silence from Arsenal fans still waiting for a trophy to follow the 2005 FA Cup.

The home side got back in the game with Robin van Persie's 54th-minute penalty, tied it on Theo Walcott's lucky rebound and took the lead in the 61st on a second spot kick from Van Persie.

Middlesbrough and Sunderland will replay on Feb. 7 for the right to face Arsenal after drawing their fourth-round match 1-1.

Having avoided a fourth straight defeat, the Gunners are now just three games away from a Wembley final.

"We tried to keep focused and calm," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "It is an opportunity but you could see today how hard the games are."

Arsenal great Thierry Henry missed a late chance after coming on in the 89th for the third appearance of his loan from the New York Red Bulls of MLS, but home fans could still cheer the result.

Robbie Keane, on-loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, provided the cross that led to Dunne's 33rd-minute opener.

Second-tier Middlesbrough led against its local rival when Barry Robson capitalized on some weak defending to smash a 16th-minute volley across goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and in at the far post.

Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill introduced striker Fraizer Campbell at halftime for his first appearance since August 2010, and the former Manchester United trainee stroked in a low shot 14 minutes later following a mistake by Robson.

Campbell had not played for the first team for 500 days because of knee injuries.

Crawley Town, the lowest-ranked side left in this season's FA Cup, was handed a meeting with Premier League club Stoke in Sunday's fifth-round draw.

Liverpool will meet Brighton, Chelsea will host Birmingham, Norwich will host Leicester, Everton will play Blackpool or Sheffield Wednesday, and Bolton will go to the winner of the replay between Millwall and Southampton. Tottenham is at Stevenage.

___

LISBON, Portugal (AP) ? American defender Oguchi Onyewu scored on headers in the 18th and 27th minutes, giving Sporting Lisbon a 2-0 win over Beira Mar in the Portuguese league.

Onyewu received a yellow card in the first minute, then got goals off a corner kick and a free kick from the right flank, both from around the top of the 6-yard box.

He has five goals this season, including four in the league.

___

ROME (AP) ? Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one goal and set up another as AC Milan beat Cagliari 3-0 to move back within one point of first-place Juventus in the Italian league.

Ibrahimovic scored his league-leading 15th goal with a free kick in the 32nd minute, then controlled a ball with his chest to set up Antonio Nocerino's goal in the 39th. Milan captain Massimo Ambrosini scored with his first goal of the season in the 75th.

Inter Milan's league winning streak ended at seven, one short of the club record, with a 1-0 loss at Lecce. Guillermo Giacomazzi scored off a pass from Massimo Oddo in the 40th minute, Inter had two goals called back for offside. Lazio jumped ahead of the Nerazzurri into fourth place.

It was Lecce's first home win of the season and only its fourth overall.

Lazio won 3-0 at Chievo Verona with a first-half goal from Hernanes and two in the final minutes from Miroslav Klose.

Elsewhere, Roma drew 1-1 at home with Bologna to stay sixth. Roma's 21-year-old midfielder Miralem Pjanic equalized with a free kick in the 62nd minute after Bologna captain Marco Di Vaio had scored six minutes earlier.

Also, Genoa beat Napoli 3-2 with two goals from Rodrigo Palacio and one from newly signed Alberto Gilardino to get some revenge for a 6-1 loss to Napoli last month that cost Alberto Malesani his job.

___

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? David Zurutuza lasted only five minutes, but it was long enough to score a double in Real Sociedad's 5-1 rout of visiting Sporting Gijon in the Spanish league.

The 25-year-old midfielder volleyed Antoine Griezmann's cross into the left corner for Sociedad's second-minute opener, and a minute later he scored with another shot from the right side of the area after Carlos Vela had played him clear.

But Zurutuza's dream start took an ugly turn in the fifth minute when he and Sporting defender Gregory Arnolin collided face-to-face while disputing a loose ball.

Granada coach Abel Resino got off to a winning start as his team moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at Real Betis, while Getafe dealt Levante its second home loss of the season with a 2-1 win.

Malaga beat Sevilla 2-1 in an Andalusian derby 2-1 to break a six-game winless run, while third-place Valencia was held to a 2-2 draw at Racing Santander. Atletico Madrid visits Osasuna on Monday.

On Saturday, Real Madrid opened a seven-point lead with a 3-1 win over last-place Zaragoza as Barcelona tied 0-0 at Villarreal.

___

BERLIN (AP) ? Marco Reus led Borussia Moenchengladbach to a 3-0 win at Stuttgart on Sunday to keep his team within a point of the Bundesliga's top three.

Reus sent in a dangerous free kick for Mike Hanke to score with a glancing header in the 31st minute, and then scored himself in the 81st. Igor de Camargo added another three minutes later.

Moenchengladbach remains a point behind league leader Bayern Munich, defending champion Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, who all have 40 points.

Moenchengladbach's first win over Stuttgart since 2005 sent the home team to its fourth league loss in a row.

Earlier Sunday, Mainz scored three goals in the first 17 minutes to beat Freiburg 3-1.

___

PARIS (AP) ? Marseille won its seventh straight game, defeating Rennes 2-1 in the French league as Benoit Cheyrou scored the go-ahead goal from the edge of the penalty area in the 77th minute.

Rennes midfielder Tongo Hamed Doumbia opened the scoring with a 30-yard shot in the 15th, but fifth-place Marseille equalized with an own goal from defender Onyekachi Apam just before halftime.

Ajaccio moved out of the French league's relegation zone by defeating Valenciennes 2-1, its fourth straight victory.

The visitors were down to 10 men in the 73rd when midfielder Paul Lasne was sent off for a second yellow card, but substitute Christian Kinkela scored the winner in stoppage time by curling a shot into the top corner.

Also Sunday, Bordeaux goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso fouled Yannick Sagbo but saved the subsequent penalty to salvage a 0-0 draw against Evian.

___

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) ? Celtic reached the final of Scotland's League Cup for the 29th time with a 3-1 win over Falkirk.

The teams were tied 1-1 until the 56th minute after 17-year-old Falkirk midfielder Jay Fulton equalized Celtic captain Scott Brown's penalty.

Striker Anthony Stokes put Celtic back in front with a 25-yard free kick and tapped Gary Hooper's pass in the 86th to settle the match.

Celtic will meet Kilmarnock in the final at Hampden Park on March 18. Celtic's 14 tournament wins is second only to Rangers' 27.

___

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? Luuk de Jong scored three goals as FC Twente beat FC Groningen 4-1 and moved into second place in the Dutch league.

De Jong headed Twente into the lead in the 14th, converted another cross from Ola John in the 23rd and completed his hat trick in the 58th with another header ? again set up by John.

De Jong then provided the cross headed in by midfielder Leroy Fer in the 66th.

Twente has 39 points, two behind new leader PSV Eindhoven, which beat Vitesse Arnhem 3-1 Friday. AZ Alkmaar lost 2-0 at Roda JC to drop to third.

John Guidetti also got a hat trick to guide Feyenoord to a 4-2 win over Ajax.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Arsenal advances in FA Cup

Roundup: Arsenal kept its bid to end a seven-year trophy drought on track Sunday, scoring three times in eight second-half minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46182135/ns/sports-soccer/

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Wasserman Schultz: Priebus ?cossed the line? comparing Obama to Costa Concordia captain (Washington Post)

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PFT: New Bears GM will have hands full

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Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork is not an easy man to move. That?s especially true this season because you can?t get him off the field.

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com notes that Wilfork played 51.8% of the team?s defensive snaps in 2009. That?s fairly typical for any run-stuffing nose tackle, especially one comically listed at 325 pounds. (He?s probably closer to 400 than 300 pounds.)

In 2010, Wilfork?s snap total went up to 69.8%. By this season, Wilfork was up to 86%. In the AFC title game, Wilfork played 67 of 70 snaps. That?s 95.7%.

You can measure leadership in a lot of ways. Wilfork leads by making his presence known almost every snap. He leads by playing more than younger counterparts like Haloti Ngata.

?He leads the way for us on defense,?? coach Bill Belichick said after the win over Baltimore. ?Vince is obviously our most experienced player and he?s been a great leader, great captain all year. His leadership has been tremendous.?

Wilfork was a valuable rookie on the last Patriots title team in 2004. That was a veteran-laden defense on the tail end of a dynasty. This time is different. This is Wilfork?s defense, Wilfork?s time. Now in his eighth season, the 30-year-old is in that career sweet spot where experience and talent meet up perfectly.

Wilfork?s performance against the Ravens was one for the ages: Six tackles, four hurries, three tackles for loss, and a sack. Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe says Wilfork was double or tripled teamed ten times.

?To be honest with you, Vince was ready last week to play this game,?? linebacker Jerod Mayo said after defeating Baltimore. ?He has a ring and no one else on this defense has a ring. And he just expressed the joy that you would get from winning this game and he?s not a liar.?

We are struck by Wilfork?s versatility. He has played defensive end instead of nose tackle quite a bit in the playoffs. He is rushing the passer in addition to being the team?s best run stopper. He?s even picked off two passes this year. (And he knows what to do with the ball.)

New England?s defensive line has put together its two best performances of the season in successive weeks. In a game where the Patriots struggle to match up with the Giants in many areas, don?t be surprised if New England?s defensive line creates all sorts of problems against a shaky New York offensive line.

Vince Wilfork will be leading the way. You can?t get him off the field, and you can?t block him either.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/29/phil-emery-will-have-his-hands-full-in-chicago/related/

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Is HBO's Horse-Racing Series Luck a Big Gamble? (omg!)

Pick Six. Furlong. Backstretch. Quinella. Trifecta. Daily Double.

These are just a few of the racetrack terms that may be thrown around in HBO's new horse-racing series Luck, which premieres Sunday at 9/8c. From executive producers David Milch and Michael Mann, the gritty show looks at the owners, jockeys and the degenerate gamblers in the horse-racing world.

While the lingo, the setting and the overall story line may feel alien to those who don't frequent one of the more than 100 racetracks around the United States, Milch, the man behind Deadwood and NYPD Blue, says that shouldn't deter viewers from watching. "It's an act of faith," says Milch of creating a series on such a foreign topic. "Your fundamental responsibility is to stay true to the deepest nature and intention of the materials and that's what we did."

Check out photos of Luck

"I think [viewers] can relate to the story the way they relate to any other well-told, dramatic, emotional story," adds Mann. "That's the whole point. If they have a sense of the important things, they'll let the lingo go by, trusting they'll pick it up later."

At its basic level, the premise is simple. Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) has just returned from a stint in prison taking the rap for other unsavory types. Now unable to hold an owner's license due to his criminal record, Ace enlists his driver Gus Demitriou (Dennis Farina) to act as the owner of a fleet-footed horse, now trained by Turo Escalante (John Ortiz). Another trainer, played by Nick Nolte, is also looking to make a splash with a horse sired by one of the greats (think of it as Seabiscuit's baby).

"Although the racetrack is the beating heart, I'd say the show is more of a study of the characters," Milch insists, adding that even the degenerate gamblers, who live race-to-race by handicapping the winners, will be relatable to viewers. A horse owner himself, Milch would even classify himself as one of them. "My dad took me to the track when I was five years old and identified me as a degenerate gambler then, which is a little hard for a 5-year-old to understand," he says with a laugh. "I've been busy figuring out what that meant for the past 60 years."

HBO tries its Luck with David Milch drama starring Dustin Hoffman

Worrying about the audience's ability to understand and relate to the series is only one hoop to jump through for Luck. There's also the high expectations from the people whose real lives color this story. "There are certain parochial responses," Milch says of the racetrackers. "It's like the way people are protective of family, and you don't tell any secrets outside the family. It becomes our responsibility to be truthful in our portrayal. If someone is going to get upset, that becomes their business."

Not unlike his other series, Milch hopes that audiences will find a passionate connection with Luck through "its ups and its downs, and its tragedies and its successes." And he hopes they make it soon. By nature of the horse-racing circuit and when they'd have to start filming again, the producers are already hard at work on what a second season would look like, though HBO has yet to pick up the series. "I would hope to find out over the next week or two," he says.

Will you be tuning in to Luck?

Luck premieres Sunday at 9/8c on HBO. HBO Go users can watch the second outing immediately following the premiere.

Related Articles on TVGuide.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_hbos_horse_racing_series_luck_big_gamble035900320/44334804/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/hbos-horse-racing-series-luck-big-gamble-035900320.html

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McGraw's 'Emotional Traffic' finally hits streets (AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? Tim McGraw's long-delayed album "Emotional Traffic" has the attention of Music Row this week as it finally hits the streets.

The last album in the long, lucrative but contentious relationship between McGraw and Curb Records arrives more than a year late with a fascinating backstory and a little bit of buzz. McGraw isn't actively promoting the album, but it kicks off what promises to be a high visibility year for the country star.

He's currently considering his next move after a judge granted his freedom from his record deal last November. What's already on the schedule is the "Brothers of the Sun" stadium tour this summer with Kenny Chesney and actively recording new songs.

"Emotional Traffic" already indirectly produced a multi-week No. 1 song, "Felt Good on My Lips," which was released against McGraw's wishes on a hits package in 2010. McGraw has called the new album his "best ever" and fan interest is piqued.

"There are a lot of possibilities with this record. It's hard to say," said Wade Jessen, who tracks country music and other charts for Billboard Magazine in Nashville. "I think at least in the public comments Tim has made about it, he's very much a cheerleader for this music, and that may go a long way to making the most emotionally invested fans overlook the fact that it's coming out on a record label Tim has had some issues with. And we know how loyal country music fans are. They like for their artists to be treated fairly and with respect, and if there's any perception otherwise it can guide their decisions."

With legal issues to resolve still, McGraw and Curb executives aren't doing interviews to promote "Emotional Traffic." But McGraw laid the groundwork for a promotional campaign in a few interviews last year. He also previewed a handful of cuts from the album on last year's extremely popular "Emotional Traffic" tour.

In an interview last April, McGraw said he couldn't wait for fans to hear the new album. After recording four or five LPs with his road band, The Dancehall Doctors, McGraw decided to use a different set of musicians on "Emotional Traffic" and looked to open up his sound. He brought in Ne-Yo for a duet as well.

"There are some great players," McGraw said. "A couple of guys from Paul McCartney's band are on this album. Paul Bushnell is on bass, who's one of my favorite bass players ever. The songs are just really fresh and cool. I'm excited."

McGraw's longtime producer Byron Gallimore agrees with McGraw's assessment of the album. He says over the two decades they've worked together, they've used a formula for choosing songs. "Emotional Traffic" continues that trend of not only including country material, but expanding into areas like R&B, pop and rock. McGraw can then use his voice to pull the song back into country territory.

"We're certainly happy with it and feel like it's one of our best," Gallimore said. "I think every time you do another one you feel like it's probably better than the last one, for me personally at least. We've got a great batch of songs on here and I'm just excited that it's getting out there. ... I feel very strongly about this record. I would agree with Tim on that."

Without McGraw's direct help, Curb has had to get creative with its promotion. It's liberally using McGraw's "best ever" quote, for one, enlisting the artist's help at least passively. The label also partnered with NPR's "First Listen" series to stream the album for a week leading up to release. While this practice isn't unusual in the indie rock world, it's a step in a different direction for mainstream country.

There's also a new single "Better Than I Used to Be" moving up the charts, the traditional way to get a fan's attention.

Jessen isn't sure all this will translate into a blockbuster sales week for McGraw, but he suspects McGraw's faithful will be ready to spend some money.

"I think this is a good day for Tim McGraw fans because they've got new music in their hands," Jessen said. "That's the upside of this entire scenario. That's the bottom line."

___

AP writer Caitlin R. King in Nashville contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.timmcgraw.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_en_mu/us_music_tim_mcgraw

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Salvage crews suspend work on capsized ship (Reuters)

GIGLIO, Italy (Reuters) ? Salvage crews preparing to pump thousands of tonnes of diesel fuel and oil from the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the Italian coast suspended work on Saturday after heavy seas made conditions unsafe, officials said.

A barge carrying pumping equipment that was attached to the capsized ship was withdrawn although work may be resumed in the afternoon, depending on conditions.

"The wind conditions and waves of more than a meter have forced us to interrupt work but we'll start up again when conditions improve," said Antonino Corsini, one of the emergency services divers working with Dutch salvage company SMIT.

Despite the interruption the search continued for bodies on the half-submerged vessel, which lies in about 20 metres of water on a rock shelf close to the island of Giglio off the Tuscan coast.

Divers found the body of a woman on Saturday, bringing the total number of known dead to 17.

But with no hope of finding survivors, the focus has switched to preventing an environmental disaster in Giglio, a popular holiday island in a marine nature reserve.

Before the work was suspended, crews were installing valves to help pump out six of the ship's fuel tanks, which contain around half of the more than 2,300 tonnes of diesel.

Pumping, originally expected to begin on Saturday, is expected to be delayed until at least Sunday. The process of extracting all the fuel is expected to take at least 28 days, officials have said.

The Concordia, a 290-metre long floating resort carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, sank more than two weeks ago after it ran into a rock which tore a hole in its hull.

The accident, expected to create the most expensive maritime insurance claim ever, has triggered a legal battle which has seen U.S. and Italian lawyers preparing class action and individual suits against the operator, Costa Cruises.

In a bid to limit the fallout, Costa, a unit of Carnival Corp, the world's largest cruise ship operator, has offered the more than 3,000 passengers $14,500 each in compensation on condition they drop any legal action.

The Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, suspected of causing the accident by steering too close to shore and faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.

The ship's first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, has also been questioned by prosecutors but the company itself has not been implicated in the investigation at this stage.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_italy_ship

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Tired and broke, Santorum heads home to do taxes

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum listens to a question at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum listens to a question at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) ? Rick Santorum is tired, almost broke ? and going home.

The former Pennsylvania senator is leaving Florida just days before the Tuesday primary that even he expects to deal him a third consecutive loss.

Santorum says he would rather spend his Saturday sitting at his kitchen table to do his taxes than campaigning in a state where the race for the Republican presidential nomination has become a two-man fight between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

The cash-strapped candidate acknowledges that he simply can't keep up with the GOP front-runners in Florida.

"We're going to talk about the Constitution and talk about being a strong conservative," Santorum said at an event here this week. "And that's all we can do."

Outside advisers are urging him to pack up in Florida completely and not spend another minute in a state where he is cruising toward a loss.

Santorum seem to be listening. He has yet to announce his primary day schedule but says it was a mistake for him to remain in South Carolina on its primary day.

"We can't let grass grow," he told reporters Thursday. "South Carolina Election Day was sort of a wasted day for us."

But he pledged to continue his campaign regardless of the Florida outcome.

It's a grim period for Santorum, who just three weeks ago was riding high after narrowly winning the Iowa caucuses. The victory was short-lived. He lost big in both New Hampshire and South Carolina.

He faced an uphill battle even before the race turned to Florida. He doesn't have the money to spend on television ads in Florida's expensive media markets. He couldn't compete with the thousands-strong crowds his rivals have been drawing. And he wasn't able to find a moment here that crystalized the rationale for his candidacy.

"Other candidates tell you they need your help," Santorum told Florida Republicans this week ? almost pleaded really. "They're lying. I really need your help."

But help didn't come ? at least in this state ? for a candidate who is visibly exhausted and running on, at most, four hours of sleep each night.

So Santorum is going home to Pennsylvania, which he represented in the Senate, and Virginia, where he lives with his wife and seven children, to get some rest and, he says, prepare his own taxes. He also plans fundraisers in both states as he works to rebuild his campaign account to pay for upcoming contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado.

Santorum also is looking at Arizona and Michigan, which vote at the end of February ? if he makes it that far.

His inner circle of advisers is looking at the campaign checkbook. They say they can keep a lean campaign rolling in case Gingrich or Romney implode.

"This race is just starting. It's a three-man race," Santorum insists. "We're going to be in this race for the long term."

For now, at least, polls show Santorum dramatically trailing in Florida, the largest and most diverse state in the early nominating schedule. And he seems to be coming up short as he tries to win over voters with his everyman persona.

"I wish he had a little more passion in the belly," said Don Waldt, a Punta Gorda retiree who attended a Santorum rally at dusk this week. "He is conservative and authentic. But he isn't on top and doesn't seem to have a clear path to the top."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-27-Santorum/id-14637f3d930c4651a8183f50aa1140b3

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This R2-D2 Rug Would Look Great In the Emperor's Throne Room [Desired]

I don't know why Pottery Barn only sells this lovely graphic print R2-D2 rug on their 'Kids' site. I would happily put one in every room of my home, and I suspect I'm not alone. More »

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Abbott cuts 700 jobs from device and testing unit (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Medical device and drugmaker Abbott Laboratories said Wednesday it will lay off 700 employees as part of ongoing restructuring efforts.

A company spokeswoman said most of the layoffs will affect employees who manufacture the company's heart stents and diagnostic tests. Abbott has seen a decline in orders for artery-opening stents, ahead of the expiration of a supply agreement with medical device rival Boston Scientific Corp. Abbott currently sells a version of its Xience stent to Boston Scientific, which pays a 40 percent royalty on sales. Boston Scientific recently replaced that device with its own in-house stent, Promus Element.

About 300 of the eliminated positions are at the company's stent business in Southern California. Less than 200 others involve the company's diagnostic business in Lake County, Illinois. Other layoffs affect the company's pharmaceutical manufacturing operation in Puerto Rico, among other places. Employees were notified of the cuts by their managers, according to Abbott spokeswoman Adelle Infante.

Abbott has been restructuring its operations for several years, laying off about 1,900 pharmaceutical division employees this time last year. About 1,000 of those terminated positions were in Illinois.

News of the layoffs came several hours after Abbott reported a 12 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit Wednesday, as the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira continued to dominate the company's performance with double-digit sales growth.

In October, Abbott surprised investors and analysts with the announcement that it would spin off its branded drug business, including Humira. Company executives said the split would allow investors to separately value Abbott's businesses, which also include baby formula, generic drugs and medical implants.

Wednesday's results highlighted the rationale for the split, with top-selling drug Humira dominating the company's results, contributing $2.18 billion, or over 20 percent, of sales.

While Humira has been the key to Abbott's growth, it has also a weighed on the company's stock, overshadowing performance of its other businesses. The drug, which is used to treat psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, loses patent protection in 2016, and no obvious successor has appeared in the company's pipeline. The split-up frees Abbott from the risks and obligations of developing innovative pharmaceutical drugs, leaving the company with a more predictable business built around nutritional formula, generic drugs and heart stents.

Abbott earned $1.62 billion, or $1.02 per share, up from $1.44 billion, or 92 cents per share, in the prior-year period. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $1.45 per share, up from $1.30 in the same period a year earlier. Total company sales grew 4.1 percent to $10.38 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet expect fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.44 on revenue of $10.59 billion.

For 2012, the North Chicago, Ill., company expects to earn $4.95 to $5.05 per share, compared with the average analyst estimate of $5.02 per share.

The company's branded drug business posted sales of $4.78 billion for the period, an increase of 6.7 percent. The business, which includes the cholesterol drugs Trilipix and Niaspan among other treatments, is scheduled to become a separate business before the end of 2012. The new company will have revenue of roughly $18 billion.

Among Abbott's remaining businesses, generic drugs slipped 4.6 percent to $1.39 billion. Nutritionals rose 8.6 percent to $1.56 billion while sales of the company's stents and other heart devices were roughly flat at $826 million.

Company shares fell 75 cents to close at $55.23 Wednesday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_abbott_laboratories

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Newtastic! (talking-points-memo)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/191311960?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Convicted fraudster admits try to kill NY witness (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The architect of a $100 million mortgage fraud scheme admitted on Monday to attempting to arrange the murder of a witness who testified against him at trial.

Aaron Hand, 40, pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree conspiracy to commit murder before Acting Supreme Court Justice Laura Ward in Manhattan.

"The defendant's actions strike at the heart of the justice system," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "Nothing is more important than the safety of witnesses, and my office will do everything in its power to ensure their safety."

Hand is serving a prison sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years for racketeering, grand larceny, fraud, and conspiracy. He faces a further 8- to 16-year term when he is due to be sentenced on February 6.

His lawyer, Kevin Canfield, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Prosecutors declined to identify the threatened witness.

Hand was convicted in July 2010 of masterminding a mortgage fraud scheme, following an investigation that eventually led to the indictment of 27 defendants from all corners of the real estate industry, all of whom either were convicted or pleaded guilty.

According to prosecutors, in 2011, Hand met in prison with an undercover investigator posing as a hit man, and tried to hire him to murder an unidentified witness for $2,000.

Prosecutors said Hand was caught on tape giving instructions to the undercover "hit man" on how to kill the witness -- and, if necessary, his wife and child -- without leaving evidence.

Hand created his company, Long Island-based AFG Financial Group, solely to defraud lending banks of millions of dollars while taking advantage of low-income homebuyers, according to prosecutors. The company located distressed properties and recruited straw buyers -- people who had excellent credit but little cash -- to purchase them.

Hand used phony appraisals, forged documents, and false loan qualifications for the buyers to secure financing, with the aid of corrupt bank and mortgage lender employees, appraisers, lawyers, and real estate agents, according to prosecutors.

The company kept most of the bank's loan money, allowing the properties to be foreclosed upon and leaving the straw buyers with ruined credit and no return on their investment, prosecutors said.

(Editing by Daniel Trotta)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/us_nm/us_newyork_murder_for_hire

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Giffords a reality check in chamber of politics (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The chair between Reps. Jeff Flake and Raul Grijalva stood empty at last year's State of the Union address, reserved for their colleague, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. They could hardly have imagined that just one year later she would actually be able to join them one more time.

The two Arizona lawmakers said it was an emotional ride watching Giffords enter the House for only the second time since she was shot in the head last January and just one day before she tenders her resignation so that she can focus on her recovery.

"There was a bit of sadness, but it was kind of uplifting to see what this young woman has done to get herself where she is now. I have nothing but admiration for what's she's done," said Grijalva, a Democratic lawmaker who represents an adjacent congressional district in Southern Arizona.

Giffords was greeted with cheers of "Gabby, Gabby" from many of her colleagues after entering the House chamber. Flake watched as Supreme Court justices, cabinet members and President Barack Obama greeted her. Obama gave Giffords a long embrace and the two swayed from side to side as they hugged.

"It was just a very special experience to be there," said Flake, a Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate seat that Giffords may have challenged him for had she not been wounded. "Knowing what she has gone through, it's just incredibly special. We all know she has given 100 percent."

Limping a little, Giffords beamed around the chamber and raised her left hand to wave. Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, approached with two bags of chocolate, which Giffords took, grinning.

She looked to the gallery to wave at her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. When First Lady Michelle Obama took her seat next to him, she waved, too.

She has inspired gestures of bipartisanship. Last year, in the tender days after the shooting, members of both parties sat together across the chamber, rather than Democrats to the president's right and Republicans to his left. Many lawmakers did the same this year.

Throughout the speech, Flake, sitting at Giffords' side, repeatedly helped her stand as her fellow Democrats applauded Obama. Grijalva said he sensed that she was getting tired toward the end of the night.

Giffords' presence may be the only element about the event above politics.

Obama used the highest-profile pulpit in the land to reclaim the spotlight from Republicans battling for the right to face him in the general election. He was speaking to a Congress cranky after a year of the bitterest partisan fighting in recent memory.

But the political subtext seems trivial compared with the wrenching journey Giffords has traveled from the shooting a year ago in Tucson to the House chamber Tuesday night. The shootings left six dead, Giffords recovering from a bullet wound to the head and 12 others injured.

She has since regained a halting ability to speak and walk on her own. She was so disgusted about the way Congress was handling the debate over whether to raise the nation's debt ceiling in August that she made a surprise appearance in the House chamber to cast her vote.

Giffords earned a reputation as someone who tried to reach common ground with her opponents. Grijalva said that even she would have struggled over the past year.

"One of her wonderful legacies is she tried to build consensus. With the emergence of the tea party in the House, she herself would have found it difficult to gain consensus," Grijalva said.

Still, Flake said he believes her example had helped lawmakers to strive to work together more, at least within the Arizona delegation.

Giffords will vote on one last bill, a measure she co-authored to impose tougher penalties on smugglers who use small, low-flying aircraft to avoid radar detection and bring drugs across the Mexican border.

Her office said in a press release that she will then submit her resignation letter.

Giffords' ends her resignation letter with the words: "Every day I am working hard. I will recover and will return and we will work together again for Arizona and for all Americans."

___

Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_go_co/us_state_of_the_union_color

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Pacers trip up cold-shooting Lakers (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The Indiana Pacers took advantage of an ice-cold Los Angeles Lakers side with a 98-96 victory on Sunday, inflicting a third successive loss the home team.

Indiana overcame a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter, beating the Lakers for the second straight time at the Staples Center after ending a 14-game skid there just last season.

Roy Hibbert played through a broken nose suffered in the first half and had 18 points and eight rebounds, knocking down six straight points in the final quarter to pull the Pacers within one with six minutes left.

Hibbert sustained the nose injury while fouling Kobe Bryant in the first quarter but returned in the second to lead the charge.

"Valiant effort by Hibbert. He really carried us in the second half," Pacers coach Frank Vogel told reporters. "This is what our team is all about, a balanced attack."

Danny Granger added 16 to help the Pacers (11-4) close strong and Indiana finished with six players in double figure scoring.

Los Angeles still led 94-91 in the final two minutes but Hibbert and Darren Collison scored consecutive field goals to put the visitors ahead.

The Lakers, struggling woefully on offense this season, missed four shots in a row, including a potential game-tying three-pointer from Kobe Bryant in the last seconds.

The Lakers (10-8) have scored 100 points just once this season and have become one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA.

Bryant, the league's leading scorer, had 33 points on 14-for-30 shooting but it was not enough to keep Los Angeles from falling a game behind the cross-town Clippers in the Pacific Division.

Andrew Bynum chipped in 16 and eight rebounds for Los Angeles.

The Lakers were coming off road losses to Miami and Orlando and were hoping to recover at home.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/sp_nm/us_nba_lakers

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Ask Engadget: Are there UK-based Voicemail to SMS / email alternatives?

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Nish, who needs to replace his voicemail to SMS/email system due to Ribbit Mobile's forthcoming closure. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"Hi there, I've been using Ribbit Mobile for the past few years for voicemail -- the voicemail to SMS/email function is brilliant. However, the beta trial is ending on the 31st January with no immediate plans to go live. Do you know of any UK-based alternatives for voicemail to SMS/email systems I can switch to? Thanks!"

So guys, come help out a brother from the motherland with your suggestions for digital telephony transcription, any Brits out there find Google Voice to be the answer? Is there something only a few of you know about that'll change the world? If you're in an animal home, sat down on your own, why not share your knowledge in the comments below.

Ask Engadget: Are there UK-based Voicemail to SMS / email alternatives? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/21/ask-engadget-are-there-uk-based-voicemail-to-sms-email-alternat/

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Jobs, re-election frame Obama's State of the Union

President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at the Apollo Theatre in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at the Apollo Theatre in the Harlem neighborhood of New York. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Vilified on the campaign trail by Republicans, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night with a State of the Union address designed to reframe the election-year debate on his terms, suggesting a stark contrast with his opponents on the economy and promising fairness and help for hurting families.

Obama is expected to offer new proposals to make college more affordable, to ease the housing crisis still slowing the economy, and to boost American manufacturing, according to people familiar with the speech. He will also promote unfinished parts of his jobs plan, including the extension of a payroll tax cut soon to expire.

In essence, this State of the Union is not so much about the year ahead as the four more years Obama wants after that.

Obama's splash of policy proposals will be less important than what he hopes they all add up to: a narrative of renewed American security. Obama will try to politically position himself as the one leading that fight for the middle class, with an overt call for help from Congress, and an implicit request for a second term from the public.

The timing comes as the nation is split about Obama's overall job performance. More people than not disapprove of his handling of the economy, he is showing real vulnerability among the independent voters who could swing the election, and most Americans think the country is on the wrong track.

So his mission will be to show leadership and ideas on topics that matter to people: jobs, housing, college, retirement security.

The White House sees the speech as a clear chance to outline a vision for re-election, yet carefully, without turning a national tradition into an overt campaign event.

On national security, Obama will defend his foreign policies but is not expected to announce new ones on Iran or any other front. He will ask the nation to reflect with him on a momentous year of change, including the end of the war in Iraq, the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests of peoples clamoring for freedom.

But it will all be secondary to jobs at home.

In a winter season of politics dominated by his Republican competition, Obama will have a grand stage to himself, in a window between Republican primaries. He will try to use the moment to refocus the debate as he sees it: where the country has come, and where he wants to take it.

In doing so, Obama will come before a divided Congress with a burst of hope because the economy ? by far the most important issue to voters ? is showing life.

The unemployment rate is still at a troubling 8.5 percent, but at its lowest rate in nearly three years. Consumer confidence is up. Obama will use that as a springboard.

The president will try to draw a contrast of economic visions with Republicans, both his antagonists in Congress and the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.

The foundation of Obama's speech is the one he gave in Kansas last month, when he declared that the middle class was a make-or-break moment and railed against "you're on your own" economics of the Republican Party. His theme then was about a government that ensures people get a fair shot to succeed.

That speech spelled out the values of Obama's election-year agenda. The State of the Union will be the blueprint to back it up.

Despite low expectations for legislation this year, Obama will offer short-term ideas that would require action from Congress. His travel schedule following his speech, to politically important regions, offers clues to the policies he was expected to unveil.

Both Phoenix and Las Vegas have been hard hit by foreclosures. Denver is where Obama outlined ways of helping college students deal with mounting school loan debt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Detroit are home to a number of manufacturers. And Michigan was a major beneficiary of the president's decision to provide billions in federal loans to rescue General Motors and Chrysler in 2009.

For now, the main looming to-do item is an extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, both due to expire by March. An Obama spokesman called that the "last must-do item of business" on Obama's congressional agenda, but the White House insists the president will make the case for more this year.

If anything, Republicans say Obama has made the chances of cooperation even dimmer just over the last several days. He enraged Republicans by installing a consumer watchdog chief by going around the Senate, which had blocked him, and then rejected a major oil pipeline project the GOP has embraced.

Obama is likely, once again, to offer ways in which a broken Washington must work together. Yet that theme seems but a dream given the gridlock he has been unable to change.

The State of the Union atmosphere offered a bit of comity last year, following the assassination attempt against Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. And yet 2011 was a year of utter dysfunction in Washington, with the partisanship getting so bad that the government nearly defaulted as the world watched in embarrassment.

The address remains an old-fashioned moment of national attention; 43 million people watched it on TV last year. The White House website will offer a live stream of the speech, promising graphics and other bonuses for people who watch it there, plus a panel of administration officials afterward with questions coming in through Twitter and Facebook.

__

AP deputy director of polling Jennifer Agiesta and Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-21-Obama-State%20of%20the%20Union/id-98a57cd809d54ed2955e09cf799fa001

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Is it legal and or possible to turn an owned PS2 game to a PC or ...

ps2 emulaters have too many problems. I don't know of a software that can convert it to a computer playable format. I use wine to make a pc app usable on a mac.

' }

It's not likely. You're better off looking into emulation but since that kind of thing is disputed by many forums etc. I'd be loathe to link you directly but you will likely need an emulator, drivers to use your specific hardware and a BIOS from the aforementioned Sony console.

Most cross platform games are changed over at the code stage - It would be easier to start afresh knowing what the game does and reverse engineer it.

Legal, probably, as long as you legally own a copy. Possible? Gooooood luck with the coding.

It isn't legal if the copyright or terms of use prohibit this, but if its for your own use and your not sharing the information or the game for free or profit, then they likely won't even know you've done anything.

Source: http://www.instructables.com/answers/Is-it-legal-and-or-possible-to-turn-an-owned-PS2-g/

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Wildfire near Reno destroys more than 20 homes (AP)

RENO, Nev. ? A brush fire fueled by 82 mph wind gusts burned more than 20 homes Thursday and forced thousands of people to evacuate their neighborhoods before firefighters stopped the flames' surge toward Reno.

About 2,000 people remained under evacuation orders late Thursday as 250 firefighters battled the blaze, said Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez, who warned that a full assessment might reveal even more damage.

There was one fatality in the fire area, Hernandez said, but he declined to provide more details, saying an autopsy would be needed to determine the cause of death.

The fire, of unknown origin, broke out shortly after noon in a valley along U.S. Highway 395. Soon, more than 10,000 people were told to flee their homes.

The blaze quickly grew to nearly 6 square miles and was eerily similar to another unusual winter fire that destroyed 30 homes in southwest Reno two months ago.

By nightfall, the fire had burned to the city's southern outskirts. Flames were visible from the downtown casino district, about 10 miles away.

"The area burned is absolutely devastated," Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley said.

The wind died down after nightfall and rain started falling, much to the delight of fire crews who stopped the flames' forward progress at Galena High School, where Vice President Joe Biden had been speaking just a few hours earlier.

The strong winds coming across the Sierra ahead of a winter storm had already delayed Biden's visit to the school on the south end of town.

With the smell of smoke in the air, Biden was about 25 minutes into his address when aides summoned him off stage. He told the audience he would have to move onto a question-and-answer period before officials "made me get out of here."

Hernandez later held a briefing at the high school, but it was evacuated along with surrounding neighborhoods shortly afterward.

About 300 elementary school students were taken to an evacuation center, and deputies went door to door asking people to leave their homes in Pleasant Valley, Old Washoe Valley and Saint James Village, Washoe County sheriff's Deputy Armando Avina said.

Erika Minnberry, 28, said she didn't become concerned at first because smoke from the fire appeared far enough away.

"Probably 30 minutes later, it was up to our house because of the high winds," she said. "I felt pure survival adrenaline. When we drove away, the smoke was so thick, we could barely see ahead of us. Now I feel anxiety. I couldn't find my two cats at the time and I hope they're OK."

With zero containment, firefighters were concentrating on using crews and trucks to protect homes in the path of the flames, Hernandez said earlier Thursday.

He estimated firefighters had saved about 1,000 structures and said another 80 to 120 firefighters were expected to arrive to help before midnight.

"To say we are in the thick of battle is an understatement," he told reporters.

Hernandez said the fire was "almost a carbon copy" of a huge wild fire on the edge of the Sierra foothills that destroyed 30 homes in southwest Reno in November. It burned about 3 square miles and also forced the evacuation of 10,000 people.

"It's inconceivable that this community has been struck by tragedy again," said Gov. Brian Sandoval, who declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon.

As with the November fire, which was sparked by downed power lines, strong winds and dry conditions helped fuel the latest blaze. The Reno area had gone a winter-record 56 days without any precipitation until light snow fell earlier this week.

"There's a lot of dry trees," Avina said. "We're battling with Mother Nature and these winds."

More wet weather was forecast Friday, and snow was forecast Friday night. But high winds were expected to continue, with gusts up to 40 mph.

About 2,300 homes in the area were without power Thursday night.

Thomas Young, 48, a freelance writer, said he had just gotten out of the shower at his Pleasant Valley home when the power went out. Draped in only a towel, he looked out a window and saw his barn on fire and flames up to his backyard.

"Right away the flames went up a power line, and I said, `We have to get out of here,'" Young said. "We put two dogs and two kids in the car and drove away about three minutes later. Unfortunately, I think my house is burned down from what I saw."

The flames, up to 40 feet high, raced through sage brush, grass and pines in an area where small neighborhoods are dispersed among an otherwise rural landscape. Washoe County animal services officials helped round up horses and other livestock for evacuation.

Part of U.S. 395 was closed as heavy smoke reduced visibility to zero, and an 11-mile stretch of the highway would remain closed indefinitely, Hernandez said.

___

Associated Press writers Martin Griffith in Reno and Sandra Chereb in Carson City contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_us/us_reno_brush_fire

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South Carolina Primary Goes To Newt Gingrich

Mitt Romney had a sizable lead going into the week only to fall short to the onetime House speaker.
By Gil Kaufman

Newt Gingrich
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

If it weren't clear before, the results of the South Carolina primary Saturday night (January 21) made it crystal that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is in for the fight of his political life in his quest to nab the Republican presidential nomination. After holding on to a double-digit lead as recently as Tuesday, Romney came up short in South Carolina, defeated by a surging Newt Gingrich.

Buoyed by two solid debate appearances this week, former House Speaker Gingrich managed to turn the tide in the first contest in the South, proving once again that the party faithful are not yet willing to fall into lockstep and give Romney a smooth ride to the nomination. Gingrich pulled off the upset victory despite a potentially crushing distraction Thursday in the form of an ABC News interview with his second ex-wife. In it, Marianne Gingrich claimed the ex-congressman had asked her to agree to an open marriage so he could carry on an affair with his now-third wife.

Romney started the week with a solid lead, but the distance between him and Gingrich shrunk in the days before the primary. In addition, on Thursday, the race was scrambled thanks to a trio of unforeseen events that further muddied the waters.

First, Republican leaders in Iowa announced that the final count in that state's caucus revealed that Romney's eight-point win over Rick Santorum was actually a 34-point loss, which handed the former Pennsylvania senator a pyrrhic victory in that first-in-the-nation contest. A short time later, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced he was suspending his campaign and would be throwing his support behind Gingrich, which could solidify the former House leader's draw to the all-important bloc of Evangelical Christian voters. The third shoe to drop was the ABC interview.

By Friday night, a Romney adviser told CNN the race was "real tight," even as a Gingrich staffer predicted a victory after the candidate came in fourth place in the two previous primaries. Santorum and Libertarian candidate Congressman Ron Paul were in a fight for third place at press time. Before results were announced, CNN reported that exit polls show the most important quality for Republican voters is that a candidate can beat President Obama.

Experts told MTV News that if Romney landed his second win in a row, he might take the wind out of Gingrich's sails and get one step closer to a virtual lock on the nomination should he win the next test, the January 31 primary in Florida. A further black cloud over the Gingrich win for Romney: The winner of the S.C. primary has gone on to secure the Republican nomination in every election since 1980.

Long considered the front-runner and likely nominee, Romney has gone from looking like he would win an unprecedented three primaries in a row to start the season to just one victory and continuing questions about his appeal to the party's conservative base. Though his campaign continues to be far ahead of the rest of the field in fundraising, even if Romney can pull it out, the constant battering of his image and résumé by his rivals for the nomination could leave him deeply scarred by the time the general election rolls around.

According to Fox News, the bigger problems for Romney, though, based on some early exit polls from South Carolina, are that voters are concerned about his moderate stance on some issues and his Mormon faith. Romney is vying to be the first Mormon Republican presidential candidate.

With another close loss behind him, Romney turns his attention to Florida, a state that has proved pivotal in the last three elections and one that is now a virtual must-win in order to keep his campaign steaming forward.

For the second time in this election, Gingrich has stampeded back into the game and political experts said that his effort is, even if it goes no further, is one of the finest examples of political savvy in memory.

Check back for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary races and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.

Related Videos

• Barnstorming The Iowa Caucus With Andrew Jenks
• New Hampshire Primary Sparks Youth Conversation

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1677687/south-carolina-primary-newt-gingrich.jhtml

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Iran says in touch with powers on new talks, EU denies it (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran said on Wednesday it was in touch with big powers to reopen talks soon but the European Union denied this, and Britain said Tehran would have to show it was serious if it wanted to avoid more EU sanctions over suspicions it is seeking nuclear weapons.

A year after the last talks fell apart, confrontation is brewing as the EU prepares to intensify sanctions against Iran with an embargo on its economically vital oil exports.

EU diplomats said on Wednesday that member governments had also agreed in principle to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank alongside the planned oil embargo, but had yet to agree how to protect non-oil trade from sanctions.

Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, used for a third of the world's seaborne oil trade, if it cannot sell its own crude, fanning fears of a descent into war in the Gulf that could inflame the Middle East.

Iranian politicians said U.S. President Barack Obama had expressed readiness to negotiate in a letter to Tehran, a step that might relieve tensions behind recent oil price spikes.

"Negotiations are going on about venue and date. We would like to have these negotiations," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters during a visit to Turkey.

"Most probably, I am not sure yet, the venue will be Istanbul. The day is not yet settled, but it will be soon."

A spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, representing the six powers, denied there were any fresh discussions with the Islamic Republic to organize a meeting.

"There are no negotiations under way on new talks," he said in Brussels. "We are still waiting for Iran to respond to the substantive proposals the High Representative (Ashton) made in her letter from October." Iran has yet to respond formally.

SERIOUS NEGOTIATIONS

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Iran had to be ready for serious negotiations. "It is significant that when we are discussing additional sanctions in the European Union an offer of negotiations emerges from Iran," he said.

"We will not be deterred from imposing additional sanctions simply by the suggestion there may be negotiations. We want to see actual negotiations," he told a news conference in Brazil.

"In the absence of such meaningful negotiations, of course, the pressure for greater peaceful but legitimate pressure will continue," he said, referring to a meeting on Monday of EU ministers that will discuss an oil embargo on Iran.

Iran denies wanting nuclear bombs, saying its enrichment work is for power generation and medical applications.

Washington has yet to respond to the Iranian suggestions of talks. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday only that the U.S. military was fully prepared to deal with any threats by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Ashton wrote to Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili to stress that the West still wanted to resume talks but Iran must be ready to engage "seriously in meaningful discussions" about ways to ensure its nuclear work would be wholly peaceful in nature.

The Islamic Republic has insisted in sporadic meetings over the past five years that talks focus on broader international security issues, not its nuclear program.

PROTRACTED IMPASSE

The last talks between Iran and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - along with Germany stalled in Istanbul a year ago, with the parties unable to agree even on an agenda.

Since then, a U.N. nuclear watchdog report has lent weight to concern that Iran has worked on designing a nuclear weapon. Washington and the European Union have turned to extending hitherto modest sanctions in place since 2006 to target Iranian oil.

EU foreign ministers are expected to approve a phased ban on imports of Iranian oil at the meeting on January 23 - three weeks after the United States passed a law that would freeze out any institution dealing with Iran's central bank, effectively making it impossible for most countries to buy Iranian oil.

"On the central bank, things have been moving in the right direction in the last hours," one EU diplomat said on Wednesday. "There is now a wide agreement on the principle. Discussions continue on the details."

Iran has said it is ready to talk but has also started shifting uranium enrichment to a deep bunker where it would be less vulnerable to the air strikes Israel says it could launch if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear drive.

Western diplomats say Tehran must show willingness to change its course in any new talks. Crucially, Tehran says other countries must respect its right to enrich uranium, the nuclear fuel which can provide material for atomic bombs if enriched to much higher levels than that suitable for power plants.

Russia, a member of the six power group that has criticized the new EU and U.S. sanctions, said the last-ditch military option mooted by the United States and Israel would ignite a disastrous, widespread Middle East war.

"On the chances of whether this catastrophe will happen or not you should ask those who repeatedly talk about this," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow.

"I have no doubt that it would pour fuel on a fire which is already smoldering, the hidden smoldering fire of Sunni-Shi'ite (Muslim) confrontation, and beyond that (it would cause) a chain reaction. I don't know where it would stop."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking during a visit to the Netherlands on Wednesday, repeated his view that "Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, period."

Earlier in the day, his Defense Minister Ehud Barak said any decision about an Israeli attack on Iran was "very far off."

THREATS, FRIENDSHIP

China, which shares Russia's dislike of the new Western moves to stop Iran exporting oil, said U.S. sanctions that Obama signed into law on December 31 had no basis in international law.

Iranian politicians said Obama had written to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responding to Tehran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions prevent it selling oil.

Several members of Iran's parliament who discussed the matter on Wednesday said it included the offer of talks.

"In this letter it was said that closing the Strait of Hormuz is our (U.S.) 'red line' and also asked for direct negotiations," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted lawmaker Ali Mottahari as saying.

"The first part of letter has a threatening stance and the second part has a stance of negotiation and friendship."

Washington has often said it has a dual-track approach to Iran, leaving open the offer of talks while seeking ever tighter sanctions as long as Tehran does not rein in its nuclear work.

But any fresh opening to Tehran might be a risky strategy for Obama in an election year as aspiring Republican presidential challengers compete over who is toughest on a country Washington has long considered a pariah state.

(Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Chris Buckley in Beijing, Phil Stewart in Washington, Alexei Anishchuk in Moscow, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels, Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem, Fredrik Dahl in Vienna and Estelle Shirbon in London; Anthony Boadle in Brasilia; Writing by Robin Pomeroy and David Stamp; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/wl_nm/us_iran

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