WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney's lead over rival Newt Gingrich edged up to 12 percentage points in Florida, according to Reuters/Ipsos online poll results on Sunday, as Romney's front-runner status stabilized and Gingrich continued to slip.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and private equity executive, was supported by 42 percent of likely Florida voters surveyed in the online three-day tracking poll, just down from 43 percent in the same poll on Saturday. Romney was at 41 percent on Friday.
But with just two days before the state's primary on Tuesday, Gingrich's support was at 30 percent, down from 32 percent in Saturday's results and 33 percent on Friday.
The gap between the two was 11 percent when poll respondents were asked about a hypothetical head-to-head race between the rivals in the race for the Republican presidential nomination to oppose President Barack Obama in the general election in November.
If the race were between Romney and Gingrich only, Romney would be at 55 percent to Gingrich's 44 percent, according to the Sunday's results. On Saturday the gap between the two was eight percentage points and on Friday it was just two, when respondents were asked the same question.
"Newt Gingrich's position in the primary race is really starting to lose support," said Chris Jackson, research director for Ipsos Public Affairs.
The poll results, similar to those of several other surveys, illustrated Romney's remarkable turnaround since South Carolina's primary on January 21, which Gingrich won in a surprise upset.
"Gingrich got a big boost out of South Carolina, but he's losing that," said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak.
"It's clear that Romney's run a much more focused and effective campaign in Florida than Newt," he said. "Newt's playing defense every single day in every way and doesn't seem to be able to make Romney play defense."
Romney had two strong debate performances this week and has jumped to a solid lead over Gingrich, whom he had trailed in earlier opinion polls in Florida. He has taken steady aim at Gingrich on the debate stage and in attack ads as a politician who left government under an ethics cloud and has remained a Washington insider ever since.
GINGRICH FACES TOUGH FEBRUARY
Romney has a solid advantage in money and organization over Gingrich in Florida, and the month ahead does not look much better for the former speaker as the state-by-state race for the Republican nomination continues.
Four states with February contests - Nevada, Maine, Colorado and Minnesota - use caucus systems, which can require greater organization to rally voter turnout. That could help Romney take advantage of his superior financial and staff resources.
On February 28, Michigan and Arizona hold primaries. Romney was raised in Michigan, where his father was a governor and car executive.
"February does not look like a good month for Newt," Mackowiak said.
But his failure to gain more support among likely voters in Florida's primary, which is limited only to registered Republicans, shows that Romney is still not electrifying the party faithful. "He's not the guy that everyone loves and rallies behind," Jackson said. "He's not getting that huge rally of support."
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum trailed well behind with 16 percent support, the same as Saturday's level. Santorum seemed to be gaining momentum as an "alternate" to Romney. Thirty-eight percent of likely voters said he would be their second choice if their first choice left the race, up from 33 percent on Saturday and 30 percent on Friday.
But it is probably too close to the January 31 vote to make a difference, Jackson said.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who is not campaigning in Florida, was at 6 percent.
Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online surveys, but this poll of 726 likely voters in the Florida primary has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points for registered voters.
Sunday's Reuters/Ipsos survey is the third of four daily tracking polls being released ahead of Tuesday's Florida primary.
(Reporting By Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Sandra Maler)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) ? China intends to establish Shanghai as the global centre for yuan trading, clearing and pricing over the next three years as part of broader plans to make the commercial hub an international financial centre by 2020.
The plan for Shanghai's financial innovations through 2015, published jointly by the country's economic planning agency and the Shanghai government on Monday, set goals on a wide range of areas aimed at further developing Shanghai, though some analysts said many of them appeared ambitious.
"This anticipated pace of development looks a bit quick to me," said Frances Cheung, a strategist at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong.
China wants to transform Shanghai into an international financial centre on par with the likes of New York and London by 2020. That goal was set in 2009 by the State Council and analysts have taken it as a broad deadline for liberalizing the currency.
The state economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, outlined a series of goals under the 2015 yuan plan.
These included making the daily yuan mid-point published by the central bank in the onshore yuan market serve as the benchmark for both domestic and foreign yuan trading markets.
Currency traders interpreted the statement partly as a message from Beijing that the yuan's movements, which have increasingly been influenced by the offshore market over the past few months, should be decided by the government.
"There have been recent developments that have put Hong Kong's offshore market in the spotlight from time to time, such as its pricing of the yuan quite differently from the onshore market," said a trader at a European bank in Shanghai.
"In this sense, the NDRC statement is published at a sensitive time and means the government once again wants to emphasize that it has the final say in the value of the yuan."
The plan also aims to make the government-backed Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor) the benchmark for yuan credit everywhere and targeting to more than double the annual non-forex financial market trading volume to 1,000 trillion yuan by 2015.
While the plan lacked details on how China would achieve these targets, analysts were skeptical on the feasibility of some of the planks in the platform.
"Shibor is not even a very well established benchmark onshore," Cheung said. Markets currently use the government's seven-day repurchase rate as the lending benchmark.
Analysts said the NDRC's plan gave no fresh insight into how quickly China would liberalize its capital account, a crucial step in Shanghai's attempt to become a global money hub.
China has taken a series of measures over the past two years to invigorate the offshore yuan market in Hong Kong as part of a longer-term plan to promote the use of the yuan overseas and make it a fully-convertible and international reserve currency along with the U.S. dollar.
Earlier this month, Britain said it was teaming up with its former colony to secure London a top spot as an offshore trading centre for the yuan.
The NDRC's plan would not threaten Hong Kong's current position as the main offshore yuan centre, analysts said.
"Promoting Shanghai as an onshore yuan centre complements Hong Kong's growing role as an offshore yuan center, and should help to strengthen the circle of onshore-offshore yuan flows underpinning the yuan trade settlement process," said Donna H J Kwok, economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.
China will also encourage overseas companies to sell yuan-denominated shares in its domestic stock markets, but the plan did not give a detailed timetable.
Authorities have been discussing launching a so-called "international board" on the Shanghai stock exchange for listing foreign companies' shares, seen as a centerpiece for the 2020 goal, but the city's mayor said this month that the time was not currently right for its launch.
Shanghai will explore M&A opportunities involving overseas stock exchanges to increase its global clout, the NDRC's plan said without elaborating.
(Additional reporting by Zhou Xin in Beijing, Saikat Chatterjee in Hong Kong and Lu Jianxin in Shanghai; Editing by Jason Subler)
The space shuttle Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986, with its seven-member crew was the most traumatic disaster of its type in history. It occurred before a live audience, broadcast around the world in real time.
While the causes of the disaster have been covered ad infinitum, there were some little noted reactions that bear touching on.
President Ronald Reagan Addresses the Nation
On the day the Challenger was destroyed, President Reagan was putting the finishing touches on the State of the Union speech. It had been hoped he would be able to mention the space shuttle mission, which would have been in orbit at the time, with Christa McAuliffe, the teacher in space.
Instead, Reagan gave another speech, in a televised address to the nation recorded at the Teaching American History page. The speech, one of the most moving of his presidency, had everything a memorial speech should have. It touched on the sacrifices of the crew and the importance of the space program. It had a historical reference to Francis Drake, who died at sea. It ended with a quote from "High Flight," the greatest aviation poem ever written. He said that the Challenger crew had "slipped the surly bonds of Earth" to "touch the face of God."
Three days later, Reagan journeyed to the Johnson Spaceflight Center in Houston to give another comforting speech, this time to the bereaved space workers who felt keenly the devastating loss. He had something fitting to say about each of the fallen Challengers. He gave the requisite vow to continue the space program and to not give up exploration in the face of tragedy.
The Challenger Center
In an attempt to turn tragedy into something positive, the families of the Challenger crew, particularly June Scobee (now June Scobee-Rogers), herself a teacher, created the Challenger Center for Space Flight Education. There are Challenger Centers across the U.S., in Canada, Great Britain and South Korea. The mission of the Challenger Center is to further science education through a variety of programs, including training teachers in the art of teaching science.
Challenger Memorials
There are a number of Challenger Memorials, including one at Arlington National Cemetery and a Space Shuttle Memorial Park near the Johnson Spaceflight Center. The film "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" contained a tribute, "The cast and crew of Star Trek wish to dedicate this film to the men and women of the spaceship Challenger whose courageous spirit shall live to the 23rd century and beyond..." Seven asteroids were named for each of the Challenger crew. According to NASA, craters on the moon have also been named after the Challenger Seven.
Mark R. Whittington is the author ofChildren of ApolloandThe Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times, and The Weekly Standard.
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Prostate cancer screening and treatment decisions must act on evidence, not beliefsPublic release date: 25-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jerry Berger jberger@bidmc.harvard.edu 617-667-7308 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Current screening system may cause more harm than good
BOSTON Physicians advising men whether to be screened for prostate cancer with a PSA test must rely more on available evidence when recommending screening, biopsies and treatments rather than long held beliefs that PSA-based testing is beneficial for all, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center prostate expert Marc B. Garnick, MD, says.
Writing in the February edition of Scientific American, Garnick states the current system that relies on prostate-specific antigens levels in the blood is "deeply flawed," and physicians must take into account the fact "the PSA test does not tell you if a man has cancer, just that he might have it."
The recent US Preventative Services Task Force's assessment of studies published in 2009 shows more harm than good results from PSA testing, and that evidence favors moving away from aggressive early treatment for all and toward a more cautious, individualized approach an approach currently underway at BIDMC.
"Most people outside the medical community do not realize how flimsy evidence has been in favor of the PSA screening data," says Garnick, who is also an editor-in-chief of Harvard Medical School's Annual Report on Prostate Diseases and associated website.
"In a perfect world, a screening test would identify only cancers that would prove lethal if untreated. Then, men who had small, curable cancers would be treated, and their lives would be saved. Ideally, the treatments would not only be effective, they would have no serious side effects. Such a scenario would justify massive screening and treatment of everyone with a positive test."
However, doctors currently do not have a reliable way to determine which of these small cancers, caught by biopsy, are potentially dangerous and which would not cause harm throughout a man's lifetime. Moreover, all of the current treatments carry significant risks and long term side effects.
Despite successfully preventing a single death from prostate cancer, the number of men who would have to be treated and potentially suffer the consequences of treatment to achieve this prompted the Task Force to recommend against wide spread PSA testing for all men without symptoms of prostate cancer. according to Garnick.
In two studies from 2009, one conducted in Europe and the other in the US, healthy men in their 50s and 60s were randomly divided into two groups; one was periodically screened for prostate cancer using PSA testing or a digital rectal exam, or both. The other group was not offered routine testing, but received standard medical care as needed.
The European study showed that only the men who were tested and treated for prostate cancer had a 20 percent likelihood of dying from the disease, while neither study showed if the men who were tested and treated lived any longer than those who were not offered routine testing. Such a decrease in prostate cancer mortality was not found in the U.S. study.
In the European study, researchers then determined that in order to save one life from prostate cancer, approximately 1,400 men would have to undergo screening, which would result in 48 having to undergo treatment. The remaining 47 could suffer serious side effects, such as incontinence and impotence, as a result of radiation or surgery.
"The overall death rate from all causes was not statistically different in both the screened and unscreened groups," says Garnick. "Unfortunately, the mortality data collected over the past 25 years shows that the natural history of prostate cancer is not as straightforward as my colleagues and I once believed. Many cancers will never cause problems during the patient's lifetime, and hence do not need to be treated, at least immediately."
Results from a long-term Canadian study indicate that the death rate from the disease for men who elect active surveillance, or choosing to delay treatment after a PSA test led to the diagnosis of cancer is 1 percent over 10 years, compared with a 0.5 percent risk of dying from complications in the first month after prostate cancer surgery.
"The point is that the initial decision to forgo treatment is not necessarily the final one. Surgery, radiation and other therapies are still available later on, and most current data indicate that the outcome will not be negatively affected by the delay. Such an approach is improving our ability to tailor treatments for individuals rather than always treating everyone the same," says Garnick.
The outcomes of this decision indicate that doctors and patients need to be clear about their knowledge, and lack of knowledge, from a scientific point of view especially as we discuss these issues with our patients. "We need to have the courage to act on the evidence and not just our beliefs," says Garnick.
###
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and currently ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org .
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Prostate cancer screening and treatment decisions must act on evidence, not beliefsPublic release date: 25-Jan-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jerry Berger jberger@bidmc.harvard.edu 617-667-7308 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Current screening system may cause more harm than good
BOSTON Physicians advising men whether to be screened for prostate cancer with a PSA test must rely more on available evidence when recommending screening, biopsies and treatments rather than long held beliefs that PSA-based testing is beneficial for all, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center prostate expert Marc B. Garnick, MD, says.
Writing in the February edition of Scientific American, Garnick states the current system that relies on prostate-specific antigens levels in the blood is "deeply flawed," and physicians must take into account the fact "the PSA test does not tell you if a man has cancer, just that he might have it."
The recent US Preventative Services Task Force's assessment of studies published in 2009 shows more harm than good results from PSA testing, and that evidence favors moving away from aggressive early treatment for all and toward a more cautious, individualized approach an approach currently underway at BIDMC.
"Most people outside the medical community do not realize how flimsy evidence has been in favor of the PSA screening data," says Garnick, who is also an editor-in-chief of Harvard Medical School's Annual Report on Prostate Diseases and associated website.
"In a perfect world, a screening test would identify only cancers that would prove lethal if untreated. Then, men who had small, curable cancers would be treated, and their lives would be saved. Ideally, the treatments would not only be effective, they would have no serious side effects. Such a scenario would justify massive screening and treatment of everyone with a positive test."
However, doctors currently do not have a reliable way to determine which of these small cancers, caught by biopsy, are potentially dangerous and which would not cause harm throughout a man's lifetime. Moreover, all of the current treatments carry significant risks and long term side effects.
Despite successfully preventing a single death from prostate cancer, the number of men who would have to be treated and potentially suffer the consequences of treatment to achieve this prompted the Task Force to recommend against wide spread PSA testing for all men without symptoms of prostate cancer. according to Garnick.
In two studies from 2009, one conducted in Europe and the other in the US, healthy men in their 50s and 60s were randomly divided into two groups; one was periodically screened for prostate cancer using PSA testing or a digital rectal exam, or both. The other group was not offered routine testing, but received standard medical care as needed.
The European study showed that only the men who were tested and treated for prostate cancer had a 20 percent likelihood of dying from the disease, while neither study showed if the men who were tested and treated lived any longer than those who were not offered routine testing. Such a decrease in prostate cancer mortality was not found in the U.S. study.
In the European study, researchers then determined that in order to save one life from prostate cancer, approximately 1,400 men would have to undergo screening, which would result in 48 having to undergo treatment. The remaining 47 could suffer serious side effects, such as incontinence and impotence, as a result of radiation or surgery.
"The overall death rate from all causes was not statistically different in both the screened and unscreened groups," says Garnick. "Unfortunately, the mortality data collected over the past 25 years shows that the natural history of prostate cancer is not as straightforward as my colleagues and I once believed. Many cancers will never cause problems during the patient's lifetime, and hence do not need to be treated, at least immediately."
Results from a long-term Canadian study indicate that the death rate from the disease for men who elect active surveillance, or choosing to delay treatment after a PSA test led to the diagnosis of cancer is 1 percent over 10 years, compared with a 0.5 percent risk of dying from complications in the first month after prostate cancer surgery.
"The point is that the initial decision to forgo treatment is not necessarily the final one. Surgery, radiation and other therapies are still available later on, and most current data indicate that the outcome will not be negatively affected by the delay. Such an approach is improving our ability to tailor treatments for individuals rather than always treating everyone the same," says Garnick.
The outcomes of this decision indicate that doctors and patients need to be clear about their knowledge, and lack of knowledge, from a scientific point of view especially as we discuss these issues with our patients. "We need to have the courage to act on the evidence and not just our beliefs," says Garnick.
###
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and currently ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org .
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Steven Tyler's version of the national anthem might not have qualified him for his own show, "American Idol."
By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
"American Idol" judge Steven Tyler found his own musical talents being judged Sunday after the Aerosmith frontman?sang the national anthem at Sunday's AFC Championship football game in Foxborough, Mass.
Aerosmith is a Boston-based band, so choosing Tyler to sing at the New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens?contest seemed like a perfect choice. Tyler even showed his hometown team pride,?clad in a sequined Patriots scarf. But some are still complaining about his rendition, which featured his trademark raspy scream.
Sports blog Deadspin.com was blunt about its verdict, headlining a post "Steven Tyler's 'Star-Spangled Banner' was terrible, but was it the worst ever?"
The?Huffington Post complained that?Tyler "had trouble hitting the signature high note."
ESPN commentator Skip Bayless had even more criticism for Tyler, saying in a tweet: "How could Patriots be inspired by that awful anthem sung by Steven Tyler? At least give him some screaming guitars to camouflage voice."
FOX News panelist Greg Gutfeld wasn't a fan, either, tweeting: "I went outside to put a raccoon out of its misery - then?I realized my neighbor was watching Steven Tyler sing the Star-Spangled Banner."
Some complained that Tyler tweaked the lyrics in several places, including singing "as bomb bursting in air" instead of "the bombs bursting in air" and appearing to sing "oh the land of the free" instead of "o'er the land of the free."
But others appreciated Tyler's rendition. Country singer Jason Michael Carroll tweeted?that he felt Tyler rocked the anthem, adding "I knew 'the scream' was coming! (Tyler) is always amazing!"
What did you think? Watch Tyler's rendition for yourself, and tell us on Facebook.
Stand on the shoulders of giants? Pshaw, how about on the hands and heads of 180,000 very tiny people. This incredible art piece lets you do the latter and look down upon your new helpful friends. More »
Belgrade, Serbia ? Croatia voted in favor of European Union membership in Sunday?s referendum, showing that for most Croats, membership in the economically troubled union still offers hope of economic and political progress for the Balkan nation.
With almost all the ballots counted, the electoral commission announced that 67 percent had voted in favor of joining the bloc, with about 33 percent against. The result confounded recent surveys suggesting that the referendum would be very close. But an approximate turnout of 45 percent suggests that only three in ten Croatian voters are enthusiastic enough about EU membership to have gone to the polling stations to express their support.
On the eve of the referendum, an anti-EU demonstration in Zagreb attended by activists including war veterans turned violent, as demonstrators clashed with police, leading to several arrests.
Croatia is now expected to join the EU on July 1, 2013, subject to the approval of all existing member states.
RELATED: Think you know Europe? Take our geography quiz.
Most of Croatia?s political class and the mainstream parties have strongly backed membership, which President Ivo Josipovic has called ?a turning point in our history.? Accession is expected to bring a range of benefits, including increased access to generous EU funding and improved freedom of movement and employment opportunities for Croatians within and beyond the member states.
Prior to the referendum, campaigners in favor of EU membership argued that a "no" vote would cost Croatia some ?1.8 billion ($2.3 billion) in EU funding over the next three years ? cash that the country sorely needs to revive its economy, flagging like much of the EU.
Accession is also of great symbolic importance to Croatia, bringing to a close its painful post-Communist era, during which it suffered economic collapse, fought a bloody war for independence from Yugoslavia, and became embroiled in the Bosnian conflict.
Croatia is only the second former Yugoslav state to join the EU, after Slovenia, which joined in 2004. Slovenia and Croatia were the two most affluent nations in Yugoslavia, but the former only suffered a brief ten-day war of independence in 1992.
While Croatia prepares to join the EU club of liberal democratic nations, most of its neighbors remain stuck in the slow lane towards membership. In December, EU members voted against starting accession talks with Serbia, which now looks unlikely to join this decade. Bosnia, hopelessly politically divided, is even further from membership, as is Albania. Even tiny Montenegro, a relative success story, is several years from joining.
Given the practical and symbolic benefits of entry to the EU, Croats' lack of enthusiasm for membership ? and the existence of a sizable, vocal minority that is vehemently opposed ? may seem strange.
One reason is the political and economic malaise afflicting the EU and the euro. Many Croats feel uncertain about the EU?s direction and its future. Accession will put Croatia on track to adopt the troubled euro, although not until 2015 or later.
However, some of the most ardent opposition is unrelated to the EU?s present funk. Nationalists, some of them veterans who fought for independence, fear a loss of sovereignty and identity. Fishermen are concerned about opening Croatia?s waters to Italian competitors and small business owners worry about greater regulation from Brussels.
The experience of other post-Communist EU member states, such as Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary has not been entirely positive. The three have clashed with Brussels over economic policy, reform, and corruption. Hungary in particular has butted heads with Brussels in recent weeks over new laws governing the country's media, courts, and central bank, which prompted the EU to threaten to withhold a loan.
?Croatia joining is certainly positive for the EU, but people see that the benefits of membership may have been overstated,? says Pawel Swidlicki, an analyst at London-based think tank Open Europe, which favors a more economically liberal, decentralized EU.
?They see the current situation with the eurozone crisis and the fiscal pact and worry that they may lose out. After the war, they are reluctant to give up sovereignty. The fisheries policy has been a disaster, and Croatia is a maritime nation, while the EU places a heavy burden on SMEs [small and medium enterprises] in particular. But overall, people in Croatia do see the benefits of membership.?
While the consensus is that both the EU and Croatia will benefit from the Balkan country's accession, conventional wisdom also says that the process is unlikely to be painless.
MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Russian liberal opposition leader Grigory Yavlinsky could be barred from running against Vladimir Putin in a presidential election after officials said Monday there were problems with his registration as a candidate.
Opinion polls show Yavlinsky has no chance of winning the March 4 election but the refusal to let him run would be a slap in the face for leaders of protests by tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding fair elections and political reform.
Central Election Commission officials told Russian news agencies there were errors in about a quarter of the 2 million signatures of support Yavlinsky had submitted as a requirement to enter the election, much higher than the permitted amount.
A final decision on his candidacy is expected to be announced by the commission later this week or next.
Reducing the number of candidates could improve Putin's chances of winning the election in the first round, avoiding a run-off he would face if he does not receive at least 50 percent of the votes cast.
"This is a totally political decision," Yavlinsky, 59, told a news conference, a view shared by other opposition leaders and representatives of the Yabloko party he co-founded.
Yabloko leader Sergei Mitrokhin wrote in a blog: "Putin will decide this matter himself."
Mitrokhin suggested Putin did not want Yavlinsky to run because it could take votes from billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, a liberal contender who he said was backed by Putin.
Mitrokhin also indicated that Yabloko representatives would be unable to monitor the election if Yavlinsky, who has twice run for president and lost, did not take part.
Election officials said Monday Prokhorov's candidacy had been confirmed after he submitted enough signatures.
PUTIN FACES CRITICISM
As independent candidates, Prokhorov and Yavlinsky had to collect 2 million signatures. Candidates from parties in parliament, such as Communist Gennady Zyuganov and nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, did not have to meet this requirement.
Prokhorov, whose assets in an $18-billion business empire include the New Jersey Nets, has dismissed rivals' allegations that he is a Kremlin tool who has been allowed to run to split the opposition and give the election an air of legitimacy.
Putin, 59, was president for eight years from 2000 and ushered his ally, Dmitry Medvedev, into the post in 2008 because the constitution barred him from a third successive term. Putin became prime minister but remained Russia's dominant leader.
Opinion polls suggest Putin will easily win the election but his image has been dented by unusually large protests in Russia since a parliamentary election on December 4 which independent monitors say was slanted to favor his United Russia party.
Tens of thousands of people have taken part in protests since then, mainly in Moscow and St Petersburg, to demand the election be rerun, the election commission chief dismissed and more opposition parties registered.
Human Rights Watch, an international rights monitor, said in its annual report released Sunday that Putin's decision to run for a six-year, third term as president cast a shadow over prospects for political reforms.
It also said pro-government parties had benefited from "disproportionate access to media and abuse of administrative resources."
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Primary day at hand, fast-climbing Newt Gingrich told South Carolinians on Saturday that he was "the only practical conservative vote" able to stop front-runner Mitt Romney in the GOP presidential race. Romney acknowledged the first-in-the-South contest "could be real close" and prepared for an extended fight by agreeing to two more debates in Florida, next on the election calendar.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum braced for a setback and looked ahead to the Jan. 31 contest after getting the most votes in Iowa and besting Gingrich in New Hampshire. Texas Rep. Ron Paul made plans to focus on states where his libertarian, Internet-driven message might find more of a reception with voters; his campaign said it had purchased a substantial ad buy in Nevada and Minnesota, which hold caucuses next month.
The first contest without Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who dropped out this past week and endorsed Gingrich, was seen as Romney's to lose just days ago. Instead, the gap closed quickly between the Massachusetts governor who portrays himself as the Republicans best positioned to defeat President Barack Obama and Gingrich, the confrontational former House speaker from Georgia.
Romney avoided a run-in with Gingrich at Tommy's Country Ham House, where both had scheduled campaign events for the same time. Romney stopped by the breakfast restaurant 45 minutes ahead of schedule. When Gingrich arrived, just minutes after Romney's bus left the parking lot, he said: "Where's Mitt?"
Earlier, Gingrich had a message for voters during a stop at The Grapevine restaurant in Boiling Springs not long after the polls opened: Come out and vote for me if you want to help deny Romney nomination.
He told diners who were enjoying plates of eggs and grits that he was the "the only practical conservative vote" to the rival he called a Massachusetts moderate. "Polls are good, votes are better," he said.
Gingrich also said he would put a stop to federal actions against South Carolina's voter ID and immigration laws.
Romney's agreement to participate in Florida debates Monday in Tampa and Thursday in Jacksonville was seen as an acknowledgement of a prolonged battle with Gingrich.
"This could be real close," said Romney as he chatted on the phone with a voter Saturday morning and urged the man to go vote.
Romney still has significant advantages over his three remaining Republican rivals, including an enormous financial edge and a well-organized campaign.
But with his Iowa victory now rescinded, losing in South Carolina would be a setback that could draw the primary contest out much longer. Just 10 days ago, Romney's campaign team was looking ahead to the general election as it anticipated a quick sweep in early primaries.
By Saturday, state Treasurer Curtis Loftis, a top Romney backer, was on an automated telephone message attacking Gingrich's ethics record in Congress, while Romney's wife, Ann, was on a separate one urging voters to consider the candidates character.
"Look at how they've lived their life," she says. "And that's why I think it's so important to understand the character of a person."
Before the ham house standoff that wasn't, Romney stood outside his Greenville headquarters and undertook a new attack on Gingrich. He called on Gingrich to further explain his contracts with Freddie Mac, the housing giant, and release any advice he had provided to the company. He has said the contracts earned two of his companies more than $1.6 million over eight years, but that he only pocketed about $35,000 a year himself.
`I'd like to see what he actually told Freddie Mac. Don't you think we ought to see it?" Romney said.
It was another response to pressure on Romney to release his tax returns before Republican voters finish choosing a nominee.
A day earlier, Romney had called on Gingrich to release information related to an ethics investigation of Gingrich in the 1990s. Gingrich argues that GOP voters need to know whether the wealthy former venture capital executive's records contain anything that could hurt the party's chances against Obama.
Romney has said he will release several years' worth of tax returns in April. Gingrich has called on him to release them much sooner. On Saturday, Romney refused to answer questions from reporters about the returns and whether his refusal to release them had hurt him with South Carolina voters.
Gingrich, buoyed by Perry's endorsement as he left the race Thursday, has called Romney's suggestion about releasing ethics investigation documents a "panic attack" brought on by sinking poll numbers.
The stakes were high for Saturday's vote. The primary winner has gone on to win the Republican nomination in every election since 1980.
It's very important, but it's not do or die," Paul told Fox News
Some of South Carolina's notorious 11th-hour devilry ? fake reports in the form of emails targeting Gingrich and his ex-wife Marianne ? emerged in a race known as much for its nastiness as for its late-game twists.
"Unfortunately, we are now living up to our reputation," said South Carolina GOP strategist Chip Felkel.
State Attorney Gen. Alan Wilson ordered a preliminary review of the phony messages to see if any laws had been broken.
Gingrich's ex-wife burst into the campaign this week when she alleged in an ABC News interview that her former husband had asked her for an "open marriage," a potentially damaging claim in a state where the Republican primary electorate includes a potent segment of Christian conservatives. The thrice-married Gingrich, who has admitted to marital infidelities, angrily denied her accusation.
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Associated Press writers Beth Fouhy and Thomas Beaumont contributed to this report from South Carolina.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - The scores look absolutely ridiculous. 14-0. 13-0. The two most lopsided wins in the history of the U.S. women's soccer team. One of the few lively things about the second game was the constant chant of "Ju-das" directed at the player who scored five second-half goals.
The United States took it to Guatemala 13-0 Sunday to clinch a berth in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the London Olympics. It was a great game for statisticians and for those who think the Americans need to learn to chill when they have a big lead.
Nothing doing. Not as long as the stunning loss to Mexico in a World Cup qualifier in late 2010 remains fresh on their minds.
"We understand that 14-, 13-goal games can be looked down upon by some of our viewers, our fans, by fans of other countries," said Abby Wambach, who scored twice in the first half. "But the truth is we didn't get our job done the last qualifying tournament, and this is a statement that we're making to the rest of the world, we're making to our region, and we can't take any game for granted. We have to play hard, play physical and respect the game. That's why the results are the results you've seen."
Wambach moved into third on the career goals list for women's international soccer with 129, ahead of Germany's Birgit Prinz (128) and behind only Mia Hamm (158) and Kristine Lilly (130). The only active player in the 31-year-old forward's range is Canada's Christine Sinclair with 125 - including five in this tournament.
On pace to catch her in a hurry - if Sunday is any indication - is newcomer Sydney Leroux, who replaced Wambach at halftime and scored five goals in just her second cap with the U.S. team. Leroux was born and raised in Vancouver area but has an American father and has opted to play for the U.S. over Canada, prompting the boos and the "Judas" chants from some of the locals whenever she touched the ball.
"I know that there are some people who don't respect my decision," Leroux said. "And there are some people who do. And not everyone's going to like you, and I feel like you have to have some enemies in life or else you're not doing something right. I'm happy where I am. I'm happy to wear this jersey, and that's how it is."
Leroux's five-spot ties her with Wambach, Brandi Chastain, Michelle Akers, Tiffeny Milbrett and Amy Rodriguez for the most goals by a U.S. player in a game. Rodriguez accomplished the feat in the 14-0 win over the Dominican Republic on Friday, also as a second-half substitute.
Leroux's goals came in the 48th, 51st, 57th, 70th and 87th minutes. She is the only member of the roster who didn't play for the U.S. in last year's World Cup.
"I heard that some people were booing me," Leroux said. "But then I think after the fourth goal they stopped."
When told they didn't, she answered: "No? Well, they should've."
The big wins provided the Americans a comfortable goal-differential cushion that will allow them to win their group even if they tie their final group game, a much-anticipated rematch against Mexico on Tuesday. The Mexicans have outscored their opponents 12-0 after two games, including a 7-0 win over the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
Sunday's games capped four days of noncompetitive soccer, with the top four teams at the tournament outscoring the bottom four by a combined score of 51-0. Now come the matchups that truly matter: Canada-Costa Rica on Monday, followed by U.S.-Mexico the next day to determine the winners of the respective groups - and the matchups for the do-or-die semifinals that will produce the two teams headed to London.
It was at the semifinal stage that the Americans stumbled against Mexico in 2010, forcing the U.S., the top-ranked team in the world, into a playoff just to get into the World Cup in Germany.
Looking to rest some of her top players for the upcoming games, Sundhage made six changes to the starting lineup from Friday's game. One of the changes, of course, involved defender Ali Krieger, who tore ligaments in her right knee against the Dominicans and is likely out for the Olympics.
Lori Lindsey got her first U.S. goal with a header in the 34th minute. Also in on the scoring were Lauren Cheney (24th), Rodriguez (29th), Carli Lloyd (33rd), Megan Rapinoe (75th) and Alex Morgan (83rd).
Wambach's goals looked effortless against an overmatched Guatemalan team that routinely left players unmarked in the box. All she needed was a casual tap to beat goalkeeper Maricruz Lemus in the 12th minute after a lead pass from Rapinoe, and she had plenty of open net to head down Cheney's free kick two minutes later and move ahead of Prinz - a player Wambach once thought she would never catch.
"That's true - I didn't. And I'm shocked that I have," Wambach said. "The later on in our career, the stats do start piling up, and the awards come and all of it, but the truth is our team is playing well right now."
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Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MOSCOW?? A failed Russian probe designed to travel to a moon of Mars but stuck in Earth orbit is due to come crashing down within the hour, creating a shower of fragments that could survive the fiery re-entry.
The unmanned Phobos-Grunt probe is one of the heaviest and most toxic space derelicts ever to crash to Earth, but space officials and experts say the risks are minimal, as its orbit is mostly over water and most of the probe's structure will burn up in the atmosphere anyway.
Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said that Phobos-Grunt ("Phobos-Soil") will crash between 12:50 and 1:34 p.m. ET. Other sources suggested re-entry might come even earlier than that window. The probe could come down anywhere along an orbit that would place it over the Pacific Ocean, South America, the Pacific and southern Europe. The rest of the world, including the U.S. and Canada, is outside the risk zone.
"The resulting risk isn't significant," said Heiner Klinkrad, head of the European Space Agency's Space Debris Office that is monitoring the probe's descent.
He couldn't say where exactly the probe may enter the atmosphere, but said that "most of Europe is excluded from an impact risk."
Roscosmos predicts that only between 20 and 30 fragments of the Phobos probe with a total weight of up to 440 pounds (200 kilograms) will survive the re-entry and plummet to Earth.
Klinkrad agreed with that assessment, adding that about 100 metric tons of space junk fall on Earth every year. "This is 200 kilograms out of these 100 tons," he said.
Thousands of pieces of derelict space vehicles orbit Earth, occasionally posing danger to astronauts and satellites in orbit, but as far as is known, no one has ever been hurt by falling space debris.
Phobos-Grunt weighs 13.5 metric tons (14.9 English tons), and that includes a load of 11 metric tons (12 tons) of highly toxic rocket fuel intended for the long journey to the Martian moon of Phobos. It has been left unused as the probe got stuck in orbit around Earth shortly after its Nov. 9 launch.
Roscosmos says all of the fuel will burn up on re-entry, a forecast Klinkrad said was supported by calculations done by NASA and ESA. He said the craft's tanks are made of aluminum alloy that has a very low melting temperature, and they will burst at an altitude of more than 60 miles (100 kilometers).
"These tanks are expected to release the fuel above 100 kilometers, and then the fuel is going to burn in the atmosphere and later the tanks are going to burn up themselves as well," Klinkrad told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his office in Berlin.
More space news from msnbc.com
Will pop icons make music video in space?
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Pop music's reigning power couple, Jay-Z and Beyonce, are welcome to make a video in space, Virgin Galactic says. They can even bring their daughter along.
Get involved in a global night-sky checkup
Space junk problem brought into public view
Why you can't see sci-fi movie filmed in space
The space era has seen far larger spacecraft to crash. NASA's Skylab space station that went down in 1979 weighed 85 tons (77 metric tons), and Russia's Mir space station that deorbited in 2001 weighed about 143 tons (130 metric tons). Their descent fueled fears around the world, but the wreckage of both fell far away from populated areas.
The $170 million Phobos-Ground was Russia's most expensive and the most ambitious space mission since Soviet times. The spacecraft was intended to land on the crater-dented, potato-shaped Martian moon, collect soil samples and fly them back to Earth, giving scientists precious materials that could shed more light on the genesis of the solar system.
Russia's space chief has acknowledged the Phobos-Ground mission was ill-prepared, but said that Roscosmos had to give it the go-ahead so as not to miss the limited Earth-to-Mars launch window.
Its predecessor, Mars-96, which was built by the same Moscow-based NPO Lavochkin company, also suffered an engine failure and crashed shortly after its launch in 1996. Its crash drew strong international fears because there were 7 ounces (200 grams) of plutonium onboard. The craft eventually showered its fragments over the Chile-Bolivia border in the Andes Mountains, and the pieces were never recovered.
The worst ever radiation spill from a derelict space vehicle came in January 1978 when the nuclear-powered Cosmos 954 satellite crashed over northwestern Canada. The Soviets claimed that the craft completely burned up on re-entry, but a massive recovery effort by Canadian authorities recovered a dozen fragments, most of which were radioactive.
Phobos-Grunt also contains a tiny quantity of radioactive cobalt-57 in one of its instruments, but Roscosmos said it poses no threat of radioactive contamination.
The spacecraft also carries a small cylinder with a collection of microbes as part of an experiment by the California-based Planetary Society that designed to explore whether they can survive interplanetary travel. The cylinder is attached to a capsule that was supposed to deliver Phobos ground samples back to Earth.
It's not clear whether or not that capsule would be destroyed during re-entry, but the chances that it will ever be found are extremely low.
This report includes information from The Associated Press and msnbc.com.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For some time now I have been infatuated with the idea of witch hunters (primarily the interest grew from an old character of mine from the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and just became my own little brainchild) and I thought to myself "Self: wouldn't it be interesting to see what a group of modern day hunters would be like?" and thus this idea was brought to life.
The concept of the game would revolve around rooting out the evils that have been making themselves known in the modern world: vampires, werewolves, cults dedicated to summoning evil gods and whatnot... basically anything evil needs to be eliminated before they become a threat. Characters would not start off knowing each other and would be brought together for a common goal in eradicating the monsters that threaten to plague our world.
I would be using a lot of information from the D20 Modern books such as classes, races, etc and characters would be free to model their characters any way they feel like.
I am still debating on playstyle however, wondering if I should have character sheets of the players (written ones) and keep track of their skills and the like and make DM rolls during larger or more integrated moments of the campaign.
Please let me know if this interests anyone and what concerns you may or may not have.
2011 has come to an end and somewhat surprisingly, Hulu has not changed owners. Following what has become a quarterly habit, CEO Jason Kilar has taken up his blogging pen to recount the company's successes. Hulu Plus has grown to include 1.5 million paying subscribers, which he expects will make up more than half of Hulu's business later this year, while adding 105 percent more content. Expect that trend to continue, with plans to invest $500 million or so in content next year. Of course, this may not do much for those dissatisfied with its ad-supported business model and windowing of content, but right now the focus seems to be on pleasing content owners, who he claims can profit more per subscriber with Hulu than any other service. Check the post for more details and feel free to speculate in the comments what 2012 may hold for the video streaming site -- our money is still on a surprise buyout by Lycos.
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, former U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate John Edwards leaves federal court after an appearance in Greensboro, N.C. Edwards has a serious heart condition that will require a medical procedure next month and his illness limits his travel including for an upcoming court case over possible campaign violations, his doctor told a judge, who delayed the trial. Federal Judge Catherine Eagles did not disclose the exact nature of Edwards' illness Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, or what procedure he needed. However, she said the two-time presidential candidate had "three episodes" and indicated his condition could be life-threatening if left untreated. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2011 file photo, former U.S. Sen. and presidential candidate John Edwards leaves federal court after an appearance in Greensboro, N.C. Edwards has a serious heart condition that will require a medical procedure next month and his illness limits his travel including for an upcoming court case over possible campaign violations, his doctor told a judge, who delayed the trial. Federal Judge Catherine Eagles did not disclose the exact nature of Edwards' illness Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, or what procedure he needed. However, she said the two-time presidential candidate had "three episodes" and indicated his condition could be life-threatening if left untreated. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) ? Ex-presidential candidate John Edwards has a serious heart condition that will require a medical procedure next month and his illness limits his travel including for an upcoming court case over possible campaign violations, his doctor told a judge, who delayed the trial.
Federal Judge Catherine Eagles did not disclose the exact nature of Edwards' illness Friday or what procedure he needed. However, she said the two-time presidential candidate had "three episodes" and indicated his condition could be life-threatening if left untreated.
A cardiologist for the 58-year-old ex-North Carolina senator wrote two letters about his condition to Eagles, who talked about them during a hearing to consider whether the trial on six felony and misdemeanor counts should begin this month. Eagles said jury selection will now start March 26, at the earliest.
Edwards is taking medication and is scheduled to undergo a procedure in February from which it will take several days to recover, Eagles said. She did not describe what the episodes involved or if the procedure would require unclogging arteries or other common treatments. The doctor's letters and other medical records have been kept under seal by the court.
"The public has an interest in a speedy trial," Eagles said from the bench. "Ordinarily, I would try to manage something like this. But clearly there are some limitations on Mr. Edwards due to real and serious health issues."
His doctor had recommended he not drive or travel, but at the judge's request, Edwards was in court. He didn't appear to have any outward signs of illness, though he was without his usual quick smile or bounce in his step.
The trial has already been delayed twice, including a continuance granted so Edwards could attend his eldest daughter's wedding.
Prosecutors took no position on whether the judge should grant the delay due the defendant's health condition, but said they were ready to try Edwards. He is accused of concealing nearly $1 million in cash and checks from wealthy donors used to help hide his pregnant mistress during his 2008 White House run.
Edwards's legal team and spokespeople have been mum about his condition since his diagnosis last month, declining repeated requests for comment on his condition, including after the hearing.
Known for being telegenic Edwards had customarily entered the federal courthouse through the public entrance, where a group of reporters and cameramen assemble. But on Friday, he took steps to slip through unnoticed. A court security officer indicated he had come and gone through a back door.
Two years ago, Edwards confessed he fathered a baby born to his ex-mistress. He had long denied the girl, Frances Quinn Hunter, was his, even after he admitted cheating on his wife with the child's mother, Rielle Hunter. Hunter had been hired before Edwards' 2008 White House campaign to shoot behind-the-scenes video of him.
Edwards' confession came ahead of the release of a book by former aide Andrew Young. The book described how Edwards worked to hide his paternity with the help of his married aide.
Shortly before the 2008 presidential primaries began, Young stepped forward to claim that he ? not Edwards ? was the child's father. But there were suspicions at the time that the fiercely loyal aide was taking the fall for his boss.
The child was conceived in mid-2007, while Edwards was running for the White House, and around the time he was renewing his vows after 30 years of marriage.
After Edwards admitted fathering Hunter's child, Elizabeth Edwards separated from him and filed for divorce. She died in December 2010 from incurable breast cancer that was first diagnosed in 2004, a day after the Democratic ticket that included John Edwards as the vice presidential candidate lost to George W. Bush.
The Edwardses were law school sweethearts who married just days after they took the bar exam together in the summer of 1977. They had four children together, including a son who died at age 16. Although the couple had separated, John Edwards was at her side around the clock as her health deteriorated. He did not speak at her funeral.
Edwards made millions as a trial lawyer before beginning his political career with a successful 1998 Senate campaign.
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Online:
AP interactive - ?http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2011/edwards
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Follow AP writer Michael Biesecker at twitter.com/mbieseck
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Public release date: 25-Jan-2012
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