After Florida primary, it's Nevada ? and a rough month for Newt Gingrich

The candidates head into a very different month of election contests after Tuesday's Florida primary. Newt Gingrich is already playing down his chances.

For three weeks now, all the attention in the GOP presidential campaign has been focused on the South ? Newt Gingrich's most comfortable territory.

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After the results come in from Tuesday's Florida primary, however ? and, if the polls are to be believed, Mitt Romney takes the state's delegates ? the candidates head into a very different month of election contests.

February is a month of caucuses, smaller states, and geographic diversity. It's also a month that plays largely to Mr. Romney's advantage.

Next up is the Nevada caucuses on Saturday ? an event that has been all but ignored by the media this year, because of Florida jumping ahead in the primary calendar. The last poll there was taken more than a month ago, showing Romney with a slight lead.

Nevada is a natural state for Romney. He won it by a large margin in 2008, when he took 51 percent of the vote in a field of seven candidates. It's one of the few states with a sizable Mormon population (Romney is Mormon), and it's close enough to Utah that residents remember Romney's role in the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

The only other candidate looking forward to Nevada ? and to the other caucus states ? is Ron Paul, who has been campaigning heavily there. Representative Paul, whose backers are particularly loyal, tends to do well in caucus states, and his libertarian message is also likely to resonate more with Western voters than with those in the South.

Mr. Gingrich is already playing down his chances. At a campaign event Monday in Florida, Gingrich told a crowd, "Nevada's tricky because of the Mormon influence, but we have a shot at it."

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond acknowledges that February holds some challenges for the former House speaker ? particularly the contests in Nevada and Michigan. Romney grew up in the latter state and has a distinct advantage there.

"The toughest one is Nevada," Mr. Hammond told CNN. Of the February states, he says, the Gingrich campaign is looking to Arizona, Minnesota, Maine, and Colorado.

Of those, all but Arizona are caucuses, and none of them have any recent polling data. (A poll in Colorado gives Gingrich an edge, but it was taken nearly two months ago, when Gingrich was at his peak nationally.)

Still, Romney seems to have an edge because of the calendar ? along with the geography, which is heavy on the West, with a bit of the Northeast and Midwest thrown in. The lack of debates (only one is scheduled in February so far) doesn't help Gingrich, either.

In many ways, given the small numbers of delegates in play, February is a dead month before the real Super Tuesday showdown on March 6. That means it's unlikely to put an end to Gingrich's (or perhaps another candidate's) campaign. Nevertheless, look for Romney-friendly headlines and momentum in the coming weeks, and a tougher road for Gingrich.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/qSuHaqoDqeM/After-Florida-primary-it-s-Nevada-and-a-rough-month-for-Newt-Gingrich

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Gingrich wants panel to look at in vitro clinics (The Arizona Republic)

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Jagger says UK's Cameron can't get what he wants (omg!)

LONDON (Reuters) - Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger has decided British Prime Minister David Cameron can't get what he wants after all.

Britain's Sun tabloid reported Tuesday that Jagger would be the star attraction at an event organized by Cameron's office to promote Britain at a gathering of the world's rich and powerful in Davos this week.

But after news of his appearance leaked out, Jagger, who received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth in 2003, revealed he had had second thoughts.

"During my career I have always eschewed party politics and came to Davos as a guest, as I thought it would be stimulating...I have always been interested in economics and world events," he said in a statement.

"I now find myself being used as a political football and there has been a lot of comment about my political allegiances which are inaccurate. I think it's best I decline the invitation to the key event and curtail my visit."

Some Rolling Stones fans might have been surprised to see the singer, the former rock'n'roll rebel with a drugs conviction in 1967, appearing alongside a prime minister from the Conservative Party - a bastion of traditionalists.

Others might have thought it suited the leader of a band that for the past few decades has been a slick, multi-million dollar enterprise run along corporate lines.

Downing Street had earlier confirmed that Sir Mick, as he has been known since he was knighted, would be appearing at the Great British Tea Party event and Cameron's office was said by the Sun to be "tickled pink" with the publicity coup.

His appearance with Cameron would also have been a blow to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, a life-long Jagger fan who led the Labor Party to three electoral victories over the Conservatives.

The guitar-playing Blair, who dreamed of being a rock star before turning to politics, told Jagger at a dinner in the 1990s that "I just want to say how much you've always meant to me."

It was Blair who recommended the singer for his knighthood.

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon and Michael Holden; editing by Paul Casciato and Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_jagger_says_uks_cameron_cant_wants210438701/44290373/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/jagger-says-uks-cameron-cant-wants-210438701.html

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Just another newbie here :P

As you probably noticed, I am fairly new here :P I am kinda an old RPer so I kinda suck at it lol.
Other then that, I am just a straight forward person, I am helping if I can and stuff. I'm alot into Anime and fighting games aswell as VNs.

So yeaaaaah I am kinda bad at introduction...soo hello I guess lol

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/la5YNehIJ5o/viewtopic.php

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Greece, earnings worries send S&P to rare loss (AP)

NEW YORK ? Investors on Wall Street fretted Tuesday that a deal to keep Greece from triggering a financial crisis might fall apart, and a slew of corporate earnings reports at home didn't make them feel much better.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 33 points at 12,676. It has risen or fallen less than 100 points in 14 straight trading sessions, the longest calm stretch since late March and early April last year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 ended in the red for only the third time this year, losing a point to close at 1,315. The most the S&P has lost in a day this year is seven points. It is up 4.5 percent for 2012.

The Nasdaq added two points to close at 2,787 after a day of wavering between small gains and losses. The Nasdaq has led major the stock indexes in January with a 7 percent gain.

Technology stocks could be in for a strong day Wednesday. After the market closed Tuesday, Apple trounced analysts' estimates for its revenue and profit. Its stock shot up 9 percent in after-hours trading.

Rising stocks slightly outnumbered falling ones on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was lighter than average at 3.7 billion shares.

Treasury prices rose from their lowest levels this year because of uncertainty about whether Greece will reach a deal with its creditors. That drew money back into safer investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.06 percent from 2.07 percent Tuesday. The lower yield indicates investors are willing to accept a lower return in exchange for security.

In Europe, Greece's stock market index fell 5.5 percent. Stocks fell less than 1 percent in Germany, France and Spain and ended slightly higher in Italy.

A deal between the Greek government and the banks that hold Greek national bonds is considered crucial to the stability of the European financial system. Investors fear that if Greece can't pay its debt, it could trigger a panic.

"There's a lot of apprehension about the unknowns," said Brian Gendreau, market strategist for El Segundo, Calif.-based Cetera Financial Group. "It's not what people think they know about Europe. It's what they worry they don't know."

Greece is trying to get its creditors to swap Greek government bonds for new ones that have half the face value. But agreeing on a new interest rate has been a stumbling block. Greece faces an important bond repayment deadline in March.

The International Monetary Fund predicted Tuesday that a recession in Europe, exacerbated by the debt crisis there, will slow the global economy this year. Europe's recession should have a modest impact on the United States.

The IMF forecasts global growth of 3.25 percent this year, slower than the 4 percent pace it projected in September.

In U.S. news, disappointing earnings reports added to investors' concerns.

Kimberly-Clark Corp., which makes Kleenex tissues, Huggies diapers and a number of other household goods, said rising costs pushed its net income down 19 percent in the fourth quarter. The stock fell 1.7 percent.

Chemical maker DuPont Co. said its fourth-quarter net income dipped as lower sales and higher costs overshadowed higher prices. The results still beat analysts' expectations, and the stock was flat.

Coal producer Peabody Energy Corp. fell 1.7 percent after its forecast for the first quarter fell well short of expectations.

Leading the pack of companies trading higher after reporting earnings, bag and accessories maker Coach Inc. gained 5.8 percent after quarterly net income rose almost 15 percent because of stronger holiday sales.

Among other stocks making large moves:

? Zions Bancorporation fell 7.5 percent, the most of any stock in the S&P 500, after the Salt Lake City bank reported income that fell far short of Wall Street's expectations. At least one analyst downgraded the stock.

? Hard disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. was one of the top gainers in the S&P after reporting that its results handily beat Wall Street's expectations. The stock jumped 6.3 percent.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Box Office Guru Wrapup: Underworld Awakens in #1 Spot

Three new action films attacked the North American box office but the futuristic vampire thriller Underworld: Awakening and the World War II-set fighter pilot pic Red Tails led the way with each generating a solid debut. The modern-day assassin flick Haywire was met with more modest results as was the nationwide expansion of the Tom Hanks-Sandra Bullock drama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close which both settled into the top five. Overall business was affected somewhat by snowstorms in the midwest and east and Sunday grosses are expected to take a hit from the NFL conference championship games, especially male-skewing action flicks. But the marketplace showed remarkable growth over last year when the box office was in a downturn with weak films.

Kate Beckinsale enjoyed her second number one debut in as many weeks by returning to her signature franchise with Underworld: Awakening which opened on top with an estimated $25.4M. After co-starring with Mark Wahlberg in last week's top choice Contraband, the English actress generated a strong $8,252 average from 3,078 theaters and joined all three previous films in the popular series with an opening weekend in the $20-27M range. The R-rated film was not screened for critics and eventual reviews that came out were mostly negative.

Awakening, the fourth film in Sony's franchise and third starring Beckinsale, was the first in 3D and benefitted from higher priced tickets from that format as well as IMAX. The first Underworld bowed to $21.8M in September 2003 and was followed by a $26.9M debut this very weekend in 2006 for Underworld: Evolution. The next film, Rise of the Lycans, did not feature Beckinsale and opened to $20.8M this weekend in 2009. Given the higher prices and surcharges, Awakening attracted an audience this weekend that was about the same size as the one for Lycans. 3D accounted for a high 59% of the gross while another 15% came from IMAX.

Studio research showed that males made up 55% of the crowd while 60% was 25 and older. Fans liked what they got as the CinemaScore grade was an encouraging A-. Saturday sales went up by 9% which is impressive for the fourth installment of a sci-fi/horror franchise, however bad weather in many parts of the country on Friday could have pushed some business to the following day. The last two sequels both fell by more than 55% on the second weekend and the same should ring true for Awakening. All three pics starring Beckinsale debuted at number one.

Overseas, Underworld: Awakening debuted to an estimated $13.4M from 36 markets including a dozen top spot bows for a global bow of $38.8M.

Soaring past expectations, the period action film Red Tails opened impressively in second place with an estimated $19.1M from a more narrow 2,512 theaters for a stellar $7,604 average per location. The PG-13 film about the Tuskegee Airmen starred Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terence Howard and was financed by George Lucas who stated that no studio wanted to bankroll a $58M production with an all-black cast. Reviews were not very good, however paying members of the public thought highly of the 1940s-set film which earned a solid A grade from CinemaScore.

Red Tails played evenly across genders with males making up 51% of the crowd. As expected, older patrons took more interest with 66% being 25 and older. Saturday enjoyed a stellar 44% jump indicating the road ahead could be promising. Last week's Martin Luther King holiday provided a great time to promote this week's launch of the Fox release and with the start of Black History Month just a week away, the film is well-positioned to remain a timely movie choice for many. Red Tails actually attracted a larger audience per theater than Underworld did when 3D and IMAX ticket price differences are factored out.

After topping the weekend last week with a stronger-than-expected debut, Wahlberg's action hit Contraband fell an understandable 50% thanks in part to all the new action competition to an estimated $12.2M. The $25M production has now banked $46.1M in ten days and looks headed for a finish in the neighborhood of $70M.

The 9/11 drama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock expanded into national release after a month of limited play and landed in fourth with a so-so performance. Warner Bros. saw a weekend estimate of $10.5M from 2,630 locations for a decent $4,010 average. Close is hoping for a Best Picture nod from the Academy this Tuesday in order to keep it relevant at the box office, but so far it has not been a consistent part of the awards conversation. The Oscar-winning stars could give it some extra love from Academy members, though. Cume to date is $11.2M.

Steven Soderbergh's newest film Haywire also opened to moderate results bowing to an estimated $9M from 2,439 sites for a $3,690 average. The R-rated espionage thriller marked the debut of Gina Carano, a female Mixed Martial Arts champion, who anchored the film alongside male co-stars like Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, and Antonio Banderas. Budgeted at $23M, the well-reviewed film earned good marks from critics but was panned by audiences polled by CinemaScore earning a dismal D+ grade. Studio research showed that the audience was 55% male, 64% under 35, and 54% non-white. With so many action options for moviegoers and an untested star in the lead, Haywire carved out a slice of the pie that was mostly in line with industry expectations.

Sunday's big football playoff games are expected to cut into box office sales for action titles and distributors incorporated that into weekend estimates in their own ways. Projected Saturday-to-Sunday declines include 44% for Underworld: Awakening, 49% for Red Tails, 53% for Contraband, and 40% for Haywire.

Disney's 3D re-release of Beauty and the Beast tumbled 52% in its second weekend to an estimated $8.6M giving the studio $33.4M to date. It was a large decline given that no new kids movies opened. The studio's last 3D upgrade on The Lion King fell only 27% in its sophomore session despite facing new competition for families. Warner Bros. saw a moderate 46% decline for its musical dramedy Joyful Noise which grossed an estimated $6.1M lifting the cume to $21.9M after ten days.

December franchise holdovers rounded out the top ten. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol took in an estimated $5.5M, off 53%, for a $197.3M total. Paramount's overseas tally rose to a muscular $336.7M with the global tally reaching a towering $534M for the Tom Cruise sequel. The Robert Downey Jr. sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows dropped 44% to an estimated $4.8M putting Warner Bros. at $178.6M. Sliding 44% was Sony's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to an estimated $3.8M for a $94.8M sum to date. International business climbed to $70.8M after a $15.7M frame putting the global gross at $165.5M.

Oscar front-runner The Artist tripled its theater count and saw sales double as it established itself in wider release to reach a broader audience. The Weinstein Co. title grossed an estimated $2.4M from 662 locations (up from 216) averaging a mediocre $3,579. With $12.1M to date, the acclaimed silent film has won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical and on Saturday took home the coveted PGA award which is a very accurate indicator of the favorite at the Academy Awards. The last four PGA winners went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $105M which was up a sharp 26% from last year when No Strings Attached opened in the top spot with $19.7M; but down 13% from 2010 when Avatar remained at number one with $34.9M in its sixth frame.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924351/news/1924351/

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Social friction tied to inflammation

Negative interactions with others or stressful competition for another?s attention may have biological effects

Web edition : 6:33 pm

Competing in vain for the attention of someone special or fretting over a mid-term exam may not be healthy. Such stress seems to boost a person?s supply of two proteins that cause inflammation, researchers report January 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

These inflammatory triggers have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and depression. The new results add to a growing body of research that links social stress with biological risks.

?We wanted to see how mental states such as optimism, or social relationships such as competition, get under the skin,? says study coauthor Shelley Taylor, a social neuroscientist at the UCLA School of Medicine. She and her colleagues looked at the relationship between day-to-day stress and two proteins that trigger inflammation in the body, called pro-inflammatory cytokines.

The researchers asked 122 young, healthy adults to keep a diary of all positive and negative social interactions for eight days, as well as descriptions of any incidents that involved competition. ?We picked young adults with no history of heart disease or inflammation disorders or depression [because] we wanted to look at the biological processes in a population that was healthy,? Taylor says.

Several days later, the scientists swabbed the volunteers? inner cheeks for fluid samples. Analyses revealed that the people with the most negative social interactions recorded in their diaries, and those who reported stressful competition in work or academic pursuits, had substantially higher levels of one of the inflammatory proteins ? TNF receptor 2 ? than did those who recorded fewer such incidents. People reporting stressful competition for another?s attention had high concentrations of the other inflammatory protein, interleukin-6.

The volunteers then underwent a stressful 25-minute test in which they did arithmetic calculations in their heads and gave a brief speech in front of strangers. After this test, people who had had the most negative interactions earlier in the week again showed high levels of the inflammatory proteins.

The link between short-term stress and revved-up inflammation could have an evolutionary basis, suggests Nicolas Rohleder, a psychologist at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., who wasn?t part of the study team. ?As early humans, we had to fight for our lives ? fight or flight,? he says. Inflammation has a useful short-term role in fending off pathogens, so triggering inflammation as a response to stress may have been a way the body fended off infections caused by those encounters, which often resulted in some form of injury, he says.

?Humans are not really running away now,? Rohleder says. And nowadays, conflict tends not to end in physical violence.? So while an acute reaction to stress might have paid dividends in the Stone Age, he says, stress may often result in chronic inflammation instead.

So reduced stress ? and therefore less inflammation ? may be one of the mechanisms that links social support with health outcomes, Taylor says. ?Relationships are vital to health, like your diet,? she says.

Found in: Body & Brain

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337855/title/Social_friction_tied_to_inflammation

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Putin warns ethnic tensions risk tearing Russia apart (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned ethnic tensions could tear Russia apart, saying he would toughen migration rules on reassuming the presidency and keep a tight rein on Russia's regions to prevent it following the Soviet Union into oblivion.

Putin, in power since 2000 and favored to win a six-year presidential term in March, described a Soviet-style vision of a country in which the rights of ethnic minorities would be respected but Russian language and culture would dominate.

"With the collapse of the country (the Soviet Union), we were on the edge -- and in some regions over the edge -- of civil war," Putin wrote in an article published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta Monday, referring to two separatist wars in Chechnya since the 1991 Soviet breakup.

"With great effort, with great sacrifice we were able to douse these fires. But that doesn't mean that the problem is gone," he wrote in the second of a series of articles promoting his leadership goals ahead of March 4 elections.

A little more than a month before the vote, Putin appeared determined to denounce xenophobia without alienating members of the ethnic Russian, mostly Orthodox Christian majority, some of whom fear labor migration and higher birth rates among Russia's Muslims may leave them a minority in their own country.

Moscow is a flash point for ethnic tensions and the site of thousands-strong protests by nationalists angry over migration and government subsidies to the mostly Muslim North Caucasus.

Comparing nationalism to a disease, Putin took aim at ethnic Russian militants, who have been among the 59-year-old prime minister's most vociferous critics, joining in mass protests over disputed parliamentary elections last month.

"If a multiethnic society is infected by nationalism, it loses its strength and durability," Putin said. "We need to understand what far-reaching effects can be caused by attempts to inflame national enmity and hatred."

RUSSIAN CULTURE

But he also emphasized that minorities in what he called a multi-ethnic society must live under the umbrella of Russian culture, and migrants must take measures to integrate such as passing exams in Russian language and history.

"The Russian people, the Russian culture is the glue holding together the unique fabric of this civilization," Putin wrote.

Putin's most detailed proposals called for authorities to be given more power to vet migrants based on their professional skill level, for students to be asked to read some 100 national classics and for the creation of a new government body tasked with inter-ethnic policy.

He also said the best way to stem migration was by creating favorable conditions for citizens to work in their native regions or nations, and argued in support of state spending on poor regions such as the mostly Muslim North Caucasus.

He also plugged his plan for a Eurasian Union linking Russia with other ex-Soviet republics including those in Central Asia, saying closer economic ties would help curb migration by helping to develop the economies of neighboring states.

In a sign Putin has few plans to reverse a consolidation of power in Moscow, which opponents say has weakened political competition and turned regions into vassals, Putin said he could not allow regional political parties because some could be created along ethnic lines, calling it a "direct path to separatism."

"What is omitted is even more important than what is included (in the article)," said Nikolai Petrov, a political analyst with the Moscow Carnegie Center, told Reuters.

"There is no mention of federalism here and the idea here is that a centralized state should be stronger in order to prevent disintegration," he said.

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Moscow against the contested vote on December 24 and the opposition plans new rally on February 4 to protest Putin's planned return.

(Additional reporting by Thomas Grove)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/wl_nm/us_russia_putin

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Air Force launches military satellite into space (AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? The Air Force has sent into space a satellite that is expected to improve communications with military drones in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Officials say a Delta 4 rocket carried the WGS 4 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:38 p.m. Thursday.

It's the fourth in a series of military satellites that have been put into place since 2007. The next one is expected to be ready to launch next year.

WGS stands for Wideband Global SATCOM. The satellites are replacing aging Defense Satellite Communications System spacecraft and have 10 times the speed and capacity of the older satellites.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_he_me/us_rocket_launch

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Blues singer Etta James dies at 73 (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? Etta James, the influential 1950s rhythm-and-blues singer best known for her show-stopping hit "At Last," died on Friday from complications of leukemia in a California hospital surrounded by her family. She was 73.

Her death prompted tributes from numerous musicians and artists who were influenced by her singing, from pop star Mariah Carey to country's LeAnn Rimes and legendary rock band The Doors.

James died in her home town of Riverside, California, east of Los Angeles, said her manager and friend of some 30 years, Lupe De Leon. She would have turned 74 on Wednesday.

"She passed away this morning. She was with her husband and her sons," said De Leon.

James was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago and had been in failing health for a number of years. Her live-in doctor said in December she was terminally ill with leukemia. James also suffered from diabetes, kidney problems and dementia and was hospitalized late in 2011 because she was struggling to breathe.

The three time Grammy-award winning R&B singer saw numerous ups-and-downs in her career and personal life. She struggled with obesity and heroin addiction, ran a hot-check scheme and had troubled relationships with men, including some gangsters. Her weight ballooned, and in 2003 she underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost more than 200 pounds.

Yet in the music industry, among fellow R&B artists and rock icons, James' career was legendary. With songs like "The Wallflower" and "Good Rockin' Daddy," the three-time Grammy winner was a key figure in the early days of rock 'n' roll, and her signature song, the 1961 ballad "At Last," proved her mastery of the blues.

Carey, one of dozens of musicians paying tribute on Twitter on Friday, said, "Rest in peace to one of the world's most influential singers Etta James, you will be missed."

Rimes tweeted "wonderfully soulful Etta James. You will always be in our heart & on our radios. What a voice, a sad loss."

Beyonce, who was slammed by James in 2009 for singing "At Last" at the inaugural ball for U.S. President Barack Obama, tweeted simply; "RIP Etta James".

The Recording Academy, which gives out the Grammys, said James left behind a dynamic legacy. "She will forever be remembered for her timeless ballad 'At Last,' and a powerful voice that will echo around the world for generations to come," academy president Neil Portnow said in a statement.

Other tributes came from Pink, Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill, Chaka Khan, Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, hip-hop producer Russell Simmons and British blues-rock singer Steve Winwood. The Doors called James "one of the world's legendary R&B icons."

POWER AND PAIN

James sang with a mixture of power and pain that led veteran musical producer Jerry Wexler to call her "the greatest of all modern blues singers ... the undisputed Earth Mother."

But throughout her long career she diversified into mainstream blues, soul and R&B. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

"Etta James is simply one of the best singers I've ever heard," singer-guitarist Bonnie Raitt wrote in Rolling Stone magazine. "... Etta is earthy and gritty, ribald and out-there in a way that few performers have the guts to be."

James' last album, "The Dreamer," was released in 2011. She spent the latter part of her life at home in California.

She was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles on January 25, 1938, to an unmarried teenager who told her that her father was legendary pool shark Rudolph Wanderone, better known as Minnesota Fats. James told CNN she introduced herself to Wanderone in 1987 but was unable to confirm he was her father.

James sang gospel in the church choir and stood out even as a 5-year-old. By 1954, she recorded "Roll With Me Henry" with two other girls in a trio called The Peaches.

The group was discovered by bandleader Johnny Otis, and their song, renamed "The Wallflower," topped R&B charts in 1955. The Peaches eventually split up, but James continued recording and later that year "Good Rockin' Daddy" hit the charts.

Otis died on Tuesday in the Los Angeles area, age 90.

In the 1960s, James signed with Chicago's legendary Chess Records label and sang songs like "At Last" and "Trust in Me" that were backed by orchestras. But she never strayed too far from her gospel roots, as evidenced by 1962's "Something's Got a Hold of Me."

Over the decades, James' hit the R&B charts with 30 singles, and placed nine of those songs in pop music's top 40. She has often been cited as influencing singers including Raitt, Janis Joplin and Tina Turner.

James won her first Grammy in 1995 for her album, "Mystery Lady: The Songs of Billie Holiday." She also won Grammys in 2003 and 2005, as well as a lifetime achievement award in 2003 from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Grammys.

She is survived by her husband, Artis Mills, two sons Donto and Sametto who played in James' backing band, and four grandchildren.

(Reporting By Bill Trott and Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/music_nm/us_ettajames

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Austrian panel removes balls from culture list (AP)

VIENNA ? A committee reporting to the U.N.'s culture organization struck Vienna's many balls from its list of Austria's noteworthy traditions on Thursday amid an uproar over one of the annual champagne-laced galas that critics say attracts neo-Nazis from across Europe.

The decision by the Austrian UNESCO Commission was welcomed by those who oppose the one often-criticized ball, staged in part by dueling fraternities including far-right alumni who display saber scars on their cheeks as badges of honor. But the committee also outraged supporters who reject labeling that event as a magnet for backers of Nazi ideology.

Martin Graf, a leading member of the rightist Freedom Party, said critics of the WKR-Ball are trying to "publicly pillory and vilify ... all those who do not share their ideologically distorted opinion." Party chief Heinz-Christian Strache called the committee's decision a result of "mobbing from the extreme-left."

Like others worldwide, The Austrian committee is a bridge between the government and the Paris-based U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization but is not part of it.

The decision is symbolic and has no bearing on whether future balls can be held. But the fact that the committee's decision was due in part to public pressure reflected a path being traveled by Austria, which has moved from a postwar portrayal of being Nazi Germany's first victim to acknowledging that it was Hitler's willing partner. Anti-Semitism remains among some members of the older generation today, but most young Austrians reject Nazi ideology and condemn the part their parents might have played in the Holocaust.

The committee spoke of a "serious mistake" in listing the fraternity WKR-Ball as one of the nearly two dozen balls comprising an aspect of "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Austria." Noting that the inclusion of the many balls was approved by a panel including representatives of five government ministries, the committee said it decided to strike the whole category of Vienna Ball from its register.

"In connection with the WKR-Ball, we can tell you that we have removed the tradition 'Vienna Ball' from our list," said an email to The Associated Press, using the event's German acronym.

While some of the more opulent Vienna balls are criticized as a showcase of the rich, most are devoid of direct political controversy. For centuries, the city's high society has waltzed blissfully through wars, recessions and occasional firebomb-throwing anarchists opposed to the moneyed decadence they think such events represent.

But the fraternity ball started drawing flack as Austrians began to come to grips decades ago with the fact that their country was one of Nazi Germany's most willing allies instead of its first victim through its 1938 annexation by Hitler. Over recent years criticism of the WKR-Ball's staging has grown ? and protests outside its venue, the ornate Hofburg palace, have occasionally turned violent.

Bowing to the pressure, the Hofburg announced late last year that the ball will have to move elsewhere as of 2013. Tensions this year were exacerbated by its date ? Friday, Jan. 27, will be the 67th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the most notorious of the Nazi death camps.

Organizers said that was coincidence, with the event always held on the last Friday of January. But opponents were incensed.

Ariel Muzicant, head of Vienna's Jewish community, spoke of "a mockery" of the Holocaust, asking sarcastically: "Are they kind of celebrating the 2 million dead in Auschwitz, or what? Are they dancing, kind of, on 6 million Jews, or what are they thinking of?"

The issue made it to the floor of parliament Thursday, with members of the opposition Green party demanding that the ball be observed by government intelligence agencies and saying past attendees included prominent members of the extreme right and neo-Nazis.

Defense Minister Norbert Darabos described the WKR-Ball as an event "where year after year, internationally known right extremists pass the door handle to each other" ? and forbade members of the military to wear their uniforms if attending.

Defending the ball ? and its place among others on the UNESCO Committee list ? is the Freedom Party, which has coupled populism to lurking Islamophobia and latent anti-Semitism to become Austria's second strongest political force.

Party official Heidemarie Unterreiner urged the committee "not to be impressed by the excited politically motivated babble of some groups which use the media megaphone to create a completely false impression of one of the most significant society events of Austria."

___

George Jahn can be reached at http://twitter.com/georgejahn

__

AP video reporter Philipp Jenne contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_eu/eu_austria_rightist_ball

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Apple's iBooks Author hands-on (update: video!)

Inside every frustrated journalist is an even more frustrated author, and self-publishing is an evil that many of us have succumbed to over the years. Still, much as we may want to resist it, we couldn't help ourselves when it came time to test Apple's iBooks Author app, designed for educators to push out textbooks to students for a fraction of the cost, time and energy it would traditionally take.

So, how does it feel when you're working inside the software? Could you use it to prepare seminar materials for the class of 2015 or, more importantly, launch your own career as Stephanie Meyer's successor? Head past the break to find out!

Gallery: Apple iBooks Author hands-on

Continue reading Apple's iBooks Author hands-on (update: video!)

Apple's iBooks Author hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/19/apples-ibooks-author-hands-on/

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Tilda Swinton in Talks to Join Chris Evans in Snow Piercer

Original Oldboy helmer Chan-wook Park is making his U.S. directorial debut with Stoker, which is due to hit theaters before the end of 2012. He will also lend a helping hand to fellow Korean filmmaker Joon-ho Bong on the latter?s own first English-language project, titled Snow Piercer (which Park will produce).

Captain America himself, Chris Evans, is set to headline the movie, which is based on Bong?s screenplay. Evans looks to be in good company, seeing how the likes of award-winners Jamie Bell and Tilda Swinton are currently in the midst of negotiations to co-headline Bong?s latest cinematic tale.

Bong spoke to Collider (all the way back in 2009) about Snow Piercer, which he says is based on a French graphic novel titled ?Le Transperceneige.? Variety has also confirmed that the apocalyptic story takes place ?in a new ice age? and revolves around a pack of survivors who are forced to live together on a train. However, even with the world?s end upon them, differences in class and social standing still separate the main characters, making it all the more difficult for them to peacefully co-exist with their fellow passengers.

That sounds like the promising setup for a darker character study from Bong, who?s best known in the States for his tongue-in-cheek cult classic monster horror flick, The Host.?His status as a director has only improved since that 2006 release, thanks to his acclaimed 2009 crime drama Mother, so it?s no surprise that Bong?s first foray into U.S. filmmaking is attracting some big name talent (much like Park?s Stoker?has).

Bong's 'The Host' weaves together horror-comedy with social commentary

Evans, with this move, continues to balance out his Marvel comic book blockbuster roles with more personal indie titles, as he did in 2011 with appearances in The First Avenger and the drug drama Puncture ? and will do so again the near future, with roles in The Avengers, The Iceman, and now Snow Piercer. It?s a smart strategy, on Evan?s part ? one that should also allow him to avoid running in circles as an actor (re: end up being typecast).

Bell actually takes a similar approach to selecting his roles as Evans, seeing how the former also likes to balance out parts in big-budget fare such as King Kong and The Adventures of Tintin with roles in more personable productions like?Retreat and Jane Eyre. Swinton, of course, generally sticks to non-mainstream parts (her role in the Chronicles of Narnia movies aside) as evidenced by her much-buzzed-about recent turn in We Need to Talk About Kevin and an upcoming role in Wes Anderson?s Moonrise Kingdom.

That?s all to say: there?s an excellent cast being assembled for Bong?s?Snow Piercer, which is tentatively expected to begin principal photography by March 2012 ? so, dedicated movie geeks, you may want to keep an eye out for this one.

Source: Collider,?Variety

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924334/news/1924334/

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China says government to be more open (AP)

BEIJING ? China will be more open about the often secretive workings of the government and ruling Communist Party in the coming year, although strict controls over the Internet would remain in place, a senior propaganda official said Wednesday.

Officials will expand the use of government spokespeople, boost the overseas reach of state media, and further promote the use of microblogs to interact with the public, Wang Chen told reporters.

"In this new year, we will adopt an even more open attitude and even more forceful policies," Wang said.

Chinese government departments have traditionally been tightlipped, a result of authoritarian one-party rule in which officials had little accountability to the public and policies were drafted in high-level meetings without input from ordinary citizens.

However, amid rising incomes and increased demand for transparency and efficiency, departments over the past decade have appointed spokesmen to deal with media and the general public, and released an increasing flow of information.

Wang said news and information about government's day-to-day activities as well as emergency responses would be expanded and systematized. Spokesmen would receive intensified training with an emphasis on obtaining first-hand information rather than simply passing on information from other departments, he said.

Much of that public interaction has been driven by the Internet, and government departments at all levels now have not only websites but also Twitter-like microblogs on which to post breaking news. China has more people online than any other country ? 513 million ? nearly 360 million of whom primarily access the web over their cell phones and almost half of whom use microblogs.

The explosive growth of such services has underscored government efforts to rigorously police the Internet for content promoting fraud, gambling, pornography or content considered politically sensitive information.

China also blocks major social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter out of fear they could be used to spread subversive content, or to organize public demonstrations such as those that spread last spring across the Arab world.

Webmasters, pro-democracy activists, and journalists who have posted sensitive information on the Internet have been harassed, detained, and in some cases imprisoned.

Wang said the government would compel those opening new microblog accounts in Beijing and other major cities to use their real names and other information. The requirement would later be expanded to cover those with existing accounts, he said.

Free speech advocates have called that an attempt to further curtail online discussions. Wang said it was necessary to prevent fraud, identity theft and the spread of rumors or other "harmful information."

"Our only purpose is to ensure the rapid, healthy expansion of the Chinese Internet," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/internet/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_hi_te/as_china_openness

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Tar Heels' Urso selected by Crew (NewsObserver.com - College Sports)

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Arkansas falls to No. 2 Kentucky 86-63 (AP)

LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Arkansas wanted to run with No. 2 Kentucky. The Razorbacks could never run away from Anthony Davis.

The freshman forward scored a career-high 27 points and blocked seven shots to set a school season record in No. 2 Kentucky's 86-63 victory over Arkansas on Tuesday night.

"Their size was a big problem for us tonight, especially with Anthony Davis," Razorbacks coach Mike Anderson said. "He is a difference maker. No matter how we tried to mount an attack, I thought they did a good job answering."

The Wildcats (18-1, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) won their 10th straight overall and extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 46 games, including 45 straight at Rupp Arena.

Arkansas hasn't won in four road games this season and struggled against the nation's second-best defense by field goal percentage despite 12 points from Mardracus Wade and 10 points apiece from Marvell Waithe, Rashad Madden and B.J. Young.

Still, they couldn't avoid Davis, who had 14 rebounds, as the Wildcats jumped on the Razorbacks (13-5, 2-2) from the start.

"We tried to put two or three bodies on him and he was getting around us," Wade said. "He played really strong and athletic. He just did what he's supposed to do to help his team win tonight."

The Razorbacks never got closer than 14 points on the first basket of the second half.

Anderson said his team would try to run against Kentucky, a strategy most teams have tried to stay away from against the athletic Wildcats.

It didn't work as Davis scored in bunches and the rest of the Wildcats chipped in.

"They did a good job in their preparation and I told the team I'll take the blame for that," Anderson said. "We were playing one of the better teams in the country and they are playing some outstanding basketball. As we've seen throughout the course of conference play, everyone plays pretty good at home."

Arkansas beat the Wildcats in overtime last season in Fayetteville, but these Wildcats reloaded with Davis and fellow freshmen Marquis Teague, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kyle Wiltjer. Arkansas remained winless in Lexington since the 1994 title team won here.

Doron Lamb scored 14 points, Terrence Jones 13, Darius Miller 11 and Kidd-Gilchrist 10 for Kentucky, which got nine assists from Teague.

In one sequence, Miller grabbed an offensive rebound and slashed across the paint, flipping a contested reverse layup. Then, Jones started a break by swatting Wade's attempt that Lamb finished with a floater that made it 19-6.

Davis matched the school record for blocks when he rejected Rickey Scott's layup off the glass with 8:02 left in the first half, matching the 83 that Turpin set in 1982-83 in 31 games and Riddick tied in 34 games in 1993-94. Davis set the record a little over 3 minutes later when he turned away Young's layup with Kentucky leading 28-12.

Kentucky took its first 20-point lead when Lamb hit a 3 with 3:22 left in the half. Davis blocked another layup by Young with 5 seconds left and swatted Wade's attempt at the buzzer as the Wildcats took a 37-21 lead.

When Arkansas cut it to 50-35 with 14:48 left, Kidd-Gilchrist threw an alley-oop pass to Davis, Jones blocked freshman Devonta Abron's shot and Teague fed Kidd-Gilchrist in the paint for another slam as part of a 13-2 run that put the game away before the midway point of the second half.

Davis finished 10 of 12 from the field, his best game with at least 10 attempts of his 19-game career and went 7 for 8 from the free throw line. He got a standing ovation with 4:23 left with his seventh and final block, an emphatic swat of Julysses Nobles' shot into the front row.

"Looking at him on TV he's really tall and lanky and you don't think he'd be that physical, but actually that guy is pretty physical," Wade said. "He gets in there, he's relentless. You hit him one time and he's just going to go back into you again."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/bkc_t25_arkansas

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Kodak files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, expects to complete restructuring by 2013

Apparently suing Samsung (again) wasn't the only pressing business for Kodak today, as it just announced it has -- as expected -- filed for Chapter 11 business reorganization in New York. You can read the details in the press release after the break, where Chairman and CEO Antonio Perez is quoted saying he hopes Kodak will "emerge a lean, world-class, digital imaging and materials science company". The company has obtained $950 million debtor-in-possession financing, which it claims will provide the liquidity needed to continue operations during the restructuring. As far as its recent parade of lawsuits against Samsung, Apple and HTC, Perez comments on "monetizing non-core IP assets" so we'd assume its lawyers will stay busy going forward.

Continue reading Kodak files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, expects to complete restructuring by 2013

Kodak files Chapter 11 bankruptcy, expects to complete restructuring by 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/19/kodak-chapter-11-bankruptcy/

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Video: Four Reasons for the Market Rally

Despite the downgrade of nine European nations on Friday, stocks continue to rally. CNBC's Brian Sullivan points to four reasons for the bull run, with CNBC's Bob Pisani.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46028625/

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Liberia president vows to continue fighting graft (AP)

MONROVIA, Liberia ? Liberia's president was sworn in Monday for a second term in a ceremony attended by her bitter rival, whose refusal to recognize her victory had threatened to undermine this country's fragile peace.

The 73-year-old Ellen Johnson Sirleaf addressed opposition leader Winston Tubman, thanking him for agreeing to attend the ceremony, where he was seated in a place of honor in the front row. The ceremony was also attended by a nine-member delegation from the United States, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Tubman had called for a boycott of the November vote, after it became clear that he could not beat Sirleaf, prompting many to accuse him of being a spoiler. His supporters repeatedly clashed with police and until this weekend, he continued to say he would not recognize Sirleaf and that he would lead a demonstration on the day of her inauguration. He changed his mind only after a private meeting with Sirleaf on Saturday.

"We inaugurate a new beginning ? a rebirth of our democracy," Sirleaf told the crowd of thousands, as supporters blew horns. "Today we can say with conviction that our country has turned the corner. Liberia is no longer a place of conflict, war and deprivation. We are no longer the country our citizens want to run away from."

Sirleaf became an international symbol of women's empowerment when she became Africa's first elected female head of state in 2005, just two years after the end of the nation's disastrous 14-year civil war. Her popularity has continued to soar abroad, even as it plummeted at home due to endemic poverty and the country's crippling unemployment. Days before last year's election, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, further underscoring the contrast between her image inside and outside the West African nation.

Tubman's party accused the president of having done too little to end the country's poverty. Liberia remains one of the world's poorest nations, ranked nearly at the bottom of the United Nations' index tracking development.

Economists disagree, however, saying the country was on its knees when she took over. Nearly 80 percent of its schools were destroyed and almost all the roads were impassable. In the years since she took office, the government added nearly 3,500 miles of paved roads and people are earning double what they made when she was first elected, according to a report by the ministry of planning and economic affairs.

In her inaugural address, Sirleaf directly addressed those who feel she has not done enough to lift them from poverty.

"To all who have yet to feel the hands of progress touch your life, your time has come," she said, as cheers erupted. "We have laid the foundations for peace and prosperity, and must now hasten our true mission: Putting people ? especially young people ? first. And lifting the lives of all Liberians."

And she responded to the opposition's claim that she was not listening to the country's disenfranchised youth: "The youth of Liberia are our future and they have sent us a message," she said. "Let me say to them: We heard that message. It is our solemn obligation to ensure that their hope will not be in vain."

Thousands of people, many of them dressed in colorful ceremonial garb, gathered hours before the start of the ceremony in Liberia's capital. The military fired two cannons Monday and hoisted the flag at the presidency.

Clinton, who led the U.S. delegation, urged Sirleaf to focus on "the cancer of corruption" that continues to plague Liberia, another charge often levied by Tubman's party. She told reporters at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new embassy that she had spoken with Sirleaf earlier on Monday about fighting corruption.

Liberians are expecting more this term.

Benedict Korlubah, a peace and conflict studies student of the University of Liberia said "given and judging from where we've come the government's first priority should be peace and reconciliation."

Fayia Kanteh, a pastor, wants the government to prioritize the restoration of lights and running water because "in our world today to have a nation's capital without electricity is a major setback."

The opposition also claims that Sirleaf did not do enough to open up to her critics.

"In the cabinet I had presidential candidates, vice presidential candidates; throughout the government we had people from the opposition, maybe not in the numbers they wanted," she said. "But I feel satisfied that we had an inclusive government in the first term; and in this term we will do the same."

Sirleaf is already negotiating with opposition leader Tubman. After their meeting Saturday, the former U.N. envoy to Somalia said "We have reached a point of the discussion where we can say the negotiation has gained fruition."

Tubman said his Congress for Democratic Change party still did not think the president had won the election fairly, even though the international community felt the president won.

"We realized that we couldn't fight all of that, so we thought the best thing would be for us to negotiate our involvement in a government of inclusion," he said, adding that Sirleaf will be recognized by his party as the president.

"We hope that this will defuse the tension and that there will be stability, cooperation and atmosphere of peace," he said.

But Sirleaf's pledge to reach out to her opponents, including all 15 opposition parties that ran against her in the first round of voting, could also cause Sirleaf to make deals with those directly responsible for dragging the country into war.

Among them is Prince Johnson, who gained notoriety for being videotaped as his men tortured Liberia's deposed ruler Samuel K. Doe in 1990. The image of Johnson drinking Budweiser as his men cut off the ex-president's ears is emblematic of the hell from which Liberia is still attempting to emerge. Currently a senator, Johnson was one of Sirleaf's rivals in the October election and endorsed her before the Nov. 8 runoff between Sirleaf and Tubman.

Sirleaf's spokesman said she had made no deals with Johnson, who has tried to bury his past as a warlord and draws strong support in his native Nimba County.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_re_af/af_liberia_president

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Mars probe could fall late Sunday

14 January 2012 Last updated at 19:06 ET By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

The failed Russian Mars probe, Phobos-Grunt, continued its descent to Earth on Saturday, losing hundreds of metres in height every hour.

By 23:00 Saturday (GMT), the 13-tonne spacecraft was circling the planet at a mean altitude of 147km.

It is likely to impact the thicker parts of the atmosphere and burn up sometime late on Sunday, according to orbital tracking experts.

The Russian space agency says little of the probe will survive to the surface.

It calculates no more than 200kg in maybe 20-30 fragments.

Precisely where on the Earth's surface - and when - this material could impact is impossible to say, however. There are huge uncertainties in forecasting the final moments of a re-entry.

"The major uncertainty for prediction is the atmospheric density the spacecraft encounters in orbit, but it's also due to the orientation of the vehicle as it comes in," explained Prof Richard Crowther, the UK Space Agency's chief engineer.

"It can very quickly tumble and if pieces break off - that all changes the trajectory and where debris might impact."

This is the third high-profile spacecraft re-entry in four months, following the return in September of the American UARS satellite and the German Rosat telescope in October. Both fell over the ocean.

With so much of the Earth's surface covered by water, there is every chance Phobos-Grunt will do the same. (More information on the spacecraft's orbit can be found here)

Continue reading the main story

• Phobos-Grunt sits on the cruise stage that was supposed to take it to Mars. Attached also is Yinghuo-1, China's first satellite built to go to the Red Planet
• Most of this 2.5 tonnes of hardware will burn up in the atmosphere. The more-than-10-tonnes of fuel is expected to explode when the tanks rupture
• Phobos-Grunt's orbit around the Earth means that it can only enter the atmosphere between the latitudes of 51.4 degrees North and South
• Roughly one old satellite or rocket body will fall to Earth every week, but at 13 tonnes Phobos-Grunt is one of the biggest, uncontrolled falls in recent years

'Flying fuel tank'

The mission was supposed to be the most exciting Russian space science venture in decades - an audacious bid to scoop up rocky fragments from the Martian moon Phobos and bring them back for study in Earth laboratories.

The spacecraft launched successfully on 8 November, entering a "parking orbit" some 345km above the Earth. But Phobos-Grunt then failed to push on to the Red Planet as planned.

Continue reading the main story

Phobos-Grunt - Mishap sequence

• 8 Nov (GMT): The probe launched successfully on its Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
• It was dropped off 11 minutes later in an elliptical orbit some 345km above the Earth
• Two firings from the probe's hydrazine-fuelled cruise stage were planned over South America
• The first, lasting 11.5 minutes, should have raised the orbit of Phobos-Grunt to 4,000km
• A second burn, four hours into the mission, was to have sent the probe on a path to Mars
• But Russian engineers later confirmed that neither burn took place
• Controllers have had only limited radio contact with the probe; mission recovery was not possible
• Re-entry is now imminent; 20-30 fragments are expected to survive the descent to Earth

For some reason, its big boost engine did not fire. Attempts to contact the spacecraft and diagnose the fault have proved fruitless.

Both professional and amateur tracking groups have since been trying to work out when it will fall out of the sky. Their most recent estimates continue to cluster around late Sunday (GMT). But, again, these forecasts have large uncertainties.

The spacecraft's rate of descent is being monitored by radar and the tracking groups will be using this information to try to narrow the uncertainties as the weekend progresses.

A lot of attention has focussed on the amount of fuel that Phobos-Grunt is carrying.

Out of the total launch mass of more than 13 tonnes, in excess of 10 tonnes was the fuel needed to complete the mission.

Phobos-Grunt's tanks were filled with the propellants Unsymmetrical DiMethylHydrazine (UDMH) and Dinitrogen TetrOxide (DTO), both of which are toxic.

But, crucially, the tanks are made of aluminium, which has a relatively low melting temperature.

Analysts are confident the tanks will rupture and their contents will be destroyed or dispersed long before any debris can reach the surface.

"Depending on when something breaks up and what it's made of and how it comes away from the main vehicle, it can either burn up or survive re-entry," said Prof Crowther.

"In the case of Phobos-Grunt, it's a flying fuel tank in many respects, and so most of the mass is fuel which should explode."

The Russians have had a torrid run of space failures recently, leading the head of the country's space agency to wonder even if saboteurs were at work.

Western countries, which use Russian rockets to launch their satellites, are just worried though that some systematic failures have started to appear in what has traditionally been a highly regarded space industry.

With their own opportunity to go to Mars now lost, the Russians may decide to put their future interplanetary efforts into joint ventures with the Americans and the Europeans. The Russians have an offer from the US and Europe to join the ExoMars missions to the Red Planet in 2016 and 2018.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/science-environment-16491457

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Graham, Scott: If Romney Wins South Carolina, He Wins the Nomination (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | With the South Carolina Primary looming, politicians from the Palmetto State are everywhere one turns, appearing on talk shows and in videotaped segments, offering their opinions on the GOP presidential race and the importance of the South Carolina Primary itself. Sen. Lindsay Graham and Congressman Tim Scott appeared on NBC's "Meet The Press" today and asserted that a Mitt Romney win in their state basically seals the Republican nomination for the former Massachusetts governor. Were the two Republicans engaging in a little political hyperbole? And if not, how could that be, especially with 47 more primaries and caucuses to go in the 2012 nominating cycle?

"If for some reason he's not derailed here and Mitt Romney wins South Carolina, no one's ever won all three, I think it should be over," Graham told "Meet The Press." "That would be quite a testament to his ability as a candidate and a campaigner."

Scott agreed on the same episode. "If Romney wins South Carolina," he said, "I think the game is over."

But how can that be? Simply put: By the time the South Carolina Primary is held (Jan. 21), the war chests of the Republican campaigns will either be empty, nearly empty, or even running in the red. Most won't be able to stay in the race without continued financing. This happens during each presidential nomination cycle, where the candidates sink their money in the first several contests -- Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida. Without a good showing in these contests, many of the contenders drop out, winnowing the overall field. Those who have plenty of backing or get backing after posting strong results can expect their campaign coffers to be refilled and at least carry on through one or several more contests.

But Mitt Romney has won the first two contests (the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary), something no non-incumbent Republican candidate has ever done before. And even with strong anti-Romney sentiment in the Republican ranks, it does not appear to be strong enough to stop him. At least, not while the Republicans are fragmented.

Attempting to rectify that problem, a meeting of conservative evangelical Christian leaders over the weekend voted to endorse Sen. Rick Santorum (via the National Post ) in an effort to unify the Christian vote and support a candidate more conservative than Romney. With less than a week before the South Carolina Primary, it is uncertain if the move will be effective.

Romney, who has battled accusations that he is too liberal, that he flip flops on issues, and that he is not a true Christian (although that factor, that Romney's religion is seen as a cult by many evangelicals, is mostly subtext and rarely mentioned), has the lead in the South Carolina polls (as tracked by Real Clear Politics). His strongest contender appears to be Newt Gingrich, although Santorum made a strong bid in evangelical Iowa and helped produce the closest race in the Caucus' history. Santorum currently is polling in third and fourth in a dead heat with Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

But Graham and Scott may also be buying into the idea that South Carolina traditionally has picked the Republican nominee, which gives it a sort of benedictory status. According to NPR, since the Primary's inception in 1980, South Carolina has chosen the candidate that eventually became the Republican nominee for president.

But it does not have to be that way. By the time South Carolina has voted and allocated its 25 delegates, there still will have only been 55 delegates appointed (some non-binding). There will be 2,286 appointed by the end of the primary cycle.

But by the time Florida holds its Primary on Jan. 31 (the fourth contest in the cycle), the race will either be over or nearly so. Candidates will have reached the end of their financial limits, hoping for something to give their campaign a spark or make the frontrunner stumble. If Romney takes the first-in-the-South primary in South Carolina, it would appear that momentum would be in his favor going into Florida. Financial backers become reluctant to back long shots as the race gets to Florida (and beyond) and only a candidate like Rep. Ron Paul, who has a solid base of supporters that rally periodically with "money bombs" to refill his campaign coffers, will continue for any extended period after South Carolina without some sign of a surge.

Although Sen. Lindsay Graham and Rep. Tim Scott shouldn't be correct in their assertions, especially given the number of states left to hold primaries and caucuses and the great number of delegates yet to be allocated, they most likely are.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120115/pl_ac/10838621_graham_scott_if_romney_wins_south_carolina_he_wins_the_nomination

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GOP candidates fail to get on some primary ballots

Republican presidential candidate former, House Speaker Newt Gingrich waves as he arrives at a rally for home ownership, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, at the State Capitol in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Republican presidential candidate former, House Speaker Newt Gingrich waves as he arrives at a rally for home ownership, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, at the State Capitol in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Karen Santorum, right, interjects during a question and answer session with her husband Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, left, at a campaign town hall meeting Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry greets people during a campaign visit, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, in Summerville, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets supporters at the conclusion of a campaign stop at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Many of Mitt Romney's presidential challengers are having trouble fulfilling a fundamental requirement of running for public office: getting on the ballot.

Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman have all failed to qualify for the ballot in at least one upcoming GOP primary. In other states, they have failed to file full slates of delegates with state or party officials, raising questions about whether these candidates have the resources to wage effective national campaigns.

And if one of them were able to marshal enough anti-Romney forces to challenge the front-runner, the ballot blunders could limit their ability to win delegates in key states.

The exception: Ron Paul, who appears to have avoided such pitfalls so far.

"This is why you need a real-life, no-kidding-around campaign," said Rich Galen, a GOP strategist and former Gingrich aide who is neutral in the 2012 race. "All these guys who have been crowing that they found a new way to run for president, it's like saying I'm inventing a new airplane, and it has only one wing."

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, won the first two contests, in Iowa and New Hampshire, and he is leading in the polls in South Carolina and Florida, the next two states to have primaries. Romney raised $56 million in 2011 for his campaign, giving him big financial and organizational advantages over his GOP rivals.

Those advantages are on display as many of his competitors miss deadlines or fail to collect enough signatures to meet ballot requirements in upcoming contests.

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator who came within a few votes of winning the Iowa caucuses, failed to get on the ballot in Virginia or the District of Columbia. His campaign also filed incomplete slates of delegates in Illinois and Ohio, which could limit his ability to win delegates in those key states.

Virginia has been a tough ballot to crack for several GOP candidates because the state requires campaigns to collect signatures from at least 10,000 registered voters. Romney and Paul were the only ones who made the ballot for the March 6 primary. Perry sued, and he has since been joined in the lawsuit by Gingrich, Huntsman and Santorum.

Santorum is the only major candidate who will be left off the ballot in the District of Columbia primary April 3, said Paul Craney, executive director of the DC Republican Committee. The party provides two ways to get on the ballot: Pay $10,000, or pay $5,000 and collect signatures from 296 registered Republicans in the heavily Democratic capital city.

"It's not easy, but it can be done, if you are a serious presidential candidate," Craney said. "All the presidential candidates who are serious about winning the nomination will be on the D.C. ballot."

Santorum adviser John Brabender acknowledged that Romney has more money and a larger campaign organization. But, he said, Santorum's campaign has gained resources and momentum since the close finish in Iowa. Romney, he said, has been running for president for the past six years, giving him more time to build his organization.

"It's a different campaign than it was earlier," Brabender said.

Huntsman, the former Utah governor, failed to get on the ballot in Arizona or Illinois.

The requirements to get on the GOP ballot in Arizona are pretty easy ? all you have to do is fill out a two-page form. Twenty-three candidates managed to do it properly, so they will be on the ballot for the state's Feb. 28 primary.

Huntsman, however, was left off the ballot because his filing had a photocopied signature and wasn't notarized, said Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett.

"If you can't get on the ballot around the country, you're a regional candidate, by definition," said Rich Beeson, the Romney campaign's political director. "Barack Obama is going to be on the ballot in all 50 states, and so will we."

Gingrich, the former House speaker, didn't make it on the ballot for primaries in Missouri or Virginia, though he has joined the lawsuit to get on the Virginia ballot and Missouri won't award any delegates based on its Feb. 7 primary. Instead, Missouri Republicans will hold caucuses March 17.

Perry, the Texas governor, made the ballot in Illinois, but he will only be eligible to win one delegate in the state's March 20 primary ? a contest in which 54 delegates will be up for grabs.

It will take 1,144 delegates to win the nomination at the Republican national convention this summer.

Illinois has a unique way of awarding delegates to candidates. The winner of the state's GOP primary doesn't necessarily get any delegates. Instead, Republicans will vote for the actual delegates, who are listed separately on the ballot but are identified by the candidate they support.

Each of the state's 18 congressional districts will elect three delegates, for a total of 54. To appear on the ballot as a delegate, candidates had to collect signatures from at least 600 registered voters in the district where they are running.

Only one Perry delegate filed signatures by the deadline, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. Gingrich, Paul and Romney filed full slates, while only 44 Santorum delegates filed signatures.

The system is designed to keep fly-by-night candidates from crowding the ballot, said Christopher Mooney, a political science professor at the University of Illinois in Springfield.

"It keeps people who don't know what they're doing out of the arena," Mooney said.

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Associated Press writers Paul Davenport in Phoenix and Ann Sanner in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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