Catch the afterglow of the solar storm

By Alan Boyle

Did you feel that magnetic breeze? Solar weather trackers say a "pulse" in the solar wind of electrically charged particles swept past monitoring satellites today, in the wake of last Friday's X-class solar flare and coronal mass ejection. But the main force of the blast was not pointing toward Earth, and thus no big impact on our planet's magnetic field is expected.

"Another effect of Friday's eruption, a solar radiation storm, continues its leisurely decay and is nearing the end of the event," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Solar Weather Prediction Center reported on its website.

The most significant effect of the past week's solar storming has been an upswing in spectacular pictures of the northern lights, as seen from Scandinavia and other high-latitude locales. Swedish photographer Peter Rosen got some great pictures over the weekend.

"I live in Abisko, next to the Aurora Sky Station ? a great place to see northern lights," Rosen told me in an email. "The Aurora Sky Station has become a very nice tourist attraction. ... I was there last Saturday and almost 100 people from all over the world were on the mountain. We had a great aurora from 9 p.m. to 12:30 due to another geomagnetic storm."

For more of the latest and greatest pictures of the northern lights, check out the selection on Rosen's website, Rosenmedia.se, as well as on SpaceWeather.com. Stay tuned for further auroral updates as the sun's 11-year activity cycle heads toward an expected peak in 2013.

More auroral glories:

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Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

Source: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10271435-afterglow-from-the-solar-storm

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[OOC] The Haunting of Whispering Oaks

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Cell Therapeutics withdraws cancer drug application (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Cell Therapeutics Inc said on Monday it has voluntarily withdrawn the marketing application for its cancer drug, sending its shares down 17 percent before the bell.

The company said it withdrew the application as it needed additional time to prepare for the review of the drug, Pixuvri, designed as a treatment for relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in patients who failed two or more lines of prior therapy.

Cell Therapeutics said it had requested the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reschedule the drug's review date prior to the withdrawal, but the health regulator was unable to accommodate the request.

The company plans to resubmit the application later this year.

Shares of the Seattle-based company were down 17 percent at $1.13 in premarket trade. They closed at $1.33 on Friday on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Kavyanjali Kaushik in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/hl_nm/us_celltherapeutics

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All Yoga iPhone app strikes the right pose (Appolicious)

All Yoga strikes a careful balance, giving beginners needed structure in order to understand the basics, while providing room to experiment for those who are comfortable with advanced poses.

That depth manifests itself in a few different ways. The most obvious is that while All Yoga showcases individual poses, listing step-by-step photos alongside written instructions for how to perform each pose, the meat of the app is in its programs.

Users can select from pre-set sequences, like the sun salutation, strengthening practice or stress management practice, and they?ll be treated to a carefully selected list of poses. This is particularly great for beginners who might not be sure what order to do their yoga poses in to get the most benefit from them.

Those with more familiarity with yoga poses can certainly use those programmed sequences, but should also find the ?Routines? tab on the app a welcome site. In ?Routines,? users can create their own practice sequences and save them for later use. It?s a great way for people to apply the knowledge they?ve gained through the structured practices on their own.

If you don?t have the money to spend taking an actual yoga class, All Yoga seems like a great alternative. It could use some voice narration for the poses, as some of them make it a bit difficult to look at your iPhone as you tie yourself in knots, but other than that, this is a superbly put-together app with appeal for all audiences.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10890_all_yoga_iphone_app_strikes_the_right_pose/44348232/SIG=12tebdd5t/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/health/articles/10890-all-yoga-iphone-app-strikes-the-right-pose

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Panetta: Pakistan doctor gave US key bin Laden intel

WASHINGTON?? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is acknowledging publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the U.S. in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden's compound last May.

Panetta told CBS's "60 Minutes," in a profile to be broadcast on Sunday, that Shakil Afridi helped provide intelligence for the raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA and verify bin Laden's presence in the compound.

He has since been charged by Pakistan with treason .

Panetta said he is "very concerned" for the doctor.

'What the hell's going on'?
Panetta also told "60 Minutes" that he remains convinced that someone in the Pakistani government must have had an idea that a person of interest was in the compound.

Report: CIA ran vaccine ruse to get bin Laden's DNA

"I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what ... what was happening at this compound. Don't forget, this compound had 18 foot walls ... It was the largest compound in the area. So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, 'What the hell's going on there?'" Panetta told the show.

Slideshow: After the raid: Inside bin Laden's compound (on this page)

He added that he has no proof that Pakistan knew it was bin Laden.

The Pakistani government had hoped to resolve the Afridi matter quietly, once media attention died down, perhaps releasing him to U.S. custody, according to two Pakistani officials.

Interactive: A timeline of Osama bin Laden's life (on this page)

They requested anonymity because the investigation into charges the doctor behaved treasonously was ongoing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46173360/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Peter, Paul and Mary bassist Dick Kniss dies at 74

In this undated photo provided by Gloria Jean, Dick Kniss plays the acoustic bass. Kniss, who performed for five decades with Peter, Paul and Mary and co-wrote the John Denver hit "Sunshine on My Shoulders," died on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2012 in Saugerties, N.Y. He was 74. (AP Photo/Gloria Jean) NO SALES

In this undated photo provided by Gloria Jean, Dick Kniss plays the acoustic bass. Kniss, who performed for five decades with Peter, Paul and Mary and co-wrote the John Denver hit "Sunshine on My Shoulders," died on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2012 in Saugerties, N.Y. He was 74. (AP Photo/Gloria Jean) NO SALES

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. (AP) ? Dick Kniss, a bassist who performed for five decades with the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary and co-wrote the John Denver hit "Sunshine on My Shoulders," has died. He was 74.

Kniss died Wednesday of pulmonary disease at a hospital near his home in the Hudson Valley town of Saugerties, his wife, Diane Kniss said.

Kniss was born in Portland, Ore., and was an original member of Denver's 1970s band. He also played with jazz greats including Herbie Hancock and Woody Herman.

Active in the 1960s civil rights movement, Kniss performed at benefits for a range of causes and played during the first celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday.

Peter, Paul and Mary's Peter Yarrow said in a statement that Kniss was "our intrepid bass player for almost as long as we performed together.

"He was a dear and beloved part of our closest family circle and his bass playing was always a great fourth voice in our music as well as, conceptually, an original and delightfully surprising new statement added to our vocal arrangements," Yarrow said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-27-Obit-Kniss/id-797cfe96f5d842a8adac0acbddc042d0

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Feisty Gingrich stakes campaign on electability

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in Delray Beach, Fla., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks in Delray Beach, Fla., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at Lanco Paint Company in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Romney and Gingrich square off over immigration and other issues as they look to woo Hispanics a day after a feisty, final debate before Tuesday?s Florida primary. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) ? Newt Gingrich has staked his presidential bid on one idea: that he is best positioned to defeat President Barack Obama. Even some of his supporters seem to be struggling to buy the former House speaker's claim, an indication that chief rival Mitt Romney's efforts to undercut him may be working.

"Beating Obama is more important than everything else," Patrick Roehl, a 51-year-old computer software engineer, said in the midst of a packed Gingrich rally inside a Sarasota airport hangar this week. "Can Newt win? I'm not sure. He's got a lot of high negatives. The elections are won and lost in the middle. I'm not sure he appeals to the middle."

John Grainger, a 44-year-old assistant golf pro, doesn't like Romney. But he's having trouble shaking skepticism about Gingrich.

"I want to be a Newt supporter," he said. "This guy's going to have the guts to stand up and speak his piece ? no holds barred." But Grainger said he wasn't quite ready to back the former House speaker.

Interviews with more than a dozen Republican voters at Gingrich's overflowing rallies this week suggest that while many Florida voters love his brash style as they look for someone to take it to Obama, they also have lingering doubts about whether the Republican's intellectual bomb-throwing alone will make him the strongest Obama opponent.

Romney and his allies have spent a week working to stoke those doubts with Florida Republicans ahead of Tuesday's primary. And the GOP's establishment wing has started to help the former Massachusetts governor make that case by castigating Gingrich at every turn.

On television and on the campaign trail, Romney and his allies have steadily highlighted Gingrich's liabilities ? consulting contracts and ethics investigations among them. And they've suggested that more baggage could emerge in the fall, when the Republican nominee would be at the height of a general election battle against Obama.

"In the case of the speaker, he's got some records which could represent an October surprise," Romney said this week, referring to Gingrich's consulting work and ethics allegations when he was in the House. "We could see an October surprise a day from Newt Gingrich."

An outside group dedicated to helping Romney has spent almost $9 million on Florida television advertising, including a massive $4 million investment this week alone, to make the case even more explicitly.

"Newt Gingrich's tough talk sounds good, but Newt has tons of baggage. How will he ever beat Obama?" says the new ad from the so-called super PAC, Restore Our Future.

Gingrich, to be sure, is not letting such criticism go unanswered. He's telling everyone ? on the trail, in television interviews, on conference calls and in fundraising messages ? that he alone can defeat Obama. He points to his 12 percentage point victory in the South Carolina primary as proof.

Exit polling there showed that the majority of Republican voters, 51 percent, said that Gingrich was better suited to defeat the Democratic president.

"Their highest value was beating Obama," Gingrich told evangelical voters this week. "And if they thought Romney was the only person who could beat Obama, then they would swallow a lie. But the minute they thought there were two people who could beat Obama, they suddenly turned and said, Well, you know, maybe we should be for Newt."

Polls suggest that Gingrich could defeat Romney in Florida, a surge fueled partly by growing support from the tea party movement and continued anti-Romney sentiment. Gingrich drew massive crowds at venues across Florida this week.

But in those swelling crowds were conservatives who said they were drawn less by Gingrich's electability than his fiery rhetoric.

"He's a fighter. Mitt, I think, is too wishy-washy," said Dominique Boscia, a 43-year-old unemployed woman from Lakewood Ranch. "I like feisty people. I like people who have spunk."

That's certainly Gingrich. For months, he has used aggressive debate performances to fuel his underdog candidacy. He has consistently thrilled conservatives by promising to take the fight directly to Obama in a series of free-form debates modeled after the 1860 meetings between Illinois Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.

Should Obama refuse, Gingrich says he'll follow the president on the campaign trail until he agrees.

That gets good applause lines at rallies. But a closer look at polling suggests that a debate beat down doesn't necessarily mean Gingrich can beat the president in an election that will include independents and Democrats.

Gingrich struggled among independents in a recent Washington Post-ABC News national poll, in which 53 percent gave him unfavorable marks and just 22 percent had a favorable opinion of the former House speaker. While Romney has typically polled better among independents, the poll ? conducted between Jan. 18 and 22 ? found virtually no difference: 51 percent of independents viewed him unfavorably, compared with 23 with favorable views.

But when all Florida voters, including independents and Democrats, are asked to weigh in, Romney appears to have a strong advantage over Gingrich, according to a poll conducted by Suffolk University-WSVN-TV Miami. Romney would defeat Obama here 47 percent to 42 percent; Gingrich would lose, earning just 40 percent to Obama's 49 percent of likely Florida general election voters.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-28-Gingrich-Electability/id-65b11f70056243b1929924bec3d559e2

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Mark C. Russell, Ph.D., ABPP: Preventing Military Misconduct Stress Behaviors

January 2012 ushered in a new year, but an old, recurring problem for war veterans. According to a January 2012, CareerCast.com article, "The 10 Most Stressful Jobs in 2012," the No. 1 stressful vocation in the U.S. is an "enlisted soldier."

Here are just some of news headlines at the mid-month mark alone that appear to lend credence to the selection:

? An Iraq War veteran is arrested for the brutal murder of five homeless men after his friend's death in Afghanistan. His family said he had become a "troubled man" since returning from Iraq.

? A video is released showing U.S. Marines urinating on Taliban corpses.

? A picture is published of U.S. Air Force personnel charged with handling American remains pretending to be dead in an open casket with a noose around an airman's neck, with the words "Sucks 2 Be U."

? A 19-year-old Army private dies from a "self-inflicted gunshot wound" in Afghanistan, after unrelenting physical, racial and emotional torment from his fellow soldiers.

? Video is released of U.S. Army soldiers joyfully slaughtering an Afghanistan boy's sheep.

? An Iraqi war veteran kills a Washington State Park Ranger, then dies from exposure

? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reported a "stain" on the military with 3,191 sexual assaults occurring last year, but he said that because so few victims report the crime, the real number is closer to 19,000 assaults.

What do the above incidents share in common besides making the January headlines and involving enlisted military members during a time of war? They exemplify what the American military calls "misconduct stress behaviors," present during every armed conflict, including by officers, as evident in the My Lai massacre.

Combat and Operational Stress Reaction -- or "COSR" -- is the new DoD-approved term referring to the adverse reactions military personnel may experience when exposed to combat, deployment-related stress or other operational stressors. The U.S. military recognizes a continuum of COSRs ranging from adaptive stress reactions to "misconduct stress behaviors." Misconduct stress behaviors describe a range of maladaptive stress reactions from minor to serious violations of military or civilian law and the Law of Land Warfare, most often occurring in poorly-trained personnel, but "good and heroic, under extreme stress may also engage in misconduct" (Department of the Army, 2006; p. 1-6). Examples include: mutilating enemy dead, not taking prisoners, looting, rape, brutality, killing animals, self-inflicted wounds, "fragging," desertion, torture and intentionally killing non-combatants. The military has identified factors that may increase misconduct stress behaviors, including:

? Boredom and monotonous duties, especially if combined with chronic frustration and tension.

? Rapid return of soldiers to close contact with noncombatant military, civilians, or families after an intense battle experience without a unit stand-down period in which to defuse.

? Commission of atrocities by the enemy, especially if against U.S. personnel, but also if against local civilians.

? Racial and ethnic tension which can occur within the U.S. civilian population and among army personnel. Tension and misconduct may also stem from major cultural and physical/ racial differences between U.S. soldiers and the local population.

? Local civilian population may be perceived as hostile, untrustworthy or "subhuman."

? Failure of expected support, such as inadequate medical support.

? Popular opposition at home to the war; lack of understanding or belief in the justness of the effort.

What can be done to prevent misconduct stress behaviors?

It would be an accurate statement that none of the service members that made the January 2012 headlines got there without a long trail of opportunities for someone(s) to intervene. Expert consensus within and outside the military is that early identification and intervention is critical in order to avoid severe, chronic COSRs such as PTSD, depression and suicide, substance abuse and misconduct stress behaviors. The military's deployment cycle health screenings, Combat Operational Stress Control programs, anti-mental health stigma, resiliency training and a plethora of post-deployment and transitional support programs, along with the Department of Veteran's Affairs (DVA) mental health outreach and suicide prevention programs, all represent notable efforts to stem the tide.

However, military, government, media and multiple other sources all point to dramatic escalations in rates of military and veteran suicides, domestic violence, divorce, mental health diagnoses such as PTSD, sexual assault, substance abuse, homelessness, joblessness, health problems and misconduct stress behaviors including homicides. What else can be done?

Alternative early interventions in the war zone and back home

One possible early intervention strategy that has yet to be fully explored is EMDR therapy. Clearly not a panacea, however EMDR should be strongly considered as a frontline treatment option for the full continuum of COSR-especially while the service member remains within the supportive framework of the military, and hopefully before the commission of any serious misconduct stress behaviors.

Since 2004, EMDR has been recognized by the DVA and DoD as a top evidence-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders according to their own clinical practice guidelines. With high rates of mental health stigma in the military, EMDR has the unique advantage of being noticeably different than standard talk therapy. Service personnel are not required to self-disclose details of events that they have witnessed or participated in, and the effects tend to be more rapid and generalize to other contributing experiences that often underlie difficulties associated with depression, suicide, anger, substance use, aggression, medically unexplained conditions, and so on.

As a recently-retired military psychologist, former enlisted Marine and OEF/OIF veteran, I have successfully treated hundreds of military personnel with EMDR therapy before, during and after deployments including problems involving combat-related acute stress disorder, traumatic grief, depression and suicidal ideation, phantom limb pain, PTSD and aggressive impulses.

This is not to suggest that any of the January incidents would definitely have been prevented even if those veterans had received EMDR. However, there is no doubt in my mind that EMDR therapy can significantly reduce and/or relieve a lot of pain and suffering for many military members and veterans, and doing so would prevent an untold number of misconduct stress behaviors and chronic war stress injuries such as PTSD and depression. If you are interested in finding an EMDR therapist that specializes in veteran treatment, try the EMDR International Association or the EMDR Institute.

That war changes everyone is an irrefutable fact of military life. Tragically, it is also a fact that warring Western societies have repeatedly neglected to learn the so-called "psychiatric lessons of war," resulting in monumental failures to anticipate and meet the mental health needs of those sent in harm's way. Consequently, there is always more that can and should be done to prevent the tragedies that have occurred in January 2012. If we prevented one incident, saved one life, it would be worth the time and investment.

For more by Mark C. Russell, Ph.D., ABPP, click here.

For more on PTSD, click here.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-c-russell-phd-abpp/ptsd-veterans_b_1228546.html

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Avastin May Help Colorectal Cancer Patients Live Longer, Study ...

* Avastin extends survival as second round treatment- study
* Boost after previous setbacks
ZURICH, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Patients with advanced colorectal cancer who received Roche's Avastin live longer when they also receive the drug as part of their second round of treatment, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday, citing a late-stage study.
Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer first treated with Avastin and standard chemotherapy before being given Avastin with a different chemotherapy after their disease had progressed lived significantly longer than those given only chemotherapy in the second-line setting, Roche said.
The news is likely to boost sentiment around the drug, which recently suffered a major setback when U.S. authorities decided to revoke their backing of its use in breast cancer.
Roche will submit the results of the ML 18147 study at an upcoming medical meeting.
In Europe, Avastin is currently approved in colorectal, lung, renal, breast cancer and it has just won approval in ovarian cancer. (Reporting by Katie Reid; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/avastin-colorectal-cancer_n_1232969.html

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Common explains feud with Drake (AP)

PARK CITY, Utah ? The Sundance Film Festival became the unlikely center of hip-hop's latest feud when actor-turned-rapper Drake and rapper-turned-actor Common came to town.

Common was promoting his role in upcoming family drama "LUV," while Drake was performing at one of the many late-night parties.

The two have traded insults recently via their raps, but Common said he didn't want to say anything else about Drake not in rhyme form.

"I feel like I said everything I really needed to say on the record. I just looked at it as like `Hey, it's just a hip-hop battle,'" he explained in an interview this week.

"The time to talk is on record as far as I'm concerned. If we in the ring, then we just handle our business in the ring."

Common had the most recent entry into the battle, by adding his verse to a Rick Ross song and naming Drake directly ? a move that the Chicago native said he felt obligated to make.

"Ice Cube, when he was going at N.W.A., once he left N.W.A., you knew who it was. Jay-Z and Nas ? Jay-Z said, `Smarten up, Nas.' And you just knew. Cats would say names," he continued.

"So that's just the way that I feel like you've got to do it. I don't want to like leave anything _I don't want anybody else to think I'm talking about them. I want you to know, `Hey this is who I'm talking to.'"

Common, known more lately for his acting than his rapping, started the battle with a song called "Sweet" on his new album, "The Dreamer/The Believer."

"He (Drake) felt offended by it. And the song is really discussing how hip-hop has a softer side," said Common.

"And I made it clear that I'm not talking about anyone specifically. For me it was no different than when Jay-Z addressed with `DOA,' he was talking about Auto-Tune. I was talking about, `Hey, you know hip-hop is starting to become more just saturated with softer songs,'" he said. "And I don't see anything the matter actually with the love songs. I do love songs. So I don't see anything the matter with it, but when the music becomes saturated with it, I mean, I speak up. I love hip-hop music."

The festival continues through Sunday.

___

Online:

http://www.thinkcommon.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_en_ot/us_people_common

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BLABBERMOUTH.NET - CANCER BATS: 'Old Blood' Video Released

"Old Blood", the new video from Canadian metallers CANCER BATS, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Josh Warburton and produced by Peter Dreimanis.

"Old Blood" comes off CANCER BATS' fourth album, "Dead Set On Living", which is due on April 17 via Distort Inc.

In a recent interview with Blare magazine, CANCER BATS vocalist Liam Cormier stated about "Dead Set On Living", "I think sound-wise there's definitely more of the natural evolution of how gnarly we keep getting and how more refined everyone sounds. I'd say the majority of our fans now have seen our band live and know how gnarly and ferocious it is, so trying to compress that into a recording still is kind of difficult. Like we'd say, I thought we did it pretty well on 'Bears',' and then we'd re-examine that and we'd see there's still some elements that are missing." Schwarzer added, "But there's always stuff that comes up with every record, like what haven't we really captured yet. With doing the [BLACK] SABBATH covers at Sonisphere [festival] and then going into writing this one and thinking about how they had written their songs, we tried to apply some of that into what we're doing. Different elements are always going to come up when recording a new record. We'd always ask ourselves, 'What haven't we done?' and 'How can I make this better?' and doing that made it way more interesting." Cormier continued, "I think the big thing too is the realization that we're always going to be CANCER BATS. And from looking at BLACK SABBATH, we realized that even though BLACK SABBATH are these four guys, none of them are doing the same thing at the exact same time. Like none of it lines up at any point but it all works so well, to the point where you don't even notice it. That was a big thing. We used to feel that all the parts playing along together would sound tighter, but now we've found that everyone confidently playing their own part makes the whole thing sound tighter and more cohesive. On this album, nothing sits on top of anything because it's all got its own distinct voice."

CANCER BATS was nominated in the "Rock Album of the Year" category at the 2011 Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards). The band faced off against fellow Canadians DIE MANNEQUIN, FINGER ELEVEN, HAIL THE VILLIAN and MATTHEW GOOD.

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Source: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=168752

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Watch This Hilarious PSA on Why You Shouldn't Text and Walk [Video]

Filmmaker Casey Neistat filmed a pretty funny PSA-type video about the dangers of texting and walking at the same time for the NY Times. It hilariously analyzes the pitfalls of the text-and-walk which includes being rude, blind spots and the sheer danger of it all. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/eHdfkdLjXGk/watch-this-hilarious-psa-on-why-you-shouldnt-text-and-walk

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Video: Romney: Gingrich an ?influence peddler?

>> all right. let us begin this morning with breaking political news. the overnight release of mitt romney 's tax returns . nbc's peter alexander is in tampa. good morning to you.

>> reporter: matt, good morning. as you noted this morning governor romney has been facing increasing pressure to release his tax returns . he put out his 2010 tax returns and an estimate of the 2011 returns. we'll put that information now up on your screen. they reveal that he made a combined income in two years of nearly $43 million. he paid more to charity than he did to the irs paying out $6.2 million in taxes over two years. his charitable giving was $7 million. finally that adds up to a tax rate of 14%. the debate last night was a role reversal with mitt romney on the offensive against newt gingrich referring to him often as an influence peddler.

>> i think this is going to come down to a question of leadership.

>> reporter: with new aggressiveness mitt romney wasted little time attacking newt gingrich . the speaker was given an opportunity to be the leader of our party in 1994 . at the end of four years he had to resign in disgrace.

>> i'm not going to spend time chasing down governor romney .

>> i'm not going to get attacked day in day out without returning fire.

>> reporter: early monday romney rolled out his first negative ad of the campaign taking aim of gingrich 's relationship with freddie mac .

>> gingrich was paid over $1.6 million by the group that created the crisis.

>> i was a historian.

>> reporter: gingrich released his before the debate.

>> mr. speaker, you were on this stage at a prior debate. you said you were paid $300,000 by freddie mac as an historian. they don't pay people $25,000 a month for six years as historians. we have congressmen who say you lobbied them in favor --

>> i didn't lobby them.

>> they say you lobbied them with regard to medicare part d .

>> whoa, whoa. you just jumped a long way over here, friend. i understand your technique which you used on mccain, huckabee. you have used it consistently. it's unfortunate and it won't work well because the american people see through it.

>> rick santorum stayed above the fray saying he draws the clearest contrast with president obama .

>> if you have learned anything about this election that any type of prediction is going to be wrong. the idea that this was a two-person race has been an idea that has been in fashion now for eight months and it's been wrong about eight times.

>> reporter: also trailing the front-runners here, ron paul said he has no plans to run as a third party candidate but gave a back-handed compliment to his surging rival.

>> would you support a newt gingrich for the gop?

>> he hints about attacking the fed, talks about gold. if i could change him on foreign policy we might be able to talk business.

>> reporter: a couple miglight moments on stage. tonight we'll hear the state of the union . today mitt romney is expected to speak about jobs and the economy right here in what was a factory where they produced drywall. this place has been shuttered for years.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/46113347/

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Democrat's cat slain, 'liberal' scrawled on it

By msnbc.com staff and news services

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Police were investigating Monday after a?cat belonging to?the family of a Democrat's?campaign manager was beaten to death and the word "liberal" scrawled across its side.

The cat belonged to the family of Jake Burris, who manages Democrat Ken Aden's bid for Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District.

Burris was returning to his Russellville home with his four children when he found the cat on his doorstep Sunday night, the Aden campaign said in a press release.

The mixed-breed Siamese cat had one side of its head bashed in to "the point the cat's eyeball was barely hanging from its socket," the release said.

Aden told Reuters that the event was "horrible, to say the least."

"Thankfully, there are not that many people who want to do something like this," Aden said. "The majority of people in this district are hard-working folks, but you get the occasional crazy individual out there."

The Russellville Police Department is investigating the incident as an animal cruelty case, according to a police official. Russellville is 80 miles west of Little Rock.

Aden is running against incumbent Republican Representative Steve Womack.

Aden and Burris said they did not believe Womack or his re-election campaign were involved in the incident.

Arkansas' 3rd District is heavily conservative Republican and has been held by a Republican since the 1966 election. Womack first won the congressional seat in 2010 with 72 percent of the vote.

The Womack campaign denounced the violence on Monday.

"The thought of brutalizing any animal for the sake of making a political statement is beyond any standard of decency and the person or people responsible for this act should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," said Beau Walker, Womack's chief of staff.

Reuters contributed to this report.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10218676-democrats-cat-beaten-to-death-liberal-scrawled-across-it

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Refiner Petroplus filing for insolvency (AP)

LONDON ? Swiss-based Petroplus Holdings, Europe's largest independent oil refiner, said Tuesday that it was filing for insolvency after failing to reach an agreement with its lenders on its $1.75 billion credit line.

Petroplus said the lenders had filed notices of acceleration, effectively placing the company in default, and appointed a receiver for the Swiss company's U.K. assets.

It is preparing to file for insolvency in Switzerland and other countries where it has subsidiaries. The company has refineries in Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany and England.

Petroplus, which reported a net loss of $413 million in the first nine months of last year, said last week it had decided to sell the facility in France and might do same with the Swiss and Belgian sites.

"We have worked hard to avoid this outcome, but were ultimately not able to come to an agreement with our lenders to resolve these issues given the very tight and difficult European credit and refining markets," chief executive Jean-Paul Vettier said in a statement from company headquarters in Zug, Switzerland.

Trading in the Petroplus shares had been suspended on Monday. On Tuesday, they plummeted 84.4 percent to 0.23 Swiss francs.

The company's troubles already have forced a halt to production at the Cressier refinery in northwest Switzerland, but that has not caused any disruption to the nation's fuel supplies.

Petroplus had announced on Dec. 30 that it would temporarily shut down the Petite Couronne, France; Antwerp, Belgium; and Cressier refineries in January "given limited credit availability and the economic climate in Europe."

The company was downgraded by Standard & Poor's late last year from B to CCC+.

In Britain, the Unite union said 1,000 jobs were at stake at Petroplus' Coryton refinery, which represents a tenth of Britain's refinery capacity and is a key supplier for the London area.

"This is a hammer blow for the people who work at the refinery in Coryton, who have been kept totally in the dark over the negotiations in Switzerland but have today received the news they most feared," said Richard Margrave, a member of the European Parliament who represents the area.

Employees were working at the refinery as normal but no shipments of refined products were being made, a condition imposed by the lenders, Margrave said.

Refinery profitability has been squeezed as operating expenses and the cost of crude oil rose faster than the value of the products, and the economic slowdown in Europe has added to the pressure.

A survey by energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie in 2010 found that 29 of 96 refineries in the European Union did not generate a positive net cash margin.

___

Geir Moulson in Berlin and Frank Jordans in Davos contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_petroplus

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Costa CEO says captain misled company, crew (AP)

ROME ? The cruise captain who grounded the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast with 4,200 people on board did not relay correct information either to the company or crew after the ship hit rocks, the cruise ship owner's CEO said Friday as the search resumed for 21 missing passengers.

CEO Pierluigi Foschi told Italian state TV that the company spoke to the captain at 10:05 p.m. (2105 GMT; 4:05 p.m. EST), some 20 minutes after the ship ran aground on Jan. 13, but could not offer proper assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth."

Capt. Francesco Schettino said only that he had "problems" on board but did not mention hitting a reef.

Likewise, Foschi said crew members were not informed of the gravity of the situation.

Passenger video shown on Italian TV indicates crew members telling passengers to go to their cabins as late as 10:25 p.m. (2125 GMT; 4:25 p.m. EST). The abandon ship alarm sounded just before 11:00 p.m. (2200 GMT; 5:00 p.m. EST).

"That's because they also did not receive correct information on the gravity of the situation," Foschi said.

The $450 million Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into well-charted rocks off the island of Giglio a week ago. Eleven people have been confirmed dead.

The Concordia shifted again on its rocky perch Friday, forcing the suspension of diving search operations for the 21 people still missing and raising concerns about the stability of the ship's resting place. But the search in areas above the waterline resumed in the evening after the ship was deemed stable.

The remarks by Costa CEO Foschi are the latest to indicate a lack of proper communication with authorities on land as the emergency unfolded.

An audiotape of the Concordia's first contact with maritime authorities has a Concordia office repeatedly replying that the ship had experienced a blackout, even though it had hit the reef more than half an hour earlier.

Italian media reported the officer on the call was Schettino, but that could not be independently confirmed.

Costa Crociere SpA, which offered support to the captain in the hours after the emergency, has now turned its back on the man who is under investigation for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship. Schettino, who was jailed after he left the ship, is under house arrest near Naples.

Costa in recent days has suspended Schettino, announced it is no longer paying his legal fees and has signed on as a civil party in the prosecution, a move that positions it as an injured party and would allow it to seek damages in the case of a guilty verdict.

Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro said crews will evaluate the ship's stability Saturday morning to see if the diving operation can resume, focusing on an area where passengers would have sought lifeboats, Nicastro said.

It was not clear if the slight movements registered by sensors placed on board the Costa Concordia were just vibrations as the ship settles on the rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio or if the massive ocean liner is slowly slipping off the reef. Salvage experts suggest it could be because of pockets of air gradually escaping.

The sensors detected that the ship's bow was moving about 15 millimeters (half an inch) an hour and the stern about 7 millimeters (one-quarter inch) an hour, said Nicola Casagli of the University of Florence, who was called in by Italian authorities to monitor the ship's stability.

The Concordia's movements are being watched since any significant shift could be dangerous for divers trying to locate those missing since the Concordia ran aground Jan. 13. An additional fear is that movement could damage tanks holding a 500,000 gallons of fuel oil and lead to leaks.

The sea floor drops off sharply a few meters (yards) from where the ship is resting, and Italy's environment minister has warned it risks sinking.

On Friday, relatives of some of the 21 missing were at Giglio's port getting briefings from rescue teams.

Casagli told Sky TG24 that some movement in the Concordia was only natural given the immense weight of the steel-hulled ship, which is being held in place by two huge rocks at bow and stern.

But the latest movements indicate it isn't stable, he said. "These are small, regular movements that are being monitored because they're going in the same direction," he told Sky.

Late Thursday, Carnival Corp., the U.S.-based company that owns Costa, announced it was conducting a comprehensive audit of all 10 of its cruise lines to review safety and emergency response procedures in the wake of the Costa disaster. The evacuation was chaotic and the alarm to abandon the ship was sounded after the Concordia had capsized too much to get many life boats down.

___

Colleen Barry reported from Milan. Andrea Foa contributed from Giglio, Italy.

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

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APNewsBreak: Atlanta to repay $363K for cheating (AP)

ATLANTA ? Officials say the school district in Atlanta has agreed to repay more than $363,000 in federal money the district won by teachers and administrators cheating.

State schools Superintendent John Barge told The Associated Press on Friday that the district has 90 days to return the money.

A state investigation in July revealed widespread cheating by educators in nearly half of the Atlanta's 100 schools dating back to 2001. In all, nearly 180 teachers and principals were accused of giving answers to students or changing answers once the tests had been completed.

Schools serving low-income students that consistently get good test scores receive extra money from the U.S. Department of Education each year. That money can be spent wherever the schools need it most.

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

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Cell senescence does not stop tumor growth

Friday, January 20, 2012

Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.

The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.

The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.

Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.

###

La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116906/Cell_senescence_does_not_stop_tumor_growth

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Details of his vast personal fortune trail Romney (AP)

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Under duress two days before the pivotal South Carolina primary, Republican front-runner Mitt Romney acknowledges he has part of his millions invested in the Cayman Islands, although his aides say he never used the location as a tax haven.

Neither Romney nor his campaign is providing details, including how much he has invested there, or why, or if any of his money is invested elsewhere outside the United States.

In another blow to his campaign, officials say Texas Gov. Rick Perry is suspending his presidential campaign and throwing his support behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, winnowing the conservative opposition and increasing Gingrich's strength heading into Saturday's voting.

Speaking to supporters on a conference call Thursday morning, Romney made no mention of Perry's decision or of his tax returns, instead attacking Gingrich's claims that he helped President Ronald Reagan create jobs. Romney said Gingrich is living in "fantasyland."

Romney was set to address supporters outside his Charleston headquarters Thursday morning, though it wasn't clear if he would answer questions about his tax returns, the Cayman Islands or Perry's decision.

"Gov. and Mrs. Romney's assets are managed on a blind basis. They do not control the investment of these assets," campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in an emailed response to questions Wednesday night. Romney has not personally addressed the issue, although it's likely to come up at a candidates' debate Thursday night.

Scrutiny of Romney's private-sector background couldn't come at a worse time ? just as he is riding high on back-to-back victories in Iowa's caucuses and New Hampshire's primary. He came into South Carolina with anti-Romney conservatives unwilling or unable to coalesce behind a single challenger.

Details about the personal fortune of the multimillionaire former businessman have been a nagging issue for his campaign for more than a week. On Tuesday, Romney disclosed that he pays an effective tax rate of about 15 percent, lower than what he would pay if he earned a regular paycheck like many Americans. He also called "not very much" the amount he earned in speechmaking fees, though it turned out to be $373,327.62 for 12 months in 2010 and early 2011.

Those details followed verbal miscues related to his views of work. Last week in New Hampshire, Romney told an audience he knew what it was like to worry about being "pink-slipped" and losing a job. A day later, he said, "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me" ? a comment about health insurance companies that his rivals used to paint a picture of Romney as a wealthy businessman who is out of touch with ordinary Americans.

Romney hasn't been willing to elaborate on his pledge Tuesday to release his federal tax return in April. His rivals are prodding him to do it immediately, before South Carolina's primary, a potentially decisive turn in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

At an event in Rock Hill, S.C., Romney kept away from the issue of his taxes, but he criticized Newt Gingrich and other Republicans who "jumped on that bandwagon" of criticizing free enterprise. "My goodness, I listened to Speaker Gingrich the other night talk about the enterprises I've been associated with," he said. "I'm proud of the fact that I worked in the private sector, that I've achieved success."

Romney disclosed for the first time Tuesday that, despite his wealth of hundreds of millions of dollars, he has been paying taxes in the neighborhood of 15 percent, far below the top maximum income tax rate of 35 percent, because his income "comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past." During 2010 and the first nine months of 2011, the Romney family had at least $9.6 million in income, according to a financial disclosure form submitted in August.

Romney had been consolidating GOP support before Saturday's South Carolina primary, in which a victory could all but seal his nomination. The focus on his wealth is an unwanted distraction for him as he seeks to win votes in a state where the unemployment rate, at 9.9 percent, is among the highest in the nation, and amid rising public concern over income inequality.

President Barack Obama's campaign advisers contend voters are unlikely to back a wealthy Republican with financial-industry ties at a time of lingering economic distress.

The maximum marginal U.S. income tax rate of 35 percent applies ? in theory more than practice ? to households with taxable income of over about $388,500.

Like many wealthy people, the Romneys have been helped by changes in federal tax policy that have placed much lower tax rates on investment income ? from dividends, interest and capital gains from the sale of stocks and other assets ? than on wages and salaries, the source of income for most Americans.

Under the Bush-era tax cuts strongly supported by most Republicans, such investment income, including gains on securities held for a year or longer, is subject to a tax rate of 15 percent.

According to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, an average federal tax rate of 15 percent ? including both income and payroll taxes ? would apply to households with taxable incomes of from $75,000 to $100,000.

Obama and his wife paid federal taxes of just over 25 percent of their 2010 income of $1.7 million, mostly from the books he's written.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his wife paid roughly 24 percent of their 2010 income of $217,447.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney

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Reader Roundup: Pets in Your Bed? | Apartment Therapy

When we first got our French Bulldog, Luna, I was adamant that she would sleep in her own bed. For one thing she was so small I was worried I would roll over her and smother her, and for another, I thought she would make the bed dirty.

Now that she is no longer tiny and she is savvy enough that she is more likely to slowly push me out of the way rather than the other way around, I have been worn down over time and she now has full reign of the human bed.

I often see photos of pets lounging on furniture, but do you let your pet sleep in bed with you?

MORE LIVING WITH PETS ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
? 3 Items to Help you Green Clean your Pets
? 5 Tricks for Dealing with a Hairy Home

(Image: Liana Walker)

Source: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/pets-in-your-bed-keeping-your-toes-warm-or-dirty-habit-164547

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Romney's rivals challenge his electability

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Mitt Romney's Republican rivals are intensifying their efforts to erode if not eliminate his standing as the man most likely to defeat President Barack Obama this fall, often stressing their own prospects over his in the final few days before South Carolina's potentially decisive weekend primary.

The stepped-up challenge to Romney's electability, in paid television advertising, campaign appearances and the first of two pre-primary debates, appears aimed at one of his principal strengths in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries. Voters in both contests said they prized a candidate's ability to beat Obama over a candidate's conservative credentials, a preference that helped the former Massachusetts governor to his pair of victories.

After spending days challenging Romney's record as a businessman, Newt Gingrich unveiled a television commercial on Tuesday that starts with an announcer saying only the former House speaker can defeat Obama.

The ad makes no mention of Romney, instead showing Gingrich drawing cheers from the audience at Monday's debate in Myrtle Beach when he said, "More people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president American history."

Gingrich also drew sustained applause from businessmen and businesswomen after a speech late Tuesday that made only passing reference to Romney, and none at all to his other rivals. Instead, he outlined his own proposals for lower taxes, less regulation and expanded domestic energy production.

"I believe I am the only candidate in this race who understands the scale of change necessary to get this country working again," Gingrich said. He predicted that if he wins the state's primary, the nomination would follow, adding, "We will run a campaign of paychecks vs. food stamps and we will beat Obama virtually everywhere in this country."

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are also hoping to change the perception of voters in the first-in-the-South primary state, sometimes by planting seeds of doubt, at other points sketching dismaying bleak prospects for the party if Romney is atop the ticket this fall.

"As Republicans, we cannot fire our nominee in September," Perry said to Romney from across the debate stage on Monday. "We need to know now. So I hope you'll put your tax records out there this week so the people of South Carolina can take a look and decide if, you know, we got a flawed candidate or not."

Santorum, campaigning in Lexington, S.C., on Tuesday, said Romney is a candidate in the mold of Bob Dole and John McCain, GOP nominees who led the party to defeat in 1996 and 2008. "He's never run as a conservative in a general election," he said.

By contrast, Santorum said he had won a pair of elections to the House from a Democratic district in Pennsylvania, then carried the state in successive Senate campaigns, including in 2000, when George W. Bush lost the state.

The former senator also sought to ease concerns about the double-digit defeat he suffered in 2006.

"I led the ticket even though I lost by a lot," he said, noting that five GOP congressmen lost that year in the state, including two who were under federal investigation.

The increased concentration on electability comes in the wake of polls with Iowa caucus-goers and New Hampshire primary voters, who said the ability to defeat Obama mattered more than a candidate's stands on conservative credentials, moral character or experience.

In Iowa, 31 percent of caucus-goers interviewed for The Associated Press and the television networks said a candidate's ability to defeat Obama mattered most. Romney won the backing of nearly half of them, far outdistancing the rest of the field.

Another 25 percent of caucus-goers interviewed said they cared most about a candidate who was a true conservative. Romney drew the support of a mere 1 percent of them. Among the 24 percent who cited strong moral character, his share was 11 percent.

The findings were roughly similar in New Hampshire, where Romney's margin of victory was larger than the slender eight-vote spread he won over Santorum in Iowa.

Thirty-five percent of New Hampshire voters cited an ability to defeat Obama as the most important factor in deciding which candidate to support, and Romney drew the backing of 63 percent of them.

Among the 13 percent who said they wanted most of all a candidate who was a true conservative, Romney was favored by only 13 percent; among the 22 percent who said strong moral character mattered most, the former Massachusetts governor got 26 percent.

The conclusion, according to a strategist for one of Romney's rivals, is that "a candidate has to show that he can defeat Obama before any of the ideological differences (among Republicans) can come into play. ... Voters don't want to vote for someone they think has no chance against Obama." The strategist declined to be identified by name, citing internal campaign strategy.

In the days since New Hampshire, the change in tone has seemed to accelerate. The five remaining rivals converge Thursday in Charleston for the final debate before Saturday's primary. No Republican since 1980 has won the party's presidential nomination without first capturing the South Carolina primary.

It is unclear if the emphasis on electability has had any impact on Romney's lead in the polls in South Carolina.

But the Romney campaign has responded to Gingrich in the past 24 hours with a new Web video and a telephone conference call to reporters. Both featured former Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri, who was in the House when Gingrich served as speaker of the House. "If we nominate him, he's going to be an unreliable candidate like he was an unreliable leader in the 1990s," he said.

Romney, back in the state a Wednesday after a fundraising trip to New York, slapped at Gingrich's claims as well

"He'd been in Congress two years when Ronald Reagan came to office," he said during an appearance at Wofford College in Spartanburg. Gingrich taking credit for jobs created during Reagan's administration "is like Al Gore taking credit for the Internet."

That was a retort to Gingrich's claim that he played a key role in two conservative revolutions, one led by Reagan in 1980, and the other that he led as speaker after Republicans took control of the House in 1994 after 40 years in the minority.

___

Associated Press writers Kasie Hunt and Shannon McCaffrey contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-18-Republicans-Electability/id-52d9d088aa8940079faf44d04aa6b832

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