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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Analysis: Oil price rise raises specter of global recession (Reuters)
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - A jump in energy prices is jamming the slow-turning cogs of an economic recovery in the West, but that may be nothing compared to the economic shock an Israeli attack on Iran would cause.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Broncos LB Miller wins Defensive Rookie of Year (AP)
INDIANAPOLIS ? Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller has won a two-man race with 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith for the 2011 Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, sparked a defensive turnaround in Denver with his steady and sometimes spectacular play. He teamed with quarterback Tim Tebow to energize the Broncos, who rallied from a 2-5 record to the AFC West title and a playoff win over Pittsburgh.
"It's special because you only get one rookie season," Miller said. "You don't get two tries at it. It's really a one-and-done thing. That was probably the most special thing about it, you only get one shot to accomplish this feat."
Miller received 39 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. Smith, also a first-round choice, got the other 11. The awards were presented on an "NFL Honors" primetime special Saturday night on NBC.
"Aldon and me are good friends. If he got it, I wouldn't have been mad. That's still like my buddy," Miller said. "If anybody else would have gotten him, I probably would have been sick. But knowing him and knowing what kind of guy he is and spending time with him, I know what type of player he is and he deserved it, too."
The second Bronco to win the award ? LB Mike Croel got it in 1991 ? Miller made 64 tackles and had 11 1/2 sacks despite missing one game and playing the last four contests with a cumbersome cast protecting his surgically repaired right thumb.
"The thumb is a setback," Broncos coach John Fox said. "I mean, I can't deny that. It affects what you can do with that one hand. I don't have any doubts in my mind he would have shattered any types of records. With all due respect, I'm convinced he would have shattered any records if he'd have stayed 100 percent."
And as good as Miller was this year, he promised he'll be even better next year.
"I have no doubt that I'll be a totally different player next year," he said. "It will be night and day."
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Terry out as England captain
By ROB HARRIS
updated 8:11 a.m. ET Feb. 3, 2012
LONDON - John Terry was removed as England captain Friday as he awaits trial for racial abuse, but the Chelsea defender will remain eligible to play for the national team at the European Championship.
The English Football Association said the Chelsea defender would be stripped of the captaincy "until the allegations against him are resolved."
Terry faces trial in July on charges of racially abusing Queens Park defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October.
"(The board) collectively decided it is in the interests of all parties that John has the responsibilities of captaincy removed at this time," the FA said. "This decision has been taken due to the higher profile nature of the England captaincy, on and off the pitch, and the additional demands and requirements expected of the captain leading into and during a tournament.
"The FA board can confirm that he has not been excluded from the squad."
England coach Fabio Capello was not consulted about the decision, unlike in 2010 when Terry lost the captaincy ahead of the World Cup over allegations he had an affair with the former girlfriend of England teammate Wayne Bridge.
After Terry was accused of abusing Ferdinand, Capello and the FA said at the time that he could continue as captain because he was "innocent until proven guilty."
But Capello and the FA had expected the 31-year-old Terry's trial would take place before the European Championship in Ukraine and Poland.
A judge on Wednesday, however, delayed the trial until July 9, a week after the Euro 2012 final, after Chelsea said it would be difficult for players to testify during the Premier League season.
"This decision (to sack Terry) in no way infers any suggestion of guilt in relation to the charge made against John Terry," the FA said.
Although Terry has lost the England captaincy, Chelsea said he will continue to captain the Premier League club.
"It was the FA's decision," Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said Friday. "I don't agree with it. John will continue as Chelsea captain."
Terry will miss Sunday's match against Manchester United with a knee injury.
The British government backed the FA's decision.
"It would have been impossible for John Terry to have continued as captain with this charge over his head," sports minister Hugh Robertson said.
Terry, who has played 72 times for England since his debut in 2003, was stripped of the captaincy for the first time almost two years ago to the day.
Anton Ferdinand's brother, Rio, was given the captaincy then, but Terry was reinstated last March, with Capello saying that "one year's punishment is enough."
Terry's position was thrown into doubt just six months later when he allegedly shouted abuse at Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea's 1-0 loss at QPR. The FA's own investigation was put on hold when the police probe began.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is now in line to take over as England captain. Vice captain Rio Ferdinand said Friday he does not want the job again after being dropped from the role by Capello last year.
"I don't want to be england captain after the last episode, just want to concentrate on playin(g) for utd," the Manchester United defender wrote on Twitter. "If I make the squad then as ever I'll be delighted."
This season has been marred by racism allegations, with Liverpool striker Luis Suarez completing an eight-match ban for repeatedly racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a match in October.
The FA took a strong stance in November when FIFA President Sepp Blatter downplayed the problem of racism in football.
"I ? with others in prominent positions in the game ? have to make sure we live up to the values of which we speak," Bernstein said at the time. "The FA remains strongly committed to diversity, equal opportunities for all and anti-discrimination."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsVan Persie hat trick lifts Arsenal
Arsenal bounced back with style from its miserable run in the Premier League on Saturday, hammering beleaguered Blackburn 7-1 with Robin van Persie grabbing a hat trick to keep up his stunning form this season.
Egypt riot sadly familiar
Fans storming the pitch, fighting and being stampeded to death are scenes that have replayed over and over.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46250602/ns/sports-soccer/
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Saturday, February 4, 2012
Look at ft myers auto repair service but if your truck can be injured ...
Posted on | February 4, 2012 | Comments Off
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Source: http://www.poquosonpack28.org/look-at-ft-myers-auto-repair-service-but-if-your-truck-can-be-injured/
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Video: Wireless power could revolutionize highway transportation
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A Stanford University research team has designed a high-efficiency charging system that uses magnetic fields to wirelessly transmit large electric currents between metal coils placed several feet apart. The long-term goal of the research is to develop an all-electric highway that wirelessly charges cars and trucks as they cruise down the road.
The new technology has the potential to dramatically increase the driving range of electric vehicles and eventually transform highway travel, according to the researchers. Their results are published in the journal Applied Physics Letters (APL).
"Our vision is that you'll be able to drive onto any highway and charge your car," said Shanhui Fan, an associate professor of electrical engineering. "Large-scale deployment would involve revamping the entire highway system and could even have applications beyond transportation."
Driving range
A wireless charging system would address a major drawback of plug-in electric cars ? their limited driving range. The all-electric Nissan Leaf, for example, gets less than 100 miles on a single charge, and the battery takes several hours to fully recharge.
A charge-as-you-drive system would overcome these limitations. "What makes this concept exciting is that you could potentially drive for an unlimited amount of time without having to recharge," said APL study co-author Richard Sassoon, the managing director of the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP), which funded the research. "You could actually have more energy stored in your battery at the end of your trip than you started with."
The wireless power transfer is based on a technology called magnetic resonance coupling. Two copper coils are tuned to resonate at the same natural frequency ? like two wine glasses that vibrate when a specific note is sung. The coils are placed a few feet apart. One coil is connected to an electric current, which generates a magnetic field that causes the second coil to resonate. This magnetic resonance results in the invisible transfer of electric energy through the air from the first coil to the receiving coil.
"Wireless power transfer will only occur if the two resonators are in tune," Fan noted. "Objects tuned at different frequencies will not be affected."
In 2007, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology used magnetic resonance to light a 60-watt bulb. The experiment demonstrated that power could be transferred between two stationary coils about six feet apart, even when humans and other obstacles are placed in between.
"In the MIT experiment, the magnetic field appeared to have no impact on people who stood between the coils," Fan said. "That's very important in terms of safety. "
Wireless charging
The MIT researchers have created a spinoff company that's developing a stationary charging system capable of wirelessly transferring about 3 kilowatts of electric power to a vehicle parked in a garage or on the street.
Fan and his colleagues wondered if the MIT system could be modified to transfer 10 kilowatts of electric power over a distance of 6.5 feet ? enough to charge a car moving at highway speeds. The car battery would provide an additional boost for acceleration or uphill driving.
Here's how the system would work: A series of coils connected to an electric current would be embedded in the highway. Receiving coils attached to the bottom of the car would resonate as the vehicle speeds along, creating magnetic fields that continuously transfer electricity to charge the battery.
To determine the most efficient way to transmit 10 kilowatts of power to a real car, the Stanford team created computer models of systems with metal plates added to the basic coil design.
"Asphalt in the road would probably have little effect, but metallic elements in the body of the car can drastically disturb electromagnetic fields," Fan explained. "That's why we did the APL study ? to figure out the optimum transfer scheme if large metal objects are present."
Using mathematical simulations, postdoctoral scholars Xiaofang Yu and Sunil Sandhu found the answer: A coil bent at a 90-degree angle and attached to a metal plate can transfer 10 kilowatts of electrical energy to an identical coil 6.5 feet away.
"That's fast enough to maintain a constant speed," Fan said. "To actually charge the car battery would require arrays of coils embedded in the road. This wireless transfer scheme has an efficiency of 97 percent."
Wireless future
Fan and his colleagues recently filed a patent application for their wireless system. The next step is to test it in the laboratory and eventually try it out in real driving conditions. "You can very reliably use these computer simulations to predict how a real device would behave," Fan said.The researchers also want to make sure that the system won't affect drivers, passengers or the dozens of microcomputers that control steering, navigation, air conditioning and other vehicle operations.
"We need to determine very early on that no harm is done to people, animals, the electronics of the car or to credit cards in your wallet," said Sven Beiker, executive director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS). Although a power transfer efficiency of 97 percent is extremely high, Beiker and his colleagues want to be sure that the remaining 3 percent is lost as heat and not as potentially harmful radiation.
Some transportation experts envision an automated highway system where driverless electric vehicles are wirelessly charged by solar power or other renewable energy sources. The goal would be to reduce accidents and dramatically improve the flow of traffic while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Beiker, who co-authored the APL study, said that wireless technology might one day assist GPS navigation of driverless cars. "GPS has a basic accuracy of 30-40 feet," he said. "It tells you where you are on the planet, but for safety, you want to make sure that your car is in the center of the lane." In the proposed system, the magnetic fields could also be used to control steering, he explained. Since the coils would be in the center of the lane, they could provide very precise positioning at no extra cost.
The researchers also have begun discussions with Michael Lepech, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, to study the optimal layout of roadbed transmitters and determine if rebar and other metals in the pavement will reduce efficiency.
"We have the opportunity to rethink how electric power is delivered to our cars, homes and work," Fan said. "We're used to thinking about power delivery in terms of wires and plugging things into the wall. Imagine that instead of wires and plugs, you could transfer power through a vacuum. Our work is a step in that direction."
###
Stanford University: http://news.stanford.edu
Thanks to Stanford University for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117267/Video__Wireless_power_could_revolutionize_highway_transportation
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Friday, February 3, 2012
Senate passes insider trading ban (AP)
WASHINGTON ? Sagging approval ratings brought Democrats and Republicans together Thursday, as the Senate passed a bill to explicitly prevent members of Congress, their top aides and administration officials from using non-public information for insider trading. New disclosure requirements will require public reports online within 30 days of buying and selling stock.
The 96-3 vote sent the bill to the House, where Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the legislation would be considered next week.
Senators in both parties acknowledged the purpose of the legislation was to help dig members of Congress out from poll approval ratings that have fallen to the teens after a year of excessive partisanship pervading almost every issue before Congress.
"When polls show low public confidence in Congress, there is a strong desire to address the concerns that underpin the public's skepticism," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of the bill's managers.
President Barack Obama praised the Senate and said he's ready to sign a bill known as the STOCK Act, which stands for Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge.
"No one should be able to trade stocks based on nonpublic information gleaned on Capitol Hill," the president said. "So I'm pleased the Senate took bipartisan action to pass the STOCK Act. I urge the House of Representatives to pass this bill, and I will sign it right away."
Obama said still more ethics restrictions were needed, "like prohibiting elected officials from owning stocks in industries they impact."
Several amendments were added to the bill before final passage.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., won an amendment to include the 28,000 government workers in the executive branch in the bill, saying it would create a level playing field with the requirements for Congress. But the same amendment included conflicting language by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., that would apply to only 2,000 top policymakers ? including the president, vice president and members of the Federal Reserve Board.
A House-Senate conference will have to reconcile those two measures.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, successfully added language that would require "political intelligence" operatives to register and disclose affiliations, the same as lobbyists. These individuals are hired by stock traders to obtain useful information from members of Congress and their staffs.
Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate's ethics committee and senior committee Republican Johnny Isakson of Georgia, won an amendment that would force disclosure of all residential mortgages ? by members of Congress, the president, the vice president and most Senate-confirmed appointees. Currently senators are not required to list all mortgages.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said laws prohibiting trading on inside, non-public information clearly cover members of Congress. In 2005, the SEC investigated then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee concerning his divestiture of stock in the family's hospital company days before its price fell on an analyst's forecast. Frist was not charged with wrongdoing.
To a large extent, Congress is reacting to a segment on CBS' "60 Minutes" that raised questions about stock trades by House Speaker John Boehner, the husband of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman of the Financial Services Committee. All have denied wrongdoing and denounced the network's story.
Republicans insisted on including top government officials outside the Congress in the bill even though they also are covered by insider trading and face tougher conflict-of-interest restrictions than members of Congress. In some cases, executive branch officials are required to divest themselves of stock holdings that pose a conflict. Lawmakers don't have to do that and the Senate bill would not require it.
In addition to the 30-day online reporting requirement, the Senate would have to join the House in posting members' annual financial disclosure statements online instead of making only paper copies available on request.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., proposed wiping out the entire bill and substituting a simple certification by senators each year that they did not participate in insider trading. It was defeated, with 37 senators voting "yes" and 61 opposed.
Voting against the bill were Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. and two Republicans: Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Richard Burr of North Carolina.
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Thursday, February 2, 2012
Rage-filled video demonstrates Siri's big weakness
thegavin2000/YouTube
By Rosa Golijan
Siri, the virtual assistant built into the iPhone 4S, can be pretty darn helpful (and hilarious) thanks to its voice-recognition capabilities. But unfortunately, it has a big weakness:?Scottish accents.
As a report in the LA Times explains, while?Siri may occasionally struggle with even the most common Midwestern accents,?it is basically helpless when faced with a thick Sottish brogue. Not even speaking extremely slowly seems to allow those who hail from Scotland to communicate with the virtual assistant.
The LA Times' Henry Chu explains that this issue has led a lot of folks to post videos of themselves to "show the world what happens when irresistible accent meets immovable assistant."
One such video???which, according to its description, was inspired by Chu's article?? demonstrates Siri's Scottish weakness in the most hilarious of ways. It was made by Canadian writer and comedian?Gavin McInnes, who is probably best known for being one of the founders of Vice Magazine.
You can take a look at the video clip itself on YouTube. It's hilarious, and well worth embedding, but the number of F-bombs dropped by McInnes?was so great, we felt it best to say "NOT SAFE FOR WORK," and then link out to it.
Related stories:
Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.
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Panetta: US combat in Afghanistan to end next year (AP)
BRUSSELS ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta laid out the administration's most explicit portrayal of the U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan, saying Wednesday that U.S. and other international forces in Afghanistan expect to end their combat role in 2013 and continue a training and advisory role with Afghan forces through 2014.
Panetta's remarks to reporters traveling with him to a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels showed how the foreign military role in Afghanistan is expected to evolve from the current high-intensity fight against the Taliban to a support role with Afghans fully in the lead. The timeline fits neatly into the U.S. political calendar, enabling President Barack Obama to declare on the campaign trail this year that in addition to bringing all U.S. troops home from Iraq and beginning a troop drawdown in Afghanistan, he also has a target period for ending the U.S. combat role there.
It also serves to possibly bridge an apparent gap between France and the rest of the NATO partners of the U.S. on defining the end game in Afghanistan.
All NATO members in November 2010 endorsed a plan to keep forces in Afghanistan until the end of 2014. But France this week appeared to throw that plan into doubt when President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at his side and seemingly in agreement, that NATO end its mission in 2013 ? one year earlier than planned.
Sarkozy also said, however, that France would provide support for the training of Afghan forces beyond 2013, so his approach might not be entirely different from the one Panetta outlined in which allied troops shed their combat role in the second half of 2013 but remain through 2014 to train, advise and assist.
Panetta said he hoped to hear more from the French delegation at the NATO talks Thursday and Friday.
Panetta called 2013 a critical year for the Afghanistan mission that has dragged on for more than a decade with little sign that the Taliban will be decisively defeated. He noted that NATO and the Afghan government intend to begin a final phase of handing off sections of the country to Afghan security control in mid-2013.
"Hopefully by the mid to latter part of 2013 we'll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise and assist role," he said. He added that this "doesn't mean we're not going to be combat-ready," but rather that the U.S. and other international forces will no longer be in "the formal combat role we're in now."
Panetta said the administration wants to make sure that the Afghan forces, after foreign troops depart, are "sufficient and sustainable," but noted that will require continuing financial support not only from the United States but also from allies and many other countries.
"One of the things we'll be discussing (in Brussels) is what the size of that (Afghan) force should be, but a lot of that will be dependent on the funds that are going to be put on the table in order to sustain that force," he said. "That's one of the things, frankly, I'm going to be pushing at this (meeting)."
A senior defense official traveling with Panetta said the U.S. believes Afghanistan will not need as big a force as is now being built. NATO has set a target of 352,000 Afghan soldiers and police. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon, said the U.S. thinks a smaller force would be adequate, but he would not be more specific
He likened this approach to the way Obama managed the final two years of U.S. military involvement in Iraq. Obama declared an end to the U.S. combat role there on Aug. 31, 2010 but kept tens of thousands of troops there through the end of last year to continue training and advising Iraqi security forces.
Panetta said no decisions have been made about how many U.S. troops would be required to remain there once the combat role has ended. He suggested, however, that large reductions, below the 68,000 troop level projected for this September, were unlikely in the months immediately after the shift. The U.S. now has about 91,000 troops there as part of the International Security Assistance Force. The fact that much military work will remain after 2013 "demands that we have a strong presence there," he said.
Although Panetta made no mention of it, U.S. Marines in Afghanistan already are making that transition out of a combat role. They are operating in Helmand province in southwestern Afghanistan, where the Taliban have been greatly weakened, and are on track to reduce their numbers significantly this year. Panetta's remarks indicated that this switch into a support role will be applied across Afghanistan, assuming no major setbacks against the Taliban and continued progress in training Afghan forces.
Many U.S. forces already are training and advising Afghan forces.
Marine Gen. John Allen, the overall commander of international forces in Afghanistan, has been talking publicly since last fall about converting the military role from combat to what he has called "security assistance." But Panetta went further in identifying mid- to late-2013 as the target for completing this conversion countrywide.
Panetta was in Brussels to attend a NATO meeting at which this and other issues related to the war in Afghanistan are expected to top the agenda. The session is intended to help pave the way for key decisions to be announced at a summit meeting of NATO heads of government in Chicago in May.
In Washington, a senior European diplomat said Sarkozy's initial comments caused confusion among other NATO allies. The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to relate internal discussions, said the French president was referring to the shift from combat operations to a training mission in 2013, although he acknowledged that Sarkozy appeared to be calling for all operations to end next year. The diplomat said NATO plans to leave the 2014 deadline in place.
On his second trip to Europe since becoming Pentagon chief last July 1, Panetta is gathering with his counterparts at a delicate time for NATO, not only because of the uncertainty surrounding the military mission in Afghanistan but also because of a growing gap in military power between the U.S. and nearly all other European members of the alliance.
That chasm is not expected to narrow even as the U.S. reduces its defense budget by nearly $490 billion over the coming decade and reduces the size of the Army and Marine Corps.
The U.S. remains the leader of a 28-nation NATO, but the Obama administration has made no secret of its intention to shift focus toward Asia and the Middle East. It announced last week that it will remove two Army brigades from Europe in the next two years, leaving one in Germany and one in Italy. The alliance also is quietly discussing the possible withdrawal of American nuclear weapons from Europe in coming years. The nuclear issue is on the agenda for the Brussels meeting.
Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said last week that the two brigades being removed from Europe will be eliminated rather than reassigned to U.S. bases. Both are based in Germany ? the 172nd Infantry Brigade, in Grafenwoehr, and the 170th Infantry Brigade, in Baumholder. Odierno said that in the long run this change will benefit both the United States and its European partners because U.S. Army combat and support units will periodically rotate in and out of Europe for training and joint exercises that are designed to meet the needs of the European forces.
___
Robert Burns can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/robertburnsAP
Associated Press writer Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Help in identifying wood - Family Woodworking
I'm with Bob. It looks like maple to me.
The trestle design you show is a time-honored, and solid one. Wedged tenons on the stretcher will keep it tight and solid for many generations to come. If you put the stretcher about halfway up, it might be an occasional knee-banger when seated, but most folks won't scoot their chair that far under the table for it to be a problem.
Source: http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?26656-Help-in-identifying-wood
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Romney confidently eyeing Fla. primary's big prize (AP)
TAMPA, Fla. ? Mitt Romney oozed confidence and a defiant Newt Gingrich seemed to acknowledge his momentum had been checked, at least for now, as Florida Republicans voted Tuesday to decide who gets the state's 50 delegates, the biggest prize yet in the Republican presidential nomination contest.
Romney is heavily favored in the winner-take-all primary, the final and possibly pivotal contest in a high-stakes month in which the former Massachusetts governor has claimed one win and two second-place finishes so far. On Monday, he campaigned so optimistically that he broke into song.
Without predicting a winner or endorsing a candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told CNN on Tuesday: "The winner of Florida is in all likelihood going to be the nominee of our party."
But Gingrich would have none of that talk. Outside a polling place in Orlando Tuesday, he told reporters the race wouldn't be decided until June or July ? "unless Romney drops out earlier."
In Palm Beach, Julian Stoopler, a 68-year-old investment adviser, said he's always liked Gingrich but ultimately decided to vote for former business leader Romney. "The condition of the country has deteriorated so badly that we need a CEO to turn it around," Stoopler said.
In Miami's Little Havana, car salesman Osvaldo Mitat, 69, favored Gingrich. He's impressed by the former House speaker's "commitment to the Cuban community," Mitat said, and Gingrich's marital history doesn't bother him ? Mitat has been divorced four times himself.
"Romney also has a past," he said. "Everyone has a past."
For a time, Gingrich reset the GOP race with an overwhelming victory in South Carolina. But in the 10 days since, the contest has turned increasingly hostile and polls have swung in Romney's direction.
"With a turnout like this, I'm beginning to feel we might win tomorrow," an upbeat Romney told a crowd of several hundred at a stop in Dunedin on Monday.
Gingrich admitted that his momentum against Romney has slowed in Florida.
"He can bury me for a very short amount of time with four or five or six times as much money," Gingrich said in a television interview. "In the long run, the Republican Party is not going to nominate ... a liberal Republican."
The Gingrich campaign bragged that he had raised more than $5 million in January, more than half following his win in South Carolina, after raising $10 million total for the last three months of 2011.
Romney's campaign canceled a Tuesday morning rally, but scheduled a night celebration at the Tampa Convention Center. Gingrich planned a series of public appearances ? including visits to two polling stations and a stop at the Polk County headquarters ? before gathering with supporters for a primary night party in Orlando. The last polls close at 8 p.m.
During his final event on primary eve, at The Villages in central Florida, Romney broke into song, leading the crowd in a reverent rendition of "America the Beautiful," instead of just reciting the lyrics as he typically does.
The path to the Republican nomination ? and the right to face President Barack Obama this fall ? shifts to a series of lower-profile contests in February. The race for delegates is still in its early stages. A candidate needs to collect 1,144 delegates to win. Coming into Florida, Romney had 37 delegates to Gingrich's 26.
The other two candidates in the race will not be in Florida on Tuesday. Both Rick Santorum, who's won 14 delegates, and Ron Paul, with 4, have ceded Florida's primary to Romney and Gingrich in favor of smaller, less expensive contests. They will spend the day campaigning across Colorado and Nevada.
Romney and his allies have poured more than $14 million into Florida television advertising primarily to attack Gingrich, who has struggled to compete with Romney's fundraising ability, staffing and network of high-profile supporters. Gingrich and his allies spent roughly $3 million on Florida advertising.
Santorum bristled Tuesday when asked about Gingrich seeming to suggest the Pennsylvania senator should quit the race because Gingrich was the conservative most likely to defeat Romney.
"I don't think people should be telling other folks to get out of the race and get out of the way," Santorum told Fox News Channel. "You don't ask someone to quit just because you think you're the better candidate. I think I'm the better candidate."
GOP officials in Florida were anticipating a big turnout, more than 2 million voters, up from a record 1.9 million in the Republican primary in 2008. More than 605,000 Floridians had already voted as of Monday, either by visiting early voting stations or by mailing in absentee ballots, ahead of the total combined early vote in the GOP primary four years ago.
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