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Familiar face to be missing from GOP debate

SIMI VALLEY, California (CNN) — Republican presidential hopefuls will face off Wednesday night without a familiar face as ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to drop out and endorse front-runner Sen. John McCain.

The remaining candidates will take the stage in a debate — sponsored by CNN, the Los Angeles Times and Politico — beginning at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday.

The event at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, follows McCain’s Tuesday night win in the Florida primary.

McCain topped former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 36 percent to 31 percent in the hotly contested race.

Giuliani placed third with 15 percent of the vote, followed closely by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 14 percent, and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was fifth with 3 percent.

Giuliani is expected to end his White House bid and endorse McCain at a campaign event in California later Wednesday, Republican Party sources said.

Minus Giuliani, the debate will be a four-candidate affair — McCain, Romney, Huckabee and Paul — with CNN’s Anderson Cooper moderating. Watch a preview of what to expect at the GOP debate

A spirited exchange over the economy will likely take center stage. The economy was by far the No. 1 issue for Florida voters Tuesday, according to exit polls. Forty-five percent of Florida Republicans surveyed after voting said the economy was the most important factor in their choice for president.

Wednesday night’s event is expected to be the last face-to-face showdown between the Republicans before next week’s Super Tuesday contests in which 20-plus states will hold primaries and caucuses.

In many of those states, delegates will be on a winner take all basis so the stakes couldn’t be higher as the candidates debate alongside a retired Air Force One at the Reagan library, a site considered sacred ground for Republicans.

In his victory speech Tuesday night in Florida, McCain evoked the 40th president, saying, Our party has always been successful when we have, like Ronald Reagan, stood fast by our convictions.

With wins in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, McCain has emerged as the GOP front-runner, possibly the first time this primary season that a candidate could make that claim. Watch how McCain won in Florida

But the four-term senator, who cultivates an image as a maverick, still must work to convince the GOP’s conservative base to back him. Many conservatives vilify McCain for breaking with them on immigration, campaign finance, taxes and other issues.

Our victory might not have reached landslide proportions, but it is sweet nonetheless, McCain told supporters in Miami. My friends, in one week we will have as close to a national primary as we’ve ever had in this country. I intend to win it and be the nominee of our party.

Bad blood between McCain and Romney could bleed over into Wednesday’s debate.

Last week’s Republican presidential debate in Florida was a civil affair, but hours afterward, attacks and counterattacks between the two candidates and their campaigns broke out. Watch a time-lapse video as the debate stage is built

Since Friday, the two sides have fired away at each other over the Iraq war, the economy, illegal immigration and border security, campaign finance reform and the environment — each accusing the other of pursuing liberal policies.

Romney took aim at McCain on Tuesday night, putting his opponent on the hot seat for failures in Washington, his criticisms of President Bush and his move directly from the military into Congress.

Speaking to supporters after conceding Florida, Romney accused his opponent of being a Washington insider. Washington is fundamentally broken. And we’re not going to change Washington by sending the same people back, just to sit in different chairs, he said.
found here.

China in lockdown as weather worsens

BEIJING, China (CNN) — China’s worst winter in more than half a century showed no signs of abating Wednesday as forecasters told citizens to brace for three more days of snow and sleet.

The heavy snow and sleet has paralyzed transport and coal shipments, and led to travelers cramming railways stations and airports and power supply reductions in almost half of the 31 provinces and regions on the Chinese mainland, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, China’s Civil Affairs Ministry said the cost of the storms to the Chinese economy had reached $4.5 billion.

In Guangzhou, hundreds of factory workers who had saved money all year to visit their families during China’s Lunar New Year flooded the city’s packed train station, waiting for trains that were not expected to arrive for days.

Up to half a million people have camped out in the southern city for nearly a week, hoping to get home for the traditional annual family visit during next week’s Lunar New Year.

Factories in the province of Guangzhou shut down Wednesday ahead of the Feb. 7 holiday with workers joining the masses around the train station — hoping the government would deliver on its promise of quick action and immediate relief for those trying to make it home.

I have been sleeping out here for six days. I have spent all my money. I don’t know how I will get home, one man said. It is a disaster from heaven.

Another man told CNN’s Hugh Riminton he had tried to get out of Guangzhou every way possible — by airplane, bus and his own car — but could not make it because of the weather conditions.

Now he’s in the queue with everyone else trying to get on a train, Riminton said. And the trains simply aren’t going at the moment and it’s unlikely they’ll be going really in sufficient numbers for days to come

Security is tight at the railway station as people occasionally stampeded the barricade in an attempt to get closer to the train platforms, to no avail. Armed riot police flooded the station on Wednesday to regain control of the situation.

So far, Chinese authorities have managed to persuade nearly 470,000 people to abandon their travel plans and accept a refund for their train tickets.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao apologized Tuesday to the hundreds of thousands of people stranded in train stations across his country — a rare move by a Chinese politician.

I apologize to you all, said Wen, using a bullhorn to address stranded travelers at a station in Hunan province. We are currently trying our best to repair the system.

First we’ll fix the electric grid. After that, the trains will run again. … Then all of you can go home for the Chinese New Year, the premier said, bringing applause from the crowd.

Chinese media replayed the apology several times. The unusual gesture is likely to go a long way in pacifying the anger and frustrations of the thousands stranded across the country, CNN’s Jaime Florcruz said.

President Hu Jintao called an emergency meeting of the policy-making politburo and vowed a quick government response.

The moves are intended to show that the government is in control and taking responsibility for the situation, Florcruz said.

More than 177 million Chinese were expected to travel by train, and 22 million more by plane, for Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival.

Going home every year is an obligation, one Chinese woman explained. It is family reunion, and no matter how difficult it is, we have to do it.

Brian Blackwell of Chicago was stranded for two days at Shanghai’s Hongqiao International Airport, where tempers were short and several fist fights nearly broke out.

There were thousands of people there and they were pushing toward the counter, Blackwell told CNN. You had no idea what the status of your flight was.

On Wednesday, Blackwell drove to Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport to catch a United Airlines flight to Chicago. He said the mood was much calmer at Pudong, which handles more international flights.

Brutal winter weather has pounded China’s central, eastern and southern sections. In its 10-day forecast, the China Meteorological Administration said Wednesday that southwestern, eastern and southern China can expect more snow and sleet with freezing temperatures, while northern China will stay clear but windy.

The winter precipitation had caused at least 49 deaths due to collapsed roofs and treacherous travel conditions, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and local officials said.

Early Tuesday, a passenger bus plunged off a slippery mountain road in southwestern China’s Guizhou province, killing at least 25 people and injuring 13, Xinhua reported.

Nearly a million police have been dispatched to help keep roadways open as thousands of vehicles have become stranded in the snow and ice, according to Chinese Ministry of Public Safety spokesman Wu Heping.
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British pair win 470 world championship

LONDON, England — British pair Nic Asher and Elliott Willis scored a superb victory in the 470 world championship but will not be able to complete a golden double at the Beijing Olympics later this year.

Asher and Willis were overlooked for the British team for the Games in favor of Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield, who finished a distant ninth in the championship in Melbourne, Australia.

Asher insisted he and Willis will do everything they can to ensure Rogers and Glanfield take the gold in China.

He said: The World Championships were our primary focus for this year after missing out on selection for the Olympics.

Now we want to make sure that Great Britain wins the gold medal at Beijing and we will be helping Nick and Joe as their training partners in the run up to the Games as well as getting our own campaign sorted for 2012 selection.

Asher and Willis’ World Championships looked in doubt when a collision with Australian pair Mathew Belcher and Nicholas Behrens saw Willis sidelined for 24 hours with severely bruised ribs.

But, having gone into the final race in the bronze medal position they won a double point-scoring race to take gold.

Rogers admitted he and Glanfield had to work harder in the run-up to China.

He said: We are disappointed because we have not sailed at the level we normally sail and this is not how we see ourselves.

But it is amazing for Nic and Elliott to have won the world title again and I’ve been very impressed with them all week. It is great for us to have that depth of talent to work with in the build up to Qingdao. E-mail to a friend

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California salmon faces ‘collapse’

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) — The number of chinook salmon returning to California’s Central Valley has reached a near-record low, pointing to an unprecedented collapse that could lead to severe restrictions on West Coast salmon fishing this year, according to federal fishery regulators.

The sharp drop in chinook, or king, salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries last fall is part of broader decline in wild salmon runs in rivers across the West.

The population dropped more than 88 percent from its all-time high five years ago, according to an internal memo sent to members of the Pacific Fishery Management Council and obtained by The Associated Press.

Regulators are still trying to understand the reasons for the shrinking number of spawners; some scientists believe it could be related to changes in the ocean linked to global warming.

Some fishermen and environmentalists believe the sharp decline is related to increased water exports from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. It supplies drinking water to millions of people in dry Southern California, as well as irrigation for America’s most fertile farming region.

It’s time to reduce pumping of delta waters before we destroy the fish and wildlife species we appreciate so much in California, said Mike Sherwood, an attorney for Earthjustice.

Only about 90,000 returning adult salmon were counted in the Central Valley in 2007, the second lowest number on record, the memo said. The population was at 277,000 in 2006 and 804,000 five years ago.

In an e-mail to council members, Donald McIsaac, the agency’s executive director, said he wanted to give them an early alert to what at this point appears to be an unprecedented collapse in the abundance of adult California Central Valley … fall Chinook salmon stocks.

The magnitude of the low abundance … is such that the opening of all marine and freshwater fisheries impacting this important salmon stock will be questioned, he said.

It’s only the second time in 35 years that the Central Valley has not met the agency’s conservation goal of 122,000 to 180,000 returning fish, according to the council, which regulates Pacific Coast fisheries.

More worrisome is that only about 2,000 2-year-old juvenile chinooks — used to predict returns of adult spawners in the coming season — returned to the Central Valley last year, by far the lowest number ever counted. On average, about 40,000 juveniles, or jacks, return each year.

Salmon that spawn in Central Valley rivers form the backbone of the West Coast’s commercial and recreational salmon fishery and are caught by fishermen from Southern California to British Columbia.

Sacramento fish are really what the fishery depends on, said Chuck Tracy, the council’s salmon management officer.

Not long ago, salmon restoration efforts in the Sacramento watershed were being touted as a wildlife management success story. But recent years have seen populations dwindle in many Western rivers, and scientists are trying to understand why.

The council plans to meet in Sacramento in March to discuss possible restrictions, including a complete closure of the salmon season that begins in May. Final decisions will be made in April.

Duncan MacLean, a Half Moon Bay fisherman who is on a team that advises the fishery council, said he’s bracing for hard times.

It’s probably going to be worse than anything we’ve experienced before, said MacLean, 58, who relies on salmon fishing for as much as 70 percent of his income. It’s going to put a lot of us out of business. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

found here.

California salmon faces ‘collapse’

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) — The number of chinook salmon returning to California’s Central Valley has reached a near-record low, pointing to an unprecedented collapse that could lead to severe restrictions on West Coast salmon fishing this year, according to federal fishery regulators.

The sharp drop in chinook, or king, salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries last fall is part of broader decline in wild salmon runs in rivers across the West.

The population dropped more than 88 percent from its all-time high five years ago, according to an internal memo sent to members of the Pacific Fishery Management Council and obtained by The Associated Press.

Regulators are still trying to understand the reasons for the shrinking number of spawners; some scientists believe it could be related to changes in the ocean linked to global warming.

Some fishermen and environmentalists believe the sharp decline is related to increased water exports from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. It supplies drinking water to millions of people in dry Southern California, as well as irrigation for America’s most fertile farming region.

It’s time to reduce pumping of delta waters before we destroy the fish and wildlife species we appreciate so much in California, said Mike Sherwood, an attorney for Earthjustice.

Only about 90,000 returning adult salmon were counted in the Central Valley in 2007, the second lowest number on record, the memo said. The population was at 277,000 in 2006 and 804,000 five years ago.

In an e-mail to council members, Donald McIsaac, the agency’s executive director, said he wanted to give them an early alert to what at this point appears to be an unprecedented collapse in the abundance of adult California Central Valley … fall Chinook salmon stocks.

The magnitude of the low abundance … is such that the opening of all marine and freshwater fisheries impacting this important salmon stock will be questioned, he said.

It’s only the second time in 35 years that the Central Valley has not met the agency’s conservation goal of 122,000 to 180,000 returning fish, according to the council, which regulates Pacific Coast fisheries.

More worrisome is that only about 2,000 2-year-old juvenile chinooks — used to predict returns of adult spawners in the coming season — returned to the Central Valley last year, by far the lowest number ever counted. On average, about 40,000 juveniles, or jacks, return each year.

Salmon that spawn in Central Valley rivers form the backbone of the West Coast’s commercial and recreational salmon fishery and are caught by fishermen from Southern California to British Columbia.

Sacramento fish are really what the fishery depends on, said Chuck Tracy, the council’s salmon management officer.

Not long ago, salmon restoration efforts in the Sacramento watershed were being touted as a wildlife management success story. But recent years have seen populations dwindle in many Western rivers, and scientists are trying to understand why.

The council plans to meet in Sacramento in March to discuss possible restrictions, including a complete closure of the salmon season that begins in May. Final decisions will be made in April.

Duncan MacLean, a Half Moon Bay fisherman who is on a team that advises the fishery council, said he’s bracing for hard times.

It’s probably going to be worse than anything we’ve experienced before, said MacLean, 58, who relies on salmon fishing for as much as 70 percent of his income. It’s going to put a lot of us out of business. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

found here.