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Huckabee takes Kansas, CNN projects

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will win the Kansas Republican caucuses, CNN projects.

With 76 percent of precincts reporting, Huckabee had 62 percent of the vote, compared with 22 percent for Arizona Sen. John McCain and 11 percent for Texas. Rep. Ron Paul.

Kansas has 36 delegates at stake Saturday.

Saturday’s Republican contests in Kansas, Louisiana and Washington could predict whether the party will line up behind McCain as their candidate or provide Huckabee with an opportunity to zing the presumptive nominee.

I know the pundits, and I know what they say: The math doesn’t work out, Huckabee said Saturday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. Well, I didn’t major in math, I majored in miracles. And I still believe in those, too.

Huckabee scored wins in the Southern states of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and his native Arkansas on Super Tuesday, and social conservatives in Louisiana might mobilize behind him and send a message to McCain.

Huckabee pulled off a stunning win in the Iowa caucuses, the product of a grass-roots movement, and both Kansas and Washington are caucus states.

Huckabee said Saturday that the $250,000 his campaign had raised online in 24 hours was a sign of the health of his presidential effort.

Louisiana, still suffering from Hurricane Katrina, could be a key political state this year — something not lost on both Democratic campaigns as they drum up last-minute votes.

If you look at Louisiana the last two elections, if we’d gone the other way in either election, George Bush wouldn’t be president, said Clancy Dubos, a columnist with the Gambit Weekly — an alternative newspaper in the state.

For Louisianans, their choice in a candidate will be based not only on national issues, but also on the local issue of rebuilding after the hurricane.

Voters in New Orleans are especially desperate to hear the candidates’ plans for a city still on the brink and a state in desperate need.

People are concerned with coastal restoration and flood protection, said political analyst Jeff Croueree. One disappointing thing about this race is these issues have been pretty much forgotten.

The candidates are talking about Iraq and health care, but recovery and rebuilding the Gulf Coast is off the radar screen, and I think a lot of people in Louisiana are disappointed by that, Croueree added.

Louisiana is among several contests being held this weekend.

At stake are 182 Democratic delegates and 92 Republican delegates.

Sen. Barack Obama has also done well in caucus states — he won in Iowa — because he has been able to generate enthusiastic crowds and volunteers. He also picked up the endorsement of Washington’s governor, Christine Gregoire, on Friday.

Support for Obama could come from some of the upscale areas around Seattle, which have favored reform-minded candidates, but Sen. Hillary Clinton might be favored in some of the more blue-collar areas, where she has been favored in earlier contests.

The large African-American population in Louisiana could also provide Obama a win. African-Americans played a huge role in his wins in South Carolina two weeks ago and in Alabama and Georgia on Super Tuesday. Black voters made up 46 percent of Democratic voters in the 2004 Louisiana primary.

Clinton attended town hall meetings in Tacoma and Spokane, Washington, on Friday. Obama, meanwhile, took part in a rally in Seattle. Watch the Democratic candidates campaign

On the Republican side, Huckabee was in Kansas on Friday. He attended rallies in Olathe, Wichita, Topeka and Garden City.

McCain, meanwhile, held a national security roundtable in Norfolk, Virginia, and later traveled to Wichita, Kansas. Afterward, it was off to Seattle.

CNN has compiled a list of states and territories holding contests this weekend.

February 9

Guam Republican caucuses

Delegates: 6 unpledged delegates at stake

Kansas Republican caucuses

Participation: Closed (registered Republicans only)

Delegates: 36 pledged delegates at stake

Louisiana Republican and Democratic primaries

Republican participation: Closed primary

Delegates: 20 pledged delegates possibly at stake

Democratic participation: Closed primary

Delegates: 56 pledged delegates at stake

Nebraska Democratic caucuses

Participation: Closed. Any voter can, however, register as a Democrat at the caucus.

Delegates: 24 pledged delegates at stake

Virgin Islands Republican caucuses

Delegates: 6 unpledged delegates at stake

Washington State Democratic, Republican caucuses

Democratic participation: Open caucuses, in which any voter can participate, but must declare that he or she is a Democrat.

Delegates: 78 pledged delegates at stake.

The February 19 Washington State primary is a nonbinding beauty contest for Democrats.

Republican participation: Open, so any voter can participate, but must sign a declaration indicating that he or she is a member of the Republican Party and has or will not participate in the 2008 precinct caucus or convention system of any other party.

Delegates: 18 pledged delegates at stake.

Northern Mariana Islands Republican caucuses

Delegates: 6 unpledged delegates at stake.

February 10

Maine Democratic caucuses

Participation: Democrats hold closed primaries. New voters, as well as voters not registered in a political party, may register as Democrats at the caucus.

Republicans and Green Party members must become registered Democrats by January 26 in order to participate in the Democratic caucus.

Delegates: 24 pledged delegates at stake.
found here.

Deal in the works to end writers strike

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — The three-months-long Hollywood writers strike could enter its final chapter Saturday when guild members gather in Los Angeles and New York to consider a proposed contract.

If writers respond favorably, the walkout that has devastated the entertainment industry could end as soon as Monday.

Writers were wavering between hope and skepticism as they prepared to learn details of the deal for the first time.

The feeling is relief and optimism and excitement, said Hilary Winston, a writer for the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl.

Still, she couldn’t shake her lingering anxiety.

I hope this deal made this three months worth it, she said.

Writer Erik Oleson, who watched a deal for a TV pilot fall apart during the strike, was reserving judgment.

I’m not going to drink the Kool-Aid and accept a bad deal. I’d rather continue the strike, Oleson said. We saw a press release but what matters is the fine print.

If the Writers Guild of America shows strong support for the deal, the union could quickly lift its strike order, allowing dozens of TV shows to return to production and putting thousands of actors, crew members and others back to work.

An end to the strike might also salvage the February 24 Academy Awards show, which is now facing a possible boycott by writers and sympathetic actors. The writers union has given a picket-free pass to Sunday’s Grammy Awards.

The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, have not publicly commented on the proposed contract because of a joint media blackout.

Michael Eisner, a former Walt Disney Co. chief executive, told CNBC the proposed deal was good enough to end the strike.

It’s impossible the writers will turn it down, said Eisner, whose successor at Disney, Robert Iger, was among the studio chiefs who helped shape the proposal with leaders of the writers guild.

The most contentious issue in the talks was residual payments for TV programs and movies distributed on the Internet.

Within the next five years, most American televisions will be connected to the Internet. The shows and movies you watch on your TV will be downloaded or streamed, the union said in its strike fact sheet.

Some accounts suggest the proposed deal involving the 12,000-member union and the world’s largest media companies improves on a contract agreement reached last month by studios and the Directors Guild of America.

Directors won several key concessions on new media, including payments for downloaded TV programs and movies based on a percentage of the distributor’s gross.

The Writers Guild, however, has been seeking 2.5 percent of distributor grosses from Internet-delivered projects — about three times what the directors guild got in its deal.

Hollywood writers also balked at the maximum $1,200 flat fee that studios agreed to pay directors for streamed, ad-supported programs.

Writers won’t vote Saturday on the proposed contract but will have a chance to voice their support or opposition at the closed meetings.

An e-mail circulated by a strike captain urged pro-deal members to attend so union leaders wouldn’t hear only from opponents.

Other e-mails to guild members said a favorable response by writers would be followed by a Sunday meeting of the guild negotiating committee to consider lifting the strike order and scheduling a formal membership vote by mail.

I hope Monday is when this town gets going again, Winston said. If it’s not Monday, I’ll take Wednesday.

The strike has taken an estimated toll of at least $1 billion on the economy of Los Angeles County, where the bulk of the film and television industry is located, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

Warren Leight, an executive producer in New York for NBC’s Law Order: Criminal Intent, doesn’t think writers will be swayed by high-profile colleagues who have trumpeted the directors deal as a solid template for writers.

If the deal works, everyone is ready to go back to work. But it has to be discussed by 10,000 people, not by 30 show runners and wannabe A-listers, Leight said.

Among the show runners — industry slang for executive producers in charge of a series — who lauded the directors deal was John Wells, whose credits include ER and The West Wing. He termed it, Very good. For writers, for directors, for the future.

A quick end to the walkout might result in TV viewers seeing a more new episodes of their favorite shows this season. A script takes about three weeks to write and about 40 working days to produce, so it could take as long as two months for the first new shows to air, Leight said.

But once a production has scripts and is up and running, episodes are worked on concurrently and an hour-long show can be produced within eight days, he said.

That could allow an hourlong drama to return with perhaps a half-dozen new episodes, and a half-hour comedy to squeeze in as many as seven new shows for the rest of the season.

Networks, however, are likely to pick and choose among shows, with low-rated newcomers less likely to get deals for more episodes than a series like Grey’s Anatomy, which has a big, faithful audience.
found here.

Erratic Jacquelin takes lead in Delhi

NEW DELHI, India — Raphael Jacquelin’s uneven round of 72 was good enough to give him a one-stroke lead after 54 holes of the Indian Masters at Delhi Golf Club.

The Frenchman, whose last European Tour victory came at the Asian Open in Shanghai last April, shot an eagle, a birdie and three bogeys in his level par round for a six-under total of 210.

One behind is the second round leader Damien McGrane, who faltered with five bogeys in his 75, fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell and Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara.

Local hopes remain alive with former US PGA Tour member Arjun Atwal two off the pace and Kolkata-based S.S.P Chowrasia on the same score.

It’s always good to be at the top of the leaderboard but I’m just a bit disappointed with my putting, said Jacquelin, who also won the 2005 Madrid Open.

I hardly made any putts apart from the eagle. This course is so difficult to play, it’s very tricky. But I have confidence in the way I’m playing. I like Asia. The courses seem to suit me.

World number four Ernie Els handled the difficulty windy conditions better than anyone and has continued to improve after the disaster of a nine on the 18th in his first round.

His 69 was unmatched in the third round as winds caused havoc.

I am playing quite consistently but struggling a little bit on the greens, I am having a tough time reading the putts, said Els.

Shooting a 75 on the first day was really disappointing but I have really worked my tail off to get under par and now I am two under so I do feel kind of satisfied after my first day.

Ryder Cup stalwart Darren Clarke, who has been suffering stomach trouble, dropped eight shots on the back nine.

Nine-time European Tour winner Thomas Bjorn shot a 74 to sit alongside Els.

The Florida-based Atwal, the first Indian to secure a USPGA Tour card in 2004, was going well until two having late bogeys.

I played a decent round but made a lot of silly mistakes, said Atwal, who emerged unscathed from a fatal car crash in Orlando last year but faces possible charges of vehicular homicide.

I’ve struggled so badly in the last 18 months that I’m just happy to be in contention, he added. E-mail to a friend

found here.

Turkey set to relax headscarf ban

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s government is expected to lift a decades-old ban on Islamic head scarves in universities on Saturday in a significant victory against the secular establishment.

In predominantly Muslim Turkey, which seeks European Union membership, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has channeled the frustration of devout masses who feel excluded from the establishment into political action.

We will end the sufferings of our girls at university gates, Erdogan said Thursday in reference to pious female students who have been forced to remove their head scarves at the entrance to campuses.

Some have attended classes wearing wigs.

The Parliament will hold brief debates and vote on two crucial amendments to the secular constitution to allow female students to wear head scarves on campus 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.

Turkey set to relax headscarf ban

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s government is expected to lift a decades-old ban on Islamic head scarves in universities on Saturday in a significant victory against the secular establishment.

In predominantly Muslim Turkey, which seeks European Union membership, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has channeled the frustration of devout masses who feel excluded from the establishment into political action.

We will end the sufferings of our girls at university gates, Erdogan said Thursday in reference to pious female students who have been forced to remove their head scarves at the entrance to campuses.

Some have attended classes wearing wigs.

The Parliament will hold brief debates and vote on two crucial amendments to the secular constitution to allow female students to wear head scarves on campus 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.