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costa concordia (Wikipedia.com) |
Divers explode holes in stricken ship's hull in race to search for 29 missing off Tuscan coast
ROME (AP) -- Italian naval divers on Tuesday exploded holes in the hull of a cruise ship grounded off a Tuscan island to speed the search for 29 missing people while seas were still calm. One official said there was still a "glimmer of hope" that survivors could be found.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, prepared to question the captain, who is accused of causing the wreck that left at least six dead and abandoning the Costa Concordia before all 4,200 people onboard were safely evacuated after the vessel capsized Friday night.
Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the holes will help divers enter the wreck more easily. "We are rushing against time," he said.
The divers set four microcharges above and below the surface of the water, Busonero said. Television footage showed one hole above the waterline to be less than two meters (6 feet) in diameter.
"The hope is that the ship is empty and that the people are somewhere else, or if they are inside that they found a safe place to await rescue," Coast Guard spokesman Filippo Marini told Sky TV 24
Confronted by GOP rivals, Romney says he may release tax returns in April
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) -- Under pressure, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he might be willing to release his tax returns.
But not until April, if then, and the multimillionaire former businessman is not getting much gratitude from his rivals for his grudging change of heart.
"If there's nothing there, why is he waiting till April?" former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told reporters.
Romney seemed hesitant when confronted about the tax returns in a Republican debate Monday night, first sidestepping calls from his rivals to release his records, then acknowledging later that he'd follow the lead of previous presidential candidates.
"I have nothing in them that suggests there's any problem and I'm happy to do so," he said. "I sort of feel like we're showing a lot of exposure at this point," he added.
Analysis: GOP's right wing thrives in Congress, but establishment keeps presidential touch
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican Party's steadily rightward drift, exemplified by the tea party movement's muscle, keeps hitting a quadrennial paradox that frustrates social conservatives: presidential primaries.
For all its success in congressional races, the GOP's right wing repeatedly has failed to unite behind a "movement conservative" to be the party's White House nominee. It happened in 2008 with John McCain, and in 1996 with Bob Dole.
Now social conservatives fear it's happening again in, of all places, South Carolina, virtually the heartland of the tea party. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is running strong in polls there, threatening to sweep the year's first three GOP contests and all but lock up the nomination in Saturday's primary.
More than 100 evangelical and social conservative leaders convened last week in Texas, hoping to slow Romney's march by backing former Sen. Rick Santorum. But they were far from unanimous, and many party activists feel the effort was too puny and too late.
ROME (AP) -- Italian naval divers on Tuesday exploded holes in the hull of a cruise ship grounded off a Tuscan island to speed the search for 29 missing people while seas were still calm. One official said there was still a "glimmer of hope" that survivors could be found.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, prepared to question the captain, who is accused of causing the wreck that left at least six dead and abandoning the Costa Concordia before all 4,200 people onboard were safely evacuated after the vessel capsized Friday night.
Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the holes will help divers enter the wreck more easily. "We are rushing against time," he said.
The divers set four microcharges above and below the surface of the water, Busonero said. Television footage showed one hole above the waterline to be less than two meters (6 feet) in diameter.
"The hope is that the ship is empty and that the people are somewhere else, or if they are inside that they found a safe place to await rescue," Coast Guard spokesman Filippo Marini told Sky TV 24
Confronted by GOP rivals, Romney says he may release tax returns in April
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) -- Under pressure, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he might be willing to release his tax returns.
But not until April, if then, and the multimillionaire former businessman is not getting much gratitude from his rivals for his grudging change of heart.
"If there's nothing there, why is he waiting till April?" former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told reporters.
Romney seemed hesitant when confronted about the tax returns in a Republican debate Monday night, first sidestepping calls from his rivals to release his records, then acknowledging later that he'd follow the lead of previous presidential candidates.
"I have nothing in them that suggests there's any problem and I'm happy to do so," he said. "I sort of feel like we're showing a lot of exposure at this point," he added.
Analysis: GOP's right wing thrives in Congress, but establishment keeps presidential touch
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican Party's steadily rightward drift, exemplified by the tea party movement's muscle, keeps hitting a quadrennial paradox that frustrates social conservatives: presidential primaries.
For all its success in congressional races, the GOP's right wing repeatedly has failed to unite behind a "movement conservative" to be the party's White House nominee. It happened in 2008 with John McCain, and in 1996 with Bob Dole.
Now social conservatives fear it's happening again in, of all places, South Carolina, virtually the heartland of the tea party. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is running strong in polls there, threatening to sweep the year's first three GOP contests and all but lock up the nomination in Saturday's primary.
More than 100 evangelical and social conservative leaders convened last week in Texas, hoping to slow Romney's march by backing former Sen. Rick Santorum. But they were far from unanimous, and many party activists feel the effort was too puny and too late.
