Indiana stays No. 1 in AP Top 25, Gonzaga No. 2


Indiana is No. 1 in The Associated Press' Top 25 for the fourth straight week, while Gonzaga moved to No. 2 for the first time in school history.


While the West Coast Bulldogs made some news at the top of the poll Monday, Louisiana Tech, the Bulldogs from Down South, moved into the rankings for the first time since a 13-week run in 1984-85, their only appearance in the poll.


Louisiana Tech, which is 25th this week, was led back then to a ranking as high as No. 7 by a forward named Karl Malone. Gonzaga at that time had a point guard named John Stockton. They went on to become one of the greatest combinations in NBA history with the Utah Jazz, were members of the Dream Team and both were inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.


The Hoosiers, who have been ranked No. 1 for a total of 10 weeks this season, received all but one first-place vote from the 65-member national media panel.


Gonzaga, which got the other No. 1 vote, was ranked third last week. The Bulldogs were also that high in the poll for the final two weeks of 2003-04.


Duke moved up three spots to third and is followed by Michigan and Miami, which dropped from second after falling to Wake Forest, the Hurricanes' first Atlantic Coast Conference loss this season.


Kansas is sixth, followed by Georgetown, Florida, Michigan State and Louisville.


Saint Louis, which beat Butler and VCU last week, moved into 18th in the poll, the Billikens' first ranking since being in for one week last season.


Colorado State, which was 22nd and lost twice last week, and VCU, which was 24th, dropped out.


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‘Vulcan’ and ‘Cerberus’ Win Pluto Moon Naming Poll






The votes are in, and it looks like ‘Vulcan‘ could be the new name for one of Pluto‘s smallest moons.


After weeks of online ballot casting by people around the world, the poll asking the public to name two of Pluto’s moons — currently called P4 and P5 — ended today (Feb. 25).






As of 12 p.m. (1700 GMT), the polls closed with a total of 450,324 total votes cast since Feb. 11 with ‘Vulcan,’ a Pluto moon name proposed by Star Trek’s William Shatner, is the clear winner. Vulcan nabbed roughly 160,000 votes, with Cerberus in clear second place with nearly 100,000 votes.


Vulcan was a late addition to the Pluto moon name contenders, and pulled into the lead after Shatner, building on his Capt. James T. Kirk persona, plugged the name on Twitter. Vulcan, the home planet of Kirk’s alien-human hybrid first officer Spock, is not just a fictional world in the Star Trek universe. It is also the name of the god of fire in Roman mythology, and officials at SETI added the sci-fi favorite to the ballot for that reason.


“Vulcan is the Roman god of lava and smoke, and the nephew of Pluto. (Any connection to the Star Trek TV series is purely coincidental, although we can be sure that Gene Roddenberry read the classics.),” wrote SETI scientist Mark Showalter in a blog officially adding the name to the list on Feb. 12. “Thanks to William Shatner for the suggestion!”


These votes don’t necessarily mean that P4 and P5 will end up being called Vulcan and Cerberus, however. SETI is going to recommend the winning names to the International Astronomical Union — the organization responsible for naming the moons. The IAU will take the results into consideration, but ultimately they have final say over what the tiny moons are called.


Pluto has five moons  that astronomers currently know of. Scientists first caught sight of Pluto’s largest moon Charon in 1978, but it was not until 2005 that astronomers discovered two other moons (Nix and Hydra) using the Hubble Space Telescope.


The moon P5 was discovered in 2012, also using the Hubble telescope  . The moon P4 was discovered in 2011. Both P4 and P5 are only 15 to 20 miles (20 to 30 km) in diameter.


Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter @mirikramer or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We’re also on Facebook & Google+


Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Iran plans own response to 'Argo'




(File photo) Argo tells the story of a rescue of U.S. diplomats from revolutionary Iran.




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Ben Affleck's "Argo" tells the story of a dramatic rescue of U.S. diplomats from revolutionary Iran

  • Iranian state media criticize the movie as "replete with historical inaccuracies and distortions"

  • Iran's Art Bureau says it will fund its own film about the handing over of 20 U.S. hostages




(CNN) -- Ben Affleck has more than just a couple of Golden Globes to add to his resume.


His movie "Argo," about the suspenseful rescue of U.S. diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis, has also achieved the unusual honor of prompting Tehran to produce its own cinematic response.


Opinion: Latino should have played lead in 'Argo'


"Argo" was named best drama movie during the Golden Globes ceremony on Sunday night in Los Angeles, and Affleck won the award for best director, a category for which he was passed over in the recent Oscar nominations.










But his efforts to recreate on screen the drama of the secret operation by the CIA and Canada to extract six U.S. embassy workers from revolutionary Iran in 1980 haven't been overlooked by Tehran's Art Bureau.


'Argo' recognizes forgotten heroes of Iran hostage saga


It plans to fund a movie entitled "The General Staff," about 20 American hostages who were handed over to the United States by Iranian revolutionaries, according to a report last week by Mehr News, the official Iranian agency.


"This film, which will be a big production, should be an appropriate response to the ahistoric film 'Argo,'" said Ataollah Salmanian, the director of the Iranian film, according to Mehr.


"Argo" claims to be based on a true story rather than to constitute a scrupulous retelling of exactly what took place, and its deviations from reality have been documented.


But Iranian authorities have taken offense at the film's portrayal of the country and its people. "Argo" was officially viewed as "anti-Iranian" following its U.S. release last year, Mehr reported.


Iran's state-run broadcaster Press TV detailed its objections to the film in an online article on Sunday.


"The Iranophobic American movie attempts to describe Iranians as overemotional, irrational, insane, and diabolical while at the same, the CIA agents are represented as heroically patriotic," it complained.


In the movie, in which Affleck plays the lead role, the CIA operation is shown outwitting Iranian authorities through an elaborate plan based on pretending that the U.S. diplomats fleeing the country were part of team scouting locations for an outlandish science-fiction film.


But according to Press TV, the film is "a far cry from a balanced narration" and is "replete with historical inaccuracies and distortions."


On the other hand, "The General Staff," set to begin shooting next year, will be based on eyewitness accounts, Salmanian said.


The Art Bureau, which is to provide the financing, is affiliated with the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization, according to Mehr.


Press TV cited Salmanian as saying that his film would depict "the historical event unlike the American version which lacks a proper view of the story."


CNN's Samira Said contributed to this report.






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New storm to hit Chicago area on Tuesday: forecasts









For the second time in less than a week, the Chicago area is in line for a snowstorm that promises a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and snow with enough accumulation to bring out the snow shovels.


Early predictions from the National Weather Service pegged the potential snowfall at about 3-6 inches, about what the storm left the end of last week. But the weather service says it's still unclear which areas will be hit with what: If the temperature is above freezing, there will be less snow, and if it's below, there will be more.


The weather service has issued a winter storm watch from Tuesday morning through the evening.








The weather service said the snow will start sometime after midnight Tuesday morning, with freezing rain turning to sleet to wet snow by early afternoon. With winds gusting about 35 mph, some of that snow will drift and made Tuesday a bad day on the roads.


The track of the storm is over the Texas panhandle northeast and through Missouri and southern Illinois and central Indiana, the Lake Erie area early Wednesday. North of the low pressure path, winter storm watches are in effect from late Monday through Tuesday from Missouri through northern Illinois, the southeastern corner of Wisconsin, extreme northern Indiana and much of Lower Michigan.

In the Chicago area, there could be heavy snow of 6 inches or more Tuesday generally north of Interstate 80, with northeast winds at 25 to 35 mph whipping and blowing the snow, according to the Chicago Weather Center.


Rain, a period of freezing rain and sleet will spread north out of central Illinois early Tuesday, changing over to a heavy wet snow in the Chicago metro area and across the far west through north suburbs into southern Wisconsin.

A combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow will cause hazardous driving across northern Indiana Tuesday. The precipitation will be all snow across Illinois later Tuesday.


According to the Chicago Weather Center, February has been an unusually snowy month during a winter that has been unusually snowless. Through Saturday, there has been 10.1 inches of snow, about 136 percent of normal, while the winter's total has been 13.6 inches, way below normal.


Plains states hit again


A storm struck parts of the southern Plains today, creating blizzard conditions in Oklahoma and Texas and warnings in Kansas and Missouri that caught the brunt of a winter storm last week.

Snow fell at the rate of up to 2 inches per hour in the Amarillo, Texas, area, and the National Weather Service warned against travel, saying "most roads are impassable."

Airports in Amarillo and 120 miles to the south in Lubbock, Texas, were closed while Interstate 27 between the cities was shut down because of the blowing snow, state officials said.

Amarillo and parts north of Amarillo in the panhandle reported a foot of snow or more on Monday morning.

Parts of northwestern Oklahoma could get 16 inches to 24 inches of snow, with high winds that could create drifts up to 6 feet high, according to the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said it closed all highways in the Oklahoma panhandle because of blizzard conditions. Interstate 40 in the Texas panhandle was also closed, according to National Weather Service in Amarillo.

In Oklahoma City, some afternoon flights from Will Rogers World Airport were canceled in anticipation of the storm.

Kansas, hit by a foot or more of snow in spots last week, braced for possible worsening conditions on Monday and Tuesday.

Reuters contributed


chicagobreaking@tribune.com


Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking





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Powers to offer Iran sanctions relief at nuclear talks


ALMATY (Reuters) - Major powers will offer Iran some sanctions relief during talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this week if Tehran agrees to curb its nuclear program, a U.S. official said on Monday.


But the Islamic Republic could face more economic pain if it fails to address international concerns about its atomic activities, the official said ahead of the February 26-27 meeting in the central Asian state, speaking on condition of anonymity.


"There will be continued sanctions enforcement ... there are other areas where pressure can be put," the official said, on the eve of the first round of negotiations between Iran and six world powers in eight months.


A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who leads the talks with Iran on behalf of the powers, said Tehran should understand that there was an "urgent need to make concrete and tangible progress" in Kazakhstan.


Both Russia and the United States stressed there was not an unlimited amount of time to resolve a dispute that has raised fears of a new war in the Middle East.


"The window for a diplomatic solution simply cannot by definition remain open forever. But it is open today. It is open now," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a news conference in London. "There is still time but there is only time if Iran makes the decision to come to the table and negotiate in good faith."


Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there was "no more time to waste", Interfax news agency quoted him as saying in Almaty.


The immediate priority for the powers - the United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France - is to convince Iran to halt its higher-grade enrichment, which is a relatively short technical step away from potential atom bomb material.


Iran, which has taken steps over the last year to expand its uranium enrichment activities in defiance of international demands to scale it back, wants a relaxation of increasingly harsh sanctions hurting its lifeline oil exports.


Western officials say the Almaty meeting is unlikely to produce any major breakthrough, in part because Iran's presidential election in June may make it difficult for it to make significant concessions before then for domestic reasons.


But they say they hope that Iran will take their proposals seriously and engage in negotiations to try to find a diplomatic settlement.


"No one is expecting to walk out of here with a deal but ... confidence building measures are important," one senior Western official said.


The stakes are high: Israel, assumed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed arsenal, has strongly hinted at possible military action to prevent its old foe from obtaining such arms. Iran has threatened to retaliate if attacked.


GOLD SANCTIONS RELIEF?


The U.S. official said the powers' updated offer to Iran - a modified version of one rejected by Iran in the unsuccessful talks last year - would take into account its recent nuclear advances but also take "some steps in the sanctions arena".


This would be aimed at addressing some of Iran's concerns, the official said, while making clear it would not meet Tehran's demand of an easing of all punitive steps against it.


"We think ... there will be some additional sanctions relief" in the powers' revised proposal," the official said, without giving details.


Western diplomats have told Reuters the six countries will offer to ease sanctions on trade in gold and precious metals if Iran closes its Fordow underground uranium enrichment plant.


Iran has indicated, however, that this will not be enough.


Tehran denies Western allegations it is seeking to develop the capability to make nuclear bombs, saying its program is entirely peaceful. It wants the powers to recognize what it sees as its right to refine uranium for peaceful purposes.


The U.S. official said the powers hoped that the Almaty meeting would lead to follow-up talks soon.


"We are ready to step up the pace of our meetings and our discussions," the official said, adding the United States would also be prepared to hold bilateral talks with Tehran if it was serious about it.


Ashton's spokesman, Michael Mann, said the updated offer to Iran was "balanced and a fair basis" for constructive talks.


(Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati and Dimitry Solovyov; Editing by Jon Hemming)



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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large.


Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling.


Talks on the U.S. budget crisis began again this week leading up to the March 1 deadline for the so-called sequestration when $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts are scheduled to take effect.


"It's at this point a political hot button in Washington but a very low level investor concern," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The fight pits President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats against congressional Republicans.


Stocks rallied in early January after a compromise temporarily avoided the fiscal cliff, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> has risen 6.3 percent since the start of the year.


But the benchmark index lost steam this week, posting its first week of losses since the start of the year. Minutes on Wednesday from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested the central bank may slow or stop its stimulus policy sooner than expected, provided the catalyst.


National elections in Italy on Sunday and Monday could also add to investor concern. Most investors expect a government headed by Pier Luigi Bersani to win and continue with reforms to tackle Italy's debt problems. However, a resurgence by former leader Silvio Berlusconi has raised doubts.


"Europe has been in the last six months less of a topic for the stock market, but the problems haven't gone away. This may bring back investor attention to that," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.


OPTIONS BULLS TARGET GAINS


The spending cuts, if they go ahead, could hit the defense industry particularly hard.


Yet in the options market, bulls were targeting gains in Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon's biggest supplier.


Calls on the stock far outpaced puts, suggesting that many investors anticipate the stock to move higher. Overall options volume on the stock was 2.8 times the daily average with 17,000 calls and 3,360 puts traded, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.


"The upside call buying in Lockheed solidifies the idea that option investors are not pricing in a lot of downside risk in most defense stocks from the likely impact of sequestration," said Jared Woodard, a founder of research and advisory firm condoroptions.com in Forest, Virginia.


The stock ended up 0.6 percent at $88.12 on Friday.


If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on reducing the U.S. budget deficit in the next few days, a sequester would include significant cuts in defense spending. Companies such as General Dynamics Corp and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp could be affected.


General Dynamics Corp shares rose 1.2 percent to $67.32 and Smith & Wesson added 4.6 percent to $9.18 on Friday.


EYES ON GDP DATA, APPLE


The latest data on fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product is expected on Thursday, and some analysts predict an upward revision following trade data that showed America's deficit shrank in December to its narrowest in nearly three years.


U.S. GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier government estimate, but analysts said there was no reason for panic, given that consumer spending and business investment picked up.


Investors will be looking for any hints of changes in the Fed's policy of monetary easing when Fed Chairman Ben Bernake speaks before congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.


Shares of Apple will be watched closely next week when the company's annual stockholders' meeting is held.


On Friday, a U.S. judge handed outspoken hedge fund manager David Einhorn a victory in his battle with the iPhone maker, blocking the company from moving forward with a shareholder vote on a controversial proposal to limit the company's ability to issue preferred stock.


(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Kenneth Barry)



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Daytona ready for race, willing to relocate fans


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Fans feeling unsafe after the horrific crash at Daytona International Speedway can change seats for NASCAR's biggest race.


Track President Joie Chitwood said Sunday workers successfully repaired a section of fence — 54 feet wide and 22 feet high — that was shredded Saturday when Kyle Larson's car went airborne on the final lap of a second-tier race and crashed through the barrier that separates cars from fans. Large pieces of debris, including a tire, sprayed into the upper and lower section of the stands.


The crash injured more than 30 people, raising more questions about fan safety at race tracks.


Halifax Health spokesman Byron Cogdell said seven people with crash-related injuries remained hospitalized Sunday in Daytona Beach in stable condition. The six people brought to a different Halifax hospital in Port Orange with crash-related injuries had all been discharged by Sunday morning, Cogdell said.


A spokeswoman at Florida Memorial Medical Center would not release information Sunday on the patients brought to that hospital.


Chitwood, meanwhile, said if any fans are uncomfortable with their up-close seating for Sunday's Daytona 500, officials will work to move them.


"If fans are unhappy with their seating location or if they have any incidents, we would relocate them," Chitwood said Sunday. "So we'll treat that area like we do every other area of the grandstand. If a fan is not comfortable where they're sitting, we make every accommodation we can."


Larry Spencer of Nanticoke, Pa., said Sunday he's not sure he wants to ever sit that low again after his 15-year-old brother, Derrick, needed three stitches in his cheek after being hit by metal debris flying from the crash. They sat close to the fence Saturday, but returned for the Daytona 500 with tickets dozens of rows farther away from the track.


"I thought it was just neat to see the cars going by that close," Spencer said. "After yesterday, though, I definitely will reconsider sitting lower ever again."


The tire that flew into the stands landed a couple of rows above where they had been standing. After the crash, looking around at the people seriously injured, Spencer said he decided to take his brother to a hospital himself so that speedway crews and paramedics could focus on the people who needed more help.


"The only way to describe it was like a bomb went off, and the car pretty much exploded," Spencer said.


Track workers finished repairs about 2 a.m. Sunday, having installed a new fence post, new metal meshing and part of the concrete wall.


Officials decided not to rebuild the collapsed cross-over gate, which allows fans to travel between the stands and the infield before races.


Daytona has a grandstand remodel planned. Chitwood said the injuries could prompt a redesign that might include sturdier fences or stands further away from the on-track action.


"It's tough to connect the two right now in terms of a potential redevelopment and what occurred," Chitwood said. "We were prepared yesterday, had emergency medical respond. As we learn from this, you bet: If there are things that we can incorporate into the future, whether it's the current property now or any other redevelopment, we will.


"The key is sitting down with NASCAR, finding out the things that happened and how we deal with them."


Daytona reexamined its fencing and ended up replacing the entire thing following Carl Edwards' scary crash at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama in 2009. Edwards' car sailed into the fence and spewed debris into the stands.


"We've made improvements since then," Chitwood said. "I think that's the key: that we learn from this and figure out what else we need to do."


NASCAR plans to take what remained of Larson's sheared car along with debris back to its research and development center in Charlotte, N.C., for testing.


"We'll bring in the best and brightest," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's senior vice president for racing operations. "Anything we can learn will be put in place. ... Fans are our first priority. Obviously we want everybody to be safe at an event. We've talked to the speedway. We're confident in what's in place at today's event. Certainly still thinking about those affected, but we're confident to move forward for this race."


The 12-car crash began as the front-runners approached the checkered flag. Leader Regan Smith attempted to block Brad Keselowski for the win, triggering a pileup that could have been much worse.


Larson's burning engine wedged through a gaping hole in the fence. Parts and pieces of his car sprayed into the stands, including a tire that cleared the top of the fence and landed midway up the spectator section closest to the track.


The 20-year-old Larson stood in shock a few feet from his car as fans in the stands waved frantically for help. Smoke from the burning engine briefly clouded the area, and emergency vehicles descended on the scene.


Ambulance sirens could be heard wailing behind the grandstands at a time the race winner would typically be doing celebratory burnouts.


"It was freaky. When I looked to my right, the accident happened," Rick Harpster of Orange Park said. "I looked over and I saw a tire fly straight over the fence into the stands, but after that I didn't see anything else. That was the worst thing I have seen, seeing that tire fly into the stands. I knew it was going to be severe."


In 1987, Bobby Allison's car lifted off the track at Talladega while running over 200 mph, careening into the steel-cable fence and scattering debris into the crowd. That crash led to the use of horsepower-sapping restrictor plates at Talladega and its sister track in Daytona, NASCAR's fastest layouts.


As a result, the cars all run nearly the same speed, and the field is typically bunched tightly together — which plenty of drivers have warned is actually a more dangerous scenario than higher speeds.


"That's one of the things that really does scare you," Allison said Sunday. "But it's always a possibility because of the speeds, where they are."


___


Associated Press writer Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.


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Serious Stargazing: Spot Bright Star Sirius This Week






Around this time of year, I often get lots of inquiries concerning a certain very bright star-like object shining over toward the southern part of the sky. It’s Sirius, the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky. 


Granted, the planet Jupiter currently shines three times brighter and appears much higher in the sky, but while Jupiter shines with a steady, silvery glow, Sirius will remind you of the famous early 19th century limerick, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” written by the English poet, Jane Taylor, for indeed, Sirius seems to shine “like a diamond in the sky.”  Who knows?  Maybe Taylor was inspired by gazing upon Sirius.






Not a few astronomy books suggest that you can locate Sirius by using the belt of Orion, as the belt points southeast directly toward Sirius — as if anyone needed a way to find this dazzling luminary! While it is true that Orion’s three-star belt will direct you toward Sirius, all anyone needs to do is simply cast a glance toward the southern sky during these cold winter evenings and they’ll immediately see it. It will be due south between 8:30 and 9 p.m. local time all of this week, and sets in the southwest between 1:30 and 2 a.m.


So bright, so near


Sirius is the brightest star of the constellation Canis Major, the “Greater Dog” in Latin.


According to Burnham’s Celestial Handbook, other names for it include “The Sparkling One” or “The Scorching One.” The star appears a brilliant white with a tinge of blue, but when the air is unsteady, or when the star is low to the horizon, it seems to flicker and splinter with all the colors of the rainbow. 


At a distance of just 8.7 light-years, Sirius is the fifth-nearest known star. Among the naked-eye stars, it is the nearest of all, with the sole exception of Alpha Centauri. Sirius is gradually moving closer to the solar system, so it will slightly increase in brightness over the next 60,000 years. After that time its distance will begin to recede, but it will continue to be the brightest star in the Earth’s sky for the next 210,000 years. [The Nearest Stars to Earth (Infographic)]


The Dog Star has a pup


Over thousands of years, Sirius appears to move in a wavy line across the sky. 


In 1862, Alvan G. Clark first saw Sirius B, also known as “the Pup,” the companion star responsible for the wiggle. Sirius B is only one ten-thousandth as bright as Sirius A, but by 1914, spectroscopic observations had demonstrated that its temperature was about the same. From physical laws it follows that B emits the same amount of light per unit surface area as A, and therefore to be so dim, it must be very small. 


Later calculations have shown that A has just over twice the mass of our sun, but B has nearly one solar mass. Since it is so small, B must be exceedingly dense. 


In fact, it packs 98 percent of one solar mass into a body just 2 percent of the sun’s diameter. To do that, Sirius B must have a density 90,000 times that of the sun. A teaspoon of this star material would weigh about 2 tons!


Look for Canopus


Now is also the time of the year for southerly observers to look for Canopus, in the constellation of Carina, the Keel (part of the now-defunct constellation of Argo Navis, the Ship). 


Canopus still holds its rank as second only to Sirius in apparent brightness. The two stars differ by 0.8 magnitudes, so that Canopus is about half as bright as Sirius. But the former is more than 34 times as distant from us.


And, in fact, intrinsically, the luminary in Carina outshines the one in Canis Major by about 600 times.  This week, if you are anywhere south of north latitude 37.6 degrees, you can get a glimpse of Canopus as it skims just above the southern horizon, almost directly south of Sirius around 8:30 p.m.


Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.


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Vatican 'Gay lobby'? Probably not






STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Benedict XVI not stepping down under pressure from 'gay lobby,' Allen says

  • Allen: Benedict is a man who prefers the life of the mind to the nuts and bolts of government

  • However, he says, much of the pope's time has been spent putting out fires




Editor's note: John L. Allen Jr. is CNN's senior Vatican analyst and senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.


(CNN) -- Suffice it to say that of all possible storylines to emerge, heading into the election of a new pope, sensational charges of a shadowy "gay lobby" (possibly linked to blackmail), whose occult influence may have been behind the resignation of Benedict XVI, would be right at the bottom of the Vatican's wish list.


Proof of the Vatican's irritation came with a blistering statement Saturday complaining of "unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories," even suggesting the media is trying to influence the papal election.


Two basic questions have to be asked about all this. First, is there really a secret dossier about a network of people inside the Vatican who are linked by their sexual orientation, as Italian newspaper reports have alleged? Second, is this really why Benedict XVI quit?



John L. Allen Jr.

John L. Allen Jr.



The best answers, respectively, are "maybe" and "probably not."


It's a matter of record that at the peak of last year's massive Vatican leaks crisis, Benedict XVI created a commission of three cardinals to investigate the leaks. They submitted an eyes-only report to the pope in mid-December, which has not been made public.


It's impossible to confirm whether that report looked into the possibility that people protecting secrets about their sex lives were involved with the leaks, but frankly, it would be surprising if it didn't.


There are certainly compelling reasons to consider the hypothesis. In 2007, a Vatican official was caught by an Italian TV network on hidden camera arranging a date through a gay-oriented chat room, and then taking the young man back to his Vatican apartment. In 2010, a papal ceremonial officer was caught on a wiretap arranging liaisons through a Nigerian member of a Vatican choir. Both episodes played out in full public view, and gave the Vatican a black eye.









Pope Benedict XVI































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In that context, it would be a little odd if the cardinals didn't at least consider the possibility that insiders leading a double life might be vulnerable to pressure to betray the pope's confidence. That would apply not just to sex, but also potential conflicts of other sorts too, such as financial interests.


Vatican officials have said Benedict may authorize giving the report to the 116 cardinals who will elect his successor, so they can factor it into their deliberations. The most immediate fallout is that the affair is likely to strengthen the conviction among many cardinals that the next pope has to lead a serious house-cleaning inside the Vatican's bureaucracy.


It seems a stretch, however, to suggest this is the real reason Benedict is leaving. For the most part, one should probably take the pope at his word, that old age and fatigue are the motives for his decision.


That said, it's hard not to suspect that the meltdowns and controversies that have dogged Benedict XVI for the last eight years are in the background of why he's so tired. In 2009, at the height of another frenzy surrounding the lifting of the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying traditionalist bishop, Benedict dispatched a plaintive letter to the bishops of the world, voicing hurt for the way he'd been attacked and apologizing for the Vatican's mishandling of the situation.


Even if Benedict didn't resign because of any specific crisis, including this latest one, such anguish must have taken its toll. Benedict is a teaching pope, a man who prefers the life of the mind to the nuts and bolts of government, yet an enormous share of his time and energy has been consumed trying to put out internal fires.


It's hard to know why Benedict XVI is stepping off the stage, but I doubt it is because of a "gay lobby."


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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John L. Allen Jr.






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Daytona 500 still a go despite accident that injured fans









DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —





The Daytona 500 NASCAR race will go ahead on Sunday despite a crash on Saturday that injured more than 20 fans, questions over the safety of the famous speedway and the possibility of lawsuits.

Officials said they had repaired the fencing that was damaged after the pile-up which sent debris flying into the crowd and injuring fans on the final lap of Saturday's second-tier Nationwide race.






Halifax Health spokesman Byron Cogdell said that seven people were treated for injuries at their facility but two who had initially been listed as critical were now in a stable condition.

Another injured spectator was being treated at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach, but their condition was not available.

Fourteen other fans had been treated on site at the track before being released, said Daytona International Speedway president Joei Chitwood.

Chitwood said any fans in the affected area who were concerned about the safety of their seat position would be relocated.

"If fans are unhappy with...their seating location or if they have any incidents, we would relocate them. We will treat that area like we do every other of the grandstand.

"If a fan is not comfortable where they are sitting, we make every accommodation we can," he said.

NASCAR and the speedway could face millions of dollars' worth of claims from the injured, litigation that would likely center on the sturdiness of the safety fence that was supposed to keep fans from danger, according to several plaintiffs' lawyers.

"Maybe the fence should have been higher; maybe there should have been more spacing between the track and spectators," said Adam Levitt, a lawyer with Grant & Eisenhofer.

However, lawyers also said the auto-racing business would likely point to the disclaimers that it typically displays on tickets, which are designed to exempt NASCAR from any potential injury liability. They expected NASCAR would argue that fans knew what they were getting into when signing up for the race.

NEW FENCING

Both the speedway and NASCAR have said they will closely review the incident in search of any ways they could improve safety.

Chitwood said new, 22-feet-high fencing had been put in place three years ago following a review of a crash involving Colin Edwards at Talladega in 2009.

"If you look at our 55 years in the business, we have a pretty good safety track record. I think we are prepared today," said Chitwood.

However, three-times Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford said a change might be needed.

"Maybe a double fence, one behind the other with some space in between to stop something like this," he told reporters.

"But there are a lot of things and NASCAR and Indy Car racing are looking at everything they can to make it safer.

"What happened yesterday was a terrible thing because we expect (danger) that is part of it, we have to roll the dice and move on but you don't want to involve the fans," he said.

NASCAR's senior vice-president of racing operations Steve O'Donnell said he would tell any nervous fans that organisers were confident of their safety.

"I would tell them that the fans are our first priority. Obviously we want everyone to be safe at an event," he told reporters.

"We've talked to the speedway. We are confident in what's in place at today's event. Certainly still thinking about those affected but we are confident to move forward for this race," he added.

Fans streamed into the 167,000-capacity venue on Sunday and there was little indication of concern over safety.

"I feel safe. I think anywhere you go you run the risk of being injured but NASCAR does everything they can to protect the fans. They treat the fans like royalty here, it is amazing," said Vinny Nigro of New York City.

Another fan, Brad Stefka from Springfield, Missouri, said that while not particularly worried he would avoid the seating closest to the track.

"I just won't get down low. I would imagine that everyone who comes knows there is some element of danger if the cars are going that fast, if there is going to be a serious impact," he said.



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