Here is your R&D for April 20th:
Florida may be do-or-die for 2012ers from Politico
Although the Republican National Committee is threatening to sanction Florida if it does not move its primary date, that does not mean that Republican presidential contenders are going to ignore the state. All of the Republican challengers view Florida as important in their 2012 primary strategies because of weaknesses in other early states.
Does Libya mission need ground troops after all? from CNN
As Libyan rebels continue to struggle to topple the Gaddafi regime, analysts are wondering whether it is time for NATO to send ground forces to protect civilians. President Obama for his part has already ruled out sending ground forces into Libya.
New Terror-Alert System Unveiled from the Wall Street Journal
The Department of Homeland Security unveiled a new terror-alert system today. The system replaces the color-coded system that the public did not understand and which attracted the attention of Saturday Night Live when the Bush administration enacted it in 2002.
“Disgusted” Lawmaker Seeks to Restrict TSA Child Pat-Downs from Fox News
The frisking of a six year old girl by a TSA agent in New Orleans drew a large amount of public criticism last week and has spurred calls for changes to the screening process. Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz is sponsoring legislation to restrict the TSA’s ability to pat down minors in the future.
A year after BP spill, drilling risks linger from Reuters
Today marks the one year anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and while the crisis brought more attention to the offshore drilling industry, risks still remain for extracting oil from the bottom of the world’s oceans.
Nigeria election riots: How leaders stoke Muslim-Christian violence from the Christian Science Monitor
Although Nigeria’s presidential election was complimented by international observers, sectarian violence has broken out between Muslims and Christians throughout the country, highlighting the fragile peace existing between the country’s northern and southern regions.
Raúl Castro has launched a campaign of genuine renewal and redirection from the Guardian
Cuban President Raul Castro surprised the sixth Communist party congress this weekend by announcing that he wanted a ten year term limit to be placed on the country’s future leaders and wanted to change the country’s internal economic markets.
Putin: Russia must be strong to resist threats from the Associated Press
Today, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin delivered an annual address to parliament that sounded like a 2012 presidential campaign speech. This article shares the highlights of Putin’s address with readers.
UN chief issues nuclear warning on Chernobyl visit from the Agence France Presse
United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon visited the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster and pointed out that countries need to have better plans to deal with nuclear disasters.
Donald Trump leads would-be GOP presidential candidates in visibility, by a lot from the Los Angeles Times
While some GOP presidential contenders may not take a Donald Trump presidential candidacy seriously, he does pose a threat to many of them because of his name recognition. This could help Trump make inroads with voters in the early primary states.
Majority of Tea Party supporters oppose cuts to Medicare, Medicaid: poll from the New York Daily News
Interestingly enough, although Tea Party supporter don’t like big government, they favor keeping entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid intact. This further demonstrates how hard it will be for either party to make traction on entitlement reform in the coming years.
Online Poker Companies in Accord With U.S. on Players’ Money from the San Francisco Chronicle
PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker entered into a domain-name use agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to allow online poker players to withdraw money from the two sites. The heads of PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were indicted last week for allegedly circumventing a 2006 federal law prohibiting banks from processing payments to offshore gambling websites.
NATO’s Decline over Libya from the Council on Foreign Relations
In this interview, Robert E. Hunter, Senior Advisor to the Rand Corporation, discusses how NATO’s inability to oust Moammar Gaddafi in Libya has been a major blow to the organization’s credibility.
The Two Senate Bellwethers from the National Journal
There are two Senate races to watch in 2012, Virginia and Nevada, which have the ptoential to be referendums on the Republican and Democratic visions for the country.
Fewer Americans, Europeans View Global Warming as a Threat from Gallup
Environmentalists can’t be too happy about a new poll from Gallup that shows that Americans and Europeans feel that climate change is less of a threat than it was several years ago. However, more Latin Americans and sub-Saharan Africans see themselves at risk from climate change.