Endangered whales invade California coastal waters

In an undated photo provided Monday, Aug. 21, 2012, by Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, Calif., spectators watch whales off the coast of southern California. Endangered blue whales, the world's largest animals, are being seen in droves off the northern California coast, lured by an abundance of their favorite food _ shrimp-like creatures known as krill. Whale-watching tour operators are reporting a bumper harvest of blue whales, orcas, humpbacks and binocular-toting tourists eager to witness the coastal feeding frenzy. (AP Photo/ Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari)

In an undated photo provided Monday, Aug. 21, 2012, by Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, Calif., spectators watch whales off the coast of southern California. Endangered blue whales, the world's largest animals, are being seen in droves off the northern California coast, lured by an abundance of their favorite food _ shrimp-like creatures known as krill. Whale-watching tour operators are reporting a bumper harvest of blue whales, orcas, humpbacks and binocular-toting tourists eager to witness the coastal feeding frenzy. (AP Photo/ Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari)

In an undated photo provided Monday, Aug. 21, 2012, by Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, Calif., spectators watch whales off the coast of southern California. Endangered blue whales, the world's largest animals, are being seen in droves off the northern California coast, lured by an abundance of their favorite food - shrimp-like creatures known as krill. Whale-watching tour operators are reporting a bumper harvest of blue whales, orcas, humpbacks and binocular-toting tourists eager to witness the coastal feeding frenzy. (AP Photo/ Captain David Anderson's Dolphin and Whale Safari)

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) ? Grab your camera and binoculars: There's rarely been a better time to go whale-watching off the California coast.

Tourists from around the world have been flocking to Monterey Bay to catch a glimpse of the massive marine mammals, including impressive numbers of blue whales, the largest animals on earth.

Longtime observers say they've seen a sharp increase in endangered blue and humpback whales feeding near California shores, where they spend the spring and summer before heading to their winter breeding grounds off Mexico and Central America.

"It's phenomenal that these humongous creatures are out there and we just get to go out on a boat and go out and watch them," said Santa Cruz resident Susan Stuart after a recent whale-watching cruise.

What's bringing the whales so close to shore? A bumper harvest of their favorite food: tiny, shrimplike critters known as krill.

Strong northwest winds have been pushing up cold, nutrient-rich waters from the ocean bottom ? a phenomenon known as upwelling. That has fueled blooms of phytoplankton that have led to an explosion of krill, the main food source of blue and humpback whales.

"The season overall has been pretty exceptional and we're not done," said Nancy Black, a marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, which offers bay cruises twice daily.

The abundance of whales has been a boon to boat tour operators in Monterey Bay, whose deep underwater canyon makes it one of the best places to see whales, dolphins and other marine life.

"The word is out right now. If you want to see a whale or blue whale or several species of whale, now's the time to go for sure," said Ken Stagnaro, co-owner, Santa Cruz Whale Watching, who estimates business has doubled this year over last year.

But the rebound in whale populations has led to a new problem: more collisions with the giant cargo ships heading in and out of San Francisco Bay, one of the world's busiest ports, experts say.

"When a ship strikes a whale, it's usually not a good outcome. Often times the vertebrae are broken and the whale dies," said Maria Brown, superintendent of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

Federal officials are working with conservation groups and the shipping industry on a plan to help protect the whales around San Francisco Bay. They want to reroute ship traffic and improve tracking of whales to reduce collisions.

Conservationists want to ensure that future generations get a chance to see the world's largest animals.

"When you see a whale in the wild, it's a life changing experience," said Maureen Gilbert, an on-board naturalist for Santa Cruz Whale Watching. "You're never the same person after you've had that kind of encounter with a wild animal."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-08-21-Whale-Watching%20Bonanza/id-e1ab04726b5140e585338a847434b655

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Rami Levy: Israel's Supermarket King

August 18, 2012, 12:50pm

By JTA

Thinkstock

The corporate offices of Rami Levy, Israel?s nouveau riche supermarket mogul, sit atop one of his grocery stores in southern Jerusalem. It?s not a busy neighborhood, nor is it easily accessible by public transit. But once the building comes into view, there?s no mistaking that it?s his.

Plastered across the side wall in bold letters on a yellow background are the words Rami Levy Hashikma Market. The company name appears at least six more times elsewhere on the building.

Meet the new Israeli mogul ? with a net worth about $1 billion, according to Haaretz ? whom many Jews outside Israel do not yet recognize, but who is emerging as a champion of the country?s economically struggling families.

Levy, 57, is the owner of the third largest grocery store chain in Israel, with 24 stores across the country en route to the goal of 50. Other competitors have much larger chains, but Levy has gained attention in part by cultivating the persona of a poor boy who made good and now is passing along the benefits to his customers. The benefits include sales and special deals for Jewish holidays, like low prices on matzah for Passover.

Last week, as the cost of bread in Israel rose 6 1/2 percent, Levy?s stores said they would not raise their prices until after Sukkot. Levy?s larger competitors will raise their bread prices after Rosh Hashanah, according to Israeli reports.

?I want the consumer to be happy,? said Levy, a man of few words who sticks to his message. ?You want to kill two birds with one stone ? to do business so that it?ll be good for the consumer.?

Levy grew up in the crowded Jerusalem neighborhood of Nachlaot, near the open market of Mahane Yehuda. He decided to open his first store when he witnessed a nasty interaction between his grandmother and a shop owner there during one of his furloughs from the Israeli army.

?He didn?t talk to her nicely and it troubled her,? Levy said. He thought, ?I?ll get out of the army and I?ll open a store.?

His grandfather owned a small warehouse down the block from the shop owner, on Hashikma Street, a side road in the market that would give his chain its name. In 1977, Levy cleaned, painted and converted the warehouse into a grocery store. He attracted customers by selling food at the same price as his wholesalers.

After three months he connected directly with the companies that supplied his wholesalers and began to buy directly from them, which allowed him to turn a small profit and later to expand his chain.

Levy has since launched an insurance company and a cell phone provider, both of which bear his name. The Israeli business publication Calcalist reported two weeks ago that Levy?s cell phone provider now serves 66,000 customers, compared to several recently launched providers with more than 100,000 customers.

Below his corporate office, attached to the store, customers can also eat at Hashikma Pizza or Hashikma Burger. Levy said he would enter any industry ?where I can do well for my customers, sell at low prices and make sure my customers can have good service.?

Customers at the store said they shop there for the low prices, but some other potential buyers prefer the supermarket across the street ? a branch of the larger Super-Sal chain. They said they chose to forgo Levy?s deals because his shops are too crowded.

?He wants every meter,? said Moshe Zaken, 29. ?You can?t turn the corner. You bump into people.?

Store owners on Hashikma Street, where he began, say he hasn?t changed from the days when they knew him as a friendly and generous grocer.

?He was a nice guy, a regular guy,? said Aviezer Zaken (no relation to Moshe), who runs a fish and poultry shop that like Levy?s chain is named for its owner. ?We didn?t expect him to become a billionaire.?

Like a few others, Aviezer Zaken attributed Levy?s success to ?the blessing of God. Just the blessing of God.?

Shop owners recalled that although Levy gave free matzah to needy people before Passover, he never gave himself a break.

?What free time? He worked 24 hours a day,? said Yaakov Gazit, who used to own a Turkish restaurant on the corner of Hashikma, near Levy?s store.

Even so, Gazit remembered a night years ago when he was stuck on the other side of Jerusalem with a flat tire and Levy came to assist him at 3 a.m.

?You?re stuck, so I?m helping you,? Gazit recalled Levy saying after Gazit had called for help.

Levy still maintains a storefront on Hashikma whose sign offers food for ?cheaper than cheap.? Shop owners there say he comes by every few months, but the interior of the store is empty and some shelves need repairs. Passers-by said it hardly ever opens. The number advertised on the sign does not take incoming calls.

Whether or not God?s hand is guiding Levy?s success, religiously themed pictures of Jerusalem hang in his office and Levy has remained Sabbath observant. Beyond the time he spends that day with his family, his wife ? whom he calls ?my right hand? ? and three of his four children, all adults, work for him. He also has three grandchildren.

?There?s less time one on one because everyone is busy, but we see each other during the day,? he said.

While Levy focuses on his business, he also has become entangled in political controversy. After his West Bank locations in Sha?ar Binyamin and Mishor Adumim began attracting Palestinian customers due to their low prices, the Palestinian Authority discouraged Palestinians from buying there. The PA claimed that patronizing the stores helped the economy of Israel?s settlements, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Still, Levy said, ?The people kept buying. I serve my customers regardless of race or nationality.?

He also doesn?t discriminate between Jews and Palestinians when hiring.

?We have a lot of Jews in the Diaspora,? Levy said, so he hopes his hiring practices will prevent people from outside Israel saying to prospective employees, ?You are a Jew; I won?t hire you.?

After he expands to 50 stores, Levy said he will have to stop because any additional branches would make his current cost structure unsustainable. Although he ?can?t serve all of Israel,? he said he likes to see the larger chains imitate his tactics.

?The moment you blaze a trail and your trail does well for people, and your competitors are doing the same thing, I?m happy,? he said.

Perhaps the opening day of the 50th store will be when Levy takes respite from his never-ending work. What will he do then?

Levy is not talking about retiring, but his former colleague, Aviezer Zaken, said, ?He?ll sit on the beach and fish.?

Source: http://blogs.forward.com/the-jew-and-the-carrot/161309/

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Egypt's Mursi seizes early chance to take on army

CAIRO (Reuters) - A blunder by the Egyptian army that left 16 border guards dead at the hands of Islamist militants gave President Mohamed Mursi an unexpectedly early chance to claw back powers from a military whose political influence he had always wanted to restrict.

A week after the raid on Egypt's Sinai border that outraged ordinary Egyptians and some soldiers, angry at what they saw as a failure in military leadership, Mursi on Sunday dismissed the country's two top generals and tore up an army decree that had curbed his powers.

It was a dramatic move, all the more surprising coming from a man who was the Muslim Brotherhood's last-minute candidate for the presidential election that ended in June, pilloried at the time as a stiff politician seen more as a Brotherhood functionary than a statesman-in-waiting.

Few would label him so now, even if many say he could not have been so audacious without the backing of the Brotherhood, whose top officials long talked of rolling back the military's influence but had spoken of it taking years.

His bold tactics still carry risks, even though the army has so far shown no signs of challenging the move.

There may yet be a backlash from a Mubarak-era establishment, the so-called "deep state", which will take years to reform. In addition, with power concentrated in his hands, Mursi has few others to blame for any failings as he works on the mammoth task of fixing a crippled economy.

Yet his move to reshape the military leadership when it was on the defensive after the Sinai debacle and secure himself more powers to deliver on policy is an early victory, even if more political skirmishes with the army and others may erupt.

"President Mursi has been following closely the border attacks and after that he felt that a change was needed in the security leadership," a presidential source told Reuters, explaining the timing of Sunday's army shake-up.

Mursi ordered out Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, 76, Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years before he took charge of Egypt when the former president fell. He also dismissed Chief of Staff Sami Enan, 64.

Both were replaced by generals, in their 50s, from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that Tantawi had led.

ARMY GRUMBLES

"His decisions were guided by what he saw would serve Egypt best and the sentiments he felt from the troops he visited in Sinai," the presidential source said.

Many Egyptians were angered that militants could have been allowed to gain enough of a foothold in Sinai to stage such a brazen assault that killed the 16 guards on August 5, before stealing vehicles and trying to storm the border with Israel.

Even some soldiers quietly grumbled. "In any decent state the minister of defense would have been sacked over the border killings," said one army major, speaking when the national intelligence chief was replaced last week but before Tantawi was eased out.

The backdrop of public anger and signs of discontent in the ranks offered an ideal chance to change the ageing top brass.

Several more junior officers interviewed by Reuters over the past year said they were tired of a few top officers becoming rich while the vast majority of soldiers struggle. Some spoke of growing malaise in the army and slipping standards.

"Events in Sinai accelerated Mursi's moves. This is what the Brotherhood wanted to do eventually. They ended up doing it a lot earlier than everyone expected," said Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Centre.

Hamid said Mursi may have also been encouraged after winning some public praise for the sacking a few days earlier of the intelligence chief and North Sinai governor. Islamists and, more unusually, some liberals turned up at the presidential palace after that decision with banners saying "Yes to Mursi."

But Hamid said it was "premature" for the Brotherhood to rest on its laurels or to count out the military.

"This was a risky move. It is not all rosy for Mursi. He has to deliver now," he said. "There are certain elements in the deep state that are not happy with a strong, assertive presidency."

For now, the army appears to have accepted the changes. A general promoted in the shake-up and the presidential source insisted Mursi consulted with Tantawi and the military council beforehand, though they did not indicate whether or not the top brass were happy about the decision.

A Facebook page affiliated to the military council carried a statement saying the shift in command was a "natural change in the leadership of the armed forces, transferring responsibility to a new generation".

A senior Brotherhood official said Mursi needed to assume more powers to deliver on economic and other policies, but those had been denied him by the constitutional declaration issued by the military as he was being elected.

"The nation came to have two heads - the president and the military council," Mahmoud Ghozlan, a Brotherhood executive bureau member, told Reuters. "The president had to act to recover his full powers from the hands of the military council."

CALLS FOR PROTESTS

In Sunday's decree, Mursi also revoked the constitutional declaration, taking back for the presidency amongst other things legislative power in the absence of the Islamist-led parliament that the army had dissolved based on a court ruling.

Calls for protests on August 24 by Brotherhood opponents may have been one more reminder to Mursi that he needed to deliver on policy to avoid momentum against his rule building, even if more power gives him fewer excuses for any failures.

"Mursi now holds the executive and legislative power. If he uses it in an improper way this will trigger a lot of political opposition," said political analyst Hassan Nafaa.

Yet, even with the army shorn of the powers it had sought to retain, the military with its vast economic interests and history of influence cannot be ignored by Mursi, and his decree indicated he was still treading with some caution.

Tantawi and Enan were both kept on as "advisers" to the president, dignifying their exit but also suggesting they effectively had presidential protection from prosecution and so would be spared the fate of Mubarak, a former air force commander who was jailed for life after 30 years in power.

"The army remains a massive institution in the life of Egypt. The fact that Mursi felt ... he needed to offer them jobs, gives you an idea of how worried he is about the potential for the backlash from the army," said a Western diplomat.

Yet Tantawi, who had always stayed in the shadows during Mubarak's era and never appeared at ease in the spotlight as interim leader, may also have been ready to step aside, provided he had the right assurances.

"We know from our contacts with him that he is tired," said the diplomat. "He has had enough but he doesn't want to retire in a way that opens him up to prosecution."

Short of a full military coup, the army has had few political channels to challenge Mursi's action after it formally handed over to the elected president on June 30. But the army is not without its allies or routes to press its cause.

The courts, which earlier overruled Mursi's decree to reinstate the dissolved parliament, could still challenge the latest decree too. A member of the Supreme Constitutional Court has already questioned the legality of Mursi's decision.

Mursi has begun to whittle away at the state apparatus that kept autocrats in power for decades. But having proved he won't be a pushover, Mursi now faces the much bigger task of delivering on the policies for which he was elected.

"It is clear now to everyone that Mursi is going to be a strong, assertive president so I think he gotten what he wants in the short term," said Hamid. "Now he has to turn to the economy, now he has to turn to making tangible improvements in people's lives."

(Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-mursi-seizes-early-chance-army-120947615.html

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Nanaimo Sports | Recreation | Hockey Skills & Drills - Nanaimo ...

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Friday, August 10th, 2012
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

This exciting Hockey Skills & Drills program offers two ice sessions focusing on powerskating and skills & drills. The skaters also receive one hour of yoga instruction as well as road hockey.

9:00 - 10:30am Session 1 - Powerskating
10:45 - 11:45am Yoga / Snack
11:45 - 12:30pm Lunch/Road hockey
1:00 - 3:00pm Session 2 ? Skills/Scrimmage

2 Age Groups

6 - 9 Years and 10 - 13 Years

To Register www.heathdennison.ca
For more information please call Heath @ (250) 756-5896

Source: http://www.harbourliving.ca/event/hockey-skills-drills-nanaimo/2012-08-10/

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Ghana's Mills called "man of peace" as nation mourns

ACCRA (Reuters) - A sea of Ghanaians clad in traditional red-and-black mourning cloth paid last respects on Friday to Ghana's late President John Atta Mills, who died suddenly after helping transform his nation into one of Africa's fastest growing economies.

More than a dozen heads of state, mainly from West Africa, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined thousands of Mills's mourning countrymen in the seaside capital as his coffin was carried on a gun carriage followed by wreath bearers.

Some mourners, many of them weeping and holding pictures of the late president, had gathered before dawn in Accra's Independence Square to secure a spot for the funeral.

"I saw him some few times during his visits to our region. I heard him preach peace all the time in his speech. So I wanted very much to be here to bid him farewell," said 65-year-old Lawson Nartey, who was dressed in black with a red ribbon around his neck.

Mills, who had been due to stand for re-election in December, died suddenly on July 24. The cause of his death has not yet been disclosed.

Within hours, John Dramani Mahama, Mills's deputy, had been sworn-in by parliament as his replacement, removing concerns cover political instability seen elsewhere in Africa following the death in office of a sitting president.

"This is history, the first time we've lost a president in office, and I very much wanted to be part of it," said Robert Ananga, 40, who traveled from the northern city of Bolgatanga, some 850 km (510 miles) from Accra.

President Mahama, who spoke during the two-hour burial ceremony marked by Bible readings, prayers and singing, described Mills as a man who cemented stability in Ghana.

"I am in no doubt that the unifier and the man of peace that our late president was, in passing on to glory, will be a catalyst for our country to consolidate the peace and forge ahead in unity," Mahama said.

During his term, Mills was credited with guiding Ghana's transformation into the Gulf of Guinea's newest oil exporter, and overseeing one of Africa's fastest growing economies, which is already a major cocoa and gold producer.

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) party has said?Mahama will be their candidate in elections still planned for December, with former Central Bank Governor Kwesi Amissah-Arthur set to be his running mate.

While West Africa has seen a number of coups and contested votes in recent years, the smooth transition after Mills's death comes after Ghana was also widely praised for the handling of the tight election in 2008 that brought Mills to power.

Nana Akufo-Addo, who Mills defeated in the 2008 vote, will take on Mahama in what is expected to be a close contest.

The swift nomination of Mahama appears to ease some concerns over a bitter contest within the NDC but analysts have flagged potential strains on Ghana's economy and the cedi currency of a year of election-related spending.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ghanas-mills-called-man-peace-nation-mourns-150344745.html

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The X-Gene

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?The Mutant Plague?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "The X-Gene"

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TeenTitans

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is this an X-man fan-roleplay? As in, this takes place in the Marvel universe? What is this about?

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Cruz's Texas victory shows tea party staying power

Ted Cruz, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to the media, the day after defeating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a runoff primary election, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Houston. Cruz says his tea party supporters who helped him pull off an upset in the Republican primary runoff are "everyday Texans" who want common sense answers to problems plaguing the country. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Brett Coomer)

Ted Cruz, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to the media, the day after defeating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a runoff primary election, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Houston. Cruz says his tea party supporters who helped him pull off an upset in the Republican primary runoff are "everyday Texans" who want common sense answers to problems plaguing the country. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Brett Coomer)

Texas Republican Senate candidate Ted Cruz speaks to the media, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Houston, a day after defeating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a runoff. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Texas Republican Senate candidate Ted Cruz speaks to the media, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Houston a day after defeating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a runoff. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Texas Republican Senate candidate Ted Cruz speaks to the media, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Houston a day after defeating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a runoff. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Ted Cruz's Senate primary victory in Texas will provide a boost for tea party-backed, no-compromise conservatives in Congress.

His all-but-sure win in November will increase the number of tea party-aligned senators to six, and as many as seven more could win election. That will ensure a bigger impact on both politics and policy on Capitol Hill, even if Democrats manage to retain a Senate majority and the White House.

Dozens of tea party-supported candidates won House seats two years ago, but only four were elected to the Senate: Marco Rubio of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah. They joined South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, an ideological godfather of a movement born in the aftermath of Congress enacting President Barack Obama's health care overhaul two years ago.

As a result of those small numbers, the tea party's impact in the Senate has been less than in the House ? for both parties.

Republicans speak optimistically of possibly taking Senate control ? though Cruz will take a safely Republican seat ? and most GOP senators tout their own conservative credentials. But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has generally not had to contend with conservative insurrections, while House Speaker John Boehner regularly faces fierce resistance from blocks of conservatives at the mere mention of compromise with Democrats.

Cruz defeated the establishment favorite, Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, on Tuesday after spending his entire campaign aligning himself with the tea party. He was endorsed by DeMint more than a year ago.

"We are witnessing a great awakening," he said of his victory, presenting himself as part of a new generation of conservatism.

With just three months until the general election, however, the 2012 campaign season has been anything but a tea party sweep. The movement couldn't settle on an opponent to Mitt Romney for the Republican presidential nomination, although more than half a dozen auditioned.

And it came up short in a bid to unseat veteran Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah just two years after Lee pulled off a stunning upset in the state. At least a handful of the tea party-backed candidates in the House also face tough re-election fights this fall.

But Cruz's victory does add to the momentum of tea-party-sponsored Richard Mourdock's upset victory in Indiana's Republican primary over Richard Lugar, a six-term senator who partnered with Democrats on foreign policy. .

Democrats quickly predicted that Cruz's arrival would create havoc for McConnell. Sen. Patty Murray, the head of the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, virtually conceded he'll win in November before musing Wednesday on Cruz's impact.

"I think the bigger issue there is that Mitch McConnell is now going to have a potentially much more Tea Party-oriented caucus, and we have all seen the damage that has done to our ability to govern, to find compromise, to move this country forward in a positive direction, she said. "It's more of their problem than ours."

A stronger tea party presence in the Senate could have a significant impact even before the 2012 election winners take office. Just the prospect could tip the scales in a lame duck post-election session on tax cuts and possible military spending cuts.

Expect an even bigger impact in February when the government approaches the $16.4 trillion ceiling on federal debt. Raising it again is anathema to tea partyers.

Republicans are already welcoming Cruz's arrival.

"People are mad at Washington, D.C., they're mad at what they perceive to be the establishment and they want some change," said Sen. John Cornyn, a fellow Texan and head of the Republicans' Senate campaign arm. "I certainly understand why."

Just how much the tea party's impact grows in the Senate depends on the outcome of seven other races.

In Indiana, Mourdock still has to defeat Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly in November.Nebraska State Sen. Deb Fischer ran as a strict conservative to emerge from a crowded primary and will take on former Sen. Bob Kerrey in a race to replace Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson.

The three candidates in Missouri's GOP primary have all brandished their deep conservative credentials as they compete to take on embattled Sen. Claire McCaskill. And several of the candidates in Wisconsin's hotly contested Republican Senate primary later this month have positioned themselves as tea party alternatives to former GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson. The winner will face liberal Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin in November.

In addition, Rep. Connie Mack, the strong favorite in a Republican primary to take on Sen. Bill Nelson in Florida, has expressed support for the tea party movement, as have Josh Mandel, the Republican-nominated challenger to Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio. Former Sen. George Allen has picked up some tea party support in what will be a tight Senate race in Virginia against former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-08-01-Senate%20GOP%20Divisions%201st%20Ld-Writethru/id-90f8588ceaa14351978d84c5e9bbd16c

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