Santorum camp: Gingrich should get out of the race

(CBS News) LENEXA, Kan. - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, whose impressive Super Tuesday performance cemented his standing as the major challenger to front-runner Mitt Romney, said Wednesday he is agnostic about whether Newt Gingrich should get of the race and give Santorum the chance to compete one-on-one with Romney.

But you would never know it by the actions of his campaign staff.

Indeed, while the candidate was blowing diplomatic rhetorical kisses to Gingrich, top Santorum strategists were beating the drum for the former House speaker to step aside. And if he won't, conservatives and tea party supporters should pressure him to oblige, they said.

John Brabender, Santorum's chief strategist, said, "We are calling on Tea Party supporters and conservatives to rally behind the only candidate that has demonstrated over and over again he's the one that can compete against Mitt Romney." He added, "If conservatives and tea party supporters unite behind Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney will not be the nominee."

On Wednesday morning, Stuart Roy, a spokesman for the Red White and Blue fund, a super PAC supporting Santorum, was more direct: "Based on his electoral performance last night and his out-of-step record, it is time for Newt Gingrich to exit the Republican nominating process."

Santorum's aides maintain that the support Gingrich has received in recent contests - such as the 6.5 percent he received in Michigan - would have otherwise gone to Santorum and given him a victory over Romney rather than a second-place finish.

The candidate himself told reporters he would not personally call on Gingrich to step aside after Gingrich won just one Super Tuesday contest, his home state of Georgia. By contrast, Santorum won Tennessee and Oklahoma, two states that Gingrich had targeted, and also North Dakota. Santorum held Romney to a narrow win in the biggest prize of the night, the battleground state of Ohio.

"People should stay in the race as long as they feel they should stay in the race, and you know, I'm going to stay in the race because we are doing really well," Santorum told reporters after a rally in Lenexa, a suburb of Kansas City.

Asked specifically about his campaign's efforts to get conservatives and Tea Party supporters to pressure Gingrich out of the race, Santorum said, "If they're doing so, they're not doing so at my knowledge, let's just put it that way."

"I'm not saying I don't want him to get out," he said. "If he wants to get out, I'm all for him getting out. I'm all for Mitt Romney getting out. I'm for everybody getting out. I wish President Obama would just hand me the thing. But that's not going to happen."

A direct display of public pressure on Gingrich to drop out by Santorum could alienate potential Republican primary voters in upcoming contests.

The former senator from Pennsylvania also said that Kansas, which votes on Saturday, is a must-win for him. "This race is going to change again in the next week and Kansas will lead the charge," he told a group of a few hundred supporters during a rally at a graphics manufacturing plant. "We had a good night last night, but so did Governor Romney. That's why we have to start anew here. We have to do well here in Kansas. ... No, we have to win here in Kansas. And win big."

Obama: Taxes needed to reduce debt

President Obama told a group of business executives last night that "revenue" -- generated by tax increases -- is essential if the U.S. is going to substantially reduce its $1 trillion-plus budget deficits and $15 trillion-plus federal debt.

While his administration is working to cut spending, Obama told members of the Business Roundtable that "we're also going to have to deal with revenue."

"And that's something that the American people instinctually understand," Obama said. "That if we do this in a balanced way, we can solve our problems."

Taxes are going to be a big issue this election year.

Obama's potential Republican opponents -- Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul -- oppose any tax hikes, saying increases will slow the economy and hurt job creation.

Congressional Republicans, particularly the GOP majority in the House, have opposed tax hikes, leading to a string of budget crises with the White House.

Whatever happens in the November election, the tax issue will come to a head in December.

Tax cuts signed by President George W. Bush expire at the end of the year; so does the payroll tax cut signed just last month by Obama.

Obama says he wants to eliminate the Bush tax cuts for individuals who make more than $200,000 a year and families who make more than $250,o00 annually. He is pushing a new "Buffett rule" that would require millionaires to pay at least 30% of their income in taxes.

Speaking to the Business Roundtable in Washington, Obama said he is not looking for massive tax hikes, only a balanced approach toward cutting the debt:

Jermain Defoe 'dating X Factor's Alexandra Burke'

The Tottenham striker is said to have been friends with the singer for years, but they starting dating a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday, the pair were spotted on one of their first public dates at the Landmark Hotel in north London, according to The Sun.

Defoe is apparently 'buzzing' about his new girl, a source at Spurs told the newspaper. 'She's a big personality and more than a match for him. A few of the lads have been winding him up at training about it.'

The insider claimed the couple have been in touch for some time, with Alexandra 'playing hard to get'.

However, she reportedly succumbed to the footballer's charms a couple of weeks ago.

'They are both really happy and looking forward to meeting up more often when she comes off her UK tour,' the source added.

Defoe has built up a reputation as a bit of a lothario over the years, dating a string of celebs throughout his career.

In the past few years, he's been linked to glamour girl Roxy Townsend, Imogen Thomas and Chantelle Houghton.

Defoe probably has other things to concentrate on at the moment though, other than romance. His side take on Manchester United tomorrow, who they're lagging eight points behind in the Premier League.

Arjen Robben puts Chelsea and Arsenal on alert

Dutch star Arjen Robben has suggested he will consider a return to the Premier League, potentially paving the way for a transfer to Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham.

The 28-year-old winger scored twice in Holland's 3-2 friendly victory over England at Wembley on Wednesday night, but has started recent games at Bayern Munich on the bench.

Arjen Robben could be set to leave Bayern Munich (Getty)

Robben has struggled with injuries during the current campaign, as well as drawing criticism from Bayern legend Franz Beckenbauer for being too selfish.

Swiss starlet Xherdan Shaqiri, who signed for the German giants last month and is due to join them at the end of the season, is viewed by many people as a replacement for Robben.

In comments reported by the Daily Mirror, the former Chelsea and Real Madrid player hinted that his future may lie elsewhere.

Robben said: 'I don't have an ideal situation in Germany. I am now considering the options I have.'

He also said that it was 'great to play at Wembley and to see many people I know' for the midweek friendly, in which he was the star performer for Bert van Marwijk's side.

Chelsea could be interested in re-signing the player who moved to Stamford Bridge from PSV in 2004, while London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham may also find a place for him.

Shehzad ton powers Barisal into final

A master-class in big-hitting from Ahmed Shehzad put the unlikely semi-finalists, Barisal Burners, in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20. They beat the in-form Duronto Rajshahi by eight wickets, with ridiculous ease. Shehzad, the Pakistan opener, struck an unbeaten 49-ball 113, guiding the steep 185-run chase and giving the slowly-growing crowd a lot to cheer about at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Man-of-the-match Shehzad hit six sixes, including four in a row off Abdul Razzaq (who conceded 26 in that over), and a dozen boundaries in his whirlwind innings - his hundred was the fourth fastest in all Twenty20 cricket. He added 103 runs in 7.5 overs for the first wicket with Brad Hodge, who made 33 off 23 balls with three fours and two sixes. Then, Shehzad added 74 runs for the second wicket with Phil Mustard, who also made 33.

It was entirely Shehzad's day as he also survived two dropped chances on 23 (at midwicket by Sabbir Rahman) and 71 (at deep-square leg by Taijul Islam). In fact, Hodge also got a few lives in an un-Rajshahi like display out on the field. The ease with which Barisal won was demonstrated by the fact that they cruised home with 24 balls to spare.

Earlier, Rajshahi overcame a first-over burst from Yasir Arafat, to make 184 for 6. Arafat, the Pakistan seamer, removed Shahzaib Hasan, Junaid Siddique and Marlon Samuels in the very first over - Shahzaib miscued a pull and was caught at mid-on, Junaid was bowled and Samuels adjudged lbw to a ball seemingly headed down the leg side.

Rajshahi captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Zimbabwe's Sean Ervine led the revival with a 110-run fourth-wicket stand. Mushfiqur made 58 off 33 balls with six fours and three sixes, while Ervine made 82 off 61 balls (eight fours and three sixes). After Arafat backed up his early burst with the run-out of Mushfiqur at a crucial time, Razzaq put the finishing touches to the innings, slamming 32 off 19 balls.

Cloud over BPL after fixing arrest

One player has been called into a hearing by the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Monday after a man was arrested the previous night for his suspected involvement in fixing in the BPL*.

Sajid Khan, a Pakistani citizen, was approached by Chittagong Kings officials during their game against Barisal Burners at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday evening. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) security staff stopped him near the players' zone, which he was trying to access.

The BCB security chief, Col (rtd) Mesbahuddin Serniabat, told New Age that the BCB had kept an eye on Sajid since the matches held in Chittagong, and finally captured him on Sunday. "His movement was very suspicious and we followed him from Chittagong," he said, adding that they had handed him over to the Mirpur police, who were supposed to raid the man's hotel room.

It is understood that the security officers found the bank account number of one player of the Chittagong Kings and the e-mail address of another who is playing for the Dhaka Gladiators in Sajid's mobile inbox.

"He [Sajid] has been handed over to the police so the investigation is now in their hands," BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said. "The BCB has zero tolerance in this matter and i hope we get to the bottom of this."**

An official of the Chittagong franchise, requesting anonymity, has told ESPNcricinfo that Sajid had been found talking to some of their foreign players during the tournament, eliciting suspicion after sitting directly on top of the players' dugout and dressing room during the matches held in Mirpur.

The incident occurs just over two weeks after Dhaka Gladiators captain Mashrafe Mortaza reported to his franchise that he had been approached by a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the BPL. The BCB has formed a four-member committee to inquire into the allegation.

Actress Lucy Lawless arrested in oil-ship protest

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Police arrested actress Lucy Lawless and five Greenpeace activists Monday, four days after they climbed onto an oil-drilling ship to prevent it from leaving a New Zealand dock.

Police removed the protesters from their perch atop a 174-foot (53-meter) drilling tower on the Noble Discoverer in Port Taranaki. Chartered by oil company Shell, the ship had been due to leave over the weekend to drill five exploratory wells in the Arctic.

Lawless and six activists climbed the tower early Friday to stop the ship's departure and raise awareness about Arctic oil drilling.

One of the activists left the tower Saturday and was initially charged with unlawfully boarding a ship. All seven have now been charged with burglary, a more serious crime. All have been released and are due to appear in a New Zealand court Thursday.

Lawless, 43, a native New Zealander, is best known for her title role in the TV series "Xena: Warrior Princess," and more recently for starring in the Starz cable television series "Spartacus."

Lawless spoke to The Associated Press from atop the tower Friday, where she said wind gusts were making it difficult for the group to stay put. She said she felt compelled to take a stand against oil-drilling in the Arctic and against global warming.

"I've got three kids. My sole biological reason for being on this planet is to ensure that they can flourish, and they can't do that in a filthy, degraded environment," she said. "We need to stand up while we still can."

In a series of tweets over the weekend, Lawless described some of the challenges of staying on the tower.

"I found last night pretty darn scary," she wrote. "Not for sissies."

In a release, Rob Jager, Chairman of Shell New Zealand, said the protest had put people in danger and he was pleased it was over. He said he remained disappointed that Greenpeace hadn't taken up the company's offer to engage in a "productive conversation."

Shell spokeswoman Shona Geary said she thought the ship would leave port within the next few days.

Bunny McDiarmid, the chief executive of Greenpeace New Zealand, said she thought the protest had gone "brilliantly" and that more than 100,000 people had sent messages to Shell to oppose the company's Arctic plans.