McCain wins Florida, Giuliani expected to drop out

Sen. John McCain claimed victory in Florida’s Republican primary, and Sen. Hillary Clinton took the state’s Democratic contest Tuesday night.

The results in the Republican race might have delivered a fatal blow to the campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was a distant third as results came in Tuesday night.

Two GOP sources with direct knowledge of Giuliani’s plans said he will drop out of the race and endorse McCain at an event in California on Wednesday.

While Giuliani didn’t say he was withdrawing from the race, he did speak of his campaign in the past tense at one point.

“I’m proud I ran a positive campaign,” he told supporters. “I ran a campaign that was uplifting.”

With 81 percent of Republican precincts reporting, McCain held a 36-31 percent lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Giuliani had 15 percent of the vote, followed closely by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who held 14 percent.

A top campaign official from McCain’s camp has been in “ongoing discussions” with Giuliani’s campaign about endorsing McCain’s candidacy, a GOP official familiar with talks told CNN Tuesday.

A source close to Giuliani confirmed that discussions were taking place and said there is talk among the staff that an endorsement could come Wednesday in California. The source said McCain and Giuliani need to talk, but “we are working to make it happen.”

“Tonight, my friends, we celebrate. Tomorrow, it’s back to work,” McCain said as he claimed victory. “We have a ways to go, but we’re getting close, and for that, you all have my profound thanks.”

-from CNN.com

Intel buys up 1.3 billion kilowatts of Renewable Energy Certificates

Say what you will about Renewable Energy Certificates, Green Tags, carbon offsets and the like, but Intel sure does own a lot of them. Intel just became the largest purchaser of Renewable Energy Certificates in the US, with a commitment to snapping up 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of the stuff. RECs act as a sort of green “currency,” allowing a company invest in renewable energy sources, instead of the pollution-ridden plant up the river fueled by the blood of innocents. Not a bad PR move, but the investment should make renewable energy sources more affordable down the line, so it’s hard to fault them there.

-from Engadget.com