Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine's pro-Moscow opposition leader, will win a narrow victory in the nation's presidential election, electoral officials claim.

According to the BBC News, "with more than 98% of votes counted, Mr. Yanukovych had a 2.7% lead over his rival, Mrs. Yulia Tymoshenko, media said. Mr. Yankovych called on Mrs. Tymoshenko to quit, but she refused and is expected to challenge the results."

Nevada's budget is so deep in the red that by one account the state could layoff every worker paid from the general fund and it still must deal with a $300 million deficit. The economic downturn has struck so hard that prisons may be shut down, while colleges close and thousands get stuck without jobs.

"Against this backdrop of an imploding economy and an $881 million shortage," the Washington Post reports that, "Gov. Jim Gibbons will try ina na emergency 'State of the State' address Monday to exxplain the depth of the state's financial crisis and how to fix the gaping hole in the budget."

Toyota Corporation had recently announced a global recall of the Prius over problems with the brakes, but the recall may soon expand to cover a flagship model from the high-end Lexus range, as revealed by sources. The worldwide recall of the latest model of Prius affects as many as 300,000 vehicles.

Yet, sources, close to the corporation, informed The Times that Toyota was also preparing to warn owners of the Lexus HS250h and Sai hybrid sedan that their cars may be in need of similar repairs.

William Lutz -- frequent contributor to this blog -- appeared on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics this morning and delivered a one-minute commentary. Lutz was in a "RANT" about the recent Belo Debate for governor, where all three Republican candidates for governor said they opposed requiring businesses to use the e-Verify program -- a simple, free, easy-to-use federal computer project that checks social security numbers businesses already collect to make sure they're genuine. Arizona requires businesses to use this program and Lutz argues all three candidates are being soft on illegal immigration. Lutz's commentary starts at approximately 10 minutes remaining in the clip (Click here to watch.)

Lawmakers these past few years have emphasized structuring the higher education system to ensure that a higher percentage of students earn degrees or certificates in a more timely manner.

Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes spoke last week to the Texas Association of Business and detailed his proposal to include a merit component to the awarding of previously need-only TEXAS [Toward Excellence, Access, and Success] Grant scholarships to state universities. In a conversation with Will Lutz, Paredes elaborated on his ideas.

Three Republicans are hoping that the Dallas-area Democratic surge that put Rep. Robert Miklos (D-Mesquite) into a seat held by Republicans since the mid-’80s has subsided.

With Miklos’ narrow win over the Republican nominee in 2008, the Texas GOP is hoping on getting HD 101 back – making this one of the battleground races.

Rep. Terri Hodge (D-Dallas) pleaded guilty this week to falsifying information on her federal income tax returns and, as part of a plea bargain with federal prosecutors, agreed to resign from office upon sentencing.

Hodge, who was running for her eighth term as the representative for HD 100, was indicted in the FBI’s Dallas City Hall corruption investigation targeting 14 public officials. She pleaded guilty to one charge that she under-reported $27,000 on her 2002 taxes — in the form of housing rent, utility bill payments, and new carpet from two supporters.

On Friday, China's Commerce Ministry announced that Beijing will levy heavy anti-dumping duties on United States' chicken products, a move likely to deteriorate trade relations and antagonize one of the few U.S. industries, which profitably exports to China.

Reuters reports that, "the ministry's initial investigation showed that U.S. companies had dumped chicken products into the chinese market, according to the ministry's website (www.mofcom.gov.cn)."