PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Sergio Garcia roared into the Players Championship lead with Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood close behind after the second round as star power returned to the top of the leaderboard on Friday.

Garcia, Woods and Westwood led a scoring parade as eagles and birdies flew all around TPC Sawgrass on a steamy day in what is widely regarded as golf's unofficial fifth major.

Garcia, the 2008 champion, fired a sizzling seven-under 65 for an 11-under total of 133 that left him one shot ahead of Woods (67), who sank an 18-foot birdie putt at his final hole, the par-five ninth.

"I hit the ball very well, hit a lot of good iron shots and gave myself a lot of good birdie opportunities," said Garcia, who caught fire on his second nine. "I got on a great run there where I made a lot of putts in a row."

Another shot back was Westwood (66), 26-year-old American Kevin Chappell (66) and Sweden's Henrik Stenson (67), who eagled both par-fives on his back nine.

Roberto Castro had set the pace in the opening round by tying the course record with a nine-under 63 for a three-shot lead, but the little-known American's advantage vanished before he even teed off in the afternoon wave.

Castro disappeared down the leaderboard after mixing one birdie with five bogeys and a double-bogey for a six-over 78 that left him eight shots off the pace.

World number one Woods, rounding into top form this year with a tour-leading three victories, began the day four shots back but gained a share of the lead at nine-under when he sank a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-five second, his 11th hole.

He surged into the lead with a birdie two holes later and was joined at 10-under by Garcia when the Spaniard capped a streak of five consecutive birdies by rolling in a 26-footer at the par-three sixth, his 15th hole of the day.

Garcia climbed to 11 under par at the par-three eighth when he drained a 40-footer for birdie.

INVITING CONDITIONS

Woods lost a stroke when he bogeyed the par-four seventh after driving into the right rough but the 14-times major winner made the bounced back with his closing birdie.

The 2001 champion said Friday's early starters took advantage of inviting conditions.

"It was pretty benign for the first six, seven, eight, nine holes," Woods said about the lack of wind at the Stadium Course. "The guys this afternoon with it crusty and dry, it's going to be a little more of a test."

That proved to be the case as the later starters failed to challenge the target set by Garcia.

Westwood, another early starter setting off on the back nine, jump-started his round when he chipped in for eagle at the par-five 11th and birdied the next two holes.

"The golf course will toughen up, obviously," said Westwood. "They seem to let you have a bit of a go at it over the first couple of days and then they firm it up a lot come the weekend."

Flying the banner for the lesser-known players, Chappell's round also included an eagle at the 11th.

Australian Marc Leishman got into the act with an unusual eagle, holing out from 172 yards with a wedge at the par-four 18th that left him with a six-under 66 for 138.

World number two Rory McIlroy was also on 138, posting a 72 in the afternoon after three successive bogeys from the seventh.

Three shots behind Garcia on eight-under 136 were Americans Ryan Palmer (69) and Casey Wittenberg (69), and David Lingmerth of Sweden (68).

Defending champion Matt Kuchar (66) was four shots off the pace along with Masters champion Adam Scott (68), former Masters winner Zach Johnson (71) and Hunter Mahan (70).

Among the notable players missing the cut, which was set at even par, were four-times major winner Phil Mickelson, 2011 champion Rickie Fowler and British Open champion Ernie Els.

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

As always, thank you for broadening my wisdom horizon and giving me examples of solid advice from which both my and my family's life have been enriched. -- LONGTIME FAN IN OHIO

DEAR LONGTIME FAN: It depends upon whether the couple living together are engaged to be married and their level of education. From what I've read, the higher the level of education, the more stable the couple will be. If the question is presented to your daughters, ideally you will have gotten to know the young man, and the relationship will have developed beyond the casual stage.

However, I cannot stress strongly enough the importance of your girls being independent, self-supporting and completing their education before they decide to do this. One of the most common reasons women remain in unhappy marriages/relationships is the fear they can't survive on their own.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are hoping you could shed some light on the practice of throwing rice at a wedding. We were not only wondering when and how the practice started, but also do people still throw rice today at weddings? We had heard that guests had stopped doing so to help protect wildlife (especially birds). Have you found this to be true? If so, what do we throw now? -- EMPTY-HANDED IN WISCONSIN

DEAR EMPTY-HANDED: Rice-throwing is an ancient tradition that may date back to ancient Rome and Egypt or even earlier. It was a ritual having to do with fertility -- many grains of rice equating to having many children. In some countries, the couple is pelted with dates, raisins or even eggs, according to Ask Yahoo.

According to Emily Post: "All the traditional materials have their drawbacks: Rice can be dangerous for birds if ingested; birdseed can sprout weeds in unwanted places; rose petals are notoriously slippery; and even bubbles can stain a gown. Instead, you might distribute colored flags or streamers for guests to wave. ... It beats assigning someone the nearly impossible task of trying to recover grains and seeds from grass and flower beds."

It's Abby again: This is why I recommend that instead of tossing anything, you shower the happy couple with good wishes.

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have three daughters, identical triplets. We, like many parents of multiples, are tired of questions and unsolicited comments from strangers concerning IVF -- which we did not use, hence "identical" -- or anything else triplet-related.

I don't think people realize how rude they are being. I have been asked when did I know, how much did they weigh, what are their full names, etc.

Abby, would you please discuss baby etiquette with the world? I do not feel questions about my children from total strangers are appropriate. They even make me feel unsafe. -- MULTIPLE MOM IN OKLAHOMA

DEAR MULTIPLE MOM: Identical triplets are unusual, and what the questioners are doing is exhibiting natural curiosity. While I agree that asking how your daughters were conceived is inappropriate, a polite way to respond would be to say, "They were conceived with love."

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Good advice for everyone -- teens to seniors -- is in "The Anger in All of Us and How to Deal With It." To order, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

Thursday, May 9

Servette2 Thun 0

Wednesday, May 8

FC Lausanne-Sport 1 Sion 3

Luzern2 St Gallen0

FC Zurich 3 Basel1

Tuesday, May 7

Young Boys4 Grasshoppers 0

Standings PWDLFAPts

1Basel 31 17 9555 30 60

2Grasshoppers31 16 9637 29 57

-------------------------

3St Gallen 31 15 8844 29 53

4Sion30 12 9936 36 45

-------------------------

5FC Zurich 31 12 712 49 41 43

-------------------------

6Young Boys31 10 912 42 40 39

7Thun31 10 813 36 42 38

8Luzern31 712 12 31 41 33

9FC Lausanne-Sport 31 6916 25 43 27

-------------------------

10 Servette30 5817 24 48 23

1-2: Champions League preliminary round

3-4: Europa League

5: Europa League depending on domestic cup

10:Relegation

Next Fixtures (GMT):

Saturday, May 11

Luzern v Young Boys(1745)

St Gallenv Sion(1745)

Sunday, May 12

Baselv Servette(1145)

Thun v FC Lausanne-Sport (1145)

Grasshoppers v FC Zurich (1400)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has blacklisted two companies it says helped Iran evade sanctions on oil sales and slapped penalties on four Tehran-based firms it says helped the Islamic Republic enrich uranium, the latest efforts to pressure Iran's nuclear program.

"As long as Iran tries to evade our sanctions, we will continue to expose their deceptive maneuvers," David Cohen, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department said in a news release.

The Treasury Department said on Thursday it blacklisted Sambouk Shipping FZC, a United Arab Emirates based company it says is tied to Dimitris Cambis, a Greek businessman the department recently sanctioned.

The Treasury imposed sanctions on Cambis in March, saying he secretly operated a shipping network on behalf of Tehran to evade sanctions on Iran's oil sales.

On Thursday the department said Cambis used the recently formed Sambouk Shipping to manage eight vessels he operates on behalf of the National Iranian Tanker Company. The ships have been used to execute ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil in the Persian Gulf intended to obscure the origin of the oil, it said.

Under the sanctions, U.S. citizens are prohibited from doing business with Cambis and the shipping companies and any assets they have under U.S. jurisdiction may be frozen.

Cambis has previously denied trading for Iran or the involvement of his tankers in loading Iranian oil. He could not be immediately reached on Thursday.

Sanctions introduced by the West last year aim to choke funding of Iran's nuclear program by targeting its oil exports. The sanctions halved Iran's oil exports last year, by more than 1 million barrels per day.

The United States and the European Union say Iran is developing the ability to make nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge, saying its nuclear program is strictly for power generation and medical purposes.

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on the Iranian Venezuelan Bi-National Bank, saying it provided financial services to a branch of Iran's military and helped obscure oil deals. The department said the institution was originally established as a joint venture between Iran and Venezuela, but there is no evidence that Venezuela is still tied to the Tehran-based bank.

In addition, the U.S. State Department sanctioned four Tehran-based companies and one Iranian citizen it says helped procure equipment for the nuclear program. The companies are called Aluminat, Pars Amayesh Sanaat Kish and Pishro Systems Research Company.

Parviz Khaki, the individual cited, has procured goods for Iran's nuclear program that can be used to build, operate and maintain gas centrifuges to enrich uranium, the State Department said.

"We urge financial institutions to act in a manner that preserves their access to the U.S. financial system by cutting financial ties to these companies and individual," said Patrick Ventrell, acting deputy spokesman at the State Department.

The Tehran-based companies and Khaki could not immediately be reached for comment.

U.S. lawmakers aim to broaden sanctions ahead of elections in Iran next month. A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation on Wednesday that would block Iran's access to its foreign currency reserves held around the world, estimated to be worth $60 billion to $100 billion.

Critics of the tightening of Western sanctions say the penalties will not slow the nuclear program, as the damage they wreak to Iran's economy pushes its leaders to continue funding the program in defiance of the West.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Dan Grebler)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Ask a group of pro wrestling fans to name their favorite lord of the ring and you might get 10 different answers.

Older fans grew up idolizing Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair while newer fans might list Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena.

Yet ask those same people to pick their favorite wrestler-turned-movie star and the decision gets a whole lot easier.

There's only one choice.

Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, has starred in three movies over the past three months, "Snitch," "G.I Joe: Retaliation" and "Pain & Gain," and each film was the top new release at the box office its opening weekend.

His next movie, "Fast & Furious 6," will have to face down "The Hangover Part III" and "Epic" to keep that streak alive, but no one questions whether it will be a hit. Every film in the franchise has been, and early projections suggest the only question is whether it will hit $500 million, $750 million or $1 billion worldwide.

Johnson is currently in the midst of a streak unheard of not only in the history of former wrestlers but also other athletes who tried to cross over into the film business. Hogan, Cena, Shaq and even O.J. Simpson made a few movies, but none of them became a bona fide movie star. (Note: One sage reader pointed out that we forgot about Olympic swimming gold medalists Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe, who became "Tarzan" and "Flash Gordon," respectively. How could we forget Weissmuller's yell?)

"Everyone sitting in my chair is trying to work with Dwayne," Jeff Kirschenbaum, co-president of production at Universal, which has released five movies starring Johnson, told TheWrap. "I don't think he's having a moment. This isn't his 15 seconds of fame. He now has enough experience and craftsmanship that it's going to be a long run."

While this isn't the first time Johnson has been atop the box office, this is his first uninterrupted string of hits. His early films ranged from financially successful ("The Scorpion King," "The Game Plan," "The Tooth Fairy") to disappointing ("Doom," "The Rundown").

"I don't know that no one took him seriously because of wrestling, but he's the only person who has ever truly emerged out of that," an individual close to Johnson, who declined to be identified, told TheWrap.

So how did this happen? How did a former football player and member of the inimitable Rock 'n' Sock Connection became one of the most successful actors working today?

It starts with protein.

"He wakes up at 4 a.m. just so he can eat protein," Kirschenbaum, skinny as the Rock is broad, said. "He goes back to bed for an hour and at 5 a.m. he works out - when most people aren't even awake. He woke up an hour early just so the protein is already there to build muscle."

Johnson's morning routine has become a Hollywood legend, alongside Sean Penn's partying and Amanda Bynes' drunk driving.

Ask anyone who's worked with Johnson why he has succeeded where others have failed and they jump to tell a story about those pre-dawn workouts. It's what Ric Roman Waugh, who directed Johnson in "Snitch," dubbed the actor's "sweat equity."

"A lot of people can say 'we worked hard and can stay up late'," Waugh said. "But if they could only understand the amount of stuff he's putting into one day, it's astounding. The sky could be falling in his world, but in that moment you need him to focus, he's 100 percent with you."

That workload has only increased over the past two years. Since resurrecting his wrestling career in 2012, Johnson has expanded his film and TV work. Not only is he starring in several movies this year, but he just produced his first film, "Snitch," and is about to host a competition show on TNT, "The Hero."

When he first decided to try his hand at acting, Johnson retired from the WWE at the height of his popularity. Yet his specific wrestling personality explains why Johnson found his way in Hollywood where the likes of Hogan and Cena did not.

Like most any other wrestler, he can use his hands or a two-by-four to destroy someone. He demonstrated as much in early films like "The Scorpion King," where he played a mercenary, and "Walking Tall," where he played a veteran eager to rid his town of corruption.

Kirschenbaum described those early performances as "raw," and those early characters as two-dimensional. That is where the career path of most former pro wrestlers both started and stopped.

"Most wrestlers have been straight-forward characters or amped up versions of the real individual," Adi Shankar, producer of "The Grey" and an avid wrestling fan, told TheWrap. "Hulk Hogan acted in a bunch of B-movies playing Hulk Hogan."

Instead, Johnson and his representatives experimented from the get-go, taking roles most wrestlers would not want to touch.

He played the straight man next to Sean William Scott in "The Rundown," which also called for him to get dry humped by a gaggle of baboons.

He then played a gay bodyguard in "Be Cool," and later entered the family area with "Tooth Fairy" and "Journey 2." All of his hits in 2013 feature action scenes, but "Snitch" is an adult drama and "Pain & Gain" is as quirky as a Michael Bay movie comes.

"Most action stars out there would never ever break their brand," Waugh, a former stunt man, said. "They would read a script and see a scene where they get beat down and say the guy has to punch me at least 10 times and hit me with a bat 14 times. Dwayne is completely fearless."

Unlike most of his peers, Johnson's popularity in wrestling was never predicated on physical prowess or intimidation.

"Stone Cold would get over because he'd beat everyone up. Shawn Michaels was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Mick Foley would just do crazy stuff," Shankar said. "The Rock got over because he was funny. You take humor out of the Rock and you don't have anything."

Shankar can remember when he first fell in love with The Rock. The Undertaker, one of the largest, most intimidating wrestlers in the WWE, had just battered and bruised the former football player. At the next event, The Rock came out and challenged him.

"He said 'Undertaker, you think you impress The Rock with your Mickey Mouse tattoos?' He acted like the Undertaker's goal in life was to come out and impress The Rock," Shankar recalled. "He wasn't a heavyweight champion at this point - just a guy coming up. The Undertaker had been around for a decade."

He was a showman first and a wrestler second.

"No matter how bad the show was, The Rock could cut a promo and save it," Shankhar said. "He could get on the mic and speak for three minutes and save a bad show."

Some claim the same now applies to poorly received films, with some dubbing Johnson franchise Viagra. Did your last sequel fail? Hire Johnson.

Some, like Waugh, love this term. Yet many chafe against the idea that Johnson saved their movies, believing it disrespectful to the previous success of the franchises he joined.

Whether Viagra or a supporting hand, there is one thing all directors and studio executives can agree on.

"My biggest concern on my next movie is that he's not in it,"Waugh said.

NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - The boxer who pummeled opponents with his words as well as with his fast fists rarely talks these days, and his dazzling footwork is a memory frozen on video tape and in the minds of millions of admirers.

But the spirit and sparkle in 71-year-old Muhammad Ali's eyes live on through a 30-year struggle against the effects of Parkinson's disease, which has stricken about one million in the United States and six million worldwide.

His daughter, Maryum (May May) Ali, said the man who famously dubbed himself "The Greatest" gets a big kick from watching old footage of himself.

"That's his favorite pastime. He loves to watch himself. He loves it," May May told Reuters in an interview on the eve of the annual Parkinson's Unity Walk to advance awareness and education that drew thousands to Central Park on Saturday.

"It brings him joy, because he's not that person any more but he can live through his old self. He loves to watch his fights. I love to watch him watching."

Ali was ranked among the 20 most influential Americans ever last year by Time Magazine for his humanitarianism and the inspiration he provided to people around the globe.

While he has battled Parkinson's, a progressive disorder in which dopamine levels in the brain decline affecting messages to nerves controlling movement and coordination, May May champions efforts to help educate and promote research into the disease.

24-HOUR CARE

"He has 24-hour care and he needs assistance," May May, at 45 the oldest of his nine children, said noting that his condition had worsened over the last three years. "His speech isn't that great.

"But my father chills out. He watches the Super Bowl, and he gets massages. When I go visit him it's like a little sabbatical with him. I'm like chilling out with him."

A former rapper and comedian, an author and social activist, May May bears a strong resemblance to her father with her bright eyes, round face, pronounced cheekbones and spirit to match.

She sounds just like the great man himself when she lapses into some of his familiar patter, before reminiscing about his difficult times after first showing symptoms.

"I tell you what was hard for him. It was hard to go out and hear people talking about him," she said. "Because he was proud and he didn't want people feeling sorry for him, because I think he felt better than what they thought he looked like."

Maintaining family life was important, she said, which led her sister, Rasheda Ali, to write a book called 'I'll Hold Your Hand So You Won't Fall'. "It's actually a children's book for parents to know how to teach their kids about Parkinson's."

"My father's grandchildren thought my dad was sad or depressed, or didn't like them or didn't want to play, but it was just his face," May May said.

"It's called the Parkinson's mask, where the muscles in the face droop in a stoic look where you don't look like you have any emotion.

"His grandkids had watched old footage of him talking, acting crazy, rhyming, bragging...now they see him and they think 'he's mad at us'. She (Rasheda) told them, 'look at his eyes, see how much fun he's having'."

FIRST SIGNS

"We saw slurring of the speech and slowness while he was (still) boxing," said May May. "So there's a really good chance that he had it much earlier than when he was diagnosed (in 1984).

"We were thinking that whatever he had was from boxing because other boxers have slurred speech."

She said her father was never in denial over his condition.

"He was like 'something's happening' and he was trying to figure it out. He was dealing with it.

"The optimism he had, predicting rounds and calling the knockout and saying he was beautiful and standing up for his faith... he was always confident and optimistic. That was kind of how he was with his disease, too.

"He's the kind of guy that pushed his body to the limit. If boxing and what he went through in his career didn't put him down, he was not letting shaky hands stop him from going out. That's just his make-up."

Ali continued to travel the world for decades.

"He still travels," she said. "He has three homes - in his hometown of Louisville, in Michigan and in Arizona in the winter. You still see him at baseball games sometimes.

"He lives," she said. "His spirit is still the same."

May May said Ali communicates with his eyes, with his arms, and by "knocking", illustrating by clicking the roof of her mouth with her tongue. "I guess that's from his African roots.

"It hasn't been super sad for me until maybe the past three years because we have the education and understanding of it. That's everything, because you're able to enjoy them the way they are."

SPIRITUAL LIFE

May May said her father never looked back after finally leaving the ring. "He always felt boxing was a means to an end. And that end was to help and serve others."

She said Ali, who refused to fight in the Vietnam War as a conscientious objector following his conversion to Islam, grew more and more spiritual.

Ali had his world championship title taken away and his boxing licenses revoked before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction for his refusing induction.

"I think if he hadn't got Parkinson's he would be an Imam," May May said, projecting her father as a Muslim spiritual leader.

"He would have been one of the main people on TV defending true Islam and in the time we're living in right now, it would have been exceptional because people would have listened to him."

"He used to propagate Islam with pamphlets. Every time he would sign an autograph he would sign it on a Muslim pamphlet. That was his life. He spent all his time doing that. People don't know that."

May May said he was humbled by the response he engendered.

"'I met the prime minister of Pakistan. I was at the White House'," she recalled him saying. "'A little old boy from Louisville, Kentucky. Anything can happen, anything can come true'."

Despite being a world figure, Ali got giddy himself around some of his early idols.

"He would get excited when he saw Little Richard. He loved Little Richard," May May said. "He was tickled, tickled, tickled by James Brown. I would never see my Dad get excited, but if he saw one of them...he loved his music, his oldies."

Asked about his legacy, May May said: "Depends on who you are. If you are Aryan nation you're going to hate him for being a draft dodger.

"I used to ask him, 'how did you have the guts to stand up against the government?' He said, 'I learned who I truly was as a black man'.

"He knew he was an equal human being and no one was going to take that away from him. And that was more important to him than a boxing career.

"I'm a lot like my dad, and I'm proud to say it." (Editing by Alison Wildey)

The biggest change: a five-page short form that single people can fill out. That total includes a cover page with instructions, and an extra page to fill out if you want to designate someone to help you through the process.

But the application form for families still runs to 12 pages, although most households will not have to fill out each and every page.

The paperwork takes on added importance because Americans remain confused about what President Barack Obama's health care overhaul will mean for them. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Tuesday found that 4 in 10 are unaware it's the law of the land. Some think it's been repealed by Congress, but in fact, it's still on track.

At his news conference Tuesday, Obama hailed the simplified forms as an example of how his team listened to criticism from consumer groups and made a fix. The law's benefits will be available to all Americans, he emphasized, even if Republicans in Congress still insist on repeal, and many GOP governors won't help put it into place.

When the first draft of the application turned out to be a clunker, "immediately, everybody sat around the table and said, 'Well, this is too long, especially...in this age of the Internet,'" Obama recounted. "'People aren't going to have the patience to sit there for hours on end. Let's streamline this thing.'"

His administration is open to making improvements, Obama added: "Those kinds of refinements, we're going to be working on."

Consumers will start getting familiar with the new applications less than six months from now, on Oct. 1, when new insurance markets open for enrollment in every state. Most people with job-based benefits will not have to bother with the applications, only the uninsured.

Under the law, middle-class people who don't get coverage through their jobs will be able to purchase private insurance. Most will be able to get tax credits, based on their incomes, to make their premiums more affordable. Low-income uninsured people will be steered to government programs like Medicaid.

Benefits begin Jan. 1, and nearly 30 million uninsured Americans are eventually expected to get coverage.

While the first drafts of the applications were widely panned, the new forms were seen as an improvement. Still, consumers must provide a snapshot of their finances to see if they qualify for help. That potentially includes multiple sources of income, from alimony, to tips, to regular paychecks.

"Given the amount of information necessary to determine eligibility, it's hard to see how the forms could be any shorter," said Robert Laszewski, a former insurance executive turned industry consultant.

Activist Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, is an administration ally who had openly criticized the first draft of the forms, worrying that consumers would get discouraged just trying to fill them out. He called the changes "very positive."

"There has got to be a balance to between getting adequate (financial) information to make sure everybody gets the help they're entitled to under the law, while at the same time trying to keep the process consumer-friendly," saidPollack.

Although the new forms are shorter, the administration wasn't able to get rid of all the complexity. Individuals will have to gather tax returns, pay stubs and other financial records before filling out the application.

Administration officials expect most consumers to apply online through the new insurance marketplaces in each state. A single application process will serve to route consumers to either private plans or the Medicaid program. Identification, citizenship and immigration status, as well as income details, are supposed to be verified in close to real time through a federal "data hub" that will involve pinging Social Security, Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service.

Currently, applying for health insurance individually entails filling out a lengthy questionnaire about your health. Under Obama's overhaul, insurers will no longer be able to turn away the sick, or charge them more. The health care questions will disappear, but they'll be replaced by questions about your income. Consumers who underestimate their incomes could be in for an unwelcome surprise later on in the form of smaller tax refunds.

"Consumers will have a simple-easy to understand way to apply for health coverage later this year," said Medicare chief Marilyn Tavenner, also overseeing the rollout of the health care law. She said the application is "significantly shorter than industry standards."

Among the sections eliminated in the new form was one that asked applicants if they also wanted to register to vote. Some congressional Republicans had criticized that, calling it politically motivated.

Yet the most likely first-time homeowners, especially young professionals and couples starting families, won't buy these days. Or they can't. Or they already did, during the housing boom. And their absence helps explain why the housing industry is still depressed.

The obstacles range from higher down payments to heavy debt from credit cards and student loans. But even many of those who could afford to buy no longer see it as a wise investment. Prices have sunk 15 percent in three years.

"I've looked for a home, but the places we can afford with the money we have are not that great," says Seth Herter, 23, a store manager in suburban St. Louis. "It also doesn't seem smart anymore to buy with prices falling. Buying a home just doesn't make sense to us."

The proportion of U.S. households that own homes is at 65.1 percent, its lowest point since 1996, the Census Bureau says. That marks a shift after nearly two decades in which homeownership grew before peaking at 70 percent during the housing boom.

The housing bubble lured so many young buyers that it reduced the pool of potential first-timers to below-normal levels. That's contributed to the decline in new buyers in recent years.

In 2005, at the height of the boom, about 2.8 million first-timers bought homes, according to the National Association of Realtors. By contrast, for each of the four years preceding the boom, the number of first-timers averaged fewer than 2 million.

Still, the bigger factors are the struggling economy, shaky job security, tougher credit rules and lack of cash to put down, said Dan McCue, research manager at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. The unemployment rate among typical first-timers, those ages 25 to 34, is 9.8 percent, compared with 9 percent for all adults.

"The obstacles facing first-time buyers are big, and it's changing the way they look at home ownership," McCue says. "It's no longer the American Dream for the younger generation."

First-timers usually account for up to half of all sales. Over the past year, they've accounted for only about a third.

A big reason is tougher lending standards.

Lenders are demanding more money up front. In 2002, the median down payment for a single-family home in nine major U.S. cities was 4 percent, according to real estate website Zillow.com. Today, it's 22 percent.

And one-third of households have credit scores too low to qualify for a mortgage. The median required credit score from FICO Inc., the industry leader in credit ratings, has risen from 720 in 2007, when the market went bust, to 760 today.

Homes in many places are the most affordable in a generation. In the past year, the national median sale price has sunk 3.5 percent. Half the homes listed in the Tampa Bay area are priced below $100,000.

The average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan is 4 percent, barely above an all-time low. Five years ago, it was near 6.5 percent. In 2000, it exceeded 8 percent.

When the economy eventually strengthens, the housing market will, too. More people will be hired. Confidence will rise. Down payments won't be so hard to produce.

The question is whether first-time buyers will then start flowing into the housing market. That will depend mainly on whether they think prices will rise, said Mark Vitner, senior U.S. economist at Wells Fargo.

"It's a guessing game as to when things will turn around," Vitner said. "But until they do, you won't see young people buying homes."

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Musician Troy Andrews, better known as "Trombone Shorty," witnessed his first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at age 12 - not from the viewing area but on stage.

"I was playing with my brother's brass band," said Andrews, now 27.

At this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Andrews will be given a high honor. He will perform for the first time as the closing act of the final day on the biggest stage. That time slot previously had long been occupied by one of New Orleans' most famous bands, the Neville Brothers.

The festival, which began Friday and ends May 5, has music lovers filling the walkways linking 12 stages arranged across 150 acres of the festival grounds, not far from downtown.

During the next two weekends, some 500 bands will perform at the festival, including a sprinkling of big names from Billy Joel, Dave Matthews and Adam Levine to Jill Scott, George Benson and Willie Nelson.

The stars will help draw some 400,000 people through the gates over the seven days of the festival, but many fans are interested in less famous local performers such as Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Rebirth Brass Band, Irvin Mayfield, Anders Osborne and Tab Benoit, among the 400-plus bands in the lineup that hail from New Orleans and the surrounding area.

"I can't believe the mix of music here," said Keith Oliver, who came to the festival from Richmond, Virginia.

"I don't know where else you could hear great blues, jazz, gospel and all the rest all in one place," Oliver said as he and his wife merged into the sea of flowered shirts and sun hats heading for the next stage.

Festival producer and director Quint Davis said the festival showcases New Orleans' "musical DNA."

"People in New Orleans are wired different for music," he said. "It's not just entertainment here, it's sustenance. It's like po-boys and fried oysters - we can't live without it."

Davis, in his 44th year of producing the festival, said he continues to be impressed by the depth of the local talent pool. That enables him to book one out-of-town headliner per day on each stage and fill all the remaining slots with Louisiana bands in genres including jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, hip-hop, Cajun, zydeco, Latin and Caribbean.

PASSING IT ON

Davis said what distinguishes the New Orleans sound has to do with history.

"No matter what genre they're playing, a lot of this music has been passed through many generations," he said.

Trombone Shorty, one of the hottest musical artists in New Orleans, is an example of that history. His brother gave Andrews his nickname years ago, he said.

Andrews wields a trumpet as easily as the trombone and is also skilled at keyboards, drums and songwriting. His music mingles jazz, funk, hip-hop and soul in high-energy compositions that rev up audiences on frequent tours that take him across the country and abroad.

Andrews has played at the festival nearly every year since his first appearance, and this year, Davis contacted him about performing in the final festival slot.

"Quint Davis sent me a text saying it could be time for the passing of the torch and he asked if I'm ready," Andrews said, recalling how the scheduling came about.

Landing the time slot "is a dream come true" for a young man who grew up among the city's most famous musicians.

Andrews' grandfather, R&B singer-songwriter Jessie Hill, made musical waves in the 1960s working with Ike and Tina Turner, Sonny and Cher and New Orleans artist Dr. John.

Andrews' uncle played in Fats Domino's band "way before my time," he said, "and just about every brass band in the city had a member of my family in it."

As a kid growing up in the Treme neighborhood, Andrews hung out with the Neville family and often "sat in" when the Neville Brothers played around town. "I was put on so many different musical stages growing up that I didn't think about what kind of music we played," he said. "I just thought music was music."

Andrews said he was keenly aware that local musicians have a responsibility to pass musical styles from one generation to another.

"When I was younger, we all wanted to play like Rebirth (Brass Band), but people in the neighborhood said before you can play like that, you've got to learn some traditional music so you can understand how Rebirth got where they are," he said.

Now, he's helping his younger cousins, who are anxious to follow in his musical footsteps.

"It's what we've been taught to do," Andrews said. "We have to let the younger generations take our music - and approach it the way they want - but just teach them where it all comes from."

(This story is corrected to Adam Levine from Adam Lambert in paragraph 5)

(Editing By Brendan O'Brien, Greg McCune and Bill Trott)

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