Gingrich pushes for campaign cash (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Fresh off a resounding victory, Newt Gingrich faces a formidable financial challenge as he storms into Florida ? raising money.

The former House speaker ? whose campaign still is carrying debt ? has little choice but to move rapidly to convert momentum from his South Carolina triumph into dollars to spend in Florida, a much larger and more diverse state with multiple media markets that bear a hefty $2 million price tag to blanket the state with TV ads over the next week.

He's already working to tap into Rick Perry's deep base of donors, following the Texas governor's departure from the race and endorsement, as well as the vast grassroots network of his now defunct political group, American Solutions. And, even if aides won't publicly acknowledge it, Gingrich probably also is betting on his wealthy friends continuing to open their wallets to a political action committee working to help elect the former Georgia congressman.

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson essentially saved Gingrich's campaign as the race turned to South Carolina almost two weeks ago by pouring $5 million into the Winning Our Future super PAC that aired ads tearing into chief rival Mitt Romney, helping pave the way for a Gingrich victory. With Gingrich now winning, it's tough to see how Adelson returns to the sidelines now.

Even before his South Carolina victory, a confident Gingrich said in Orangeburg, S.C.: "We will have what we need to compete."

But the urgency was clear in the minutes after The Associated Press declared him the winner Saturday night.

He quickly sent a tweet thanking supporters and appealing for a flood of donations for the Jan. 31 primary. "Help me deliver the knockout punch in Florida. Join our Moneybomb and donate now," said his tweet. And later, he pleaded in an email: "If you want to see a Reagan conservative as the nominee, and if you want to watch us run circles around Barack Obama in the debates with bold, conservative ideas, then please make a donation today."

Gingrich's campaign did not immediately respond to questions about whether the financial floodgates have opened in the wake of his victory.

Aides have said he raised roughly $9 million in the final quarter of last year. But the campaign still is carrying about a half a million dollars in debt from spring and summer when his campaign was struggling.

In that same time period Romney says he has raised $24 million. And he and his allies have been on the air in Florida ? alone ? for weeks, blanketing the state with his campaign pitch and targeting the thousands of Florida Republicans who have been casting absentee ballots since last month.

Given all that and with only nine days before the primary, there's no time for Gingrich to waste.

He was spending Sunday in Washington, attending a church service and working to raise money behind the scenes, including reaching out to former Perry donors who helped the Texas governor raise $17 million during the third quarter of 2011.

A giant plea for money also greeted visitors to Gingrich's website Sunday in hopes that fans of his books and time on the speaking circuit would donate.

Gingrich will have help.

Super PACs, like the pro-Gingrich Winning Our Future that's independent of his campaign, are certain to play aggressively in Florida, perhaps to a greater level than they did in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

The independent groups can spend unlimited amounts of money in elections since federal court rulings in 2010 stripped away previous restrictions. The super PACs can't coordinate with campaigns, but many ? including Gingrich's and Romney's ? are staffed by people with ties to the candidates.

Already the pro-Romney super PAC ? Restore Our Future ? has spent a jaw-dropping $4 million in advertising in Florida, with Romney himself doling out nearly $2.5 million. Gingrich and his allies have yet to run an ad in the state.

At a deficit already, Winning Our Future and others supporting Gingrich expect that the spigot of money will continue flowing.

Still, they will be competing for dollars with super PACs supporting other candidates, particularly the Red, White and Blue Fund that's supporting former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

"Even if he gets 1 percent in South Carolina, I'm still for Rick," said Foster Friess, a Wyoming businessman who's been a major backer to the Santorum-leaning super PAC.

Gingrich's reliance on outside support is a reversal. He decried the influence of the independent groups in Iowa as they battered him in the state, and pledged to run a positive campaign. Then he kept losing. And a super PAC rushed to his defense.

The candidate himself has struggled to raise money this year despite being known for his fundraising prowess that dates to the 1990s when he engineered the Republican takeover of the House. After he left Congress, he turned his conservative political group, American Solutions for Winning the Future into a fundraising powerhouse, using the cash to continue a busy travel schedule that kept his name in the news. Gingrich owns the groups donor list.

When his campaign imploded last year, Gingrich relied on using that grass-roots network and social media to raise money.

"He's done well with less money than Romney," said John Grant, a Baptist leader and one of Gingrich's Florida evangelical chairmen. "It's because he's the atypical candidate."

____

McCaffrey reported from Columbia, S.C., and Gillum from Washington.

____

Follow Shannon McCaffrey at http://twitter.com/smccaffrey13 or Jack Gillum at http://twitter.com/jackgillum

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_el_pr/us_gingrich

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Experts see tough road for Kodak to reinvent self (AP)

CHICAGO ? Even in bankruptcy, Kodak boasts some enviable strengths: a golden brand, technology firepower that includes a rich collection of photo patents, and more than $4 billion in annual sales of digital cameras, printers, and inks.

But all that may not be enough to revive its declining fortunes in a Chapter 11 overhaul. Kodak is at a crossroads: It could to go the way of fallen Montgomery Ward and Circuit City, two corporate names that never recovered from long declines. Or Kodak could prosper after bankruptcy like General Motors.

Of the many restructuring experts interviewed by The Associated Press on Thursday, none are optimistic that Kodak can make a strong comeback.

Selling select business lines and patents and making the right bets on a limited number of new technology products could allow the Eastman Kodak Co. to survive, several experts said. But none see a path back to anything close to the glory days of the former photography titan.

"You can pick your metaphor: `Stick a fork in them,' `They're over the cliff' -- they're done," said Bill Brandt, chief executive of turnaround consultant Development Specialists Inc. in Chicago. "The Kodak as we know it is done, unequivocally."

The company's only hope, Brandt said, is to reinvent itself as an intellectual property company. But first it will have to put its patent portfolio up for sale and determine whether it wants to sell them based on what's offered, he said, or retain them and try to remake the company over a period of years.

Kodak said only that it has appointed a chief restructuring officer to head the effort: Dominic DiNapoli, vice president of FTI Consulting. It expects to complete its U.S.-based restructuring next year.

Whatever the company does now is likely to be too little, too late, said Gary Adelson, managing director of turnaround firm NHB Advisors in Los Angeles.

"I can't imagine a big future for Kodak," said Adelson, who thinks the company should just sell its assets. "I think it's going to be another one of those companies that didn't make the transition to the future."

Some experts think the company can get by once it cuts debt by reducing pension and employee benefit costs in bankruptcy, then disposes of its least valuable products.

Only a much leaner, more focused Kodak can survive, said Haresh Sapra, an accounting professor and bankruptcy specialist at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. "They probably should go back to basics and focus on one or two of those business lines that are self-sustaining," he said.

The primary hope lies in digital businesses that generated some $4.5 billion in revenue last year, an amount Kodak said accounted for about 75 percent of total sales. That includes consumer devices such as self-service photo kiosks, printers and high-volume document scanners.

"If they can take their existing products and improve them and make them much cheaper, I see no reason why the company can't emerge with a healthier balance sheet," said Edward Neiger, a partner at New York bankruptcy law firm Neiger LLP. "It's going to be a shell of what the old company was, but I don't think they need to liquidate."

In a statement accompanying the Chapter 11 filing on Thursday, the company touted its "pioneering investments in digital and materials deposition technologies" in recent years.

The best-case scenario for Kodak in the long run may be to end up like Polaroid, suggested Eli Lehrer, who heads the nonprofit Heartland Institute's Center on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate in Washington. The company long known for its instant-film cameras stopped making them and filed for bankruptcy in 2008. The Polaroid name, however, lives on under private ownership, albeit as a much smaller firm.

Kodak has a better brand name, Lehrer said, although "That doesn't necessarily translate to people keeping their jobs, or stockholders keeping anything."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_hi_te/us_kodak_how_to_fix

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Sarah Drew Welcomes Baby Boy!

Sarah Drew has become a first-time mom.

The Grey’s Anatomy star delivered son Micah Emmanuel Lanfer at 6:21 p.m. Wednesday in Los Angeles. She did not know the gender until that very moment!

“She and her husband, Peter Lanfer, are in love with him!” her rep says of the couple’s new baby boy, who weighed in at 7 lbs., 4 oz and is 19 inches long.

Sarah in late November, when she was seven months along.

“I thought it would be a good idea to wait to find out because I'm such a control freak by nature,” Drew explained of their decision to be surprised at the birth.

“I am about to walk into this chapter of my life where I have no control over anything anymore, and I figured I’d ease myself into it by not allowing myself to plan."

"It was hard but in the end it’s good training for me!”

Congratulations to Sarah and her growing family, and expect another new addition to the extended Grey's family this year - Jessica Capshaw is pregnant again!

[Photo: WENN.com]

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/sarah-drew-welcomes-baby-boy/

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Deal on EU embargo of Iran's oil remains in doubt (AP)

BRUSSELS ? A diplomat says agreement on an EU embargo on Iranian oil remains in doubt, days before foreign ministers plan to meet in Brussels in hope of adopting such a ban.

The intent is to choke off funding for Iran's nuclear program, which many Western governments believe is geared toward developing nuclear weapons ? something Iran denies.

Under a compromise being discussed, the ban would take effect immediately but existing contracts would be honored until July 1, the diplomat said. The diplomat, accredited to the European Union, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing talks.

The full embargo would then take effect, but possibly only after further review of the impact so far on oil prices. Greece, in particular, is in economic trouble and relies on Iranian oil.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_eu/eu_iran_oil_embargo

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Publisher: Burt Bacharach working on memoir (AP)

NEW YORK ? Burt Bacharach will be handling the words for his next project: a memoir.

The award-winning collaborator on such hits as "I Say a Little Prayer" and "What the World Needs Now" has a deal with HarperCollins for a memoir due in November. The publisher announced Wednesday that his book will be called "Anyone Who Had a Heart," named after one of many songs Bacharach and lyricist Hal David wrote for Dionne Warwick.

According to HarperCollins, Bacharach will open up about professional success and personal troubles. His partnership with David broke up bitterly, and he has been divorced three times, from singer Paula Stewart, actress Angie Dickinson and fellow songwriter Carole Bayer Sager. His daughter, Nikki, committed suicide at age 40.

Bacharach, 83, has won three Academy Awards and eight Grammys. He helped write dozens of top 40 songs, covered by everyone from Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin to Alicia Keys and the cast of "Glee." His career spans decades of music history: He was Marlene Dietrich's arranger in the 1950s and `60s and caught on with audiences in recent years through his work with Elvis Costello, Dr. Dre and others and through his cameos in the "Austin Powers" movies.

His book, like so many of his songs, will be a team effort. Robert Greenfield, whose biography of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun came out in 2011, will assist with a story "told in Bacharach's own words."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_en_mu/us_books_bacharach

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Billionaire donates for Washington Monument repairs

WASHINGTON?? A billionaire history buff has stepped forward to donate the $7.5 million matching gift that's needed to start repairing cracks near the top of the Washington Monument from last summer's East Coast earthquake.

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Businessman David Rubenstein told The Associated Press he was inspired to help fund the repairs to the 555-foot obelisk when it became clear how severely damaged it was by a 5.8-magnitude quake on Aug. 23. The monument received about 1 million visitors a year before the famous landmark was closed to the public after the quake.

The Park Service hopes to have a contractor begin work by the end of August. The repair work is expected to take a year to complete, likely keeping the monument closed for two years.

Largest gift
Congress allocated $7.5 million in December on the condition that private donations would match that amount. The National Park Service and nonprofit Trust for the National Mall are expected to announce Rubenstein's gift Thursday morning. It will be the largest gift to the nonprofit group, which aims to raise $350 million to restore the mall's grounds and facilities.

The combined $15 million in public and private funds is expected to cover the cost of repairing damage directly caused by the quake, said National Park Service spokeswoman Carol Johnson. Repairing water damage will cost more, as would a seismic study or reinforcements to strengthen the obelisk against future earthquakes, she said.

Rubenstein, a co-founder of The Carlyle Group, began building the private equity firm's business in Washington and said he wanted to restore a symbol of the nation and hasten repairs to reopen the landmark.

"This Washington Monument is probably one of the most recognizable buildings in the United States next to the Capitol and the Empire State Building," he said. "It could use a little repair work, and I wanted people to get to see it as soon as possible."

Experts have noted the monument needs more than just a little repair work, though it has been deemed structurally sound.

Extensive repairs needed
The August quake was centered some 40 miles west of Richmond, Va., and felt from Canada to Georgia. It damaged the Washington National Cathedral, where pieces of mortar rained down from its vaulted ceiling. At the Washington Monument, panicked visitors fled down flights of stairs on the day of the big shake, but there were no known deaths or serious injuries in the region.

The earthquake caused numerous cracks to form in the obelisk, which was the tallest man-made structure in the world when it was completed in 1884.

Surveillance video taken the day of the quake and later released by the park service showed the spire shaking violently. Daylight could be seen through some of the cracks, the largest of which was reported to be at least 4 feet long and about an inch wide.

A report in December recommended extensive repairs and reinforcements to preserve the spire. It said some marble panels were cracked all the way through near the top portion of the monument. Cracks near its peak also have left the monument vulnerable to water damage from rain, engineers noted.

Last fall, daredevil engineers on a "difficult access team" rappelled from the top to conduct a visual inspection of the exterior of the obelisk.

Officials said it's unclear whether the work will require scaffolding to be built around the monument, similar to what was erected during a restoration project from 1999 to 2001.

'A true patriot'
Caroline Cunningham, president of the Trust for the National Mall, called Rubenstein "a true patriot" and said his gift "demonstrates how much people care about this space." She said it should serve as an example for other philanthropists.

There has long been talk of sprucing up the mall at the heart of the nation's capital.

A design competition is under way to develop ways to improve the mall, including the Washington Monument grounds. Finalists will be chosen in May, and the group will seek funding for each project. The nonprofit group has targeted parts of the mall that are run down from over use and neglect as a focus for its restoration efforts.

Rubenstein has made large gifts in recent years to Washington's cultural institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center.

The monument, which he visited recently, was built with private $1 donations eventually totaling over $1 million, Rubenstein said. Construction began in 1848, but funds ran out during the Civil War when the monument was left as an embarrassing stump for years. It was finally completed in 1884 and was the world's tallest man-made structure until it was eclipsed by the Eiffel Tower. It remains the tallest structure in Washington.

Rubenstein owns a copy of the Magna Carta, among other historical documents, and reveres George Washington.

"I like to remind people about American history," Rubenstein said. "George Washington is an incredible figure. When he was the head of the Revolutionary War Army, he could have stayed on as really the head of the government when we won the Revolutionary War, but he put down his arms."

___

Trust for the National Mall: http://www.nationalmall.org

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46050494/ns/us_news-giving/

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'Cougar Town' Finally Gets a Season 3 Premiere Date

If it seems like way too much time has passed since Courteney Cox last quaffed a vase-sized goblet of red wine on prime-time TV, there is a respite in sight. ABC has announced that the critically acclaimed comedy Cougar Town will be returning for it's third season on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m. (So, if you're one of the show's rabid fans, guess that takes care of your Valentine's plans.)

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/cougar-town-gets-season-3-premiere-date/1-a-419868?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acougar-town-gets-season-3-premiere-date-419868

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