Most Recent Posts

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is best known for effectively ending collective bargaining for public workers and becoming the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall election.

But now Walker's bid for re-election in a tight race may hinge on something he didn't do.

Walker promised in 2010 that over four years the state would add 250,000 private sector jobs.

More than three years into his term, Walker is falling far short of fulfilling the pledge.

It's a major issue in the campaign where he faces likely Democratic nominee Mary Burke, a former bicycle company executive who is touting her business background as a credential.

Although the post-recession recovery is adding jobs here, Wisconsin is lagging all but one of nine Midwest states in that category.

NEW YORK (AP) — Amid the swirl of an early 1960s party scene in Clint Eastwood's latest, an adaptation of "Jersey Boys," the hit Broadway musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, a television screen flashes an unexpected face: young Clint, himself, in black-and-white.

The period-appropriate shot from the TV Western "Rawhide" — a wry Hitchcockian cameo — condenses in a moment the almost unfathomable breadth of Eastwood's career: fresh-faced cowboy to steadfast Oscar-winning director. Does it feel like a lifetime ago to Eastwood?

"Several lifetimes ago," chuckles the 84-year-old director. "Seeing myself in 1959 or '60 or '61 or whenever that episode was done, it was kind of like: Wow. I've traveled a long road since then."

That road — from Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns to Eastwood's own "Unforgiven," from "Make my day" to "Get off my lawn" — has made an unlikely detour down the New Jersey Turnpike. "Jersey Boys" — Eastwood's 12th film as director since turning 70 — only adds to what's by now one of the most remarkable late chapters of any filmmaker. How has he done it?

"I just never let the old man in," said Eastwood in a recent interview. "I was always looking for new things to do. I rightfully or wrongly always thought I could do anything."

Such an attitude explains many of his accomplishments. Who else would have thought a tragic story about a female boxer ("Million Dollar Baby") could be such a success? Who else would have come to Iwo Jima to make the World War II drama "Flags of Our Fathers" and, out of curiosity and empathy, opted to also make a film ("Letters from Iwo Jima") about the other side of the battle field?

And who would have expected the man — "a tall, chiseled piece of lumber, a totem pole with feet," as James Wolcott called him — mythologized as both The Man With No Name and Dirty Harry would be taken by the story of the guys behind "Big Girls Don't Cry"?

"The whole secret in life in any profession, regardless of whether it's entertainment or anything else, is just being interested," Eastwood says. "Are you interested in life? Are you interested in what's going on? Are you interested in new kinds of music?"

Eastwood, a piano player and jazz fan, has long been known for his passion for music. He made a film about Charlie Parker ("Bird"), sung in "Paint Your Wagon" and "Gran Torino," produced a documentary on Thelonious Monk ("Straight No Chaser") and has composed most of his scores over the last decade.

But the falsetto-rich pop confections of Valli (played by John Lloyd Young, who originated the role on Broadway) and the Four Seasons would seem a higher register than Eastwood's natural pitch.

"So many times you'd look off to the wings or even between shots and see him standing there trying to figure it out for himself, going (in a high voice) "Ooooo," says Michael Lomenda, who plays the Four Seasons' Nick Massi in the film.

Though the "Jersey Boys" sensation on Broadway immediately brought interest from Hollywood, earlier adaption attempts flat-lined before Eastwood revived it with Warner Bros.

"I couldn't understand quite why after nine years on Broadway, somebody didn't want to do it," says Eastwood.

Eastwood favored a faithful adaptation written by the musical's writers, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, and cast veterans of the Broadway and touring productions over more famous options. Erich Bergen, who plays songwriter Bob Gaudio, and Lomenda both come from touring shows. Vincent Piazzo of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" was the lone outsider.

"We knew there was no chance in hell it would be turned into fluff," Young says of hearing that Eastwood would direct "Jersey Boys."

Instead, Eastwood's film, which opens Friday, has more melancholy than your average musical, and gravitates toward the group's tumultuous offstage personal lives. Eastwood's famously efficient style of filmmaking — usually just one or two takes, always on time and under budget — was an education for the actors, most of them unseasoned in moviemaking.

"His fearlessness is somehow contagious," says Piazza. "The harmony that you walk into and the space he creates for you as an actor is a rare, rare thing."

Though Eastwood may seem like cinema's answer to a chunk of Mt. Rushmore, he has a warm presence and is quick to smile. He has a habit of pulling taught the skin of his cheek, as if making age an idle plaything. He chases a publicist who has come in to wrap up the interview with a scowl and a good-natured "Get out!"

He recently finished shooting the Navy SEAL drama "American Sniper," with Bradley Cooper, which he calls "a love story and a military story about a guy who's very talented at shooting people." It's two films in one year for Eastwood in what he notes is his 60th year in movies.

"It's fashionable to pigeonhole everybody," he says. "You're 60, you're a senior. At 60, I felt like I was about 40. At 40, I felt like I was about 18. It's just all mental attitude."

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan voters filed more than 2,500 complaints of ballot box stuffing and other election irregularities, an official said Tuesday, as fraud allegations by the two candidates and their supporters threaten to provoke a new political crisis.

The campaign tone has been sharply more accusatory than that of the first round of voting on April 5, when Afghans had eight candidates to choose from and all promised to adhere to the results released by the Independent Electoral Commission.

The stakes are higher now that the field is narrowed to two men who are vying to replace Hamid Karzai and lead the country as most U.S. and allied forces withdraw by the end of 2014 and international aid diminishes. The prospect of a nasty fight over the results also could dampen hopes that the country will be able to hold its first-ever peaceful transfer of authority.

The Obama administration is watching carefully. Both presidential hopefuls — Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai — have promised to sign a security pact with the U.S. that will allow up to 14,000 American and NATO troops to remain in the country next year to advise the Afghan security forces and conduct counterterrorism missions. But they need to be inaugurated first.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, said Tuesday that the U.S. fully expects the deal to be signed and said he did not believe that the rapid deterioration of security in Iraq would occur in Afghanistan once U.S. combat troops leave. The U.S. left Iraq after the government in Baghdad refused to agree on a security arrangement.

He expressed confidence in the Afghan security forces, saying they performed extraordinarily well in providing security for the election, and now must maintain that momentum as the ballots and election materials are collected.

"Now we're into the difficult time of counting up the ballots and going through the complaint process," said Dunford. "The next several weeks will be important."

The first initial results are not due until July 2, then final results on July 22, according to the official timetable. But Abdullah Abdullah's team has questioned what it has determined is a 1 million vote lead by Ahmadzai in the early tallies. Abdullah pointed out it is a dramatic increase from the first round that put him in the lead with 45 percent of the vote compared to 31.6 percent for his rival.

"In which part of the country did the situation change so dramatically that the people changed their minds and then came and cast their votes?" he asked rhetorically Monday during a briefing with reporters in Kabul.

He also questioned the initial turnout estimate of 7 million, which would be 60 percent of the 12 million eligible voters and equivalent to the first round.

Ahmadzai's supporters dismissed the allegations and urged all sides to await the official results. A spokesman said the 64-year-old former World Bank official had moved into the lead by better campaigning that focused on winning the support of the people, not just former rivals.

"There is a big difference right now, there is a difference of more than 1 million votes between our team and their team and that is why that they have started some conspiracies," said his spokesman Hamidullah Farooqi. Farooqi said there was fraud on both sides despite efforts to prevent it but urged patience.

"Despite all the problems, we are ready to accept the result and we also want other to keep their patience and accept whatever comes at the end," he said Tuesday in a telephone interview.

Nadir Mohsini, spokesman for the Electoral Complaint Commission, said his panel had received 2,558 complaints about the election by a midnight deadline to file them. "The majority of the complaints we have registered are from the election commission employees as well as the government officials," Mohsini said.

During the first round of the election, the commission reported receiving around 2,000 complaints, focusing on election workers and government employees who allegedly intervened in the process.

Observer groups said Saturday's vote was relatively smooth, although both candidates and observers said they had evidence of fraud ranging from ballot box stuffing to proxy voting. Several polling stations also opened late or failed to open at all because of security concerns, and many voters complained of ballot shortages.

Karzai, the only president Afghanistan has known since the fall of the Taliban following the U.S.-led 2001 invasion, was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.

Abdul Khaliq Hussaini Pashai, a former member of the Independent Election Commission, said those investigating fraud must provide solid proof of their decisions before eliminating votes.

"If either candidate refuses to trust or accept the system as well as the commissions, this country will face a crisis, we should not let that happen," he said. "We hope for the sake of the nation that both teams accept the result and do not let this country suffer or face another crisis."

___

Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor in Washington and Kim Gamel in Cairo contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) — The episode isn't among Spider-Man's biggest hits: the superhero versus the snow-wielding mom.

One of the costumed characters who roam New York's Times Square went on trial Tuesday. Philip Williams is accused of hitting a passer-by who didn't tip him for posing for a photo with her children in February 2013.

Victoria Goreaciuc (GOHR'-uh-chihk) says Williams cursed at her and later punched her in the temple.

She acknowledges confronting him and flinging a handful of snow at him. Williams' lawyer says he reacted in self-defense after a cold, hard chunk hit his head.

The defense also questions whether Williams was actually the costumed figure who allegedly insulted Goreaciuc. She acknowledges she initially accosted the wrong Spider-Man.

It's among several criminal cases in recent years against Times Square's costumed characters.