“Unlike candidates and political parties, 501 (c)(4)s are not required to disclose the identity of their donors. Campaign finance laws do not limit the amount those donors can give to these groups. It is a gross misuse of the tax laws that hides special-interest political spending on both sides of the aisle while avoiding donor limits,” writes Sullivan.

What Sullivan does not mention in her column however is that after the 2010 election, which Granite State Republicans won handily, Sullivan registered the July Fourth Forum, Inc. with the New Hampshire Secretary of State and the Internal Revenue Service.

“After Republicans took control of the Legislature about a year ago, former Democratic state chair Kathy Sullivan set up a 501(c)(4) non-profit to counter what she predicted would be a ‘radical’ agenda,” reported John DiStaso of the Union Leader.

Sullivan even went so far as to bring on board a high-level (and presumably high-paid) operative named Karen Hicks to help run the July Fourth Forum, according to Politico. Hicks was a top advisor to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. To date it appears Sullivan has not disclosed the names of her donors and how much they have contributed.

Sullivan praises Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in her column for “call[ing] for clearer rules and guidelines from the IRS to curtail these abuses.” Sullivan ignored Shaheen’s solicitation of Organization for America’s (OFA) voter, donor and activist lists. OFA is the nation’s largest political 501(c)(4).

“The Obama campaign had the best get-out-the-vote effort in New Hampshire history, so obviously any assistance we could get as we try to replicate that effort would be very helpful,” said Maura Keefe, Shaheen’s chief of staff at the time, according to Politico.

The turnout tally is expected to be very low when polls close at 8 p.m. PDT Tuesday, with only 1 in 4 voters in the nation’s second-largest city expected to cast a ballot.

Voters are choosing between two Democrats, City Councilman Eric Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel (Grool), to succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The mayoral contest that has seen record spending, more than $30 million overall.

The pope posted a Twitter message to the survivors Tuesday, and followed up with a telegram to the archbishop of Oklahoma City, Paul S. Coakley.

The deadly tornado struck a suburb of Oklahoma City on Monday, destroying homes and an elementary school, and many of the victims were children.

In the telegram, Francis said he remains “conscious of the tragic loss of life and the immensity of the work of rebuilding that lies ahead.” The pontiff conveyed to the community “assurance of his solidarity and closeness in prayer.”

The sports media giant said in a statement Tuesday: “We are implementing changes across the company to enhance our continued growth while smartly managing costs.” The company would not say how many jobs are being eliminated, but they include unfilled positions.

ESPN has about 7,000 employees worldwide, with about 4,000 at its headquarters in Bristol, Conn. The vast majority work behind the scenes.

This is the latest in a series of recent job cuts at several Disney divisions. ESPN specifically has seen costs increase with skyrocketing prices for the broadcasting rights to live sports.

“It’s happened so many times through my life, I’ve been in so many,” Keith said in a phone interview Tuesday. “During my life, probably on average every four or five years, you probably have one that’s devastating. … It affects you, somebody you know, every time.”

This time it affected his sister, Tonni.

Keith flew out of the Moore area at about noon, and said the gathering clouds on the western horizon gave him a bad feeling. After he arrived in his Nashville recording studio Monday afternoon, he watched the storm system on an iPad app. So when he saw the tornado rolling down Fourth Street through his old neighborhood and toward his sister’s house, he picked up the phone to warn her.

“She said, ‘We’re safe. We’re south of it, but we can see it,’” Keith recalled. “She was at my mother’s about a mile away. I said, ‘Well, good.’ Then she got to watch it go right through her neighborhood.”

Keith said he had tornadoes pass a few miles to the north and south of his house on consecutive days.

Sunday’s storm damaged parts of nearby Shawnee, killing two. Monday’s storm killed at least 24 — including nine schoolchildren — in Moore, a suburb of 56,000 southwest of Oklahoma City.

Keith said he didn’t want to downplay the disaster, but that the people of the area are “resilient” and will rebound.

“It’s just devastating but there’s probably nobody better prepared for tornados than Oklahoma, especially the Moore area,” Keith said. “That is known as Tornado Alley, Twister Alley. They’ll rebuild, but it was just awful those kids were in school when it happened.”

During recording breaks, Keith has fielded calls about putting together a benefit for tornado victims and said he’s been in contact with the University of Oklahoma about possibly using the football stadium.

“I know as soon as I start sending out some feelers that I’ll get a lot of people in there,” Keith said. “Hopefully, we can use music to heal some of the money problems right away.”

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Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott at http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott.

President Barack Obama backs the proposal to give equal treatment to gays and lesbians, but is unlikely to veto a broad immigration bill that does not include the provision.

Leahy, the Democratic chair of the Judiciary Committee, has not yet said whether he will seek a vote on the provision in committee. He could raise the issue again if the bill goes before the full Senate.

The people familiar with the deliberations were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on anonymity. The White House had no comment.

Lew told the Senate Banking Committee that he has also asked acting director Daniel Werfel to fix any flaws in management of the IRS to make sure there is no recurrence of the problems.

An inspector general’s report released May 15 found that IRS employees had inappropriately targeted conservative political groups.

Lew says he first learned about the inspector general’s investigation in March but that he was unaware of the findings until they became public this month.

William told a conservation conference at London’s St. James’s Palace that he is calling on his charity, the Royal Foundation, to engage young people in the cause.

The conference brings together policy makers and the private sector to develop solutions to stop the illegal trade in animal parts, including rhino horns and elephant tusks.

Charles, who has been campaigning for the protection of wildlife for decades, told the gathering: “As a father and a soon-to-be grandfather, I find it inconceivable that our children and grandchildren live in a world bereft of these animals.”

William and the former Kate Middleton are expecting their first child.

At the bank’s annual meeting, 32 percent of shareholders voted for a measure that would have required the bank to split the roles. Had the measure succeeded, Dimon would have had to relinquish the role of chairman.

Shareholder groups lobbying for the split gained momentum from last year’s surprise $6 billion trading loss, which tarnished the reputation of both JPMorgan Chase & Co. and CEO Dimon. The bank and Dimon had argued that letting Dimon keep both jobs was the most effective form of leadership.

Spokesman John Hart says it’s a position Coburn has consistently held regarding federal spending on disasters dating to the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City.

But federal disaster aid such as $60 billion passed earlier this year to rebuild coastal states including New York and New Jersey from Superstorm Sandy typically is approved as “emergency” spending that is simply added to the budget deficit. That may happen again if more aid is need for Oklahoma.

Federal disaster aid coffers remain flush from the infusion of Sandy aid.