No joke: Obama to screen TV comedy “1600 Penn” at White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A “trophy wife” as first lady, a hapless college-aged son who burns down a fraternity house, and a daughter frantically taking pregnancy tests in a White House bathroom – this TV comedy had better be funny.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama is slated to hold a private screening at the White House with the cast and crew of “1600 Penn,” an NBC series about a dysfunctional first family.

The show, co-created by Jon Lovett, a former speechwriter for Obama, stars Bill Pullman as U.S. President Dale Gilchrist and Jenna Elfman as his first lady, and is named after the street address of the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

A preview of the show, which premieres on Thursday, features first son “Skip,” played by the show’s co-creator Josh Gad, being rescued by the Secret Service after starting a fire at his college fraternity house.

“‘Meatball’ is in the oven,” an agent says into his lapel microphone, using the code name for the hapless Skip as he is hustled into a waiting black SUV.

But the show, which is apolitical, aims lower than other recent television dramas about the White House, like Aaron Sorkin’s drama series “The West Wing” or HBO’s dark satire “Veep.”

“We really wanted to dissect what it meant to be a family in the most extraordinary of circumstances – and what’s more extraordinary than being the first family?” Gad told reporters last month.

So will Obama laugh?

The screening in the White House’s family theater is “closed press,” meaning pool reporters won’t be there to document whether the comedy hits home.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Eric Beech)

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Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down, researchers reported Monday.

Now the question is how to hold onto those gains, and do even better, even as the population gets older and fatter, both risks for developing cancer.

"There has been clear progress," said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, which compiled the annual cancer report with government and cancer advocacy groups.

But bad diets, lack of physical activity and obesity together wield "incredible forces against this decline in mortality," Brawley said. He warned that over the next decade, that trio could surpass tobacco as the leading cause of cancer in the U.S.

Overall, deaths from cancer began slowly dropping in the 1990s, and Monday's report shows the trend holding. Among men, cancer death rates dropped by 1.8 percent a year between 2000 and 2009, and by 1.4 percent a year among women. The drops are thanks mostly to gains against some of the leading types — lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers — because of treatment advances and better screening.

The news isn't all good. Deaths still are rising for certain cancer types including liver, pancreatic and, among men, melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer.

Preventing cancer is better than treating it, but when it comes to new cases of cancer, the picture is more complicated.

Cancer incidence is dropping slightly among men, by just over half a percent a year, said the report published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Prostate, lung and colorectal cancers all saw declines.

But for women, earlier drops have leveled off, the report found. That may be due in part to breast cancer. There were decreases in new breast cancer cases about a decade ago, as many women quit using hormone therapy after menopause. Since then, overall breast cancer incidence has plateaued, and rates have increased among black women.

Another problem area: Oral and anal cancers caused by HPV, the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, are on the rise among both genders. HPV is better known for causing cervical cancer, and a protective vaccine is available. Government figures show just 32 percent of teen girls have received all three doses, fewer than in Canada, Britain and Australia. The vaccine was recommended for U.S. boys about a year ago.

Among children, overall cancer death rates are dropping by 1.8 percent a year, but incidence is continuing to increase by just over half a percent a year. Brawley said it's not clear why.

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Ned Wertimer, doorman on 'Jeffersons,' dies at 89

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ned Wertimer, who played Ralph the Doorman on all 11 seasons of the CBS sitcom "The Jeffersons," has died.

Wertimer's manager Brad Lemack said Tuesday that the 89-year-old actor died at a Los Angeles-area nursing home on Jan. 2, following a November fall at his home in Burbank.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., and a Navy pilot during World War II, Wertimer had one-off roles on dozens of TV shows from the early 1960s through the late 1980s, including "Car 54 Where Are You?" and "Mary Tyler Moore."

But he was best known by far as Ralph Hart, the uniformed, mustachioed doorman at the luxury apartment building on "The Jeffersons," the "All In the Family" spinoff that ran from 1975 to 1985.

The show's star, Sherman Hemsley, died July 24.

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Dreamliner glitches giving Boeing a black eye

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner could become a public relations nightmare for Chicago-based Boeing Co. and some of its airline customers.

Electrical problems and fuel leaks have plagued the new Boeing plane model recently. On Monday, an empty Japan Airlines 787 in Boston caught fire. On Tuesday, a fuel leak forced a different Japan Airlines 787 to cancel takeoff and return to the gate before ultimately completing its trip to Tokyo.

"We're getting to a tipping point, where they go from needing to rectify problems to doing major damage control to the image of the company and the plane," said Richard Aboulafia, a defense and aerospace analyst with Teal Group, a consulting firm based in Fairfax, Va. "While they delivered a large and unexpected number of 787s last year, it's possible that they should have instead focused on identifying glitches and flaws, rather than pushing ahead with volume production."

The fire, in particular, prompted Chicago-based United Airlines — it's the only North American carrier so far to operate 787s — to inspect its six new Boeing 787 airplanes overnight.

United reportedly found improperly installed wires in one plane's auxiliary power unit, the same system involved in the Japan Airlines electrical fire Monday, said The Wall Street Journal, citing an unnamed source.

But United would not confirm that finding.

"We continue to work closely with Boeing on the reliability of our 787s," United spokeswoman Mary Ryan said.

The rash of recent incidents, including those this week and inspections for fuel leaks ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration last month, add to the problems of Boeing, which had already endured criticism for delivering 787s to customers more than three years late because of design and production problems.

Investors were not pleased. Boeing's stock price dropped 2 percent Monday and an additional 2.6 percent Tuesday.

Boeing said in a statement it was premature to discuss details of Monday's fire but "nothing that we've seen in this case indicates a relationship to any previous 787 power system events."

Boeing said it is cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in investigating the fire, which was discovered when Japan Airlines reported smoke coming from the 787 at Boston's Logan International Airport, where passengers had disembarked and the plane was being cleaned. The fire was traced to the battery used to start the auxiliary power unit.

"Before providing more detail, we will give our technical teams the time they need to do a thorough job and ensure we are dealing with facts, not speculation," Boeing said.

Aviation experts say glitches are to be expected early in an aircraft's life cycle, especially one as revolutionary as the 787. The highly anticipated Dreamliner is touted as offering greater passenger comforts and fuel efficiency, largely because of its construction of light composite materials rather than metals.

"These types of issues are not uncommon," said Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, managing partner of aviation and travel consulting firm T2Impact. "The electrical (systems) on a 787 are incredibly complex." He cited early production problems with other aircraft models, including the Airbus A380, "when they basically had to rewire the whole plane."

"I won't want people to rush to conclusions that the aircraft is not safe," he said. "However, the level of complexity and the early production problems suffered by Boeing … reflects on the company's eagerness to ramp up production to a very fast rate."

Aboulafia said there is no indication the plane itself is flawed.

"It's just a question of how quickly they can get all the onboard technologies right, and whether or not the 787 and Boeing brands will be badly damaged," he said.

Reuters contributed.

gkarp@tribune.com

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4th Q: Alabama 42, Notre Dame 7

The big game features college football¿s top two teams and millions of dollars to go around.

The intersection of dreams and reality finally crossed Monday night when No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Alabama met for college football's national championship at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Alabama was seeking its third title in four years, while Notre Dame sought its first championship since 1988.

Alabama kept pouring it on, boosting its lead to 42-7 with 11:27 to play in the game when quarterback AJ McCarron hits Amari Cooper on a 19-yard scoring pass. The Tide rolled 86 yards in 14 plays.

Trailing by five touchdowns, Notre Dame finally got on the board on a two-yard TD run by quarterback Everett Golson to make it 35-7 with 4:08 to play in the third quarter.

Alabama had increased its lead to 35-0 with 7:34 left in the third quarter as McCarron hit a wide-open Cooper for a 34-yard touchdown pass. It gave the Crimson Tide 406 yards of offense, an average of eight yards per play.

Alabama roared out to a 28-0 lead shortly before halftime when McCarron hit Eddie Lacy on an 11-yard touchdown pass. It capped a nine-play, 71-yard drive and the Crimson Tide led by four touchdowns at intermission.

Notre Dame's vaunted defense was ineffective in the first half, missing numerous tackles. Meanwhile, McCarron found all of the holes in the Irish secondary. Lacy had 96 yards rushing in the first half. Alabama was credited with 73 yards after contact in the first half.

McCarron completed 12 of 18 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Golson was 8 for 16 for 93 yards.

Alabama had 309 total yards at the intermission, compared to 124 for Notre Dame. The Tide had 15 first downs to Notre Dame's five.

Alabama scored on its first three possessions, as T.J. Yeldon finished off an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a one-yard run on the first play of the second quarter to put the Crimson Tide ahead 21-0.

Notre Dame's defense yielded 202 yards in the first quarter. The Irish gained only 23 total yards in the quarter.

Alabama boosted its lead to 14-0 on a 3-yard TD pass from McCarron to tight end Michael Williams with 6:14 left in the first quarter. It capped a 10-play, 61-yard drive.

Alabama struck first on a 20-yard touchdown run by Lacy to cap a five-play, 82-yard opening drive with Jeremy Shelley tacking on the extra point.

More than bragging rights were at stake for both teams. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly knew he had an opportunity to permanently etch his name in the already-rich lore of Irish football, along with coaches such as Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz.

Alabama coach Nick Saban is already in the conversation with Bear Bryant. Another title could cement that notion.

Despite all of the exotic pregame analysis, the outcome of the game figured to come down to the winner at the line of scrimmage, where Alabama featured one of the most formidable offensive fronts in the nation. The Fighting Irish countered with one of best front seven defenses in all of the land.

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Bama starts with bang at BCS championship game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — No. 2 Alabama was halfway to stamping itself a dynasty, scoring touchdowns on its first three drives and taking a 28-0 lead at halftime of a BCS championship game that wasn't living up to the hype Monday night.

In a matchup of programs tied for the most AP national championships with eight, Alabama was rolling toward becoming the first team to win consecutive BCS titles — and its third title in four seasons under coach Nick Saban.

The Crimson Tide (12-1) marched with ease on the opening drive, going 82 yards on five plays to take a 7-0 lead on Eddie Lacy's 20-yard touchdown run up the middle with 12:03 left in the first quarter.

Notre Dame (12-0) had allowed only two rushing touchdowns in its surprising run to the championship game. The Fighting Irish were the first team to reach the BCS championship game after starting the season unranked. They were trying to become the first team to go from unranked to national champion since BYU in 1984.

Alabama quickly made the Fighting Irish look as if they were in over their heads.

Notre Dame did nothing to respond to Alabama's opening march, and on its punt back, the Crimson Tide might have caught a break. Returner Christion Jones muffed the kick, but Notre Dame was flagged for interfering with the catch, though it was one of Jones' teammates that made contact with him.

Lacy and the Crimson Tide went right back to work, hammering away at Notre Dame's vaunted defense. The Irish struggled to bring down the 220-pound tailback, who even ran through Heisman Trophy finalist Manti Te'o on a screen pass.

In the second quarter, it was freshman T.J. Yeldon slipping through Te'o's arms in the backfield on a third-down run and getting a first down.

Lacy set up Alabama's second touchdown with another 20-yard run, this time to the Irish 2. Instead of running into a Notre Dame goal-line defense that has become known for goal-line stands, AJ McCarron faked a handoff and found tight end Michael Williams all alone for the score and a 14-0 lead.

Alabama made it 3 for 3 on the next drive when Yeldon scored from a yard out on the first play of the second quarter.

The Alabama fans seemed outnumbered at Sun Life Stadium by Fighting Irish followers, pumped to see their team try to win its first national title in 24 years. But the folks in Crimson and houndstooth were making all the noise as the Tide rolled.

Lacy landed one more blow with 31 seconds left in the half. McCarron dumped off to Lacy, who spun off two tacklers, and went 11 yards to make it 28-0.

The Southeastern Conference, winners of the last six BCS championships, was storming toward seven in a row. Those familiar "S-E-C!" chants were ringing through yet another stadium.

Notre Dame had only five first downs in the half and allowed 309 yards. The Irish defense came in allowing 286 per game.

Lacy had 96 yards on 12 carries and McCarron, the MVP of last year's 21-0 title game victory against LSU, was 12 for 18 for 156 yards.

Everett Golson, the redshirt freshman quarterback who coach Brian Kelly had nurtured through the season, was 8 for 16 for 83 yards.

Alabama was trying to become only the third team to win three national titles in four seasons since polls started being used to crown champions in 1936. The last was Nebraska from 1994-97, and the Cornhuskers had to share the '97 championship with Michigan, which was voted No. 1 in the AP media poll. Nebraska was No. 1 in the coaches' poll.

Another national championship would also give Saban four, his first coming with LSU in 2003. Only Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant with six would have more.

___

Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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“Downton Abbey” sets PBS record with 7.9 million viewers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British period drama “Downton Abbey” scored rave reviews and a record 7.9 million viewers for public broadcasting channel PBS as viewers tuned in to watch a wedding and financial calamity during the award-winning show’s third season U.S. premiere on Sunday.

Fans witnessed the wedding of Matthew and Lady Mary Crawley, after two seasons in which viewers were kept wondering if they would ever tie the knot.

According to PBS, the ratings for season 3 quadrupled the average viewings for PBS primetime shows, which usually is 2 million viewers, and nearly doubled the premiere of the second season, which kicked off with 4.2 million viewers in January 2012.

The joy over the wedding was offset by news that Lord Grantham, the owner of the grand estate, had lost his fortune to bad investments.

American actress Shirley MacLaine debuted in the role of the feisty Martha Levinson, the mother of Lord Grantham’s American wife Cora. She entertained viewers with her witty exchanges with Downton matriarch Violet Crawley, played by Maggie Smith.

“Downton Abbey,” created by British screenwriter Julian Fellowes, has become both a critical success and a cult favorite among its many U.S. fans.

It has won seven Emmy awards and will be going into Sunday’s Golden Globe awards with three nominations in major television categories including best drama series.

Vanity Fair, which live-tweets humorous comments during the show, leads a strong online following of fans who discuss aspects of the show ranging from dresses and dances to the dramatic twists.

“The Subcommittee on Preventing Edith’s Happiness resolves to kill off her boyfriend, put thumbtacks in her evening shoes,” the magazine tweeted, referring to the unlucky-in-love Lady Edith Crawley.

PBS said that the show garnered nearly 100,000 tweets during its Sunday premiere.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Eric Walsh)

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Report: Death rates from cancer still inching down

WASHINGTON (AP) — Death rates from cancer are continuing to inch down, researchers reported Monday.

Now the question is how to hold onto those gains, and do even better, even as the population gets older and fatter, both risks for developing cancer.

"There has been clear progress," said Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society, which compiled the annual cancer report with government and cancer advocacy groups.

But bad diets, lack of physical activity and obesity together wield "incredible forces against this decline in mortality," Brawley said. He warned that over the next decade, that trio could surpass tobacco as the leading cause of cancer in the U.S.

Overall, deaths from cancer began slowly dropping in the 1990s, and Monday's report shows the trend holding. Among men, cancer death rates dropped by 1.8 percent a year between 2000 and 2009, and by 1.4 percent a year among women. The drops are thanks mostly to gains against some of the leading types — lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers — because of treatment advances and better screening.

The news isn't all good. Deaths still are rising for certain cancer types including liver, pancreatic and, among men, melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer.

Preventing cancer is better than treating it, but when it comes to new cases of cancer, the picture is more complicated.

Cancer incidence is dropping slightly among men, by just over half a percent a year, said the report published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Prostate, lung and colorectal cancers all saw declines.

But for women, earlier drops have leveled off, the report found. That may be due in part to breast cancer. There were decreases in new breast cancer cases about a decade ago, as many women quit using hormone therapy after menopause. Since then, overall breast cancer incidence has plateaued, and rates have increased among black women.

Another problem area: Oral and anal cancers caused by HPV, the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, are on the rise among both genders. HPV is better known for causing cervical cancer, and a protective vaccine is available. Government figures show just 32 percent of teen girls have received all three doses, fewer than in Canada, Britain and Australia. The vaccine was recommended for U.S. boys about a year ago.

Among children, overall cancer death rates are dropping by 1.8 percent a year, but incidence is continuing to increase by just over half a percent a year. Brawley said it's not clear why.

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'Mary Poppins' to close on Broadway in the spring

NEW YORK (AP) — "Mary Poppins" is closing up its big umbrella on Broadway.

An official close to the show's producers said Monday that the 6-year-old musical will end performances in March at the New Amsterdam Theatre and eventually be replaced by a musical adapted from the film "Aladdin."

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak before the official announcement. The New York Post first reported the news, citing an anonymous source. A Disney representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Mary Poppins," co-produced by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, is based both on the children's books by P.L. Travers and the 1964 movie starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It tells the story of the world's most practically perfect nanny in Edwardian London.

With a big cast, lavish sets and stunts that include Mary flying with her umbrella and Bert the chimney sweep tap dancing upside-down, the show was a hit after opening in 2006, two years after debuting in London.

The show is part of Disney Theatrical Productions' five big Broadway hits from seven attempts since 1994 — a profitable list that includes "The Lion King" and the more recent "Newsies." That's way above the 3-in-10 average recoupment of most Broadway shows. "Mary Poppins" routinely grosses over $1 million every week despite the presence of touring versions.

When it closes, it will have been performed 2,619 times and have been seen by more than 4 million people. It recouped its initial Broadway investment within a year, and has gone on to be among the top 10 grossing shows for the past six years and top five for attendance. It will rank as the 22nd longest-running show in Broadway history.

Its soon-to-be vacant home at the New Amsterdam Theatre will be taken by the musical "Aladdin," which has melodies by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice — the same team who created the animated film version that starred Robin Williams. The musical, with a book by Chad Beguelin, had its premiere in Seattle in summer 2011.

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Sears CEO D'Ambrosio to step down

Sears Holdings Corp. said Monday night that Chief Executive Officer Louis J. D’Ambrosio will step down at the end of its fiscal year on Feb. 2, due to family health matters. Chairman Edward S. Lampert will step into the role of CEO.

The surprise move adds new uncertainty for the Hoffman Estates-based company, which has struggled for years to re-establish itself as a department store in an ultra-competitive retailing industry dominated by the low-price giant Walmart and big box and specialty stores.

The decision by Lampert, a hedge fund operator who is the company’s biggest shareholder and driving force, to reassert day-to-day control represents a reversal from his the naming of D’Ambrosio, an outsider, as chief executive nearly two years ago after operating with an interim CEO previously.

“In light of Lou's decision to step down, the Board feels it is important that there is continuity of leadership during this important period of transformation and improvement at Sears Holdings,” Lampert said in a statement. “I have agreed to assume these additional responsibilities in order to continue the company's recovery and sustain the momentum we are experiencing, as well as further the development of the management team under the distributed leadership model, which provides our business unit leaders with greater control, authority and autonomy.”

Sears Holdings, which operates Sears and Kmart, also updated fourth quarter earnings outlook Monday night. The company said it expects to report a net loss of between $280 million and $360 million, or $2.64 and $3.40 per diluted share, for the quarter ending Feb. 2. The loss includes a non-cash charge of roughly $450 million due to pension settlements and an additional $42 million in pension expenses.

Excluding pension expenses Sears said it expects to earn between $132 million and $212 million, or between $1.25 and $2.00 per share. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had been expecting adjusted net income of $137 million.

Excluding interest, taxes and other items, Sears said it expects its adjusted earnings to be between $365 million and $465 million, compared to $351 million at the same time last year. For the year, it expects to adjusted earnings to be between $560 million and $660 million compared to $277 million last year. 

For the year, Sears said it expects to lose between $721 million and $801 million, or between $6.80 and $7.56 per diluted share, which also includes pension-related costs and other adjustments reported in regulatory filings late last year. Excluding those items, the company said it expects to lose between $123 million and $203 million or between $1.16 and $1.92 per share.

D’Ambrosio became CEO after working for the company as a consultant. The 16-year veteran of IBM Corp. had been CEO of a telecommunications company before joining Sears.

“I have worked very closely with Eddie over the past two years. I can say this: there is simply no one in the world that cares more about Sears Holdings and has thought more deeply about our company than Eddie,” D’Ambrosio wrote in a memo to employees.

Lampert gained control of Sears in 2005 after engineering the merger Kmart and Sears Roebuck & Co. For years speculation about Lampert’s intentions for the company focused on the value of its real estate, but under D’Ambrosio Sears appeared to pay more attention to its aspirations as a retailer.

The company reported improved performance in the last quarter that beat Wall Street expectations, but Sears stock still has lost more than 35 percent of its value since November, closing Monday at $42.92.

 Crshropshire@tribune.com

Twitter: @corilyns 

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