Fundraiser

The singer Pink, who was scheduled to headline a fundraiser for President Obama on Wednesday in Beverly Hills, pulled out because she is ill, according to the president's reelection campaign. “Glee” star Darren Criss, who plays an openly gay high school student on the hit Fox television series, will perform in her place at the gala, which is aimed at the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, and comes on the heels of Obama announcing his support of same-sex marriage.

Mitt Romney accused President Obama on Saturday of looking for "any excuse" to pass off responsibility for the sputtering economy, and he said Obama had gone so far as to blame former President George W. Bush during the unveiling of Bush's official White House portrait last week. That appeared to be, at best, an overly sensitive reading of Obama's remarks, which mostly praised his predecessor. But economic numbers released on Friday gave Romney more than ample fodder to ramp up his attacks on the Obama economic record.

A fundraiser being hosted by Los Angeles County sheriff's officials Thursday night ended in violence, with one guest arrested and more arrests possible, a department spokesman confirmed. Sheriff's deputies were hosting a party at Cities, a bar and restaurant in East Los Angeles, to raise money for an annual law enforcement relay race. About 2 a.m. Friday, there was an altercation that involved off-duty deputies and guests. One woman invited to the party was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.

Volunteers staged an all-day fundraiser Thursday outside City Hall for victims of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Japan last week. Money raised was to be forwarded by the American Red Cross to its counterpart in Japan. The Japanese Red Cross has sent out 115 medical response teams that include doctors, nurses and counselors, according to charity officials. The agency also relies on 2 million registered volunteers in Japan and operates 104 hospitals and 212 blood-donation centers.

The annual "In the Spirit of the Game" gala, which raises money for baseball scouts who have retired or lost their jobs and need assistance, will be held Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. Increased focus on statistical analysis has resulted in the elimination of some scouting positions across baseball in recent years. "It absolutely cost scouts jobs," said Dennis Gilbert, chairman of the Professional Scouts Foundation, which is hosting the event. However, that trend could be reversed.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has crusaded against state officials' practice of raising money during budget season, will open his Brentwood mansion to his biggest contributors — again — days after he releases his revised spending plan. A $50,000 donation will buy a contributor a single ticket to the soiree at his and Maria Shriver's home and a chance, less than a week later, to chomp cigars with the celebrity governor in the capital. The initial event, scheduled for May 18, offers donors an opportunity to brush shoulders with the governor only four days after he details a budget plan that is expected to cut deeply into state services.

While acknowledging that "change is hard," President Obama touted the nation's economic progress on his watch during a celebrity-studded fundraising stopover Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Addressing a crowd of about 1,000 at an outdoor reception, Obama needled Angelenos about the weather - "You're all cold. This is balmy, people" - then talked about the change he promised in the 2008 campaign, and the depth of the nation's economic troubles when he took office. "We did not fully comprehend at that point how deep this crisis would be," he said, then mentioned the increase in jobs in recent months.

Don't expect to see happy photos of President Bush with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger when the president visits Los Angeles tonight for a Republican fundraiser. The governor doesn't plan to go near the president. He's upset. Schwarzenegger is miffed because Bush is dipping into the California money pot less than three weeks before the governor's special election.

A life-sized fiberglass cow has been stolen from a sidewalk in La Jolla, organizers of an art auction said Thursday. The cow was part of CowParade La Jolla, an art exhibit and fundraiser for Rady Children's Hospital San Diego and the San Diego Zoo. Forty cows designed and painted by local artists are featured in the exhibit, which started March 15 and will continue until June 15. An auction is scheduled for July 11. The swiped cow is thought to...

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised a record $66 million in August, his highest monthly figure and almost $20 million more than Republican rival John McCain. Obama's total since entering the race in early 2007 is now more than $450 million -- a figure that confirms his standing as the most successful fundraiser in U.S. political history. Obama has surpassed President Bush as history's most prolific political fundraiser. Bush raised $270 million for his reelection campaign four years ago, and $95 million in 2000, for a total of $365 million.