Blog Posts by Morgan Korn

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Super PACs, those fundraising behemoths critics say have the potential to sway voters and the 2012 election, recently released the amount of donations they have received since the start of the year. It's not insignificant: OpenSecrets.org reviewed the filings provided by 313 super PACs and calculated that they have spent a combined $46.2 million in the 2012 election cycle so far.

"Restore Our Future," the political action group that supports Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, raised more than $30.2 million, a record for the 313 super PACs reporting donations. The Newt Gingrich-backed super PAC "Winning Our Future" took in $2.1 million, and the "American Crossroads" committee, the conservative group linked to GOP strategist Karl Rove, collected $18.7 million since Jan 1. By comparison, "Priorities USA Action," a super PAC that supports President Obama's re-election, raised just $4.4 million in all of 2011.

Super PACs came into being after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission. Essentially, that sweeping 2010 decision determined that corporations, labor unions and individuals could give unlimited money to political groups to spend on elections. The Supreme Court determined the free speech protections individuals have, courtesy of the Constitution, would now apply to corporations, too. Super PACs cannot directly coordinate with political candidates, but they're often viewed as "campaign surrogates" that give unfettered advertising dollars to media outlets in support or opposition of a particular candidate.

Many wealthy individuals, from casino mogul Sheldon Adelson to Hollywood producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, have given millions to super PACs. Prior to Citizens United, political action groups were allowed to accept money from corporations, but restrictions were placed on the amount of the largesse and the timing of the donations. Super PACs are required to submit monthly or quarterly filings to the FEC, but are not compelled to disclose the identities of all of their donors.

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Oil and gas company BP recently released its annual Energy Outlook and many of its projections should be viewed with concern.

According to the company, carbon emissions will increase 28 percent by 2030, a dire forecast for those trying to reverse the effects of climate change. Moreover, renewable energy sources — such as wind and solar — will contribute less than 10 percent of global energy output in the coming years despite growing at least eight percent a year between now and 2030.

The growth in emerging economies like China and Brazil will lead to a 39 percent increase in global energy demand by 2030, BP forecasts. China will become increasingly reliant on foreign oil, importing as much as 80 percent of its oil needs in the next 20 years. But it would be second to Europe, which is expected to import 94 percent of its oil and 80 percent of the natural gas it consumes. India could very likely take in 91 percent of its crude oil from abroad.

Alternately, the United States could become almost entirely energy independent by 2030, says BP. As the country expands its domestic natural gas production, the U.S. will buy less foreign oil, causing imports to fall to levels not seen since 1990. Natural gas production has come under intense scrutiny because of its environmental risks. The drilling process used to extract gas is widely known as "fracking" and it involves pumping sand, chemicals and gallons of water underground to break apart the rock and release the gas. The Obama administration recently gave a stinging rebuke to the industry by rejecting the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have brought 700,000 barrels per day of supply from Canada's oil sands projects to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. In last month's State of the Union Address, Obama said he supported natural gas investment but pressed for more regulations to ensure the safety of natural gas drilling.

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President Barack Obama leads both GOP front-runner Mitt Romney and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in a hypothetical general election matchup, according to the latest Washington Post/ABC poll. Fifty-two percent of voters surveyed chose Obama over Romney's 43 percent. Obama had a 15-point advantage over Gingrich.

Even better news for Obama was the jump in his approval rating. Fifty percent of the survey's participants approve of Obama's overall performance, the highest rating the president has received since the U.S. government killed Osama bin Laden in early May. Forty-six percent, however, disapprove of Obama.

The Washington Post poll interviewed 1,000 people nationwide. The poll was conducted Feb. 1 to Feb. 4.

The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task and Henry Blodget discussed the poll results in the above video and analyzed what factors have led to the jump in Obama's approval rating, which at one point was as low as 38 percent.

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On Tuesday, Nov. 6, Americans will head to the polls to elect the next President of the United States. Millions of dollars have already been spent on the election. Super PACs representing both President Obama and the Republican presidential candidates are experiencing a flood of monetary contributions while Americans are witnessing firsthand the effects of unlimited donations on their televisions and radio airwaves.

As the election nears, the records of both President Obama and his Republican Party challenger will be analyzed and scrutinized over and over again. Voters will decide who they think will do a better job not only governing the nation but also of leading it out of economic disaster. (See: Florida Primary: Romney Leads Gingrich by 14% After Bombarding Airwaves)

But does the President have as much influence over the nation - and specifically the economy - as the electorate thinks he does?

"The president generally matters so much less than we think," says journalist and Freakonomics Author Stephen Dubner. "Especially when it comes to the economy."

Obama's reelection partly hinges on whether or not the economy has improved since he took office nearly four years ago. There have been encouraging signs as of late that the administration's approach to tackling the recession has worked. The unemployment rate has decreased slowly but steadily over the last five months. The government reported the jobless rate fell to 8.3 percent in January from 8.5 percent in December, yet the economy could quickly reverse its recovery trend over the next few months.

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The millionaire's club has to make room for a few more hundred people...at least.

Facebook filed to go public on Wednesday and many current and former employees are expecting huge paydays. The public offering could value the social media titan between $75 billion to $100 billion and for those employees who received stock options, their personal worth could equal several hundred million dollars.

Facebook Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg, 27, is slated to become one of the richest people in the world with a personal fortune of at least $28 billion. His salary will be cut to $1 from $1.48 million last year, effective Jan. 1, 2013.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, who made $30.8 million last year, will enter the billionaire's club for the first time and early Facebook investors like Peter Thiel and venture capital firm Accel Partners are both expected to net profits in the billions.

Even Facebook's biggest foes - Tyler and

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Everyone knows the best part of the Super Bowl - the commercials. One day a year Americans skip the fast-forward button on their DVRs and direct their gaze on the television, assiduously watching every second of these highly-anticipated commercials.

The annual ritual of watching Super Bowl ads may be anticlimactic this year, as many companies have pre-released their spots on YouTube and social media sites. Will football fans still tune into the commercials? "Absolutely," says Brian Steinberg, television editor at Advertising Age. Leaking their Super Bowls ads are for the "web savvy" and not the "digital illiterate," Steinberg says in the above video. The whole reason to pre-release ads is to create a buzz and to "get people talking, posting about these ads," he notes. The ads will still be new for many fans who don't get a chance to preview them before the game on Sunday.

The usual Super Bowl players will again make an appearance, like Pepsi, Budweiser and Go Daddy.com. Viewers can also expect to see many more ads from car companies, both foreign and domestic, says Steinberg. Honda hired actor Matthew Broderick for its commercial and Audi decided to play off the popularity of vampires in its ad. (See all the car ads here on Yahoo! Motoramic) Babies, sex and animals are guaranteed winners, and there's no shortage of any of those this year. Aside from the rush to pre-release ads, the commercials will be longer this year and have a broader story to tell, says Steinberg. Viewers will be encouraged to visit advertisers' specific websites to learn more about the characters and new products.

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Mitt Romney scored a decisive win in Tuesday night's Florida primary, handily beating Newt Gingrich, his closest competitor, by 14 points. Romney picked up 50 delegates in the winner-take-all race, but that's just a small percentage of the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the Republican presidential nomination. The insurgent Newt Gingrich, whose campaign was lifted by a solid win in South Carolina, pledged to remain in the race.

"We are going to contest every place, and we will win," Gingrich told supporters Tuesday night.

Rick Santorum placed third in Florida with 13 percent of the vote. Ron Paul came in fourth place with seven percent, an expected outcome for the Texas Congressman who spent little time and resources campaigning in the Sunshine state.

Florida presented the most realistic climate the GOP nominee can expect in the general election. The state is one of the most politically and ethnically diverse, and many moderates hold sway in the nation's most populous state.

Republican Mark McKinnon, a Republican strategist who has advised George W. Bush and John McCain, says last night's win makes Romney the probable nominee.

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"Save yourself - some money."

Those were William Shatner's last words as Priceline's "Negotiator." The discount-travel booking site apparently killed off the television and movie legend last week in a TV advertisement.

In the commercial, which has been airing nationally and will also be shown during the Super Bowl pre-game show, Shatner's character saves the lives of fellow travelers as their bus teeters on the edge of a bridge. As the last passenger steps off, Shatner says "Save yourself - some money," handing his cellphone to a woman just before the bus falls off the bridge, bursting into flames as it crashes to the ground.

According to the company, Priceline is moving in a new direction - from negotiating to a fixed-price business model. In an official press release, Priceline's Chief Marketing Official Brett Keller said: "We felt it was necessary to go to extremes to grab the attention of every consumer in America and drive home