Microsoft co-founder donates $14 million

SEATTLE -- Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., has given the University of Washington $14 million for a computer science center that will bear his name.

The Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering, already under construction, will more than double the space available for the program when it opens next year.

Sixty percent of the funding is being raised privately. Other major donors include Allen's boyhood friend and Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft itself and several dozen people and organizations from the region's technology and venture capital communities.

"We are very grateful to Paul for his support and trust in us," UW President Richard McCormick said in a statement issued Tuesday night.

"Bill and I got a big part of our start in computer science at the University of Washington when we were still students at Lakeside School," Allen said in a statement. "We want to help make sure it's an even more cutting-edge resource for the coming generation."

Total cost of the center is $72 million. Allen's gift brings private support to $37 million and $30 million has come from institutional and state sources, leaving $5 million to be raised.

Willie Nelson may miss ceremony for Grammys

NEW YORK -- Even though Willie Nelson is up for two Grammys, he's not sure he'll be in the audience for next week's ceremony in Los Angeles.

Nelson has been nominated for best country album for "Rainbow Connection," and best country male performance for the song "Marie." But he said his current tour might prevent him from attending.

"I'll be in Houston the night before, so I don't know if I'll make the trip," Nelson told The Associated Press during a recent interview.

But even if he is free, the 68-year-old singer said he's still ambivalent about the ceremony.

"In fact, once you're nominated, I feel like you've won, and to try and pick out the best of these winners, to me, there's a little negativity in there," he said. "You've got five nominations and one winner, so you have one real happy person and four guys that's applauding politely. So just being nominated is enough for me."

The Grammy Awards will be presented Tuesday night at the Staples Center and broadcast live on CBS starting at 8 p.m. EST.

Soundtrack royalties weighed by court

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The state's highest court will consider the case of record producer Phil Spector and the '60s pop group the Ronettes over millions of dollars in movie soundtrack royalties.

The state Court of Appeals is expected to hear the case late this year.

Last November, the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division upheld a lower court finding that Spector had violated his 1963 contract with the three women -- one of whom was his wife -- and ordered him to pay $2.97 million plus interest.

The contract dealt only with royalties on sales of records, but Spector was accused of illegally keeping fees and making millions of dollars by selling the recordings for use as background music in movies and advertising.

The Ronettes' lawyer, Alexander Peltz, said he was surprised by the court's latest move on Tuesday.

"I'm somewhat amazed that the Court of Appeals decided to grant the motion, but anything can happen," Peltz said. "Obviously, this always puts a wrinkle in things."

Spector's attorney, Andrew Bart, said, "Obviously, I'm very happy that the Court of Appeals has agreed to hear this and to consider the serious issues that are considered. Beyond that, I don't have any comment."

Spector declined comment through a spokesman for Abkco Music Inc., which manages Spector's business affairs.

Spector discovered the trio that included lead singer Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett, her sister, Estelle Bennett, and their cousin, Nedra Talley Ross, in the early 1960s. He signed them to a contract, wrote music for them and managed their careers.

The Ronettes recorded 28 songs for Spector's Philles Records from 1963-67. Their greatest success came with the chart-topping hit "Be My Baby."

In 1968, Ronnie Bennett went solo and married Spector. The couple divorced six years later.

CNN announces changes in network leadership

ATLANTA -- Sid Bedingfield, general manager of CNN's U.S. operations, has been promoted to executive editor of CNN News Group and will become the deputy to Walter Isaacson, the network's chairman and chief executive.

Teya Ryan, who oversaw the repackaging of CNN Headline News last year as its general manager, was appointed to Bedingfield's former position.

Isaacson announced the appointments Tuesday in a memo to the staff.

"Sid has a rare combination of quick instincts and solid wisdom," Isaacson wrote. "He knows and works well with people throughout CNN and has a proven track record in leading the remarkable resurgence CNN has experienced over the past year."

--From wire reports