Sandy Weill: Banks break up theory

Former Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill -- who engineered a series of corporate takeovers and lobbying efforts to create Citigroup -- explained during an interview on CNBC why he now thinks a firewall between commercial and investment banks is needed.

"What we should probably do is go and split up investment banking from banking," Weill said. "Have banks do something that's not going to risk the taxpayer dollars, that's not too big to fail."Weill's call to break up the nation's largest banks comes a little more than a decade after he helped orchestrate the merger of Travelers Group and Citicorp, a deal that created what was the world's largest financial services company.

The deal was not have been possible with Glass-Steagall, a Depression-era law that prevented commercial banks from dabbling in investment banking, on the books.But after intense lobbying by Weill and his associates, Congress repealed the act in 1999. Some critics argue that its demise paved the way for deposit-taking banks to make colossal bad bets, while bank traders chased profits and big bonuses.Citigroup, where Weill would serve as chairman until 2006, would eventually receive taxpayer-funded bailouts during the financial crisis.On Wednesday, Weill attributed many of the problems faced by banks in the run-up to the financial crisis to over-leveraging and a lack of transparency. The end result, he said, is a banking system that now lacks innovation and is distrusted by the public.
Sandy Weill just wants to move on
 Weill said he hasn't discussed his views with current Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) CEO Vikram Pandit or JPMorgan's (JPM, Fortune 500) Jamie Dimon.

The comments from Weill, who also served on New York Fed Board of Governors, indicate a remarkable evolution in his thoughts on the risks posed by large financial institutions.The New York Times has reported that as recently as 2010, Weill had a 4-foot wide portrait of himself hanging in his office that was etched with the words "The Shatterer of Glass-Steagall."But on Wednesday, Weill said that current conditions demand something new."Well, you know I think the world changes, and the world that we live in now is different than the world we lived in 10 years ago," Weill said.

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Joe Paterno statue removed from Penn Staten | News Online

Penn State University’s statue of legendary football coach Joe Paterno was removed from campus Sunday morning in the wake of an investigation that harshly criticized Paterno for failing to take action in the sex abuse case of his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky.

Penn State president Rodney Erickson issued a statement shortly before the statue was removed that said, “Coach Paterno’s statue has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our university and beyond. For that reason, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our university and public safety to remove the statue and store it in a secure location.”

The bronze statue, an image of Paterno running out of the locker room with his players in tow, was toppled onto its side and is being carried out by a forklift.

In response to the statue’s removal, Paterno’s family issued this statement: “Tearing down the statue of Joe Paterno does not serve the victims of Jerry Sandusky’s horrible crimes or help heal the Penn State Community. We believe the only way to help the victims is to uncover the full truth.”

The statement goes on to say that Paterno never had a hearing, and only selective evidence has been made public. The Freeh report, Paterno’s family says, is not the equivalent of a fair trial, although it has been accepted by the media as the definitive conclusion on the Sandusky scandal.

“It is not the University’s responsibility to defend or protect Joe Paterno. But they at least should have acknowledged that important legal cases are still pending and that the record on Joe Paterno, the Board and other key players is far from complete,” the statement reads.

Several fans of the late coach showed up with their rally cry, chanting, “We are Penn State.”

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Usher's stepson Kile Glover dies in hospital 2 weeks after lake accident

 Kile Glover is the stepson of Usher(Usher Raymond).Kile Glover, was pronounced brain dead
 following a traumatic head injury suffered during a jet-ski accident
, the 11-year-old boy died
 of heart failure on Saturday.The boy was run over July 6 by a personal watercraft on Lake Lanier, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. He had been hospitalized with a major brain injury. Lake Lanier is about 40 miles northeast of Atlanta. Authorities said the accident continues under investigation.

Given the seriousness of his injury, which resulted from blunt trauma to the head after Glover was hit by a jet-ski while floating in an inner tube on Atlanta's Lake Lanier, a neurologist told about the prospects for victims of such major brain injuries.

"There is no one that has been declared brain dead that has survived to being functional," said neurologist Dr. Brent Masel, national director of the Brain Injury Association of America and medical director of the Transitional Learning Center of Galveston, Texas several days before Glover was pronounced dead. "They will not get better."
Masel, who was not treating Glover and had no first-hand knowledge of the case, explained that the prognosis in such cases is so grim because of the make-up of the brain. "When someone is declared brain dead, it's not that their brain is not functioning at all," he said. "There are two components to the brain, the cerebrum, which is the thinking part and the brain stem, which narrows and becomes the spinal cord."

The stem is the automatic part, which controls respiration and heart rate and someone can technically live without a functioning cerebrum, which is not unusual in such injuries. "The thinking part of the brain is no longer functioning and all the patient has functioning is the brain stem," he said. "Very often what happens when you're deciding if someone is brain dead, you take them off the respirator and they're not even breathing and the only thing going is their heart, which will stop functioning if you're not breathing."

Before the accident, Usher, whose full name is Usher Raymond, had been in a legal battle with his ex-wife arising from a custody fight over their two sons.
Condolences flooded social media sites late Saturday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. It said those who sent tweets of condolences included Justin Bieber, singer Toni Braxton and singer Eric Benet, among others.

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U.S. Open First Round News & Result

The top-three players in the world were paired together for the first two rounds at the U.S. Open Championship.  After Thursday's first round, at least two of them might like to run and hide. World No. 3 Lee Westwood had the best round of the group as he carded a three- over 73 to end tied for 40th.
Rory McIlroy, the second-ranked player in the world, carded just one birdie en route to a seven-over 77. The defending champion missed more greens in regulation (12) today than he did in four rounds last year at Congressional Country Club (10).
World No. 1 Luke Donald went birdie-free in his round of nine-over 79.After one round, the cut line would be plus-four. That will likely move higher. Donald will likely have to break par tomorrow if he hopes to play the weekend, while McIlroy will need no worse than an even-par round to stick around for the final two rounds.Westwood stumbled out of the gate with a double-bogey on the first. He also dropped shot on the fourth and sixth to slide to plus-four.The Englishman posted his first birdie at the short seventh, but he tripped to a bogey on the ninth. Westwood parred seven in a row from the 10th. He birdie No. 17 to get back to plus-three. He parred the last to end there.McIlroy bogeyed the first. He birdied three of five holes from the fifth to finish nine holes at plus-four. After a bogey at 12, he carded his only birdie of the day at the par-three 12th.The Northern Irishman stumbled to three bogeys in his last four holes to end in a tie for 109th.
Four times in his round, Donald posted back-to-back bogeys. He did it at one and two, then again at five and six. He parred the next three to post 38 after nine holes.On the back side, he bogeyed two straight from the 10th and again from the 13th. Donald's final bogey came on the long par-five 16th.




2012 US Open
Jun 14-17 - Purse: $8,000,000
Olympic Club - Lake Course - San Francisco, California, United States
Leaderboard - Ongoing    R1    R2    R3    R4    Total    Thru

1     Michael Thompson    -4    –    –    –    -4    18

T2     Tiger Woods    -1    –    –    –    -1    18

T2     David Toms    -1    –    –    –    -1    18

T2     Justin Rose    -1    –    –    –    -1    18

T2     Graeme McDowell    -1    –    –    –    -1    18

T2     Nick Watney    -1    –    –    –    -1    18

T7     Jim Furyk    E    –    –    –    E    18

T7     Robert Karlsson    E    –    –    –    E    18

T7     Matt Kuchar    E    –    –    –    E    18

T7     Ian Poulter    E    –    –    –    E    18

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Lance Armstrong is firing back against new charges of blood doping

Armstrong and the doctors were involved in a "pervasive pattern of doping" said by The United States anti-doping agency (USADA)

Lance Armstrong is firing back against new charges of blood doping during his championship run.
The seven-time Tour de France winner vehemently denies the charges.
But experts say that if proven the case would signal that responsibility for doping no longer stops at the athlete.In a statement posted on his website, he said: 'I have been notified that USADA, an organization largely funded by taxpayer dollars but governed only by self-written rules, intends to again dredge up discredited allegations dating back more than 16 years to prevent me from competing as a triathlete and try and strip me of the seven Tour de France victories I earned.
'These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation.'He added: ‘These charges are baseless, motivated by spite and advanced through testimony bought and paid for by promises of anonymity and immunity.'

Armstrong said that he believes the USADA is motivated by its belief that a 'wide-ranging conspiracy' has been protecting him for nearly two decades.'I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than  500 drug tests and never failed one.

Armstrong claimed that the witnesses cited by the USADA were identical to the ones who gave sworn statements to federal investigators in California from which no criminal charges were filed.'That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence.'

In a 15-page letter sent to Armstrong on Tuesday, the USADA alleged that blood samples collected from him during competitions in 2009 and 2010 were 'fully consistent with blood manipulation including erythropoietin (EPO) use and/or blood transfusions.'

According to the original report of the charge sheet in The Washington Post, the USADA alleges that it has sworn witnesses to the fact that Armstrong and five former cycling team associates, including Italian doctor Michele Ferrari and cycling team manager Johann Bruyneel embarked on a conspiracy to conceal doping from 1998 to 2011.If Armstrong contests the allegations then he will be entitled to a trial where evidence will be presented by witnesses under oath and
could be in public or in private depending on Armstrong.

A USADA spokesman told The Daily Breeze that the organisation will continue to pursue its probe.The charges caused the World Triathlon Corporation to suspend Armstrong from all their sanctioned competitions pending resolution of the case. The letter Armstrong received from the USADA alleges that 'multiple riders with firsthand knowledge' can testify to Armstrong using
the performance enhancing drug EPO, blood transfusions and masking agents.

Armstrong won the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005 while riding for the U.S. Postal service team and the Discovery Channel Team and has strenuously
denied using performance enhancing drugs or blood doping during his cycling career.

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Nato summit at chicago

Ryan Dempster hasn't broken into the victory column after six starts this season, and the winless stretch for the Chicago Cubs righty stretches 15 appearances going back to last season.
Dempster will try to finally end the run tonight when the Cubs entertain the White Sox in the second portion of this weekend's series. He is 0-7 over the 15-game span, and hasn't been on the positive side of a decision since Aug. 11 against Washington. Most recently, Dempster threw six innings at St. Louis in a no-decision on Monday.

In 13 games (6 starts) against the White Sox, Dempster has logged a 2-4 record with three saves and a 4.89 ERA.

Trying to end a personal four-game run without a triumph, John Danks takes the mound for the White Sox. The 27-year-old left-hander didn't get a decision on Monday against Detroit when he allowed five runs on nine hits over just three- plus innings. The White Sox won that game 7-5, but Danks is riding a personal 0-2 mark over his last four appearances.
Over his career, Danks is 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA in four starts against the Cubs.

Yesterday, Gordon Beckham spoiled Kerry Wood's retirement with a go-ahead, solo homer in the eighth as the White Sox took a 3-2 victory.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the eighth, Beckham lifted Jeff Samardzija's splitter into the bleachers in left field to give the White Sox a one-run edge.
"I'm glad it came when it did," Beckham said about his homer. "It was just good to help the team win. That's what is important to me."

After Samardzija walked Adam Dunn, Wood entered for presumably the last time. The 34-year-old announced before the game that he was planning on retiring after his next appearance.
He fanned Dayan Viciedo on three pitches before being removed to a standing ovation from the Wrigley Field faithful with his son Justin on the top step of the dugout to great him.

"It was time," remarked Wood after the game. "We saw how things were going this year. I definitely didn't want to go out with my last inning being me throwing my glove in the seats. I thank the organization and I thank Dale (Sveum) for giving me the opportunity to do that."

Samardzija (4-2) took the loss after tossing 7 1/3 innings and yielding three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts. He also knocked in a run as the Cubs dropped their fourth straight.
The White Sox have won three consecutive season series against their Windy City series rival and are 16-6 over the last 22 games overall. The ChiSox have won six of the last eight at Wrigley Field.

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''Desperate Housewives' finale series on sunday.

NEW YORK (AP) — There was nothing desperate about this finale. ABC's "Desperate Housewives" concluded its rocky, racy and macabre eight-season run with a tidy, affectionate send-off.

For those who haven't yet made their farewell visit to Wisteria Place, be advised: Plot spoilers from Sunday's finale await.

Suffice it to say, everyone seems destined to live happily ever after. At least, with the exception of Karen McCluskey (Kathryn Joosten), the cranky but lovable senior who was battling cancer. But she dies peacefully at home, the way she wanted, with a favorite Johnny Mathis record serenading her.

By this point, she has saved the day for Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross), who was on trial for murder — an accidental homicide that was actually committed by Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), the husband of Bree's fellow housewife, Gabrielle (Eva Longoria).

Bree was prepared to loyally take the fall for her friends, but, at the last moment, Karen steps in and confesses to the crime.

Besides her false confession, Karen voices on the stand a tender summary of life in the "Desperate Housewives" neighborhood: "It's not just a bunch of houses in the same place. It's a community — people who care about each other."

The charges are dropped against Bree, who overcomes her fear of commitment and settles down with her cute lawyer, Trip (Scott Bakula), after he assures her that her tarnished past doesn't bother him: "All those ugly details you're talking about, they just prove that you're human," he says lovingly.

Lynette (Felicity Huffman) and Tom (Doug Savant), whose marriage seemed on the rocks, reconcile passionately in the middle of Wisteria Lane in the romantic glow of streetlights.

Preparations are afoot for the gala marriage of Renee (Vanessa Williams) and Ben (Charles Mesure), with all the expected hysteria and confusion. For instance, en route to the ceremony in a stretch limo, Renee's expensive wedding gown is soaked by pregnant Julie seated beside her, whose water inconveniently breaks. But with Gabrielle as an accomplice, Renee steals a replacement gown from a bridal store.

Then Julie (Andrea Lauren Bowen), the daughter of Susan (Teri Hatcher), gives birth at the hospital as, in cross-cuts, the wedding reception takes place and Karen breathes her last. Life, nuptials, and death: a bittersweet confluence.

The ratings and heat that greeted "Desperate Housewives" eight years ago have faded during the series' run. The season finale for its first year drew more than 30 million viewers, while, this season, the series has averaged 8.5 million each week.

But Sunday's two-hour finale (whose second hour was written by series creator Marc Cherry) was a reminder of why "Desperate Housewives" struck such a chord with its arrival in fall 2004.

It burst on the scene as a lighthearted soufflé of blackmail, lust, adultery and sisterhood; as TV's go-to address for sexy suburban angst. It hooked America from its first-place premiere airing when, among many twists, its series-long narrator (neighbor Mary Alice Young, portrayed by Brenda Strong) gave a play-by-play of her own suicide.

Then, as now, at the heart of this throbbing universe are the four titular housewives: overwrought career woman and weary mom Lynette; sexy, spoiled spitfire Gabrielle; goodhearted bubble-head Susan; and wired-too-tight homemaker Bree.

All of them have gone through so much, yet managed to stay rooted, as hordes of other characters came and went through the years. (Accelerating things, the time frame skipped forward by five years midway through the series' 8-season run.)

But that's all over. All four women (we are told) will soon scatter, living out their lives elsewhere, but happily.

The first to exit: Susan, the only member of the foursome who leaves without a partner by her side.

"Do I have one last torrid romance in me? Maybe," she tells daughter Julie wistfully. "But I know if I am ever old and lonely, I can wrap myself up in all those memories (of life on Wisteria Lane), and I will be content."

She has sold her home to a young married couple. But the wife, named Jennifer, confides misgivings at moving to the suburbs.

"I'm a little worried it's going to be boring," she tells Susan.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," replies Susan with a knowing smile.

And, indeed, new housewife Jennifer seems to be bringing her own secrets and woes to the block — at least, if the series' final shot of her stricken expression and a mysterious box are any indication.

What a relief as the show comes to a close! Just because viewers won't be privy to future happenings on Wisteria Lane doesn't mean there's any danger of things settling down.

Copyright (2012) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.un

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