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Father in toxic truck case charged with attempted murder of son

2011-02-18T14:32:00.002+04:00

From the CNN Wire Staff

February 18, 2011 1:29 a.m. EST

Jorge Barahona has been charged with attempted murder of his 10-year-old adopted son.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Jorge Barahona is charged with attempted murder; home is being searched
Barahona "attempted to harm himself" Thursday morning, police say
He "refused to cooperate" by not speaking, which postponed his hearing
Cause of daughter's death has been determined but not made public

(CNN) -- A Florida exterminator whose dead daughter and injured son were found in his truck has been charged with attempted murder, and police were searching his Miami home Thursday night, police said.

Chase Scott, spokesman for West Palm Beach Police, told CNN that officers were executing a search warrant for evidence in the home of Jorge and Carmen Barahona.

Jorge Barahona, 53, was found unconscious beside his pest-control truck early Monday along a south Florida interstate by a road assistance ranger, along with his 10-year-old adopted son, who was inside the vehicle next to an open gas can, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed by detectives.

Hours later, crews removing toxic chemicals from the truck discovered the boy's twin sister dead in a plastic bag.

Earlier Thursday, Barahona was taken to a hospital Thursday after he "attempted to harm himself," police said.

Twins found in car, one dead

Police: Man tried to kill himself, son

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Barahona, who was in custody in the Palm Beach County Jail, suffered a self-inflicted injury after deputies told him to get ready to go to a court hearing Thursday morning, West Palm Beach Police spokesman Scott Chase said.

"He immediately attempted to harm himself by thrusting himself backwards, causing an injury to his head," Chase said. "He was immediately checked by emergency personnel and it was decided he was OK to appear in court."

However, Barahona "refused to cooperate" by not speaking and the judge decided to delay the hearing until another date, Chase said.

Authorities later decided to take Barahona to Wellington Regional Medical Center for observation, he said.

Meanwhile, a medical examiner has determined a cause of death for the girl, but it will not be made public until investigators review the findings, Chase said Thursday. Authorities likely will decide whether and how to charge Barahona in her death based on the autopsy results, Police Capt. Mary Olsen said Wednesday.

The children were among the four the Barahonas adopted from Florida's foster care system.

When the boy was found Monday by the roadside assistance ranger, he "appeared to be in respiratory distress and (was) trembling" and his clothing "was soaked with an unknown chemical," the probable-cause affidavit said.

The ranger then found Barahona on the ground beside the truck and called for help.

The boy was hospitalized in intensive care with severe burns to his abdomen, upper thighs and buttocks, the affidavit said. While examining the boy, doctors noted he had sustained previous injuries, including a broken collarbone, a broken arm, scarring to his buttocks and lower abdomen, and ligature marks on both wrists, police said.

After Barahona and his son were taken to a hospital, a worker decontaminating the truck discovered the body of the girl, wrapped in a plastic bag, the document said.

Barahona told police he was distraught over the death of his daughter, and had intended to commit suicide by dousing himself with gasoline and setting himself afire, the affidavit said. Barahona said he didn't go through with his suicide plan because his son was with him, the document added.

"Basically, to paraphrase, he was stating that he placed his daughter in a plastic bag being distraught over her death," Chase told reporters Wednesday. "He drove here from South Florida accompanied by his son.

"He then pulled off to the side of the road saying that he poured gas on his self, intending to light himself on fire. His son's head was in his lap and he decided, after giving his son some sleeping pills, that he wasn't going to do that."

Barahona told police that in dousing himself with gasoline, he inadvertently got some on the boy, Olsen said Wednesday.

But his story doesn't add up, because there was no gasoline on the boy, she said. Instead, he was covered with another chemical whose composition had yet to be determined. "That's why we're still treating this as a hazmat (hazardous materials case)," Olsen said.

The truck in which the children were found was taken to a secure location, Chase said, where an FBI evidence recovery team is going through the vehicle. Authorities are waiting for test results on the chemicals found in the truck.

Chase said the substance on the boy's body and clothes was so potent that staff caring for the boy at the hospital became ill as well.

The boy, who was transferred Wednesday morning to a specialized burn unit at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, has not been able to talk to investigators because he is on a breathing tube, Olsen explained.

Asked whether Barahona has expressed remorse, she said, "He feels remorse, but we're not getting consistent statements with what we're seeing in our evidence."

"It's a complex case," she added.

At a hearing Wednesday in Miami attended by Barahona's wife, Carmen, a judge ordered that the remaining two children in the home be placed in foster care.

Florida's Department of Children and Families had opened a child protection investigation within the past few days to look into a complaint involving the Barahona family, and it wasn't the first such complaint, spokesman Mark Riordan said.

Reporters in the courtroom Wednesday heard tales of abuse, mainly concerning the twins, from state officials and experts.

The caller to the child protection hotline in the latest case reported that the twins were routinely locked in a bathroom for long periods of time and had been bound with tape, the court heard. The story was corroborated by interviews with the other two children in the home, officials said in court.

An investigator told the court that she went to the family's home on February 11 but had not seen the children. Instead, she said, she left after speaking with Carmen Barahona, planning to return on Monday. Asked why she did not return sooner, she said, "I'm not allowed to do investigations on a weekend."

However, a spokesman for the department, John Harrell, said it is the job of investigators to follow through immediately or refer to someone else in the department to follow through when a matter is urgent.

G20 finance chiefs meet on global imbalances

2011-02-18T14:31:00.002+04:00

G20 finance chiefs meet on global imbalances

(AFP) – 1 hour ago

PARIS — G20 ministers gather in Paris Friday to hammer out common criteria for measuring global economic imbalances at a two-day session that host France hopes will lead to an overhaul of world finance.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to receive the ministers and central bankers from the 20 top developed and developing economies at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT) at the Elysee palace and give a speech, his office said.

Sarkozy has vowed to reform the world monetary system and commodities markets during his year at the G20 helm, saying he aims to defend poor economies from currency and trade turbulence.

Before treating the illness, however, leaders must agree on the symptoms so these talks -- the first official G20 gathering of France's presidency -- will seek to agree on the indicators to be used to measure the economic gaps between them.

"Once we have these indicators, and that's highly debated at the moment and will be in the next couple of days ... then we will move on to agree on guidelines" for action, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said on Thursday.

A source close to the negotiations said there has already been "quite tough debate" over the French plans, with the so-called "BRICS" -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- expressing strong reservations.

The BRICS nations have scheduled a side meeting at 1330 GMT on Friday ahead of the formal G20 talks. Separately, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will hold a closed meeting with Lagarde at 3:45 pm (1445 GMT), his office said.

Some Western powers see the talks as "a roundabout way of ultimately treating the problem of China," whose huge trade surplus and foreign currency reserves they see as the most important of the global imbalances, the source said.

The United States and other Western powers accuse China of holding down its currency to boost Chinese exports. China denies any such manipulation, blaming the imbalance on structural problems in its trade partners' economies.

China last year resisted a US proposal to stabilise current account balances by setting a four-percent cap on countries' deficits and surpluses.

Officials say questions on the agenda for Friday and Saturday include how to assess countries' current accounts, exchange rates, currency reserves, public budgets and private savings. But countries are haggling over the details.

The European Union, in a paper seen by AFP, has called for specific target figures to be fixed and has suggested postponing debate on the most sensitive issues if necessary.

"What we do not want is to dictate to one or the other country -- 'stop being competitive, stop exporting, stop consuming,'" Lagarde said on Thursday at a meeting of finance leaders.

"The goal is to to try to reach a better equilibrium that will be beneficial to all, from an inflation point of view for instance, or from a social fabric point of view."

I Am Number Four

2011-02-18T14:30:00.002+04:00

'I Am Number Four' movie review: Alex Pettyfer and Teresa Palmer toil in juvenile drama

JOE NEUMAIER

Friday, February 18th 2011, 4:00 AM

John Bramley

'I Am Number Four' stars Alex Pettyfer (l.) and Teresa Palmer as two aliens that fall to earth.

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With Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant. A teen from another planet battles space enemies and bullies. Director: D.J. Caruso (1:50). PG-13: Violence. At area theaters.

Just because a movie is about juveniles doesn't mean it has to be juvenile. "American Graffiti" wasn't a juvenile coming-of-age movie, nor was "The Breakfast Club" juvenile in its depiction of high school bonding. "Clueless" was a deft social satire, and "Adventureland" a rather mature teen romance.

Ah, but the teenage alien genre — surely that allows for immature clichés. Except this is a time that future pop-culture-ologists will carbon-date as after "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Heroes" departed, but before "X-Men: First Class" opened and "Twilight" concluded.

"I Am Number Four," with its gangly title, seems like a dimwitted cousin to those hipper properties — a Superman-come-lately tale of puppy love, extraordinary powers and puberty that's duller than a chalkboard and less powerful than an extraneous Jonas brother.

As "Four" opens, a malevolent space squadron is descending to Earth to find and exterminate nine aliens, all masquerading as humans and under the legal drinking age. The baddies, known as Mogadorians, are not a winemaking family, but a vampiric-looking race that decimated the good citizens of the planet Lorien. The nine targets are genius Lorien kids who escaped to Earth and scattered. The Mogadorians have turned three of them into dust.

Number Four is a teen (a dull Alex Pettyfer) who senses that his planet-mates have died because he gets glowing circular tattoos on his calf. Hitting the road with his warrior-guardian (a bored-looking Timothy Olyphant), the kid changes his name to John Smith and goes to tiny Paradise, Ohio, where he attends yet another school.

In Paradise, he meets the photography-obsessed Sarah ("Glee's" Dianna Agron), tussles with senior high bullies and befriends a geek (Callan McAuliffe). Yet Paradise seems to be the center of some weird UFO activities, and you know what that means: more Mogadorians. Good thing John is just learning how to use his telekinesis, light-shining hands and mega-jumping ability.

Adapted from a gummed-together young-adult fantasy novel by James Frey and Jobie Hughes — writing as Pitticus Lore — Caruso's movie assumes the mere appearance of tough Aussie chick Number Six (Teresa Palmer) will make it cool.

Actually, the only cool part is the appearance of huge monsters the Mogadorians unleash, which helps since the Mogadorians themselves look like rejects with bad makeup from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Or whichever show got transmitted to Lorien in the early 1990s.

Rose continues to stake claim for MVP

2011-02-18T14:29:00.002+04:00

CHICAGO

The matchup was plenty interesting on paper: The surprisingly resurgent Spurs against the underappreciated Bulls on the eve of the All-Star break.

ALL-STAR WEEKEND

When the game was over, though, all the story angles dropped down to a single question: How could any reasonably informed NBA observer not have Derrick Rose ranked No. 1 on the list of MVP candidates?

All he did against the league's best team Thursday was drop a career-high 42 points, to go with eight assists, and lead the Bulls to a convincing 109-99 victory over San Antonio at the United Center.

Take away Rose's four errant attempts from 3-point range and he hit 18 of 24 shots from the field. Sure, Tim Duncan's defense isn't what it used to be, but he resembled a yield sign on this night.

On the eve of training camp, Rose wondered out loud, "Why can't I be MVP?" Now that it has a chance of becoming reality, he has flipped his demeanor back to the usual humble setting.

"I was just trying to do whatever it takes to win and tonight, I guess, it was just scoring the ball," Rose said after dominating the Spurs.

Here's the issue that can't be ignored when it comes to this year's NBA MVP: Boston is sending four players to the All-Star Game this weekend, while Miami booked hotel suites for three players.

Rose's only All-Star travel companion is forward Taj Gibson, who's playing in the Rookie-Sophomore Game.

It's not as though the Bulls are a one-man show, but that long-haired figure on the bench was center Joakim Noah, sitting out his 30th game of the season because of right thumb surgery. The Bulls expect Noah to return when play resumes next week.

"I think anyone who's watched and seen the things he's done from the start of the season until now, I can't imagine anyone doing more," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of Rose.

Some analysts have been slow to hop aboard the "Rose for MVP" bandwagon. Sure, if the award was for the NBA's best player, LeBron James might lock it up for the next 10 years.

The description is "most valuable." As everyone knows, James left Cleveland so he'd have a better chance to win by aligning himself with two other All-Stars in Miami.

BLAKE'S BEST

Clippers rookie Blake Griffin is a slamming sight to behold. Watch his10 most hellacious dunks.

Doesn't that in itself preclude James from being the Most Valuable Player? Rose can't match James in rebounds, but otherwise their statistics are similar. The Bulls are just one loss behind the Heat in the standings, so Rose passes the team-success test.

One guy chose to make his life easier by taking his talents to South Beach. The other faces nightly double-teams but is producing similar results. The Cavaliers losing 26 straight games without James does not make him the MVP, either.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was appreciative after seeing Rose's best effort. The third-year guard also scored 33 points in the Bulls’ first meeting against the Spurs on Nov. 17.

"He has taken a monster leap this year," Popovich said. "What's really great about him is he seems to love the pressure of putting his team on his back. He has the character and the demeanor to do that."

The actual MVP ballots won't be due for another two months. The Bulls need to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference standings for Rose to have a realistic chance at the award.

That's why people are wondering what will happen when Noah returns to the lineup. Noah andCarlos Boozer have played together just nine times this season, and even then, Noah had already torn a ligament in his right thumb. He somehow managed to play for two weeks before having surgery Dec. 16.

The Bulls have kept pace with Boston and Miami even while Noah missed 30 games and Boozer skipped 18. That says as much about Rose as Thibodeau, who has lived up to his billing as a master strategist in his first year in Chicago.

"Thibs may be the most prepared coach in the league," Boozer said. "We trust in him and what his game plan is, then we go out and try to execute it."

The coach and star player are definitely on the same page. While Rose downplayed his performance Thursday, Thibodeau refused to place any special significance on a 10-point win over San Antonio.

"The statement is they did a good job getting ready to play," Thibodeau said of his players, providing the night's best punch line.

— Mike McGraw is in his 12th season covering the Bulls for the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago.

U.K. Retail Sales Surge on Rebound From Cold Weather

2011-02-18T14:28:00.002+04:00

U.K. retail sales rose almost four times as much as economists forecast in January as consumer spending rebounded after the coldest December in a century.

Sales gained 1.9 percent from the previous month, when they fell a revised 1.4 percent as snow and freezing temperatures kept Britons from shopping, the Office for National Statisticssaid today in London. The gain was the biggest since February 2010 and exceeded the 0.5 percent median forecast of 22 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. From a year earlier, sales increased 5.3 percent.

While the data add to evidence that the economy’s 0.5 percent contraction in the fourth quarter may have been a temporary setback to the recovery, retailers may face pressure this year. Inflation has accelerated to double the Bank of England’s target and tax increases may crimp spending power.

“It’s a big rebound,” said Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight in London. “It’s good news, but with rising inflation and low wage growth squeezing incomes and high unemployment and speculation of a rise in interest rates, I have serious concerns about consumer spending this year.”

The pound rose as much as 0.3 percent against the dollar after the data were published. It traded at $1.6213 as of 9:37 a.m. in London. Government bonds declined, with the yield on the 10-year gilt rising 2 basis points to 3.78 percent.

Tax and Snow

Sales at “non-specialized stores,” which includes department stores, jumped 5.7 percent in January from December and were up 10.7 percent on the year, the statistics office said. Clothing and shoe sales rose 3.4 percent on the month. Sales at food stores rose 0.3 percent on the month and fell 2.3 percent from a year earlier.

The statistics office said the government’s increase in value-added tax and the freezing weather affected demand in December and January and it estimates sales growth of 0.5 percent over the two months.

The food-store price deflator, a measure of annual price changes, rose to 5.2 percent in January from 5 percent in December. The deflator for all retail sales was 2.7 percent.

Consumer-price inflation accelerated to 4 percent in January, data this week showed. The rate may rise further as retailers pass on the government’s sales-tax increase, which took effect last month.

Excluding fuel, sales increase 1.6 percent in January from December and were up 5.3 percent on the year. Sports Direct International Plc, the U.K.’s No. 1 sporting-goods retailer, said yesterday that retail sales for the 13 weeks to Jan. 23 rose 14 percent and the company’s underlying performance has been “strong” since the end of last month.

‘Too Optimistic’

Internet sales accounted for 10 percent of all retail sales, compared with 7.6 percent a year earlier. Average weekly internet sales in January amounted to 523 million pounds ($847 million), the statistics office said.

The Bank of England said in its Inflation Report this week that consumer-price growth will accelerate this year before easing to its 2 percent target by the middle of 2012. Policy makerAndrew Sentance said yesterday that the projection is “too optimistic” and the central bank should raise its benchmark interest rate to tame price pressures.

Kingfisher Plc, Europe’s largest home-improvement retailer, said yesterday it expects a “particularly tricky” first half, with only a “slightly better second half” as the value-added tax increase and public-sector job cuts discourage spending.

Underlining the fragility of the U.K. labor market, jobless claims unexpectedly rose in January, while unemployment based on International Labor Organization methods rose by 44,000 in the fourth quarter to 2.49 million. Nationwide’s index of consumer sentiment dropped 7 points to 47 in January, almost erasing the 8-point gain in December, the lender said on Feb. 16.

PM: 'Multiculturalism has failed

2011-02-06T15:39:00.003+04:00

PM: 'Multiculturalism has failed'

5 February 2011 Last updated at 19:19 GMTHelp

David Cameron says multiculturalism in Britain has failed, during a speech to a security conference in Munich.

He said the UK needed a stronger sense of national identity to prevent people turning to extremism.

Meanwhile in the UK, rallies by the English Defence League (EDL) and Unite Against Fascism (UAF) groups have taken place in Luton town centre.

Laura Kuenssberg reports.

Bush cancels Swiss visit over arrest fears

2011-02-06T15:39:00.000+04:00

WASHINGTON: Former US President George W Bush has reportedly cancelled a visit to Switzerland amid concerns that he could be arrested for allegedly authorising the torture of prisoners.

The former American leader was due to speak at a charity gala, making the keynote speech at Keren Hayesod's annual dinner in the city of Geneva on February 12, the 'Sky News' reported online.

Human rights groups in the country, however, have been calling for the Swiss government to arrest Bush over allegations he had ordered the torture of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.

Court officials have said criminal complaints against Bush have been lodged in Geneva, but Swiss officials said that he would enjoy diplomatic immunity as a former head of state, the report said.

In his memoirs and television interviews, Bush has admitted to ordering use of waterboarding, which simulated drowning, as an interrogation technique.

Waterboarding is considered a form of torture which is a crime under international law, and human rights experts say absolute prohibition is very clear. Some left-wing groups had also called for a protest on the day of his visit.

Even Keren Hayesod's organisers said they felt the atmosphere had become too threatening.

"We didn't want to put people and property in Geneva at risk. The gala is maintained but George Bush will not take part. The criminal complaints did not weigh in the decision," the group's lawyer Robert Equey was quoted as saying
.

Fiat sees 4 mgt centres, Turin remains key-papers

2011-02-06T15:38:00.002+04:00

* Chairman sees mgt in Turin, Detroit, Brazil, Asia-paper

* CEO explains no decisions taken on organisation-minister

MILAN, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Italian car maker Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) sees four management centres, with the Italian city of Turin, its historical base, retaining a central role, several newspapers said on Sunday citing Fiat statements to politicians.

The clarifications by Fiat chiefs to government and regional politicians followed Friday's comment by Fiat's chief executive its headquarters could move to the United States after a merger with its affiliate Chrysler in two to three years. [ID:nN04207716]

"(Sergio) Marchionne (Fiat CEO) has explained the sense of the plans which refer exclusively to future possible company arrangements and which have not been decided," Italy's Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi said on Saturday.

No change is planned to the location of management and planning activities of the company in Turin, Sacconi said in his statement issued after he spoke to Marchionne.

Fiat Chairman John Elkann phoned Turin Mayor Sergio Chiamparino, la Repubblica said on Sunday. On Saturday, Chiamparino told the same newspaper a move of Fiat headquarters to the United States would be "unacceptable".

"Elkann has explained Fiat's strategy foresees the integration with Chrysler and that there will be more management centres where there is a strong market presence," the Turin mayor said in the newspaper on Sunday.

There will "one at Turin, one at Detroit for the United States, one in Brazil, and if possible, one in Asia" he said in the daily citing Elkann. (Writing by Nigel Tutt; Editing by David Holmes)

Two dead as Tunisian police fires on protesters

2011-02-06T15:37:00.003+04:00

(Reuters) - At least two people were killed and 17 others wounded in northern Tunisia on Saturday when police opened fire to quell a protest after a senior police officer slapped a woman in the face, official and media sources said.

The head of police in the city of El Kef was arrested after the shooting, an Interior Ministry source said.

Four policemen had been arrested earlier on Saturday on suspicion of links to the death on Friday of two civilians while in police custody in Sidi Bouzid, the epicenter of a popular revolt that ousted last month President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and reverberated across the Arab world.

Public confidence in the police has been at a low since the revolt, with many Tunisians blaming police officers for killing protesters and associating them with the ousted president.

A rally by hundreds of protesters in front of the police station in El Kef, north of the capital Tunis, degenerated when they tried to occupy its premises, the ministry source said.

"About 1,000 people gathered in a protest in front of El Kef's police station to demand the dismissal of the head of the police in the city for power abuse while exercising his duties," the source told Reuters.

Witnesses told state-run television that the protest started after the police chief slapped a woman in the face.

Protesters later pelted the police station with stones and threw fire bombs at the force guarding the building. Footage on state-run television showed a police van on fire.

"The police fired to prevent the protesters from breaking into the station," the ministry source said.

Four policemen were earlier arrested in Sidi Bouzid on suspicion they were linked to the death on Friday of two civilians after a police station they were locked in caught fire, a ministry spokesman said.

A young unemployed man from Sidi Bouzid, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in December to protest at his mistreatment by a police force member. He later died. His act started the anti-government protests which toppled Ben Ali.

Hackers Gained Access to Nasdaq Systems, but Not Trades

2011-02-06T15:37:00.000+04:00

Computer hackers have breached the systems of the company that runs the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York but did not penetrate the part of the system that handles trades, Nasdaq said Saturday.

The exchange’s operating company, Nasdaq OMX, said in a statement that it had discovered suspicious files on its United States servers, and that it immediately began conducting an investigation in conjunction with outside firms and federal law enforcement agencies.

Government and law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation said it was being handled by the F.B.I.’s cybercrimes branch along with the Justice Department. These officials also said it appeared that the trading platform was not breached.

An attack on banks and other pillars the financial system has long been a top fear of government officials because of the potential for harm to the economy.

Nasdaq is one of the country’s largest stock exchanges, and many of the nation’s most important companies use it to list their shares for trading. If there were evidence that hackers could breach the inner trading systems, it could cause jitters among the companies listed on the exchange and the traders and investors who buy and sell millions of shares each day.

But Nasdaq and market experts said there was an important distinction between the parts of the system that are connected to the Web, and thus more vulnerable, and the architecture for the trading platform, which Nasdaq says operates independently.

The company said it had determined that a Web-based application on its servers called Directors Desk, on which corporations can store and share information, might have been affected. Nasdaq said the suspicious files “were immediately removed and at this point there is no evidence that any Directors Desk customer information was accessed or acquired by hackers.”

“At no point was any of Nasdaq OMX’s operated or serviced trading platforms compromised,” the company said.

The company’s Web site says Directors Desk has 5,000 users.

A spokesman for the company said it discovered the suspicious files late last year.

The fact that investigators discovered suspicious files suggests that the breach involved the installation of malicious software, or malware, said Ed Stroz, a former FBI agent who is co-president of Stroz Friedberg, a firm that investigates cyberattacks.

In attacks on companies, Mr. Stroz said, hackers often plant malware that acts as a back door, which allows them to deliver other malicious programs to do other tasks, which could include copying sensitive data and delivering it to the intruder.

Malware could have been installed any number of ways, including with an attack through the Web interface of Directors Desk or by infiltrating an executive’s computer by tricking him into opening an attachment or clicking on a link to a malicious Web page in an e-mail.

Nasdaq now handles about 19 percent of stock trading in the United States, compared with 27 percent by the larger New York Stock Exchange and its electronic trading arm.

In a statement, the New York Stock Exchange said: “We take any potential threat seriously and we continue working at the highest levels of security and integrity.” The N.Y.S.E. would not say whether there had been any attempts to breach its systems or whether it had been contacted by federal investigators.

News of the breach was originally reported in The Wall Street Journal.

Nasdaq said it had refrained from notifying its customers of the breach at the request of the Justice Department, “in order to facilitate the continuing investigation,” but that when the Journal article appeared it consulted with authorities and decided to send out notice.

The Journal article said the investigation showed some evidence pointing toward Russia. One government official said investigators were specifically looking into that possibility, although the official said, “I don’t know what the basis for the belief is.”

The stock exchanges and the trading that takes place on them have become increasingly computerized, potentially making them more vulnerable to manipulation or attack. Like Nasdaq, the N.Y.S.E. has also adopted more electronic trading. And in the last five years or so, other electronic exchanges like Direct Edge and BATS Exchange have arisen, intent on prying trading away from the two bigger markets. Direct Edge and BATS each handle about 10 percent of the market.

A spokesman for the BATS Exchange said it had never had any hacking issue of this kind.

A spokesman for Direct Edge, Rafi Reguer, said it was continually monitoring its systems but was not aware of any serious attempt to penetrate its computers.

Reporting was contributed by Charlie Savage, Joseph Goldstein, Riva Richmond and William K. Rashbaum
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Cancer on the Rise in Developing Countries: Report

2011-02-06T15:36:00.002+04:00

FRIDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- To mark World Cancer Day, the American Cancer Society issued a new report Friday warning that changing lifestyles linked to economic growth in developing countries are driving up the global incidence of several cancers.

In fact, the majority of the world's new cancer cases and deaths (7.1 million and 4.8 million, respectively) are now occurring in economically developing countries, the authors of the report noted. And this, they say, reflects the growing adoption of unhealthy behaviors -- such as smoking, sedentary lifestyles and poor diets -- that typically accompany economic development.

The report, "Global Cancer Facts & Figures," highlights lung, breast and colorectal cancers as being particularly vulnerable to this dynamic.

Along those lines, about one-third of all cancer deaths that occurred worldwide in 2008 (equal to roughly 7,300 deaths per day) might have been avoided by focusing on preventable risk factors such as smoking, drinking, infection patterns and dietary habits, American Cancer Society chief medical officer Dr. Otis W. Brawley suggested in an editorial accompanying the report.

"The worldwide application of existing cancer control knowledge according to the capacity and economic development of countries or regions could lead to the prevention of even more cancer deaths in the next two to three decades," he stated in a news release from the society.

"In order to achieve this, however, national and international public health agencies, governments, donors, and the private sectors must play major roles in the development and implementation of national or regional cancer control programs worldwide," he added.

The full American Cancer Society analysis is slated to be published, along with Brawley's editorial, in the Feb. 4 edition of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

The authors of the report noted that as stark as global disease figures already were in 2008 (12.7 million new cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths), those numbers are expected to almost double by 2030 as the world's population both grows and ages.

In economically developed nations, as of 2008, prostate, lung and colorectal cancers are the most prevalent among men, while breast, colorectal and lung cancers are the most common among women.

By contrast, in developing countries, the biggest risk for men appears to be lung, stomach and liver cancers, with breast, cervical and lung cancers the primary cancer threats for women.

The authors also noted that while just 10 percent of all cancers in the economically developed world are a function of infection, that figure rises to one-quarter of all cancers in the economically developing world.

Sanofi, Genzyme Boards Said Near to Approving Takeover at About $74-Share

2011-02-06T15:35:00.002+04:00

Sanofi-Aventis SA and Genzyme Corp. are likely to approve a takeover of the U.S. biotechnology company today and are discussing a price of about $74 a share plus potential additional payments tied to the performance of a Genzyme drug, said four people with knowledge of the plan.

A so-called contingent value right, a tradeable contract tied to Genzyme’s experimental multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada, may be valued at about $3 when it begins trading and have a higher nominal value, said three people, who declined to be identified because the process is confidential.

The companies’ boards are scheduled to vote on the deal today and may make an announcement on Feb. 7, said the people. Sanofi is still working on its review of Genzyme’s business, an agreement hasn’t been reached, and terms could still change, the people said.

“As we have previously said, we’ve signed a confidentiality agreement with Genzyme and are continuing to review non-public information,” Jean-Marc Podvin, a spokesman for Paris-based Sanofi, said in a telephone interview. “Those talks continue to progress. We have no further comment.”

Bo Piela, a spokesman for Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Genzyme, declined to comment.

Excluding the CVR, a deal may value Genzyme at about $19.2 billion. Genzyme rose 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $73.40 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading on Feb. 4. Sanofi gained 30 cents, or 0.6 percent, to 50.30 euros in Paris.

‘Good Deal’

Acquiring Genzyme, the world’s largest maker of medicines for rare genetic disorders, would help Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher offset revenue losses as some of Sanofi’s biggest-selling products face competition from generic versions. Sanofi would gain treatments for Fabry, Gaucher and Pompe diseases.

“Genzyme is a good deal for Sanofi,” Frederic Aubel, a sales trader at Global Equities in Paris, said in a telephone interview. “It seems as if they will be paying a good price, and the CVR will protect them from potential bad surprises.”

Genzyme has projected peak annual sales of as much as $3.5 billion for Lemtrada, known as Campath when used for blood cancer. Sanofi said in October that analysts’ estimates of about $700 million were a valuation “probably closer to the reality of the product.” Lemtrada is in the final stages of testing and Genzyme expects data from those trials this year.

Merck-Schering

The acquisition would be the biggest industry takeover since Merck & Co. bought rival Schering-Plough Corp. for about $47 billion in November 2009, according to Bloomberg data.

Viehbacher began pursuing Genzyme last year when the U.S. company was focused on fixing manufacturing snags that cut into sales of its biggest products after a virus contamination at a Boston-area factory. Shire Plc took market share from Genzyme, and Genzyme’s stock sank as much as 43 percent from a 2008 high, causing unrest among shareholders.

The Sanofi chief told Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer, 64, of his interest in acquiring Genzyme in a May 23 conversation, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last year. Sanofi announced a $69-a-share, $18.5 billion cash bid on Aug. 29 after Termeer refused to negotiate. The French company went directly to shareholders with a hostile tender offer on Oct. 4 after Genzyme continued to spurn the offer as too low.

Starting Talks

Sanofi said the offer allowed Genzyme shareholders to cash out after “quite a lengthy period” when the stock underperformed. Genzyme fired back that the offer was “inadequate and opportunistic.” The company already had been targeted by activist investors Ralph Whitworth of Relational Investors LLC and Carl C. Icahn, who gained four of 13 board seats last year in compromises brokered with Genzyme to avoid a proxy battle.

The companies later began negotiations over the proposal and said Jan. 31 that they had started due diligence. Genzyme said it would provide data such as profit margins and customer lists, which Sanofi agreed not to divulge. The $69-a-share tender offer is set to expire Feb. 15.

Genzyme’s top-selling medicine, which garnered $722 million in sales in 2010, is Cerezyme, a mass-produced version of a human enzyme missing in patients with the inherited illness Gaucher disease. The medicine had sales of more than $1 billion in 2007 and 2008 before shortages caused by the plant contamination.

Genzyme’s Drugs

Fabrazyme, used to treat the genetic illness Fabry disease, and Myozyme and Lumizyme for Pompe disease, similarly provide patients with enzymes their bodies fail to make or produce adequately on their own.

Unlike the pills produced by traditional drug companies, Genzyme’s medicines are made using biological processes and can’t be readily copied by generic-drug makers. Genzyme garners premium prices from insurers and government payers because the therapies provide life-saving benefits.

Genzyme, founded in 1981, has about 10,000 employees and 12 manufacturing facilities worldwide, according to the company’s website. Its products are available in almost 100 countries.

Genzyme is being advised by Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sanofi is advised by Evercore Partners Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley.

Charlie Sheen's Porn Star -- Spreading for GQ

2011-02-06T15:34:00.003+04:00

Nothing says "high society" like a cocaine-fueled bender with Charlie Sheen ... so maybe that's why hisporn star party pal just scored a fancy photo shoot with GQ Magazine.

TMZ has learned Kacey Jordan -- the chick who got paid $30k to kick it with Sheen during his bender -- struck a pose for a GQ shoot in Beverly Hills yesterday.

Must have been a whole new experience for Kacey -- she's not used to posing with her clothes on.

Inception and Social Network win Writers Guild awards

2011-02-06T15:34:00.000+04:00

Sci-fi thriller Inception and Facebook movie The Social Network have won the main prizes at the Writers Guild of America (WGA) awards.

Inception, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best original screenplay, while The Social Network was named best adapted screenplay.

The King's Speech, which is nominated for 12 Oscars, was ineligible for the awards and did not make the shortlist.

Winners were announced at simultaneous ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles.

British-born film-maker Christopher Nolan, who wrote, produced and directed Inception, called the award an "incredible honour".

He said the prize would have been more significant if "certain other screenplays" had been nominated, without naming The King's Speech.

Nolan added that he had been "heartbroken" when the script for Memento had fallen outside WGA guidelines nine years ago.

Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin said: "I wrote a good screenplay, but [director] David Fincher made a great movie."

The writers of Mad Men were honoured for best television drama, with Boardwalk Empire collecting the award for outstanding new TV drama.

British screenwriter Peter Morgan, whose previous credits include The Queen and Frost/Nixon, was awarded for his work on small screen drama The Special Relationship.

The WGAs are seen as a good indicator of which films will win writing plaudits at the Oscars, because many of its members also belong to the Academy.

Sanders, Faulk among 7 joining Hall of Fame

2011-02-06T15:32:00.002+04:00

DALLAS -- Two of the most electrifying players of their generation are going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with the man who chronicled their exploits.

First-year eligibles Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk were voted to the Hall of Fame on Saturday, along with NFL Films founder Ed Sabol.

Joining them in the seven-man class selected in a 71/2-hour meeting were defensive end Richard Dent, tight end Shannon Sharpe and seniors committee candidates Chris Hanburger and Les Richter, linebacker stars of previous eras.

The most spirited debate in the discussion concerned Sabol, who turned a small film company into a legacy-building empire.

NFL Films, with its extreme slow-motion shots, dramatic music and the booming baritone of announcer John Facenda, shaped the way many football fans view the game.

His supporters insisted the 94-year-old Sabol set the stage for the dramatic growth of the NFL's popularity, pushing it far beyond baseball and college sports.

Sanders and Faulk were considered favorites and proved to be, pushing through the lengthiest meeting in the committee's history.

While not all favored his cover-first style, Sanders defined the cover corner position at a time when he hopscotched between the NFL and major league baseball and became a cross-cultural icon.

Faulk's recognition stemmed from his exploits as the backbone of "The Greatest Show on Turf," the St. Louis offenses from the 1990s. Faulk is ninth on the league's all-time rushing list and 16th all-time in receptions, showing the kind of versatility that made those Rams teams so dangerous.

Dent pushed through in his ninth year of eligibility, finally being recognized for his defining pass rush in an era that was only beginning to quantify it. His 137.5 sacks rank sixth all-time, but his tough defense against the run made him one of the stalwarts of one of the league's great defenses. He was named MVP of Super Bowl XX after forcing two fumbles and registering 1.5 sacks in the Bears' win.

Sharpe changed the way the tight end's role was viewed. Though he was an able blocker, he left the game as the leader in receptions (815), yards (10,060) and touchdowns (62) by a tight end.

Hanburger and Richter were chosen by the veterans committee, which brings forgotten stars back for discussion. Hanburger played at North Carolina before his stellar career with the Washington Redskins, while Richter was one of the league's original enforcers for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950s and early '60s.

In addition to the seniors committee candidates, 15 players were finalists.

Wide receivers Cris Carter and Tim Brown, defensive ends Chris Doleman and Charles Haley, and running back Jerome Bettis were eliminated in the first cut to 10.

When the list was reduced to the final five candidates, center Dermontti Dawson, defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, running back Curtis Martin, wide receiver Andre Reed and offensive tackle Willie Roaf fell by the wayside.

Thailand, Cambodia seek border calm

2011-02-06T15:31:00.002+04:00

BANGKOK — Thailand and Cambodia said they were working to defuse border tensions a day after the neighbours agreed to end fierce fighting near a disputed temple that killed at least five people.

Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has faced pressure from the powerful "Yellow Shirts" at home for his handling of the issue, on Sunday said the "army and foreign ministries from both countries are working to normalise the situation".

In a sign that the situation remained strained after heavy fighting around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, he added that incident "shows that we never fail to protect our sovereignty" on his weekly television address.

A Cambodian military commander stationed at Preah Vihear said the situation was "tense".

"Both sides are still on alert," he said, adding that the Thai and Cambodian armies had held a meeting Sunday and were working together to try to improve the situation.

The neighbours traded heavy weapons fire in an area around the Hindu temple, which is claimed by both countries, on Friday and each said the other had used mortars, rockets and artillery.

Observers say the border issue is being used to stoke nationalist sentiment at home in both Thailand and Cambodia.

Cambodia has said two of its soldiers and one civilian were killed in Friday's fighting, while Thailand said a villager on its side of the border also died.

A Thai soldier was killed in a brief resumption of hostilities on Saturday morning.

The media in both countries have suggested the toll could be much higher, however, with Thai newspapers suggesting 64 Cambodian soldiers were killed. Across the border, it was reported that at least 30 Thai troops had died.

Villages were evacuated on both sides of the frontier when the fighting erupted.

Around 8,000 people fled their homes on the Thai side alone, according to Somsak Suwansujarit, the governor of border province Sri Sa Ket, who said people had started to return to their houses on Sunday.

"The situation is improving," he added.

Both sides have blamed the other for sparking the worst violence in more than two years.

Ties between the neighbours have been strained since the temple was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear itself belonged to Cambodia, although its main entrance lies in Thailand and the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area around the temple is claimed by both sides.

Around 5,000 "Yellow Shirts", a force to be reckoned with in Thailand's colour-coded politics, gathered outside the government compound in Bangkok on Saturday calling for the prime minister's resignation over the issue.

It has been suggested that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could move to mediate in the row and sources in the Cambodian foreign ministry have said ASEAN chair and Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa will visit the country on Monday.

But the subject of the meeting is unknown and Abhisit on Sunday dismissed ASEAN intervention as "unnecessary".

Lindsay Lohan Prosecutor -- Deja Vu 2/5/2011 7:40 PM PST by TMZ Staff

2011-02-06T15:30:00.003+04:00

TMZ has learned veteran L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers -- one of the toughest prosecutors in the D.A.'s office -- has been tapped to prosecute Lindsay Lohan ... again.

Meyers prosecuted Lindsay in her DUI case, so she is no stranger to the actress. But, as TMZ first reported ... Lindsay will now face felony grand theft and felonies are Danette Meyers' specialty.

Meyers has prosecuted cases for more than two decades and has become a go-to person in a variety of felony trials. She has been named Prosecutor of the Year twice.

After Lindsay violated her probation, Meyers sought jail time for the actress.

Meyers, who is a candidate for L.A. County District Attorney, could not be reached for comment.

Egypt impasse continues

2011-02-06T15:30:00.000+04:00

As the Egyptian government tries to get the country back to work, security has been tightened around Tahrir Square.
Banks and businesses are planning to re-open, but the pro-democracy protestors are still out there with their demand for Mubarak's ouster.
Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group, is holding talks with the government and outcome of the talks will be crucial in the days to come.

Pittsburgh Steelers have the legendary Rooney family on their side this Super Bowl Sunday Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2011/02/06/2011-02-06_clash_of_the_two_titans.html#ixzz1DB3YKT7f

2011-02-06T15:29:00.003+04:00

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and I'm rooting for the father of the ambassador to Ireland. The ambassador is Dan Rooney, and his dad was Art Rooney, founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Still, this poses a problem, as I'll explain later.

When I was a young shaver, for reasons I didn't understand at the time, I always imagined myself marching abreast of the solid, honest teachers of sports. Later, in my newspaper career, I found myself in the company of men such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Lapchick, Vince Lombardi, Weeb Ewbank, Ray Arcel and Wellington Mara. These were the leaders who I thoroughly admired, and, I'm grateful to say, they returned that admiration. This pleased me, because this was the best way to understand sports.

So, you get the idea where my values lie. Art Rooney, who died in 1988 at age 87, was a man I got to know through the years. From his Pittsburgh home, he paid many visits to New York for functions. We sat together many times, frequently broke bread together and talked sports.

Art Rooney was a battler. He loved to box and was damn good with his dukes as an amateur. He was a great gentleman who never failed to doff his hat to a passing lady. He was the sort of old gent you hardly see anymore. He was genuine and true to all people, big or small. He always had a twinkle in his eye and a relaxed half-smile that made his Irish face look friendly as he puffed on his ever-present cigar. Rooney seemed to be the man who could settle any matter.

I have two Super Bowl footballs from Mr. Rooney, which he signed as the owner of the NFL champions. With the football always came a box of cigars.

Byron (Whizzer) White, who was a football star before he became Justice White of the U.S. Supreme Court, once said this about Rooney: "I played for Art and later got to know him real well, and I can honestly say he is the finest man I have ever met in my life." High praise coming from a guy who himself was a very special person.

This is why I like Pittsburgh. Not because of Ben Roethlisberger, not because Big Ben is better than Aaron Rogers; I like Pittsburgh for one reason: Art Rooney.

Now here's the rub: Vince Lombardi was also a friend. I knew him and his wife, Marie, who would collect all my cartoons when I dubbed him "Mount Lombardi." She made a coffee-table book of all my originals and showed it off to guests. Lombardi was another one of those straight-from-the-shoulder guys, sure of himself and his vast talents, who taught fine football players to be even finer.

Lombardi, like those other giants I mentioned earlier, Dempsey, Lapchick and the rest, had that undefeatable attitude when the game went down to the wire. He expected a win. History shows he usually got it.

Reagan had fond memories of Chicago apartment where he spent year as a child

2011-02-06T15:29:00.000+04:00

CHICAGO (AP) — When people think of Illinois places with ties to President Ronald Reagan, their thoughts likely run to central parts of the state.

But Reagan also lived in Chicago. He spent a year at an apartment in President Barack Obama's neighborhood of Hyde Park from 1914 to 1915 when he was 3 or 4.

Reagan would have turned 100 Sunday. Centennial celebrations have been held around the country.

The six-flat Chicago building where the Reagans lived is vacant. There's no plaque to mark its history.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Reagan had fond memories of the place.

In a 1988 letter, he described watching horse-drawn firefighters gallop down his street.

Reagan was born in the central Illinois town of Tampico, grew up in Dixon and Monmouth and attended college in Eureka.

Iran opens trial of U.S. detainees

2011-02-06T15:28:00.002+04:00

TEHRAN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian court Sunday opened a close-door trial of three detained Americans accused of spying, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The three Americans were arrested in Iran on July 31 last year for illegally entering Iran from its western borders and were charged with espionage last November.

In November, the Iranian Judiciary spokesman said that Iran would try two detained Americans, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, after Sarah Shourd was back to Iran.

The female U.S. hiker Sarah Shourd once jailed in Iran with the other two Americans was released by Tehran's prosecutor in September on bail of 500,000 U.S. dollars due to her health situation.

Lawyer of the three Americans said Saturday Sarah Shourd has prepared defense.

"She has prepared and sent a defense to be presented at the court irrespective of her presence or absence in the trial process, " Massoud Shafiei told ISNA.

The U.S. government considered the charges totally unfounded.

Muslim Brotherhood joins Egypt crisis

2011-02-06T15:27:00.000+04:00

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- As Egyptians began a 13th day of protests Sunday under what appears to be a cracking regime, the Muslim Brotherhood said it will meet with the country's vice president -- days after the group said it would not negotiate until President Hosni Mubarak leaves office.

"We did not change our stance. We decided to take the people's demands to the negotiation table," Essam el-Erian, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, told CNN.

The meeting with Vice President Omar Suleiman is scheduled to begin late Sunday morning.

It's the latest development in national political talks after key members of the embattled ruling party resigned Saturday.

In the strongest gesture yet to satisfy angry Egyptians who have been protesting for almost two weeks, party leaders of the ruling National Democratic Party stepped down, state television reported.

Sunday afternoon, anti-government protesters in the square said. Muslim protesters said they will form a ring around the Christians to protect them during the service. The Mass will take place at 2 p.m. (7 a.m. ET), and participants are expected to pray for those have died during clashes.

Anti-government protesters have said they will continue demonstrating until Mubarak steps down. But the embattled Mubarak, however, remained in his position as head of the party's higher council and as head of state despite popular demands that he relinquish power immediately.

Mubarak's son, Gamal, the once presumptive heir, was among those who resigned from party posts, meaning that he is no longer eligible to take over after his father.

Mubarak has already announced he will not seek re-election in a September vote. Gamal Mubarak's resignation effectively puts to rest a widespread belief that the embattled president was preparing for a dynastic handover.

The United States has been mounting pressure on Mubarak to step aside. On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking at a security conference in Germany, said it is "important to follow the transition process announced by the Egyptian government, actually headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman."

U.S. President Barack Obama, in phone calls with foreign leaders Saturday, emphasized the importance of an "orderly, peaceful transition" to a government that is "responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people."

The diplomatic official who delivered a message from the Obama administration to Egypt's leadership this week, however, said Mubarak "remains utterly critical in the days ahead as we sort our way toward the future" and must stay in office.

Changes are needed in Egypt to pave the way for a smooth transition, and "the president must stay in office in order to steer those changes through," said Frank Wisner, a former ambassador to Egypt. "It's his opportunity to write his own legacy."

U.S. officials emphasized that Wisner was speaking for himself, as an expert on the region, and not for the Obama administration.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke with Suleiman by phone Saturday and asked about negotiations he had with several opposition leaders and intellectuals about Egypt's future.

"He stressed the need for a concrete reform agenda, a clear timeline, and immediate steps that demonstrate to the public and the opposition that the Egyptian government is committed to reform," according to the White House.

Biden also called for the immediate release of journalists and activists who have been detained without cause, the White House said.

Read what Egypt's prime minister says about journalists

The restructuring of Egypt's ruling party Saturday included the elevation of Hossam Badrawi, a more liberal-minded politician who is taking over as the ruling party's secretary-general. The U.S.-educated physician could add a reformist flavor to the party's direction.

Mubarak's foes questioned whether the moves are meaningful or merely cosmetic.

Leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei dismissed the resignations as another in a series of small, hiccupping reforms. Mubarak, he said, has shown no sign he understands the people want a complete overhaul.

"It's about the whole shift to democracy," said ElBaradei, a Nobel laureate whose National Association for Change wants to see an immediate change in power.

Egypt

Hosni Mubarak

"I'm ready to engage when we believe that Mr. Mubarak is ready to step down," he told CNN. "We do not want to be part of a ploy."

Demonstrators on the streets also felt Mubarak was just trying to appease the people. One even called the moves a "sedative."

"This is just one silly attempt to calm down the street, but the regime is still there," said Sameh Bakri in the city of Suez. "They don't want to get straight to the point and resolve the real problem."

"This is just part of the drama that the regime is playing, a maneuver, just a sedative to calm down the masses," said Mohammed Mahmoud in the coastal city of Alexandria. "We need a peaceful transition and we know very well what the regime is trying to do. They are trying to buy time, so they can smuggle their money out of the country, the money that they robbed from the Egyptian people all these years."

The shakeup was announced almost two weeks into Egypt's tumult as thousands of demonstrators held their ground. It was was unclear what would happen next and what role Egypt's powerful military would play in resolving the crisis.

Among the opposition proposals under discussion is Article 139 of the constitution, which allows for the vice president to assume control if the president is no longer able to serve.

At least one opposition group, the leftist Tagammu party, is asking the government to activate the article's powers so that Suleiman can take charge immediately and allow Mubarak to make a graceful exit.

Tagammu and the liberal Wafd party met with Suleiman on Saturday, but Wafd party leader Munir Fakhri said the talks are in a stalemate.

"As long as the protesters are not ready to lower the level of their demands -- very bluntly their demand is that President Mubarak leaves, quits -- and as long as the regime refuses to take steps towards meeting at least part of those demands I think it's very difficult to reach a compromise."

A group of independent elites calling themselves the Committee of the Wise -- intellectuals, artists, diplomats and businessmen -- wants to be at the table during crucial government transition talks.

They called on protests to continue at Tahrir Square every Tuesday and Friday until Mubarak "resigns and makes true the demands of the people." Mubarak may remain as a symbolic leader, they said, but should delegate responsibility to Suleiman for the transition period.

Some opposition groups, however, are refusing to come to the table until Mubarak steps down.

"The so-called dialogue is the first step to exhaust this revolution. The president must go," said Mohammed Habib, deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood, an opposition Islamist umbrella group that is officially banned but tolerated in Egypt.

Saturday's talks took place, as crowds massed again in downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square for protests demanding an end to Mubarak's 30-year authoritarian rule over the Arab world's most populous nation.

The justice minister announced that courts would reopen Sunday and the government eased its daily curfew, making the hours 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

"We're in better shape," Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq said on state television. "And we can sense that day by day."

Interior Ministry spokesman Ismail Othman said the army would remain neutral, working only to prevent clashes and chaos between opposing groups.

ElBaradei's National Association for Change and the Tagammu party's leader announced Saturday a newly formed opposition group of 10 people, including ElBaradei, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Beltagy and liberal Ghad party leader Ayman Nour.

They called for Mubarak's immediate resignation and the right for peaceful demonstration.

"We have been in agreement right now that we'd probably have a presidential council of three members including somebody from the army," ElBaradei told CNN. "We have a caretaker government ... who would then run the country for a year, prepare the grounds for the necessary changes in the electoral process to ensure that we will have all that we need for a free and fair election," he said.

Death toll from Brazil rains tops 500

2011-01-15T11:08:00.002+04:00

Rio de Janeiro – At least 511 people have died as a result of downpours over the last four days in the Serrana region of the southeastern state of Rio de Janeiro in one of the worst natural disasters in Brazilian history, authorities said Friday.

Floods and mudslides caused 228 deaths in the city of Teresopolis, 225 in Nova Friburgo, 39 in Petropolis and 19 in Sumidouro.

The death toll could increase still more since firefighters have not been able to reach many places isolated by the destruction of bridges and highways, and by the tons of mud and stones covering built-up areas in the mountains.

Authorities also said they were afraid the situation would get worse because of the forecast that rains will continue over the next few days, though not has heavy as the storm that flooded the region Tuesday night.

Friday before dawn the rains continued but were lighter and the authorities received no reports of any more mudslides.

"What worries us are the coming hours and days, since more rains are forecast. And the problem is not restricted to these four municipalities - there are others that suffered from the rains and areas still at risk from mudslides," Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral said.

Though morgues were full to capacity in cities of the Serrana region and there were even bodies in parking lots, police have managed to identify 470 of the victims.

Several of the affected areas, covered with mountains of mud and garbage, remain in total chaos because they are isolated and without electricity or telephone service.

Emergency management work continued without pause early Friday in Teresopolis, but had to be suspended in the other three municipalities for lack of electricity and because of the rain itself.

The dimension of the tragedy has been attributed both to climate change, which increased the intensity of the rains that normally fall in Brazil during this season of the year, as well as to the unregulated, disorderly settlements on the mountainsides of the Serrana region.

Cabral said that municipal authorities in the Serrana region have been very "permissive" toward the construction of housing on mountainsides that have been considered high-risk areas over the last 30 years.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who flew by helicopter Thursday over the most affected areas, commented that the biggest problem is that "housing in high-risk areas has become the rule in this country and not the exception."

Besides the fatalities, the tragedy has left some 10,000 people homeless and a still undetermined number missing, officials say.

93-Year-Old Mob Figure Gets 8 Years

2011-01-15T11:07:00.002+04:00

By CHRIS HERRING

John "Sonny" Franzese, a convicted mobster and major figure in New York City's mafia history, was given eight years for extortion, a penalty that could effectively serve as a life sentence for the 93-year-old.

The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn federal court, was less than the 12 years prosecutors sought. Mr. Franzese faced a maximum of 15 years on the charges, which alleged that he shook down Manhattan strip clubs and a Long Island pizza restaurant.

Richard Lind, an attorney for Mr. Franzese, argued before the sentencing that a long sentence would be pointless and tantamount to a life sentence. When the judge asked Mr. Franzese if he had anything to say prior to being sentenced, he uttered, "I didn't get a fair…" before Mr. Lind stopped him from talking by covering the microphone.

Mr. Franzese, who regularly took in performances by Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., has a long criminal history as an underboss in the Colombo crime family. His first arrest, on an assault charge, came in 1938. He spent his life in and out of prison.

"This was certainly a legendary New York gangster," said Jerry Capeci, who's written on the city's five crime families for decades. "He had his hands in a lot of legitimate businesses, from the record industry to bars and nightclubs. But he also had a reputation of violence and as a guy who got away with murder."

Indeed, prosecutors had an FBI agent testify Friday, citing a taped conversation in which Mr. Franzese said he played a role in 60 gangland killings.

According to the agent, Vincent D'Agostino, Mr. Franzese said he considered putting out a hit for his own son, John Franzese Jr., who had testified against him and acted as an FBI informant.

Mr. Lind, who said he plans to appeal the sentence, suggested that his client's talks were simply empty boasting.

Over the years, as Mr. Franzese became one of the city's best known mobsters, he also developed into one of law enforcement's biggest thorns.

Joe Coffey, a retired NYPD detective who dealt with mafia investigations, said Mr. Franzese was a hard catch.

"Even with his old age, it's a big deal to put him away," he said of the sentencing. "He's the epitome of a criminal."

He recalled a time where detectives were trailing Mr. Franzese into Jahn's, a now-defunct ice cream parlor in Queens, during the dead of winter. The detectives watched the man take his coat off and place it on a chair. They assumed he'd stay for a while before coming out, presumably allowing them to pick him up. They retreated to their warm car and waited about 20 minutes for him to come out.

The authorities, still seeing the coat on the chair, assumed he couldn't have left. But when they walked in to figure out what had taken him so long, they found that he'd escaped through a separate exit, apparently knowing the authorities were after him.

As Sudan votes in referendum, US shows continued involvement

2011-01-15T11:06:00.000+04:00

News broke today (Editor's note: This post was written on Jan. 12.) that the turnout of voters in the southern Sudan referendum has surpassed the 60 percent threshold required for the vote to be deemed credible. It is an important technical milestone, especially in conjunction with the uniformly positive readouts on the first four days of polling from observers. The US for one has a significant presence, between both the Carter Center mission and the deployment of US officials to observe the vote in five out of the 10 states in South Sudan.

The independence vote is “going extremely well” said US Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson in ajoint press conference with lead US negotiator Princeton Lyman in Washington, D.C. Tuesday. “[W]e are pleased with the high level of turnout and the cooperation of officials in both north and south Sudan,” Carson said.

“There's been no problems at all throughout the area,” said Ambassador Lyman, who added that the voting environment in the North was well organized, with no overt security problems. (It’s worth pointing out, however, that an atmosphere of intimidation in the North surrounding the referendum led to low turnout during the voter registration process weeks ago.)

But US messaging during this critical phase has rightly not been limited to felicitations. It has also focused attention on the many political obstacles still to overcome – an encouraging sign that US diplomatic engagement will remain at a high level in the coming months.

“Now, a lot of technical work has been done,” said Lyman with regards to the many post-referendum issues northern and southern leaders have to work out. “But the tough political decisions on these issues remains to be done,” he said.

Aside from deciding how to split oil revenues after secession, the two Sudanese governments have yet to decide on what citizenship options will be given to southerners in the North, whether and how debt will be shared, and the status of Abyei (which in recent days saw an outbreak of violence that the UN Secretary General said was deeply concerning) among other technical economic and legal issues. Given these realities, US officials have emphasized that this week’s referendum vote is a beginning, not an end.

“[N]o matter what happens, it’s the beginning of a new chapter because issues are going to have to continue to be resolved,” said Senator John Kerry in a press conference in Juba. “We are prepared – in fact, anxious – to be part of helping to write that next chapter.”

And in a hopeful sign of continued US commitment from the very top, this message of “beginning” headlined President Barack Obama’s Sudan op-ed published in The New York Times on the first day of voting.

“[L]asting peace in Sudan will demand far more than a credible referendum,” said Obama, who emphasized the need for a political solution in Darfur in addition to those outstanding issues related to secession. The administration recently appointed former ambassador Dane Smith as the lead US negotiator for Darfur.

US incentives, including removal from the state sponsors of terrorism list, normalization of relations, and ending economic sanctions, remain on the table as a means of influencing the Sudanese government’s decision-making in the way forward. In Tuesday’s press conference, Lyman elaborated on the timing of these incentives, saying that completion of the referendum and acceptance of its results would prompt the US government to begin examining removal of Sudan from the sponsors of terrorism list. Consultations with Congress and other reviews would begin, Lyman said.

Actual removal of the state sponsor designation probably would not take place until July and would require resolution of post-referendum issues and Abyei, according to Lyman.