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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Pussy Riot Member Withdraws Prison Release Plea

Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova

WARSAW – Jailed Pussy Riot musician Maria Alyokhina withdrew her application for an early release, while her bandmate, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova resumed her hunger strike on Oct. 18.

Alyokhina explained her move as a gesture of solidarity with Tolokonnikova.

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"I have no moral right to take part in this court hearing at a time when my friend and fellow convict Nadezhda Tolokonnikova does not have such opportunity," Alyokhina was quoted as saying by the Russian wire service RIA Novosti. She also called for an early release for all female convicts who have small children, just like Tolokonnikova and herself.

Meanwhile, Tolokonnikova, who was moved back from the hospital to her prison on Oct. 17, has resumed a hunger strike, according to the Twitter account of Gruppa Voina (@gruppa_voina), affiliated with Pussy Riot. Tolokonnikova’s husband, Pyotr Verzilov, explained her decision by the fact that Tolokonnikova’s demands about transferring her to another prisons were not fulfilled.

STORY: Paul McCartney, Elton John, 100 Other Stars Appeal for Pussy Riot Release

Tolokonnikova originally went on a hunger strike on Sept. 23 out of protest against poor treatment of inmates at correctional facility #14 in Mordovia, southeast of Moscow. She suspended the hunger strike on Oct. 1 due to health complications, but said she was ready to resume if her demands were not met. Her hunger strike put the correctional facility under scrutiny, and instances of mistreatment of inmates were discovered.

Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova are serving two-year sentences for the anti-Putin “punk prayer” they performed at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in February of 2012. They are due for release in April 2014.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/music/~3/ukHjaJ7m1Qg/story01.htm
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Saturday, October 19, 2013

Katy Perry Reveals Kate Hudson Friendship; Singer's Real Name Is Katheryn Hudson!

Katy plus Kate equals BFFs! Katy Perry revealed that she and Hollywood stunner Kate Hudson not only share a love for the California sunshine -- the two are actually quite good friends as well.

And, Perry pointed out, the pair even share a name!

"When we text, it's like 'Hudson here,'" Perry, whose real name is Katheryn Hudson, said during the SiriusXM Town Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 15. "We are buds and we get along. …We have become friends and go to game nights together, we play this game called Mafia … we play it all the time."

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Among the games that Perry, 28, and Hudson, 34, play with their pals are Mafia and running charades.

"We stopped going to clubs and we started staying home and having game nights, which is really fun," Perry continued. "And she is super cool, she is gorgeous, to die for."

A few of Perry's other current girl crushes include Stevie Nicks, Gwen Stefani, and current on-the-rise pop star Ariana Grande.

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"I love her so much," the Prism singer gushed. "She has the best female vocal in pop music today, I would say. She has literally the best voice. Best voice live. She kills it."

"And I got to hang out with her and listen to her record [Yours Truly] before it came out because I wanted to reach out to her and just be like,'Hey girl, you're just about to go through a whirlwind,'" she said.

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To prepare for her own whirlwinds -- recording Prism, the followup to the mega-smash Teenage Dream -- the pop star said she escapes home to Santa Barbara, where she can feel like herself again.

"My hometown is a lot of the reason why I get to kind of go back to the feeling of when I was a teenager, when I was 13 and I picked up the guitar and was inspired by music," she said. "And I still am inspired by music but it’s nice I get to go home to Santa Barbara and feel like Katheryn Hudson, which is who I really am."

Source: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/katy-perry-reveals-kate-hudson-friendship-singers-real-name-is-katheryn-hudson-20131610
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JPMorgan Strikes Tentative $13B Mortgages Settlement

JP Morgan Chase & Company headquarters in New York.

Emmanuel Dunand /AFP/Getty Images

JP Morgan Chase & Company headquarters in New York.

Emmanuel Dunand /AFP/Getty Images

In what would be the largest such settlement in U.S. history, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reportedly reached a tentative deal with the Justice Department that would see the bank pay $13 billion to settle civil charges related to wrongdoing by some of its units just before and during the housing crisis.

The deal, sources tell news outlets including NPR, would not absolve JPMorgan from possible criminal liability.

Word of the tentative agreement emerged around 3 p.m. ET. Saturday. We posted when the news broke and followed with background and more details.

Our original post and subsequent updates follow. Scroll down and "read up" if you want to see how the story developed.

Update at 5 p.m. ET. Sources Tells NPR About The Tentative Deal:

Two sources familiar with the talks tells NPR Justice correspondent Carrie Johnson that the tentative agreement was reached Friday night and that the language of the deal is still being written. But the sources said the general outlines of what's been reported are correct.

Update at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Accusations:

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, as Bloomberg notes, "accused JPMorgan and its affiliates of making false statements and omitting material facts in selling $33 billion in mortgage bonds to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Sept. 7, 2005, through Sept. 19, 2007. The regulator said executives at JPMorgan, Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns Cos., which were acquired by JPMorgan in 2008, knowingly misrepresented the quality of the loans underlying the bonds, among other things, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan."

Update at 4 p.m. ET. No Release From Criminal Liability:

"The tentative deal does not release the bank from criminal liability, a factor that had been a major sticking point in the discussions," according to Reuters' source for the story.

Update at 3:45 p.m. ET. "Moving Closer" And Some Details:

The New York Times characterizes the news this way: JPMorgan and Justice "are moving closer to a $13 billion settlement." The Times adds that:

"The bank would be expected to pay about $9 billion in fines, according to a person briefed on the negotiations. JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank, is also likely to spend $4 billion in relief for struggling homeowners, another person briefed on the talks said."

Update at 3:35 p.m. ET. Settlement Would Be A Record:

ABC News had previously noted that the settlement was expected to be the "largest-ever payment in the history of financial regulation," topping the "previous record when BP paid out $4.5 billion following criminal charges related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill." Fox Business calls it the "largest-ever settlement involving a U.S. company."

Update at 3:20 p.m. ET. Deal Reportedly Reached Friday:

According to CNBC, "Attorney General Eric Holder and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, along with two lawyers, struck the deal Friday after the market close."

Bloomberg News reports that "the settlement amount, which increased from $11 billion to $13 billion during negotiations [Friday] night, the person said, includes a $4 billion accord with the Federal Housing Finance Agency over the bank's sale of mortgage-backed securities."

3:08 p.m. ET. We're seeing multiple reports that:

— "J.P. Morgan has reached a $13 billion tentative settlement with the Justice Department." (The Wall Street Journal)

— "JPMorgan Chase has reached a $13 billion tentative deal with the Justice Department, said a person familiar with the negotiations." (CNBC)

— "JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reached a tentative resolution of all civil mortgage-related matters with the U.S. Department of Justice, a person familiar with settlement negotiations said." (Bloomberg News)

— "JPMorgan Chase & Co has reached a tentative $13 billion deal with the U.S. Justice Department to settle a range of mortgage issues, a source close to the talks said on Saturday. The settlement does not include any release from criminal liability for the bank, the source said." (Reuters)

NPR's Business Desk is working the story. We'll update as things develop.

At $13 billion, the settlement would be about $2 billion more than recent reports had predicted. As The Associated Press has written, JPMorgan had been:

"Said to be discussing an $11 billion national settlement with the Department of Justice over mortgage-backed securities. The securities lost value after a bubble in the housing market burst, helping to bring on the financial crisis."

Last month, as we wrote, the bank "agreed to acknowledge that it violated federal securities laws and [to] pay $920 million in penalties assessed by regulators in the U.S. and U.K. to settle charges related to the huge trading losses racked up by its London traders last year."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/19/237762312/reports-jpmorgan-reaches-13-billion-mortgages-settlement?ft=1&f=1001
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Microsoft is rolling out a third update for Windows Phone 8--the most distinctive feature of which i

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Source: http://gizmodo.com/microsoft-is-rolling-out-a-third-update-for-windows-pho-1444778676
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AP PHOTOS: Skid Row, a battle of misery and hope

George Mendez, foreground, a 55-year-old recovering alcoholic, sits in front of a drunk woman in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel during World War II and the Vietnam conflict, and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Sonya Martinez, 38, who says she has been homeless for 10 years off-and-on, sits in San Julian Park while waiting for her husband in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013. In the last week of January 2013, The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority counted 1,020 homeless people on the street and 2,443 in an emergency shelter or in transitional housing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A recovering drug addict walks past a sign during a narcotics anonymous meeting in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Homeless people attend a daily Bible study class at the Emmanuel Baptist Rescue Mission in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Thursday, July 18, 2013. The church doubles as a shelter for homeless men and the Bible study attendance is required in order to get a bed assignment. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A woman casts a shadow on the shutters of a closed store with a "God Loves You" message written on it in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles has been home for thousands of homeless people, a tenuous comfort zone for many who hit the rock bottom of their lives in America.

The area, originally agricultural until the 1870s when railroads first entered Los Angeles, has maintained a transient nature through the years from the influxes of short-term workers, migrants fleeing economic hardship during the Great Depression, military personnel during World War II and the Vietnam War and low-skilled workers with limited transportation options who need to remain close to the city's core, according to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

It's also a battleground where the poor fight merciless drug addiction and alcoholism.

On Skid Row they're offered a place to sleep, food, counseling and even spiritual support. Some win the battle and turn their miseries into testimonies. Others don't. It's not a rare scene on Skid Row to spot addicts doing drugs in the open even when police patrol the area.

Temptation lurks on every corner of the grid — but so do helping hands.

The fight continues today. The warm afternoon sunlight shines on those who sleep on the sidewalk.

Here's a gallery of images from Skid Row by photographer Jae C. Hong.

___

Follow AP photographers and photo editors on Twitter: http://apne.ws/15Oo6jo

Follow Jae C. Hong on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaethephotog

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-10-19-Skid%20Row-Photo%20Essay/id-451a0327bb6c460c937c9c1f6a66aabc
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Former Oilers coach Bum Phillips dies at 90

HOUSTON (AP) — Bum Phillips, the folksy Texas football icon who coached the Houston Oilers during their Luv Ya Blue heyday and also led the New Orleans Saints, died Friday. He was 90.

"Bum is gone to Heaven," son Wade Phillips tweeted Friday night. "Loved and will be missed by all — great Dad, Coach, and Christian."

Phillips died at his ranch in Goliad.

Wade Phillips is the Houston Texans' defensive coordinator.

Born Oail Andrew Phillips Jr. in 1923 in Orange, Phillips was a Texas original in his blue jeans, boots and trademark white Stetson — except at the Astrodome or any other dome stadium because he was taught it was disrespectful to wear a hat indoors.

"Mama always said that if it can't rain on you, you're indoors," Phillips said.

Phillips loved the Oilers and when coaching the team in the 1970s, he famously said of the Cowboys: "They may be 'America's Team,' but we're Texas' team."

He took over as coach of the Oilers in 1975 and led Houston to two AFC Championship games before he was fired in 1980. He was responsible for drafting Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, the player who was largely credited with the success of the franchise.

It was a time marked by a frenzied fan base that filled the Astrodome to root for the Oilers and wave their blue and white pompons during games.

Houston lost to Pittsburgh 34-5 in the AFC Championship game in Campbell's rookie year. The Oilers returned to the game the following season only to be beaten again by the Steelers, this time 27-13.

The Oilers went 11-5 in 1980 but lost to Oakland in the AFC wild-card round and Phillips was fired. He was 55-35 with the team in the regular season.

Fans loved his no-nonsense demeanor and were entertained by his often blunt comments

"Football is a game of failure," Phillips was quoted as saying. "You fail all the time, but you aren't a failure until you start blaming someone else."

Among his best Bumisms: "There's two kinds of coaches, them that's fired and them that's gonna be fired." On Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula: "He can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n." On Campbell's inability to finish a mile run: "When it's first-and-a-mile, I won't give it to him."

He left Texas to coach the Saints in 1981, going 27-42 before retiring after the 1985 season.

Phillips played football at Lamar Junior College before joining the Marines during World War II. After the war he went to Stephen F. Austin where he played two more football seasons before graduating with a degree in education in 1949.

He spent about two decades coaching in high schools and colleges mostly in Texas — he assisted the likes of Bear Bryant at Texas A&M, Bill Yeoman at Houston, and Hayden Fry at SMU — before making the jump to the AFL in 1967 as an assistant under Sid Gillman with the San Diego Chargers. Phillips came to Houston in 1974 as Gillman's defensive coordinator and became coach and general manager when Gillman resigned after that season.

Phillips picked up the nickname Bum as a child when his younger sister couldn't pronounce brother correctly and it sounded like bum. He embraced the nickname and was quoted as saying: "I don't mind being called Bum, just as long as you don't put a you in front of it."

Phillips did some work as an analyst on television and radio football broadcasts for a bit before retiring to his ranch in Goliad. He experienced some health problems in recent years and underwent a triple bypass in 2005.

Although he left Houston, he always remained fond of the city. The Oilers moved to Tennessee and became the Titans in 1997 and Houston returned to the NFL in 2002 when the Texans began play.

He was asked how he feels about the two teams in Texas in 2007 when son Wade was named coach of the Cowboys.

"Your son is coaching one team and the other team is the town you love more than any other," he said. "It's kind of hard to pull. They're not on the schedule, so I don't have to make that decision this year."

Wade Phillips talked about his father a few days after his 90th birthday. Houston led the Seahawks 20-3 at halftime on his birthday on Sept. 29, only to lose 23-20 in overtime. Wade Phillips told his dad that the first half of the game was his birthday present.

"He's real positive when you lose and gets on me when we win, saying, 'You better play better than that or you might not win the next one,'" Wade Phillips said.

He said his father was still sharing tips with him this season.

"He always gives me a little advice about why did you play this on that certain down and this stuff," Wade said. "He's sharp on all the football stuff."

Phillips is survived by his second wife, Debbie, and six children from his first marriage along with almost two dozen grandchildren.

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org