Analysis: Italian election explained











Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader


Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader


Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader


Austerity-hit Italy chooses new leader








STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back for the fourth time

  • The eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11%

  • Pier Luigi Bersani of the center-left Democratic Party is expected to narrowly win

  • Italy's political system encourages the forming of alliances




(CNN) -- Little more than a year after he resigned in disgrace as prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi is campaigning to win his old job back -- for the fourth time.


Berlusconi, the septuagenarian playboy billionaire nicknamed "Il Cavaliere," has been trailing in polls behind his center-left rival, Per Luigi Bersani.


But the controversial media tycoon's rise in the polls in recent weeks, combined with widespread public disillusionment and the quirks of Italy's complex electoral system, means that nothing about the race is a foregone conclusion.


Why have the elections been called now?


Italian parliamentarians are elected for five-year terms, with the current one due to end in April. However in December, Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party (PdL) withdrew its support from the reformist government led by Mario Monti, saying it was pursuing policies that "were too German-centric." Monti subsequently resigned and the parliament was dissolved.






Berlusconi -- the country's longest serving post-war leader -- had resigned the prime ministerial office himself amidst a parliamentary revolt in November 2011. He left at a time of personal and national crisis, as Italy grappled with sovereign debt problems and Berlusconi faced criminal charges of tax fraud, for which he was subsequently convicted. He remains free pending an appeal. He was also embroiled in a scandal involving a young nightclub dancer - which led him to be charged with paying for sex with an underage prostitute.


MORE: From Venice to bunga bunga: Italy in coma


He was replaced by Monti, a respected economist and former European Commissioner, who was invited by Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano to lead a cabinet of unelected technocrats. Monti's government implemented a program of tax rises and austerity measures in an attempt to resolve Italy's economic crisis.


Who are the candidates?


The election is a four-horse race between political coalitions led by Bersani, Berlusconi, Monti, and the anti-establishment movement led by ex-comedian Beppe Grillo. Polls are banned within two weeks of election day, but the most recent ones had Bersani holding onto a slender lead over Berlusconi, followed by Grillo in distant third.


READ MORE: Will Monte Paschi banking scandal throw open Italy's election race?


The center-left alliance is dominated by the Democratic Party, led by Bersani. He is a former Minister of Economic Development in Romano Prodi's government from 2006-8 -- and has held a comfortable lead in polls, but that appears to be gradually being eroded by Berlusconi.


Italy's political system encourages the forming of alliances, and the Democratic Party has teamed with the more left-wing Left Ecology Freedom party.


The 61-year-old Bersani comes across as "bluff and homespun, and that's part of his appeal -- or not, depending on your point of view," said political analyst James Walston, department chair of international relations at the American University of Rome.


He described Bersani, a former communist, as a "revised apparatchik," saying the reform-minded socialist was paradoxically "far more of a free marketeer than even people on the right."


Bersani has vowed to continue with Monti's austerity measures and reforms, albeit with some adjustments, if he wins.


At second place in the polls is the center-right alliance led by Berlusconi's PdL, in coalition with the right-wing, anti-immigration Northern League.


Berlusconi has given conflicting signals as to whether he is running for the premiership, indicating that he would seek the job if his coalition won, but contradicting that on other occasions.


In a recent speech, he proposed himself as Economy and Industry Minister, and the PdL Secretary Angelino Alfano as prime minister.


Roberto Maroni, leader of the Northern League, has said the possibility of Berlusconi becoming prime minister is explicitly ruled out by the electoral pact between the parties, but the former premier has repeatedly said he plays to win, and observers believe he is unlikely to pass up the chance to lead the country again if the opportunity presents itself.


Berlusconi has been campaigning as a Milan court weighs his appeal against a tax fraud conviction, for which he was sentenced to four years in jail last year. The verdict will be delivered after the elections; however, under the Italian legal system, he is entitled to a further appeal in a higher court. Because the case dates to July 2006, the statute of limitations will expire this year, meaning there is a good chance none of the defendants will serve any prison time.


He is also facing charges in the prostitution case (and that he tried to pull strings to get her out of jail when she was accused of theft) -- and in a third case stands accused of revealing confidential court information relating to an investigation into a bank scandal in 2005.


Despite all this, he retains strong political support from his base.


"Italy is a very forgiving society, it's partly to do with Roman Catholicism," said Walston. "There's sort of a 'live and let live' idea."


Monti, the country's 69-year-old technocrat prime minister, who had never been a politician before he was appointed to lead the government, has entered the fray to lead a centrist coalition committed to continuing his reforms. The alliance includes Monti's Civic Choice for Monti, the Christian Democrats and a smaller centre-right party, Future and Freedom for Italy.


As a "senator for life," Monti is guaranteed a seat in the senate and does not need to run for election himself, but he is hitting the hustings on behalf of his party.


In a climate of widespread public disillusionment with politics, comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo is also making gains by capturing the protest vote with his Five Star Movement. Grillo has railed against big business and the corruption of Italy's political establishment, and holds broadly euro-skeptical and pro-environmental positions.


How will the election be conducted?


Italy has a bicameral legislature and a voting system which even many Italians say they find confusing.


Voters will be electing 315 members of the Senate, and 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies. Both houses hold the same powers, although the Senate is referred to as the upper house.


Under the country's closed-list proportional representation system, each party submits ranked lists of its candidates, and is awarded seats according to the proportion of votes won -- provided it passes a minimum threshold of support.


Seats in the Chamber of Deputies are on a national basis, while seats in the senate are allocated on a regional one.


The party with the most votes are awarded a premium of bonus seats to give them a working majority.


The prime minister needs the support of both houses to govern.


Who is likely to be the next prime minister?


On current polling, Bersani's bloc looks the likely victor in the Chamber of Deputies. But even if he maintains his lead in polls, he could fall short of winning the Senate, because of the rules distributing seats in that house on a regional basis.


Crucial to victory in the Senate is winning the region of Lombardy, the industrial powerhouse of the north of Italy which generates a fifth of the country's wealth and is a traditional support base for Berlusconi. Often compared to the U.S. state of Ohio for the "kingmaker" role it plays in elections, Lombardy has more Senate seats than any other region.


If no bloc succeeds in controlling both houses, the horse-trading begins in search of a broader coalition.


Walston said that a coalition government between the blocs led by Bersani and Monti seemed "almost inevitable," barring something "peculiar" happening in the final stages of the election campaign.


Berlusconi, he predicted, would "get enough votes to cause trouble."


What are the main issues?


There's only really one issue on the agenda at this election.


The eurozone's third largest economy is hurting, with unemployment surpassing 11% -- and hitting 37% for young people.


Voters are weighing the question of whether to continue taking Monti's bitter medicine of higher taxation and austerity measures, while a contentious property tax is also proving a subject of vexed debate.


Walston said the dilemma facing Italians was deciding between "who's going to look after the country better, or who's going to look after my pocket better."


He said it appeared voters held far greater confidence in the ability of Monti and Bersani to fix the economy, while those swayed by appeals to their own finances may be more likely to support Berlusconi.


But he said it appeared that few undecided voters had any faith in Berlusconi's ability to follow through on his pledges, including a recent promise to reverse the property tax.


What are the ramifications of the election for Europe and the wider world?


Improving the fortunes of the world's eighth largest economy is in the interests of Europe, and in turn the global economy.


Italy's woes have alarmed foreign investors. However, financial commentator Nicholas Spiro, managing director of consultancy Spiro Sovereign Strategy, says the European Central Bank's bond-buying program has gone a long way to mitigating investors' concerns about the instability of Italian politics.


Why is political instability so endemic to Italy?


Italy has had more than 60 governments since World War II -- in large part as a by-product of a system designed to prevent the rise of another dictator.


Parties can be formed and make their way on to the political main stage with relative ease -- as witnessed by the rise of Grillo's Five Star Movement, the protest party which was formed in 2009 but in local and regional elections has even outshone Berlusoni's party at times.


Others point to enduringly strong regional identities as part of the recipe for the country's political fluidity.


READ MORE: Italian Elections 2013: Fame di sapere (hunger for knowledge)







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Fighting rages in northern Mali after suicide bombs






BAMAKO: Tuareg militias battled Arab rebels in northern Mali Saturday, while French jets, US drones and Chad's elite desert forces were also in action in a major push to stamp out resistance from pockets of Islamist fighters.

After recapturing the north's cities from the Al Qaeda groups that had controlled them since April 2012, the six-week-old French-led offensive took the fight to the retreating Islamist insurgents' toughest desert bastions.

The Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA), a group formed in March last year, said it had attacked Tuaregs of the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) at In-Khalil, near the northern town of Tessalit -- the same area where suicide car bombers killed three people on Friday.

Boubacar Taleb, one of the MAA's leaders, told AFP: "We attacked In-Khalil at 0400 GMT and took control of the area."

Fighting in the area, which lies near Mali's border with Algeria, had stopped late Saturday afternoon, said Mohamed Ibrahim Ag Assaleh, a spokesman for the MNLA based in Burkina Faso.

Assaleh claimed the MNLA, which has been cooperating with French forces to flush out Islamists from northern Mali, had fought off "jihadist fighters" from the "Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), the MAA and Ansar Al-Charia" rebel groups that are vying for control of northern Mali.

MNLA had taken nine prisoners, he said, "six who claim to be from Mujao and three from Ansar Al-Charia".

According to a source at the MAA and regional security sources, French airstrikes in support of MNLA hit an empty vehicle belonging to the MAA near In-Khalil.

France's campaign will receive a boost with the imminent arrival of several Predator drones and 100 military personnel sent by the US to Niger to fly surveillance missions in support of French forces in Mali.

Earlier Saturday, the Al-Qaeda-linked MUJAO claimed responsibility for Friday's bombings and said it was specifically targeting the MNLA.

"Through the car bombings against MNLA elements in the In-Khalil zone, the MUJAO is committed to pursuing jihad against infidels," group spokesman Adnan Abu Walid Sahraoui said in a statement sent to AFP in Bamako.

On Thursday, MUJAO also claimed an attack in the northern city of Kidal where a vehicle exploded near a camp occupied by French and Chadian troops.

The mountainous Ifoghas region between Tessalit and Kidal is strategically important, seen as a stronghold for many Tuaregs and used by Islamists as a hideout from French forces.

On Friday, Chad, which also has troops in Mali, suffered its heaviest losses so far after clashes with Islamists in the Ifoghas region. The Chadian army said 65 Islamist fighters and 13 of its own were killed.

French President Francois Hollande praised the courage of the Chadian troops which he said was proof of "African solidarity toward Mali".

Speaking at the Paris Agriculture Show on Saturday, he said: "Our Chadian friends launched an offensive that was very tough, and with significant loss of life."

"These battles will continue. This now is really the final stage of the process...," he said.

France sent in troops on January 11 to help the Malian army oust Islamist militants who last year captured the desert north of the country.

Since then, thousands of soldiers from African countries have also deployed, and France plans to start withdrawing its troops next month.

In Saturday's statement, the MUJAO spokesman warned that future suicide attacks are planned in Mali's capital as well as in the capitals of Burkina Faso and Niger, whose troops are part of the African force in Mali.

He also demanded that the groups holding French hostages in the Sahel region and in Niger kill their victims in revenge against France, which he accused of "staging a crusade against Islam and Muslims".

Seven members of a French family, including four young children, were seized by kidnappers in Cameroon on Tuesday and are believed to have been taken over the border into Nigeria.

France's foreign ministry on Saturday warned travellers to West Africa, and Benin in particular, to be on high alert for kidnappings and attacks.

French-led forces met little resistance during the initial offensive that drove the Islamists from the main northern centres of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

Now, however, they are facing a guerrilla campaign that includes sudden raids, suicide attacks and land mines.

- AFP/jc



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Vatican denies rumors as pope prepares to step down





































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STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Top Vatican official condemns "often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories"

  • Rumors are intended to put pressure on cardinals, Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone says

  • Italy's La Reppublica has published allegations involving a shadowy network of gay clergy

  • Pope Benedict XVI is to stand down from office on Thursday




Rome (CNN) -- The Vatican sought Saturday to tamp down rumors involving sex, money and gay priests that have been swirling in the Italian media and have been linked by some to Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign.


The strongly-worded denial came on the eve of the pope's last Angelus blessing, expected to draw huge crowds of the faithful, before he stands down on Thursday.


Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said it was "deplorable" that as the time for the Roman Catholic cardinals to elect a new pope approaches, a rash of "often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories" has appeared.


Such unfounded stories "cause serious damage to persons and institutions," he said, and are an attempt to influence the cardinals' free will in the election "through public opinion."


Opinion: There's more to the Catholic Church than the pope








Bertone did not address the specific claims that were first published in La Repubblica, the country's largest circulation daily newspaper, on Thursday and Friday.


The newspaper stories center on an investigation last year by three cardinals into a scandal involving leaks from the Vatican.


La Repubblica, citing unnamed sources familiar with the investigation, alleged that the investigation revealed a series of scandals involving sex, money and power that touch cardinals, priests and lay people that work in the Vatican.


Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi declined to comment on La Repubblica's article in a media briefing on Thursday.


CNN Senior Vatican Analyst John Allen, also a correspondent with the National Catholic Reporter, suggested in a piece written Friday that unsourced speculation about a shadowy "gay lobby" within the Vatican should be taken with a grain of salt.


But, he said, while he doesn't know for sure if the three cardinals did investigate networks based on sexual orientation, "frankly, it would be a little surprising if they hadn't" -- given past scandals that have become public concerning clergy involved in homosexual activities.


The pope may well have been worn down by the "cumulative impact of the various meltdowns over the last eight years," Allen said.


"However," he added, "it's probably a stretch to draw a straight line between all of this and Benedict's resignation. For the most part, one has to take the pope at his word: He's stepping aside because he's old and tired, not because of any particular crisis."


The pontiff will leave office at 8 p.m. on February 28, two-and-a-half weeks after he shocked the Roman Catholic world by announcing his resignation.


The Vatican has said a new pope will be in place for the Church's Easter celebrations on March 31.


Benedict on Saturday concluded a week-long spiritual retreat, held to mark the Lenten period.


Addressing the clergy who had joined him, he thanked them "not only for this week, but for these past eight years that you have carried with me -- with great skill, affection, love and faith -- the weight of the Petrine ministry," referring to the papacy.


Benedict also met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday, an encounter described by the Vatican as "particularly warm and cordial."


Facts about Pope Benedict XVI


The pontiff is considering changing the Vatican constitution to allow a vote for his successor to begin before March 15, Lombardi said Wednesday.


Existing rules say the Roman Catholic Church's cardinals should start voting on a replacement from 15 to 20 days after the papal throne becomes vacant. With Benedict due to depart on February 28, the cardinals' conclave ordinarily would start no sooner than March 15.


But Lombardi has said that because Benedict was leaving the papacy through resignation rather than death, the Vatican would explore the possibility of selecting a new pope sooner than normally prescribed.


The so-called "Vatileaks" scandal last year led to the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, being convicted on charges of leaking private papers from the Vatican in a high-profile trial and sentenced to 18 months in prison.


Although Gabriele was pardoned weeks later by the pope, the whole affair -- which revealed claims of corruption in the church's hierarchy -- was damaging to the Vatican's reputation.


The latest media allegations, despite the strenuous Vatican denials, may add to the pressure for reform.


CNN's Hada Messia and Ben Wedeman reported from Rome, and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London.






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Govs make plea to Washington on budget cuts

The National Governors Association, a bipartisan collection of state executives meeting this weekend in Washington for their annual winter conference, delivered a timely message to lawmakers working on a deficit reduction package: balance the budget, by all means - but not at our expense.

"Deficit reduction should not shift costs from the federal government to the states," said NGA chairman Gov. Jack Markell, D-Del. "We know the cuts are coming, but we don't want to suffer disproportionately, and we want to have some input in terms of what that looks like."

"We understand that the federal government needs to make cuts," said NGA vice-chair Gov. Mary Fallin, R-Okla. "We're all concerned about our federal debt. We're just saying, as you identify federal cuts and savings, allow the states to realize those savings too."

Gov. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., explained that debate is not about the imperative of deficit reduction, but about what form it takes: "I haven't heard a single governor not recognize that the deficit and the level of indebtedness is a serious risk," he said, adding that states are willing to "share the pain" caused by cutbacks.

"We think it's very important that governors have a seat at the table," Markell said. "We are partners."

Several governors bemoaned the automatic spending cuts in the so-called "sequester" that are due to land on March 1.


"The uncertainty of sequestration is really harming our states and our national economy," said Fallin, arguing that "we can lessen the effect of sequestration if the states are given flexibility" in terms of how they spend federal money.

The sequester, said Hickenlooper, was originally designed to be "so odious, so repellent" that it couldn't possibly take effect. "This is something nobody wants. It's not a balanced, thoughtful compromise."

And Markell argued that the White House's repeated warnings on the dire impact of sequestration is "really important," saying it makes the cuts "more real for people."

The governors also addressed the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, noting a "divergence of opinions" among different states about how to approach the expansion.

"We believe the expansion of medicaid in [Oklahoma] would be unaffordable," said Fallin, noting that, despite her judgment on the issue, "We respect eachother's opinion."

Fallin repeatedly stressed the theme of flexibility, arguing that "more leeway" for states would produce better policy outcomes on a range of issues, from deficit reduction to health-care reform.

She also took aim at the nation's tax code, calling for federal tax reform and labeling the current U.S. tax structure "unwieldy."

Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who came all the way from Hawaii to attend the bipartisan executives' confab, admitted, "I can't really say I'm delighted to be here."

But as Abercrombie, a former House member from the Aloha State, stepped onstage, he greeted his former GOP House colleague Fallin with a smile and a handshake, later taking the opportunity to admonish an often-fractious Washington.

"It is possible," he said, "to set aside these Democratic and Republican and ideological points of view and concentrate on the object, which is to serve our people."

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Pistorius Family: 'Law Must Run Its Course'












South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius is spending time his family today after the athlete was freed on $113,000 bail Friday.


"We realise that the law must run its course, and we would not have it any other way," the Olympian's uncle, Arnold Pistorius said in a statement on Saturday.


The Pistorius family expressed their gratitude that the former Olympian was allowed out of jail before the trial.


"This constitutes a moment of relief under these otherwise very grave circumstances" said Arnold Pistorius."We are extremely thankful that Oscar is now home."


Pistorius, 26, is charged with premeditated murder in the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.


While the prosecution argued that the world-renowned athlete was a flight risk and had a history of violence, South African Magistrate Desmond Nair, who presided over the case, disagreed.


FULL COVERAGE: Oscar Pistorius


"He regards South Africa as his permanent place of abode, he has no intention to relocate to any other country" Nair said during his two hour ruling, before concluding with, "the accused has made the case to be released on bail."








'Blade Runner' Murder Charges: Oscar Pistorius Out on Bail Watch Video











Oscar Pistorius Granted Bail in Murder Case Watch Video





Pistoriuis will have to adhere to strict conditions to stay out of jail before the trial. He must give up all his guns, he cannot drink alcohol or return to the home where the shooting occurred, and he must check in with a police department twice a week.


Oscar Pistorius is believed to be staying at an uncle's house as he awaits trial.


RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Case: Key Elements to the Murder Investigation


During the hearing, the prosecution argued that Pistorius shot Steenkamp after an argument, while the defense laid out an alternate version of events saying Pistorius mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.


Nair took issue with the head detective originally in charge of the case, who he said "blundered" in gathering evidence and was removed from the case after it was revealed he is facing attempted murder charges.


RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Case: Lead Det. Hilton Botha to Be Booted From Investigation Team


After the magistrate's decision, cheers erupted in the courtroom from the Pistorius camp. Pistorius' trial is expected to start in six to eight months, with his next pre-trial court date in June.


Reeva Steenkamp Family Reaction


Steenkamp's father, Barry Steenkamp told the South African Beeld newspaper that the 26-year-old athlete will "suffer" if he is lying about accidentally shooting 29-year-old model.


PHOTOS: Oscar Pistorius Charged with Murder


Barry Steenkamp went on to say that the Pistorius will have to "live with his conscience" if he intentionally shot Reeva.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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Slovenian government slapped with no-confidence motion






LJUBLJANA: Slovenia's main opposition party Positive Slovenia (PS) filed Friday a no-confidence vote motion against the government, likely spelling an end for Prime Minister Janez Jansa's troubled administration.

"We have decided to bring this agony to an end," the head of PS's parliamentary group Jani Moderndorfer said after filing the motion in parliament.

The centre-left party suggested its acting leader Alenka Bratusek form a new government that will "pull Slovenia out of this political crisis and end the agony of Janez Jansa's government."

Slovenia's government has been slowly falling apart ever since the country's anti-corruption watchdog in January published the results of a probe containing corruption allegations against Jansa.

Two junior partners -- the pensioners' party DESUS and the Civil List (DL) -- quit the five-way ruling coalition after Jansa rejected their call to resign, with a third party, the People's Party (SLS), threatening to leave as well.

With support from just a third of deputies in the 90-seat parliament, Jansa's government is now unlikely to survive the no-confidence vote, which has to take place in the next seven days, although a date has not yet been set.

Moderndorfer said Friday that Bratusek had already met with the leaders of the opposition Social Democrats Party (SD) as well as DESUS and the Civil List, and had their support for a new government.

"We have agreed that all the conditions exist for us to make a step forward," the PS deputy said, describing the current turmoil as "the deepest political crisis in Slovenia's history."

The no-confidence vote motion was presented only hours after Foreign Minister and DESUS leader Karl Erjavec, as well as Health Minister Tomaz Gantar, quit the government in line with their party.

Former PS leader and Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Jankovic, who was also accused of irregularities by the anti-corruption watchdog in January, finally agreed to step down on Thursday, leaving the room free for Bratusek to represent the party.

PS won early elections in 2011, gaining 27 seats in parliament. But when it failed to agree on a coalition government, the mandate went to Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party, which has 26 seats.

- AFP/jc



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U.S. suing Lance Armstrong








By Michael Martinez, CNN


updated 2:40 PM EST, Fri February 22, 2013





































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STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • NEW: Talks between feds and Armstrong's legal team had collapsed, his attorney says

  • NEW: "We disagree about whether the Postal Service was damaged," attorney says

  • Armstrong's attorney confirms U.S. Justice Department has joined lawsuit

  • It says the federal government was defrauded of millions of dollars




(CNN) -- The U.S. Department of Justice has joined the whistle-blower lawsuit against cyclist Lance Armstrong that was originally filed by a former teammate, an attorney for Armstrong said Friday.


"Just a little while ago we got an email from the Department of Justice (DOJ) notifying us that DOJ is joining the case," attorney Mark Fabiani said in an e-mail to CNN.


Armstrong, the one-time legendary and now disgraced cyclist, has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.


The lawsuit accuses the former management of Armstrong's team of defrauding the federal government of millions of dollars because it knew about the drug use and didn't do anything.


The federal government had been evaluating for weeks whether to intervene in the lawsuit.


Another attorney for Armstrong, Robert Luskin, said that ongoing discussions between the federal government and Armstrong's legal team had collapsed.


"Lance and his representatives worked constructively over these last weeks with federal lawyers to resolve this case fairly, but those talks failed because we disagree about whether the Postal Service was damaged," Luskin said. "The Postal Service's own studies show that the Service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship -- benefits totaling more than $100 million."


Former teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test, filed the lawsuit in 2010 against the team, which was sponsored the U.S. Postal Service.


As of midday Friday, the whistle-blower suit remained under court seal.


The suit also names as defendants Johan Bruyneel, who had managed the U.S. Postal Service and Discovery racing teams on which Armstrong raced, and Tailwind Sports, which was the team's management entity, Fabiana said.


For years, Armstrong had denied drug use and blood doping, but he publicly admitted such use in January, three months after international cycling's governing body stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles.


That stripping came after a damning report by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency accused Armstrong and his team of the "most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program" in cycling history.


CNN's Jason Morris in Dallas contributed to this report.











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CNN asked for views on whether disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong deserves another chance.







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Armstrong has not only spent years vehemently denying using banned performance-enhancing drugs; he also has viciously attacked those who told what they knew about doping in the sport and implicated him in the process.







updated 4:27 PM EST, Tue January 15, 2013



The court of public opinion weighed in decidedly against Lance Armstrong, even before the broadcast of an interview in which he is said to acknowledge using performance-enhancing drugs after years of denials.







updated 9:26 AM EST, Tue January 15, 2013



Lance Armstrong's feat of winning seven consecutive Tour de France titles was like the demigod Hercules achieving his "Twelve Labors."







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The International Cycling Union announces hat Lance Armstrong is being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.




















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LaHood: Time for GOP to "wake up" to avoid "calamity" at airports

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today warned of the "enormous impact" the looming sequester budget cuts will have on air travel in America, given that his department will have to cut nearly $1 billion from its budget, with more than $600 million coming from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

As the one former Republican congressman in President Obama's cabinet, LaHood put the responsibility squarely on Republicans to step up and work with Democrats to find a way to avert the cuts, slated to kick in on March 1.

"What I'm trying to do is to wake up members of the Congress on the Republican side to the idea that they need to come to the table... so we don't have this kind of calamity in air service in America," he said. "So that we're not just taking a meat axe to one part of FAA."




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LaHood: GOP must "step up" on sequester to prevent air traffic "calamity"




Cutting $1 billion from the Transportation Department would affect dozens of programs, LaHood said. For instance, the vast majority of the FAA's nearly 47,000 employees will face furloughs, he said -- and the largest number of FAA employees are air traffic controllers.

The Transportation Department is beginning discussions with unions today to close more than 100 air towers with fewer than 150,000 flight operations a year, such as towers in Hilton Head, S.C., and San Marcos, Texas. It's also discussing eliminating overnight shifts in more than 60 towers.

"We're going to reduce the number of controllers, which will reduce their ability to guide planes in and out of airports," LaHood explained.

Flights to major cities like New York and Chicago could experience delays up to 90 minutes during peak hours, he said. Furthermore, with fewer employees on staff to efficiently deal with issues such as runway repairs, there could be even more delays. Customers would likely see these impacts around April 1 -- 30 days after the cuts go into effect.

"These are harmful cuts with real-world consequences that'll cost jobs and hurt our economy," LaHood said.

"Obviously, as always safety, is our top priority," he added. That said, he expects customers to be very angry.

"Nobody likes a delay. Nobody likes waiting in line," he said. "If we can't get our hamburger within five minutes... you know what happens. They start calling their member of Congress."

Most members of Congress agree the sequester cuts should be averted, but they've been incapable of agreeing how to do so. Democrats want to replace the cuts with a plan that includes some new tax revenue and spending cuts. Republicans, however, say they refuse to raise any new tax revenue, after agreeing to some new revenues during the "fiscal cliff" debate.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said it's "factually incorrect" to say both parties are unwilling to compromise -- Democrats, he pointed out, are willing to make significant spending cuts while the GOP is obstinately against any new tax revenue.

LaHood, who repeatedly pointed out he served as a Republican in Congress for 14 years, said, "I think Republicans need to step up here... I'm telling them to come to the table and start talking to Democrats to figure out how do we solve this."

He said he's talked to about half a dozen Republican congressional offices about the impact the sequester will have on the Transportation Department, and their response is "not good. They get it."

The secretary said it was "nonsense" to suggest he was exaggerating the impact of the sequester.

"It's going to be very painful for the flying public," he said.

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Jodi Arias' Friends Believe in Her Innocence












Accused murderer Jodi Arias believes she should be punished, but hopes she will not be sentenced to death, two of her closest friends told ABC News in an exclusive interview.


Ann Campbell and Donavan Bering have been a constant presence for Arias wth at least one of them sitting in the Phoenix, Ariz., courtroom along with Arias' family for almost every day of her murder trial. They befriended Arias after she first arrived in jail and believe in her innocence.


Arias admits killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander and lying for nearly two years about it, but insists she killed Alexander in self defense. She could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.








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Nevertheless, she is aware of the seriousness of her lies and deceitful behavior.


The women told ABC News that they understand that Arias needs to be punished and Arias understands that too.


"She does know that, you know, she does need to pay for the crime," Campbell said. "But I don't want her to die, and I know that she has so much to give back."


Catching Up on the Trial? Check Out ABC News' Jodi Arias Trial Coverage


The lies that Arias admits she told to police and her family have been devastating to her, Bering said.


""She said to me, 'I wish I didn't have to have lied. That destroyed me,'" Donovan said earlier this week. "Because now when it's so important for her to be believed, she has that doubt. But as she told me on the phone yesterday, she goes, 'I have nothing to lose.' So all she can do is go out there and tell the truth."


During Arias' nine days on the stand she has described in detail the oral, anal and phone sex that she and Alexander allegedly engaged in, despite being Mormons and trying to practice chastity. She also spelled out in excruciating detail what she claimed was Alexander's growing demands for sex, loyalty and subservience along with an increasingly violent temper.


Besides her two friends, Arias' mother and sometimes her father have been sitting in the front row of the courtroom during the testimony. It's been humiliating, Bering said.


"She's horrified. There's not one ounce of her life that's not out there, that's not open to the public. She's ashamed," she said.






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Would the pope vote be hackable?




The Conclave of Cardinals that will elect a new pope will meet in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Bruce Schneier: Rules for picking a new pope are very detailed

  • He says elaborate precautions are taken to prevent election fraud

  • Every step of the election process is observed by people who know each other

  • Schneier: Vatican's procedures, centuries in the making, are very secure




Editor's note: Bruce Schneier is a security technologist and author of "Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust Society Needs to Survive." In 2005, before the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, Schneier wrote a piece on his blog about the process. This essay is an updated version, reflecting new information and analysis.


(CNN) -- As the College of Cardinals prepares to elect a new pope, security people like me wonder about the process. How does it work, and just how hard would it be to hack the vote?


The rules for papal elections are steeped in tradition. John Paul II last codified them in 1996, and Benedict XVI left the rules largely untouched. The "Universi Dominici Gregis on the Vacancy of the Apostolic See and the Election of the Roman Pontiff" is surprisingly detailed.


Every cardinal younger than 80 is eligible to vote. We expect 117 to be voting. The election takes place in the Sistine Chapel, directed by the church chamberlain. The ballot is entirely paper-based, and all ballot counting is done by hand. Votes are secret, but everything else is open.



Bruce Schneier

Bruce Schneier



First, there's the "pre-scrutiny" phase.


"At least two or three" paper ballots are given to each cardinal, presumably so that a cardinal has extras in case he makes a mistake. Then nine election officials are randomly selected from the cardinals: three "scrutineers," who count the votes; three "revisers," who verify the results of the scrutineers; and three "infirmarii," who collect the votes from those too sick to be in the chapel. Different sets of officials are chosen randomly for each ballot.


Each cardinal, including the nine officials, writes his selection for pope on a rectangular ballot paper "as far as possible in handwriting that cannot be identified as his." He then folds the paper lengthwise and holds it aloft for everyone to see.


When everyone has written his vote, the "scrutiny" phase of the election begins. The cardinals proceed to the altar one by one. On the altar is a large chalice with a paten -- the shallow metal plate used to hold communion wafers during Mass -- resting on top of it. Each cardinal places his folded ballot on the paten. Then he picks up the paten and slides his ballot into the chalice.


Pope may change rules to allow earlier election


If a cardinal cannot walk to the altar, one of the scrutineers -- in full view of everyone -- does this for him.










If any cardinals are too sick to be in the chapel, the scrutineers give the infirmarii a locked empty box with a slot, and the three infirmarii together collect those votes. If a cardinal is too sick to write, he asks one of the infirmarii to do it for him. The box is opened, and the ballots are placed onto the paten and into the chalice, one at a time.


When all the ballots are in the chalice, the first scrutineer shakes it several times to mix them. Then the third scrutineer transfers the ballots, one by one, from one chalice to another, counting them in the process. If the total number of ballots is not correct, the ballots are burned and everyone votes again.


To count the votes, each ballot is opened, and the vote is read by each scrutineer in turn, the third one aloud. Each scrutineer writes the vote on a tally sheet. This is all done in full view of the cardinals.


The total number of votes cast for each person is written on a separate sheet of paper. Ballots with more than one name (overvotes) are void, and I assume the same is true for ballots with no name written on them (undervotes). Illegible or ambiguous ballots are much more likely, and I presume they are discarded as well.


Then there's the "post-scrutiny" phase. The scrutineers tally the votes and determine whether there's a winner. We're not done yet, though.


The revisers verify the entire process: ballots, tallies, everything. And then the ballots are burned. That's where the smoke comes from: white if a pope has been elected, black if not -- the black smoke is created by adding water or a special chemical to the ballots.



Being elected pope requires a two-thirds plus one vote majority. This is where Pope Benedict made a change. Traditionally a two-thirds majority had been required for election. Pope John Paul II changed the rules so that after roughly 12 days of fruitless votes, a simple majority was enough to elect a pope. Benedict reversed this rule.


How hard would this be to hack?


First, the system is entirely manual, making it immune to the sorts of technological attacks that make modern voting systems so risky.


Second, the small group of voters -- all of whom know each other -- makes it impossible for an outsider to affect the voting in any way. The chapel is cleared and locked before voting. No one is going to dress up as a cardinal and sneak into the Sistine Chapel. In short, the voter verification process is about as good as you're ever going to find.


A cardinal can't stuff ballots when he votes. The complicated paten-and-chalice ritual ensures that each cardinal votes once -- his ballot is visible -- and also keeps his hand out of the chalice holding the other votes. Not that they haven't thought about this: The cardinals are in "choir dress" during the voting, which has translucent lace sleeves under a short red cape, making sleight-of-hand tricks much harder. Additionally, the total would be wrong.


The rules anticipate this in another way: "If during the opening of the ballots the scrutineers should discover two ballots folded in such a way that they appear to have been completed by one elector, if these ballots bear the same name, they are counted as one vote; if however they bear two different names, neither vote will be valid; however, in neither of the two cases is the voting session annulled." This surprises me, as if it seems more likely to happen by accident and result in two cardinals' votes not being counted.


Ballots from previous votes are burned, which makes it harder to use one to stuff the ballot box. But there's one wrinkle: "If however a second vote is to take place immediately, the ballots from the first vote will be burned only at the end, together with those from the second vote." I assume that's done so there's only one plume of smoke for the two elections, but it would be more secure to burn each set of ballots before the next round of voting.


The scrutineers are in the best position to modify votes, but it's difficult. The counting is conducted in public, and there are multiple people checking every step. It'd be possible for the first scrutineer, if he were good at sleight of hand, to swap one ballot paper for another before recording it. Or for the third scrutineer to swap ballots during the counting process. Making the ballots large would make these attacks harder. So would controlling the blank ballots better, and only distributing one to each cardinal per vote. Presumably cardinals change their mind more often during the voting process, so distributing extra blank ballots makes sense.


There's so much checking and rechecking that it's just not possible for a scrutineer to misrecord the votes. And since they're chosen randomly for each ballot, the probability of a cabal being selected is extremely low. More interesting would be to try to attack the system of selecting scrutineers, which isn't well-defined in the document. Influencing the selection of scrutineers and revisers seems a necessary first step toward influencing the election.


If there's a weak step, it's the counting of the ballots.


There's no real reason to do a precount, and it gives the scrutineer doing the transfer a chance to swap legitimate ballots with others he previously stuffed up his sleeve. Shaking the chalice to randomize the ballots is smart, but putting the ballots in a wire cage and spinning it around would be more secure -- albeit less reverent.


I would also add some kind of white-glove treatment to prevent a scrutineer from hiding a pencil lead or pen tip under his fingernails. Although the requirement to write out the candidate's name in full provides some resistance against this sort of attack.


Probably the biggest risk is complacency. What might seem beautiful in its tradition and ritual during the first ballot could easily become cumbersome and annoying after the twentieth ballot, and there will be a temptation to cut corners to save time. If the Cardinals do that, the election process becomes more vulnerable.


A 1996 change in the process lets the cardinals go back and forth from the chapel to their dorm rooms, instead of being locked in the chapel the whole time, as was done previously. This makes the process slightly less secure but a lot more comfortable.


Of course, one of the infirmarii could do what he wanted when transcribing the vote of an infirm cardinal. There's no way to prevent that. If the infirm cardinal were concerned about that but not privacy, he could ask all three infirmarii to witness the ballot.


There are also enormous social -- religious, actually -- disincentives to hacking the vote. The election takes place in a chapel and at an altar. The cardinals swear an oath as they are casting their ballot -- further discouragement. The chalice and paten are the implements used to celebrate the Eucharist, the holiest act of the Catholic Church. And the scrutineers are explicitly exhorted not to form any sort of cabal or make any plans to sway the election, under pain of excommunication.


The other major security risk in the process is eavesdropping from the outside world. The election is supposed to be a completely closed process, with nothing communicated to the world except a winner. In today's high-tech world, this is very difficult. The rules explicitly state that the chapel is to be checked for recording and transmission devices "with the help of trustworthy individuals of proven technical ability." That was a lot easier in 2005 than it will be in 2013.


What are the lessons here?


First, open systems conducted within a known group make voting fraud much harder. Every step of the election process is observed by everyone, and everyone knows everyone, which makes it harder for someone to get away with anything.


Second, small and simple elections are easier to secure. This kind of process works to elect a pope or a club president, but quickly becomes unwieldy for a large-scale election. The only way manual systems could work for a larger group would be through a pyramid-like mechanism, with small groups reporting their manually obtained results up the chain to more central tabulating authorities.


And third: When an election process is left to develop over the course of a couple of thousand years, you end up with something surprisingly good.


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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bruce Schneier.






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