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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles officials are holding closed-door talks about a possible event for Michael Jackson on Tuesday at a downtown arena, a person with knowledge of the situation said Thursday.
chicagotribune.com - News
NAWA, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of U.S. Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages in southern Afghanistan on Thursday in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize the country.
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LE BOURGET, France (AP) — A French investigator says Air France Flight 447 did not break up in flight but plunged vertically into the Atlantic Ocean.
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Jobless Rate Hits Highest Yearly Loss in 4 Decades - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
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Washington Post Cancels Plans to Hold $$ Dinner - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
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Biden Makes Surprise Stop in Baghdad - FBI: Saddam Lied About WMD to Scare Iran - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
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Congressional Travel Tab Swells in Recent Years - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
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FOXBusiness: Trading Day Extended 15 Mins. at NYSE - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
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Obama 'Intimidated' as Tweens Invade Camp David - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
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Sanford to Meet With Family Over Holiday Weekend- Analysis: Paddling Politici... - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
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Free Cynthia - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
Cynthia McKinney, former Green Party presidential candidate, sits in Israeli prison after arrest off Gaza coast
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Get Covered ... or Pay Up - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:08pm
Americans who refuse to buy medical coverage may be hit with fines up to $1,000 under new bill by Senate Dems
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Private Pathologist: Asphyxia Likely Killed Carradine - 2 Jul 2009 at 8:01pm
The private pathologist who conducted a second autopsy on David Carradine's body said Friday that Thai authorities have determined the actor died of asphyxia and so far, he agrees
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Experts Find Soviet Parts in North Korean Missile - 2 Jul 2009 at 7:47pm
With concerns rising about a possible North Korean long-range missile test this weekend, two independent scientists say the rogue regime may be using an old Soviet ballistic missile to boost a rocket capable of reaching the West Coast of the U.S.
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Google has an impressive competitor in Microsoft's Bing.
ABC News: ABCNews
Ruth Madoff Asks to Keep Fur Coat as Home Seized - 9 minutes ago
The U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday took possession of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan home, an action that forced his wife to move elsewhere despite her plea to stay.
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6 more Illinois banks fail - 1 hour ago
John Warner, First State Bank, Rock River, Elizabeth State, First National of Danville, Founders shuttered by regulators Six Illinois banks and one bank in Texas were shuttered Thursday as government regulators proposed new rules for private equity firms seeking to take over failed banks. Regulators shut down John Warner Bank of Clinton, Ill.; First State Bank of Winchester in Winchester, Ill.; Rock River Bank of Oregon, Ill.; Elizabeth State Bank of Elizabeth, Ill.; Danville, Ill.-based The First National Bank of Danville; Founders Bank of Worth, Ill.; and Dallas-based Millennium State Bank of Texas, bringing the number of U.S. bank failures this year to 52. That's more than double the 25 which failed in all of 2008 and the three closed in 2007. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of all seven. The total cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund from the seven closings will be $314.3 million, the FDIC said. The failure of the six Illinois banks, which are all controlled by one family, resulted primarily from losses on investments in risky instruments known as collateralized debt obligations and other loan losses, the FDIC said. The closings bring to 12 the number of Illinois banks closed this year. Deposits of John Warner Bank were acquired by Lincoln, Ill.-based State Bank of Lincoln. Three John Warner Bank branches will reopen on Friday as branches of State Bank of Lincoln, the FDIC said in a statement. As of April 30, The John Warner Bank had total assets of $70 million and total deposits of approximately $64 million. In addition to assuming all the deposits of the failed bank, State Bank of Lincoln agreed to buy about $63 million of assets. The FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition. The deposits of First State Bank of Winchester were acquired by Beardstown, Ill.-based The First National Bank of Beardstown. Two offices will reopen on Monday under the new bank name. The First State Bank of Winchester had total assets of $36 million and total deposits of approximately $34 million as of April 30. The First National Bank of Beardstown also agreed to buy about $33 million of assets. Rock River Bank's deposits and most of its assets were acquired by The Harvard State Bank of Harvard, Ill. Four bank branches will reopen on Monday as Harvard banks. At the end of April, Rock River Bank had $77 million in assets and $75.8 million in deposits. The Elizabeth State Bank's two offices will reopen Monday as branches of Galena State Bank and Trust of Galena, Ill. In addition to assuming all of the failed bank's deposits, Galena agreed to buy $52.3 million of the bank's assets. The Elizabeth State Bank had total assets of $55.5 million and total deposits of $50.4 million at the end of April. The seven offices of The First National Bank of Danville will reopen on Monday as branches of First Financial Bank of Terre Haute, Ind., which assumed all of the bank's deposits. As of April 30, The First National Bank had total assets of $166 million and total deposits of $147 million. The PrivateBank and Trust Co. of Chicago agreed to assume all of the deposits of Founders Bank. Its 11 offices will reopen on Monday as branches of The PrivateBank, which also agreed to buy $888.4 million of assets. As of April 30, Founders Bank had total assets of $962.5 million and total deposits of $848.9 million. Millennium State Bank of Texas became the first bank in Texas to fail this year. Its sole office will reopen on Monday as a branch of Irving, Texas-based State Bank of Texas, which is assuming all of Millennium's deposits. State Bank of Texas also agreed to buy essentially all of the bank's assets. As of June 30, Millennium had total assets of about $118 million and total deposits of $115 million. Under new rules proposed Thursday by the FDIC, private equity firms seeking to buy failed banks would face strict capitalization and disclosure requirements, but some regulators already warn the proposal may go too far. The FDIC is seeking to expand the number of potential buyers for the growing number of banks it has closed during the financial crisis. With mounting interest from private equity firms, whose methods and motives aren't always clear, the FDIC is trying to set requirements to ensure the banks won't fail again. One of the new proposals under discussion would require investors to maintain a healthy amount of cash in the banks they acquire, keeping them at about a 15-percent leverage ratio for three years. Most banks have lower leverage ratios, which measure capital divided by assets. Investors also would have to own the banks for at least three years and face limits on their ability to lend to any of the owners' affiliates. Regulators said their intent was to tap into the potentially deep source of private equity, while ensuring that banks remain well capitalized once they are sold. "We want nontraditional investors," FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said at the board meeting. "There is a significant need for capital and there is capital out there." Still, some regulators worried that the rules could stifle a potentially valuable new source of investment. Bair said the proposal was "solid," but acknowledged that some details, including the high capital requirements, could be controversial. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said that the rules, which will now be subject to public comment, may be too restrictive. The Private Equity Council, a Washington-based advocacy group for firms, criticized the proposed FDIC guidelines. In a statement, the group's president, Douglas Lowenstein, said the proposals would "deter future private investments in banks that need fresh capital." The proposals will be subject to a 30-day public comment period, after which the bank regulators likely will meet again to finalize the rules, said FDIC spokesman David Barr. The FDIC monitors the health of banks to ensure that they have enough capital to stay afloat and cover their deposits. When banks get in trouble, the FDIC can seize and sell them. Prior to Thursday, the FDIC already had closed 45 banks this year, many of them community or regional institutions. That compares with 25 failures last year and three in 2007. The FDIC already has brokered two sales this year to entities controlled by private equity firms. In March, the government sold IndyMac Federal Bank for $13.9 billion to a bank formed by investors that included billionaire George Soros and Dell Inc. founder Michael Dell. But the business practices and ownership of the lightly regulated pools of investor funds often can be difficult to penetrate. The FDIC proposals include requirements meant to pry some information out of the investors, including disclosing the owners of private equity groups. The FDIC rules also would prevent the groups from using overseas secrecy laws to shield details of their operations. Under the regulations, banks also would not be sold to investors with so-called "silo" structures that make it hard to determine who is behind a private equity group. The FDIC had 305 banks with $220 billion of assets on its list of problem institutions at the end of the first quarter, the highest number since the 1994 savings and loan crisis.
chicagotribune.com - News
Distraught snake owner calls 911 to report strangled Florida toddler.
ABC News: ABCNews
WATCH VIDEO: Michael Jackson Rehearses, Days Before Death - 2 hours ago
Looking animated and focused, the "King of Pop" is seen here working on routines for his upcoming concert series at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 23. Two days later, he was dead at age 50.
ABC News: ABCNews
Obama: Putin Has 'One Foot in Old Ways' - 2 hours ago
AP Interview: Putin has 'one foot in old ways,' Obama says on Russia trip eve.
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City shuts Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin-Robbins store - 2 hours ago
chicagotribune.com - News
Obama plans another Chicago trip - 3 hours ago
chicagotribune.com - News
Utah Inmate Attempts Escape With Toilet Paper 'Bomb' - 1 hour ago
An Iron County inmate tried to escape from a correctional facility by fashioning a fake bomb, from toilet paper rolls, headphone wires and a pencil eraser, the sheriff's office said.
FOXNews.com
Autopsy: Carradine Died by Asphyxiation - 3 hours ago
Medical examiner Michael Baden does not rule out autoerotic death or homicide.
ABC News: ABCNews
The Mystery of the Shrinking Sheep - 3 hours ago
Why are they growing smaller? Study says warming climate.
ABC News: ABCNews
Thu
May
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2008
Welcome
21st Century Basics is now live. A replacement for Basics 4 Life, 21st Century Basics is the place to keep track of the activity on all of the 21st Century family of websites.
Posted by Steve Hayes at 01:11AM ·
