Boxing promoter offers Chris Brown, Drake $1 million each to duke it out
A celebrity boxing promoter is hoping to capitalize on the alleged nightclub brawl between singer Chris Brown and rapper Drake by offering them $1 million each to take their beef to the ring.
The promoter, Damon Feldman, also says he is asking singer Rihanna to be a ring girl at the bout, but acknowledged she’ll likely pass.
Feldman says he has the financial backing of businessman Alki David and that he’ll donate $1 million to a charity that helps abused women if the fight takes place.
The fight, he said, would feature three minute-long rounds with the participants donning oversized gloves and protective head gear.
Feldman is no stranger to publicity. He has put on fights featuring ex-baseball outfielder Jose Canseco, Lindsay Lohan’s dad Michael and Rodney King.
Feldman says he has not received a response from either Drake or Brown.
And while Drake tweeted about his dry cleaning, and Brown about a helpful stewardess, neither made mention of the offer on their Twitter pages.
Meanwhile, police continue their investigation into the bottle-throwing melee allegedly between Drake and Brown and their entourages that took place at the New York City club W.i.P on June 14.
Brown was partying with friends in the VIP section of the South Village club, while the Drake and his friends were nearby, according to statements from reps for both artists.
Brown has said he was a victim in the incident, and Drake’s representatives have said he “did not engage in any activity which resulted in injury.”
The squabble left Brown with a nasty gash on his chin and fueled Internet rumors that it started because of an argument about Rihanna, the sizzling songstress that both men have dated.
A source close to Brown has since told CNN that the confrontation was not about Rihanna.
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker was also injured in the scuffle. Parker is suing the nightclub for $20 million over an eye injury he claims he suffered that night.
The suit alleges that the owners and operators of the nightclub were “negligent in permitting Drake’s entourage and Brown’s entourage to be in the club at the same time despite known tension between the two” and contends the owners failed to provide “sufficient and efficient security.”
Feldman said he wants the boxing match to be in either Las Vegas or Los Angeles.
Despite the fact that Brown is on probation until 2014 for pleading guilty to assaulting Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards, Feldman said he has asked Rihanna to be in the ring carrying a sign that displays the number of the upcoming round.
“I’m 99.9% sure she’ll say no. But I can guarantee you, if the fight happens, she will be watching,” Feldman said.
Some have already speculated on who would win a rematch.
Rapper 50 Cent told a California radio station he thinks Brown’s prowess in dancing would help him beat Drake.
“I would take Chris,” 50 told KMEL last week. “I guess it’s cause of all the physical things I see him doing with dancing and moving. He be slipping and moving. I don’t see Drake doing that. Chris be having his shirt off. He got one of them MMA fighter looks. Like he might have did karate when he was a kid. He’s kicking, doing splits and stuff. This could really get interesting.”
CNN
Queen and Martin McGuinness shake hands
The final day of the Queen's two-day visit to Northern Ireland was marked by an historic handshake and a huge party.
Her Majesty and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness shook hands for the first time.
The meeting between the monarch and Northern Ireland's deputy first minister took place at a charity event in Belfast on Wednesday morning.
In the afternoon she attended a Diamond Jubilee party attended by 20,000 in Stormont.
The Queen and Mr McGuinness shook hands at a private meeting and later shook hands in public.
The private meeting, in a room at the Lyric Theatre, involved a group of seven people, including Irish President Michael D Higgins and Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson.
It is understood Mr McGuinness welcomed both the Queen and the Irish president in Irish.
The deputy first minister is said to have commented on the Queen's visit to Dublin last year, and in particular her comments regarding all the victims of the Troubles.
A Sinn Fein spokesman said: "He emphasised the need to acknowledge the pain of all victims of the conflict and their families."
Sinn Fein said Mr McGuinness told the Queen that their meeting was a "powerful signal that peace-building requires leadership".
Later, as the Queen left to continue her Diamond Jubilee tour of Northern Ireland, the pair shook hands again, this time in public.
Reconciliation
As they shook hands for a second time, Mr McGuinness wished the Queen well in Irish, which translates as: "Goodbye and God bless."
When asked how it was to meet the Queen, Martin McGuinness replied "very nice."
The main event had been billed as one to celebrate the role of the arts in contributing to reconciliation and peace-building and not as part of the Jubilee celebrations.
During the event, the Queen was presented with a gift of Belleek pottery to mark her Diamond Jubilee.
President Higgins said he and his wife, Sabina, had been delighted "to have the opportunity for a brief but very warm meeting" with the Queen.
He said it marked "another important step on the journey to reconciliation on this island".
The prime minister's official spokesman said the Queen's visit to the Republic of Ireland last year had "taken relations between the two countries to a new level".
The spokesperson added: "We think it is right that the Queen should meet representatives from all parts of the community."
Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said he very much welcomed the meeting between the Queen and Martin McGuinness.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin, Mr Adams said: "It brings our journey of relationship building within this island and between these islands onto a new plane."
He added: "I think the vast majority of unionists will be pleased this happened because they know it was essentially a real gesture towards their sense of identity and their sense of allegiance."
"Whatever personal feelings Martin may have, no more than myself, doesn't come into it. It was a good thing for him to do and I commend him for it," he added.
Sensitivities
Those present at the Lyric event included the pianist Barry Douglas, poet Michael Longley and actors Adrian Dunbar and Conleth Hill.
BBC Northern Ireland's political editor Mark Devenport said the occasion at the Lyric had been specifically designed to meet Sinn Fein's sensitivities and to ensure that a ground-breaking encounter could take place.
"It is being stressed the arts event has a cross-border dimension and is not part of the Jubilee celebrations," he said.
The Queen and Prince Philip later toured Titanic Belfast, a new visitors' centre located near where the ship was built. She has also unveiled a plaque to commemorate the visit.
She enjoyed a lunch which included traditional Irish soda bread, Comber potatoes, the sweet toffee yellow man, and ice cream.
In a speech at the lunch, First Minister Peter Robinson said: "I know for many in the media, the focus has been on a handshake and a photograph, but for most people in Northern Ireland it is not about one moment of history but the opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for 60 very full years of Your Majesty's service to this nation."
At the end of the day the Queen and Prince Philip were driven through the grounds of Northern Ireland's seat of government in an open-topped vehicle.
The royal motorcade was cheered by around 20,000 people attending a party to mark the monarch's 60-year reign.
Obama health law faces Supreme Court judgement
A wide-ranging healthcare reform bill seen as a key achievement of Barack Obama's presidency is facing its moment of judgement in the US Supreme Court.
The law, passed in 2009, requires all Americans to obtain health insurance or face a penalty fine.
But conservative opponents of the president say that "mandate" is illegal under the terms of the US constitution.
The justices are expected to rule on Thursday, and could cut the mandate or strike down the whole law.
The debate over healthcare is a fiercely polarising issue in the US, and a verdict either way is expected to have a major impact on the race for the White House.
Mr Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, are just five months away from the presidential election.
The president maintains a slender lead in some polls, but is facing a stiff challenge from Mr Romney and conservative opponents, amid a rocky economic outlook.
Mr Romney told a rally near Washington DC on Wednesday that if the Supreme Court did not quash the law he would "repeal and replace" the bill if he won the White House.
Divided court
The nine-member Supreme Court has several options.
It could decide that it is too early to rule on the case, as many of the law's provisions - including the mandate to buy health insurance - do not come into force until 2014.
It could also dismiss the challenge to the mandate on a technicality, ruling that the penalty constitutes a tax lawfully imposed by Congress. Few observers expect the court to choose this option.
The meat of the case concerns the challenge to the individual mandate, which the justices could decide oversteps Congress' right to regulate interstate commerce.
Analysts say that questioning from several conservative justices during oral arguments at the court in March revealed a deep level scepticism on the bench.
The court could decide to strike down the mandate and send the bill back to Congress to find a way to make the rest of it work. It could also overturn the entire law, ruling that the need to buy health insurance is integral to the legislation.
The Supreme Court is composed of nine justices, five seen as conservatives and four as liberals. It has delivered several divisive wafer-thin majority rulings in recent years, prompting criticism from liberals.
A 5-4 ruling in 2010 known as Citizens United changed campaign finance laws in the US to allow unrestricted fund-raising by independent groups not directly affiliated with candidates.
A recent study by the Pew Research Center found public approval of the court at its lowest level since records began in 1987.
Mixed reviews
The healthcare law - officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but commonly dubbed "Obamacare" by opponents - was passed in 2009 without a single Republican vote in Congress.
It remains unpopular, with polls suggesting many would be pleased to see it overturned, although individual elements of the law are popular on their own.
The bill has already enabled millions of Americans aged under 26 to obtain health insurance by staying on their parents' health coverage for longer than previously allowed.
Patients with pre-existing medical conditions have also been able to obtain health insurance since the passage of the law.
Analysts say there remains a public perception that the law is flawed, although some of its opponents think it does not go far enough.
US Condemns Attack on Pro-Assad Syrian TV Station
The United States has condemned a deadly attack by gunmen on a Syrian pro-government television station and said it hopes an upcoming meeting of world powers in Geneva will be a turning point in resolving Syria's 15-month conflict.
Militants attacked the headquarters of the al-Ikbariya satellite channel near Damascus with guns and bombs before dawn Wednesday, killing three journalists and four security guards. The station is privately-owned but strongly supports the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It resumed broadcasting shortly after the raid.
The Syrian government blamed the attack on “armed terrorists,” a term it uses for rebels trying to end Mr. Assad's 11-year rule. But, Syrian rebel commanders denied responsibility and said a unit of the elite Republican Guard had defected and attacked the station.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that Washington “condemns all acts of violence including those targeting pro-regime elements.” He called on all parties in the conflict to “cease acts of hostility.”
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighting across Syria on Wednesday killed at least 80 people, more than half of them civilians. Activists have said the death toll in the conflict has jumped to around 100 people a day in the past week because of escalating attacks by heavily-armed security forces and lightly-armed rebels.
Carney said Syria's “dire” situation is a result of Mr. Assad trying to “cling on to power at all costs.”
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed “great hope” that a meeting of world powers to be held in Geneva on Saturday will be a “turning point” in efforts to get international agreement on a plan “that will lead Syrians to a better future.” She was speaking on a visit to Finland.
International peace envoy Kofi Annan called the high-level meeting, saying the “Syria Action Group” will attempt to agree on principles for a “Syrian-led political transition.” He sent invitations to ministers of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council as well as to representatives of the Arab League and Turkey.
Two major regional players were not invited: Iran, a major ally of Mr. Assad, and Saudi Arabia, a prominent supporter of his enemies. The United States had objected to any Iranian participation in a meeting on Syria's future, saying Tehran could not play a constructive role while helping the Syrian president to crush his opponents.
Mr. Annan had wanted to include Iran in the Geneva meeting and gave no explanation for excluding it. But U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Mr. Annan will brief the Iranian government about the outcome of the talks because the envoy believes Tehran should be “part of the solution.”
Russia, another longtime ally of the Assad government, also had called for Iran to be included in the Syria Action Group.
Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaee reacted to the Geneva snub by saying “nobody can ignore … the influence and constructive role that Iran has in the region.” He also reiterated Iran's support for Mr. Annan's Syria peace plan that calls for an end to fighting and the start of a dialogue but has been ignored by Syria's warring sides.
In another development, U.N. investigators accused President Assad's forces of committing rights violations on “an alarming scale.” In a report published Wednesday, the U.N. panel investigating human rights violations in Syria also said the situation is “dangerously and quickly deteriorating.”
The panel's Brazilian chairman, Paulo Pinheiro, said “gross human rights violations” – including torture and summary executions – have been committed regularly by both sides in the conflict.
Syria's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Faisal Khabbaz Hamoui, rejected the panel's accusations against his government and warned that Damascus will end its cooperation with international agencies.
Raging Wildfires Spread in Colorado, Threaten the State’s Second Largest City
Flames are spreading quickly across Colorado where firefighters are battling to save homes and lives.
Officials said Wednesday the Waldo Canyon Fire had doubled in size to more than 6,200 hectares. They said the flames are so intense that it is difficult to assess the damage.
The fire has forced some 32,000 people to evacuate their homes in the state's second largest city, Colorado Springs. Many residents were forced to leave a lifetime of possessions behind, hoping the flames will stay away.
The fire has burned numerous homes, including a historic ranch that attracts hundreds of tourists each year.
Colorado Springs Fire Chief Rich Brown says the fire has reached “epic proportions.”
President Barack Obama telephoned Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper on Wednesday, telling him that federal authorities will use all of their resources to help local officials fight the flames. Mr. Obama plans to go to Colorado on Friday to survey the damage.
The Waldo Canyon Fire started last Saturday in Pike National Forest. Several days of hot weather have fueled the fires. Daytime temperatures have soared to more than 37 degrees Celsius.
The Waldo Canyon Fire is one of several massive wildfires that have raged across much of the western United States in recent weeks. One person has been confirmed dead in a wildfire in the state of Utah.
Merkel heads to Brussels for crucial euro summit
European Union leaders are preparing to meet for a closely-watched Brussels summit on the fate of the euro.
On the summit's eve, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held two hours of talks with the French President Francois Hollande in Paris.
The two remain at odds on how to move forward, with Germany opposed to pooling debt while France insists the eurozone needs further integration.
Mrs Merkel has warned there is no "magic formula" to solve the crisis.
"Because I know the expectations and hopes that are pinned on this summit, I will repeat right at the start what cannot be said often enough," Mrs Merkel said in Berlin before the Paris talks.
"There is no quick solution and no simple solution. There is no one magic formula... with which the government debt crisis can be overcome in one go."
Mrs Merkel left for Brussels without making further statements after her meeting with Mr Hollande but said that "progress" for a pact for growth had been made and she hoped European leaders would adopt a 130bn-euro ($162bn) stimulus package.
Mr Hollande, who became French president on a ticket of anti-austerity, has been a strong supporter of the growth package.
European authorities have unveiled proposals such as the creation of a European treasury, which would have powers over national budgets.
The 10-year plan is designed to strengthen the eurozone and prevent future crises, but critics say it will not address current debt problems.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday that his country could not afford to finance itself for long at current bond rates.
Spanish 10-year government bonds have been trading at yields above 6.8%, coming close to the 7% considered unaffordable.
'Vicious circle'
Several EU leaders want individual countries' debts guaranteed by the whole eurozone, for instance in the form of centrally issued eurobonds.
But Mrs Merkel told parliament that eurobonds were "the wrong way" and "counter-productive", adding: "We are working to breach the vicious circle of piling up debt and breaking [EU] rules."
She said to loud applause: "It is imperative that we don't promise things that we cannot deliver. Joint liability can only happen when sufficient controls are in place."
Stronger competitiveness was the condition for sustained growth, the chancellor said.
Mr Hollande believes eurobonds should be a eurozone priority for helping countries like Italy and Spain bring their borrowing costs down.
But Mrs Merkel continues to insist that before anything is done to increase the burden on German taxpayers, building blocks towards greater fiscal, banking and, eventually, political union must be put in place.
The BBC's economic correspondent Andrew Walker, in London, says that there is certainly a chance that the summit will take a small step on a path that would partly deal with the fundamental weaknesses in the Eurozone.
But, in the absence of major short-term action, he explains, borrowing costs for countries such as Spain and Italy are likely to remain painfully high, making the eurozone's financial situation strained for a long time to come.
Barclays fined for attempts to manipulate Libor rates
Barclays has been fined £290m ($450m) for trying to manipulate a key bank interest rate which influences the cost of loans and mortgages.
Its traders lied to make the bank look more secure during the financial crisis and, sometimes - working with traders at other banks - to make a profit.
Barclays said the actions "fell well short of standards". Chief executive Bob Diamond is to give up his bonus.
The Financial Services Authority is now looking into other banks.
The matter is also being investigated in the US, where the Department of Justice said criminal investigations into "other financial institutions and individuals is ongoing".
The penalties from the UK financial watchdog and US authorities followed "serious and widespread" misconduct, said the FSA.
The fine is part of an international investigation into the setting of interbank rates between 2005 and 2009.
It seems highly likely that other banks, and in other countries, will face similar sanctions to that of Barclays.
"The FSA continues to pursue a number of other significant cross-border investigations in this area and the action we have taken against Barclays should leave firms in no doubt about the serious consequences of this type of failure," the UK regulator said.
Three other Barclays executives will also give up their annual bonus this year.
Although they and Mr Diamond were not involved in the manipulation attempt, a Liberal Democrat peer has called on Mr Diamond to stand down.
Lord Oakeshott told the BBC: "If he had any shame he would go. If the Barclays board has any backbone, they'll sack him."
Barclays' misconduct relates to the daily setting of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor).
These are two of the most important interest rates in the global financial markets and directly influence the value of trillions of dollars of financial deals between banks and other institutions.
They can also affect lending rates to the public, for instance, with some mortgage deals.
But it is not yet clear whether Barclays staff had succeeded in manipulating the interest rates to the bank's advantage and therefore whether it had any impact on borrowers. While the FSA said only that the Barclays employees had attempted to do so, the US Department of Justice said that on some occasions they did affect the Libor and Euribor rates.
But even so, Tracey McDermott, director of enforcement at the FSA, told the BBC such behaviour was still "completely unacceptable".
"Libor is an incredibly important benchmark reference rate, and it is relied on for many, many hundreds of thousands of contracts all over the world," she said.
"And the market needs to have confidence that those who are involved in submitting numbers to set Libor are thinking about the integrity of the market, and confidence in the market, and not their own interests."
'Accepted culture'
Each day the British Bankers' Association and the European Banking Association publish the the Libor and Euribor rates by taking an average of the estimated rates submitted to them by leading banks.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Barclays staff who submitted estimates of their own interbank lending rates were frequently lobbied by its derivatives traders to put in figures which would benefit their trading positions, in order to produce a profit for the bank.
And between 2007 and 2009, during the height of the banking crisis, the staff put in artificially low figures, to avoid the suspicion that Barclays was under financial stress and thus having to borrow at noticeably higher rates than its competitors.
The FSA pointed out that Barclays traders were quite open in their routine attempts to lobby their colleagues who submitted the bank's estimate of its borrowing costs to the BBA.
It was particularly concerned because it appeared to be "accepted culture" amongst some staff.
"Requests to Barclays' submitters were made verbally and a large amount of email and instant message evidence consisting of derivatives traders' requests also exists," the FSA said.
In one instance, a trader recounted a conversation in which he had "begged" the submitter to put in a lower Libor figure.
"I'm like, dude, you're killing us," he said. His manager replied, "just tell him to... put it low".
In turn, the staff submitting the data would respond to the traders' requests.
"For you…anything," said one. "Done… for you big boy," said another.
And: "I owe you big time... I'm opening a bottle of Bollinger."
Both UK and US authorities were also critical of Barclays' lack of internal controls over its system of submitting information on Libor and Euribor.
This, along with inadequate supervision of trading desks, "allowed this conduct to occur", US regulators said.
Stockton, California to Declare Bankruptcy
Stockton, California will be the latest and largest U.S. city to seek federal bankruptcy protection.
The city council voted 6 to 1 to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy code, under which a judge would decide how the city would pay off its debts.
Some city residents appealed to the council not to declare bankruptcy. They say their property values would plummet. Past and present city employees fear they will lose their health benefits.
But Mayor Ann Johnston and city managers say they have no choice.
The city of some 300,000 residents, about 135 kilometers east of San Francisco, is facing a $26 million budget deficit, caused, in part, by the collapse of the housing market, mismanagement and a large city workforce.
City officials already have laid off some police and firefighters to curb spending.
Lakers shop Pau Gasol
The Los Angeles Lakers have been checking around the league this week to gauge Pau Gasol's trade value, according to sources briefed on the discussions.
According to ESPN.com, the Lakers have been contacting teams in an effort to acquire a top-10 pick in Thursday's draft. The Lakers also are seeking an established player along with the pick if they're to part with Gasol.
A deal was not imminent as of Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier this month, Lakers president of basketball operations Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak both said that a major move is unlikely even after Los Angeles' disappointing five-game playoff exit to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Gasol has been a coveted asset the past few years but comes at a high price. Aside from wanting picks and players in return, sources say that the Lakers want teams to assume the final two years and $38 million of Gasol's contract.
The Lakers might have an even tougher sell with Metta World Peace, who also has been shopped in order to gauge his trade value.
While the Lakers would be looking for considerably less, such as a late first-round pick or perhaps some cap relief, World Peace's contract obligations (two years, $15 million remaining on his deal) -- combined with a 15 percent trade kicker -- might prove too much for another team to bear.
-ESPN
Usain Bolt to face Blake and Powell in Jamaica Olympic trial
Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell head the 100m field at the Jamaican National Senior Championships.
Only the top three from 51 sprinters - including seven who have run under 10 seconds - will qualify for London 2012.
Relay gold medalists Michael Frater and Nesta Carter, Commonwealth Games 100m winner Lerone Clarke and 2011 world 200m semi-finalist Mario Forsythe are all bidding to make Friday's final.
Nearly 400 are competing for around 60 Jamaican athletics places at London.
Also included in the 100m in Kingston are World University Games 100m champion Jacques Harvey, World University Games 200m runner-up Jason Young and Winston Barnes.
Reigning world record-holder Bolt won Olympic gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in 2008 at Beijing, while Blake is reigning world champion and Powell a former world record holder.
Bolt has run the two fastest times in the world so far this year, 9.76 in Rome last month and 9.79 earlier this month at Oslo.
Bolt and Blake also race each other in the 200m Olympic trial on Sunday evening.
World University Games gold medallist Hansel Parchment will face Dwight Thomas and US college champion Andrew Riley in the 110m hurdles.
2008 Olympic 100m champion Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce and two time Olympic 200m winner Veronica Campbell Brown will compete against each in the women's 100m Olympic trials.