Berlusconi definitively convicted for first time

ROME (AP) ? Italy's three-time former Premier Silvio Berlusconi for the first time in two decades of criminal prosecutions related to his media empire was definitively convicted of tax fraud and sentenced to four years in prison Thursday by the nation's highest court.

The tensely awaited decision was described as a historical moment by opposition politicians and puts fresh pressure on Premier Enrico Letta's fragile coalition government. He needs the support of both Berlusconi supporters and his own center-left Democratic Party to push through reforms to get Italy out of recession, and the ruling is likely to have a destabilizing impact.

Judge Antonio Esposito, in reading the court's decision, declared Berlusconi's conviction and prison term were "irrevocable," though he ordered another court to review the length of a ban on public office.

Lower courts had put it at five years, but a state prosecutor recommended in its arguments this week that it be lowed to three, citing conflicts in the relevant sentencing laws.

How the government is affected by the ruling is likely to emerge in comings days. On the one side, Berlusconi supporters may withdraw support in protest, while center-left lawmakers may find it unpalatable to continue in a coalition with a party whose leader has been convicted of defrauding the state of tax income.

Beppe Grillo, the leader of the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement, declared on his blog: "Berlusconi is dead." He compared the conviction to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 that helped bring down Soviet communism.

Berlusconi's exit from the political scene he has dominated for two decades is unlikely to be quiet. A Milan appeals court will now have to determine the length of a public office ban. And then, the Senate, where Berlusconi holds a seat, will have to debate and vote on revoking his seat as part of a process that can stretch for months, if not a year. If the Senate opposes it and refuses to formally revoke Berlusconi's seat, the high court could turn to the constitutional court in a bid to resolve the standoff.

Berlusconi is highly unlikely to actually go to prison. Three years will be shaved off as part of a general pardon for crimes committed before 2006 aimed at easing prison crowding, and it is unusual for defendants to serve sentences of just one year for a first offense, particularly at Berlusconi's age, 76. He would likely be given the choice to serve the remaining year under house confinement or opt for social services.

Berlusconi awaited the sentence at his residence in central Rome with his lawyers, deputy party leader Angelino Alfano and his eldest daughter, Marina, all of whom were seen entering the building in the hours leading up to the announcement. He issued no immediate reaction.

___

Barry contributed from Milan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berlusconi-definitively-convicted-first-time-191451971.html

kenny powers carl hagelin triple play james neal virginia tech emancipation proclamation april 16

Del Potro through in Washington

Juan Martin del Potro comfortably dispatched of Bernard Tomic ? Getty Images

Even before Ryan Harrison broke his racket by spiking it on the Citi Open court or screamed "Oh, my God!" in exasperation, top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro was feeling pretty good about the way things were going.

And they kept improving for the 2009 US Open champion.

Back in action after nearly a month off, Del Potro won twice in a span of about seven-and-a-half hours to reach the Citi Open quarter-finals. Del Potro started by winning a rain-postponed match against 107th-ranked American Harrison 6-1 7-5, then returned to the court under the lights at night to defeat 14th-seeded Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-3 6-3. Each lasted about 70 minutes.

"Really good day," Del Potro said, smiling as he leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs. "The match against Tomic was a little better than the first one."

Del Potro, who received a first-round bye, is 11-1 at the hard-court tournament in Washington, where he won titles in 2008 and 2009.

The Argentine, No. 7 in the ATP rankings, hadn't competed since July 5, when he was eliminated in five sets by No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four hours and 43 minutes, the longest semi-final in Wimbledon history.

"I was training hard before coming here," said Del Potro, who will face No. 7-seeded Kevin Anderson, also a winner twice on Thursday.

Anderson eliminated James Duckworth 6-3 3-6 6-4, then beat Mardy Fish of the United States 7-6(2) 6-1. Before that match finished, Fish's withdrawal from next week's tournament in Montreal was announced; the event said he pulled out for personal reasons.

"It's hard for me, right now, to come out and just play every single week," said Fish, who has missed time the past two seasons while dealing with a heart condition.

"I still know I have a long ways to go to get back to where I'd like to be and where I was, maybe, 12 months ago," he added.

The other men's quarter-finals are No. 8 John Isner against No. 16 Marcos Baghdatis, No. 3 Tommy Haas against No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov, and Marinko Matosevic against Dmitry Tursunov.

Matosevic beat No. 4 Milos Raonic of Canada 7-5 7-6(7); Baghdatis surprised No. 2 Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-1 6-2; Haas finished off a second-round match suspended overnight in the third set, then also won Thursday's last match, 6-4 4-6 7-5 against No. 13 Ivan Dodig, wrapping it up after midnight.

This article first appeared on ESPN.com

? ESPN Sports Media Ltd

Source: http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/226933.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

history channel dennis rodman rand paul Lauren Silberman Sim City Manchester United Alvin Lee

Jackson's security chief details drug concerns

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A former security worker for Michael Jackson told a jury Thursday that he was concerned the singer would overdose on prescription medications in the early 2000s but didn't see signs of impairment in the singer later that decade.

Michael La Perruque said he occasionally went into the singer's hotel room to make sure he was breathing and would often find doctors to treat the pop superstar when he traveled. La Perruque retired from his job as a sheriff's deputy in 2001 to work as the head of Jackson's security detail and frequently traveled with him until 2004.

La Perruque said the singer's children called 911 during a trip to Florida in 2001 or 2002 after their father collapsed in a hallway in a hotel suite at Walt Disney World. He said he found Jackson unconscious, revived him before paramedics arrived and never saw any signs of drugs or alcohol that the singer may have taken.

Paramedics checked out the singer and determined he didn't need further medical attention, La Perruque said.

Deborah Chang, an attorney for Jackson's mother said there was no evidence that the incident was drug-related.

He told jurors that his testimony Thursday was only the second time he had told the story. The first came in a deposition with lawyers for AEG Live LLC, which is being sued by Jackson's mother claiming the company negligently hired the doctor convicted of giving her son a fatal overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

AEG denies it is responsible for the singer's death.

La Perruque stopped working for Jackson in 2004, but returned to oversee his security in late 2007. He said he didn't see any signs that Jackson was impaired during the few months he worked for him again.

He testified he last saw Jackson two weeks before the singer's death and he looked fine, but he noticed that his former boss was skinnier than usual.

La Perruque said he spoke to two of Jackson's doctors about his concerns about the singer's prescription drug use, but that he never spoke directly about it to the singer because he didn't want him to become defensive.

"It was my concern that he may overdose," he said.

He said he knew Jackson had severe back pain and difficulty sleeping. Despite seeing the entertainer impaired, La Perruque said he never saw Jackson take any drugs or saw any signs of medications lying around.

Jackson did try to get help, he said. "He fought very hard to be sober," La Perruque said. "He fought very hard not to be dependent on these prescription medications."

Jackson however kept members of his family away because he knew they were trying to stage an intervention, he said.

He told jurors that Jackson's younger brother Randy arrived at Neverland Ranch one day in a helicopter to speak with his brother about his medication usage. La Perruque said he turned him away.

He said Jackson called him in the middle of the night between 20 and 30 times in the early 2000s and was often mumbling and incoherent. Half those times La Perruque said he went to the singer's room to check on him, and they would start talking.

"I think he was just lonely," La Perruque said. "He wanted somebody to talk to."

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jacksons-security-chief-details-drug-concerns-005101515.html

mary mary sag aftra merger dj am bully bohemian rhapsody bohemian rhapsody spike lee

Stray prenatal gene network suspected in schizophrenia

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Researchers have reverse-engineered the outlines of a disrupted prenatal gene network in schizophrenia, by tracing spontaneous mutations to where and when they likely cause damage in the brain. Some people with the brain disorder may suffer from impaired birth of new neurons in the front of their brain during prenatal development, suggest the researchers, who compared spontaneous mutations in 105 affected and 84 unaffected siblings, in families without previous histories of the illness.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/RMKtOE9QTV8/130801125604.htm

Ncaa Tournament 2013 2013 NCAA Bracket leprechaun ides of march pi higgs boson reggie bush

Existing cropland could feed four billion more by dropping biofuels and animal feed

[unable to retrieve full-text content]The world's croplands could feed 4 billion more people than they do now just by shifting from producing animal feed and biofuels to producing exclusively food for human consumption, according to new research.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/pZw1L1rPJnE/130801125704.htm

national championship calipari national archives brock lesnar kentucky jayhawks wwe wrestlemania

Pinterest upgrades iPhone app with animated pinning shortcuts

Given its CEO's stance on the importance of mobile, it's only natural for Pinterest to keep polishing its apps. The newest iPhone version, for instance, brings with it an animated shortcut for repinning, liking and sending pins to pals when you press on an entry. Though similar in function to Tumblr's sharing tools, the menu boasts fancier graphics that fit the social networks' aesthetic. As a nice bonus, Pinterest's also adding an Edit Home Feed button for speedier housekeeping on the iPhone and the ability to send pins to your friends from the iPad. Assuming you're willing to wade through a deluge of recipes, inspirational quotes and bridal photos, you can check out the app via the links below.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/31/pinterest-animated-sharing-shortcut/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

wiz khalifa taylor allderdice mixtape

Report: LeBron James ?mulling a bid? for players union?s presidency

We?re going to start this off the way the original story from Jason Whitlock at Fox Sports.com should have, and that?s by stating the obvious: It?s extremely unlikely LeBron James would seek the presidency of the players union now, or at any time while still in the prime of his NBA career.

In fact, here?s the most relevant quote from the story, which in all honesty should have been the opening paragraph of the piece instead of the fifth.

The source close to James cautioned that he thinks it?s ?unlikely? James will decide to seek the presidency.

Now that we?ve gotten that out of the way, we can discuss the rest.

James is passionate about union matters, and has an interest in steering the league?s business in a direction that will not only benefit this generation of NBA players, but future generations, as well. He was a leader in the mid-season union meeting and a strong voice during the lockout. With the National Basketball Players Association in a state of transition, the thinking is that now may be the time to get involved in an official capacity.

?It?s something he has talked about with a small group of people,? a source with close ties to James told FOXSports.com on Wednesday. ?He was very vocal at the meeting during the All-Star Weekend about the need for the union to dramatically change. There is a new executive director coming in and new commissioner. He recognizes that this is the time for the union to change.?

It?s been over a decade since an All-Star caliber player was the union president, when Patrick Ewing held the post from 1997-2001. But those were years 14, 15, and 16 of Ewing?s 17 in the league ? he was far beyond his prime, and demands on his time had dipped considerably.

This is the core issue, and the reason someone like James could never successfully handle the duties of union president while flourishing as the game?s best player simultaneously. In addition to his teams regularly playing into June each season, LeBron?s schedule is packed with other engagements representing the league, as well as personal endorsement deals that require various trips and appearances.

There?s a reason guys like Derek Fisher and Maurice Evans were so prominently involved in union issues recently, with Jerry Stackhouse handling things so far this offseason. To put it bluntly, they don?t have a whole lot going on outside of their regular team responsibilities, which are fairly limited at this late stage of their respective careers.

It?s great to see that James is looking out for his co-workers in this way, and that he truly has an interest in creating a legacy that will last beyond the game itself. Just don?t expect him to hold the title of president, or be involved in any other official capacity until his playing career is close to being finished.

Source: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/07/31/report-lebron-james-mulling-a-bid-for-players-unions-presidency/

sessions march madness scores doonesbury padma lakshmi daughtry lakers trade ann arbor news