| Congress awards honor to former Sen Brooke

Congress-awards-honor-to-former-Sen.-Brooke WASHINGTON - With Democrats and Republicans engaged in a heated debate over health care, former Sen. Edward Brooke, the first black man elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate, pointedly suggested Wednesday that lawmakers put aside their partisan differences awhile.

At a Capitol ceremony honoring him, the 90-year-old Massachusetts Republican addressed a multitude of issues on Congress plate in addition to health care: overseas wars, restoring the economy and providing Americans with adequate housing.

Weve got to get together, Brooke said, turning his eyes to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. We have no alternative. Theres nothing left. Its time for politics to be put aside on the back burner.

Brooke was presented the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress has to honor civilians for achievements and contributions to society.

Attending the ceremony, President Barack Obama called Brooke a man whos spent his life breaking barriers and bridging divides across this country.

Brooke grew up in Washington and served in a segregated unit in the Army during World War II before entering the political arena and winning election to the Senate in 1966 as the first black senator since Reconstruction.

As senator, he took on the populist causes of low-income housing, increasing the minimum wage and mass transit before losing re-election in 1978. President George W. Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.

Obama said he followed the trail that Brooke blazed.

He ran for office, as he put it, to bring people together who had never been together before, Obama said. He didnt care whether a bill was popular or politically expedient, Democratic or Republican — he cared about whether it helped people, whether it made a difference in their daily lives.

The late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and other lawmakers introduced the legislation to give Brooke Congress highest award. Two-thirds of the House and Senate had to co-sponsor the measure in order for the medal to be awarded.

Kennedys son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and Kennedys widow, Victoria Kennedy, attended the ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.

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| Galleon winding down hedge funds

Galleon-winding-down-hedge-funds

BOSTON/NEW YORK –
Galleon Group, whose founder has been charged with masterminding the biggest-ever insider-trading scheme involving hedge funds, is shutting down.

Less than a week after being arrested at his New York home, Raj Rajaratnam told investors and employees in a letter that he was winding down the Galleon funds. He initially said he planned to keep his 12-year-old firm intact.

"I have decided that it is now in the best interest of our investors and employees to conduct an orderly wind down of Galleon's funds while we explore various alternatives for our business," the 52-year-old billionaire wrote.

Rajaratnam, who says he is innocent, said in the Wednesday letter that he plans to defend himself against the charges in the same way he managed money -- with "intensity and focus."

His New York-based firm, which managed $3.7 billion at the end of last week and boasted strong returns through September, has attracted potential buyers, a source familiar with the matter said.

Federal prosecutors accused Rajaratnam and five other individuals of illegally trading on nonpublic information in a scheme that netted them $20 million. Rajaratnam is free on $100 million bail.

The news that Galleon was shutting down was hardly a surprise. Many Galleon investors, ranging from endowments to wealthy individuals, have asked for their money back, and many of the firm's 130 employees are looking for new jobs.

"I would imagine it is hard to have an ongoing business when you are dealing with an issue like this," said Dick DelBello, senior partner at hedge-fund service provider Conifer Securities. "So, I am not surprised."

Pressure on Galleon has built since Rajaratnam and the other five accused were arrested on Friday. By Monday, investors had asked the firm to return $1.3 billion. Under ordinary circumstances, investors would have to notify Galleon by the middle of November of their plans to exit, and they would get their money 45 days later, in early 2010.

To raise cash, Galleon traders began selling off positions this week. Because the funds invested primarily in large and heavily traded companies like Apple Inc , Google Inc and Bank of Americs Corp , investors expect to see their money returned promptly in January, one investor said.

Soon after Rajaratnam was arrested, some of his portfolio managers and analysts began looking for new jobs in an industry that only recently began hiring again after heavy losses in 2009.

"Galleon had some top-flight people, and why should their careers be ruined only because they got caught up with the wrong leader?" said Brad Alford, founder of Alpha Capital Management, an advisory firm that invests in hedge funds. "Some of the top shops are picking over the wreckage already."

While news of the insider-trading scandal came as a shock, many lawyers and investors feel it will hurt Rajaratnam rather than the entire hedge fund industry.

"This shows that regulators are doing their jobs, and that might be a positive thing for the industry," said Marc Gottridge, a partner at law firm Lovells LLP.

Lawyers and industry observers agree that this marks the end of Rajaratnam's once flourishing career, which allowed him to rub shoulders with the world's savviest investors and top government officials.

His degree from the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School and his knack for building a team of top investors turned Galleon into one of world's most prominent technology hedge funds, along with Pequot Capital and Bowman Capital. Pequot and Bowman have also closed.

"Now his name is totally toxic and will go down in the annals of hedge fund history as a prominent failure," Alpha Capital's Alford said.

- | Galleon winding down hedge funds |

| Pfizer profit jumps 26 percent on cost cutting

Pfizer-profit-jumps-26-percent-on-cost-cutting NEW YORK -Pfizer Inc. on Tuesday posted a higher third-quarter profit despite the recession, as sharp cost cuts made up for slightly lower sales.
The maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor, impotence treatment Viagra and smoking cessation drug Chantix slashed costs on everything from manufacturing and marketing to research and development to produce a profit of $2.88 billion. That was up 26 percent from $2.28 billion a year earlier, when the company had a huge legal charge over promotion of its painkillers.
Pfizer will keep cutting costs, now that it has completed the biggest drug industry deal of the year. The $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth last Thursday cements Pfizers position atop the industry, and the combined company is expected to eliminate nearly 20,000 jobs by the time integration is complete.
Pfizer had sales of $11.62 billion in the quarter, down 3 percent from $11.97 billion a year ago.
The company said revenue was pulled down about 5 percent due to unfavorable foreign exchange rates.
Sales were down across all five of Pfizers business divisions, with the worst decline being a 12 percent drop in the established products business, which sells prescription drugs that have lost patent protection. Sales declined between 3 percent and 5 percent in businesses selling primary care, specialty care and cancer drugs, as well as the division selling to emerging markets such as China and India.
Pfizer said that excluding one-time charges, earnings per share would have been 51 cents.
Analysts were expecting earnings per share of 48 cents and revenue of $11.41 billion, both slightly lower than Pfizers results.
With the Wyeth acquisition, Pfizer will have about $57 billion a year in revenue, with lucrative products in everything from traditional pills and animal and consumer health products to biotech drugs and vaccines. Those include Pfizers pain treatment Celebrex and Lyrica, blood pressure treatment Norvasc and ophthalmology drug Xalatan, plus Wyeth blockbusters including antidepressant Effexor, childrens pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar and Enbrel, a biotech drug for rheumatoid arthritis.
However, revenue and costs from Wyeth were not included in Tuesdays earnings report. - | Pfizer profit jumps 26 percent on cost cutting |

| The 10 riskiest foods in America

The-10-riskiest-foods-in-America Read the full report from Center for Science in the Public Interest
CSPIs Food Safety Outbreak Alert
Video: 10 riskiest foods

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| Australian cat strays 2400 miles returns home

Australian-cat-strays-2,400-miles,-returns-home HOBART, Australia - A cat named Clyde was reunited with his owner on Wednesday after a mysterious three-year odyssey in which the long-haired Himalayan strayed 2,400 miles  into the Australian Outback.

Ashleigh Sullivan, 19, said she had given up hope of ever finding Clyde after he vanished when he was about one year old from her family home near Hobart city in Australias island state of Tasmania.

Im positive he remembers. Hes not acting like hes suddenly appeared somewhere and is frantic, Sullivan said as she tearfully held her contented cat.

A nurse found Clyde wandering at a hospital in the remote Queensland state town of Cloncurry and cared for him for four months before taking him to a local vet as she was leaving town and could not take the cat with her.

The vet, Donna Weber, traced Clydes owner from an identification microchip that was imbedded under the cats skin.

But no one has a clue how Clyde managed the 185-mile sea journey across the Bass Strait from Tasmania off mainland Australias southeast coast, and then about more than 2,000 miles overland to Cloncurry, deep in the arid interior of the Outback.

An animal transport company returned the cat to Hobart for free — flying most of the way.

Its pretty special to have him back. Sullivan said. Im overwhelmed.

- | Australian cat strays 2400 miles returns home |

| 4 injured when plane from Okla crashes in Texas

4-injured-when-plane-from-Okla.-crashes-in-Texas

RHOME, Texas – Authorities say four men are being treated at Texas hospitals after a twin-engine airplane that took off from Oklahoma crashed in Texas.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the Beechcraft King Air went down about 2:45 p.m. about 20 miles northwest of Fort Worth.

FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford says the plane had taken off from Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City and was bound for Fort Worths Meacham Airport before its pilot reported engine failure. Lunsford says the pilot was in contact with air traffic controllers before the crash.

Wise County Sheriffs spokesman Johnny Britton says the four passengers range in age from 64 to 84 and were transported to area hospitals. Two were in serious condition and the others suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

- | 4 injured when plane from Okla crashes in Texas |

| Obamas’ Filipina chef: ‘They like simple food’

Obamas’-Filipina-chef:-‘They-like-simple-food’ MANILA, Philippines - For the White House chef, serving homegrown vegetables straight from the garden is just like preparing food in her native Philippines — healthy and simple.

Filipino-American Cristeta Pasia-Comerford, the first woman and first minority to serve as the executive chef in the White House, credited the first lady for making sure her family eats steamed, organic vegetables from the garden Michelle Obama planted in April.

Mrs. Obama is a very hands-on person when it comes ... to knowing healthy meals for the family, Comerford told a news conference Monday in Manila.

She is one of three to be honored this year by the Bank of the Philippines as an outstanding Filipino overseas. The honor will be formally awarded on Tuesday.

The naturalized American said that picking food from the garden reminds her of summers spent at her grandmothers house in the Philippines Bulacan province.

They like simple meals, they like simple food, she said of the first family.

The first lady had said earlier that she and Comerford shared a perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families.

The chef refused to answer specific questions about the Obamas favorite foods and eating habits.

Comerford, who also served under former President George W. Bush, studied French cooking in Vienna, Austria, and specializes in ethnic and American cuisine.

- | Obamas’ Filipina chef: ‘They like simple food’ |

| 6 members of Supreme Court attend Mass

6-members-of-Supreme-Court-attend-Mass WASHINGTON - An American cardinal on Sunday issued a plea for the rights of the unborn at a church service that included Vice President Joe Biden, six members of the Supreme Court and hundreds of members of the legal community.

Five of the six Roman Catholics on the high court — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito — heard the homily by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo; the sixth, Justice Clarence Thomas, did not attend. Justice Stephen Breyer, who is Jewish, was there as well.

Speaking at the annual Red Mass the day before the opening of the Supreme Court term, DiNardo said that people represented by lawyers are more than clients. ... In some cases the clients are voiceless for they lack influence; in others they are literally voiceless, not yet with tongues and even without names, and require our most careful attention and radical support.

As DiNardo spoke, protesters opposed to abortion demonstrated in front of the church.

DiNardo did not elaborate on the rights of the unborn, focusing instead on how the complexity of the law can have a dehumanizing effect on those who practice it.

Increasing specialization within the law is dizzying and such formal knowledge frequently becomes semi-mechanical, even distancing, DiNardo said at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. The law and lawyers are around because justice among human beings will always be an issue.

Even sophisticated knowledgeable human lawyers need reminding, need a divine fire ... both in their personal lives and in their profession itself.

The Red Mass has been held since 1953 at the cathedral by the John Carroll Society, a group of Washington professionals who are Catholic.

The name of the service, which dates to the 13th century and is conducted to ask for guidance for those who seek justice, comes from the red vestments worn by the celebrants.

DiNardo is the newest U.S. cardinal and is the archbishop of Galveston-Houston.

The Supreme Courts caseload this term involves an important challenge to gun control at the state and local level. A separate case deals with whether the presence of a cross in the Mojave National Preserve violates First Amendment religious protections.

Also attending Sundays Mass were Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

More on: Supreme Court

- | 6 members of Supreme Court attend Mass |