'30 Rock' heroine Liz Lemon to wed this month

NEW YORK (AP) — Liz Lemon is getting married and you're invited.

Fans of "30 Rock" might have reasonably assumed that Lemon, the harried TV producer played by Tina Fey, would ride out the series' seventh and final season as a perennial bachelorette unlucky in love. But Fey, who is also the creator and producer of the NBC comedy, clearly thought otherwise.

In the "30 Rock" episode airing Nov. 29, Lemon will wed.

Who's the lucky guy? He's Liz's latest fella, Criss Chross (played by guest star James Marsden), a Peter Pan-ish would-be entrepreneur who hatches ventures such as an organic gourmet hot-dog truck.

On Thursday, NBC made the grand announcement that Ms. Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon, 42, would be presenting herself to be married to Mr. Crisstopher Rick Chross — "But not in a creepy way that perpetuates the idea that brides are virgins and women are property."

The invitation also specifies that guests (i.e., you viewers) should plan to "bring your own snacks."

No preview of the episode has been made available.

The series, which airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST, will conclude early next year.

"30 Rock" is the saga of Lemon, the overextended producer of a fictitious comedy show loosely inspired by "Saturday Night Live" (where Fey toiled for nine seasons as cast member and writer). Liz is surrounded by kookie comrades like company boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), her boisterously unhinged star.

A recurring theme of "30 Rock" has been Lemon's comicaly flawed love life. Short-lived boyfriends have included quirky airline pilot Carol Burnett (played by Matt Damon), immature businessman Dennis Duffy (Dean Winters) and dimwitted pediatrician Dr. Drew Baird (Jon Hamm).

But clearly there was something special about Criss, who first arrived on the scene last season.

Even before meeting him, Donaghy was disapproving: "Lemon, I have said 'Good God' to you before," he huffed, "but I don't think I've ever MEANT it until now: Good God!!!"

But Criss is different, Liz insisted: "I'm more relaxed around him. My jaws stopped popping. And for once I'm not overthinking everything."

Jack wasn't convinced. He noted that Criss is a puppy-dog-eager dork who carries a Sunglass Hut credit card and owns a ukulele plastered with an Obama sticker.

Is this a match made in heaven? The wedding invitation says, "Whatever. It's no big whoop." But the episode is sure to be a very big whoop.

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Online:

http://www.nbc.com/30-rock

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BP to pay US billions for Gulf spill









Oil giant BP has agreed to pay a criminal penalty in the billions of dollars for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a person familiar with the deal said Thursday.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about the deal, also said two BP PLC employees face manslaughter charges over the death of 11 people in the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that triggered the massive spill.

The person said BP will plead guilty to obstruction for lying to Congress about how much oil was pouring out of the ruptured well.

The Deepwater Horizon rig, 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, sank after the April 2010 explosion. The well on the sea floor spewed an estimated 206 million gallons of crude oil, soiling sensitive tidal estuaries and beaches, killing wildlife and shutting vast areas of the Gulf to commercial fishing.

The spill exposed lax government oversight and led to a temporary ban on deepwater drilling while officials and the oil industry studied the risks, worked to make it safer and developed better disaster plans.

BP's environmentally-friendly image was tarnished, and independent gas station owners who fly the BP flag claimed they lost business from customers who were upset over the spill. BP chief executive Tony Hayward stepped down after the company's repeated gaffes, including his statement at the height of the crisis: “I'd like my life back.”

The cost of BP's spill far surpassed the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. Exxon ultimately settled with the U.S. government for $1 billion, which would be about $1.8 billion today.

The government and plaintiffs' attorneys also sued Transocean Ltd., the rig's owner, and cement contractor Halliburton, but a string of pretrial rulings by a federal judge undermined BP's legal strategy to pin blame on them.

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2 LAPD officers guilty of perjury in drug case









Two Los Angeles Police Department officers lied under oath during a drug possession case four years ago, a Los Angeles County jury decided Tuesday.

The trial revolved around competing interpretations of a grainy, black and white video that the prosecution argued sharply contradicted sworn testimony from three officers regarding the discovery of cocaine. The video, the prosecution argued, showed the officers conspired to convict Guillermo Alarcon Jr. on drug charges.

"It's always tragic when police officers throw away their freedom and careers." LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said after the jury's verdict. "They lost sight of the fact that the ends never justify the means and that they must always police constitutionally… That is the great slippery slope of policing. It always has been and likely always will be."





As the verdict was read, former Officer Evan Samuel and suspended Officer Richard Amio showed no reaction. After the jury left the downtown Los Angeles courtroom, Samuel's mother blew her nose into a white tissue, her eyes filled with tears.

The jury found the two officers guilty on one count of conspiracy each and multiple counts of perjury. Samuel faces a maximum prison sentence of more than five years, while Amio faces more than four years.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12.

The jury deadlocked on conspiracy and perjury charges against a third officer, Manuel Ortiz, voting 11 to 1 for a guilty verdict. Judge Kathleen A. Kennedy declared a mistrial on those charges. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to retry Ortiz, who has also been suspended.

Amio and Samuel testified in 2008 that while on patrol the previous year, they recognized Alarcon, a suspected gang member, in front of his East Hollywood apartment. The two officers said they chased him into the building's carport, where he threw a small black box against a trash bin. When it hit the ground, they said, the object cracked open and Samuel picked it up. Inside, they testified, they found rock and powder cocaine.

But in the video — which begins after Alarcon is in custody — officers search for more than 20 minutes before finding an object that prosecutors contended held the cocaine.

After the prolonged search, officers also appear to discuss opening the object and later say it contains cocaine.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Geoffrey Rendon told jurors during closing arguments that the officers conspired to deliver Alarcon to the court system "based on a set of lies."

The prosecution's key evidence was the video. At one point in the video, an officer tells another to "be creative in your writing," after the box was recovered, apparently alluding to an arrest report that would be written.

"Oh yeah, don't worry, sin duda ('no doubt')," comes the reply from another officer.

"The video," Rendon said, "doesn't lie."

Defense attorneys for the officers disputed that notion, saying the video didn't capture the entire story.

Attorney Ira Salzman, who represents Samuel, told jurors last week that the officers had already recovered the drugs when the video begins. The tape came from a security camera at the building managed by Alarcon's mother.

In the video, the officers were simply looking for additional evidence and the object recovered in the video was a piece broken off the black box that was recovered earlier, the defense argued.

Outside court Tuesday, Salzman said the video was either started too late or intentionally edited to obscure the portion where he said his client recovered the drugs.

But jurors rejected that argument.

"It just shows the power of video," Salzman said.

Outside of court, Alarcon's civil attorney Luis Carrillo hailed the verdict and said his client was not a gang member.

"It's a good day for justice all around the country," he said. "This verdict upholds the principle of equal justice under the law for everybody."

andrew.khouri@latimes.com

Times staff writer Joel Rubin contributed to this report.





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Dave Matthews Band pledges $1M for Sandy relief

NEW YORK (AP) — The Dave Matthews Band is giving $1 million to help Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts.

The band announced Wednesday that the Nov. 30 opening show of its winter tour at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., will be a benefit concert. All ticket and merchandise sales will go to the Bama Works Sandy Relief Fund, established at the Community Foundation of New Jersey.

Sandy's assault more than two weeks ago created widespread damage and power outages in New Jersey and New York.

The Grammy-winning group will wrap up its tour Dec. 22 in Philadelphia. Tickets are still on sale for the Nov. 30 show, which features Jimmy Cliff.

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Online:

http://davematthewsband.com/

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Well: Thanksgiving From Jerusalem

If you are looking to add some international flair to your Thanksgiving table, Jerusalem is a good place to start.

The city’s diverse Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities have created unpredictable and exciting culinary combinations, the London chef and restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi writes in the stunning new cookbook “Jerusalem.” The book, which Mr. Ottolenghi wrote with his friend and business partner Sami Tamimi, explores the history, culture and people of the city through its varied cuisines.

“Jerusalem is a fantastic place, and by that I mean it’s a place of fantasy,” Mr. Ottolenghi said. “There are so many layers of culture and history, almost placed one upon each other, that you start digging and find so many stories that are really the stories of the world.”

Both men grew up on opposite sides of the city in the 1970s — Mr. Tamimi as a Palestinian in East Jerusalem and Mr. Ottolenghi in Jewish West Jerusalem — but didn’t meet until years later in a bakery in London. Away from their birthplace for 20 years, they began to reminisce about the foods and flavors of their childhood. The result is a uniquely personal exploration of their cross-cultural childhood, told in recipes inspired by their mothers’ cooking, trips to local markets and the herbs, fruits and vegetables that surrounded their homes.

“Our first inclination was to cover everything, but we realized that would be impossible because there are so many communities and backgrounds of people in this city that it would be a cookbook of the world,” Mr. Ottolenghi said. “So now the majority of the recipes are just things we like to cook that have the essence of the city, the flavors, the aroma and the signature techniques. It’s a very private choice.”

Although food in Jerusalem is influenced by the incalculable number of cultures and subcultures that make up the city, there are some distinct food traditions, Mr. Ottolenghi said. Everybody uses chopped cucumbers and tomatoes to make a salad; stuffed vegetables are eaten regularly; and olive oil, lemon juice and olives are ubiquitous. Popular local ingredients include okra, cauliflower, artichokes, beets, eggplant, figs, lemons, pomegranates, plums and apricots.

For Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving series, the authors of “Jerusalem” offer three new recipes for your holiday table, including a flavorful stuffed eggplant, a roasted cauliflower and pomegranate salad and a radiant fig and sweet potato dish certain to become a new Thanksgiving tradition.


“Jerusalem”
Chermoula Eggplant With Bulgur and Yogurt

Chermoula is a mixture of spices used in North African cooking, often to season fish. Here it’s rubbed over eggplant, which is then roasted and topped with a Middle Eastern salad of bulgur wheat and herbs, something like tabbouleh. “It’s a hybrid that could only happen in Jerusalem,” said Yotam Ottolenghi, an author of the new “Jerusalem” cookbook.

2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon peel (available in stores)
2/3 cup olive oil, plus extra to finish
2 medium eggplants
1 cup fine bulgur
2/3 cup boiling water
1/3 cup golden raisins
3 1/2 tablespoons warm water
1/3 ounce (2 teaspoons) cilantro, chopped, plus extra to finish
1/3 ounce (2 teaspoons) mint, chopped
1/3 cup pitted green olives, halved
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
3 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. To make the chermoula, mix together in a small bowl the garlic, cumin, coriander, chili, paprika, preserved lemon, two-thirds of the olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Score the flesh of each half with deep, diagonal crisscross cuts, making sure not to pierce the skin. Spoon the chermoula over each half, spreading it evenly, and place the eggplant halves on a baking sheet, cut side up. Put in the oven and roast for 40 minutes, or until the eggplants are completely soft.

4. Meanwhile, place the bulgur in a large bowl and cover with the boiling water.

5. Soak the raisins in the warm water. After 10 minutes, drain the raisins and add them to the bulgur, along with the remaining oil. Add the herbs, olives, almonds, green onions, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

6. Serve the eggplants warm or at room temperature. Place 1/2 eggplant, cut side up, on each individual plate. Spoon the bulgur on top, allowing some to fall from both sides. Spoon over some yogurt, sprinkle with cilantro and finish with a drizzle of oil.

Yield: 4 servings


“Jerusalem”
Roasted Cauliflower, Hazelnut and Pomegranate Seed Salad

The roasted flavors of cauliflower and hazelnuts, combined with the fresh pop of pomegranate seeds, make this a particularly memorable salad for your holiday table. Cauliflower and pomegranate are popular foods in both Arab and Jewish communities, and the sweet and sour combinations in this dish capture the flavors of the region.

1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets (1 1/2 pounds total)
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large celery stalk, cut on an angle into 1/4-inch slices (2/3 cup total)
5 tablespoons hazelnuts, with skins
1/3 cup small flat-leaf parsley leaves, picked
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (from about 1/2 medium pomegranate)
Generous 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Generous 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Mix the cauliflower with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Spread out in a roasting pan and roast on the top oven rack for 25 to 35 minutes, until the cauliflower is crisp and parts of it have turned golden brown. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside to cool.

3. Decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 17 minutes.

4. Allow the nuts to cool a little, then coarsely chop them and add to the cauliflower, along with the remaining oil and the rest of the ingredients. Stir, taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly. Serve at room temperature.

Yield: 2 to 4 servings


“Jerusalem”
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fresh Figs

This dish takes inspiration from a city where fig trees grow in abundance. “Growing up, there were tons of fig trees around, and we would eat figs dry or fresh in fruit salads,’’ Yotam Ottolenghi said. “We wanted to celebrate those memories and came up with this recipe.”

4 small sweet potatoes (2 1/4 pounds total)
5 tablespoons olive oil
Scant 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
(you can use a commercial rather than 
a premium aged grade)
1 1/2 tablespoons superfine sugar
12 green onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 
1 1/2-inch segments
1 red chili, thinly sliced
6 ripe figs (8 1/2 ounces total), quartered
5 ounces soft goat’s milk cheese (optional)
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wash the sweet potatoes, halve them lengthwise, and then cut each half into 3 long wedges. Mix with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and some black pepper.

2. Spread the wedges out, skin side down, on a baking sheet and cook for about 
25 minutes, until they are soft but not mushy. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

3. To make the balsamic reduction, place the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, until it thickens. Be sure to remove the pan from the heat when the vinegar is still runnier than honey; it will continue to thicken as it cools. Stir in a drop of water before serving if it does become too thick to drizzle.

4. Arrange the sweet potatoes on a serving platter. Heat the remaining oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the green onions and chili. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often to make sure not to burn the chili. Spoon the oil, onions and chili over the sweet potatoes. Dot the figs among the wedges, and then drizzle over the balsamic reduction. Serve at room temperature. Crumble the cheese over the top, if using.

Yield: 4 servings



Reprinted with permission from Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, copyright © 2012. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.
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Wholesale prices fell 0.2% in October









Wholesale inflation fell in October as a big drop in gasoline and other energy prices offset a rise in the cost of food.

Wholesale prices dipped 0.2 percent in October, the Labor Department said Wednesday. It was the first decline since May and followed big gains of 1.1 percent in September and 1.7 percent in August, increases that had been driven by spikes in energy.

Energy prices retreated a bit in October, dipping 0.5 percent but food costs were up 0.4 percent as the summer drought continued to put pressure on some food prices.








Core prices, which exclude food and energy, fell 0.2 percent in October, the biggest drop in two years. Over the past year, core prices were up a moderate 2.1 percent, evidence inflation remains under control.

In October, the fall in energy costs included a 2.2 percent drop in gasoline prices, the biggest since July, and a 3.3 percent decline in home heating oil costs.

The rise in food costs was led by an 8.1 percent increase in the price of pork, the biggest spike in four years. The summer drought in the Midwest has driven up food costs include the cost of beef and pork because animal feeds made with corn have increased in price.

The 0.2 percent drop in core prices in October reflected in part big declines in the price of passenger cars and light trucks. Without those declines, core prices would have been unchanged.

Low inflation means consumers have more money to spend, which helps the economy. It also gives the Federal Reserve more room to keep interest rates low in an effort to spur economic growth. If prices were to begin rising rapidly, the central bank might be forced to raise rates in response.

Economists believe that the modest gains in wholesale prices should translate into further moderation in consumer inflation, keeping it close to the Fed's 2 percent inflation target and allowing the central bank to keep focusing its policy on efforts to boost economic growth and reduce the unemployment rate.

The government will issue its October report on consumer prices on Thursday and economists are also expecting moderation at the retail level because of falling gas prices.





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Secret donation hindered campaigns, GOP advisors say









SACRAMENTO — An $11-million campaign donation that was secretly routed through an obscure Arizona group might have hurt the conservative effort in California on election day more than it helped, Republican operatives say.

The money went to oppose Gov. Jerry Brown's tax hikes, Proposition 30, and push a ballot measure to curb unions' political fundraising, Proposition 32. Voters approved the governor's tax plan and rejected the proposal to reduce labor's influence in California politics.

Some people behind the conservative campaigns now have second thoughts about the money's effect.





"At the end of the day, it was a significant distraction that took us off our campaign message," said Beth Miller, a spokeswoman for the Small Business Action Committee, which received the controversial $11 million.

Brown attacked the donation during many of his stump speeches, accusing "shadowy forces" of trying to undermine California's schools. If his tax plan failed, nearly $6 billion would have been cut from the budget, mostly from public schools.

Members of Brown's campaign team said the donation was something of a political gift. "They gave us the issue while hitting us in the nose," said Sean Clegg, a campaign advisor.

The furor over the money became one of the most closely watched sideshows in the final days before the Nov. 6 election.

State authorities sued the Arizona group, Americans for Responsible Leadership. The nonprofit group eventually named its contributors, but the mystery only deepened — the contributors were identified only as other nonprofits, which keep their donors secret.

Aaron McLear, a Republican strategist who worked against the tax plan, said Brown was successful in turning the controversy into a campaign issue.

"He was able to create a bigger boogeyman than Sacramento politicians, which is hard to do," he said.

Despite the $11-million cash infusion, conservatives still didn't have the money to match the Democrats and labor unions. Brown's campaign outspent its opponents, and unions flooded the airwaves to help sink Proposition 32.

Americans for Responsible Leadership did not admit any wrongdoing when it disclosed its contributors as other nonprofits. One of them, also located in Arizona, has been tied to Charles and David Koch, billionaire energy executives and Republican donors.

California officials are pushing forward with an investigation into who gave the money and are considering civil and criminal penalties for what they called "campaign money laundering."

"It ain't over," state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris said in a recent speech. "It wasn't over on election day and we're going to keep pushing it through."

chris.megerian@latimes.com

Times staff writer Ken Bensinger contributed to this report.





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Storm volunteers mingle with stars at Glamour fest

NEW YORK (AP) — Sandra Kyong Bradbury was star struck. She had just spied Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg a few feet away.

"How can you top that?" asked Bradbury, a New York City neonatal nurse who had helped evacuate infants from a hospital that lost power during the height of Superstorm Sandy. She was amazed that she was being honored at the same event as a Supreme Court justice — the annual Glamour Women of the Year awards, where stars of film, TV, fashion and sports share the stage with lesser-known women who have equally impressive achievements to their name.

Few events bring together such an eclectic group of honorees, not to mention presenters. At the Carnegie Hall ceremony Monday night, HBO star Lena Dunham, creator of "Girls" and a heroine to a younger generation, was introduced by Chelsea Handler and paid tribute in her speech to Nora Ephron, who died earlier this year. Ethel Kennedy was praised by her daughter, Rory, who has made a film about her famous mother. Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, 17, was honored along with swimming phenom Missy Franklin, also 17, and other Olympic athletes, introduced by singer Mary J. Blige and serenaded by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips. Singer-actress Selena Gomez was lauded by her friend, the actor Ethan Hawke.

But the most moving moments of the Glamour awards, now in their 22nd year, are often those involving people of whom the audience hasn't heard. This year, the most touching moment came when one honoree, Pakistani activist and filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, brought onstage a woman who'd been the victim of an acid attack in her native Pakistan. Obaid-Chinoy won this year's documentary short Oscar for a film about disfiguring acid attacks on Pakistani women by the men in their lives.

The evening carried reminders of Superstorm Sandy, with Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker introducing some 20 women who'd been heavily involved in storm relief work. "They held us together when Sandy tried to blow us apart," Booker said. The women worked for organizations like the American Red Cross, but also smaller volunteer groups like Jersey City Sandy Recovery, an impromptu group formed by three women in Jersey City, N.J., who wanted a way to help storm-ravaged communities.

Singer-rapper Pharrell Williams introduced one of his favorite architects, the Iraqi-born Zaha Hadid, 62, who designed the aquatic center for the London Olympics and is now at work on 43 projects around the world.

Activist Erin Merryn was honored for her work increasing awareness of child sex abuse — a horror she had endured during her own childhood. A law urging schools to educate children about sex abuse prevention, Erin's Law, has now passed in four states. "I won't stop until I get it passed in all 50 states," Merryn insisted in her speech.

Vogue editor Anna Wintour saluted a fellow fashion luminary, honoree Annie Leibovitz, the creator of so many iconic photographs over the years. Jenna Lyons, the president of J. Crew, got kind words from her presenter, former supermodel Lauren Hutton. Chelsea Clinton brought up a stageful of women from across the country who had been involved in politics this year, noting that, while there is still a long way to go, progress was made in 2012.

The lifetime achievement award went to Ginsburg, 79, who made a few quips about being honored by a fashion magazine. "The judiciary is not a profession that ranks very high among the glamorously attired," the justice said. She also noted that although she was only the second female Supreme Court justice (Sandra Day O'Connor came first), she was the first justice to be honored by Glamour.

An affectionate tribute to the late Ephron followed, with three actresses — Cynthia Nixon, and two Meryl Steep daughters, Mamie and Grace Gummer, reading from a graduation speech she had given at Wellesley College.

Actress Dunham, in her speech, touched on politics and expressed her own relief that President Barack Obama had won re-election, saying she felt it was crucial for reproductive freedom and other issues of women's rights. "I wanted control of my womb before I really knew what my womb was," she quipped.

After the ceremony, which was presided over by Glamour editor in chief Cindi Leive, honorees and presenters headed to a private dinner. There, Sandy volunteers mingled with the stars. One woman, Lynier Harper, had spent six nights during Sandy at the Brooklyn YMCA where she works, taking care of other people. "When I finally went back home, my house was totally destroyed," she said. She has moved in with her sister while she seeks a new home.

A group of seven nurses came from New York University's Langone Medical Center, which lost power during the storm. The neonatal intensive care nurses had to carry the babies down nine flights of stairs, in the dark, squeezing oxygen into their lungs, to get them to safety.

And there were the three women from Jersey City Sandy Recovery, sinking in the proximity to the so many impressive people.

"I just shook Ruth Bader Ginsburg's hand," exulted one of them, Candice Osborne. "How awesome!"

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Lance Armstrong Cuts Officials Ties With His Livestrong Charity


In the wake of being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping, Lance Armstrong last week cut all official ties with Livestrong, the charity he founded 15 years ago while he was treated for testicular cancer.


On Nov. 4, he resigned from the organization’s board of directors; he had previously stepped down as the chairman of the board Oct. 17. He has distanced himself from the charity to try to protect it from any damage caused by his doping controversy, the new board chairman, Jeff Garvey, said in a statement.


“Lance Armstrong was instrumental in changing the way the world views people affected by cancer,” Garvey said. “His devotion to serving survivors is unparalleled, and for 15 years, he committed himself to that cause with all his heart.”


Garvey said that the Armstrong family had donated nearly $7 million to the foundation and that the organization under Armstrong had raised close to $500 million to serve cancer survivors.


Last month, the United States Anti-Doping Agency made public its evidence in its doping case against Armstrong, saying he had doped and encouraged his teammates to dope so they could help him win races. He was subsequently barred from Olympic sports for life and was stripped of all the cycling titles he won from August 1998 on.


Since then, Armstrong has spent several weeks in Hawaii, out of the public eye. On Saturday, though, he posted a photograph on Twitter showing him at home in Austin, Tex. He is lounging on a couch with his seven yellow Tour jerseys framed on the wall in the background.


In the post, he said, “Back in Austin and just layin’ around.” The photograph had more than 400,000 page views as of Monday evening, with many people posting negative comments on the page.


“Lance, you have no moral conscious and it’s obvious many of your followers don’t either,” said one person who went by the Twitter handle “irobot,” who also posted that Armstrong needed “professional help.”


A person posting under the name “Aumann” said: “An art thief enjoying all his da Vincis.”


Other people posted words of support, including many who said they still thought Armstrong was the top cyclist in history.


“TomShelton” said of Armstrong’s seven Tour titles, “You earned all 7 of them no matter what is being said about you!”


This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: November 13, 2012

An earlier version of this article misstated Jeff Garvey’s estimate of the sum the Livestrong charity had raised to serve cancer survivors. It was close to $500 million, not close to $300 million.



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Drop in U.S. mortgage delinquency rates led by California, Arizona









WASHINGTON — Fueled by major improvements in California and Arizona, the percentage of  homeowners nationwide who were behind on their mortgage payments dropped significantly in the three-month period ending in September compared with a year earlier, TransUnion said Tuesday.

The national mortgage delinquency rate — the percentage of borrowers 60 days or more late on their payments — fell to 5.41% in the third quarter from 5.88% in the same period in 2011, said TranUnion, one of the three major credit reporting companies.

The rate last quarter was the lowest since the first quarter of 2009, when it was 5.22%





Mortgage delinquencies also were down slightly in the third quarter of this year from the previous quarter's rate of 5.49% , marking the third-straight quarterly decline. The report was another signal of a housing market recovery.

"Continued declines in mortgage delinquency rates are a welcome sign and reflect that relatively more homeowners are able and willing to make their mortgage payments each month," said Tim Martin, group vice president of U.S. housing in the company's financial services business unit. 

But he said there was still "a long way to go" to get back to a more normal delinquency rate of 1% to 2%.

California and Arizona, two of the states hardest hit by the collapse of the subprime housing bubble, showed the best year-over-year improvement. Arizona's delinquency rate was down nearly 25% from the third quarter of last year, to 5.62% from 7.46%. California's rate dropped almost 24% to 5.56% from 7.29%.

Overall, 42 states showed a drop in their delinquency rates from a year ago. Just two states continue to have double-digit delinquency rates: Florida at 13.09% and Nevada at 10.93%. But both were improved from a year ago.

TransUnion expects delinquency rates to improve again in the fourth quarter because of the turnaround in the housing market.

"It's generally tough to expect improvement in delinquency rates in the fourth quarter of the year given the extra demands on household income that many experience during the holiday season," Martin said. "However, we saw some improvement in the housing market in the third quarter with regard to house prices, home sales and increased refinance activity, and we believe we will start to see these numbers reflected in improved mortgage delinquency next quarter."

ALSO:

Measure of US home prices rises most in 6 years

Auto loan delinquencies fall to lowest rate on record

Housing affordability in California drops as prices increase


Follow Jim Puzzanghera on Twitter and Google+.





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