The settlement also provides a system for monitoring health concerns and compensating people whose illnesses are found to have a link to the disaster.  Many people have experienced rashes, shortness of breath, and other maladies that they believe were caused by the oil or the chemical dispersants used to break it up.  Any claimants will have to be examined by a court-approved health care practitioner, and then a claims administrator working under a federal judge will determine who should receive compensation.

Some analysts said the expected payout was less than they had forecast.  Analysts’ forecasts had covered a wide range for how much BP would be required to pay out to compensate fishermen, condominium owners, and hoteliers, with many predicting an amount around $14 billion.  Shares in BP rose over 2% on the news.  Jason Kenny, oil analyst at Santander, said, “On a trading basis we see a potentially quite positive reaction … BP moving to the 530-550 pence range near term (if not higher), and possibly higher thereafter.”

The agreement is expected to boost the chances of the company reaching a settlement with the U.S. government.  Iain Armstrong, oil analyst with Brewin Dolphin, said, “What this agreement does, if it is implemented, is to give the management of BP further encouragement to try and reach a settlement out of court (with the U.S. Department of Justice).”   Fadel Gheit, oil analyst at Oppenheimer in New York, said, “I think the settlement further weakens the government claim of gross negligence,” and that BP’s hand had been strengthened by the deal.

The challengers wanted to block Clean Air Act permits covering airborne emissions for industrial operations.  The argument was based on the belief that nitrogen dioxide would emit from the drilling operations and pollute the air of the Native communities.  Environmental groups also warned that an oil spill in the freezing waters off of the coast of Alaska would be devastating to endangered wildlife and would be extremely difficult to clean up because of the harsh climate of the area, including the frigid temperatures, strong winds, seasonal darkness, and ice cover on the water.

The appeals board decision noted that the evidence presented in support of the argument was not strong enough to prove the claims made.  Prior to this ruling, Shell received conditional federal approval for six exploratory wells to be drilled in Artic waters.

Although Shell may face more hurdles in its quest, the delays in the permits and the process were primary reasons why Shell has delayed beginning drilling operations.  Executives with the company have expressed satisfaction with the ruling.  Shell released a statement saying, “We look forward to continued progress on the permitting front and remain committed to working with regulators and stakeholders to achieve all of the permits necessary to drill in 2012.”

Environmental groups have announced that they will continue with their appeals against the company.  Earthjustice lawyer Eric Jorgensen said, “We’re disappointed. The E.P.A. cut corners in issuing the permit and we don’t believe it complies with the Clean Air Act.”  Regarding an appeal, he said, “We’re looking at all options.”

The regulators claimed that Wachovia generated illicit gains of millions of dollars in fraudulently rigged municipal bond transactions occurring in 25 states and Puerto Rico.  Wachovia is accused of rigging the bidding process for investments, causing municipalities to pay more for securities than fair market value.

States, cities, and counties raise money for needed projects such as building roads and repairing schools by selling bonds to investors with the help of banks.  The funds that are not immediately used are generally invested with the help of the bank until the funds are needed for the project.

Some of the bids that Wachovia won were obtained through a practice known as “last looks”, where an agent releases information about competing bids to the company.  Other bids were won through a practice known as “set-ups”, where a bidding agent deliberately obtains non-winning bids to tilt the field in Wachovia’s favor.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that the rigged transactions occurred over an 8-year period and involved at least 58 rigged bidding competitions.  Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said, “Wachovia won bids by playing an elaborate game of `you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,’ rather than engaging in legitimate competition to win municipalities’ business.”

The settlement calls for Wells Fargo to pay $46.1 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, $34.5 million to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, $8.9 million to the Internal Revenue Service, and $58.75 million to a group of state Attorneys General.  The company said the required payments would not affect its financial results adversely.

A separate case in federal court was settled by Wells Fargo last month in New York regarding similar allegations brought by several states.  Wells Fargo paid $37 million in that settlement.  Wells Fargo released a statement stating that it was pleased to have resolved the matters and noted that the transactions in the case had been conducted by employees who are no longer employed by the company.

The tobacco company has been involved in a long-running lawsuit filed by the family of a Portland, Oregon smoker.  The family has been paid its share of the award by Phillip Morris, but the company decided to contest having to pay the share to the state as required.  Phillip Morris made the argument that the state released its right to collect that money with the company’s master settlement agreement in 1998 with 46 states, five U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia about claims related to smoking.

The ruling stated that the state’s share of punitive damages is due no matter what sort of lawsuit led to the award.  A state official said there was little anticipation it will be collected soon.  Tony Green, spokesman for Attorney General John Kroger, said, “We don’t actually expect this to be the end of the litigation.”  An estimate of how much the state’s 60 percent share is worth has not been released.

The issue at stake stems from a 1999 jury award in a lawsuit filed by family members of Jesse Williams, a janitor who died of lung cancer two years earlier.  The family received more than $61 million, which included economic damages, a 40% share of punitive damages, interest, and costs.  Philip Morris paid the family in 2009 after years of appeals.

Altria Group, the cigarette maker’s parent company, is lowering earning expectations based on the costs related to the payment of this lawsuit and a separate case filed by a former smoker.  In a statement, Altria said that it expects to record a pre-tax charge of $62 million related to judgments in the two cases and $57 million in related interest costs.

One of the bank fees ended was Chase’s controversial debit card usage fee.  Chase applied the fee to customer accounts in northern Wisconsin to help the bank make a decision on whether to apply the fee nationwide.  Facing mass customer outrage, the fee was canceled, prompting many other banks considering similar fees to cancel their plans.

Also canceled was a $12 monthly checking account fee that was charged to new customers who set up basic checking accounts.  This fee could not be waived through direct deposits or online banking requirements, like previous free checking accounts from the company.  The fee had been tested in Oklahoma beginning in February.

The third fee dropped was a $15 monthly checking account fee that could only be waived if the customer maintained a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more.  The fee was being tested in the Atlanta area.

The company has not said whether they will refund the money paid by customers for the trial fees.  A customer who opened a basic checking account in Oklahoma paid as much as $120 over the ten-month period that the mandatory checking account fee was in effect, while customers that opened accounts in other states during that time period were not charged anything if they performed the actions that allowed their account fees to be waived.

Going forward, all Chase basic checking accounts will be subject to the fee schedule rolled out nationwide in February.  The fee schedule charges account holders $12 per month unless the customer makes direct deposits totaling at least $500, carries a $1,500 minimum daily balance, or has an average daily balance of $5,000 or more between deposits and investments linked to the account.

The fee cancellations followed a nationwide push for consumers to move their money out of large banks to protest excessive bank fees.  During the initiative, billions of dollars were moved to small community banks and credit unions by customers fed up with the “nickel and dime” draining of their bank accounts.

The company said the layoffs were part of revamping its nearly 600 regional radio stations.  A company spokeswoman, Wendy Goldberg, said, “We’ve completely rethought our regional market strategy and reinvented our operations in those markets in a way that will let us compete on a new level – and succeed using all of Clear Channel’s resources, scale and talent.”

With close to $20 billion in debt, Clear Channel has been attempting to revamp its operations in various ways.  One day after the layoffs were announced, the company disclosed that a new national programming operations team would take successful shows and share them with other stations along with developing programs for national broadcast.  Ms. Goldberg stated that “Just about every station that’s used this strategy has delivered better ratings than the content it replaced, even if the person giving the information isn’t located on-site in that city, because the product is better.”

Tony Lynn, a local host for country music station KBQI in Albuquerque, said, “I guess it all comes down to the bottom line, and as a small business owner, I understand that.  But on the other hand, sometimes it’s more than just a few dollars more.  Radio is an intimate medium and that’s what’s being ignored.  Listeners develop a special bond with the on-air personalities, and in the long run that proves beneficial for both the station and the advertisers.”

At issue is the requirement that Internet sellers collect state sales taxes on goods and services sold through their websites.  The legislation would allow Connecticut to collect sales tax from these Internet transactions to raise money to eliminate budget gaps caused by cuts in federal aid.

Amazon has stated that the company is not obligated to abide by the law because it does not have a physical presence in Connecticut.  According to the Amazon, by not having a physical presence, it does not have to collect and remit taxes to the state.

If Amazon complied with the new legislation, Connecticut could expect additional revenue totaling $9.4 million a year or more.  The value of the additional revenue was estimated by the General Assembly’s Office of Fiscal Analysis, which used forecasting data from a comparable New York law in its analysis.

Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Kevin Sullivan said, “They’re not fighting against a burden on their ability to do business in the state of Connecticut.  They’re fighting to protect an advantage against everybody else who’s doing business in the state of Connecticut.”

At least six states have enacted laws similar to the new law in Connecticut as of June, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.  These laws are intended to capture the $23 billion lost each year in sales tax revenues that go uncollected from online purchases.

Connecticut’s Internet tax law was created as part of the state’s budget plan to eliminate a $3.3 billion deficit.  Connecticut is estimated to lose $152 million annually from uncollected sales taxes from Internet retailers.

The Governor of the state, Dannel P. Malloy, has said that he’s committed to the cause for the long haul and believes Connecticut will eventually triumph. In an interview, Mallory stated, “I also believe there are trends at play in the United States that are going to move in the right direction to dissipate the unfair advantage that these kinds of retailers have over job-producers in our state.”

The new contract was the first one approved by the union, which is also negotiating with Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Group.  The contract sets guidelines for the pay and benefits of more than 112,000 auto workers across the nation and influences pay at foreign-owned auto plants in the U.S., auto parts supply companies, and other businesses in the manufacturing industry.

Under the deal, most workers will get $5,000 signing bonuses, profit-sharing checks, and other payments that total $11,500 or more during the next four years.  The contract also compensates workers for meeting quality standards.  At least 5,100 new jobs are expected to be added by the company and entry-level workers who make a base wage of around $15.78 per hour will get raises of 22%.

Benefits for the company are included in the deal as well.  The contract calls for lowering labor costs to one-third of 2007 levels and will hold pension costs flat for the first time in nearly 60 years.  The automaker will save millions in future years because the deal allows the company to stop paying for factory workers’ legal services.  General Motors will also have a chance to retire older workers and replace them with new hires that cost less.

The pressure is on Ford and Chrysler to reach agreements with the union now.  Optimism is high at Ford that a deal will be reached by the end of the week and negotiations with Chrysler are continuing to make progress, according to spokesmen knowledgeable of the proceedings.

In a closed deposition taken two months ago, Galina Skripnikova, a BP petrophysicist, disclosed that there appeared to be a zone of gas more than 300 feet above where BP told its contractors and regulators the shallowest zone was located.  Having an accurate depth of the oil and gas is critical to determine the amount of cement needed to seal a well adequately.  The top of the cement is required to be 500 feet above the shallowest zone holding hydrocarbons, which would mean that cement job for BP’s deep water well may have been well below where it should have been.

“This is a critical factor, where the hydrocarbons are found,” said Satish Nagarajaiah, an engineering professor at Rice University. “I think further studies are needed to determine where this exactly was and what response was initiated by BP if they knew this fact.”  Based on the new disclosures, cement contractor Halliburton has filed litigation against BP asserting that the statements prove that BP knew about the shallower gas before the explosion and should have obtained a new cement and well design.  BP has denied the allegations.

The BP oil spill was the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.  Some experts believe the error with the placement of the cement played a role in the disaster, while others say the blast could have occurred even if the cement was placed in a higher position in the well.  Investigators have also faulted misreadings of key data, the failure of the blowout preventer from stopping the oil from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, and a variety of other shortcomings by executives, engineers, and rig crew members.  A spokesperson for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement declined to say how the new disclosures would affect the investigation team’s final report.

Brennan was interviewed on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday morning. He said that counter-terrorism officials have some amount of information about the possible plans, as well as some information about the individuals that may be involved.

“We do have some information about the nature of the attack that is being reported,” Brennan said. “We also have some information about the possible individuals, but I don’t want to get into any operational details. I don’t want to compromise anything that could lead us to individuals who may be part of this plot.”

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Matt Chandler said on September 8^th that the agency had received “specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information” about a possible terrorist attack on the 10^th anniversary of the September 11^th terrorist attacks. An anonymous federal official stated that the threat involved an attack using a vehicle against New York City and Washington, D.C. Brennan did not comment whether or not the plot involved any sort of vehicle bomb.

“When this information first came in, he told us very clearly, ‘I want everything to be done to find out whether or not this information from these sources has any credibility to it,’” said Brennan on Fox News Sunday.

“So we’ve been doing that. We’ve been working very closely with state and local partners. Bulletins have gone out. We’ve had a number of individuals who have called in about suspicious vehicles. That is something that we want people to do.”

According to United States intelligence agencies, the two alleged suspects are of Arabian descent. Government officials have been putting the pieces of the puzzle together by collaborating flight logs and and manifests. Now they believe they have pin pointed the two people mentioned in Osama Bin Laden’s 9/11 attack plans.

Intelligence officials say they know very little about the third alleged suspect. A rumor they have released to the press is that this suspect may be traveling through Europe.

Besides the information they recovered at Osama Bin Laden’s safe house, intelligence officials have failed to uncover any more sources that would help corroborate they alleged plans.

This plan is suppose to be executed by a motor vehicle rigged with explosives. However, government officials are exploring other means of a terrorist might have to cause damage to the United States citizens and infrastructure.

Usually, the United States releases very little to no information regarding the interception of terrorist messages. The media knows a surprising amount of information for a terror plot this big.

Since Osama Bin Laden’s death, the new head of Al Qaeda has been Ayman al-Zawahiri. Supposedly Ayman al-Zawahiri is going to be directly involved in executing this terror plot.

Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States, is the source which we recovered much of this information from. He specifically revealed that America uncovered this terror plot when they raided Osama Bin Laden’s safe house.

The safety of the US and its inhabitants has become a priority post-9/11; a homeland security degree program focuses on creating plans and strategies to thwart terrorism.

“We have received credible information very recently about a possible plot directed at the homeland that seems to be focused on New York and Washington, D.C.,” a senior administration official told the press on Thursday.

Police currently have check points set up all around Manhattan. CIA and FBI officials believe that the terror attack could come in the form of a vehicle packed with explosives inside.

Officials said that the plot is suppose to incorporate three people, one of which is a United States citizen. As we said, they are expecting a car bomb, but do not know anything regarding where the bomb may be detonated. The intelligence agencies also said they know very little about the three people that are allegedly involved in the operation.

Intelligence officials said they were not focusing solely on cars, as this evidence may have outdated when it was recovered by United States military officials.

Vice President Joe Biden told the press that the United States recovered this information from the Al Qaeda headquarters in May. This is the same place Osama Bin Laden was using as shelter.

“This is the first, the first credible piece of information we’ve gotten,” Biden told NBC’s Today Show. “All hands are on deck.”

With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 only 2 days away, federal officials definitely have their work cut out for them.

The gunman died 2 hours after the massacre at the IHOP restaurant. The shooters name was Eduardo Sencion, 32. He was visiting the capital of Nevada. He worked for his family’s business in South Lake Tahoe, California.

Two of the citizens killed in the shooting were National Guard members. Three other National Guard soldiers were injured from Sencion’s gun fire. The civilian who was killed was a female whose name has not been released yet.

Eduardo Sencion has no past criminal history that would warrant this shooting. However, some family members have hinted toward him having some mental problems. According to family, he was at the family owned business on Monday evening and then spent the night at Carson City. Investigators have told us that his family members noticed no unusual or erratic activity from Sencion.

His motive for the shooting is still unknown to police.

A gun was recovered from the scene of the crime along with an empty 30 round magazine. There were also two other empty magazines found at the IHOP in Carson City.

Sencion began his rampage at approximately 9 A.M. local time. By the time authorities arrived, Sencion was lying in the middle of the parking lot in between two cars. Sencion kept firing his weapon while in the parking lot.

One thing that is troubling officials is the National Guardsmen that were shot. Police officers are trying to figure out if Sencion purposely fired upon the soldiers because of a set of broken values. The IHOP was located only a few miles away from the National Guard state headquarters in Carson City, Nevada.

However, many experts are optimistic, saying the damage could have been much worse. ”It was much less bite than bark,” said Matt Carletti, specialty insurance analyst at JMP Securities. “Rounding up, it’s a $10 billion event, not 20 or 30 or 40.”

Analysis Corp. is a company that analyzes the economic damages made my man made and natural disasters. Right now they are estimating the damage to be 7 billion dollars. They stated that approximately 3.5 billion dollars of that will be covered by insurance.

Another catastrophe risk modeling firm, named Eqecat, said the damages in the Carolina’s was any where from a quarter billion dollars to a half billion dollars. They also estimated the damage on the Caribbean islands to range anywhere in betwee 300 million to 600 million dollars.

“Certainly, the storm was, in terms of damage and losses, less than expected,” said Jose Miranda, director for Eqecat. “The fact that the storm hit the U.S. coast three separate times served as the number one factor why it weakened as it moved up the East Coast and mitigated losses.”

As Miranda said, our damages could have been much larger.

Officials are estimating months of work to fully comprehend the extent of the damage financially to the eastern coast. Oil prices are expected to rise as some refineries in the Gulf of Mexico shut down because of Irene.

Irene is no where close to the 45 billion dollars of insure damages suffered by the southeast during Katrina in 2005, but she was not a joke either. Insurances companies are very strapped as 2011 has been a rough year for natural disasters.