Political turmoil in Greece amid austerity uproar

Squeezed between worried creditors and an angry public, Greece's beleaguered prime minister tried to tamp down an escalating revolt within his own Socialist party Thursday over new austerity measures.
Two prominent Socialist lawmakers resigned hours before Prime Minister George Papandreou was to reschuffle his Cabinet, a tactic he hoped would help get new taxes and spending cuts approved before Greece was cut off from international lending. The resignations don't affect the government's five-seat majority in parliament, but raise more doubts about Papandreau's handling of Greece's escalating financial crisis.
"The political system is rotting ... The country is not being governed the way it should be," said Socialist deputy Nikos Salagianis. "A reshuffle will not resolve the country's problems."
Trying to quiet the criticism, the Socialists announced emergency talks for Thursday afternoon, which will likely delay Papandreou's announcement of his new cabinet.
Greece's rapidly evolving political crisis comes a day after anti-austerity riots in central Athens and the collapse of negotiations to form a coalition government triggered a sell-off in global financial markets. Investors are deeply worried that a default in Greece could hurt banks elsewhere and set off a financial chain reaction that experts predict would be catastrophic.
Fears that a messy Greek default may be in the offing has sent the euro down nearly four cents over the past couple of days to below $1.41, triggered widespread selling in stock markets and pushed the Greek yield on its ten-year bonds up to a record over 18 percent.
The next week is crucial for Greece. Finance ministers of the 17-nation eurozone are expected to thrash out details of a second Greek bailout to be presented to EU leaders. It's extremely unlikely that another rescue deal will be offered if the Greek Parliament fails to back the new austerity measures.
In Brussels, the European Union's top economic official, Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, said it was "regrettable" that Wednesday's coalition talks failed.
"A great deal of responsibility lies on the shoulders of the Greek authorities and all Greek political leaders. We expect the Greek Parliament to endorse the economic reform program as agreed by the end of June," Rehn said. "The efforts needed to avoid a default -- which would be a catastrophe for Greece -- are the responsibility of all political forces."
He said eurozone countries will likely agree on Sunday to pay Greece its next rescue loan, saving it from the immediate risk of default, but a decision on a new longer-term bailout will be delayed until July amid disagreement over the role of private investors.
The disbursement of the next installment of Greece's rescue loans, worth euro12 billion ($17 billion), would prevent the country from defaulting on its massive debt next month, but its longer-term financial prospects remain uncertain.
Papandreou has faced withering public criticism over a new five-year austerity package that creditors have demanded in return for continued funding from the euro110 billion ($155 billion) international bailout. Market turmoil reflects waning confidence that Papandreou can win the austerity vote.
Papandreou, scrambling to pass the reforms, has also called a called vote of confidence in parliament, expected as early as Sunday or early next week.

Person held amid Pentagon security scare

(CBS/AP) 
ARLINGTON, Va. - Authorities are closing several major roads around the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., due to an ongoing investigation.
CBS News chief national security correspondent David Martin reports the Department of Homeland Security has one person in custody who is suspected of planting suspicious devices around the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial.
It remains unclear whether the vehicle in question belongs to the person in custody, but all the roads around the Pentagon have been closed and traffic is at a standstill, says Martin.
Routes 27 and 110 around the Pentagon, all ramps to and from Interstate 395 near the Pentagon and eastbound Interstate 66 to Route 110 were all closed early Friday morning.
Arlington County police department spokesman Crystal Nosal says police are investigating a suspicious vehicle on Washington Boulevard.
Lt. Gregg Karl with the Arlington County Fire Department tells CBS affiliate WUSA that the county's bomb squad is investigating the vehicle. Lt. Karl would not give any details on what may have sparked the suspicion.

Metro says rail service has not been affected, but travelers should expect delays and detours on Metro buses.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/17/national/main20071895.shtml#ixzz1PXDtAjSU

Anthony Weiner Says Wife Huma Abedin Will Stay, But Will She?

Confessions from New York Rep. Anthony Weiner that he lied about sexting photos to a Seattle woman and at least five others over the past three years have shaken his barely 11-month marriage to Huma Abedin.
Abedin is a longtime aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The 34-year-old has endured humiliating headlines in The New York Post -- "ballooning scandal," "Hide the Weiner" and "What a Weenie" -- after word got out that a 21-year-old Gennette Cordova had received the now-infamous photo of a man's crotch from the congressman's Twitter account.
In a tear-stained, half-hour press conference yesterday, the Democratic congressman said his wife would stand by him, despite the week-old scandal dubbed, "Weinergate."
"We have no intention of splitting over this," said Weiner, 46, who will not resign. "We will weather this. I love her. She loves me."
He said that he had told his wife about contact with women before their marriage, but not about recent ventures online, including one with single mom, Meagan Broussard.
Weiner said he has never met these women in person and has not had sex outside marriage.
Abedin only learned the truth Monday and didn't show up for the press conference.

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"Anybody who is so imprudent to do any of this, is mind-boggling to me," wrote Roxanne Roberts about the affair in the gossip column, "The Reliable Source," which she co-authors for the Washington Post. "From a purely practical standpoint -- what was he thinking?"
The couple -- with some irony noted by pundits -- was married last July by former President Bill Clinton, who was himself impeached by the House of Representatives in 1998 over an affair with Monica Lewinsky.
When he officiated at the Long Island ceremony, Bill Clinton reportedly toasted Abedin, saying she was like a daughter to him.
Hillary Clinton weathered the same public humiliation when her husband was unfaithful with a White House intern, yet chose to stand by her man.
"The thought did cross into my mind -- 'Who is the person most upset about these circumstances?' -- and I am guessing it's probably a tie," said Roberts. "I bet it's both these women."
"[Abedin] has been extremely private about her longtime relationship working for Hillary Clinton," she said. "She has established a reputation for someone completely loyal and utterly discreet."
Whether she takes the Clinton's path or ultimately leaves Weiner is anyone's guess.
"I would never even attempt to speculate," said Roberts. "Nobody knows much about her emotional life or how she will likely process this. It all goes back to the old dictum -- you can't know what a marriage is like by just looking in."
Abedin began her career in 1996 as a White House intern, then later served as Hillary Clinton's traveling chief of staff and "body woman" during her 2008 presidential campaign.
Born in Kalamazoo, Mich., she was the daughter of an Iranian scholar of Indian descent and Pakistani mother who is a sociology professor in Saudi Arabia, where she was raised. She came to the United States to attend George Washington University.
Strikingly beautiful, her only foray into the public eye was cooperating with a 2007 feature in Vogue magazine. During the interview she told the magazine that she "grew up in a very traditional family, but there was never anything I didn't think I could do."
"I remember going with my parents to weddings where the women would arrive covered in black veils, but underneath they'd be wearing the most exquisite brightly colored Dolce & Gabbana suits," said Abedin. "They were like peacocks showing off their tails."
Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, who is a friend of both Hillary Clinton and Abedin, called both women "workaholics."
He described Abedin as "an unbelievably feminine and gentle person, but at the same time she can accomplish so much."
He also noted that as a practicing Muslim and Arabic speaker, "she's very conservative."
Actress Mary Steenburgen, a longtime friend of the secretary of state, said in the same article that the two women's relationship was "more like an older sister-younger sister."
Weiner was described in a 2007 New York Observer article as "a swingingly single Brooklyn Democrat." In that same article he described Abedin's ability to hold up under pressure, "preternaturally."
"This notion that Senator Clinton is a cool customer -- I mean, I don't dispute it, but the coolest customer in that whole operation is Huma," he said. "In fact, I think there's some dispute as to whether Huma's actually human or not."

Rep. Anthony Weiner's Emotional Apology Watch Video

Thursday on 'GMA' Watch Video

Laughing at Weinergate Watch Video

Press reports have called Abedin, "unflappable," but that may not still be the case.
"He's in deep, deep trouble," said Judy Kuriansky, a psychologist who specializes in relationships and teaches at Teachers College, Columbia University.
"This is really horrendous -- this puts her in an extremely compromised position," said Kuriansky. "Whatever she decides to do, I believe she is consulting with Hillary."
"To my mind, psychologically, she has other people to please and this happens with other wives," she said. "You must take that into account."
Unlike the Clintons, who have a daughter Chelsea, the Weiners have no children, which may shape Abedin's ultimate decision, according to Kuriansky.
"Whether there are children involved and the length of the marriage, those are the really big ones," she said. "There is the real world and the economic bargain. But I don't think that's a problem here. She has her own life and has her own career and money."
Kuriansky, like Roberts, is shocked that Weiner and so many other notable male politicians have risked their political futures for sex -- virtual or otherwise.
"We could go on and on, we have seen this many times before," said Kuriansky. "It's the same thing for all of them. They are high energy people. They direct it erroneously into the sexual area and should direct it somewhere else. You saw it in JFK and Jefferson -- they feel privileged or they get away with it and think they are above the law."
Eliot Spitzer, another New York Democrat, resigned as New York governor in 2008 after being caught cavorting with New Jersey prostitute Ashley Dupre. He is now a successful news commentator for CNN.
Monday night, just after the scandal broke open, Spitzer interviewed political pundits, openly disclosing to the TV audience his own sordid affair.
"Not only do they get away with it, they get higher in their careers," said Kuriansky. "People forgive and forget and go on. It's the same with rock stars and celebrities. They are allowed. As Americans we make a big to-do, then we give them a pass."

Groupon IPO to deal new members into Chicago's billionaires club

For decades, some of the same names — Pritzker, Crown, Wrigley — have ranked near the top of any list of Chicago's wealthiest people. And they have displayed it by tacking their names on everything from fountains to athletic fields to libraries.
But a company called Groupon, started less than three years ago by a graduate school dropout, is about to upend that.
If Groupon's initial public offering values the company at close to $30 billion, as some say it will, Chairman Eric Lefkofsky would become Chicago's richest man. His remaining stock in Groupon would be worth $6.48 billion. That excludes at least the $382 million he and his wife earned from prior sales of the stock and money generated from the IPOs of two other businesses Lefkofsky founded.

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Put another way, Lefkofsky's remaining Groupon stock alone would exceed the entire net worth of Chicago's current wealthiest man, real estate magnate and Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell, whom Forbes estimated in March to be worth $5 billion.
At a $30 billion valuation, Groupon Chief Executive Andrew Mason would hold stock worth $2.31 billion. That would make the 30-year-old the fifth- or sixth-wealthiest person in Chicago on Forbes' list, behind Beanie Babies co-founder Ty Warner and ahead of hedge fund manager and Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin. (Oprah is one step ahead of Warner.)
Company co-founder Brad Keywell, 41, would hold stock worth $2.07 billion through a family-controlled entity. He also would move into the top 10, possibly placing him ahead of Thomas Pritzker, Penny Pritzker and William Wrigley Jr.
There is no way to predict Groupon's worth until the IPO, plans for which were announced Thursday. But given the exuberant market for brand-name tech stocks, a high number is certain. Sources told the New York Times it will be $30 billion; others cite a lower number of about $20 billion.
Other people connected to Groupon also stand to become rich. Members of Chicago's tech community say it is important that some of those other people are midlevel Groupon employees, who later could use their wealth to start businesses.
"Even if only a fraction of that $6B gets into the hands of the twenty- and thirty-somethings running the show there it will be enough to shake up the tech and startup scene here in a very good way," Leon Chism, the chief technology officer of Analyte Health, wrote in a blog post in December, when Groupon was weighing a $6 billion offer from Google to buy the company, which it rejected.
Chism, however, added an important caveat: The city would reap a windfall only "provided our newly minted million- and billionaires don't head for warmer climes themselves. Or sit on their cash."
Although the three co-founders will become extraordinarily rich, they are expected to exercise that wealth differently from the old guard and possibly from each other.
"The way they're going to do things is hard for anybody to predict because it is going to be so creative and so entrepreneurial," said Mae Hong, director of the Chicago office of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. "They're going to do things most people have not thought of before."
Lefkofsky echoed that thought in a long blog post he wrote last year about his business philosophy and Lightbank, the venture capital firm he and Keywell founded.
"We're drawn to creating things that don't exist, but should, and nothing like Lightbank exists," Lefkofsky wrote.
Lefkofsky sits on the boards of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago and Children's Memorial Hospital. So far, his philanthropic work has been traditional, coming in the form of donations from his private family foundation. In 2009, the most recent year IRS records are available, the foundation gave its largest donations to the two art museums and the Jewish United Fund. In total, the couple gave more than $1 million.
That was before Groupon's ascent.
Lefkofsky is passionate about art, while Keywell is an avid reader. In addition to writing a book and co-authoring a children's book with his daughter, Keywell's website lists more than 60 books he recommends and states that he tries to regularly read 14 publications, from The Economist to Transport Topics to ARTnews.
Of the three co-founders of Groupon, Keywell has spent the most time on projects outside of Lightbank. In addition to leading Gov. Pat Quinn's Innovation Council, Keywell served on former Mayor Richard Daley's technology infrastructure council and his Chicago-China Friendship Initiative.
And Keywell has begun laying a legacy with Chicago Ideas Week, which will launch in October. Although the week will include several VIP dinners, most of the events, including lectures and behind-the-scenes tours of area businesses, will be open to the general public and cost $15 or less to attend.
"They could have a democratizing effect," Hong said of Groupon's founders. "They could lower the barriers to entry for ordinary people to participate in things they normally wouldn't be able to participate in. In a lot of ways, that was the whole premise of how Groupon started, making it easy for people to try new things."
Of all of Groupon's founders, the least is known about Mason's interests. That's largely because he has been known to work around the clock, calling Lefkofsky at home in the middle of the night, for instance. He has had time for little else.
But he is passionate about music and social activism. He majored in music as an undergraduate at Northwestern University and dropped out of the University of Chicago's graduate public policy program to start Groupon's predecessor, The Point. While Groupon leverages the masses to obtain discounts, The Point tries to leverage the masses to get involved in social causes.
Mason has started a small private foundation here, indicating a long-term commitment to the city. But he also has had some harsh words for Chicago as of late.
"My biggest mistake was waiting to open an office in Silicon Valley," he told technology blogger Kara Swisher during an interview at the AllThingsD conference in California last week, according to a live blog of his remarks. "Chicago is a great town, but it doesn't have the depth of talent that you guys have."
Perhaps he'll set out to use his new riches to change that.
Tribune reporter Wailin Wong contributed.
Melissa Harris can be reached at mmharris@tribune.com or 312-222-4582.