A Case Against the Case of Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens mugshot.
/ CBSSo how good a case does the government have against Roger Clemens? If one goes by outward appearances of the former seven-time Cy Young Award winner on Monday...not so much.
In federal court in Washington, D.C., Clemens took on the relaxed air of a man without a care in the world. From his dress (stylish) to his obligatory mug shot (smiling) to his cafeteria lunch (breezy) to the only four words he uttered in court ("Not guilty, your honor"), Clemens came across once again as almost immune to charges he lied to Congress about his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs.
Continue »The Violent World Of White Supremacist Gangs
Jason "Skin" Hawthorne (center, in color) and his crew were arrested after a two and a half year undercover investigation the ATF.
Posing as a gun-runner an undercover ATF agent opened a door into the rarely-seen world of white supremacists. They're ultra-violent, sophisticated, and less interested in a pure white race, than the color of money.
Read the full report."Standing Up" to Some Questions in Omaha
Armen Keteyian at a strip mall parking lot in Omaha, Nebraska, site of a cocktail lounge that was home to a local white-power gang.
/ CBSWhen you've been around as long as I have in this business you do a lot of what we call stand-ups: those on-camera moments in which the correspondent, hopefully, brings something important, original or provocative to a piece. Over the years I've stood on the beach (surfing), inside Carnegie Hall (musician), and on countless streets (serial killer, government waste) to help tell a tale.
But I broke new ground on our white supremacists story that airs today.
The ground in question was a strip mall parking lot in Omaha, Nebraska, site of a cocktail lounge that was home to a local white power gang led by one Jason "Skin" Hawthorne. His eight-man crew used the bar to set up deals for drugs, guns and ammo, which for the purposes of the undercover ATF agent involved in the case worked out rather well when it came to shooting surreptitious video.
Continue »Diabetes Drug to Get Second Look
On Tuesday, an FDA panel will begin deciding what to do about the controversial diabetes drug Avandia.
More than half a million Americans use it, but studies have linked it to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, even death.
Read the full report from CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian, here.
BP's Dubious Track Record Settling Claims
Ralph Dean fought for BP to pay his wife's medical expenses after she was involved in an accident in 2005
"What we have done so far is to pay every claim that has been presented to us and we will continue to do that," Tony Hayward said.
A promise from the start to "Make it Right" to all those harmed by the spill.
"If you turn up at the claims office, within 48 hours you're given a check," Hayward said.
But those words ring hollow now to fishermen still waiting to be paid, businessmen getting pennies on the dollar, and especially to those who have heard it all before - men like Ralph Dean, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian.
"If they make it right, it's because they were forced to make it right," Dean said. "You've got to drag everything out of them. Every last nickel."
... Click here to read more.
AIG'S Joseph Cassano Refuses to Play Fall Guy
If a single face can serve to symbolize an economic collapse it almost certainly belongs to Joseph Cassano.
Hidden from public view for more than two years, the former head of AIG's controversial Financial Products unit resurfaced in a big way today in Washington, D.C., testifying before a federal commission investigating the financial crisis many believe he helped create.
"It appears AIG was as forthcoming to the public as BP was about the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf," said Byron Georgiou, a member of the bi-partisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.
Vilified as nothing less than "The Man Who Crashed The World," Cassano refused to play the fall guy or scapegoat on Wednesday for what he dubbed a "market disruption event."
"This was an extremely remote risk business," he said during a three-hour session. "We never diluted our underwriting standards."
Cassano, who made some $300 million before being "retiring" in February 2008, took little or no blame for the eventual $180 billion taxpayer bailout of AIG. His only regret, he said, was not sticking around and negotiating a better deal than the $40 billion in paid in collateral calls to investment partners like Goldman Sachs - at 100 cents on the dollar.
"You are saying if you had not left then taxpayers would have been in better shape?" asked Commissioner Peter Wallison.
"It has caused me to scratch my head," answered Cassano. "I think I would have negotiated a much better deal for the taxpayers."
But several members of the 10-person panel weren't buying his explanations, chastising Cassano for insuring $80 billion worth of exotic bets, primarily on sub-prime loans, with no conventional hedge or protection. Commission Chairman Phil Angelides and Vice Chairman Bill Thomas seemed stunned that the men who testified alongside Cassano - former AIG CEO Martin Sullivan and current Chief Risk Officer Robert Lewis - were oblivious to the risk.
"You had this massive exposure and you didn't know about it?" asked Angelides.
"To the best of my knowledge I never recognized that portfolio," said Sullivan.
In the end, Cassano delivered the kind of carefully-crafted performance that's helped him beat back a Justice Department fraud investigation and SEC probe in the last year. And now, perhaps, reshape his battered image.
BP Stock in Freefall - Can Company Survive Disaster?
From the moment the first fireball torched the sky above the Deepwater Horizon, BP has spent about $1.25 billion and counting on the disaster. The vast majority of the money -- $1.2 billion - pouring into efforts to cap the spewing well and contain the crisis, plus nearly $50 million in claims paid to thousands caught in its wake.
As part of a PR blitz BP CEO Tony Hayward has vowed that "We will get this done. We will make this right." A promise President Obama has vowed the company will keep. But increasingly it appears Wall Street is questioning whether the world's fourth largest energy company can survive the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history.
Since the April 20 explosion BP stock has plunged more than 50 percent - from $60.48 to under $30 per share midday today, a 14-year low -- wiping out about $100 billion in market value.
Special Section: Disaster in the Gulf
Continue »Scope of Oil Spill Seen through Infrared Camera
To the naked eye, the scene of the massive spill appears on the surface to be an expanse of deep blue water, marked by boats.
But in the very same area, shot exclusively for CBS News with an infrared camera, the Gulf surface is dark an ominous as far as the eye can see - and that darkness is oil.
Read the full post.Can BP Be Trusted in Light of its Past?
Minutes after the "Top Kill" operation got under way, CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian sat down with BP CEO Tony Hayward at the company's headquarters in Houston.
The conversation focused on corporate culture, and BP's controversial record on safety and the environment.
Congress Hears Dramatic Rape Kit Testimony
