In what is likely to be the first significant diplomatic discussion between the U.S. and Iran in 30 years, representatives from the two nations along with others from the six major powers gathered Thursday in Geneva to discuss Iran's nuclear ambitions. Thurs far, the parties agreed to a second meeting and Iran has said that officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency will be allowed into their recently revealed nuclear facility in "the next couple of weeks." Anonymous sources said that the morning's more informal gatherings resulted in the U.S. and its allies forcefully stating their position on Iran's nuclear ambitions, while Iranian diplomats attempted to broaden the discussion to other issues such as the war in Afghanistan and reform of the United Nations.

Maybe not a golden parachute, but it certainly isn’t shabby: Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, who announced he was stepping down Wednesday, will receive $53 million for his pensions—that's roughly $3.5 million a year for the rest of his life. In an effort to align executive compensation with investor returns, the bank eliminated a supplemental executive retirement plan along with golden parachutes seven years ago, but before the change, Lewis had taken part in the supplemental plan for more than a decade. Accounting for deferred compensation and stock options, a researcher at Corporate Watchdog estimates that Lewis will take about $64 million—a number cut in half from what it would have been three years ago, when BofA's shares went for more than $50. Because of Lewis' decision to spend billions of dollars on the crumbling Merrill Lynch, Warren Buffett dubbed him the "ironic hero" of the financial crisis. Surely the $53 million will make that moniker easier to live with.

If Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey can’t do it, no one can. The International Olympic Committee will announce their pick for the 2016 Summer Games’ host at 11 a.m. EST on Friday, and CNN reports that it’s coming down to Chicago and Rio de Janeiro, which are, according to one insider, “close as hell.” The president will join his wife, Oprah, and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in Copenhagen on Friday morning for four hours of whirlwind Olympic wooing—as will Brazil’s wildly popular President Lula da Silva, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and Japan’s new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama. Many speculate that Obama’s presence suggests inside knowledge that America will win the right to host the Games—especially because losing the Games after a personal appearance from America’s superstar president would constitute a major loss of face. Obama’s aides are reportedly “cautiously optimistic.”

The 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra has officially claimed 1,100 people, and that number is expected to rise further. BBC News reports that nearly 2,400 people have been injured. Rescue workers are scrambling through the rubble of buildings in a desperate search for survivors, and reports describe grim scenes at a collapsed school in the capital city of Padang. Sumatra's already-fragile infrastructure, combined with the vast area affected by the quake, is making rescue efforts quite a challenge. A United Nations official said that there was an inadequate amount of equipment available to properly deal with the damage.

David Letterman shocked viewers Thursday when he announced on his show that someone was trying to blackmail him over his sexual relationships with female staffers—and new reports suggest the extorter was an employee at fellow CBS show 48 Hours. CBS reports that the 48 Hours employee was arrested on charges of attempted grand larceny in the first degree. The extorter allegedly threatened to make the affairs public if he did not pay $2 million. A CNN legal analyst said Letterman had affairs with at least two female employees. The late-night comedian contacted authorities, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office set up a sting operation that resulted in an arrest Thursday, after the person was caught trying to cash a fake $2 million check. Letterman said he testified before a grand jury on Thursday morning, "something I've never done in my life." Of the affairs, he said, "Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would… I feel like I need to protect these people. I need to certainly protect my family."

"Only in America can you make that much money crying," said Sen. Lindsey Graham of Fox News host Glenn Beck, breaking right-wing Washington’s reluctance to speak against the far-right television star. At The Atlantic’s First Draft of History conference, The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein reports that the South Carolina senator tried to distance Beck from the Republican Party: "Glenn Beck is not aligned with any party. He is aligned with cynicism and there has always been a market for cynics." Graham also said that people who continued to question whether President Obama was born in America are "crazy," as was a Newsmax article imagining how a military coup could topple the administration.

Somewhere, Taylor Swift is smiling. Following a spate of negative publicity after rapper Kanye West crashed Taylor Swift’s award-winning moment at the MTV Video Music Awards, concert company Live Nation announced Thursday that West’s tour with pop star Lady Gaga has been canceled. The ambitious international tour, called “Fame Kills,” was to kick off next month.

A seemingly frail Michael Jackson may have had skeletons in his closet, but not much regarding his health, a recent autopsy report obtained by the Associated Press revealed Thursday. Though his arms, face, and neck were scarred—reportedly from plastic surgeries—his heart, kidneys and other major organs were allegedly normal for a 50-year-old man. When he died in June, Jackson’s most serious health issues were chronically inflamed lungs and arthritis in his lower spine, neither of which was serious enough to have directly caused death. The coroner’s office, which deemed Jackson’s death a homicide last month, concluded that he died from acute intoxication of the anesthetic propofol, as well as the two other sedatives (known as benzodiazepines). The report also reveals Jackson had tattooed eyebrows and lip liner, skin depigmentation, and could still produce sperm.

No one was taken more by surprise by former Los Angeles prosecutor David Wells' statement that he lied on camera than Marina Zenovich, the director who interviewed him for her documentary, Desired, about Roman Polanski. The revelation, as told to The Daily Beast's Marcia Clark, left Zenovich "perplexed" and wondering why Wells had not confessed prior to Polanski's return to the headlines. In the film, Wells says that he spoke to the judge handling Polanski's case in 1978 and said that the filmmaker deserved prison time. Now, Wells says that was a lie. Zenovich's statement closes by saying "It is a sad day for documentary filmmakers when something like this happens."

Remember Sarah Taylor? She’s the former aide to Karl Rove who resigned for her role in the U.S. attorney-firing scandal and after a very embarrassing Senate testimony in which she insisted, to Patrick Leahy’s consternation, that “I took an oath to the president” (instead of the Constitution). According to Talking Points Memo, Minnesota Governor and 2012 GOP hopeful Tim Pawlenty has hired Taylor to work on the management and strategy team for his PAC. No word if any oaths were taken.

Scientists have discovered the oldest skeleton of a human ancestor—a small-brained, 110-pound female Ardipithecus ramidus, nicknamed Ardi. She lived in what is now Ethiopia 4.4 million years ago, making her more than a million years older than Lucy, the previous holder of the oldest hominid skeleton. The difference between Ardi and Lucy is that the latter is a bipedal hominid, while Ardi was able to both walk on two legs and use four limbs when climbing in trees—perhaps providing insight into the ape-to-human transition. According to conventional wisdom, our lineage became bipedal when they moved from the forest to the grasslands, and Ardi lived in a woodland environment.

Jon Gosselin has won. Just days after learning TLC has dropped him from the show originally about his life with his wife and eight children, the rejected TV star called for the show to immediately stop production on the newly titled Kate Plus 8—and the network gave in. In a letter from his attorney—and a posted sign outside his Pennsylvania home—Gosselin announced he wouldn’t allow any production crews on the property he owns with his estranged wife, Kate “for any reason.” TLC responded with a statement complaining about Gosselin's "continued erratic behavior."

The debate over the right to die continues to rage in the U.K., but a recent law and a new suicide have complicated the issue. The Telegraph reports that Kerrie Wooltorton, 26, who was depressed over her inability to have a child, drank poison at home, called an ambulance, then handed medical staff a letter requesting that they make her comfortable, but let her die. Although they said it was a "horrible thing," doctors failed to revive Wooltorton because they feared assault charges under the 2005 Mental Capacity Act, which allows patients to use a living will to explain which types of treatment they do not want. Wooltorton's suicide took place days after new guidelines on assisted suicide were published, charging that doctors who assist in euthanasia are not likely to be prosecuted unless they stand to gain financially. This case is thought to be the first time anyone has used a living will to commit suicide. Wooltorton drank poison up to nine times in the year before her suicide, and each time doctors flushed it from her system. In addition to her letter to medical personnel, she made her wishes verbally clear—at the inquest a coroner found that she "had the capacity to consent to treatment" but "refused such treatment in full knowledge of the consequences."

Pineapple Express star James Franco is trading in the drugs for some scrubs on the heels of the announcement that he will guest star on ABC’s General Hospital for an approximate two-month story arc beginning in November. Though the actor is largely known for his comedic portrayals on FunnyOrDie.com and his role in the Spider-Man film series, he will visit the soap opera set of the fictional Port Charles as a currently undisclosed character. Franco’s recurring role with begin November 20, much to the delight of the show’s executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, who cooed, it’s “an honor that an actor of Franco’s caliber would choose to spend some of his valuable time in Port Charles.”

Mayor Cory Booker has had enough of Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien's Newark-bashing. "The mayor of Newark, N.J., wants to set up a citywide program to improve residents' health," Conan joked last week. "The health-care program consists of a bus ticket out of Newark." Now, according to the New York Post, Booker has released a YouTube video informing Conan that he can no longer set foot on city soil. Furthermore, the mayor said, "according to the powers invested in me by the people of the city of Newark, I'm officially putting you on the Newark, N.J., airport no-fly list." Last night, Conan challenged Booker to an on-air debate, and claimed the airport ban wouldn't affect him because he could "navigate the nation's sewer system," to the city because, "everyone knows all sewers lead to Newark."

Some things never change—like Bill Gates being atop Forbes’ annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans. Some things, however, do change—the total wealth of those ranked dropped $300 billion to $1.27 trillion and the number of billionaires fell to 391 from 489. Gates’ net worth, for example, declined $7 billion to $50 billion and second-place Warren Buffett lost $10 billion, ending up with a personal valuation of $40 billion. Oprah Winfrey’s net worth also decreased by $400 million. Among the 28 members of the list who actually added to their wealth over the past year is Andrew Beal, a fund manager at Henderson Global Investors Ltd., who ranked in 52nd place. He tripled his net worth to $4.5 billion by buying cheap loans and assets.

The line between art and child pornography is evidently pretty thin. The Guardian reports that a photograph from Tate Modern exhibit due to open Thursday has been withdrawn after Scotland Yard warned the museum that the image of a nude, heavily made up Brooke Shields at age 10 could violate obscenity laws since it could be construed as sexually provocative. The exhibit catalog, in which the image appears, has also been withdrawn from sale. The image, by American artist Richard Prince, is actually a photograph of a photograph. In 1976, Shields' mother authorized commercial photographer Gary Gross to take the picture in return for $450 for the Playboy publication Sugar 'n' Spice. Shields' later attempt to suppress the picture was unsuccessful. In 1983, Price slapped a gilt frame on the photo and displayed it without labeling in a rundown shopfront on the Lower East Side, naming it Spiritual America after a 1923 photograph of a gelded horse by Alfred Stieglitz. In 2007, the work was shown in New York's Guggenheim Museum without attracting major controversy.

The murky waters of a potential deal between Comcast and GE have become only partially clearer. Although Comcast denied Wednesday reports that it was close to a deal to buy GE’s NBC Universal--which includes channels such as NBC, MSNBC, USA, and Bravo--for $35 billion, it is weighing a potential deal, according to the Wall Street Journal. Comcast called the reports "inaccurate," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, although a senior vice president did say, "We are looking for content." Top GE executives denied that they're interested in selling NBC Universal, although growth in the media division has slowed. A potential deal could also come from French conglomerate Vivendi, which owns a 20 percent stake in NBC Universal, and could exercise its yearly option to sell the stake to Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S. The Wall Street Journal reports that GE is exploring other possible options for the Vivendi stake, including third-party buyers.

Sure, we inaugurated a new president just nine months ago, but it's already time to start thinking about 2012 and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty looks likely to be the first to throw his hat into the ring. On Thursday, Pawlenty—or T-Paw as he’s known to fans—launched his political action committee called Freedom First and he’s expected to announce the support of high-level political strategists and donors, including former top-level Bush political consultants Terry Nelson, Sara Taylor, and Phil Musser. In order to build national campaign infrastructure, Pawlenty has been reaching out to prominent Republicans, including former backers of former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney, who is considered to be his only viable rival, as many Republicans believe Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin would be nonstarters in a general election.

Maybe Kate Hudson is pregnant with A-Rod's baby, or maybe she just ate a sandwich this week—either way, let the wild speculation begin. Earlier this week, Hudson was photographed looking, as the New York Daily News put it, "a teensy bit plump" while house-hunting in Malibu with main squeeze, Yankees player Alex Rodriguez. According to Hudson rep Brad Carafelli, she's not expecting, but then, that's what a rep would be expected to say.

The man whose mere whispers used to move markets has said that he expects the growth in the U.S. economy to slow next year. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Bloomberg Television, “The odds are that we flatten out, even though earnings are doing very well." The now much criticized financial whiz was referring to the equities market. Greenspan said he expects the economy to grow at 3 to 4 percent over the next year before fizzling, predicting that the unemployment rate of 9.7 percent is unlikely to budge soon.

With some good old goose-stepping, massive floats, and missile displays in Beijing, China celebrated 60 years since Mao Zedong announced the country's embrace of communism Thursday. Community Party officials looked on in Tiananmen Square as the central Beijing gathering place turned into a stage for the country to showcase its military discipline and national zeal. "Today a socialist China embracing modernization, embracing the world and embracing the future stands lofty and firm," China's president said.

Those who would like to keep the Olympic Games as far away from the Windy City as possible in 2016 will be excluded from the room as Michelle Obama, Oprah, and other Chicago luminaries make their pitch for the Second City Friday in Copenhagen. Opponents are prepared, if a little fearful. Said one challenger, "In the face of this overwhelming firepower in favor of the Chicago bid, it's a little intimidating to be arguing against it." The Wall Street Journal recounts that local opposition to the Olympics has a storied tradition.

It’s Joe Wilson all over again, but this time, the roles are reversed. After Florida’s Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson said the GOP’s health-care plan is for the sick to “die quickly,” Republicans called on Grayson to apologize on the House floor—just as Democrats once called for “You Lie!” heckler Joe Wilson to. Wilson and the GOP rebuffed the demand; likewise, Grayson is now refusing the GOP. “I would like to apologize,” said Grayson. “I would like to apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner.” In an interview, Grayson told reporters: “I’m not taking any of it back. I stand by what I said.” He noted that, unlike Wilson, he did not violate House rules.

We hope no senators were planning on spending their Columbus Day holiday tanning with John Boehner: Senate Majority Leader has cancelled the Senate’s Columbus Day recess so that senators can focus on passing health-care reform during the week of October 12. “The Columbus Day [recess] is fast approaching,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “It’s the week after next and with all the things going on here, it just would not be right for us to take that week off.” The Senate will work three days that week, taking off Monday and Friday. It will not vote on health care until 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Detroit just can’t catch a break. General Motors announced Wednesday it will close Saturn after Penske Automotive Group changed its mind and refused buy the brand. In June, Penske had agreed to buy Saturn (sans manufacturing operations) but decided against it due to concerns over where it would acquire the vehicles after GM stopped making them. GM is also closing down Pontiac and selling Saab and Hummer lines as part of its bankruptcy reorganization in July. Some of the 350 Saturn dealers had pressed GM to make the Penske deal, which was seen as saving 13,000 jobs.

In an audacious interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel, Iran’s Chief Nuclear Negotiator, Saeed Jalili, defended his nation’s “right to enrich uranium” and dared America to impose new sanctions. “Do you really believe there are sanctions that can hit us that hard?” Jalili asked. “We’ve lived with sanctions for 30 years, and they can’t bring a great nation like Iran to its knees. They do not frighten us. Quite the opposite—we welcome new sanctions.” He went on to explain that “anything that curtails consumption and promotes the development of our self-sufficiency is useful.” Jalili reiterated his nation’s support for nuclear disarmament, but not at the expense of Iran’s nuclear facilities, which the government says are for energy purposes only: “I don’t understand why Europe is worried about a few centrifuges in Iran and not about the nuclear weapons stored in Europe.” He added, “We don’t need a bomb.” Jalili also discussed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s explosive relationship with Israel—“Doesn’t Israel possess nuclear weapons?”—and Iran’s recent contested election—“Differences of opinion are part of democracy.”

The real story of Andrew Young’s long-speculated relationship as John Edwards’ “special assistant” will soon be revealed in the aide’s upcoming tell-all book—and new leaked details suggest it’ll be a doozy. Whether it was fetching Diet Coke or booking Disney World vacations, Young was allegedly indispensable to the man he worshipped, but who eventually allegedly betrayed him. “It’s not enough to say that he idolized the guy,” a person who was close to Young said. “There’s something deeper and weirder than that.” Young reportedly helped facilitate Edwards’ affair with Rielle Hunter, leading to a child for whom he claimed paternity. “He was glad to do it,” said Young’s friend, Bill Walser. “The deal as I understood it later was that after the election results were final, that John would step up and straighten out the issue. That didn’t happen.” Some say Young is now writing the book since Edwards never set the record straight; others say it’s for financial reasons. Nevertheless, the leaked St. Martin’s Press proposal claims Young has details of Edwards’ promises to Hunter as well as stories of other affairs. Young also may be in possession of an explicit videotape of the senator and the reported mother of his child.

Start salivating: Jeremy Horwitz at iLounge has new details on Apple’s upcoming tablet device from a reliable source. According to the source, it will have a 10.7-inch screen, will run on the iPhone OS, and will look like an iPhone 3G. Apple also is planning to announce it on or before January 19, 2010, and it will hit the market in May or June. It’s still awaiting Steve Jobs’ approval.

“Where do these nut jobs come from?” RNC Chairman Michael Steele said on Thursday when asked about Thomas Friedman’s latest column. He was not taking up Friedman’s theme—which was about the dangerous rise of right-wing extremism in the United States—but was attacking Friedman himself. Friedman’s column said that the current political climate reminds him of the political climate in Israel in 1995, shortly before Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. “[S]omething very dangerous is happening,” Friedman wrote. “Criticism from the far right has begun tipping over into delegitimation and creating the same kind of climate here that existed in Israel on the eve of the Rabin assassination.”

With the United States and Iran preparing for talks about Tehran's nuclear aspirations, the Iranian foreign minister placed a quiet visit to Washington on Wednesday. According to The New York Times, no official meetings were planned for the minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, but his presence in the capital may signal a slight warming of relations between the two countries. American and Iranian officials are meeting in Geneva on Thursday along with five other countries. “What we need to see now are not just words but actions,” an American official said about the hope for progress on the nuclear front.

Out with the old, in with new: Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis will celebrate 2010 by stepping down from his office on January 1. Lewis faced tough scrutiny in recent months, following disclosures of massive losses stemming from BofA's merger with Merrill Lynch, as well as big bonuses in the wake of the move. The House oversight committee only increased the pressure when it demanded the bank allow legal documents related to the merger to become public; bank management is facing persistent questions over what it told shareholders about the merger. Lewis ran the bank for nearly a decade, building it into one of the nation's largest through aggressive acquisitions.

Politics, they say, makes strange bedfellows, and the aphorism is proving true this week as the Obama administration makes overtures to the Republican Party to help forward its plans for Afghanistan. Democrats largely oppose the White House plan to expand military operations in the war-torn country. Republicans, who have vociferously opposed Obama's domestic policy, may become allies in the foreign arena. One GOP senator told the Washington Post, "If you do what the commanders recommend, I will be an enthusiastic supporter of the president."

"Labour's Lost It." It was the headline which shocked the British political world last week as Rupert Murdoch's popular paper, The Sun, crossed over from supporting the country's liberal party to its conservative one. The Independent explained that the switch may have jolted Gordon Brown and other Labour leaders but came as no surprise to conservatives. How did it go down? "It was the product of months of networking, negotiating, wine drinking, canape quaffing, villa visiting and yacht boarding as the Conservative Party and Britain's biggest media company learned to love and understand each other once again," the paper said.

On Thursday, Elizabeth Smart will testify against self-avowed prophet Brian David Mitchell, who allegedly kidnapped her for nine months and wanted her as a plural wife. People magazine reports that Mitchell allegedly abducted Smart from her Salt Lake City bedroom at knifepoint late on the night of June 5, 2002 from the bed she shared with her younger sister Mary Katherine. During her time in captivity, Smart was forced to wear a white robe and veil and forbidden to bathe. Since his arrest with alleged accomplice Wanda Barzee, Mitchell has spent most of his time in competency hearings, the latest of which is scheduled for Nov. 30. Smart, who is now 21, will testify about her interactions with him earlier, as she is preparing to leave on an 18-month mission to Paris for the Mormon Church in early November. "She's ready to tell what she knows and show that Mitchell knew exactly what he was doing," said Elizabeth's father Ed, who also called it "frustrating" to see the case "drag on for so many years."