Weeds wave in the wind as a chipmunk rests on a weathered tree stump.

FTG FOR BILL WEIR CS VO ON THE FANS REACTION TO THE SERIES FINALE OF THE HBO SHOW "THE SOPRANOS" / THE SERIES' ENDING LEFT SOME VIEWERS ANGRY DUE TO ITS AMBIGUOUS NATURE / INTV W/ GERALD SHARGEL, JOHN GOTTI'S FORMER ATTORNEY

NAME: US TRIAL 20071127I TAPE: EF07/1428 IN_TIME: 10:36:51:08 DURATION: 00:01:21:05 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION/Court Handout DATELINE: New York, 27 Nov 2007 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: AP Television 1. Tilt up exterior of courthouse 2. Mid of oil tycoon, Oscar Wyatt Junior leaving courthouse 3. Cutaway of cameraman 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Oscar Wyatt Junior, oil tycoon: "It was not what I would've liked, but it was a fair situation as far as I am concerned. I think the judge did the best he could do with what he had to work with." Court Handout 5. Court sketch of Wyatt in court 6. Close of sketch AP Television - 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Gerald Shargel, Wyatt's attorney: "I wouldn't characterise it as getting off easy. A jail sentence is difficult for any person." Court Handout 8. Wide of court sketch AP Television 9. Tracking shot of Wyatt and Shargel walking away from court STORYLINE: Texas oil tycoon Oscar Wyatt Junior was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty last month for conspiring to violate the rules of the United Nations Oil-For-Food programme. "It was not what I would've liked, but it was a fair situation as far as I am concerned. I think the judge did the best he could do with what he had to work with," Wyatt told reporters in a brief statement shortly after the sentencing. Wyatt's lawyer Gerald Shargel said he didn't think his client had been given a lenient sentence. "I wouldn't characterize it as getting off easy. A jail sentence is difficult for any person," Shargel said. Wyatt, 83, had agreed to be sentenced for 18 to 24 months in prison and forfeit 11 (m) million US dollars when he pleaded guilty in October to a federal conspiracy charge, conceding that he approved a 200-thousand US dollars illegal payment directly to an Iraqi bank account in December 2001. Prosecutors said he paid (m) millions of dollars to Iraqi officials to get an unfair share of contracts connected to the oil-for-food programme, which ran from 1996 to 2003. The programme permitted the Iraqi government to sell oil primarily to buy food and medicine for suffering Iraqis. It was meant to help Iraqis cope with UN sanctions, but authorities said the programme was corrupted when Iraqi officials began demanding illegal surcharges in return for contracts to buy Iraqi oil.

Summer vacation at sea in Greece: typical island village

Weeds wave in the wind as a chipmunk rests on a weathered tree stump.

NAME: US OILFOR FOOD 20070905I TAPE: EF07/1052 IN_TIME: 10:47:40:23 DURATION: 00:01:07:23 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION DATELINE: New York, 5 Sept 2007 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: 1. Tilt down exterior of Federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan 2. Pan courthouse sign 3. Court sketch of jury selection for trial 4. Court sketch of Wyatt 5. Wide shot exterior courthouse 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Gerald Shargel, Wyatt's lead defence attorney: "Two years ago, Oscar Wyatt plead not guilty to those allegations and its time for us to go forward with the trial. Thanks." 7. Pan down exterior courthouse 8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tony Canales, part of Wyatt's defence team: "It's very hard. He's 83 years of age, he's not in good health, and that's not a good feeling." 9. Court sketch of potential jurors and judge 10. Court sketch of Wyatt with defence attorneys 11. Pan of Wyatt's wife, Lynn, leaving the courthouse 12. Wide shot exterior courthouse STORYLINE: Jury selection began on Wednesday in the conspiracy trial of a wealthy Texas oilman who is charged with offering millions of dollars in kickbacks to Iraqi officials to win lucrative oil contracts from Saddam Hussein's regime. U.S. District Judge Denny Chin introduced the charges against Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. and then asked the 83-year-old defendant to stand in front of more than 150 prospective jurors in a cavernous room where jurors assemble each morning at U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Wyatt buttoned his dark suit jacket and turned to face the crowd for nearly a minute before the introduction of his lawyers and those prosecuting him. Chin then began questioning a pool of 40 prospective jurors to begin seating a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates who will hear evidence of criminal charges that could result in a prison term of more than 60 years if Wyatt is convicted. Fifteen of the 40 said they had read something about the case, though none of them said they had gained any knowledge about it from anything other than general news articles or broadcasts. At one point, Chin asked if any of the potential jurors had any direct or indirect experience with some of the people whose names will arise at trial. No hands went up as the judge read out the most widely recognisable names of people who played pivotal roles in the relationship between Iraq and the United States since the early 1990s. Those names included Hussein, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney. Lawyers in the case have said opening statements could occur as early as this week. Prosecutors say they will present evidence during a trial expected to last up to six weeks that Wyatt encouraged opposition to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and bragged about his influence to Iraqi officials to win oil contracts. Outside court, lead defence attorney Gerald Shargel responded to charges the government is making against Wyatt of fraud and involvement with a foreign government. "Two years ago, Oscar Wyatt pled not guilty to those allegations and its time for us to go forward with the trial," said Shargel. Defence lawyers plan to portray Wyatt as a victim of a prosecution that came about after his outspoken criticism of President Bush and his administration's policies in the Middle East. Wyatt has been free on bail since he was charged with conspiring with others to gain favoured status for oil contracts by giving money and equipment to the former government of Iraq from 1994 until March 2003. Another defence attorney said the the effects of a federal trial can take its toll on a man of Wyatt's age. "It's very hard. He's 83 years of age, he's not in good health, and that's not a good feeling," said lawyer Tony Canales. The oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, was created to help Iraqis cope with U.N. sanctions imposed after Saddam's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It let the Iraqi government sell oil primarily to buy humanitarian goods.

FTG OF PRESS CONFERENCE / PRESSER / NEWSER / AFTER FORMER CBS TELEVISION PRODUCER ROBERT JOEL HALDERMAN PLEADED GUILTY TO TRYING TO BLACKMAIL LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST DAVID LETTERMAN FOR $2 MILLION DOLLARS / INCLUDES FTG OF HALDERMAN PERP WALK AND STATEMENTS This video has Halderman as he walks out of court, and statements from Halderman, his lawyer, and Letterman's lawyer. Log below. 15 45 03 Halderman exiting courthouse and walking down steps 15 45 21 head on shot of Halderman walking with his lawyer 15 45 31 Halderman's lawyer setting up to speak Gerald L. Shargel (Halderman's lawyer) 15 45 57 ok, so this afternoon we entered a plea of guilty. Um, Mr. Halderman plead guilty to attempted grand larceny by extortion and uh it's done, we've made an effort to resolve this matter and it's not behind him. Or will soon be behind him. 15 46 16 No, we haven't spoken to Mr. Letterman. I've never spoken to Mr. Letterman. 15 46 25 You know um, we had a novel defense here involving complicated legal issues, um I was very excited about the defense, but uh it will be a long road ahead of us. 15 46 37 and uh, considering the risks and the rewards and the need for Joe to put this behind him and get on with his life. Those needs were paramount so that's the decision. 15 46 54 We here's the point. There was never a dispute about the facts of the case, whether the demand was delivered. That wasn't the issue. 15 47 00 the issue was, involved a question of Mr. Halderman's legal rights and as I said a moment ago, it was a novel defense. And we weighed the defense, we weighed the prospects of going to trial and thought that this was the best way to resolve it. 15 47 21 Now Mr. Halderman is going to make a statement, he's not going to take any questions and uh then we'll move on and hopefully that will just give us an opportunity to walk away. Halderman's Statement 15 47 30 I just wanted to say uh, that again I apologized to Mr. Letterman, his family, to Stephanie Burkett, her family, and certainly to my friends and family. I will not be doing any interviews and uh, I thank you all for your patience. Shargel: 15 47 48 We're not answering any further questions, the plea speaks for itself, the allocution is specific and clear, and we're relying on that. Thank you very much. 15 48 29 Halderman getting into car to leave Dan Horwitz (Letterman's lawyer) 15 49 06 .his decision to report the crimes and the threats that he received from Mr. Halderman and his family to the Manhattan district attorney's office was the right decision. 15 49 15 His admissions today were compelling, and for that he'll receive a serious sentence that includes jail time, performing a thousand hours of community service, and he'll face tight controls when he gets out from prison. 15 49 29 um, this is a serious sentence that properly reflects the crimes that Mr. Halderman has now admitted that he committed. And it's a fitting end to the case. 15 49 38 I have a statement from Mr. Letterman that I would like to read. 15 49 44 (Horwitz reading statement) "I would like to thank the District Attorney of Manhattan, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., the former District Attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, the Special Prosecutions Bureau in the D.A.'s Office, and 15 49 56 the New York City Police Department. When they became involved with this case, I had complete faith that a just and appropriate result was inevitable. 15 50 00 On behalf of my family, I am extremely grateful for their tireless efforts." 15 50 11 Thank you very much End presser

CLOSE ANGLE OF A SQUIRREL SITTING ON A LOG WITH BROWN GRASS IN BG.

Summer vacation at sea in Greece: typical island village

Wheatear (Oenanthe)

Famous old town of Otranto in Italy.

Summer vacation in Greece: views and landscapes of Cyclades islands. The island of Kimolos

Prairie Falcon perch in San Pedro Martir National Park

CLOSE ANGLE OF A SQUIRREL SITTING ON A LOG WITH BROWN GRASS IN BG.