London riots: breakdown of Monday night violence

Rioting and looting spread across and beyond London overnight as hooded youths set fire to cars and buildings, smashed shop windows and hurled bottles and stones at police in a third night of violence in Britain's worst unrest in decades.

Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his holiday to fly home to tackle the violence, which appeared to be led by mobs of young people who coordinated their attacks through mobile phones, and spread to the cities of Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol late last night.

Many of the looters came from areas of high unemployment that are also suffering from cuts in social services and said they felt alienated from society. Police and politicians said they were simply criminals.

"It's been building up for years. All it needed was a spark," said on young man in a baseball cap surrounded by other youths in Hackney in east London. "We ain't got no jobs, no money. . . . We heard that other people were getting things for free, so why not us?"

The violence erupted late on Saturday in London's northern Tottenham district when a peaceful protest over the police shooting of a suspect two days earlier was followed by outbreaks of looting and arson.

Croydon, south London

A string of cars and buildings were set alight by gangs of youths. A 26-year-old man was injured in a shooting, while Reeves, a family furniture business that has stood in the area for more than 100 years, was gutted following a massive blaze. A woman was filmed jumping from a building which had been set on fire by rioters

Ealing, west London

Locals reported similar scenes of violence with groups of youths congregating in Haven Green park opposite Ealing Broadway Tube, throwing bricks at local shops, starting fires in the street and torching cars.

Fulham, west London

Youngsters threw a bicycle under a bus to block a road while they looted Curry’s, the electrical store. Helicopters circled the area throughout the night.

Hammersmith, west London

Further reports of looting. Shopkeepers in Shepherd’s Bush barricaded their businesses to try to keep out troublemakers.

Clapham, south London

Up to 1000 looters preyed on shops causing widespread disruption. Youths raided a Debenhams store and a number shops in Lavender Hill, while some broke into a fancy dress store near Clapham Junction stealing masks to conceal their identities. Looters were heard shouting “I’ve got jewellery, what have you got?” Scotland Yard said armoured police vehicles were used in Lavender Hill to push back more than 150 people in the area.

Bethnal Green, east London

More than 100 people looted a Tesco premises and two officers were injured. Police said there had also been looting in Stratford High Street, Newham.

Lewisham, south London

The Metropolitan Police said roaming groups of youths were also involved in disorder in a number of locations in the area.

Woolwich, south London

A large gang gathered outside the Stone Lane Retail Park branch of PC World last night, trying to force open the doors. Within minutes of gaining entry, large flat screen TVs and other electronic goods were being carted out.

Camden and Chalk Farm, north London

A number of officers were also called to Camden in north London to deal with troublemakers. Rioters smashed windows of a bicycle shop.

Enfield, north London

Around 40 firefighters tackled a large blaze, reported to have been started by looters, at a Sony warehouse in Solar Way.

Liverpool

Violence flared in Liverpool overnight for up to five hours as hundreds of rioters marauded through the streets to the south of the city centre. Cars and wheelie bins were set alight on a trail of destruction which stretched from the city centre to Toxteth, Dingle and Wavertree. The first reports of disorder came in at 10pm and calm was not restored until about 3am.

Birmingham

West Midlands Police said around 100 arrests were made after rioters rampaged across Birmingham city centre and some surrounding areas. Hundreds of youths gathered in the city's main retail area close to the Bullring shopping mall, which closed its doors early in anticipation of violence, while there were reports that a police station in Handsworth was set on fire.

Bristol

More than 150 young rioters also caused disruption in the areas of St Paul's and Stokes Croft in Bristol, with police urging members of the public to stay away from the city centre.

Sony warehouse in London Large blaze

Sony has warned deliveries of CDs and DVDs will be affected after rioters set fire to a key warehouse in Enfield, north London.

The three-storey, 20,000 square metre site is Sony's only such depot for CDs and DVDs in Britain.

"There will likely be some impact on deliveries," said a Sony spokeswoman.

She added that the extent of the fire could not be assessed because it was still burning and it was not possible to enter the building.

:: Intercontinental Hotels Group says its profits have risen by 23% on the back of strong bookings in the US and China,

The chain also said revenue per available room (RevPAR - a key industry measure) grew 6.7% over the first half of the year.

"Whilst we continue to monitor the uncertain economic outlook, we look forward with confidence in the currently favourable hotel trading environment," said new Chief Executive Richard Solomons.

:: Bakery chain Greggs has admitted recent trading conditions have been "more challenging than expected".

Its pretax profit for the first half of the year fell to £17.3m from £18.6m in the same period a year ago.

Eyewitnesses described how they saw a gang of about 20 looters leaving the warehouse with electrical goods before the fire took hold.

A LFB spokesman said: "We were called just before midnight to a warehouse in Solar Way, Enfield.

"Eight fire engines are in attendance and around 40 firefighters have been fighting the fire.

"They are making steady progress and will remain on the scene into the morning.

"There was quite a lot of black smoke and the building has partially collapsed into itself."

Around 200 people staying at a hotel next door to the distribution centre were evacuated as the blaze took hold.

Paul Lewis, a journalist for the Guardian, told the BBC that large plumes of smoke could be seen coming from the 70-metre building which had partially collapsed.

"This is further evidence of the riot spreading in all directions really," he said.

A eyewitness, named as "Tommy", also told the BBC how he saw a number of looters leaving the warehouse with electrical goods before the blaze took hold.

He said he was punched by the culprits as the fled the scene.

Scotland Yard confirmed officers were working with colleagues from LFB at the scene of the fire.

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Tiger Woods lose $10m sponsor Tag Heuer gives him the elbow

Luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer has ended its sponsorship deal with Tiger Woods after the golfer’s contract ran out last month.

“Golf World” executive editor Ron Sirak tweeted the confirmation Friday evening- “Tiger’s agent confirms Woods’ Tag Heuer relationship has expired.”

Tag Heuer, the Swiss company owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Loius Vuitton SA (MC) signed Woods in 2002. The watch-making house began limiting their use of Woods’ image in advertisements after the November 2009 car accident which resulted in the golfer's admission of marital infidelity.

The 16-time World Golf Championship winner has not won a tournament since the Australian Masters in 2009, one week before the accident. Woods has lost corporate sponsorship agreements with Gillette, Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T, and Golf Digest within the past 19 months.

Forbes magazine recently speculated that Woods’ fortune could be running out, but commercial contracts remain between the golfer and Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS), Nike Inc. (NKE), Upper Deck, Berkshire Hathaway’s NetJets Inc., and TLC Vision Corp.

Woods announced July 20 that he was firing his caddy of 12 years, Steve Williams. A week later via Twitter, Woods stated that long-time friend Bryon Bell would caddy for him during the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational.

Woods was listed 28th in the Official World Golf Ranking upon entering the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. During the invitational, he finished 37th, 18 shots behind the winner Adam Scott, who now uses Woods’ former caddy Williams.

The contract is believed to be worth more than $10m and the Swiss firm are the sixth major sponsors to drop Woods following revelations about his personal life two years ago.

The Swiss watchmaker suspended use of Woods’ image in the US after details of his extramarital affairs came to light following a 2009 crash outside his Orlando, Florida home.

Woods was accused of cheating on his wife Elin Nordegren with as many as 14 women, including high class escorts and Las Vegas cocktail servers.

He was also linked to several porn stars who claimed they had affairs lasting several years with the golfer who has always prided himself on his clean cut, family image.

Slippery slope: Woods, pictured today, has already lost Gillette, Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T and Golf

After seeing help at a rehabilitation centre following a public apology to his family and friends sponsors, including Gillette, Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T and Golf Digest deserted the world's most famous sportsman.

The series of allegations was reported to have cost Woods more than $25m in sponsorship deals.

Other major sponsors, including Nike and EA Sports, stood by the sportsman who ended up paying his wife almost $100m in a divorce settlement.

Golf websites also reported that Woods has had his sponsorship pay cut by Nike for failing to win any major tournament in the last two years.

Woods is still estimated to be worth about $500 million but since his private life was laid bare he has not won a single tournament and has struggled to find his best form.

He made his comeback this week from a three-month injury lay-off due to knee and Achilles knocks at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

But it did not go well, with Woods finishing way off the pace in tied 37th.

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Hundreds arrested as London riots spread

The violence and arson attacks that have rattled north London since the weekend have now moved across all parts of the capital and are spreading on a smaller scale to other British cities, the first time the recent unrest has flared outside the U.K.'s capital.

The wave of rioting now entering its third day was sparked by the shooting death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in the Tottenham section of North London on Thursday. Angry protesters demonstrated against the fatal shooting in the multi-ethnic neighborhood on Saturday, and the march soon degenerated into chaos.

After spreading across London Monday, violence soon ignited in the British cities of Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool.

As buildings, vehicles and garbage dumps are being set ablaze, many sections of London have descended into chaos -- an unsettling sight less than a year before the 2012 Olympics take over the capital.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has cut his summer vacation in Italy short in order to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee early Tuesday.

London's Ambulance Service said it had treated 16 patients, of whom 15 were hospitalized. Police said 334 people had been arrested and 69 people charged with offenses, and a 26-year-old man is in a serious condition in the hospital after being shot in Croydon Monday.

The violence started on Saturday night in Tottenham in north London following protests over the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old black man, Mark Duggan, by police.

Tottenham is an impoverished area with an ethnically diverse population, a large black community and a history of unrest. Some residents resent police behaviour, including the use of stop and search powers, which they say are primarily targeted at black youths.

In Peckham, flames leapt into the air from a torched building, while rubble was strewn across the street. People walked in and out of shops looting.

Dozens of riot police were deployed on the streets of Hackney after police cars were damaged, buses attacked and shops looted.

In Enfield, firefighters were tackling a blaze at a Sony warehouse on Tuesday.

In Notting Hill in west London, rampagers forced their way into an exclusive restaurant, The Ledbury, before stealing diners' phones, plates off the tables and attempting to take the till.

But in a sign that the unrest had spread beyond the capital, attackers smashed shops and looted property in the central England city of Birmingham.

West Midlands Police confirmed they had made 87 arrests as youths ran amok in Birmingham centre overnight, smashing shop windows and looting merchandise. The force also said that a police station was on fire.

Liverpool police said a small number of vehicles were set on fire and reported some criminal damage. They said officers were responding to a number of isolated outbreaks of disorder," including vehicles set ablaze and buildings attacked in the city's southern neighbourhoods.

Police reported "copy-cat violence" in Bristol in the southwest and urged people to avoid the city centre after 150 rioters went on the rampage in "volatile scenes''.

Al Jazeera correspondent Barnaby Philips, reporting from Tottenham, said there was anguish and dismay about what had happened over the weekend.

People realise that jobs, property and investments have been damaged for years to come, and they are very distraught about it. Thankfully Tottenham is calm as of now."

Crisis meeting

Meanwhile, the prime minister's office said Cameron, who has faced media criticism for being away on holiday during the riots, would cut short his trip and return to London to chair a crisis meeting on the unrest.

"The violence we've seen, the looting we've seen, the thuggery we've seen, this is sheer criminality ... these people will be brought to justice, they will be made to face the consequences of their actions," said Theresa May, the interior minister, who also cut short her holiday because of the riots.

"It was needless, opportunistic theft and violence, nothing more, nothing less. It is completely unacceptable," said Nick Clegg, Britain's deputy prime minister, during a visit to Tottenham.

Scotland Yard commander Christine Jones said Monday night's events were "simply inexcusable". At least 35 police officers were injured in the unrest at the weekend. An 11-year-old boy was among those arrested.

Tim Godwin, the acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner, earlier urged parents to "start contacting their children" to find out where they were before slamming "spectators getting in the way of the police operations."

Violent skirmishes have taken place between police and rioters. Al Jazeera's Charlie Angela reports from Hackney.

As police struggled to contain the spiralling disorder, they ordered London football clubs to call off matches.

The London police force has been criticised for its handling of recent large protests against the austerity measures, and its chief and the top counter-terrorism officer recently quit over revelations in the News Corp phone-hacking scandal.

While Britain's politicians were quick to blame petty criminals for the violence, neighbourhood residents said anger at high unemployment and cuts in public services, coupled with resentment of the police, had played a significant role.

"Tottenham is a deprived area. Unemployment is very, very high ... they are frustrated," Uzodinma Wigwe, 49, who was made redundant from his job as a cleaner recently, said.

The riots come at a time of deepening gloom in Britain as the pain from economic stagnation is exacerbated by deep public spending cuts and tax rises aimed at eliminating a budget deficit that peaked at more than 10 per cent of GDP.

Very few details of Duggan's death on Thursday have been released. Police said initially an officer was briefly hospitalised after the shooting and media reports said a bullet had been found lodged in the officer's radio.

Although a gun was recovered from the scene, The Guardian newspaper reported that the bullet in the radio was police-issue, throwing doubt on speculation that Duggan had fired at an officer.

Britain's police watchdog is investigating the incident and has not commented on the report.

Stocks Sharpest Drop Since 2008

The stock market buckled Monday under the weight of a crisis in Europe and danger of recession at home. Reeling from a downgrade of American debt, the Dow Jones industrials plunged 634 points.

It was the worst day for the market since the financial crisis in the fall of 2008 and extended Wall Street's sudden, sharp decline. Stocks have lost 15 percent of their value in just two and a half weeks.

Monday was the first trading day since Standard and Poor's downgraded the United States' risk-free credit rating, and the selling started at the opening bell. The Dow dropped 250 points in minutes. For the rest of the day, investors looked for safer places for their money. With few buyers left for stocks, the market could only drift lower.

The Dow finished the day down 5.5 percent. The point decline was the worst since Dec. 1, 2008, and the sixth-steepest ever. The average ended at 10,809.85, its first close under 11,000 since November.

In a bit of irony following the S&P downgrade, investors decided U.S. debt was one of the safest places to be. They also sought refuge in gold, which set a record price.

"The S&P downgrade of U.S. government debt is the least of our problems," said economist Scott Brown at Raymond James & Associates. "The bigger worry is subpar economic growth and the threat of a new recession."

So anxious are many investors that they poured money into Treasury securities, the debt the government sells to finance its operations. Even though the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded United States debt a notch from the sterling AAA rating on Friday, judging them a slightly higher risk than before, many still deem Treasuries to be safer than just about any other investment.

Typically, a downgrade would cause investors to sell, but financial turmoil in Europe and policy gridlock in Washington overrode concerns about the downgrade. “This is investors running from risk wherever they see it,” said David Kelly, chief market strategist at JPMorgan Funds. “The biggest risk we face here is recession.”

The stock sell-off picked up speed even though President Obama sought to calm markets, telling reporters that “our problems are eminently solvable and we know what we need to do to solve them.” However, there is sharp disagreement how to solve them, as demonstrated by the fiercely partisan battle over raising the federal government’s borrowing limit, which was resolved only through a last-minute compromise.

In the wake of the financial collapse more than two years ago, the government took various steps to invigorate the economy, pouring money into the financial system and adopting stimulus spending. Some economists say they think more stimulus spending is needed now to keep the economy from slowing further, but this seems unlikely given that many Republicans say the country can ill afford to add to the gaping budget deficit with more spending.

It was not just the stock market that was rattled. A few obscure but important parts of the credit market also showed signs of some stress. For example, the market for commercial paper, short-term loans that companies use to finance themselves, became less favorable. This was not nearly as bad as during the financial crisis but people will be keeping an eye on this to see if conditions deteriorate.

“The cause of all this was the marking down of growth expectations,” said Barry Knapp, strategist at Barclays Capital. “It has morphed into one giant global growth recession concern.”

The trading day opened ominously in the United States, after sharp drops of stocks in Asia and in Europe. The European Central Bank sought to calm investors by intervening aggressively in bond markets with special measures to help support financially troubled Spain and Italy, to little avail.

On the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Doreen Mogavero, a trader for Mogavero, Lee & Company, noted that other traders had canceled vacations in anticipation of a wild day. Extra staff was on duty to make sure the computer systems were working properly as volumes surged.

The exchange processed a record 390 million orders in the first hour of trading, eclipsing the last record in May 2010. All told, 18 billion shares trades on the nation’s stock market, the most active day in a year.

Many investors — burned by the relentless decline of stocks in the months after the 2008 financial collapse — seem inclined to sell rather than wait. “It is the psychological impact that I am concerned about in terms of confidence on the market,” said Ms. Mogavero.

The force of the stock market sell-off that has accelerated over the last two weeks — the broader S.& P. 500-stock index has lost 16.8 percent since July 22 — is creating the growing sense that the economy may be nearing a double-dip recession as everyone from consumers to businesses retrench.

The biggest declines were in bank stocks. Bank of America fell 20 percent. Citigroup fell 16 percent. Morgan Stanley dropped 14 percent. JPMorgan fell 9 percent. And Goldman Sachs fell 6 percent.

The French stock market as well as the German market are officially in bear market territory. The German index, the Dax, which dropped 5 percent Monday, has lost 21 percent of its value since the recent peak on May 2. That reflects investor fears that the European Central Bank’s extraordinary bond buying could entangle even Germany in the euro zone’s debt problems.

In the United States, the selling came from both panicked individuals and institutions.

Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Investments of Pennsylvania, which serves private and institutional investors, said he was fielding calls from clients who “are anxious about is this a replay of 2008-2009 and do I have to go through that again?” he said. “But we say the fundamentals are very different. Corporate America has fortresslike balance sheets.”

All 500 stocks in the S.& P. 500 index were lower by the end of the day. The index closed down 79.92 points, or 6.66 percent, at 1,119.46.

The Dow Jones closed below 11,000 for the first time this year, falling 634.76 points, or 5.55 percent, to 10,809.85.

As investors fled the stock market, and commodities like oil dropped on fears of a slowdown, they sought the safety of gold, which rose past $1,710 an ounce.

But perhaps the most surprising beneficiary was United States Treasuries, where, despite the downgrade of government debt, 10-year yields fell to 2.32 percent, from 2.56 percent, and the yield on the two-year Treasury note was at a record low.

President Obama said the markets continued to believe the United States credit rating was AAA.

Warren E. Buffett, perhaps the nation’s most famous private investor, also said he thought the downgrade was unwarranted.

“If there were a quadruple A, I would give it to the U.S.,” he said in an interview. “We will always pay the bonds — the only way we won’t pay is if the printing press strips a gear.

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Jay-Z & Kanye West Watch the Throne

When two of the biggest names in hip-hop – Jay-Z and Kanye West -- collaborate on an album, is there any way it can live up to the hype? Likely not, and that’s the burden “Watch the Throne” (Roc-A-Fella Records/Roc Nation/Def Jam Recordings) faces.

The two have done great work in the past. As a fledgling producer, West delivered soul-fired beats that underscored Jay-Z’s 2001 release, “The Blueprint,” a hip-hop classic. Now the two operate more or less as equals, with West having a hand in most of the production and Jay-Z taking a slightly larger share of the vocals on “Watch the Throne.” In many ways it’s an album about mutual admiration.

Both artists have developed distinct, not necessarily complementary personas. Jay-Z is about imperious flow, bridging his gritty past life on the streets with his current status as a cultural tastemaker and business mogul. He operates at arm’s length from the listener, a self-styled godfather who never seems to break a sweat as he rhymes rings around his inferior would-be competition. He no longer needs to surprise us, he simply needs to file annual updates reminding us that, after all, he’s Jay-Z and you’re not.

West is more desperate, transparent, awkward, vulnerable; he’s not nearly the MC that Jay-Z is, but still he aims for the stars, often shooting well beyond traditional hip-hop subject matter and production in his desire to make an impression. He is the one more likely to surprise and enrage these days, which makes him one of the most compelling figures in contemporary pop.

But on “Watch the Throne,” West must also defer, and this makes for a sometimes difficult partnership. The production is often stellar, favoring West’s soul-dusties sensibility, with snippets of James Brown, Otis Redding and Nina Simone. But it rarely takes the kind of chances West routinely takes on his solo albums. Instead, the idea is to create an album that lives up to its royal billing, a gilded collection of potential hits with lots of hooks and plenty of branding opportunities.

Come Friday, however, the standard edition of the album will be available to all retailers -- physical and digital -- but the deluxe CD edition will be given solely to Best Buy for an additional 10 days. Fans who can sit tight for a few days will have cheaper options, as Best Buy is currently listing the standard CD for $9.99 and the expanded edition, which has the same extra tracks as the iTunes version, at $12.99.

Album review: Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne'

The iTunes home page immediately directs potential buyers to the expanded $14.99 configuration of the album without making it clear that a slightly cheaper version exists. Retail exclusives have long been a source of contention in the music business, and the arguments against remain the same -- they limit consumer choice by playing favorites and drive prices higher.

Back in 2008, when Best Buy exclusively sold Gun N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy," Michael Kurtz, the driving force behind the indie-retail marketing celebration that is Record Store Day, warned that exclusives would be bad for the consumer. "By eliminating competition, the prices of the CDs are going up," Kurtz said. "The biggest United States retailers are partnering with the biggest labels, driving the price up by not allowing competition."

Pricing for the iTunes exclusives is in the opposite direction of industry trends. Granted, iTunes has never engaged in the extreme discounting of its competitor Amazon, but the latter has been continually challenging the perception of what an album is worth, recently discounting Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" to 99 cents.

Complicating matters have been artists' views on the issue. When asked whether she thought her album was worth more than 99 cents, Lady Gaga told the Wall Street Journal that she had Amazon's back. "It’s invisible," she said. "It’s in space. If anything, I applaud a company like Amazon for equating the value of digital versus the physical copy, and giving the opportunity to everyone to buy music."

As of today, Amazon does not have "Watch the Throne" listed in its MP3 store, perhaps not wanting to tip its hand as to how it will price the album. Amazon, remember, will not have access to the expanded edition until Aug. 23. But it's likely safe to bet that the standard version of "Throne" will go for considerably less than the iTunes price of $11.99. For instance, when West released his "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" in late 2010, Amazon quickly made available a coupon that allowed fans to purchase the $4.99 album for 99 cents.

Despite the maze of configurations and retail exclusives -- imagine a world where the film industry released separate editions of major movies to multiple theater chains -- "Watch the Throne" is still expected to have a solid opening. According to figures released in industry trade Billboard, "Watch the Throne" is on track to sell somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 copies, which would give it the second largest opening of the year.

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Big Sean

Sean Michael Anderson, born March 25, 1988, better known by his stage name Big Sean, is an American rapper. Big Sean signed with Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music in 2007, and then in 2008 signed with Def Jam Recordings.

Early life

Born Sean Michael Anderson in Santa Monica, California, Anderson moved at two months old to west Detroit (6 Mile and Wyoming) where he was raised by his mother and grandmother. He attended Detroit Waldorf School and graduated from Cass Technical High School with a 3.7 GPA. Big Sean is often heard saying " west side " in his songs; he is referring to the west side of his hometown Detroit, Michigan. In his later years in high school, Sean gained a valuable relationship with Detroit hip hop station WHTD; he would show his rhyming skills on a weekly basis as part of a rap battle contest held by the station.

Music career

In 2005, Kanye West was doing a radio interview at 102.7 FM. Hearing about this, Sean headed over to the station to meet West and perform some free-style. Initially Kanye was reluctant to hear the emcee, however he gave Sean 16 bars to rap for him, eventually according to Big Sean "As we get to the entrance of the radio station ... we stopped in the middle of the doorway. He starts looking at me and bobbing his head,".He left a demo-tape as well. Two years later, West finally signed Big Sean to G.O.O.D. Music.

Mixtapes

On September 30, 2007, Big Sean released his first official mixtape Finally Famous: The Mixtape. His hit single, "Get'cha Some", produced by WrighTrax, attained media attention and led to articles in The Source and the Detroit Metro Times. He also recorded a music video for "Get'cha Some", which was directed by Hype Williams. Sean released a second mixtape hosted by Mick Boogie on April 16, 2009, called UKNOWBIGSEAN. It featured the songs "Million Dollars", "Get'cha Some" and "Supa Dupa". This mixtape includes 30 tracks. Sean released a third mixtape hosted by Don Cannon on August 31, 2010 called Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG. Features include Bun B, Chip tha Ripper, Curren$y, SAYITAINTTONE, Tyga, Drake, Mike Posner, Suai, Chuck Inglish, Asher Roth, Dom Kennedy, Boldy James, and Chiddy Bang. The mixtape includes 20 tracks. Sean mentioned on June 7, 2011 the possibility of a new mixtape release. The mixtape was to be released before the album, Finally Famous. With the album already dropping, the current release date is unknown.

Finally Famous

It is Sean's debut album and includes features from Pharrell, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, Chiddy Bang, Pusha T. With production from Kanye West, Malak, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Posner, No I.D., The Olympicks, Tricky Stewart, Chiddy Bang member Xaphoon Jones and The Neptunes. An unauthorized leak of his collaboration with Drake, called "Made" made its way onto the internet on April 30, 2010. In an interview with TheHipHopUpdate.com on May 1, Big Sean expressed his disappointment over the leak, calling it an unfinished version both musically and verse wise. Big Sean's official Facebook page confirmed that his debut album Finally Famous & Consequence's Cons TV would be released on September 14, 2010. On August 31, Big Sean tweeted that the album was not coming out on that day, but it would be coming out sometime in 2011. In a recent interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, he discussed the role Kanye West and No I.D. have had in the development of the album's sonic direction as well as the challenges of being inside the studio with West. The album's lead single My Last, features vocals from Chris Brown and is produced by No I.D. The album's second single "I Do It", is produced by No I.D. & The Legendary Traxster The album's third single "What Goes Around," was released May 23 on iTunes.

According to Amazon.com, Big Sean's Finally Famous has been delayed by a week, with a tentative release date set for June 28. Additionally, the G.O.O.D. Music rapper revealed that the album touts a song featuring Wiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang, as well as guest appearances from Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell Williams and possibly Nas as well. Big Sean has revealed the cover art for his G.O.O.D. Music debut and explains that the one-week pushback can be blamed on sample and feature clearance issues. The official tracklist was revealed on June 7. Finally Famous was released on June 28, 2011.

When tracks, "O.T.T.R." and "Flowers" were released via internet July 2011, speculation began of a new mixtape. Sean confirmed in an interview June 28, 2011 that a collaborative mixtape between him and "two other guys in hip-hop that are just killing it right now" will be released "in a couple of weeks". Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y, are the supposed featured rappers on the mixtape.. According to, Wiz Khalifa, there will be no mixtape. The rapper explains that the songs they created were, "just for fun". Big Sean was recently arrested for sexual assault at a concert in Lewiston, New York. He is awaiting trial.

Style and clothing

In late October 2008, Big Sean was featured in The Source and headlined the "Style" section of the magazine. In the article Sean talks about his own personal style and states that his favorite clothing brands are 10, Deep, Billionaire Boys Club, and Bape. Big Sean also posed in the Winter 2008 Billionaire Boys Club lookbook. Big Sean is also a consistent representative of Ti$A clothing and hats, along with Chris Brown and Tyga. Ti$A is a vintage company run by fellow G.O.O.D Music recording artist Taz Arnold. Big Sean is also a follower of the Rosewood clothing style.

Roy Oswalt Returning for Series Finale Against Giants

Armed with a season-high nine-game winning streak and trying for their first-ever four-game sweep in San Francisco, the Philadelphia Phillies have been shutting down their opponents thanks to great pitching.

They'll get back one of their big arms when Roy Oswalt comes off the disabled list just in time to start Sunday's series finale.

Oswalt returns from a six-week stint on the DL due to lower back inflammation. He was shelved after winning just one of his previous six decisions. The right-hander has lost his previous four road decisions, last winning away from Philadelphia on April 21 at San Diego. He's 6-8 with a 3.61 ERA in 17 lifetime games vs. the Giants.

With a victory today, the Phillies would complete their first four-game sweep in San Francisco and first against the Giants since May 13-16, 1982 at Veterans Stadium. The last away four-game sweep by the Phils vs. the Giants came August 6-8, 1943 at the Polo Grounds in New York.

The Phillies have taken it to the defending World Series champions this weekend, outscoring them 14-3 over the first three games. Cole Hamels got his turn Saturday by going the distance in a 2-1 final.

Hamels (13-6) provided the Phillies with yet another great mound effort, as the lefty came within one out of his first shutout of the season. That was prevented by Pablo Sandoval's home run. Orlando Cabrera grounded the next pitch to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who fired to Ryan Howard to end the game.

Hunter Pence, who has at least one hit in all eight games since being acquired from Houston, had an RBI single.

Oswalt has been out since late June dealing with lower back issues. Initially unsure of the injury’s severity, Oswalt didn’t know when he would be able to return for the Phillies. But after it was discovered that he was dealing with a mild bulging disk instead of a herniated one, a timeframe was set up that would have the lefty returning sometime in August.

The 33 year old was able to stick to the plan and begin a rehab assignment two weeks ago. He now returns and hopes to strengthen what’s been one of the league’s best pitching staffs.

Oswalt was able to maintain an ERA and WHIP of 3.79 and 1.33 over 13 starts before being sidelined. While these numbers are respectable, they are considered subpar for a pitcher the caliber of Oswalt and can be attributed to the lower back pain he was dealing with for much of the year.

In his absence, Vance Worley has stepped up to fill in and has done so in grand fashion. On the year Worley is 8-1 with a 2.35 ERA for the Phils. Since Oswalt left the rotation, Worley has started 8 games for Philadelphia, holding an earned run average of 1.80 while logging 7 or more innings in 5 of those appearances.

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Harvick wins rain-delayed Truck Series race

Kevin Harvick conserved enough fuel and held off Kyle Busch during a two-lap overtime finish to win Sunday's rain-delayed Camping World Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway.

Seventeen laps were completed in Saturday's scheduled Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125 before heavy rain fell on the 2.5-mile triangular track. NASCAR was forced to postpone the remainder of the race for one day.

Harvick, driving his No.2 Chevrolet, started on the pole and dominated the race by leading 44 of 53 laps. He gambled on fuel in the late going when he remained on the track while most lead-lap drivers came in for a last round of pit stops.

"The truck was so fast that I was able to get out there and really conserve fuel," Harvick said. "It was a great day for everyone on the No.2 truck."

Harvick relinquished the lead when he made his first and only pit stop right before rain halted the race Saturday. Parker Kligerman took over the top position then. Kligerman ran in front for nine laps before Harvick reclaimed the lead on lap 24.

The seventh and final caution for an incident involving Todd Bodine and Ron Hornaday Jr. in the closing laps set up a green-white-checkered finish. Harvick quickly pulled away from the field on the last restart and then beat his fellow Sprint Cup Series competitor Busch to the finish line by 1.14 seconds.

Rain halted the event after 17 laps Saturday, so the race was squeezed in Sunday morning before the start of the Sprint Cup race. Joey Logano is on the pole for that one.

Harvick started from the pole and his only concern was stretching his fuel two extra laps on the scheduled 50-lap race. He conserved fuel and did what he needed to do in his first Trucks victory of the season.

"You just hope it didn't screw itself up overnight," Harvick said.

Harvick led 44 laps and was one of only two leaders in the second Trucks race on the 2 1/2-mile triangle track. It was his 10th career win in the series and third top-10 finish of the season.

"We figured out a way to screw up pretty much every week," he said. "The truck has been fast every week. You've got to keep doing the things you've been doing."

He held off Kyle Busch and James Buescher on the final restart to win by a comfortable margin. Busch was second and Buescher third. Johnny Sauter and Austin Dillon round out the top five.

Sauter, the points leader, failed the post-race inspection. The right rear was too high and penalties were expected this week.

Busch and Harvick had to quickly scoot off to get ready for the Cup race. They had 500 grueling miles scheduled for later in the day. The rain messed with the weekend schedule, also bumping the ARCA race to Sunday for a racing tripleheader.

Todd Bodine was spun with two laps left to bring out the final caution. Harvick's crew chief, Bruce Cook, voiced his concerns that there may not have been enough fuel in the No. 2 Chevrolet.

The caution helped conserve what was in the tank, and Harvick was on his way toward celebrating in Victory Lane.

Buescher, a Trucks regular, knew he couldn't catch the Cup star on the overtime laps.

"I didn't have anything for Kevin. He was in a league of his own," Buescher said. "I didn't have anything remotely close for him. We knew Kyle was coming fast. Maybe if it went green and not have that green-white checkered, we might have finished second. You hate losing to him, but you hate losing to anybody.