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The FBI is in the beginning stages of its probe of News Corp. (NasdaqGS: NWSA) as investigators evaluate whether United States charges can be brought over claims employees hacked into a rival’s website and sought access to phone records of victims of the 9/11 attacks, a person who is familiar with the facts recently mentioned.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation plans to permit the Scotland Yard take the lead on a parallel investigation already under way in Britain. The FBI is not planning to mount an aggressive investigation into allegations that News Corp.’s payments to U.K. police officers a decade ago violated a U.S. overseas bribery law, said the officials, who prefer not be identified since they are not permitted to discuss the Justice Department’s investigation.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission stated that publicly-traded companies should disclose the threat and potential impact of cyber attacks that pose a risk to their investors.

The commission made its comments in a letter to Senator Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, that was released on June 8, 2011. Last month, Senator Rockefeller and four other Democratic senators wrote a letter to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, urging the agency to issue guidance on disclosure of data- security risk, including “material network breaches,” attacks that may result in the theft of intellectual property or trade secrets.

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The threats from cyberspace grow more powerful and pernicious. Companies like Sony Corporation, Google Inc., and Lockheed Martin have admitted startling security lapses. The International Monetary Fund, last month suffered a breach leading to the loss of highly sensitive data. The United States Congress and executive branch agencies face approximately 2 billion attacks in cyberspace per month in 2010.

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President Barack Obama is summoning top congressional Republicans and Democrats to a rare Sunday meeting at the White House to begin “hard bargaining” on a broad debt-reduction deal.

At the July 10 session Obama will make his latest bid to break a partisan impasse over whether to include cuts in entitlement programs and tax increases in an agreement. Both sides in the debate are signaling openness to compromise on each front.

See more here.

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Will investors move out of their “safe haven” markets? In 2009, downgrades and debt auction failures in countries like the UK, Greece, Ireland and Spain were a stark reminder that unless advanced economies begin to put their fiscal houses in order, investors and rating agencies will likely turn from friends to foes. The severe recession, combined with a financial crisis during 2008-09, worsened the fiscal positions of developed countries due to stimulus spending, lower tax revenues and support to the financial sector. The impact was greater in countries that had a history of structural fiscal problems, maintained loose fiscal policies and ignored fiscal reforms during the boom years. Going forward, a weak economic recovery and an aging population is likely to increase the debt burden of many advanced economies, including the U.S., Britain, Japan and several eurozone countries.

To read more please go to www.forbes.com.

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The White House will host a Twitter town hall with President Barack Obama on July 6. The president will answer questions submitted via Twitter, which limits messages to 140 characters. The town hall will focus on jobs and the economy, and a video feed of Obama’s answers will be streamed online.

See www.twitter.com/salaratrizadeh for more information.

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Hackers broke into Fox’s political Twitter account early Monday, posting updates saying President Barack Obama had been assassinated. A series of six tweets coming from the FoxNewsPolitics account reported that Obama had been shot to death in Iowa and the shooter was unknown.

See more on www.twitter.com/salaratrizadeh

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California legislators approved collection of an online sales tax among their revenue efforts as they passed the state budget on Wednesday.

Sponsors estimate the tax could bring in $200 million a year by collecting taxes that consumers have been avoiding when they make online purchases.

Federal law says states can only tax companies with a physical presence in a state, but the new California law applies that to include companies such as Amazon.com Inc. of Seattle, that have “affiliates” in a state.

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Civil Rights – Social networking website was not “place of public accommodation” within meaning of Title III of Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).

Plaintiff Karen Beth Young brings this action against Defendant Facebook, Inc., alleging violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq., the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Ca. Civ. Code § 51, et seq., the California Disabled Persons Act, Cal Civ. Code § 54, et seq., and state-law contract and negligence claims. Although Young’s amended complaint describes vividly her personal experience of losing access to her online social community and the challenges she faced attempting to obtain redress through Facebook’s automated customer care systems, it does not state a legal claim upon which relief may be granted. Accordingly, Facebook’s motion to dismiss will be granted.

Young opened a personal account with Facebook in February 2010.[1] She subsequently created additional Facebook pages for the “Cancer Forum,” “Cartesian Plane For The Cure,” “Karen Beth Young ,— Public Figure,” and “Join Karen Petition Facebook Say No to 5000 Friends.” Young sent “friendvites” to others she believed were interested in cancer-related issues and developed “genuine and heartfelt” relationships with those she met online. Young’s personal page grew to include approximately 4,300 “friends.”

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