Sources close to actor Sean Penn confirmed that the actor played a huge part in the release of hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer from an Iranian prison where they had been held for over two years. The duo, along with friend Sarah Shourd, were captured by Iranian troops and charged with espionage when they got lost hiking along the Iraq-Iran border.

British newspapers are often sensational and sometimes wrong on big issues, so take this with a grain of salt. But the Telegraph reports that European leaders are constructing a “multi-trillion” euro plan to deal with the banking crisis that has gripped the continent. I very pointedly say “banking crisis” because we should wean ourselves off calling this a sovereign debt crisis. The sovereigns are the pass-throughs to European banks which made bad bets and still never resolved them from the financial crisis of 2008. That’s the problem being solved here:

As many of you have probably heard, Maggie Gallagher has stepped down as chair of the National Organization for Marriage.

Details are extremely sketchy, but NOM has put on a brave face on the announcement by giving accolades to Gallagher and introducing, with much fanfare, her replacement – law professor and tea party favorite, John Eastman.

Fifty to eighty people have been arrested in New York City as part of the Occupy Wall Street protest. The NYPD is cracking down on those involved in the action and the NYPD is surrounding Liberty Park (Zuccotti Park) where people have been occupying for the past week. Suspicions are high with many believing those in the park will be forced to disperse or arrested.

Firedoglake’s live blog of #OccupyWallStreet continues. Here is a Twitter list that can also be followed for the most recent updates from the scene.

Progressives’ concerns about the climate crisis typically bring our gaze to the north – struggling polar bears and melting ice caps. But in Tropic of Chaos, Christian Parenti makes the case that we’re missing the real story to the south – where our addiction to dirty fuels is introducing a new level of disorder in places that are already struggling and unstable.

We still don’t have a sense of how big or consequential this Scott Walker investigation is in Wisconsin, but the news that Walker’s own spokesman has been granted immunity should raise some eyebrows.

In an age where so many economies are desperately trying not to lose any more ground in the present, could it be that the ones more responsive to their rank-and-file electorates are the ones in the best position to (to borrow a quickly forgotten phrase) win the future?

The one week milestone has been reached. Occupy Wall Street has struggled and toiled through the week and made through to the weekend. The occupation survived: pouring rain, police harassment and intimidation, a media blackout, media coverage aimed to diminish the significance of the occupation, lack of supplies necessary for holding an encampment and lower turnout than hoped for on the first day.

In 1994, Justice Harry Blackmun famously announced his opposition to the death penalty: “From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.” It cannot be administered fairly, he said, and “the inevitability of factual, legal, and moral error” ensures that some innocent defendants will be killed.

The circus around Troy Davis’ execution tells me that we are continuing to tinker with the machinery of death. We are diminished as a society as a result.

Governors in states affected by Hurricane Irene – two Democrats and two Republicans – are urging Congress to restore FEMA funding for disaster relief without delay. Govs. Chris Christie (R-NJ), Tom Corbett (R-PA), Bev Perdue (D-NC) and Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) made the statement:

“Federal assistance for the victims of storms and floods should be beyond politics,” the governors wrote Friday. “Our states’ governments and our citizens are doing their part to restore and rebuild. The federal government must also do its part.”