David Loglisci (loh-GLEE’-see) pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court Wednesday to a securities fraud charge.

Loglisci had authority to recommend how to invest the pension money. Loglisci says he let political adviser Hank Morris steer the money to firms that contributed to then-Comptroller Alan Hevesi’s campaign or paid “placement” fees to Morris and his associates.

Morris has pleaded not guilty in the pension probe. Hevesi has not been charged.

Defense lawyer Kevin Keating says Loglisci “found himself in a nearly impossible situation” at the pension fund.

ESPN announced Tuesday that the Academy Award-winning actor has agreed to play the Hall of Fame coach in the film it is developing with Andell Entertainment and the NFL.

“Lombardi” will chronicle the years in which he transformed the Green Bay Packers from the NFL’s worst team to league champions. It is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2012 during the weekend between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

Screenwriter Eric Roth, who won an Oscar for “Forrest Gump,” has also signed on to the project. De Niro’s Tribeca Productions will join the producing group. A director has yet to be chosen.

Ahmadinejad said the United States was playing a “double game” in Afghanistan, fighting militants it once supported.

His comments were a retort to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates who earlier in the week accused Tehran of “playing a double game” by nurturing relations with the Afghan government while supporting insurgents to undermine U.S. and NATO troops. Tehran denies the allegation.

Ahmadinejad threw back the phrase Wednesday.

“I believe that they themselves,” who are now fighting militants in Afghanistan, “are playing a double game,” said Ahmadinejad, who has made several visits to the country. “They themselves created terrorists and now they’re saying that they are fighting terrorists.”

During the 10 years that the Soviet Union fought in Afghanistan, the U.S. supplied rebels with everything from mules to advanced weaponry, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that helped neutralize Soviet air power. After the U.S. money evaporated, the world watched Afghanistan plunge into chaos and eventually harbor the al-Qaida terrorist network responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.

While the United States has long-running suspicions about Iran’s nuclear program, the two nations view the Taliban as a common enemy. Iran believes that the Taliban warped the Islam religion to suit its ideology. Taliban forces killed eight Iranian diplomats in the late 1990s, and the militant group makes money from drug-smuggling operations across Iran’s border with Afghanistan.

But while Iran supported efforts to oust the repressive Taliban regime from power in Afghanistan, it opposed the U.S.-led offensive to topple the Taliban after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Iran is wary of a long-term U.S. military presence in the region.

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Gordon is best known for in depth interviews with international icons like Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, the late Michael Jackson, and R. Kelly. After interviewing former Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted on double murder charges, Gordon was named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People in the World.”

In 2002 Gordon’s popular interview program “BET Tonight with Ed Gordon,” was canceled. The headlining reporter was reassigned to host unsuccessful shows “Lead Story,” and “Teen Summit.” Post BET has landed Gordon in various short term media spots including MSNBC AND CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes II,” National Public Radio, and “Our World with Black Enterprise.”

On Monday, CEO of BET Debra L. Lee, announced Gordon’s long awaited return to the network.

“As BET celebrates its 30th anniversary, it brings me great joy to welcome back one of America’s most prominent news personalities. Ed has always remained part of the BET family and I am sure viewers will share in our excitement to have him back,” Lee said.

Gordon revealed to Journal-isms that his show will cover top headlines and “serious issues will be covered and covered well.”

After a noticeable transition to a pop culture entertainment network and the inauguration of President Barack Obama, BET decided it was time to take the network to a different level.

Lee said that it was “time to sit back with my management team and say, ‘where are we going. What do I want my legacy to be? After 30 years, what do we want to stand for?”

BET has been through some tough criticism, including a “thumbs down” rating from the National Association of Black Journalists when the network refused to broadcast the funerals of civil rights activists Rosa Parks in 2005 and Coretta Scott King in 2006.

With the return of Gordon, BET is seeking to walk steady in its commitment to bringing news that matters to African Americans.

She announced last autumn that she planned to join the WNBA and has trained with several teams. She was previously drafted by Phoenix Mercury in 2003, but never made an appearance.

Franchise president Steve Swetoha insists Jones deserves a shot at redemption, and said: “She made some ill-advised decisions in the past, but everyone deserves a second chance to excel at something they love.

“The city of Tulsa gave a struggling franchise from Detroit a second chance, and I’m confident it will do the same for Marion. We couldn’t be happier to have her on board.”

Jones added: “I may not be your typical rookie in this league, but I’ll still bring that rookie energy. I’m looking forward to competing against the best female athletes in the world.”

Kurt Gorman of suburban Philadelphia says Colleen LaRose mostly spent her days at their Pennsburg apartment.

Federal officials charge that she met up with violent jihadists online under the name “JihadJane.” An indictment issued Tuesday says she used the Internet to conspire with them to kill a Swedish artist.

Authorities say she also stole Gorman’s U.S. passport to give it to a male co-conspirator.

Gorman says he spent five years with LaRose and saw no violent tendencies. He says he came home one day last summer and found her gone.

Gorman says he’s still shocked by her arrest.

After more than a year in which both Obama and Netanyahu have been in office, the truly minuscule movement of resuming indirect peace talks is currently the only achievement on the peace front. Whose fault is this? The Middle East has been prone to an endless blame game. The Palestinians accuse Israel of not wanting peace, and justifiably point to the proliferation of settlements in the West Bank. Israeli commentators point out that the Palestinians have opted out every time Israel proposes something that they should accept, as in the Taba Summit of 2001 and during Olmert’s talks with Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas).

This discussion does not only take place between Palestinians and Israelis, but also inside Israel. There are the commentators like Akiva Eldar and Gideon Levy who consistently argue that Israel has misrepresented its offers; that Ehud Barak’s ‘There is no Partner’ line from the year 2000 covers up the truth that Israel never made viable offers. Then again there are commentators like Nachum Barnea and Ehud Yaari, who, in his recent article in Foreign Affairs, argue that the Palestinians don’t really want a state, and that they are actually waiting for the moment where they can, as he puts it, ‘fall into Israel’s arms,’ dismantle the Palestinian Authority and force a binational state on Israel, thus ending the possibility of Israel’s being a Jewish and democratic state.

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Spokesman Jacob Schoetz told The Associated Press that the investigation will be led by an independent lawyer who will be named later Wednesday.

He says the claims that have engulfed the prestigious Domspatzen boys choir that was led by the Rev. Georg Ratzinger from 1964 until 1994 will be investigated thoroughly.

The decision comes after the German Bishop’s Conference said it would look into all abuse allegations across the country. More than 170 students at Catholic schools have said they were sexually abused decades ago.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

REGENSBURG, Germany (AP) — The German Bishops Conference will lead an investigation into all allegations of the sexual and physical abuse of students in Germany, a top prelate announced Wednesday.

That investigation will include examining allegations of sexual abuse at a choir once led by the pope’s brother and looking into what, if anything, Pope Benedict XVI himself knew in his previous position as the archbishop of Munich, prelate Karl Juesten told the Associated Press.

Juesten, the liaison between Roman Catholic bishops and the German government, also praised the pope’s brother, the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, for apologizing to victims on Tuesday for doing nothing decades ago to stop the beating of students.

More than 170 students at Catholic schools across Germany have said they were sexually abused years ago and others have made allegations of severe beatings.

The German abuse allegations are particularly sensitive because Germany is the pope’s homeland and because the scandals involve the prestigious Domspatzen boys choir that was led by his brother from 1964 till 1994.

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Summit has just released the trailer to the much-anticipated “Eclipse,” sequel to “Twilight” and “New Moon.” Check back here tomorrow when the official full trailer is to be released. The trailer is also rumored to be playing in theaters before “Twilight” vampire Robert Pattinson’s new film, “Remember Me” (Check back Friday for a review of that movie as well).

In this clip, we see shots of Edward and Bella together, and Edward is telling her, “I know the consequences of this choice you’re making.” The choice, is, of course, to become a vampire. We then see a gratuitous shot of shirtless Jacob, then Bella canoodling with him, when he tells her “I’m gonna fight for you until your heart stops beating.”

Pretty much what we expected. Very serious, very dramatic. Oh, and Bella’s wig is looking pretty whack on top of KStew’s Joan Jett Hair. Do you agree? Let us know!

States may soon adopt national core standards for education that were designed by state governors and state school leaders, the Washington Post reports. It’s part of President Obama’s efforts to improve academics across the country.

When the No Child Left Behind Act tried to make schools accountable for educating their students, perhaps the biggest misstep was penalizing schools that failed and relying on school choice and competition as the mechanisms for school improvement. That led to some states lowering their standards, since easier tests would be easier for students to pass, thus preventing a school from being labeled as failing.

Part of the backlash against No Child Left Behind has been criticism that teachers can best determine what and how their students can learn, and some are now trumpeting the idea that a sense of community might matter more than providing school choice. But those can still be valued while recognizing there are national standards toward which every school should strive.

Denying that there should be any standards on a national level at all ignores the fact that some students are at a great disadvantage simply because of geography. Wealthy suburban schools simply have access as a whole to better teachers and better school administrators than those in extremely poor rural or urban areas. It just might be that some teachers need guidance on what the next generation needs to know to compete with their peers. The difference will be in how schools are required to reach the benchmarks.

– Monica Potts