 Sumner Redstone |
The legal struggles over the control of 94-year-old Sumner Redstone’s fortune were kicked up another notch by a suit filed Oct. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In the suit, Manuela Herzer, ex-companion of the former Viacom and CBS executive chairman, charges Redstone’s daughter, Shari Redstone, and grandson, Tyler Korff, with “systematic, criminal and illegal infiltration into the private affairs of Sumner, Herzer and others around them without any care about his medical or legal privacy.” In addition to illegally accessing Herzer’s computer and spying on her by manipulating the elder Redstone’s security cameras, the suit charges that Shari Redstone and her son were involved in “an illegal pattern of racketeering” in their quest to control Sumner’s property as well as his personal life. Because of this, Shari Redstone and Korff are being prosecuted under the RICO Act, which is directed towards acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. Herzer is seeking $100 million, as well as the treble damages provided for under RICO and punitive damages.
 Ben White |
Politico has launched “Politico Money,” a weekly podcast which will interview key figures in money, finance, and banking, focusing on politics and the practical implications of often complex policy. The podcast will be hosted by Ben White, Politico’s chief economic correspondent. "My goal is to break down all of the economic and financial issues dominating the conversation on Wall Street and in Washington with leaders in business and politics,” said White. The premiere episode features Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who draws a line in the sand for members of Congress: Failure to pass a big tax cut bill, he says, could blow up the stock market.
 Laura Barrón-López |
The Washington Examiner is bringing on Laura Barrón-López as a political reporter. Barrón-López comes to the Examiner from The Huffington Post, where she covered Congress. Before that she was a reporter at The Hill, covering energy and environment policy. At the Examiner, she will cover the Democratic Party and Democratic lawmakers in Congress. “Laura is a great reporter whose work I’ve followed and admired for years,” said Hugo Gordon, the paper’s editorial director. “Her excellent sources on Capitol Hill will bring extra power to our coverage of the Democrats as they try to claw their way back to power.”
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