Ahead of the curve: The next 7 days
October 2nd, 2011
04:47 PM ET

Ahead of the curve: The next 7 days

With appeals over the constitutionality of health care reform representing just one potentially explosive topic that could be tackled this year, the U.S. Supreme Court's new term, which begins Monday, may be "the most interesting one in a century," a prominent appellate attorney tells CNN. Here is a look at this and other stories that CNN plans to follow this week:

Big cases await Supreme Court as new term kicks off

The Supreme Court's new term begins Monday with plenty of intriguing cases scheduled for the next several months, including those involving TV indecency (whether current policies violate the free speech and due process rights of broadcasters, over profanity and sexual content) and electronic surveillance (whether the government violated a drug suspect's Fourth Amendment rights by installing a GPS tracking device on his motor vehicle).

And the potential addition in the coming months of cases that the court hasn't yet scheduled - such as issues related to religious symbols on public land, travel to Cuba, gay marriage and health care reform - could make this an especially big year for the high court.

Few doubt that the high court will take at least one appeal relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the signature accomplishment thus far of Barack Obama's presidency, CNN's Bill Mears reports. An eventual Supreme Court ruling can be expected by June, right in the thick of a presidential race.

"The Supreme Court term so far is shaping up to be pretty interesting, but it could become absolutely explosive and enthralling, the most interesting one in a century," Thomas Goldstein, a prominent appellate attorney and founder of Scotusblog.com, told Mears. "If, by chance, the court took up health care, gay marriage, immigration, affirmative action this term, it would be impossible to take your eyes away from the Supreme Court."

How much do you know about the Supreme Court? Take a quiz

Ruling in Amanda Knox / Raffaele Sollecito appeal expected Monday

Two years after they were convicted of murder in Italy, American Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, are expected to learn Monday whether their appeals to overturn those convictions have succeeded.

Knox and Sollecito were convicted in the 2007 death of Knox’s roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, whose body was found half-naked with her throat slashed in the Perugia home that Knox and Kercher were sharing.

Knox and Sollecito, both of whom claim innocence, are expected to make statements on their own behalves in court Monday before a ruling is made. During their appeal, independent forensics experts challenged the DNA evidence that prosecutors had used to link the pair to the crime.

Prosecutors claim Knox slashed Kercher's throat as Sollecito and a third defendant, Rudy Guede, held her down. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, while Sollecito got 25. Guede was convicted in a separate trial and is serving 16 years.

Knox and Sollecito's defense teams have suggested Guede could have been the sole killer and argue the police investigation was shoddy and incomplete.

U.S. House faces Tuesday deadline to keep government funded

With the U.S. government funded only through Tuesday, the U.S. House early this week is expected to approve a measure that would extend funding through November 18.

Funding had been set to expire at the end of last week, and a partial government shutdown would have followed. But Congress last week passed a measure extending the funding to this Tuesday. The Senate also passed another measure that would extend funding through November 18, setting the stage for the House to vote on it this week.

Short-term funding measures, rather than full fiscal-year budget appropriations, have been necessary in recent years in part because of a sharp partisan divide over government spending issues.

'Sweat lodge' guru could be sentenced Thursday

Sentencing for James Arthur Ray, a self-help expert who was convicted of negligent homicide in the deaths of three participants of a 2009 sweat lodge ritual, is scheduled for Thursday in Arizona.

Ray faces up to 12 and a half years in prison.

Three people died and at least 15 others fell ill in October 2009 during a "Spiritual Warrior" retreat - a ceremony modeled after Native American purification rituals - that Ray held at a resort near Sedona. Prosecutors argued that the lodge, which was made of willow trees and branches and covered with tarpaulins and blankets, was heated to a perilously high temperature and that Ray was indifferent to those clearly having trouble.

Ray's lawyers countered that what happened was an accident, not a crime.

Apple expected to unveil iPhone 5

Apple is expected to unveil its next-generation iPhone - the iPhone 5 - and potentially make a number of other product announcements at a media event on Tuesday.

Sprint Nextel is expected to join AT&T and Verizon Wireless as the only U.S. operators to sell iPhones, according to a report in the The Wall Street Journal. Sprint is expected to offer unlimited data plans for the iPhone - something that AT&T and Verizon do not do.

Facebook is expected to launch its long-awaited iPad app at Tuesday's event, as well as a revamped version of its iPhone app.

Selling an old iPhone? Do it now

Economic insights on the way

Investors will be watching to see whether all 17 members of the European Union will ratify the bailout fund that's seen as Greece's lifeline to at least temporarily avoid defaulting on its debt, CNNMoney.com reports. Greece's problems weigh heavily on Wall Street's outlook.

"I think you need to watch all this uncertainty to see if it is going to create more uncertainty and lead to less investment and less consumption," said James Keenan, head of leverage finance at BlackRock. "If it does, you'll start to see equities sell off more aggressively."

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will discuss the outlook for the economy Tuesday before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. The Labor Department's weekly initial data on unemployment claims comes out Thursday, followed Friday by the Labor Department's August jobs report.

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Filed under: Ahead of the curve
soundoff (47 Responses)
  1. America

    Almost 800 peeps arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge, and no word from CNN?! Wow!

    October 2, 2011 at 5:22 pm | Report abuse |
    • TheTruth72

      I agree! I did see one small article that they had, but barely any coverage. They love to cover other countries' uprisings, but when America has a peaceful protest where police brutality occurs, then no news coverage because they don't want things spreading I bet.

      October 2, 2011 at 5:37 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mark

      CNN's anchors are bowing to their bosses-maybe their afraid the story gets larger, they'll end up looking for a new job and they'll be one of the 99%'s- don't worry – people always higher cowar*s that do and say anything the' powers to be want' I challenge CNN to have the COURAGE to allow this blog TO STAY POSTED- it it does not, then I know you I cannot rely on CNN for real news. As a suggestion, you owe it to the brave people , regardless of a lack of agedna and other excuses to spend a 2 minute segment on why you are not really covering the story of whats happening in New York, Boston, San Fran,, etc. Make the right choice, please, for the sake of the country.

      October 2, 2011 at 6:39 pm | Report abuse |
    • Tony

      Go to RT.com they are covering it. You can't trust CNN to give you the real news.

      October 2, 2011 at 7:16 pm | Report abuse |
    • Mr Kitty

      live feed at
      http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution

      October 2, 2011 at 8:30 pm | Report abuse |
  2. WAHOOPPYPDINDLDOOBERG

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xGfYOAydjw OR http://www.youtube.com/user/BostjanAvsec

    Make sure to play one from beginning as youtube is censoring proofs of genocide against whites by either playing video in the middle or blocking one entirely from play

    Just in case or if not functioning, please use either http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xleq3o OR http://www.vidup.de/v/9dNJo/
    VISIT ALL NEW “OBAMA = STALIN = BUSH or USA = SOVIET UNION”
    http://avsecbostjan.blogspot.com/ or http://avsecbostjan.wordpress.com/

    IS IT INDEPENDENCE THAT WE CELEBRATE OR DEPENDENCE (what are your credit card bills or alimony saying about it) !!? HOW IS YOUR DIABETES AND LOST MARRIAGES !!? FORECLOSURES AND JOB SEARCH !!? THAT IS THE QUESTION TO BE OR NOT TO BE !!! IS IT LAND OF THE FREE OR STATE OF TERROR AGAINST OWN WHITE POPULATION !!? IT IS TIME TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT COLOR ARE THE STRIPES ON OUR STAR SPANGLED BANNER !!! TIME TO DETERMINE WHOSE INDEPENDENCE/AMERICA, WE CELEBRATE TODAY(who wants to erase us and denies us the right to exist) !!! IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHOM WE ADDRESS WITH "PRESIDENT" (STOP HUMILIATING YOURSELF) !!!

    911(TWIN TOWERS) = NORWAY BOMBING OR STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM !!

    ARIZONA = UTOYA = THERE WAS NO SHOOTING EITHER IN NORWAY OR ARIZONA, BUT “AFTERLIFE” FLASH MOB INSTEAD !! Tear gas and theater were used on faces of multiculturalism maniacs while calling YOU a terrorists !! Guilt or blame and shame weapon against us and our families in our own countries during bogus “economic crises” while importing here non white third world foreigners !!!
    MULTYCULTURALISM = TERRORISM !! OBAMA = OSAMA !!!
    http://stateofterror.blogspot.com/ http://stateofterror.wordpress.com/

    October 2, 2011 at 6:02 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Craig Knapp

    Interesting, CNN website has no mention of 700 protesters being arrested today 02OCT2011 in NY. I suspect CNN believes these kids, who have no idea why they are protesting, make the left look bad, thus are not "newsworthy" Craig Knapp Age 50 craig d@t knapp1 @t y@h@@ d@t c@m

    October 2, 2011 at 6:02 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Joey Isotta-Fraschini

    What's a little demonstration that we should get all out of joint about it? Huh?
    Get focused on the new iPhone: something that matters.

    October 2, 2011 at 6:03 pm | Report abuse |
    • Tony

      And that's exactly how CNN's homepage reads. You need to know all about Giant Pumpkins weighing in at 800lbs, and we don't dare miss the news about Gene Simmons getting married. That's what they think you need to know about. You don't need to know about 800 people being hauled off to jail for a peaceful protest on a American soil, that's not outrageous enough. What is outrageous is Tiger Woods not making the list of the top 50 golfers.

      October 2, 2011 at 7:22 pm | Report abuse |
    • EdK

      Maybe CNNs headquarters in in Atlanta needs to be protested.

      October 2, 2011 at 7:34 pm | Report abuse |
  5. nur amabo nur

    Ahhh...you do know that the main stream media is owned and told what they can print by the gov. Right ? They are not allowed to print anything that will discredit their masters. CNN is a gov wh()re. Try news bloc or infowars dot com for a slice of reality. Ron Paul 2012 is our only hope.

    October 2, 2011 at 6:22 pm | Report abuse |
  6. THE ONE AND ONLY DRAKOREX1

    HOW LONG ARE THOSE WADHOLES IN WASHINGTON GOING TO PLAY THIS GOVERMENT SHUT DOWN GAME? IM PRETTY SICK OF EVERY FEW MONTHS , THE SAME OLD CRAP! THEY SHOULD NOT GET PAIDED FOR HOLDING THE USA HOSTAGE. I THINK ITS CALLED TERRORISM!!!

    October 2, 2011 at 6:50 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Laura Lane

    WE ARE THE 99% Police barricade and trap hundreds of ppl on the Brooklyn bridge ... arresting over 700 ppl (including a child) and you are still reporting on casey and mj and amanda knoxx... don't you get it that we don't care about that?! The real news is being ignored by you all! Why isn't this HUGE breaking news?!? You were ALL over the Casey Anthony verdict . ... and we didn't care! This WE CARE ABOUT! PLEASE REPORT ON THE REAL NEWS CNN! WE ARE THE 99%

    October 2, 2011 at 7:03 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Ann-Marie

    Who cares! We need to know about the protesters! Tiger Woods can kiss my ass!

    October 2, 2011 at 7:27 pm | Report abuse |
  9. fernace

    I hate to point out that even tough CNN supposedly never reports the real news, all y'all are still here blogging! And I think they're owned by a biz conglomorate, not the government! Maybe they just haven't got to that story yet! It is Sun. after all! There was a protest yesterday at the capitol building, here in ATx! "Abolish all Executions!" Of course no1 was arrested, so not quite as exciting! So what was the NYC protest about? If 800 were arrested many of them will be let go, too much paper (or computer) work! The same thing happened in H-town a few years back! It was a Sat.nite parking lot roundup of over 200 peeps, but most were released! Only those with clear violations were held! So don't fret so much folks, it's gonna be alright in the end!! 🙂

    October 2, 2011 at 7:48 pm | Report abuse |
  10. fernace

    Sorry, that word is of course "though"!

    October 2, 2011 at 7:53 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Omg Onigiri

    Weaboos.

    October 2, 2011 at 7:58 pm | Report abuse |
  12. TheJD

    As a former finance profession­al and lawyer, I tell you YES, the system is predatory, rigged against the middle and working classes, and the time is now to collapse it.

    Wide-scale DEBTORS' REVOLT - DEFAULT-EN­-MASSE is the answer, or at least part of it.

    I am helping lead this effort, and our momentum grows. Join us. Walk away from your debt 'obligatio­ns', and help speed up the desirable collapse of the predatory banking system. Rebuild from there, under fair rules – responsible capitalism that recognizes the need for a economically strong workforce and middle class.

    DEBTORS' REVOLT – DEFAULT EN MASSE. The critical mass is closer than you think.

    October 2, 2011 at 8:04 pm | Report abuse |
  13. citizen leader

    Would love to see more protesting angst directed toward tea party controlled House, that has failed to act on the will of the people and instead terrorizes us all with their hatred of most Americans and fear mongering with the irrational ignorant

    October 2, 2011 at 8:30 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Aaron

    800 decent Americans exercising their right to civil protest arrested for NO reason not only doesn't get a shout on the front page, but hardly even a blurb anywhere on CNN's site. We have men and women overseas being told they are fighting for democracy but what they're really fighting for is our sick and twisted brand of capitalism. While they're over there financial "experts" are gleefully going about business as usual, under the blind gaze of toothless oversight, anemic regulation, and the benefit of a DC/Wall Street revolving door that keeps the narrow end of the funnel of wealth and power pointed firmly upwards.

    Our soldiers are fighting, killing, and dying to keep this system, which is steadily eroding the stability and earning power of the middle class, and its few beneficiaries in the proverbial cat-bird seat. We of the lower classes, who work just as hard and have jobs just as deserving of respect and fair compensation as these fat cats holding their thumbs on the levers of power and their noses at the rest of us, are tired of being told we don't give enough. We sacrifice everything so they can see record profits, record bonuses, and record wealth without seeing anything resembling robust representation by our government officials. It's time to stand up and be heard, not just at the ballot box but in the streets. Peaceful, loud, and persistent demonstration demanding action and a bail-out for the middle class of this country are what is needed. We will not stand down until our government stands up for us.

    October 2, 2011 at 8:40 pm | Report abuse |
  15. FingerLakesUpstater

    Really, CNN? Not one mention of Occupy Wall Street? Your silence on this issue is...well...telling.

    October 2, 2011 at 8:43 pm | Report abuse |
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