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October 24, 2011 | | EXCLUSIVE Raj Rajaratnam, the disgraced head of the Galleon Group hedge fund, insisted on his innocence until the end. Almost alone among the 50-odd people caught in the insider-trading scandal, he refused to take a plea, and got 11 years in prison for his decision. Why didn't he plead guilty? In his first interview since going to prison, he tells Newsweek’s Suketu Mehta about the challenges facing a South Asian immigrant on Wall Street, his refusal to incriminate former McKinsey CEO Rajat Gupta, and the astrologer who convinced him he'd be let go. Initiatives | With congressional Republicans having killed his job plan, President Obama is turning to actions that don’t require their approval: he will travel to Las Vegas Monday and Denver Wednesday in order to announce executive actions to revamp housing and student-loan regulations. His message will be “we can’t wait” for lawmakers to fix the economy. Obama’s housing plan will allow homeowners to refinance their mortgages no matter how much value they have lost; the current program, originally designed to aid 9 million homeowners, reached only about 1.7 million. | | | Investments | Passion leads to success? French President Nicolas Sarkozy quarreled with British Prime Minister David Cameron Sunday, after attempting to ban Britain and non-euro-zone countries from taking part in discussions to save Europe's banks next week. "We’re sick of you criticizing us and telling us what to do," Sarkozy told him. Officials meeting in Brussels over the weekend did manage to strike a $138 billion deal to recapitalize the European banks, but could not agree on how to expand the European Financial Stability Facility. Some leaders advocated using more resources from the IMF, which has already assisted with the Greece bailout. Others called for the creation of an entirely new body, to be created under the auspices of the IMF, which could attract outside investment in order to buy the bonds of troubled countries. | | | Libya | Four days after his death, Muammar Gaddafi has not yet been buried. In fact, his corpse is on public view in a meat locker in Misrata, and thousands of Libyans are turning out to see it. Gaddafi’s body, along with that of his son Mutassim and his military chief, has begun to decompose. "There are so many rumors in Libya that it's difficult to believe anything without verifying it," said one visitor. Meanwhile, a gruesome video surfaced of what appears to be Gaddafi’s final moments: rebel fights pummel him as he appears to beg for his life. Gaddafi died from a gunshot wound to the head, according to his autopsy report. | | | MEMOIR Gaddafi’s reign is over. Soon the U.S. will exit Iraq. Was the toll worth it? In this week’s Newsweek, Condoleezza Rice talks to Christopher Dickey about the fight for democratic rights in the Middle East. Plus, read exclusive excerpts from her new memoir, No Higher Honor, including the inside story of her extraordinary 2008 visit to Israel that led her to believe a peace deal was in sight; how she felt during Hurricane Katrina; and new details on her relationships with Rumsfeld, Bush, and Nicolas Sarkozy. | | 
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