We can all relax - the USC game will be on tonight, as will "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy." The two companies announced a fee agreement that will keep ESPN, ABC and all the other Mouse House fare on Time Warner Cable. The press release points to a bunch of additional programming that will be available to TW customers (here's the release). Over the last few weeks, the two sides had battled over how much Time Warner Cable would pay to carry the Disney-owned channels. No details in the release on pricing.

It was also the home of Bing Crosby and Harry Cohn. The five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath Bev Hills residence, built in 1923, is listed at $12.5 million. William Randolph Hearst bought the home under the name of Davies' mother, Rose. Or so goes the story. Here's the Curbed LA post, and here's the Redfin listing.

Putting aside the plastic bag and budget failures, the legislative session ended with 98 bills being passed on Tuesday. California Watch has a roundup.

Ordinarily, anyone who has been in front of a live camera and blanked out for a moment or two might feel for the Arizona governor's stunningly bad performance. But then you think about how she shamelessly pandered to the anti-immigration groups in Arizona and, well, it's really hard to feel too sorry for her.

engender much goodwill these

That's what Bank of America economists are forecasting for the fourth quarter and into 2011. They happen when the economy continues to grow but not strongly enough to generate significant numbers of jobs (aka a "jobless recovery"). The last time the nation had a growth recession was in 2002 and 2003 (though some economists argue that much of the decade was mired in minimal hiring). These things are insidious because they leave the economy is a sort of no-man's land - not weak enough to collect enough support for additional government stimulus, but not strong enough to bring down the unemployment rate. Growth recessions leave policymakers at an impasse. B of A expects the economy to grow at an anemic 1.8 percent pace next year.

Life in prison for a white collar scam almost never happens - nor should it. But the case of Timothy Barnett may be the exception to the rule. As chronicled in the LAT, Barnett spent five years in prison for a scam in which he conned South L.A. homeowners out of tens of thousands of dollars. Now, he's at it again, and, if convicted, the DA's office wants to put this guy away for good. Barnett is charged with 23 felonies for allegedly tricking five people into unknowingly granting him title to their homes.

By the time prosecutors began looking at Barnett again, he had bought a $3.1-million home in Orange County and three Mercedes-Benz vehicles. As in his first case, prosecutors said, Barnett targeted older African Americans, mostly in South Los Angeles. They said he used his Christian faith -- praying with victims and passing out business cards that described him as a "visionary" -- to win their trust. Barnett told victims that he learned about their financial troubles from public records.

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Barnett received his first two strikes -- both for residential burglary -- in 1997. Burglary is one of the dozens of serious or violent crimes that are considered strikes under state law. In that case, Barnett was accused of talking his way into people's homes, offering to refinance their mortgages, and diverting property or loan proceeds to himself. Prosecutors had charged him with burglary because he met with his victims in their homes. Under California law, a person can be convicted of residential burglary for entering someone's house with the intent to commit a felony, even if he or she enters with the homeowner's permission.

Stocks turn sluggish: There's little carryover from yesterday's big gain, perhaps reflecting investor caution about Wall Street's direction. Dow is up just a few points.

Decent month for retailers: August turned out better than expected for several big chains, adding more confusion over the willingness of consumers to spend. Remember, though, the comparisons are with August 2009, which was very weak. From AP:

Costco Wholesale Corp. posted a robust gain Thursday, boosted by higher gas prices and improved international revenue. Limited Brands Inc. and Macy's Inc. also had solid revenue increases. But shoppers are still keeping to their lists, hurting a number of clothing stores such as Aeropostale Inc. and Gap Inc. Target Corp.'s results came in below expectations.

Dodgers debt: Looks like owner Frank McCourt is leveraged out, with several lenders, including Citibank, turning down his request for additional loans. The LAT brought on an accounting firm to analyze the financials submitted as part of the McCourt divorce case. On the surface, the team's debt load - $153 million as of September 2009 - is no worse than several MLB clubs. But....

The $153 million is but a fraction of the $619 million in total liabilities held by the team's parent company, LA HoldCo LLC. That figure includes $433 million of long-term debt, with both figures obtained from a September 2009 balance sheet. HoldCo is where revenue and expenses from the Dodgers' assets are consolidated. Court records -- including statements by Jamie McCourt, the team's former president and chief executive -- show that the company has no significant source of income to service the debt besides the Dodgers and no significant HoldCo operations aside from the Dodgers.

Maker of Botox settles: Irvine-based Allergan agreed to pay $600 million to resolve charges that the company illegally promoted and sold the drug through 2005 for unapproved uses like treating headaches. From the NYT:

The company developed and put in place a wide-ranging marketing program, according to the complaint, that included paying kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe Botox for conditions -- like pain and severe spasms in the limbs of children with cerebral palsy -- not included in the drug's label. Federal prosecutors also accused the company of teaching doctors how to get reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid for off-label uses by putting in the codes for an approved treatment.

Sexual harassment case settled for $5.8 million: The government had connected ABM Industries, one of the nation's largest janitorial companies, with incidents involving rape, indecent exposure, groping, asking for sex and trading sex for promotions. The incidents allegedly happened in Bakersfield, Fresno and Visalia. (LAT)

Fraud charges involving failed credit union: Two former executives of Western Corporate Federal Credit Union are accused of pocketing millions of dollars for themselves and other top officials of the company. From the LAT:

WesCorp, as it was known, was seized by the government in March 2009 after incurring nearly $7 billion in losses, largely because of bad investments in mortgage-backed bonds. The suit, filed this week in federal court in Los Angeles by the National Credit Union Administration, a government agency, seeks at least $1 billion from the defendants or their insurers. Among the defendants is the current head of the national trade group of credit unions.

Disney channels stay on: Still no new fee deal with Time Warner Cable, but ABC, ESPN and the rest of the Mouse House lineup remains on the cable system. Update expected later today. (Bloomberg)

KB is cleared: After completing its inquiry into possible accounting violations, the SEC will not recommend any enforcement action against the L.A.-based homebuilder. (AP)

Miramax deal not done?: Two would-be investors have dropped out of the $660-million purchase of the movie production company. No word on whether the move will jeopardize the entire deal, which is being led by Ron Tutor. (LAT)

Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters summed up the Sacramento follies quite well:

Democrats voted for their version, keyed to tax increases. Republicans voted for a budget that slashes spending. Their effusion of hot air evoked what William Shakespeare's Macbeth said: "A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

At some point both sides will be forced into cutting a deal, though probably not before the state starts handing out IOUs later this month. There are no good guys in this one: The Republicans realize they have the leverage to thwart any Democratic budget (remember that a two-thirds vote is needed to pass the budget). Democrats keep acquiescing to union demands and unrealistic notions about taxing and spending. More from Walters:

The system that we adapted from the federal government 160 years ago and then altered dozens of times thereafter is out of sync with California's demographic, economic and cultural reality. It simply does not work and, more importantly, cannot work.

Meantime, the state that has a $19 billion deficit is still hiring people by the thousands, perhaps best demonstrating how disconnected the place has become.