Mickelson: I've done nothing wrong

Phil Mickelson shot a level par 72 third round at the Memorial to trail the leaders.

• Phil Mickelson denies wrongdoing in insider trading probe


• Five-time major champion says he’s co-operating with FBI


• Mickelson playing in prestigious Memorial tournament in Ohio

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(CNN) — Five-time major champion Phil Mickelson denied involvement in an alleged insider trading fraud Saturday, saying he is fully co-operating with FBI agents.

Mickelson, who is playing in the Memorial tournament in Ohio, spoke to gathered reporters after a third round 72 to leave him way off the pace on two-under 214.

“I have done absolutely nothing wrong,” said the 43-year-old American. “That’s why I’m fully cooperating with the FBI agents and will continue to do so.

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His comments mirrored an earlier statement released Saturday to CNN by his agent.

“I wish I could fully discuss this matter, but under the current circumstances it’s just not possible,” he added.

The FBI probe is examining stock trades by Mickelson, investor Carl Icahn and a well-known Las Vegas gambler, Billy Walters, law enforcement sources told CNN.

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Secret eyes watching you shop

Businesses are gathering mountains of data on how you shop, what you buy and where you live

• FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez warns consumers about invisible data brokers


• Transactions quietly surrender a gold mine of data, from where you live to what you like


• FTC wants Congress to improve the transparency of data broker industry


• It also wants brokers to create central website so consumers can see their own data, opt out

Editor’s note: Edith Ramirez is chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) — Who doesn’t like getting those retail discounts or free gift coupons from their favorite stores?

But did you know there were strings attached, invisible eyes tracking your every consumer move? And there’s little you can do to stop it.

We want to do something about that.

Businesses have long sought to attract and retain customers by recording and analyzing your shopping and lifestyle habits. To do so, they often rely on “data brokers” — companies that collect and share our personal information and label us based on what they learn. And they do this mostly without our knowledge.

That fashionable handbag you found on sale? They know about it. That great deal you got on the BBQ grill from the hardware store? They’re tracking that too. And that box of Cheerios? They already assumed you were going to buy that before you even entered the store.

The data broker industry has been booming in recent years, due to new technologies that enable the collection of massive quantities of our personal information. Because of the sheer volume of data we leave in our wake when we shop, browse the web, order a magazine, or post to social media sites, we are largely giving them all this valuable information.

Data brokers scoop up the digital breadcrumbs we leave as we shop in stores and online, and apply “big data” analytical tools to predict where we’re going, what we’ll buy, and what we’ll do — sometimes even before we know ourselves what we’ll buy next.

There’s no question that the personal information that data brokers sell to retailers, financial firms, hotels, airlines and other businesses can provide benefits to consumers and our growing digital economy. It can help direct goods and services that are tailored to our interests and assisting businesses to combat fraud by verifying consumers’ identities.

They also take this information and use it to lump us into various, shorthand categories like “Affluent Baby Boomer” and “Bible Lifestyle.”

But if a data broker categorizes you as an “Urban Scrambler,” meaning a low-income minority, are you more likely to receive an offer for a payday loan than a credit card?

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What are the implications of being labeled as “financially challenged?” Will it mean you are cut off from being offered the same goods and services, at the same prices, as your neighbors?

Do you want a company to know that you have diabetes, high cholesterol, or another medical condition as long as it is willing to pay the going rate for health data?

Most Americans don’t even know that data brokers exist, let alone that they collect and trade a staggering amount of our personal data. Brokers operate invisibly, buying and selling data about us without interacting directly with us. Too few offer easy ways for us to access our information or opt-out of their system of data collection.

The Federal Trade Commission, a bipartisan agency that works to protect consumers, is seeking to shed light on this largely unknown industry.

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How terrible is it to be born a girl?

• A woman in Pakistan was stoned to death, nearly 300 girls in Nigeria were kidnapped


• Isobel Coleman: Despite progress, all societies suffer from violence against women


• She says but these headlines of hatred against women are starting to catalyze change


• Coleman: That violence is being counted is a step forward from centuries of silence

Editor’s note: Isobel Coleman is the author of “Paradise Beneath Her Feet” and a senior fellow of U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) — How terrible is it to be born a girl in the world today? The almost daily headlines about another cruel act of violence and discrimination against women — from the kidnapping of nearly 300 school girls in Nigeria last month, to the latest gruesome stoning of a woman in Pakistan — provide plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about women’s equality and safety in today’s world.

The recent case of “misogynist extremism” in California, where a young man killed six people in “retribution” for all the girls who had rejected him, underscores the fact that all societies suffer from violence against women.

Indeed, the World Health Organization estimates that 35% of women worldwide experience intimate-partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. A new World Bank report estimates that in some countries, the economic toll of violence against women exceeds a staggering 3% of GDP.

Also shocking in the 21st century is that the leading cause of death worldwide for girls ages 15 to 19 is complication related to pregnancy and childbirth, in many cases because girls are married and bearing children before their young bodies are ready. High rates of child marriage in some countries also limit the educational opportunities and economic independence of girls. Add in a persistent preference for sons in South, East and Central Asia that has resulted in millions of “missing girls,” and the picture for girls today seems pretty grim.

But these challenges, as daunting as they are, should not obscure the important gains that women and girls have made in recent decades — gains that point to a much brighter future.

First, the global gender gap in education has been shrinking: Between 1999 and 2009, the number of girls out of school dropped from nearly 61 million to 35 million, and equal numbers of girls and boys now complete primary school in Latin America and East Asia. In fact, around the world, women are beginning to outnumber men at the university level — in some cases by a wide margin.

Women’s political participation worldwide also continues to grow. As of July 2013, 35 countries, including nine in Africa, had national parliaments with at least 30% female representatives and several countries now include quotas to ensure women’s political participation. Examples of women rising to the top of their fields — just think of Hillary Clinton, Janet Yellen, Angela Merkel, Sheryl Sandberg and others — and on their own terms, are increasingly more common.

The dire statistics we hear today about violence against women have a silver lining — that violence is being counted — and quantified — which is a huge leap forward from centuries of silence and acceptance of the oppression of women.

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Honor crimes and sexual violence have long gone unrecorded because such behavior is tolerated, ignored, or conveniently covered up in mostly rural communities. Survivors often remain silent for fear their attackers will take revenge if they report the crime. But national and international media coverage and popular outrage are beginning to shift the dynamic. The proliferation of mobile phones and use of social media mean that violence and discrimination against women are increasingly reported.

In the aftermath of the 2012 gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old female student in New Delhi, India, journalists called me asking why are we seeing such an uptick in sexual violence against women now — is it somehow related to globalization? My response is that we simply have no data to conclude that the incidence of sexual violence in India is actually increasing — reported incidents may be on the rise, but that could be because women, supported by male family members, are finally breaking the code of silence to denounce and prosecute their attackers.

The outrage in the New Delhi case forced the Indian government to strengthen its sexual assault laws — including making rape in some cases punishable by life in prison or the death penalty and increasing the minimum sentence for gang rape to 20 years.

As depressing and disturbing as the headlines can be, news of violence, hatred, and discrimination against women is beginning to catalyze powerful change. So too is the growing body of evidence that disempowering women poses an enormous economic cost on society.

There will inevitably be backlash against that change — backlash that will take the form of deranged extremists from California to Nigeria to Pakistan — but the momentum of positive change for women and girls in the world today is undeniable.

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McIlroy falls away at Memorial

England’s Paul Casey charged to the top of the leaderboard at the Memorial with a second straight 66.

• Paul Casey leads Memorial after second round of 66


• Overnight leader Rory McIlroy fades badly during second round


• Bubba Watson finishes day in second position


• Top-ranked Adam Scott still in contention

Follow us at @WorldSportCNN and like us on Facebook

(CNN) — A second consecutive round of 66 fired Paul Casey to the top of the Memorial Tournament leaderboard in Dublin, Ohio, Friday after overnight leader Rory McIlroy fell away.

Casey shot six birdies and an eagle, which more than canceled out bogies on holes nine and 17, to finish the day on 12-under-par.

The Englishman now sits three shots ahead of Masters champion Bubba Watson going into the weekend.

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“I had very good control of the irons today,” Casey told the PGA Tour website upon reaching the clubhouse.

“The driving was still good again but I was ecstatic with the way I played. There was a couple of mistakes in there. But that’s Muirfield Village. It’s a tricky golf course and you don’t need to do a lot wrong to make a mistake.”

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Torres earns World Cup spot

Fernando Torres applauds the crowd after being substituted in Spain’s 2-0 win over Bolivia in Sevilla.

• Fernando Torres in Spain World Cup squad


• Torres scores opener in 2-0 friendly win over Boliva


• England on top at Wembley against Peru


• Superb Daniel Sturridge opener in 3-0 win

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(CNN) — Fernando Torres was rewarded for his goal in Spain’s 2-0 friendly win over Bolivia with a place in the 23-man squad for its defense of the World Cup in Brazil.

The Chelsea striker got the nod from coach Vicente Del Bosque Saturday despite an indifferent season for his club side Chelsea.

Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa, who is struggling with a hamstring injury and teammate David Villa are also included as strikers.

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But there was disappointment for another trio of front men, Manchester City pair Jesus Navas and Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente of Juventus.

Midfielder Ander Iturraspe, and defenders Alberto Moreno and Dani Carvajal have also been excluded from the provisional 30 named by Del Bosque.

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Redskins fumble on Twitter

• Team’s Twitter appeal to fans appears to backfire, say proponents of name change


• One person tweets: “This team has ZERO self-awareness”


• Another tweets: “Lifelong ‘Skins fan and I strongly believe it is time to change the name”


• Team President Bruce Allen: Name began as Native American expression of solidarity

(CNN) — The Washington Redskins, stinging from a letter by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and dozens of fellow Democrats calling on the league to force the team to change its racist name, apparently fumbled a desperate Twitter appeal to fans.

“Tweet @SenatorReid to show your #RedskinsPride and tell him what the team means to you,” the maligned team wrote to its 305,000 Twitter followers on Thursday.

But be careful what you ask for, especially on Twitter.

“This team has ZERO self-awareness.lol,” one person tweeted.

“Lifelong ‘Skins fan and I strongly believe it is time to change the name,” wrote another.

“How do you not see what a bad idea this is,” said another tweet.

“Please don’t do this to yourself. DON’T,” another person wrote.

Faiz Shakir, Reid’s digital director, said the majority of responses favored a name change.

“In the five to 10 minutes following it, we were pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming outpouring of opposition to the team,” he said. “It was 50 to one at one point.”

Redskins spokesman Tony Wyllie said the claim reminded him of the famously incorrect “Dewey defeats Truman” banner headline.

“They declared victory within the hour and as the night went on, more and more momentum swung our way,” he said. “That’s the good thing about our country. People can express themselves and have a healthy dialogue.”

In a letter to the NFL last week, the senators stepped up pressure on the league to force the Washington Redskins to change their name by invoking the heated racial controversy triggered by basketball’s Donald Sterling.

“I would hope that the team does reflect on why there was so much organic opposition to the name,” Shakir said Friday. “I don’t know if they’re living in bunker mentality over there and don’t realize that this name has caused so much anger. But if they are in that bunker mentality, hopefully (Thursday’s Twitter response) causes them to climb out of that and see the fact that there is a lot of deep-seeded opposition and anger to the name.”

Responding to the senators’ letter, Redskins President Bruce Allen invited Reid to a game to “witness first-hand that the Washington Redskins are a positive, unifying force for our community in a city and region that is divided on so many levels.” Allen said the term Redskins originated as a Native American expression of solidarity, and that the team logo was designed by Native Americans.

Joel Barkin, a spokesman for Oneida Indian Nation of central New York, said the team’s Twitter appeal demonstrated how much the Redskins underestimate the passions surrounding the issue.

“This is a complete disregard for those that are calling for a change,” he said. “It’s a fundamental misreading of the issue at large.”

Last week’s letter, signed by 50 Democratic senators and released by Reid, urged pro football’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, to take action over concerns that continued use of the Redskins brand is offensive to Native Americans.

They asked Goodell to follow the lead of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who took tough measures against Sterling after the longtime owner of the league’s Los Angeles Clippers was recorded making comments offensive to African-Americans.

“Today, we urge you and the National Football League to send the same clear message as the NBA did: that racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports,” the letter said.

Responding to the Senate letter, the NFL said last week it has “long demonstrated a commitment to progressive leadership” on diversity.

“The intent of the team’s name has always been to present a strong, positive and respectful image. The name is not used by the team or the NFL in any other context, though we respect those that view it differently,” the league statement said.

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Tennis: Gulbis comments cause stir

Ernests Gulbis returns to Radek Stepanek during their third round match at Roland Garros.

• Ernests Gulbis says female tennis players need to think about kids when considering career


• Female tennis players can’t have kids until late 20s and “that’s tough” Gulbis said


• Maria Sharapova tells reporters not to take Gulbis comments seriously

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(CNN) — Ernests Gulbis is no stranger to a controversial comment.

The Latvian tennis star once described the press conferences of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray as boring.

Then there was the time he said the fact that

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“Hopefully they’re not going to pursue a professional tennis career,” Gulbis said. “A woman needs to enjoy life a little bit more, needs to think about family, needs to think about kids.”

He added that female tennis players can’t think about having kids until they are in their late 20s, and “that’s tough for a woman.”

Unsurprisingly, Gulbis’ comments were picked up on social media sites Friday with many decrying the remarks as sexist.

But Maria Sharapova, who defeated Paula Ormaechea 6-0, 6-0 Friday to move into the fourth round of the ladies draw, played down any controversy.

“I don’t think we can take everything serious when he speaks,” Sharapova laughingly said in her post match press conference. “I think he’s great entertainment and we love to listen to what he has to say.”

“I think the sport brings so many opportunities to women. I mean, it’s brought me so many things into my life and my career. I don’t regret any step that I have taken.”

Gulbis was speaking after defeating Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.

He now advances to play Roger Federer in the fourth round after the Swiss overcame Dmitry Tursunov 7-5 6-7 (9/7) 6-2 6-4.

Gulbis, who has risen to a career high world ranking of 17 thanks to a fine run of form this year, has never made the fourth round of a major before but admitted he was keen to make up for lost time.

“Until the last two years I would be consistent for say three months, then I got sick or went to Latvia and took stupid ten days off,” he said.

“Now I’m jumping on the last train. I’m 25 so this is my last opportunity to be really successful.”

Gulbis and Federer were joined in the fourth round later in the day by world No 2 Novak Djokovic who battled past Croatia’s Marin Cillic 6-3 6-2 6-7 (7-2) 6-4.

The Serb, who dropped a set against Cilic for only the third time in nine meetings, will now face home-favorite Jo Wilfred Tsonga for a place in the quarter finals.

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“Physically I had to work very hard, because he was very aggressive, and I could expect that,” Djokovic said of his opponent after the match. “(But) In important moments I held my nerves and, you know, I’m very happy that I went through.”

Elsewhere in the men’s draw, John Isner overcame Tommy Robredo of Spain 7-6 (15-13) 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (7-5) 7-5.

The big-serving American will now meet Thomas Berdych in round four after the Czech beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.

Radwanska stunned

The women’s draw witnessed yet another shock Friday as third-seed Agnieszka Radwanska lost to unseeded Croat Ajla Tomljanovic.

The Pole went down 6-4 6-4 in the first game of the day on Philippe Chatrier and follows top seeds Serena Williams and Li Na in making an unexpected an early exit at Roland Garros.

“After seeing the two first seeds go out, (I) feel like I can do this too. I grew up with these girls that are beating them… obviously, you respect everyone, but you don’t fear anyone,” Tomljanovic told reporters.

The highest ranking player left in the ladies competition is now fourt seed Simona Halep of Romania who doesn’t play her third round match against Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor until Saturday.

Elsewhere on Friday, Angelique Kerber of Germany beat Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-3 and will now face 18th seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada for a place in the quarters.

Meanwhile, Samantha Stosur overcame Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 6-4 to set up a fourth round tie with Maria Sharapova.

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World unready for 'forgotten' decision

In this photo illustration the Google logo is reflected in the eye of a girl on February 3, 2008 in London, England.

• Index on Censorship’s Jodie Ginsberg argues the “right to be forgotten” decision is too woolly


• The decision, she writes, did not come with enough checks and it needs to be stayed


• She says we should be worried about the ability for public figures of the future to whitewash their history

Editor’s note: Jodie Ginsberg is the chief executive of Index on Censorship, an international organization that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) — The Internet has radically altered many things, not least the speed at which we all share and receive information, and the depth of the information available.

Before the Internet, information about individuals (that they did not choose to share with you themselves) could only be found by finding others who knew the individual or by trawling through media archives. The Internet changed all that.

Now, at the touch of a button, it is possible to call up a huge amount of information about individuals — not just public figures, but “ordinary” people, all sorted by search engines in complicated, secretive ways over which we have no control.

This, many argue, is a major flaw in the system that needs fixing. Why should Google, Yahoo or any other search engine be the arbiter of what information others see about me when they run a search? What if the information that is returned in that search is “irrelevant” or “outdated” and no longer reflects who I am — or indeed causes people to treat me differently?

These worries are understandable. But the solution proposed by the European Union Court of Justice earlier this month is not the answer.

Recognizing people’s concerns about their privacy, the European court ruled that individuals had the “right to be forgotten” — that they should be allowed to request search engines to remove information considered “irrelevant, outdated, or otherwise inappropriate” and that the search engines would have to remove this material from search indices except in public interest cases.

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It is this gray area that is of concern to Index on Censorship. Search engines are not public bodies — and while there is a legitimate reason to worry about the way in which these organizations present search results, the way to fix that is certainly not through a vague and woolly ruling that leaves decisions about what is and is not in the public interest in the hands of a private body.

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There is no legal oversight or appeals process built in to the ruling — the court simply leaves it up to Google and others to decide (independently of one another, a further recipe for chaos and confusion) what is and is not in the public interest.

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Much has been made of the fact that the ruling would exclude public figures — but that misses the point.

It is not so much current public figures wanting to whitewash their personal histories that should worry us, but the potential for those who may become important public figures — or simply be relevant to us for other reasons (because they want to sell us products or join us in business, say) — many years hence, to have links to information about them deleted now, making it almost impossible to find in future.

Index urges the court to put a stay on its ruling while it pursues a regulatory framework that will provide legal oversight, an appeals process and ensure that private corporations are not the arbiters of public information.

While it is clearly understandable that individuals should want to be able to control their online presence, the court’s ruling

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