Archive - Mar 11, 2009

Treasury official Kashkari tries to explain where bank bail funds are going
Arizona Sheriff Arpaio’s department now subject of Justice Department probe
Los Angeles Times reporters sue parent company
1872 mining law may finally see reform
Washington may grant Pakistan additional funds to fight militants

Thousands attend peaceful vigils in Northern Ireland
Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur as UN Calls for Humanitarian Aid
Hundreds of Women Arrested in Brazil
Obama Calls for Earmark Reform
New Developments in California's Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage

Congressional panels spent the day searching for how bank bail out money has been spent. Lawmakers pressed Neel Kashkari, the Treasury official in charge of spending $700 billion in an attempt to relieve the frozen credit crisis – but Kashkari says it’s bad business to ask the banks to divulge all the details. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

The Department of Justice has initiated a federal investigation into Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s department. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon issued two investigation requests to the Justice Department over the past year while the Bush Administration was still in power. Congress member John Conyers called for an investigation under the current administration, and several thousand people recently took to the streets of Phoenix demonstrating against the sheriff department’s practices.

You won’t find the daily California section in the LA Times anymore – the paper is now featuring the section just once a week, on Sundays, and the rest of the week, incorporates California stories within existing sections. The LA Times has eliminated another 300 jobs this year, including 70 from the newsroom, and former and current Times reporters are now suing the parent company, Tribune, and its CEO. They say executives broke the law when they approved a leveraged buyout that risked employee pension funds.

A controversial hardrock mining law has been on the books for well over a century, and environmental groups and mining companies have been deadlocked for decades over how to reform it. As Yanmei Xie reports in the last story of our energy series, a new crop of conservation-minded Western Democrats in Congress could be the key to a breakthrough.

The U.S. has given Pakistan at least $12 billion in military and economic aid to stem Taliban and Al Qaeda militants in that country’s tribal areas. But Washington is now facing an ever stronger Taliban in the region, and is considering another financial request from Islamabad. Congressional aids and Obama’s administration are reportedly working on a $5 billion package, and President Obama says he will make an announcement about Pakistan soon. Our correspondent in Islamabad, Masroor Hussain, takes a look at the financial side of the war on terror.