Judge Manuel Real of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles was appointed to the bench in 1966.Photo by Virginia Lee Hunter A federal judge has issued three key rulings over a four-year period that favored companies in which he owned stock, a California Watch analysis has found. Measures are in place to prevent judges […]
Money and Politics
Posted inMoney and Politics
Embezzlement, scam shatter venerable Vanguard Foundation
Tracy Gary, one of the original members of the Vanguard collective and an heir to the Pillsbury fortune, said Hari Dillon was responsible for the foundation’s downfall. “But so, too, was the culture that all of us created,” she said.Michael Short/Center for Investigative Reporting The Vanguard Public Foundation was once a social justice leader in […]
Posted inMoney and Politics
Investment managers top list of super PAC donors
selensergen/Shutterstock.com Despite his vast wealth, Sheldon Adelson was not exactly a household name when the Republican presidential primary campaign got under way. But the casino magnate’s multimillion-dollar contributions to a pro-Newt Gingrich super PAC ended that. Adelson’s support was linked to a shared stance with Gingrich as staunch supporters of Israel. Not quite so well […]
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Where do big political donors give? Everywhere
Brooks Elliott/Flickr The focus on billionaires’ and corporations’ contributions to super PACs this year has highlighted the impact of the rich and powerful on the presidential campaigns. But an analysis by the Investigative News Network of contributions by wealthy individuals in seven states shows that their giving is greater than any one cause or race reveals – […]
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Women use emoticons more often; men have more variety ;-)
Texting on a smartphoneJhaymesisviphotography/Flickr Women might use emoticons more than men, but men have a broader emoticon vocabulary. That’s what researchers from Rice University are saying in a new study that evaluated the use of emoticons in text messages. “This was a unique study in that we were able to collect data from subjects as […]
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Bain, Romney’s old firm, gives millions to Democrats
Republican presidential candidate Mitt RomneyJim Young/Reuters Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney – and portrayed by President Barack Obama’s supporters as a gang of corporate raiders – has pumped nearly $4.5 million into Democratic campaigns and causes, public records show. A Center for Investigative Reporting analysis of campaign […]
Posted inFood for 9 Billion, Food Security, Money and Politics
With sugar price supports, sour taste for consumers
Rick Roth, who runs a mid-sized sugar and vegetable farm in Belle Glade, Fla., believes the U.S. sugar program helps growers mitigate risk in an uncertain business.Amy Green/Florida Center for Investigative Reporting BELLE GLADE, Fla. – Behind every candy bar and can of soda is a complex government program of import tariffs and farmer loans […]
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Efforts under way to make Nixon’s White House tapes accessible
President Richard Nixon delivers farewell remarks at the White House in 1974.Marion Doss via the National Archives/Flickr Archivists are working to better code hundreds of hours of secret audio tape recorded by former President Richard Nixon in hopes that researchers will have an easier time searching, listening to and following along with the material in a […]
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Federal office may have saved less on training than it claims
Figures on how much money the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General spent on recent traning sessions differ in a public press release and internal expense documents.Sergey Mironov/Shutterstock Mindful of tightening federal budgets, the Homeland Security Department’s top watchdog said that in the spring, it saved taxpayers about $188,000 by holding “all-hands” training […]