NPR 2008-12-10

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Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been released on his own recognizance following his arrest today by federal officials on charges he sought to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich is also accused of a number of other charges including allegations he sought to withhold¹ financial assistance to the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in an effort to get the newspaper to fire editorial writers who were critical of his administration. They arrested both the governor and his top aide following lengthy² investigation³ in which federal wiretaps caught the governor allegedly discussing trading the Senate seat to the highest bidder⁵.

President-elect Barack Obama meanwhile says he is saddened by allegations that the Illinois governor try to trade favors to appoint someone to a Senate seat. NPR's Cheryl Corley has more.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has a sole authority to appoint someone to fill the U.S. Senate seat, but federal prosecutors⁶ accused the governor of seeking favors for himself and his wife to influence his choice. Blagojevich now faces federal corruption⁷ charges. President-elect Obama says he is saddened by the news, but can't say much about it. "I had no contact with the governor or his office. And so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening. " U.S. Senator Dick Derban says the Illinois legislature should hold a special election to fill the Senate seat instead of leaving it in the governor's hands. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.

Former chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac faced questions from the House Oversight⁸ and Government Reform Committee today. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has more.

The executives said they simply follow the lead of private lenders that encouraged risky⁹ home loans. That's an argument outgoing committee chair Henry Waxman did not buy. "Taking these risks proved tremendously lucrative¹⁰ for Fannie and Freddie's CEOs, they made over 30 million dollars between 2003 and 2007. But their irresponsible decisions are now costing the taxpayers¹¹ billions of dollars. "Former Freddie Mac Chief Richard Syron defended its moves. "If it had not done so, it could not have remained competitive or even relevant, in the residential¹² mortgage market we were designed to serve. " Syron and other executives said private lenders, not Fannie or Freddie led the industry down the wrong path. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

Congress and the White House are said to be edging closer to finalizing¹³ a deal to provide 15 billion dollars in bridge loans to the domestic auto¹⁴ industry. Massachusetts Democrat¹⁵ Barney Frank at a news conference today said he thinks the agreement remains¹⁶ on track. "Negotiation¹⁷ involving the House and the Senate, the current administration was some input¹⁸ from the incoming administration because this is securely something which is gonna be a handoff.” The measure will call for emergency loans for two of the Big Three, GM and Chrysler. Ford¹⁹ said it doesn't yet need an immediate²⁰ cash infusion²¹.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 242 points to close at 8, 691. The NASDAQ was down 24 points today.

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An Indian government minister today called on the United Nations Security Council to help punish those responsible for the deadly attacks in Mumbai. The Indian Minister of State in External Affairs called for the addition of a Pakistani-based group which claimed responsibility for the attacks to UN terrorism blacklist. At least 170 people died in those attacks. Hundreds of others were hurt. Indian police meanwhile announced they have identified the nine suspected Islamic militants²² killed during the three-day siege in Mumbai and also uncovered new details including the fact that their hometowns were in Pakistan.

Three New York City police officers have been charged with felonies for sexually assaulting a man on a subway platform, NPR's Robert Smith reports.

The accused police officers approached Michael Mineo because they thought he was smoking marijuana. When he tried to flee, the officers pinned him down. And according to Mineo, one of them sodomized him with a police baton²³. Mineo was given a ticket for disorderly conduct, and said he was warned by officers not to report anything or he would be charged for the felony. He called on Thursday; the three officers denied the charges and were released on bail²⁴. The attack is reminiscent of another famous brutality²⁵ case in New York. Amerd Luima was sodomized in a police precinct 11 years ago. Michael Mineo, a tattoo²⁶ parlor²⁷ worker was in court to see the officers charged. He said afterwards that he relives the attack every day and he is still in pain. Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

Retail²⁸ giant Wal-Mart confirmed today it's agreed to pay 54 million dollars to settle a class action lawsuit²⁹ that alleged⁴ the company cut workers' break time and failed to prevent employees from working off the clock. The suit includes around 100, 000 current and former Wal-Mart and Sam's Club workers in Minnesota. The world’s largest retailer³⁰ says it will maintain systems designed to keep it compliant³¹ with wage and hour policies in that state.