The US House of Representatives passed two key bills late Friday in a blitz of legislative activity before its scheduled summer adjournment. A measure described by House Majority Leader John Boehner (D-OH) as representing "the most sweeping changes to America's pension laws in more than 30 years" passed 279-131 . The 900-page bill, designed to [...]

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The US DC Circuit Court of Appeals Friday blocked the US Department of Justice from reviewing the contents of files seized from the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) until Jefferson has an opportunity to review them himself to determine which might fall under the legislative privilege defined in the US Constitution's so-called Speech [...]

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A federal appeals court Friday affirmed the securities fraud conviction and 25-year prison sentence handed down for former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers . Ebbers appealed the 2005 district court determinations, saying the prosecution unfairly blocked three former WorldCom employees from testifying on Ebbers' behalf because, at the time, they were the subject of a criminal [...]

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Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika announced Friday that a criminal investigation has been opened into the June abduction and murder of four Russian embassy employees in Iraq. In a statement, the Prosecutor General's office said the perpetrators will be charged with "murder involving hostage-taking by a group of people acting in concert" and "hostage-taking for [...]

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