 A who's who of Chicago political power brokers and the job seekers they sponsored was unveiled Mon by federal prosecutors in the City Hall corruption trial. The list of more than 5,700 politically connected job applicants became public as a longtime secretary in Mayor Richard Daley's office testified for federal prosecutors against former Daley patronage chief Robert Sorich. Although city officials insisted for years that they did not engage in patronage hiring, secretary Patricia Molloy said aides in the mayor's office kept track of job seekers and their political sponsors, beginning shortly after Daley's election in 1989 and during much of his 17-year tenure. The names of the mayor's 3 brothers Michael, John & William Daley were entered into the database as sponsors of people seeking jobs or promotions, according to court records. Other sponsors on the list include longtime mayoral political strategist Jeremiah Joyce & former top aides Timothy Degnan, Victor Reyes & John Doerrer...
http://www.chicagotribune.com
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Editor - 09:54:00 06-20-06
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 China buys £1.6bn Siberian oil field |
China's state oil company has bought a £1.6bn Siberian oil field from TNK-BP, sealing access to Russia's huge energy reserves for the fuel-hungry Asian economy.TNK-BP announced on Tuesday that Sinopec, also known as CNPC, would buy its Udmurtneft field. It contains a billion barrels of oil reserves, produces 120,000 barrels a day, and has previously been valued at $3bn (£1.6bn). TNK-BP is half-owned by the UK's British Petroleum.CNPC defeated a series of rival bids, including one from the Russian gas giant Gazprom in partnership with MOL of Hungary. TNK-BP spokeswoman Marina Dracheva did not name the price, but told Reuters: "We had bids from a few people, with highly competitive prices which were all quite similar. Because of that, other elements became important [in the tender]."...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,,1802029,00.html?gusrc=rss
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Editor - 09:48:00 06-20-06
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| Houston Floods Recede, But Still Rainy Texas Governor Expected To Visit After Torrential Rains Drowned City |
Luis Robles awakened to a leaky ceiling and floodwaters creeping into his front yard, one of many residents beset by heavy rains that closed highways and flooded parts of Houston and southwest Louisiana. Robles, who has lived in the southeast Houston home for 13 years, said the flooding was the worst since Tropical Storm Allison came ashore five years ago. "It's never gotten this high since," he said Monday. Josh Lichter, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Houston, said the rains were expected to move out of the Houston area by Wednesday. The National Weather Service blamed a slow-moving low pressure system for dumping up to 10.5 inches of rain in Harris County, especially in Robles' neighborhood, near the city's Hobby Airport. There were up to 500 calls for help, CBS News Kelly Cobiella reports. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/20/national/main1732067.shtml?source=RSS&attr=U.S._1732067
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Editor - 09:46:00 06-20-06
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| Pakistani confesses, then is shot dead |
A Pakistan man killed his three young daughters Tuesday before confessing to police, prompting one officer to shoot him dead, an investigator said. Mohammed Ashraf, 38, used a knife to cut the throats of his daughters aged 3, 5 and 9 before dawn in the eastern city of Lahore, said senior police investigator Amir Zulifquar.Ashraf then went to a police station to report his crime, and was charged with murdering his daughters and placed in a cell."As I left the police station after questioning Mohammed Ashraf, one of my guards opened fire and killed him," Zulifquar said.The policeman who shot Ashraf was identified as Mohammed Nadeem and was taken into custody, Zulifquar said.Nadeem told investigators that he killed Ashraf to "eliminate an animal from society," according to Zulifquar....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-20-pakistan-shooting_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 09:44:00 06-20-06
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| Feds paid private brokers for phone records Web-based services racked up $30 million by sometimes violating laws |
Numerous federal and local law enforcement agencies have bypassed subpoenas and warrants designed to protect civil liberties and gathered Americans’ personal telephone records from private-sector data brokers.These brokers, many of whom advertise aggressively on the Internet, have gotten into customer accounts online, tricked phone companies into revealing information and even acknowledged that their practices violate laws, according to documents gathered by congressional investigators and provided to The Associated Press.The law enforcement agencies include offices in the Homeland Security Department and Justice Department — including the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Service — and municipal police departments in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Utah. Experts believe hundreds of other departments frequently use such services....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11100923/
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Editor - 09:43:00 06-20-06
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| Uncle of missing soldier reportedly killed in Iraq says U.S. didn't do enough to bring men home |
As the families of two missing soldiers waited to hear from the U.S. military Tuesday, the uncle of one lashed out at the government, saying it didn't do enough to bring the men home safe."Because the U.S. government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life," Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, told NBC's "Today" show.Earlier Tuesday, a senior Iraqi military official announced that the bodies of the two missing soldiers had been found.A U.S. military official said later that coalition forces had recovered what are believed to be the soldiers' remains, and Menchaca's family said they had been told that DNA testing was under way.Menchaca's mother, Maria Vasquez, was sobbing when she answered the door of her Brownsville, Texas, home....
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/20/ap/national/mainD8IBVON00.shtml
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Editor - 09:41:00 06-20-06
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