Former UTSW Medical Center president used taxpayer money on lavish lifestyle

"Reuters Enterprise team published, “Special Report: Chesapeake CEO took $1.1 billion in shrouded personal loans,” an investigation into how previously undisclosed loans to Chesapeake Energy Corp’s co-founder Aubrey McClendon could put the company’s CEO and shareholders at odds."

The Seattle Times takes a look, in a four-part series, at how Amazon.com, "one of the Internet's most-recognized name brands" compares to other big companies in the Seattle area when it comes to local charitable givings.

"Last year, amid a troubled economy, United Way of King County said it received record donations from some of the area's largest companies.
Microsoft made a corporate donation of $4 million. Boeing gave $3.1 million. Nordstrom, nearly $320,000. And Amazon.com? Zero."

An expired federal program aimed to benefit former logging communities means massive budget wholes for hundreds of schools and communities across the country, an investigation by California Watch found.

The Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self-Determination Act provided nearly $3.8 billion for schools and roads in more than 700 counties in 42 states in the past decade, but the fund will be out of money by the year's end.

In a special report from Reuters it has been found that at least two countries offer what is known as citizenship by investment, burgeoning programs that bestow on foreigners the benefits of being a citizen - namely, a passport - for a price. The main appeal for the wealthy, escaping taxes.

"In a multi-part series, The Seattle Times has found that almost 300 sex offenders in the state of Washington are detained indefinitely in a civil-commitment program. The center protects society from these predators, but is has been plagued by runaway legal costs, a lack of financial oversight and layers of secrecy"

"Bloomberg BusniessWeek reports that almost 15,000 federal retirees, including former leaders of Congress, a university president and a banker, are receiving six-figure pensions from a system that faces a $674.2 billion shortfall.

Charles R. Babcock and Frank Bass obtained data that shows about one of every 125 retired federal civilian workers collects more than $100,000 in benefits annually."

The Bay Citizen reports that the Internet banking giant, ING Direct USA, may be trying to bypass regulation by opening "cafes" instead of branches. By not offering deposits at the cafe, ING does not have to follow regulation that requires banks to lend money to low- and moderate-income borrowers in metropolitan areas.

ING claims the cafes are a marketing tool, and denies trying ot skirt the law.

"If the Keystone XL oil pipeline were approved today, residents in the six states along its route would not receive equal treatment from TransCanada, the company that wants to build the project."

"In Kansas, for example, lawmakers gave TransCanada a 10-year tax exemption, which means the state won't receive any property tax revenue from the pipeline. Meanwhile, each of the other five states—Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas—would earn between $14 million and $63 million a year, according to U.S. State Department estimates."