As Apple resists, encryption fray erupts in battle
WASHINGTON — Last month, some of President Barack Obama’s top intelligence advisers met in Silicon Valley with Apple’s Timothy D. Cook and other technology leaders in what seemed to be a public rapprochement in their long-running dispute over the encryption safeguards built into their devices.
A surge of interest in hiring Republican lobbyists
WASHINGTON — With Democrats in danger of losing control of Congress, some prominent lobbying shops, trade groups and contractors are already moving to bring more Republicans on board to bolster their political fortunes.
Off Wall Street, companies worry about financial bill
WASHINGTON – Mars, the maker of M&M’s and Snickers, wants to make sure it can continue dabbling in the derivatives market to protect the price of sugar and chocolate for its candies.
Sen. Ensign Helped Husband of Ex-Mistress Find Work
Early last year, Sen. John Ensign contacted a small circle of political and corporate supporters back home in Nevada — a casino designer, an airline executive, the head of a utility and several political consultants — seeking work for a close friend and top Washington aide, Douglas Hampton.
Criticism of Ex-Official in Hiring at Justice Department
A former senior official at the Justice Department routinely hired Republicans, Federalist Society members and “RTA’s” — “Right-Thinking Americans” — for what were supposed to be nonpolitical posts and gave them plum assignments on civil rights cases, an internal department report released Tuesday found.
Bush Issues 14 Pardons, But None to Notables
President Bush granted 14 pardons and commuted two prison sentences on Monday, but the benefactors included none of the big names who had become the topic of speculation as Bush leaves office.
Justice Department Inquiry Ties Prosecutor Firings to Politics
An internal Justice Department investigation concluded on Monday that political pressure drove the dismissals of at least three federal prosecutors in a controversial 2006 purge, but the White House’s refusal to cooperate in the high-profile investigation produced significant “gaps” in the understanding of who was to blame.
House Democrats Steer Their Own Path on Warrantless Wiretaps
In continued defiance of the White House, House Democratic leaders are readying a proposal that would reject giving legal protection to the phone companies that helped in the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program after the Sept. 11 attacks, congressional officials said Monday.
Shorts (left)
It was the longest-running and most successful show in the Bronx in decades, running from 1996 through 2007 and stretching into October every season. By the end, it was playing to sold-out crowds almost nightly, and there were moments of magic that may never be repeated.