Will Homeowners Get $2.6M for Bad Chinese Drywall?
A federal judge in New Orleans today ruled that seven homeowners, who claim defective drywall destroyed their homes, should get a combined total of $2.6 million from the Chinese drywall manufacturer, Taishan Gypsum.
(Left, rotting, damaged drywall.)
But, those homeowners may never see a penny.
"There is no guarantee the company will comply," said Anthony Tarricone, president of the American Association for Justice.
Continue »Con Artists Counting on Census
Written by Sarah Fitzpatrick, CBS News Investigative Unit.
Before you fill out your 2010 Census form, make sure it's the real thing.
Regional U.S. Census offices around the country are receiving reports of fraudulent forms asking for Social Security numbers, banking details, and in some cases asking for checks or cash to be included in the return envelope.
The Greater Los Angeles Regional Census office told CBS News that they had received "around 100" reports of fraudulent forms being received in the region. The Kansas City Regional office estimated they had received about 50 reports in the last month, including one that asked for a $5 bill to be stapled to the questionnaire. The Chicago regional office reported that they had received intermittent reports throughout the year of people claiming to be Census workers knocking on doors and asking for personal information.
Continue »Goldman Sachs' Revolving Door
A CBS News analysis of the revolving door between Goldman and government reveals at least four dozen former employees, lobbyists or advisers at the highest reaches of power both in Washington and around the world.
The Influence and Power of Goldman Sachs
For example, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is a former Goldman CEO; Arthur Levitt, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is a now a Goldman adviser; and former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt is now a paid lobbyist for the firm.
Our alphabetical list:
Continue »Reports: Al Qaeda's Leaders In Yemen Relocate to Somalia
Leaders of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have left Yemen for Somalia, according to Somali officials quoted by Reuters and Yemeni media reports. Somali officials said at least 12 AQAP leaders arrived in Somalia from Yemen in the last two weeks.
"We don't have evidence that this is happening, but it's not beyond the pale," says Kamran Bokhari, regional director ME and South Asia for the global intelligence company STRATFOR. He notes that it's in the interest of the Somali government to say that the AQAP leaders have come to Somalia, as it could translate into more help from the U.S. in the fight against militant groups in the country. It's also in the interest of the Yemeni government, since it would mean its recent efforts against jihadist groups were successful.
Mining Among Deadliest Occupations in the U.S.
Written by Paula Reid , an intern at the CBS News Investigative Unit in NY.
Monday's tragedy at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia illustrates how dangerous mining can be.
But, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is not the most deadly industry in the United States.
According to the data, logging is the most deadly industry in America with a fatality rate of about 108 loggers per 100,000 full-time workers compared to a fatality rate of 21.9 in the coal mining industry. In fact, coal mining ranks seventh below job categories like "fishing, hunting and trapping," "crop production," and "water transportation."
Overall the latest numbers show a 10 percent decrease in workplace fatalities from the year before with a total of 5,071 deaths reported in 2008. "Economic factors likely played a role in the fatality decrease," according to a statement from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Continue »Coal Mine CEO Blankenship's Revealing Tweets
"Believe me yet? Global warming is a hoax and a Ponzi scheme."
Those are the words from a Feb. 19th tweet written by Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, who is in the spotlight following the deaths of 25 miners at his company's Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia.
A CBS News review of Blankenship's tweets since early January finds him railing against environmentalists.
Blankenship takes the Sierra Club to task for tying up the legal system with "frivolous lawsuits." He criticizes environmentalist activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for taking government subsidies for his solar business, "RFK Jr. says green jobs will replace coal jobs. He's spending $1.4 billion to create 86 solar jobs. Massey employs 6000 workers. Do the math."
Continue »Exclusive: No Criminal Charges Likely in AIG Collapse
CBS NEWS has learned that former AIG executive Joseph Cassano - the prime focus of the investigation into its collapse - will meet with Department of Justice attorneys next week in what will likely be an end to the two year criminal investigation into the company.
Sources tell CBS News that the criminal case against Cassano - once called "the Man who Crashed the World" - has "hit a brick wall" - meaning that it is likely no one will be held criminally liable for the downfall of the company that triggered a $182 billion dollar federal bailout.
Sources tell CBS News federal investigators have been unable to uncover any evidence that Cassano lied to his bosses or shareholders about financial problems at AIG.
In recent months, Cassano's lawyers - citing internal documents - argued that he never broke the law. Instead, he simply got caught up in a financial tsunami that engulfed Wall Street.
TSA's Leadership Plays Musical Chairs
Cleveland Police Dept: Stuck in the Past?
But when they drive back to their precinct, Cleveland police officers write out handwritten notes and fax them to central headquarters where a room full of secretaries type up the reports.
But that's not the only anachronism. Most detectives in the Cleveland's Sex Crimes Unit do not have cell phones. Or email.
The result: sources say thirty percent of the rape cases are never prosecuted because the detectives have difficulty tracking down the victims or they are deemed to be "uncooperative."
"Of course you are going to lose people along the way if you can't get in touch with detectives," says Megan O'Bryan who runs the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.
O'Bryan is one of the reasons change is coming to the department. She served on a three member commission that examined the city's policies on sex crimes and missing persons in the wake of the discovery of eleven dead women in the home of accused serial killer Anthony Sowell.
Recommendations in the report adopted by the mayor's office will require new electronic case files, email accounts and cell phones for detectives.
A March 4 CBS News investigation uncovered exclusive details revealing critical mistakes made by police and prosecutors who worked the Sowell case.
