In the News
By Peter Schroeder
As the Treasury Department prepares to sell off up to $75 billion of shares in the American International Group (AIG) a group of eight Congressional Black Caucus members want to ensure that women and minorities are included in the dealmaking.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the group, led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), urged government officials to ensure these groups are "fairly and fully included at all stages of this process.
By Gary Walker
In the aftermath of the Tucson, Ariz. shootings that left six dead and 13 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), local, state and federal lawmakers in The Argonaut coverage area have pledged to continue attending public outings.
"I'm not going to hide," Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) declared in an interview less than a week after Giffords and others were allegedly shot by Jared Loughner at a congressional event Jan. 8.
A U.S. congresswoman with long-standing interest in Haiti says she is worried that wealthy Haitians may have promoted the return of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, hoping to benefit if he returns to power.
Rep. Maxine Waters said late Tuesday she was concerned that Duvalier's wealthy supporters may have tried to take advantage of an electoral dispute that has forced delays in a presidential runoff vote. She says a power vacuum is possible when President Rene Preval leaves office on Feb. 7.
Leimert Park Village leapt to life this Martin Luther King Jr. Day as families filled the sidewalks surrounding the intersection of Crenshaw and West Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards to watch the Kingdom Day Parade and join in festivities honoring the holiday's namesake.
Marching bands and drill teams from Beckman, Crenshaw, and Inglewood High Schools, among others, filled the streets with bold, brassy music as Los Angeles City Council members waved to their constituents from slow-moving convertibles.
By Jon Prior
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said the latest misstep by JPMorgan Chase which led to improper foreclosures for military families, has pushed the industry into "crisis."
By Amanda Carey
Last week, government-backed mortgage entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fined Bank of America $3 billion for selling faulty mortgages that either have, or will default into, huge losses. Now critics are calling the deal a backdoor bailout because the sum is much lower than the losses for which the bank could be held liable.
By Peter Schroeder
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and three other House Democrats are asking the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) how it determined what two banks should pay in recent settlements over problems with residential mortgages sold to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).
On Jan. 3, Bank of America agreed to pay $2.8 billion to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over 787,000 loans sold to them in 2008 by Countrywide Financial, which is now owned the bank.
By Alan Zibel
Four U.S. House Democrats are raising questions about whether taxpayers are getting enough compensation for bad loans sold to Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC).
The two government-controlled mortgage companies have recovered $3.3 billion for taxpayers by reaching settlements in recent weeks with Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Ally Financial Inc.
by Andrew Dalton
Authorities have asked the FBI to examine the remains of a bipolar California woman found in Malibu Canyon nearly a year after she disappeared when she was released from jail.
The Sheriff's Department plans to exhume the remains of Mitrice Richardson and send them to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Va., for examination along with clothing and hair found at the scene, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Taxpayers may have been shortchanged after a deal between failed mortgagegiants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae settled loan disputes with Bank of America Corp. for $2.8 billion rather than demanding more funds, Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) said.
Waters, a senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, said the settlement "may amount to a backdoor bailout that props up the bank at the expense of taxpayers".
The lawmaker representing the cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood and Lawndale suggested the move may have been "both premature and a giveaway".