Free Republic

Black Lives Matter ended last year on a nearly $9 million deficit — while still paying out millions to organizers as well as relatives of controversial co-founder Patrisse Cullors. Tax documents shared by The Washington Free Beacon show that BLM’s Global Network Foundation ended the financial year in the red to the tune of $8,559,748. The filings show that the non-profit recorded revenue of $8.5 million — roughly half the more than $17 million it spent. That deficit is made even more extreme given that the previous year it actually increased its piggybank, earning nearly $42 million after expenses. The...

Full title:"Airline execs get called to D.C. to talk about their bad customer service" It turns out high-profile stories about customers being mistreated – like having police drag a bloodied doctor from a flight and an airline employee yelling at a passenger to hit him – get the attention of U.S. lawmakers. Top execs from the airline industry got to sit in front of U.S. House lawmakers for hours Tuesday, answering questions about “airline customer service issues,” as the agenda so wonderfully understates. The oversight hearing was being held by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which two of Minnesota’s...

In an interview with 'This Week' co-host Martha Raddatz, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich categorized Donald Trump's 'rigged election' claims as a "coup d'etat" against fourteen million citizens who voted for Donald Trump in the Republican primary committed by "20 media executives." "This is about last Friday when the networks spent 23 minutes on the Trump tape," he said. "And less than one minute -- all three networks combined -- less than one minute on the Hillary Clinton’s secret speeches that were being revealed on WikiLeaks." "I think it’s amazing that Trump is as close as he is right now,...

(CNN) -- White House officials have pressured insurance industry executives to keep quiet amid mounting criticism over Obamacare's rollout, insurance industry sources told CNN. After insurance officials publicly criticized the implementation, White House staffers contacted insurers to express their displeasure, industry insiders said. Multiple sources declined to speak publicly about the push back because they fear retribution. Can people keep plans under Obamacare? Keeping Obamacare's promises Obamacare's messaging problem But Bob Laszewski, who heads a consulting firm for big insurance companies, did talk on the record. "The White House is exerting massive pressure on the industry, including the trade associations,...

For some Washington reporters and media execs, cheering their team from the sidelines just isn’t good enough: Tugging on a red, white and blue Team Obama jersey is the answer. That’s the case for a whopping 19 journalists and media executives, including five from the Washington Post and three each from ABC and CNN, who’ve gone into the administration or center-left groups supporting the president. Those inside the administration hit 14 this month when the Post’s Stephen Barr joined the Labor Department. That’s a record, say some revolving door watchers, and could even be much higher:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is not taking advantage of an enforcement tool that could potentially hold top Wall Street figures accountable for their role in the recent financial crisis, despite its prior success. Broker-dealers, investment advisers, and others regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission are required to supervise their representatives. If a trader engages in misconduct, the SEC can sue the management with "failure to supervise." But in some of the biggest cases the SEC has brought in recent months -- against units of JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup -- the agency has sued only low-level bankers....

The chief executive and chief financial officer of Solyndra will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and decline to answer any questions at a congressional hearing on Friday. According to letters obtained by Reuters, Solyndra attorneys have advised CEO Brian Harrison and CFO W. G. Stover to not testify at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (RELATED: Rahm Emanuel on Solyndra: I don’t remember) “I have advised Mr. Harrison that he should decline to answer questions put to him by this subcommittee based on his rights under the Fifth Amendment,” Harrison’s attorney, Walter F. Brown Jr., wrote to...

Fannie, Freddie Execs Get Big Bucks Despite Downturnby Sonari Glinton April 1, 2011 Sure the past year was a tough one for the millions of Americans who lost jobs or faced foreclosure, but at least some people did well. The top executives of bailed-out mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were paid very large salaries — without proper written procedures or analysis, according to an inspector general's report. MICHELE NORRIS, host: A new report out this week is criticizing the pay for top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those are the mortgage giants that were taken...

Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi was complete enough in his reporting on the internal NPR review of the Juan Williams firing on Saturday that he included financial numbers that NPR released on the bonuses of NPR CEO Vivian Schiller. The decision to cancel her bonus over that Fox-loathing fiasco was a six-figure decision:According to tax records released by NPR on Friday, Schiller received a bonus of $112,500 in May 2010, about 17 months after she was hired by the Washington-based organization. This was in addition to a base salary of $450,000.

WASHINGTON — A top executive of American International Group Inc. has been granted a $4.3 million pay-package bump by the troubled insurance giant's majority owner — the U.S. government — because the executive has decided to remain with the company. Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration's pay czar, approved an AIG request to grant the executive a long-term compensation package that includes stock options with a current value of $3.26 million and an additional incentive award of up to $1 million. The package comes on top of the executive's 2009 base salary of $450,000.

Executives at Comcast, the media behemoth looking to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal, have given large sums of money to presidential candidate Barack Obama and Democrats in recent years The Hill reported Saturday: Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts made more than $76,000 in political contributions to Democrats since 2006, compared to $13,500 in contributions to Republicans. Comcast vice president and top lobbyist David Cohen made about $180,000 to Democrats in the same period, compared to $12,000 to Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.org.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley suggested that AIG executives should accept responsibility for the collapse of the insurance giant by resigning or killing themselves. The Republican lawmaker's harsh comments came during an interview Monday with Cedar Rapids, Iowa, radio station WMT. They echo remarks he has made in the past about corporate executives and public apologies, but went further in suggesting suicide. "I suggest, you know, obviously, maybe they ought to be removed," Grassley said. "But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they'd follow the...

Biotech company executives in the Bay Area met Tuesday to begin working with California's sputtering stem-cell research institute, which was jump-started last week by the $150 million boost it got from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. ``I feel we are at a very important point in history here,'' said Michael West, chairman and chief scientific officer of Advanced Cell Technology of Alameda. He added that it was essential ``do do everything we possibly can to see that money is well spent.'' Still, the executives who met in San Francisco with officials at the stem-cell institute, created in 2004 when California voters passed...

An undisclosed number of UC executives will share $770,000 in pay raises to be discussed today behind closed doors by a key committee of the University of California Board of Regents. It will be the second round of pay hikes for some of the senior managers, who got an average 2.5 percent annual salary boost in November. ... --snip-- The names of those in line for the raises were not disclosed. ... --snip-- Because UC officials refused to release specifics on the pay package, it is unclear exactly how many of the university system's 300 top executives -- chancellors, vice...

SAN FRANCISCO California State University secretly paid millions of dollars to outgoing campus presidents and top executives, in some cases keeping them on the payroll up to five years after leaving office. Neither the chancellor nor trustees at the nation's largest public university system publicly disclosed the "transition pay," lucrative consulting contracts and tenured teaching positions, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday. Chancellor Charles B. Reed said his office spent as much as $4 million over the past decade for "special assignments" and paid leave for former campus presidents and vice chancellors. Reed said in a June 23 e-mail to...

A state audit found University of California administrators skirted their own pay rules, giving senior managers millions more in bonuses, relocation packages and other perks than their publicly reported salaries. The report, released Tuesday, is the latest in a series of probes highlighting irregularities in how the 10-campus system rewards its leaders. The revelations, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, have been an embarrassment for the prestigious system, particularly since they cover a period when UC officials raised student fees substantially in response to state funding cuts. The audit drew sharp responses from legislators, with state Sen. Jackie Speier,...

OAKLAND - The University of California gave most of its top executives extra bonuses, car allowances or other compensation that wasn't approved by the governing board of regents, according to a report presented today by the university's outside auditors. In fact, the audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the UC system gave more than two-thirds of its top managers extra pay or benefits as an exception to university policies or procedures without approval from the regents. And much of that pay was never disclosed to the public as required by the regents' policies. While UC's Office of the President was supposed...

MONTREAL - Clamping down on automobile emissions and plugging city buildings into wind or solar power, U.S. governors and mayors are stepping in to help head off climate change where they say the federal government is failing. "Together we can make a huge difference," Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said Thursday as he and other U.S. city executives worked the corridors of the U.N. climate conference in Montreal. They said they hoped to spur the Bush administration to take the lead. But although federal action is needed, "we cannot afford to wait for federal action," said K.C. Golden, an environmental consultant...

MEXICO CITY – Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez said Mexican business executives told him yesterday they feel "totally rejected" by California political leaders, a contrast to their warm relations with Texas officials. After a private meeting with a dozen business leaders here, the Los Angeles Democrat said executives regard the current wave of "anti-immigrant hysteria" in California as an affront to them. The speaker said he invited the group to come to California for a meeting with business and political leaders to improve relations. "I said, 'We want your investment in the state,' " Núñez said he told the members of...

Hewlett-Packard shocked Wall Street Thursday by announcing disappointing sales and profits even as some of its top competitors are thriving. HP Chief Executive Carly Fiorina blamed a series of internal missteps for the shortfall, which she called ``unacceptable.'' She immediately fired three top executives. But some analysts said the poor performance reflected deeper problems raised by HP's $19 billion purchase of Compaq Computer two years ago. In a conference call with investors, Fiorina said, ``Execution issues cost us and therefore we are making immediate management changes.'' The financial bombshell came a week before the company was scheduled to release its...