WASHINGTON - The bidding on Iraqi postwar reconstruction contracts at the U.S. Agency for International Development is flawed, with the education contract essentially awarded without competition, an internal investigation concluded.
The total contract to Creative Associates International is worth $157 million, including optional extensions, the USAID inspector general's office said.
The office made public Monday the second of a series of inquiries into the limited bid awards of contracts for Iraqi capital construction, airports, seaports, local governance, primary and secondary education and others.
WASHINGTON - The Transportation Security Administration says non-lethal stun guns could be allowed on airplanes as another layer of security.
In a report to Congress, the agency said electronic shock devices could be an effective deterrent against hijackers. But it deferred a decision on whether to approve requests by United Airlines and Mesa Air Group to let their pilots carry the weapons.
Mesa Air Group operates America West Express, US Airways Express and Mesa Airlines.