Free Republic

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration now acknowledges it is trying to recover nearly $500 million from people who improperly received federal aid money intended to help victims of two deadly hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, along the Gulf Coast two years ago. It said the amount may increase further. "This is a moving target and not finite," said James McIntyre, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The government's newest estimate of improper aid represents $494 million FEMA paid to 134,000 people who were ineligible for the aid they received. More than half the money went to people who couldn't...

The round number is now $500 million. Five hundred million dollars is what each major party's presidential nominee is expected to spend between now and Nov. 4, 2008. Today's story focuses on Hillary Clinton's decision not to accept public campaign financing. The analyst quickly explains everything about Hillary's decision except what one would be most interested in hearing. Her camp explains the competitive situation: If she lay back and accepted the federal spending plan, her spending in the primaries would be capped at $150 million. But what of the competitors? Suppose Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) sailed past that...

Time Warner Settles AOL Charges Time Warner Agrees to Pay More Than $500 Million to Settle Criminal, Civil Allegations Time Warner Inc. has agreed to pay more than $500 million to settle wide-ranging criminal and civil allegations that its America Online division improperly pumped up revenue and engaged in other unlawful practices before and after the two companies merged in 2001. Time Warner had set aside roughly that amount to cover the estimated costs of resolving both Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission charges stemming from an array of practices by Dulles-based AOL, the one-time Internet juggernaut. A $210...