Head of SEC inspections office since 1995, Lori Richards leaving agency in August

September 22nd, 2009 Mexico's jobless rate at 6.28 percent in AugustMEXICO CITY — Mexico's unemployment rate rose to 6.28 percent in August, the highest rate in more than 13 years. The National Statistics Institute says the jobless rate among the country's roughly 45 million workers was up from 4.2 percent in August 2008 as the country continues to feel the effects of the world recession.

September 5th, 2009 Report shows investigators botched Madoff probesWASHINGTON — Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff tried by turns to bully and impress the federal examiners who looked into his business, but the investigators managed by themselves to botch the probes and enable Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud to continue for nearly two decades, a new report shows. A trove of revelations came to light in the report by the Securities and Exchange Commission inspector general, David Kotz, which was released Friday evening.

September 4th, 2009 Questioning Madoff on the phoneThe new report by the inspector general of the Securities and Exchange Commission on the agency's failure to detect Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar fraud over 16 years is packed with disclosures and tantalizing details. Here, for example, is a snippet of a phone conversation in December 2003 between Lori Richards, then the director of the SEC's inspections office, and Madoff.

September 4th, 2009 SEC report shows repeated bungling of Madoff probeWASHINGTON — The official at the Securities and Exchange Commission who later would marry Bernard Madoff's niece told investigators this year that if he had carefully reviewed a complaint about the disgraced financier's business, he would have investigated more deeply, a new report shows. The admission by Eric Swanson, who was an SEC attorney and inspections official during a 2003-04 exam of Madoff's operations, is among a trove of revelations in the report by SEC inspector general David Kotz.

September 2nd, 2009 Auditor: Mexican truck safety rules still unmetWASHINGTON — Some Mexican passenger buses are not being inspected when they enter the U.S. because they cross the border on evenings and weekends, there are no inspectors or the crossings lack safe places for inspections, according to a government audit made public Wednesday.

August 13th, 2009 Ginnie Mae top exec leaving for private sector jobWASHINGTON — The head of the government agency that packages federally backed mortgages into investments is stepping down for a new job, people familiar with his plans said. Joseph Murin, president of the Government National Mortgage Association, known as Ginnie Mae, is leaving his job this week after 13 months.

June 29th, 2009 Meltdown 101: Risks of another Madoff-style scamWASHINGTON — Monday brought some closure to Bernard Madoff's victims, who were swindled out of $65 billion in the largest recorded financial fraud — a scheme that was exposed in part because the plummeting stock market led investors to demand repayment of money that was long gone. With Madoff on his way to jail, attention is shifting to the next fraud — and to the agency responsible for preventing it.

June 16th, 2009 Judge says museum suspect can't appear in courtWASHINGTON — A white supremacist accused of fatally shooting a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is in no condition to appear in court, a federal judge ruled Monday.

June 15th, 2009 Judge: Holocaust Museum suspect can't appearWASHINGTON — A white supremacist accused of fatally shooting a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is in no condition to appear in court, a federal judge ruled Monday.

June 10th, 2009 Investigator: FAA missing inspections at airlinesWASHINGTON — A government watchdog says the Federal Aviation Administration is missing safety inspections at major airlines. The Transportation Department's inspector general, Calvin Scovel, said Wednesday that the cozy relationship between FAA inspectors and Southwest Airlines that he warned Congress about last year extends to more offices within the agency and more airlines than previously known.

May 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama Saturday named Charles Bolden, a black ex-astronaut, to lead the US space agency into its next chapter that could take it back to the moon. The retired Marine Corps general, 62, flew four times in the space shuttle in the '80s and '90s - two times as mission commander.

April 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - At least two Pittsburgh police officers were shot dead Saturday and three policemen were wounded after they responded to a domestic dispute in a home, US TV channels said. According to reports carried by WTAE-TV, WPXI-TV and CNN, a man opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance at a home in the Stanton Heights neighbourhood of the western Pennsylvania city.

March 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The rift between Charlie Sheen and his ex-wife Denise Richards is said to have healed after the birth of his twin sons from wife Brooke Mueller. Richards, 38, revealed that she had visited Sheen and Mueller in hospital after they became parents to Max and Bob earlier this month, and she insists the babies helped heal the bitterness that had once existed.

March 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - It seems that Hollywood actress Denise Richards has put her bitter divorce from Charlie Sheen behind her, as she uttered good wishes to her ex-husband's new-born sons with wife Brooke Mueller. Richards has even revealed that her daughters Lola and Sam are eager to spend time with the newborn twins.

March 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Hollywood actress Denise Richards' daughters with ex-husband Charlie Sheen are thrilled about their father's new-born sons with his new wife. Richards' revealed that her daughters Lola and Sam are eager to spend time with the newborn twins.