Free Republic

Osama bin Laden tried to purchase the world's largest pearl, the Pearl of Allah, as a gift to Saddam Hussein "to unite the Arab cultures," and Hussein was prepared to accept, according to the pearl's owner. Victor Barbish, who owns sixty-six percent of the pearl on behalf of his daughter, told WorldNetDaily he received an offer in 1999 from individuals who said they were "from bin Laden's group" to purchase the pearl for $60 million to give to Hussein as an overture of unity between al-Qaida and the Iraqi government.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Back when federal lawmakers legally could be paid for speaking to outside groups, John Kerry collected more than $120,000 in fees from interests as diverse as big oil, tobacco, the liquor lobby and unions, records show. Between 1985 and 1990, Kerry's first five years in the Senate from Massachusetts, he pocketed annual amounts slightly under the limits for speaking fees set by Congress. Unlike many colleagues, he donated a speaking fee to charity only once, according to annual financial disclosure reports reviewed by The Associated Press. One of the companies to pay Kerry $1,000 for a speech...

A former Hillary Clinton fundraiser who has just been extradited from Brazil is promising blockbuster revelations against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -- revelations that could throw a monkeywrench into Hillary's presidential ambitions. Peter Franklin Paul, who has accused Hillary Clinton of failing to declare $2 million in campaign contributions to the Federal Election Commission, is just back in the U.S. after being extradited from Brazil and is promising to reveal fresh details of how he financed Clinton. Paul made some blistering criticisms of the Clintons to Brazil's Epoca magazine just before he was extradited. Paul was returned to the U.S....

<p>The Securities and Exchange Commission slapped UBS Financial Services with a $500,000 fine for failing to supervise a former broker who swindled millions from his clients.</p> <p>The broker, Enrique Perusquia, is currently serving a 78-month prison sentence for defrauding his clients of "tens of millions of dollars" says the SEC's order. He worked for PaineWebber from June 1994 until March 1998; UBS bought PaineWebber in 2000.</p>