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SACRAMENTO--Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doled out high-paying and prestigious state jobs this year to dozens of outgoing members of his administration, including six-figure salaries for posts he once said were a waste of taxpayer money and should be eliminated. An Associated Press investigation of Schwarzenegger's staffing purge since last year's special election revealed that he has appointed or transferred 40 former staffers elsewhere in state government. At least half of those saw their taxpayer-funded salaries increase after they left Schwarzenegger's office, some by more than $30,000 a year. Schwarzenegger also gave six former staffers jobs with state boards and commissions he...

[ Headline only at this point ... Stay Tuned for More Details ... the link takes you to an article already posted on Free Republic about politicians, other than Landrieu, who have benefitted from Abramoff's largesse] LANDRIEU AMONG DEMS WHO TOOK ABRAMOFF MONEY

NEW ORLEANS — By the wee hours of the morning Tuesday, if you looked past the rotting mounds of garbage on the sidewalk and the fact that most of the customers were carrying firearms, the city — right or wrong — looked a bit familiar again. For a while, it was just another night at a Bourbon Street strip joint, a little exhilarating and a little depressing at the same time. Up on stage was Britni Carrubba, who fled Hurricane Katrina with nothing but the clothes on her back. For three weeks she had waded through hell, shuffling from shelter...

Jammu, July 29 (IANS) Unleashing a wave of terror in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, terrorists axed to death a woman and slit the throats of five men after segregating Hindus and Muslims in the village. Both the incidents in separate villages in Rajouri district, about 200 km north of Jammu, took place Thursday night. In what is being seen as the first major killing of Hindus in the last two years, five men in the age group of 40-60 were brutally killed when militants allegedly barged into their homes in Deb village in Rajouri. Though initial reports said the...

Confidential letter reveals Ratzinger ordered bishops to keep allegations secret Pope Benedict XVI faced claims last night he had 'obstructed justice' after it emerged he issued an order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret. The order was made in a confidential letter, obtained by The Observer, which was sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001. It asserted the church's right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood. The letter was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,...

Beirut (dpa) - Authorities at Beirut airport confiscated some 19.5 billion new Iraqi dinars from three business men who arrived in the city on a charter flight from Baghdad, Lebanon's general prosecutor Adnan Adoum said Thursday. Adoum told Deutsche Presse Agentur, dpa that the three men, who were on board a private jet which landed at Beirut airport late Wednesday are being questioned. He valued the haul at about 19 million U.S. dollars. The three were identified as Richard Jreisati - a former official of the banned Christian-Lebanese Forces militia -, Mohammed Abu-Darwish and Michel Mukattaf - son-in-law of former...

<p>With the new year upon us, legislators and the governor are returning to Sacramento to face the nasty business of dealing with the gaping hole in the state budget. Never before has California's economic trouble been as severe. Now is not the time for "business as usual." The budget negotiations prior to the December legislative recess resembled two people dancing to the music playing in their heads. Unfortunately, one hears a tango; the other, a waltz. Both dancers are making all the right moves, but can't understand why their partner keeps stepping on their toes.</p>

<p>A pair of state Senate committees portrayed California's Department of Corrections on Thursday as a bumbling, wasteful giant that relies heavily on hundreds of temporary workers even as it pays full salary and benefits to dozens of employees who never come to work.</p>

RIYADH, 15 July — Fresh talks between the Saudi negotiating team and international oil giants began here yesterday with a view to reaching final agreements on three major gas projects with a combined investment of $25 billion. Sources close to the Saudi team told Arab News that they have begun the talks with top executives of Royal Dutch Shell, which has been selected to lead a consortium to develop the Shaybah field, the largest of the three. "The talks with Shell will continue today. It will be followed by talks with representatives of ExxonMobil tomorrow," the sources said, adding that...