C.M. Rubin's Blog, page 6

Dow Chemical Ordered To Pay $400 Million In Price-Fixing Case

By Andrew Longstreth

(Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co on Wednesday was ordered by a federal jury to pay $400 million in a price-fixing case over chemicals used to make a wide range of foam products found in cars, furniture and packaging, according to court documents.

Dow was one of several chemical company defendants named in a class action lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to fix urethane chemical prices. But Dow was the only defendant not to settle. Last month, it went to trial in Kansas City, Kansas federal court.

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VAWA Reauthorization Will Be Taken Up By House Republican Leaders As Soon As Next Week

WASHINGTON -- House Republican leaders are ready to move forward on legislation reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act as soon as next week, a GOP source familiar with the plans told The Huffington Post on Wednesday.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) still haven't sorted out whether they plan to take up and amend the VAWA reauthorization bill that passed the Senate or introduce an entirely new bill, said the source. But either way, the Republican leaders are likely to act on some kind of legislation next week, and aides in Cantor's office have been meeting with committee staff and member offices this week in preparation, the source said.

Cantor spokesman Doug Heye said only that GOP leaders are working on having a VAWA bill ready "in the coming weeks," and that his office has been in regular contact with GOP staffers on the issue every week for the past several months.

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Justice Department Probing JPMorgan Over Bear Stearns Mortgage Products

By Karen Freifeld and Aruna Viswanatha

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating JPMorgan Chase & Co over allegations that Bear Stearns provided misleading information about its mortgage products during the lead-up to the financial crisis, according to people familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns in a 2008 fire sale encouraged by the government, and has pushed back against various government suits that have sought to hold JPMorgan accountable for the failed investment bank's alleged mortgage-related misconduct.

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Lou Myers Dead: 'Different World' Actor Dies At 77

Lou Myers, the actor most known for playing Mr. Vernon Gaines on the NBC sitcom "A Different World," is dead. TMZ reports that the actor died on Feb. 19 at Charleston Medical Center in West Virginia after undergoing a heart-related emergency and falling into a coma. He had previously been hospitalized in December for pneumonia. According to TMZ, Myers was 77 years-old.

"A Different World" ran from 1988 to 1993 and was conceived as a spinoff from the hugely successful "The Cosby Show," in which the characters attended a historically black university. Myers starred on the show alongside Lisa Bonet and Jada Pinkett. In his later years, Myers would also make memorable appearances in numerous other television shows and films such as "The Wedding Planner," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "Tin Cup" and "All About the Andersons."

Myers is survived by his mother and a son.

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Jodi Arias Trial: Defense Wraps Up Direct Examination

Jodi Arias ended years of speculation about her defense Wednesday when she testified about the slaying of her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.

In her dramatic testimony, Arias was not as forthcoming with the details as some would have liked. The 32-year-old photographer said she remembers "almost nothing" about June 4, 2008, the day she killed Alexander in his Mesa, Ariz., apartment.

Testifying in a generally calm tone with moments of emotion and tears, Arias said under direct examination by her defense attorney that an argument about Alexander's camera sparked a fight that resulted in his death. She said that Alexander became enraged and body slammed her to the floor because she had dropped his camera while taking pictures of him the shower.

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Obama Puts Sequester Pressure On Republicans During Local TV Interviews

* Speaks to eight TV anchors from across America
* Pentagon to describe plans for layoffs
* Obama will also talk about infrastructure spending plan
By Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama turned to local television stations across the United States on Wednesday to increase public pressure on congressional Republicans to avert $85 billion in budget cuts set to begin in nine days.
Obama scheduled interviews with television stations in eight media markets, most of which have a strong military presence, on a day when the Pentagon described its plans for laying off some 800,000 civilian employees for 22 days to save money.
"These automatic spending cuts were designed to be avoided. The idea was that Democrats and Republicans would come together with a sensible deficit-reduction program," Obama said in an interview with Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.
The interviews are part of an administration strategy to lay blame for the job losses on Republicans, who control the House of Representatives.
Unless Obama and Republicans reach a deal, about $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts will kick in at the beginning of March and continue through Sept. 30 as part of a decade-long $1.2 trillion budget savings plan agreed by policymakers in 2011.
Not even the operations of the White House will be spared, an administration official said. "We anticipate significant disruption to our operations and mission, which could include furloughs," said the official, who did not provide further details.
Obama has said he wants Congress to end tax loopholes enjoyed mainly by the wealthy to buy lawmakers enough time to pass a budget, but Republicans are insisting on deeper spending cuts to reduce the $16 trillion national debt.
Obama also talked to local TV news anchors in Baltimore, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Honolulu, San Antonio, Charleston, South Carolina, and Wichita, Kansas.
Congress is not in session this week and is not expected to reach a deal by the March 1 deadline. Instead, lawmakers will work on a deal to fund government agencies later in the month.
The battle over "sequestration" - the name for the automatic spending cuts - is the latest in a series of fights between Obama and Republicans over the nation's deficit.
Obama also has tried to lay the groundwork for a broader economic strategy and argued the government should invest in infrastructure and manufacturing to help address a stubbornly high unemployment rate.
Obama was also slated to talk to the news anchors about a $50 billion spending plan he discussed in his State of the Union address last week that the White House is calling "Fix It First."
Most of that money would go to roads, bridges and airports where officials have postponed maintenance projects, the White House said. But any new spending will face an uphill battle in Congress.

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How Obama Might Find A Way To Limit Carbon Emissions In His Second Term

In the US, the climate is changing on climate change.

Though President Barack Obama lavished attention on climate change in both his inaugural address and State of the Union speech, he still has little chance of getting Congress to pass a law limiting carbon emissions. But he could achieve the same goal using regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and he is now in a better position to withstand--and even welcome--the confrontation with the energy industry this would entail, thanks to both economic and political shifts.

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Dog Rehab? Two Hands, Four Paws In Los Angeles, Calif. Treats Injured Pets (VIDEO)

A rehab center for dogs in Los Angeles, Calif. offers massage and laser therapy, acupuncture, weight loss help and more to troubled pets. The services sound like something out of "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," but the canines walking through the doors at Two Hands Four Paws are not pampered little pooches; instead, they're dogs with serious injuries and health issues.

One-eighth of the business' clientele are wheelchair-bound at some point in their therapy, explained founder Leslie McMahon to KTLA in the video above. For those dogs, water treadmills, swim sessions and massage therapy can strengthen injured limbs and loosen tight muscles. Other clientele include aging pets suffering from arthritis, torn ligaments or sore joints.

In a phone interview with The Huffington Post, McMahon revealed the two most common injuries she sees at the clinic: disc diseases, which are congenital, and torn anterior cruciate ligaments in knees.

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Daoud Kuttab: West Bank -- Gaza Movement Is Still Restricted

Why can't Palestinians travel between West Bank and Gaza? The question should be asked now as everyone is preparing for U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the region.
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CollegeFashionista: Balanced Fashion at the Ohio State University

The beauty of Columbus fashion comes in its broad appeal. Our state slogan says it well; we are at "the heart of it all." You can call us a style crossroads that blends many elements into a mild yet appealing mix.
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