Fresh signs surfaced today of the influential payday loan industry's muscle in Washington, where lenders' attempts to stay out of the reach of federal regulators may be bearing fruit in the U.S. Senate.

As the Investigative Fund reported last week, the industry is spending record sums  -- about as much on lobbying in 2009 by JP Morgan Chase & Co.    Read more »

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The Wall Street bonus tax did not survive today in Congress. But its backers insist it may not be altogether dead.

Democratic Sens. Jim Webb of Virginia and Barbara Boxer of California had proposed a one-time 50 percent tax on bonuses of more than $400,000 awarded by the 13 firms receiving the most federal bailout money. Targeted firms included JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs.     Read more »

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Last month, we put out a call for stories and photos to help document the effect that "Hard Times Profiteers" are having on distressed borrowers and others suffering financial hardship because of the recession. The response was robust. We received more than 100 tips from borrowers, tenants, real estate brokers, investors and others who have experienced or observed misfortune amid the current housing crisis. We also collected dozens of photos documenting bandit signs from California to Maryland.    Read more »

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--> Bill Faces Industry Opposition and Skepticism from New York Senators

Editor's Note: The bonus tax failed Tuesday. See full story.     Read more »

--> Federal Lawsuit Seeks Funding to Remove Atrazine from Water Supply

A coalition of communities in six Midwestern states filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to force the manufacturer of a widely-used herbicide to pay for its removal from drinking water.    Read more »

Delivering the goods in a war zone is risky business. In Afghanistan, it’s work bedeviled by bribes and kickbacks.    Read more »

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--> Federal Plan May Leave Behind Small Hospitals and Rural Doctors

A year after Congress agreed to spend billions of dollars to encourage a national switch to electronic health records, many doctors and hospitals have grown skeptical of the pace and details of the plan.    Read more »

--> U.S. Agencies Fail to Coordinate, Inviting Waste and Abuse Article Lede: 

In the past eight years, the United States has allocated $51 billion to rebuild and stabilize Afghanistan. But tracking that money sometimes seems as challenging as finding the leaders of the Taliban.    Read more »

--> Industry Steps Up Lobbying as Senate Grapples With Financial Reform

The influential $42 billion-a-year payday lending industry, thriving from a surge in emergency loans to people struggling through the recession, is pouring record sums into lobbying, campaign contributions, and public relations – and getting results.    Read more »

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Though electronic health records may greatly improve medical care in the future, the technology poses a host of safety concerns that demand attention to protect patients from harm, witnesses told a government panel meeting in Washington on Thursday.
 
Safety issues are surfacing as the government tees up a plan to spend billions of dollars in stimulus money to help doctors and hospitals adopt the systems. Digitizing medicine is a high priority in the Obama administration’s campaign to reform health care.
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As many Americans spiraled deeper into financial disrepair last year, a record number of consumers fell victim to companies seeking to profit from their misfortune, according to the federal governments consumer complaints report released Wednesday. Last year, distressed homeowners became particularly vulnerable to financial rescue schemes, the complaints data show. Companies that, for instance, offer mortgage modifications or foreclosure relief programs generated one consumer complaint in 2008—and nearly 8,000 in 2009.

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund is documenting these schemes in the ongoing series, Hard Times Profiteers. Credit and mortgage schemes are often advertised on roadside signs, according to consumer advocates. If youve seen such an ad, snap a picture and send it to the Investigative Fund. And if you are the victim of a scheme, send the Investigative Fund your story at huffpostfund.org/profiteers. 

» Related Story: Consumer Complaints Soar on Mortgage 'Rescue' Schemes

     Read more »

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--> VIDEO: FTC Consumer Chief To Fraudsters: 'I Want to Put You in Jail'

As many Americans sank deeper into financial trouble last year, a record number reported that they fell victim to schemes seeking to profit from their misfortune, according to a federal report released Wednesday.    Read more »

--> Reports of Patient Harm Include Six Deaths in Two Years

Concerned about potential safety risks in health information technology, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may be moving closer to regulating the systems for the first time. 

In the past two years, the agency has received reports of six patient deaths and several dozen injuries linked to malfunctions in the systems, Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in testimony prepared for a government hearing on Thursday.     Read more »

--> Plan to Switch Control from State to Pentagon Delayed Until August

As the war in Afghanistan intensifies, a contract dispute in Washington is interfering with the Obama administration’s plan to rebuild the Afghan national police into a military force with skills to fight the Taliban.

The dispute has left the U.S. government continuing to pay millions of dollars a month to a company that primarily trains recruits as civilian police.    Read more »

--> Article Lede: 

Drive through most any city in America and the offers will leap out at you:  "Repair Your Credit!"  "Modify Your Loan!" "Sell Your House Quick!"

The creators of these signs -- Hard Times Profiteers, as we at the Huffington Post Investigative Fund have dubbed them -- are moving to capitalize on the financial troubles of others. They are posting advertisements on walls, street lamps and bus shelters. The ads range from handwritten cardboard cutouts to printed plastic signs.    Read more »

We at the Investigative Fund are partnering with a team of graduate students at the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University. The topic of their investigation is the student lending and debt collection industry, and they are asking for your help:    Read more »

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