Federal regulators seek to fine eight more firms in foreclosure inquiry
Federal regulators are poised to crack down on eight financial firms that are not part of the recent government settlement over home foreclosure practices involving sloppy, inaccurate, or forged documents.
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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled by a 5-4 vote that officials may strip-search people arrested for any offense, however minor, before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband.
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MOSCOW — Ukraine’s general prosecutor announced Monday that the jailed opposition leader Yulia V. Tymoshenko can receive medical treatment outside the prison camp where she has been incarcerated since December, a step that may aim to quiet Western criticism of the politically tinged case.
N.Y. workers rushed to sign up for pensions before cuts
ALBANY, N.Y. — Thousands of public employees across New York state scrambled to sign up for pensions over the last several weeks, seeking to lock in generous retirement benefits before cuts approved by the state Legislature took effect Sunday.
Noncitizens file lawsuits due to U.S. gay marriage rules
Five legally married gay couples filed a lawsuit Monday to challenge the 1996 law that bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, arguing that its impact is particularly harsh on couples that include a U.S. citizen and a foreigner.
Pakistani court orders the Bin Laden family to be imprisoned, then deported
ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani court Monday ordered three wives and two adult daughters of Osama bin Laden to complete six weeks in prison for illegally entering the country and then be deported, the family’s lawyer said.
JOBS Act has good intent, but may hurt investors’ safety nets
Maybe President Barack Obama should have bought shares in Groupon’s IPO.
US relaxes some restrictions for counterterrorism analysis
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is moving to relax restrictions on how counterterrorism analysts may retrieve, store and search information about Americans gathered by government agencies for purposes other than national security threats.
Major stock indexes fall, euro falls against the dollar
FRANKFURT, Germany — A key indicator of business sentiment in Europe unexpectedly fell deeper into recession territory Thursday, compounding concerns about the global recovery following signs of slowing manufacturing in China.
Record-breaking warmth ending over the weekend
New England has experienced warm, tranquil weather over the past week. High temperatures have been able to climb into the 70s°F (21-25°C) for most days this week, breaking records on Sunday and Monday. Yesterday’s high of 83°F (28°C) also broke a record of 72°F (22°C) for that day. These highs are actually Boston’s typical temperatures for late June! Today, the Boston area has yet another chance of seeing highs reach near 75°F (24°C).
Obama campaign embraces Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act doesn’t poll particularly well. On the campaign trail, saying “I’m going to end Obamacare” is an easy applause line for Republican presidential candidates. It ignites social conservatives like the Catholic bishop of Oakland, who will be protesting its contraception coverage provisions Friday in San Francisco.
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The Suffolk jury charged with deciding the case against two men accused in the 2010 Mattapan killings twice told a Superior Court Judge that it was deadlocked, but then voted unanimously to continue deliberating, a highly unusual decision, according to legal specialists.
Senate passes startups bill, with amendments
WASHINGTON — Depending on who is speaking, a bill approved by the Senate on Thursday to make it easier for small companies to raise money will either improve the economy by creating jobs or cause unwitting investors to get swindled.
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WASHINGTON — In a rebuff to President Barack Obama, the Republican-controlled House passed a bill Thursday to abolish a Medicare cost control board created by the new health care law.
Chinese lawyers chafe at new oath to communist party
BEIJING — China’s Justice Ministry has issued a requirement that new lawyers and those reapplying for licenses swear an oath of loyalty to the Communist Party, another step in a campaign to rein in lawyers who continue to challenge the political and legal systems by which the party maintains power.
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TOULOUSE, France — French authorities were searching Monday for a man suspected in a string of methodical killings that have terrorized this city and the surrounding area in southwestern France, following an attack outside a Jewish school Monday morning that killed four people, including three young children.
US war game sees dire results of Israeli attack on Iran
WASHINGTON — A classified war simulation exercise held this month to assess the U.S. military’s capabilities to respond to an Israeli attack on Iran forecast that the strike would lead to a wider regional war, which could draw in the United States and leave hundreds of Americans dead, according to U.S. officials.
Official raises death toll in Yemen conflict to over 2,000
At least 2,000 Yemenis were killed during the year of political unrest after popular protests broke out seeking the ouster of the entrenched authoritarian president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s minister of human rights announced in a speech to the United Nations.
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Apple announced Monday that it would at last return some of its cash pile to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks, at a cost of more than $10 billion a year for the next three years. But it is attracting so much cash — $1 billion a week in the last holiday season alone — that the move will not put a dent in Apple’s coffers.