Clinton apologizes to black voters

Written on 2:43 PM by yahoo

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Can Sen. Hillary Clinton stem eroding support from black voters in the wake of racially controversial remarks by former congresswoman and Clinton fundraiser, Geraldine Ferraro?

That's the big question Clinton now faces as she hits the campaign trail before Pennsylvania's crucial April 22 primary.

Clinton found herself back in the hot seat Wednesday, after facing the fallout from racially charged remarks by Ferraro -- a former New York congresswoman and Democratic vice presidential candidate.

Ferraro resigned from the campaign Wednesday after widespread criticism over her comments about Obama's race, originally published late last week in the Torrance, California, Daily Breeze.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept," she said.

At a gathering of black newspaper publishers on Wednesday, Clinton tried to make amends.

"I rejected what she said and I certainly do repudiate it," Clinton said at the National Newspaper Publishers Association meeting in Washington.

Clinton was full of apologies before this group as she was confronted with various perceived offenses, including remarks considered racially insensitive that her husband, former President Clinton, made on the campaign trail.

"I'm sorry if anyone was offended. It certainly was not meant in anyway to be offensive," she said.

She even apologized for President Bush's lackluster response regarding Hurricane Katrina.

"I apologize and I am embarrassed that our federal government so mistreated our citizens."

Her aides say this is not a mea culpa tour, but rather a clear message that she has not given up on the black vote.

"So the numbers are skewed and it appears that we are losing ground in the African American community. She is not conceding that vote whatsoever," a Clinton spokesperson said.

But looking ahead, she certainly has her work cut out for her.

While Obama has steadily seen his African American support grow -- 78 percent in South Carolina, 90 percent in Virginia and 92 percent in Mississippi -- Clinton has lost ground.

"They're open to her, but at this point they're kind of lukewarm because of the disparaging comments of some of her people, not necessarily hers," said John Smith, chairman of the NNPA.

While Clinton tries to minimize the damage, she is leaning on loyalists.

One of her biggest fans is Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, seated in the critical state of Pennsylvania, where she'll campaign relentlessly in an effort to deny Obama a clean sweep in the rest of the nation's contests.

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Mortgage mess CEOs defend pay

Written on 3:26 PM by yahoo

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A trio of high-profile CEOs defended their oversized pay packages to Congress on Friday, even as their companies and shareholders lost billions of dollars as a result of the ongoing mortgage crisis.

Countrywide Financial's (CFC, Fortune 500) founder and CEO Angelo Mozilo, former Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) Chairman and CEO Stanley O'Neal and ex-Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) chief Charles Prince testified before the House Committee on Government and Oversight Reform, calling reports of their pay "grossly exaggerated" in some instances and pointing out that they lost millions as well.

Their remarks found little sympathy however, as a number of lawmakers chastised the execs for helping to foster the current mortgage crisis at a time when homeowners are at risk of losing their homes and as the country teeters on the brink of recession.

"If you don't bear personal responsibility, I don't know who does," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.

All three executives made headlines in the past year for their lofty compensation after their companies lost billions in the U.S. housing market.

Between 2002 and the close of 2006, the three executives were paid $460 million, according to a report issued by the Congressional committee just a day earlier.

Mozilo, who grew Countrywide from its modest beginnings into the nation's largest mortgage lender, reportedly stood to collect a windfall of $115 million after his firm agreed to a yet-to-be completed sale to Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500). After facing heavy criticism from lawmakers, Mozilo forfeited $37.5 million in payments tied to the deal.

In his testimony, Mozilo called reports of his pay package "grossly exaggerated."

Upon his departure from Citigroup in November, Prince left with approximately $68 million, while O'Neal collected about $161 million after he stepped down in October.

Defending lofty pay packages

Both men contended that their compensation was in line with pay scales in the broader financial services industry and that reports about their pay packages were "inaccurate."

Their compensation was tied directly to the performance of the company, via stock and options that the executives have held over time. Prince, O'Neal and Mozilo argued that their pay was buoyed by impressive profits the companies delivered in the years leading up to the mortgage crisis. They also said that they have lost millions since as their companies have seen the price of their stock plummet in recent months.

In all three instances, the terms of their pay packages were determined independently by members of their respective board of directors who commonly rely on handsome pay packages to attractive and retain top talent.

But also in focus were the cozy relationships between the directors responsible for determining pay and compensation consultants who get hired by directors to advise on executive pay, which was the centerpiece of an earlier hearing sponsored by the committee in December. Lawmakers have argued that these consultants are merely getting paid to tell the board and CEO what it wants to hear.

One remedy proposed Thursday by Nell Minow, editor and co-founder of the corporate governance research group The Corporate Library, was to give shareholders greater rights in determining members of the board or creating an indexing system where pay would adjust based on the company's performance in relation to its peers.

Minow argued that hefty pay packages for CEOs are sensible, but only when they generate such returns for shareholders.

"We want CEOs to be paid hundreds of millions of dollars," Minow told lawmakers. "But there is no excuse for people getting so much for doing so little."

Rep. Henry Waxman D-Calif., who heads the committee and was one of the CEOs staunchest critics, offered similar sentiment during his opening remarks.

"The obvious question is how can a few execs do so well when their companies are doing so poorly?" asked Waxman, D-Calif.

Pay in focus

Even though Prince, O'Neal and Mozilo garnered plenty of attention on Capitol Hill Friday, they are not the first, nor will they be the last, top execs to enjoy handsome pay packages.

In December, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein took home nearly $68 million in restricted stock, options and cash, making it the largest bonus ever given to a Wall Street CEO.

Chrysler Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli made headlines when he was forced out of Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) in January of last year and left with $210 million in cash, stock options and retirement benefits.

Excessive compensation and hefty severance packages or "golden parachutes" have been burning issues in recent years. Many companies have rewarded CEOs handsomely through multi-million dollar salaries, eye-popping bonuses or attractive perks like country club memberships.

Executive pay has drastically outpaced the pay gains experienced by the average American worker, according to an annual study published in August by The Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy.

Between 1996 and 2006, CEO pay rose 45%, at a time when the average pay for an American worker grew just 7%.

That same study revealed that CEOs at 386 of the Fortune 500 companies took home $10.8 million in total compensation in 2006, more than 364 times what the average worker earned that same year.

Friday's hearing marks the second time in nearly three months that legislators have attempted to tackle the issue of executive compensation.

Friday's hearing was originally scheduled for Feb. 7, but was postponed twice - once due to scheduling conflicts and again last week following the death of Mozilo's mother.

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Voters turn out for key US polls

Written on 4:17 PM by yahoo

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The contest in Ohio is seen as too close to call

Americans are voting in what could be the most important day so far in the races to stand for US president.

Democratic front-runner Barack Obama says rival Hillary Clinton may have to quit if he wins polls in Texas and Ohio. She says she will carry on.

Contests in two smaller states also voting - Vermont and Rhode Island - may prove crucial in such a tight race.

On the Republican side, John McCain - already comfortably ahead of his rivals - could seal the nomination.

But most attention is focused on the Democrats' battle.

I think Hillary will win Ohio but by a very small margin, which may not be enough to save her campaign US voter Faith Barrow-Waheed, Cleveland, Ohio

For the Democrats, Texas is the biggest prize remaining, with 228 delegates to the nominating party convention in August up for grabs.

Voting in the Democratic polls is proportional, meaning that Mrs Clinton needs landslide victories on Tuesday and beyond to catch up with Mr Obama.

An opinion poll published as voting began gave Mrs Clinton a narrow lead in Texas - though within the poll's margin of error. It had the two candidates exactly level in Ohio.

"I feel really good about today," Mrs Clinton told voters in Houston. "I think it's going to turn out well."

She added: "You don't get to the White House as a Democrat without winning Ohio."

Democrats eye prize Last tango in Texas

Since the nationwide Super Tuesday contests on 5 February, Mr Obama has won 11 states in succession and leads Mrs Clinton in the delegate count.

Mr Obama seemed confident that he would win in the end.

"We've got a very sizeable delegate lead that is going to be hard to overcome," he told reporters travelling with him.

"You'll recall that when we were running those 11 races in a row the theory was they had to blow us out in Texas and Ohio.

"I don't think that's going to happen."

Mr Obama has spent twice as much as Mrs Clinton on TV adverts in the state, including a number in Spanish. Hispanics account for about one in five eligible voters in Texas.

According to exit polls for the Associated Press news agency, however, they have cast nearly a third of the election day votes in the state - up from a quarter in 2004. In previous contests this year, they have favoured Mrs Clinton.

African-American voters - who have heavily supported Mr Obama - accounted for about a fifth of the votes cast in Texas, exit polls indicate, about the same as four years ago.

The economy was the most important issue for Democratic voters in all four states, especially Ohio, exit polls suggest. The Iraq war came a close second in Vermont.

For the Democrats, a total of 370 delegates are at stake in the four races, which includes 67 delegates up for grabs in Texas caucuses, which begin after the day-long primary vote.

Mr Obama currently has 1,386 delegates to Mrs Clinton's 1,276, according to the AP. A total of 2,025 is needed to secure the Democratic Party's nomination.

The New York senator and former first lady has played down suggestions that she is facing a make-or-break moment.

POLLS CLOSE Vermont 0000GMT Ohio 0030GMT Rhode Island 0200GMT Texas 0200GMT - caucuses then begin

New Mexico's Democratic Governor Bill Richardson, an influential voice who was in the race himself until January, has suggested that whoever has the most delegates after Tuesday's votes should be the party nominee.

The BBC's Kevin Connolly, in Ohio's state capital, Columbus, says the struggle between the two senators remains fierce and close, and it is far from certain that America will get the clear outcome from these latest battles that it craves.

Mrs Clinton has been focusing her attacks on Mr Obama's foreign policy and national security experience, echoing a campaign advert asking who would respond better to a national emergency in the middle of the night.

Mrs Clinton insists she can go all the way to the White House Clinton's campaign ad

Mr Obama, senator for Illinois, has countered that with an advert questioning Mrs Clinton's judgement in supporting the invasion of Iraq from the start.

Meanwhile, Mr Obama denied on Monday that his campaign had privately assured Canada his criticism of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), widely opposed in economically depressed Ohio, was just for political show.

A leaked memo suggested Mr Obama's senior economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, had given Canadian officials the impression that Mr Obama's criticism over the US free trade deal with Canada was "political positioning".

John McCain is expected to beat closest rival Mike Huckabee

The dispute led Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to assure parliament that the memo leak was not an attempt to scupper Mr Obama's chances or to favour Mr McCain, who strongly backs Nafta.

On the Republican side, Mr McCain is expected to beat his chief rival Mike Huckabee in all four states.

The Arizona senator currently has 1,014 delegates, according to the AP, while Mr Huckabee has 257.

A total of 1,191 delegates is needed to claim the nomination at the party's national convention in September.

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The UK's Prince Harry has been serving on the frontline

Written on 1:15 PM by yahoo

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- The UK's Prince Harry has been serving on the frontline in Afghanistan and seen combat, the UK Ministry of Defense confirmed Thursday.
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Prince Harry on patrol in the deserted town of Garmisir, Afghanistan.
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He was deployed 10 weeks ago and his fellow soldiers were sworn to secrecy.

The prince's status is currently being reviewed, the Ministry of Defense said.

Harry is third in line to the British throne and serves with the Blues and Royals.

His main role has been as a member of a group called Joint Tactical Air Control, or JTAC.

"As far as I'm concerned I'm out here as a normal JTAC on the ground and not as Prince Harry" he said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "The whole of Britain will be proud of the outstanding service he is giving. For the last 10 weeks, he has joined the thousands of members of the British Armed Forces who have served with such distinction in difficult circumstances in Afghanistan since 2001."

In a pre-deployment interview with the British Press Association, he said: "If I'm wanted, if I'm needed, then I will serve my country as I signed up to do."

The head of the British Army, Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt, said Harry's deployment had been kept secret after striking an agreement with the media. Video Watch Prince Harry on the front lines in Afghanistan »

British and international media -- including CNN -- had agreed not to report Harry's deployment because of security concerns for him and his unit. The military confirmed the operation after a U.S. Web site broke the news blackout.

Dannatt said: "What the last two months have shown is that it is perfectly possible for Prince Harry to be employed just the same as other Army officers of his rank and experience. Video Watch how a top secret operation deployed Prince Harry »

"His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary. He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same risks as everyone else in his Battlegroup.

"In common with all of his generation in the army today, he is a credit to the nation."
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Dannatt added that he and senior commanders will now be reviewing Harry's deployment.

Last year, the military ruled Harry could not be sent to Iraq because publicity about the deployment could put him and his unit at risk.

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About 8,000 'surge' troops will remain in Iraq, Pentagon says

Written on 9:02 PM by yahoo

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- About 8,000 of the 30,000 "surge" troops sent to Iraq in 2007 will not go home as planned this summer, the Pentagon said Monday.
art.troops.iraq.jpg

President Bush ordered nearly 30,000 additional troops to Iraq in January 2007 as part of a troop surge.

Support troops -- including helicopter crews, supply units, military police and headquarters staff -- will still be needed when the additional combat units return home, said Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, the chief of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In particular, U.S. troops are still needed to guard Iraqi prisons, he said.

"The transfer of responsibility for detention operations has not progressed as rapidly as we would like to the Iraqis, so there's a need to have that force sustained, as well," Ham said.

President Bush ordered nearly 30,000 additional troops to Iraq in January 2007 to pacify Baghdad and its surrounding provinces. When the last of the five Army combat brigades and two Marine battalions ordered in as part of that campaign leave Iraq by July, 140,000 troops will remain -- about 8,000 more than the 132,000 U.S. troops stationed there before the surge, Ham told reporters at the Pentagon.

"This will be very much conditions-based, but that's our projection as of today," he said.

He said top U.S. commanders are debating whether to make further withdrawals after July. The U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, is scheduled to issue another report on the progress of the war in April, and Ham said it would be "premature" to discuss further withdrawals now.
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The Bush administration has touted a sharp reduction in the sectarian warfare that wracked Baghdad throughout 2006 -- and an accompanying drop in American death tolls -- as signs of the campaign's success. But Ham said the support troops are still needed to preserve that progress.

"Rather than look at this negatively, I would say there is an opportunity now to take advantage of the security that has been established by the five surge brigades," he said. "And you want to sustain that and not jeopardize the gains that have been achieved."

Critics say the political goals of the surge -- an Iraqi settlement of the nearly 5-year-old war -- have not yet been accomplished. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, said Sunday that Iraq remains far from stable.

"If we've had so much success, then why are our commanders concerned about pulling troops down and wanting to freeze them at at least the level that we had before the surge?" Hagel told CNN's "Late Edition."

But Ham said the campaign has encouraged Iraqis to take steps toward reconciliation and to turn against Islamic jihadists loyal to al Qaeda, which is blamed for some of the war's worst attacks on civilians.

"I would say that there is increasing pressure on al Qaeda in Iraq everywhere inside Iraq," he said. "Again, it is premature to declare victory or anything, but it is very clear that, wherever al Qaeda in Iraq tries to operate, they are increasingly being resisted by Iraqi security forces, clearly by the U.S. and other coalition members, and most importantly by the people of Iraq -- and that's really what's making the difference."

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Feds: Renzi made $700,000-plus in deal that led to indictment

Written on 2:37 PM by yahoo

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi has been indicted on charges he promised to support legislation in exchange for a land deal that netted the Arizona Republican more than $700,000, the Justice Department said Friday.

In a 35-count indictment unsealed early Friday, Renzi, 49, is charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, extortion and insurance fraud.

Also named in the indictment is Renzi's former business partner and real estate investor, James W. Sandlin, 56, of Sherman, Texas, and Andrew Beardall, 36, of Rockville, Maryland.

Renzi's attorneys, Reid Weingarten and Kelly Kramer, denied their client had done anything wrong.

"We will fight these charges until he is vindicated and his family's name is restored," the attorneys said in a statement.

The attorneys said their client had buried his father, Eugene Renzi, at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday.

"We are disappointed that the Department of Justice would not allow a decent amount of time to pass to allow a son to mourn the passing of his father," the statement said.

At a news conference in Phoenix, Arizona, prosecutors said Renzi conspired with Sandlin to conduct a land swap in exchange for the congressman's push to get a House committee's approval for the deal.

Federal prosecutors said Renzi received $733,000 in the deal but did not disclose the income to Congress in his 2005 financial disclosure statement.

U.S. Attorney Diane Humetewa said that Renzi "used his official authority as a United States representative" to ensure that the 2005 federal land exchange included land owned by Sandlin.

Another goal of the conspiracy was to conceal that Renzi received a portion of the proceeds from the deal, according to the indictment.

Renzi was having financial difficulty in 2005 and "needed a substantial infusion of funds to keep his insurance business solvent and maintain his personal lifestyle," the indictment said.

philwebsupport The 26-page indictment outlines a series of transactions involving Renzi and Sandlin, who were co-owners of Fountain Realty and Development, until Renzi ran for a seat in Congress and sold his share of the company to Sandlin.

Sandlin bought out Renzi's interest for $200,000 and a note for $800,000, according to a statement from the Justice Department. In 2005, when Sandlin still owed him $700,000 on the note, "Renzi insisted that two separate entities doing business in Arizona purchase Sandlin's property in exchange for his support on land exchange legislation," authorities said.

Renzi and Beardall are charged with insurance fraud, accused of embezzling more than $400,000 in insurance premiums from the trust account of the Patriot Insurance Agency, a business owned by the Renzi family in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, to fund his congressional campaign in 2001 and 2002. They're also accused of making false statements to influence state regulatory investigations, a statement said.

"There were concealment efforts, misrepresentations and fraudulent statements made," Humetewa said.

If convicted, Renzi could face up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and extortion and 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering and concealing money laundering as well as lesser sentences for convictions on the other counts, prosecutors said.

Renzi and the other defendants will be served summonses to appear in U.S. Magistrate Court in Tucson, Arizona, for an arraignment March 6, Humetewa said.

Renzi has been under an ethical cloud since the FBI raided a family business last year. The FBI said it was investigating whether the congressman had used his office for personal gain.

He stepped down from the House Intelligence Committee in April after the raid.

Renzi, a three-term member of the House, announced in August that he would not seek re-election. He represents Arizona's 1st Congressional District.

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Romney suspends White House bid

Written on 4:46 PM by yahoo

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has suspended his campaign for the Republican party nomination for the US presidency.

Mr Romney spent millions of dollars of his own money on the campaign, but fell well behind front-runner John McCain after Super Tuesday's primaries.

Correspondents say his exit has in effect cleared the way for Senator McCain as Republican candidate.

Senator McCain congratulated Mr Romney and invited his supporters to join him.

"You are welcome to join my campaign, and it will be a campaign based on conservative principles and a consequential election about the country's future," he said.

"I'd be deeply humbled to receive the nomination of my party as we continue to move forward in this campaign."


I am convinced that unless America changes course, we will become the France of the 21st Century - still a great nation, but no longer the leader of the world
Mitt Romney

Why Mitt Romney quit
Profile: Mitt Romney
Mitt quits in presidential style

The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Washington says Senator McCain worked hard to reach out to conservative Republicans, who have frequently attacked him for being too liberal.

He stressed his support for core issues such the pro-life movement and permanent tax cuts, as well as President Bush's troop surge in Iraq.

Officially former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul are still in the campaign, but they stand no realistic chance of victory.

Tough decision

Analysts, however, say Mr Romney has not officially dropped out of the race. Suspending the campaign allows him to lay claim to his delegates and use them as leverage to win concessions from the eventual nominee.

He announced his decision at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

He said the decision had not been an easy one.


REPUBLICAN RACE
John McCain
12 states, 707 delegates
Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, New Hampshire

Mitt Romney
11 states, 294 delegates
Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming, Utah

Mike Huckabee
6 states, 195 delegates
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Tennessee, West Virginia
1,191 delegates needed for nomination. Source: AP (includes all kinds of delegates)

Delegate scorecard
Excerpts: Romney speech

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I'd be making it easier for Senator Clinton or [Barack] Obama to win," Mr Romney said at the conference.

He added that he would continue to fight for conservative principles, which were now needed more than ever.

"I am convinced that unless America changes course, we will become the France of the 21st Century - still a great nation, but no longer the leader of the world, no longer the superpower," he said.

A successful businessman, he had hoped to be the first US president from the Mormon religion.

But he failed to translate leads in opinion polls into victories in the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

In recent weeks, conservatives in the party rallied behind him as a candidate who they hoped could stop Senator McCain.

But the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says he faced resistance among some evangelical Christians because of his Mormon faith.

He also had difficulty convincing his party that he held strong beliefs on some very important subjects, such as abortion rights, immigration and gun ownership.

'Unite the party'

Mr McCain skipped the annual conference last year, angering many members of the group.


NEXT CONTESTS
Saturday: Louisiana and Washington state (multi-party); Nebraska (Democratic); Kansas (Republican)
Sunday: Maine (Democratic)
Tuesday: Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC (multi-party)

Q: What's next?

He enjoyed wins in the big states of California and New York, as well as Illinois, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Missouri, Connecticut, Delaware, and his home state of Arizona.

Some key conservative figures have refused to vote for Mr McCain in the presidential election if he wins the nomination.

Mr Huckabee, who is popular with evangelical Christians, took five states on Tuesday, backing up the widely held view that Mr McCain lacks support from conservatives in his own party.

Mr Huckabee will speak to the conservative conference on Saturday.

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