Documents conflict on when Romney left Bain
Documents conflict on when Romney left Bain
WASHINGTON — Documents filed by Mitt Romney’s former company conflict with the Republican presidential candidate’s statements about when he gave up control of the private equity firm Bain Capital. President Barack Obama’s campaign seized on the discrepancies Thursday to charge that Romney was lying about his background.
Romney, in turn, said Obama was the one being dishonest, rolling out a hard-hitting television ad that accused the president of launching “misleading, unfair and untrue” attacks about the Republican’s role in outsourcing U.S. jobs.
“When a president doesn’t tell the truth, how can we trust him to lead?” the narrator says in the Romney ad titled “No Evidence.”
Obama has accused Romney of being an “outsourcing pioneer” who invested in companies that shipped jobs to China, India and elsewhere overseas. But Romney, who has made his business experience the central part of his candidacy, claims he had no role in outsourcing U.S. jobs because much of that activity didn’t happen until after 1999, when he says he had given up operational control at Bain.
Both candidates dug in on their positions, dispatching aides to level deeply personal criticisms aimed at casting each opponent as little more than a typical politician. Each candidate is seeking to sully his rival’s integrity in hopes of gaining ground in a closely contested campaign four months before Election Day. But the strategy carries risks: It could alienate voters — especially critical independents — who are turned off by negative campaigning and want to see the candidates focus on the economy and job growth.
Thousands fall victim to utility payment scam
MADISON, Wis. — As much as President Barack Obama wants your vote, he’s not actually offering to pay your monthly bills.
But thousands of Americans have been persuaded otherwise, falling victim to a fast-moving scam that claims to be part of an Obama administration program to help pay utility bills in the midst of a scorching summer.
The scheme spread quickly across the nation in recent weeks with help from victims who unwittingly shared it on social media sites before realizing they had been conned out of personal information such as Social Security, credit card and checking account numbers.
“No one knows who is behind this,” said Katherine Hutt, spokeswoman for the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington, Va. “We’re pretty concerned. It seems to have really taken off.”
People from all corners of the country report being duped, from New Jersey to California, Wisconsin to Florida and all parts in between.
Wells Fargo to pay $175M in mortgage
bias claims settlement
WASHINGTON — Wells Fargo Bank will pay at least $175 million to settle accusations that it discriminated against African-American and Hispanic borrowers in violation of fair-lending laws, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest residential home mortgage originator, allegedly engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers from 2004 through 2009.
At a news conference, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the bank’s discriminatory lending practices resulted in more than 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers in 36 states and the District of Columbia paying higher rates for loans solely because of the color of their skin.
Cole said that with the settlement, the second largest of its kind in history, the government will ensure that borrowers hit hard by the housing crisis will have an opportunity to access homeownership.
The bank will pay $125 million in compensation for borrowers who were steered into subprime mortgages or who paid higher fees and rates than white borrowers because of their race or national origin rather than because of differences in credit-worthiness.
By wire sources