Wall Street Journal story
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Wall Street Journal story about Crist/Meek deal laughable, Meek says: News. Politics. Media

A Wall Street Journal Political Diary story states that Republicans are worried that Gov. Charlie Crist, independent candidate for U.S. Senate, is working on a deal with Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek to have Meek drop out of the race and presumably endorse Crist in order to beat Republican Marco Rubio, who currently leads in the polls by about a 10-point margin. Meek scoffs at the idea.
Oil spill compensation
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Q&A with Feinberg: Oil spill compensation chief admits mistakes and confronts new hurdles: News. Politics. Media

Kenneth Feinberg knew what he was in for. The independent administrator of BP’s $20 billion oil spill compensation fund has put himself in charge of seemingly impossible situations before — as special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and as “pay czar” overseeing executive compensation at companies that got bailouts from the U.S. government. But, in an interview with The Washington Independent this week, Feinberg says there were some surprises this time around.

Catholic groups spent millions supporting anti-gay marriage efforts: News. Politics. Media

The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal society founded in New Haven, Conn. in 1881, does a lot of good work. In a report detailing its charitable giving during 2009, the organization noted that while the “Knights and their families are hardly immune to the economic downturn,” they had once again furthered their proud 128-year tradition of service — a tradition including “helping the widows and orphans of the late 19th century” and “providing coats to poor, cold children.” Add to that list a donation of a whopping $1.4 million in 2009 to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a nonprofit group dedicated to fighting same-sex marriage through the ballot initiative system in California, Maine and other states. While NOM hasn’t yet made public its 2009 fundraising numbers, the amount of charitable contributions it received in 2008 totaled approximately $2.9 million.

Defense contractor confirms indicted Florida businessman sold counterfeit computer chips : News. Politics. Media

Federal authorities say Pinellas businessman Shannon Wren for years dealt in counterfeit computer chips, risking the lives of military personnel and potentially endangering national security. Authorities say Wren’s dealings in counterfeit “military grade” integrated circuits, or ICs, made him rich, but one alleged victim - a major defense contractor specializing in missile technology - says the company purchased chips that turned out to be fake from a supplier, who bought them from Wren.

Feinberg announces more generous claims process for Florida tourism industry: News. Politics. Media

Since he took over the oil spill claims process in August, Kenneth Feinberg has faced criticism from Florida officials who fear the state’s tourism industry won’t be compensated for many of its losses. During a speech Tuesday to the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, Feinberg announced that, while he remains skeptical of claims from citizens far from the actual spill, he will work to make the process more generous for Florida's beleaguered tourism industry.