by James Oliphant

The Supreme Court Tuesday shoveled the last clump of dirt on a massive suit brought against investment banks that allegedly participated in the fraud that brought down Enron Corp. and injured thousands of investors.

The court declined to hear an appeal out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which had barred the lawsuit against the banks, which included Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Credit Suisse. The plaintiffs, led by the University of California, claimed $40 billion in losses. The Fifth Circuit tossed the suit, saying the banks had never directly misled the investors, as their relationship lay with Enron, not the banks themselves

By William Neikirk

The Chevy Volt came to Capitol Hill today.

You can't buy it now, but General Motors hopes that it will be on the market in a few years at a reasonable price.

It's an electric plug-in. You could recharge the battery overnight and the next day you could drive 40 miles without using a single drop of fuel. If you have to go further than 40 miles, a gasoline engine would kick on, but only to recharge the battery. It's a hybrid, but the motor is electric.

There's a problem. The battery technology hasn't advanced enough to allow you drive to and from work (in most cases) without burning any fossil fuel. But research goes on, partly funded by federal money. And the Volt is a good lobbying tool.

It takes a regular 110 volt cord.

The Volt

Posted by Jim Tankersley at 10:04 CDT

Rep. Bobby Rush: "Kenny Sweet Jr. should be alive today."

A House subcommittee chaired by a Chicago Democrat has opened a hearing this morning into child product safety that focuses heavily on issues with powerful - and deadly - toy magnets highlighted in a Tribune series this month.

Rush praised the Tribune series in his opening statement and vowed to strengthen federal safety regulations to protect children from dangerous toys.

Posted by William Neikirk at 6:04 a.m. CST

The Anna Nicole Smith story came along at a time when most Americans were focused on more important matters--the Iraqi war, the Iranian nuclear weapons controversy, and the budding presidential campaign

Yet when "serious" people were tuning out oppressive tabloid-style coverage of her death, a significant portion of the American population couldn't get enough of it. Roughly a third of the population followed the Smith story closely, according to the Pew Research Center.

And they gave the press (and by this we mean mostly cable television) high marks for their coverage, even higher than coverage of Iraq, Iran, and the presidential candidates racing around the country in search of donors.

Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 3:36 pm CDT

JOHANNESBURG – Executives from more than a dozen Illinois companies that are conducting business in South Africa urged Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) today to encourage more investment on this continent.

"South Africa gets visited by many European leaders, but not many from the U.S.," said Tim Quinlan of International Trucks, a Warrenville, Ill.-based firm that began selling trucks here during the 1920s. He said he believed the U.S. should step up its interest in Africa, which European countries have already done.

Posted by Frank James at 10:51 am CDT

Seems like there's a rash of public figures opening mouths and inserting feet these days. In just the last week, we've seen Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) cause a controversy by referring to an Indian-American as "Macaca."

Then along comes former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young who very undiplomatically spit out stereotypes of inner-city Jewish, Arab and Korean merchants as price-gouging purveyors of off-date food products.

Young lost his gig as a spokesman for Wal-Mart for remarks which, not surprisingly, outraged the groups he singled out and people beyond. Because Wal-Mart has enough image problems without a spokesman like Young, he was dropped faster than a price on a discounted Wal-Mart item. (For the record, Young says he quit but we all know he wasn't going to have the option of staying.)

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Wednesday, August 16, as collected by the Associated Press.

President Bush tours the Harley-Davidson plant in York, Pa., participates in a discussion on the economy there and then campaigns for Republican gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann.

The Labor Department releases the Consumer Price Index for July. 7:30 a.m.

Posted by William Neikirk at 6 a.m. CDT

One of the biggest stories I ever covered began on Aug. 15, 1971, exactly 35 years ago, on a quiet Sunday in Washington. After spending the weekend at Camp David, Md., with his top advisers, President Nixon announced he was freezing all wages and prices for 90 days, with wage-price controls to follow.

It was a decision that I--and many others--would rank as one of the worst ever made by a sitting president. But we didn't know that at the time. After they got over the shock, most people thought it was just the right move. Nixon and members of his administration assured the public it would work. The press wasn't as skeptical as it should have been. Sound familiar?

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Thursday, August 10, as compiled by the Associated Press.

President Bush is campaigning in Green Bay and makes a statement on the economy.

The Commerce Department is releasing its latest trade balance report, for June, this morning.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Wednesday, August 9, as collected by the Associated Press.

The National Transportation Safety Board concludes a two-day public hearing as part of its ongoing investigation into the cause of a Texas bus fire accident that occurred during the evacuation for Hurricane Rita last year. 8:30 a.m.

9 a.m. REMEMBERING HIROSHIMA — Hiroshima-Nagasaki Committee holds forum on ``Consequences of US Nuclear Policy: From Hiroshima to Iran.’’ Speakers include two survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings of 1945.
Location: Room 2200, Rayburn

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Monday, August 7, as compiled by the Associated Press.

9 a.m. NURSING HOMES-REPORT — Consumer Reports holds news conference on its Nursing Home Quality Monitor, a national database of facilities to choose -- or avoid.
Location: Kaiser Family Foundation, 1330 G St. NW


1 p.m. WORKING WOMEN SURVEY — AFL-CIO teleconference to release preliminary results of biannual ``Ask a Working Woman’’ survey of 20,000 women. Participants include Linda Chavez-Thompson, exec-vice president of AFL-CIO, and Meagan Jeronimo, a working mother from Houston.

Good morning.

Here are some Washington events of note for Wednesday, July 19, collected by the Associated Press.

The Labor Department is releasing the Consumer Price Index for June at 7:30 a.m.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is giving his semi-annual report to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee at 9 a.m.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, July 14, as gathered by the Associated Press.

President Bush is departing Germany and headed to St. Petersburg, Russia for the G-8 meeting.

July 12 - 15. WORLD CONFERENCE ON TOBACCO OR HEALTH — Three-day convention on building a tobacco-free world. Workshops and session on tobacco control and regulation, the human cost of tobacco, smoking prevention, and the tobacco industry.
10:15 a.m. The Smoke Free Movies Action Network announces a parents’ guide to focus attention on the depiction of smoking in films and the impact on youth. Room 141. Event contact: Jenni Brewer, 703-741-7047.
Location: Washington Convention Center, Mt. Vernon Square.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, July 7, as compiled by the Associated Press.

President Bush is in Chicago, where he's breakfasting with business leaders, holding a press conference at 9 a.m. and later campaigning for Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka and visiting the Cabot Microelectronic Corp. in Aurora.

The Labor Department is releasing the unemployment report for June.

July 7 - 11. FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL — Second session of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, focusing on life in the Canadian province of Alberta, evening concerts celebrating African American music from New Orleans, Latino music of Chicago, basketweavers from a wide variety of geographical regions and other events.
Location: On the Mall between 7th and 14th Streets NW.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Thursday, July 6, as compiled by the Associated Press.

President Bush is meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

1 p.m. - 2 p.m. GEORGIA-SAAKASHVILI — President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia delivers remarks on Georgia’s efforts to join NATO, energy security, the deployment of troops to Iraq, Russian relations and U.S. relations.
Location: Wohlstetter Conference Center, 12th floor, American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th St. NW.

Posted by William Neikirk at 12:19 pm CDT

Kenneth Lay of Enron changed American business, but probably not in the way that he would have preferred. Reaction to his company's rapaciousness went beyond the indictments and convictions, beyond the justifiable anger of shareholders and employees who lost their shirts.

Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley law requiring more accountability by corporations, their leaders and their boards of directors. There is much more focus these days on conflicts of interests in business, and the auditing profession has had to change its cozy ways in order to maintain credibility.