Newsletter

WASHINGTON -- A House investigative panel formally charged longtime Rep. Charles Rangel with 13 ethics violations Thursday, setting the stage for a politically thorny trial months before the midterm elections. In a 40-page statement of charges, a bipartisan panel said the New York Democrat had improperly solicited donations for a public center and library bearing his name and that he omitted hundreds of thousands of dollars of income and assets on disclosure statements. The broad allegations had previously come to light over the course of the committee's nearly two-year investigation into Rangel's conduct, but the detailed charges -- and the start of a public trial -- came as lawmakers prepared to go home to meet with voters during the summer recess.

WASHINGTON - Congress yesterday changed a quarter-century-old law that has subjected tens of thousands of blacks to long prison terms for crack-cocaine convictions while giving far more lenient treatment to those, mainly whites, caught with the powder form of the drug.

The following information was released by Florida Senator Bill Nelson: U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson today called for a congressional inquiry of plans BP has announced to use steep losses from the oil spill to cut its U.S. tax bill by $10 billion. BP said yesterday it would take a $32 billion charge associated with the oil-spill cleanup, which would yield the $10 billion in tax savings or, about half the amount pledged to aid Gulf coast victims of the catastrophe.