Government Officials

Outgoing CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said Thursday that the most pressing issues facing his successor include Iran's nuclear ambitions and surging violence in Mexico -- but not the war in Iraq. Hayden also defended the agency's use of harsh interrogation methods and said he had advised the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama against going too far in dismantling the agency's controversial counter-terrorism programs.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro looks healthy, and he praised U.S. President Obama, visiting Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said Wednesday. Her comments came after recent speculation that the 82-year-old former president was near death. He hasn't appeared publicly since he had major intestinal surgery in July 2006, and rumors intensified after he suspended his newspaper columns last month.

A day after President Obama issued tough new ethics rules for administration employees, a key lawmaker raised questions about his nomination of a lobbyist to the No. 2 position at the Pentagon. William Lynn III, the top lobbyist for Raytheon Co., was chosen by Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates for the position of deputy secretary of Defense. The new ethics rules banned lobbyists from serving in the administration.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is recuperating after arm surgery, and a deputy is temporarily in charge, a spokesman said Friday. Gates underwent an operation to repair a damaged tendon in his left arm. The procedure was done under general anesthesia and lasted less than two hours, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. Gates was at home Friday afternoon and expected to resume his duties today, Morrell said. He was not expected back in the office until Monday, however.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is no Hank Paulson when it comes to his personal finances. Geithner's financial disclosure filing released Tuesday showed he has assets valued at $740,000 to $1.7 million. His biggest asset is partial ownership of property on Cape Cod in Massachusetts valued at $250,000 to $500,000. Former Treasury Secretary Henry M.

An Upland city councilman apologized Friday for making racially insensitive remarks, ending an effort by the mayor and other officials to force his resignation next week. Councilman Ray Musser, 73, said he was sorry for statements he made at Monday's council meeting when describing his experience at the inauguration of President Obama. "There was [sic] a lot of nonwhites in the crowd, well-behaved, and that was so gratifying," he said at the meeting.

Over the last four years, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and two of his closest allies on the Los Angeles City Council have seen their political fortunes follow a steady upward trajectory. As the mayor pushed plans for nearly tripling trash fees, hiring 1,000 new police officers, gaining control over the Los Angeles Unified School District and building a "Subway to the Sea," two of his most unwavering supporters were Councilman Jack Weiss and Councilwoman Wendy Greuel.

Japan's finance minister said today he would resign after the opposition party claimed that he appeared drunk at a news conference Saturday during a meeting in Rome of finance officials from the Group of 7 industrialized countries. "I deeply apologize to the prime minister, the people and members of parliament for the significant trouble I caused," Shoichi Nakagawa told reporters in Tokyo.

A federal banking official who played a role in both the 1989 failure of Lincoln Savings & Loan and last year's collapse of Pasadena's IndyMac Bank is retiring. Darrel W. Dochow had earlier been relieved of his duties as Western regional director of the federal Office of Thrift Supervision. That action came in December after the Treasury Department's inspector general found that IndyMac had been allowed to report its finances in a way that delayed disclosure of the extent of its problems.