Regulators

It's strange how "scandal" gets defined these days in Washington. At the moment, everyone is screaming about the "scandal" of the Internal Revenue Service scrutinizing conservative nonprofits before granting them tax-exempt status. Here are the genuine scandals in this affair: Political organizations are being allowed to masquerade as charities to avoid taxes and keep their donors secret, and the IRS has allowed them to do this for years. The bottom line first: The IRS hasn't done nearly enough over the years to rein in the subversion of the tax law by political groups claiming a tax exemption that is not legally permitted for campaign activity.

WASHINGTON - The Interior Department proposed new rules to regulate hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas on federal land Thursday, drawing criticism from environmentalists that it had weakened an earlier draft to placate industry. Industry officials were not mollified, however, reiterating their objections to federal standards. Last year, they criticized the department's earlier draft rules as inflexible and onerous. "We are proposing some common-sense updates that increase safety while also providing flexibility and facilitating coordination with states and tribes," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said.

A popular government program enabling underwater borrowers who are current on their mortgages to refinance at lower rates will be extended for two more years.  The Obama administration's Home Affordable Refinance Program had been scheduled to expire at the end of this year. HARP now will run through 2015, regulators announced Thursday . More than 2.2 million borrowers with little or no home equity have refinanced using the 4-year-old HARP, and consumer advocates and lenders welcomed the news of the extension.

SACRAMENTO - Two of the nation's largest biotech companies - Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks and Genentech Inc. of South San Francisco - are fighting in Sacramento to keep a tight grip on some of their most lucrative drugs. At stake is a potential market worth tens of billions of dollars for pricey biological medicines they make from human blood, serums, bacterial cultures, viruses and other microorganisms. They are used to treat cancers, immune disorders and many other complex diseases.

In these troubled economic times, it's not hard to understand why people might want to protect their life savings by purchasing a hard asset like gold or silver. At least, that's the pitch of Monex, the big Newport Beach investment firm, which bills itself as "America's trusted name in precious metals investments" and assures clients that it's "committed to customer service. " So let's take a look at the experiences of some customers who say their trust in Monex was misplaced.

As part of a settlement with federal regulators, 13 lenders this week are starting to pay out $3.6 billion to more than 4 million troubled borrowers whose homes were in foreclosure proceedings in 2009 and 2010. A chart released Tuesday by the regulators showed that most of the borrowers would receive $300, the minimum allowed under the settlement terms. The maximum of $125,000 would go to 1,135 borrowers whose homes were seized while they were serving in the military or who were current on their payments.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the newest member of the Senate Banking Committee, waited patiently for her first chance to question top financial regulators at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill. When her turn finally came after 90 minutes, Warren quickly showed she wouldn't be following the custom that a freshman senator be seen and not heard. After some pleasantries, the longtime consumer advocate and Wall Street critic lit into the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

As part of a settlement with federal regulators, 13 lenders this week are to begin paying $3.6 billion to more than 4 million troubled borrowers whose homes were in foreclosure proceedings in 2009 and 2010. A chart released Tuesday by the regulators showed most of the borrowers would receive $300, the minimum allowed under the settlement terms. The maximum of $125,000 was to be paid to 1,135 borrowers whose homes were seized while they were serving in the military or were current on their payments.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a darling of liberals who has been mentioned as a potential 2016 presidential contender, had kept a deliberately low profile since her election in November. In less than five minutes last week, however, the new Massachusetts senator announced her presence in the nation's capital and showed she plans to be a thorn in the side of the big financial institutions. At her first hearing as a member of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, Warren chastised banking regulators for not trying to put more executives from big banks in jail for their roles in the financial crisis.

California needs to strengthen regulation of hydraulic fracturing, according to a UC Berkeley Law School report that identified a number of shortcomings in state oversight of the controversial practice.    Known as fracking, the technique involves the high-pressure injection of chemical-laced fluids into the ground to crack rock formations and extract oil and gas. Although not new to California, the practice has come under increasing scrutiny recently...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the newest member of the Senate Banking Committee, waited patiently for her first chance to question top financial regulators at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill. When her turn finally came after 90 minutes, Warren quickly showed she wouldn't be following the custom that a freshman senator be seen and not heard. After some pleasantries, the longtime consumer advocate and Wall Street critic lit into the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

One of the brothers behind the 1-800-GET-THIN ad campaign for weight-loss surgery faces the possible revocation of his medical license in a misconduct case filed by state regulators. The Medical Board of California accused Michael Omidi of "repeated acts of negligence" in treating two women, one who sought corrective breast surgery and a second who sought weight-loss surgery. The board alleged that Omidi provided "substandard care" in the treatment of the first woman and that his staff gave "inaccurate or misleading information" about the second woman's health, saying she had sleep apnea even though she had not been previously diagnosed with the disorder.

Utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric should pay a record $2.25-billion penalty for a 2010 natural gas explosion in San Bruno that killed eight people and devastated a neighborhood, regulators recommended Monday. If approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, it would be by far the largest penalty ever levied by the agency. The PUC's largest fine up to now was $38 million, charged against PG&E for a 2008 natural gas explosion in Rancho Cordova. A report released Monday by the Commission's Safety and Enforcement Division said its investigators found more than 100 violations by the company, some dating back decades.

After a three-week closure to complete safety work, the popular Space Mountain attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim is expected to reopen this weekend. Disneyland voluntarily closed the 36-year-old ride April 13 after state regulators, investigating the injury of a contract worker, found violations related to safety procedures and equipment for maintenance staff. Disney officials said Friday that they could not give an exact date for the reopening of the ride but hope to have it operating this weekend.

A growing number of Indian tribes are getting into the payday loan business, saying they just want to raise revenue for their reservations while helping cash-strapped consumers nationwide. But federal officials suspect that, at least in some cases, tribes are being paid to offer their sovereign immunity to non-Indian payday lenders that are trying to dodge state regulations. So far, the tribes have prevailed over California and other states that have tried to assert authority over tribal lending operations.

It's a common mantra among free-market-loving conservatives that government regulations hinder business growth and cost workers jobs. That may be true for some regulations, and it never hurts to go back and rethink old rules. But it's also clear that many regulations are undeniably necessary to protect consumers from unfair, unsafe or downright reckless business practices. One example was the overhaul of financial regulations after leading banks trashed the global economy with their irresponsible dealings.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants to know: How much money do banks have to launder to get charged with a crime? In a Senate Banking Committee hearing Thursday, Warren asked financial regulators why officials from banks weren't prosecuted even after confessing to extensive money laundering. Specifically, she asked why British bank HSBC -- which was fined $1.92 billion after admitting to moving millions of dollars around for drug cartels, terrorist organizations and regimes such as Iran -- avoided prosecution.

Here are some examples of recent lobbyist meetings with federal regulators, as reported on the agency websites: Citigroup: Aug 18 meeting at the Federal Reserve: Four Citi employees "raised concerns" with new derivatives legislation and explained "the importance of retaining their ability to hedge across markets. " Center on Executive Compensation: Aug 19 meeting at the Securities and Exchange Commission: The head of the industry-sponsored center presented material indicating that a new rule forcing companies to release information on executive pay "imposes substantial, costly and counterproductive regulatory burdens on employers at a time when growing the economy and encouraging job growth are top priorities.

Disneyland's Space Mountain remains closed for safety repair work, two weeks after state regulators cited the park for hazards to workers who maintain and repair the attraction. Disney officials, who said they have no estimate on when the ride will reopen, closed Space Mountain and two other rides April 13, after receiving the state citations. The other rides, Soarin' Over California at Disney's California Adventure Park and the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, have reopened. State safety inspectors scrutinized the rides after a maintenance worker was injured in November from a fall he suffered while cleaning the outside of the Space Mountain building.

WEST, Texas - A week after a fertilizer plant explosion killed 14 residents, injured more than 150 others and leveled scores of homes, one emotion is notably absent here among citizens and officials alike: outrage. "Water under the bridge," said Steve Vanek, West's mayor pro-tem, referring to decisions that allowed homes and schools to be built near the plant. "It was an accident, and accidents do happen," said Jean Smith, 66, whose home lost most of its roof and sustained structural damage.