Subpoena

The federal government is investigating the business practices of the NBA players' union. The union confirmed Friday it has received a subpoena for documents from the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and says it will cooperate with the investigation. The NBPA also said in a statement that it has appointed a special committee to oversee an internal inquiry, including a financial audit. Recent reports have questioned the NBPA's finances and spending practices, largely having to do with the hiring of family members and firms that employ relatives of Executive Director Billy Hunter . Hunter says he will cooperate with the internal inquiry, but will not be in involved in the effort so it remains independent.

The nation's top consumer watchdog is investigating one of the largest Buy Here Pay Here used car chains, the latest in a rising tide of scrutiny of the little-known industry. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a subpoena seeking information and business documents from DriveTime Automotive Group in Phoenix, according to a regulatory filing this week. DriveTime, with 90 dealerships nationwide, is the first Buy Here Pay Here company to be investigated by the federal agency that was created in 2010 as part of the overhaul of financial regulations.

Federal authorities are seeking information about Jerry Sandusky , the former Penn State assistant football coach facing state charges of sexually abusing children, as well as others involved in the scandal that has shaken the college sports powerhouse. Penn State on Friday acknowledged receiving a federal subpoena from the U.S. attorney's office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania seeking information on Sandusky and others. The school is complying with the request, said Lisa Powers, director of the department of public information, in an email.

The investigation into the death of Whitney Houston is shifting to a new phase, with officials focusing on the prescription drugs found in her hotel room and who prescribed them to her. Investigators are expected in the next few days to serve subpoenas on the doctors, as well as the pharmacies where Houston obtained the prescriptions, as they try to determine her cause of death, according to a source with knowledge of the case. Authorities collected several bottles of drugs from Houston's suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she was found dead Saturday.

Investigators with the California attorney general's office have subpoenaed information from mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into lending and foreclosure practices in the state. The subpoenas ask the government-controlled finance companies to answer a series of questions about their activities in California, including their roles as landlords who own thousands of foreclosed properties. The attorney general's office is also seeking details of Fannie and Freddie's mortgage-servicing and home-repossession practices, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena Friday requiring the Department of Homeland Security to hand over the names of thousands of illegal immigrants who were arrested by local authorities over the last three years but not deported by immigration officials. The subpoena is the latest volley in a contentious debate between House Republicans and the Obama administration over its immigration policy, which makes deportation of illegal immigrants with criminal records a priority.

The Republican-controlled House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to issue a broad subpoena demanding more documents from the White House as part of the committee's investigation into a government loan guarantee for the failed solar equipment maker Solyndra. In a vote along party lines, the committee's subcommittee on oversight approved a draft subpoena that calls for all "internal communications" among top White House staff during the period in 2009 when Solyndra sought a $535-million loan guarantee from the government, through its financial troubles in 2010 and, ultimately, during its move toward bankruptcy protection two months ago. "The committee still hopes to work with the White House to obtain relevant communications from key personnel such as former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, former National Economic Council Director Larry Summers and Ron Klain, former chief of staff to Vice President [Joe]

The Republican-controlled House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to issue a broad subpoena demanding more documents from the White House as part of the committee's ongoing investigation into a government loan guarantee to the failed solar equipment maker Solyndra. In a vote along party lines, the committee's subcommittee on oversight approved a draft subpoena that calls for all "internal communications" among top White House staff during the period in 2009 when Solyndra sought a $535-million loan guarantee from the government through its financial troubles in 2010 and, ultimately, during its move toward bankruptcy protection two months ago. "The committee still hopes to work with the White House to obtain relevant communications from key personnel such as former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, former National Economic Council Director Larry Summers, and Ron Klain, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Biden," the Energy and Commerce Republicans said in a statement in preparation for the vote.

Investigators with the state attorney general's office have subpoenaed Bank of America Corp. in connection with the sale and marketing of troubled mortgage-backed securities to California investors, according to a person familiar with the probe. The state is trying to determine whether the bank and its Countrywide Financial subsidiary sold investments backed by risky mortgages to institutional and private investors in California under false pretenses, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested confidentiality.

Federal authorities have widened their misconduct investigation into the Los Angeles County jail system, demanding internal Sheriff's Department documents detailing deputies' use of force on inmates over several years, as well as other records. Sheriff's officials balked at the size and scope of the subpoenas when they were served several weeks ago and are negotiating with federal prosecutors to reduce the number of documents they must produce. A source familiar with the demand said it sought the names of everyone who has worked in the jails since 2009, even janitors, and whether they have been disciplined for misconduct.