Solyndra scandal probe widens as White House orders new review (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Obama administration has ordered an independent review of loans made by the Energy Department to energy companies – a clear response to the controversial and now-bankrupt Solyndra Inc. solar energy company.

It’s the latest step in the face of growing criticism over the $528 million government loan to Solyndra, which was part of the administration’s economic stimulus package meant to advance green energy. Last month, FBI agents and investigators from the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General searched Solyndra headquarters in California for documents and other information.

Heading the review announced Friday is former Treasury official Herbert Allison, who oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program, part of the 2008 Wall Street bailout.

"Today we are directing that an independent analysis be conducted of the current state of the Department of Energy loan portfolio, focusing on future loan monitoring and management," White House chief of staff Bill Daley said Friday afternoon – the traditional time for burying announcements. "While we continue to take steps to make sure the United States remains competitive in the 21st century energy economy, we must also ensure that we are strong stewards of taxpayer dollars."

Announcement of the internal review of procedures dealing with Solyndra was not enough to satisfy congressional critics.

Leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee subcommittee on oversight and investigations say they’ll meet this coming week to consider a resolution authorizing the issuance of a subpoena for internal White House communications relating to the Solyndra loan guarantee.

“Subpoenaing the White House is a serious step that, unfortunately, appears necessary in light of the Obama administration’s stonewall on Solyndra,” Fred Upton (R) of Michigan and Cliff Stearns (R) of Florida said in a statement. “Since we launched the Solyndra investigation over eight months ago, the Obama administration has unfortunately fought us every step of the way, even forcing us to subpoena documents from [the White House Office of Management and Budget].”

Apparently, White House officials weren’t the only ones pushing special consideration for green energy.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) of Utah, who has criticized the Obama administration’s backing of Energy Department loan guarantees to Solyndra, pushed for more than $20 million in government funding for a clean energy firm in his home state, reports USA Today.

“Hatch aides [said] earlier this month that the Republican lawmaker had never pushed for taxpayer money to be used for Raser Technologies, which operated a geothermal power plant in southern Utah and also developed hybrid plug-in vehicles,” the newspaper reported Friday. “But on Friday, Hatch spokesman Matthew Harakal said that after an internal audit following publication of the USA Today story on Hatch's support for Raser, the Utah senator's office found that Hatch actually requested seven earmarks for more than $20 million from 2006 to 2008 to help fund research and development projects for the automotive wing of the company.”

None of the requests were funded, and Raser Technologies filed for bankruptcy in April.

Meanwhile, the Solyndra scandal – if that’s what it is – has indirectly touched at least one Republican presidential hopeful.

“Mitt Romney is facing scrutiny this week for associating himself with a lobbyist whose firm worked for failed California solar panel company Solyndra,” The Hill newspaper in Washington reported this week. “Lobbyist Alex Mistri co-hosted a Romney fundraiser Wednesday that included a number of lobbyists and members of Congress, held at the American Trucking Association near Capitol Hill.”

Also attending the Romney fundraiser co-hosted by lobbyist Mistri was Rep. Darrell Issa (R) of California, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform investigating Solyndra.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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Murdoch tabloid private eye to reveal hacking orders (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – A private detective jailed for illegally intercepting voicemail messages on behalf of a journalist at one of Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers has been ordered to reveal who asked him to carry out the phone-hacking.

The demand by London's High Court will shed further light on how widespread the hacking practice was at the News of the World tabloid and add to the pressure on News International, the British newspaper arm of Murdoch's News Corp.

Glenn Mulcaire was jailed in 2007 along with the paper's ex-royal correspondent Clive Goodman for illegally accessing the voicemails of royal aides and five other figures including the model Elle Macpherson.

Lawyers for actor Steve Coogan, who believes he is a victim of phone-hacking and is suing News International, said on Friday the court had refused Mulcaire leave to appeal against a decision ordering him to reveal who instructed him to hack the phones.

John Kelly of law firm Schillings told Reuters that Mulcaire, who is suing News International himself after they stopped paying his legal fees, would have to answer their questions in a formal document to be filed at the court before September. This should be available for the public to see.

"He will now have to identify exactly who at the News of the World asked him to access the mobile phones of the named individuals and who he provided the information to at the News of the World," Kelly said.

"Mr Mulcaire is due to provide these answers by the end of the month and we await his answers with interest."

After Mulcaire and Goodman's conviction in 2007, News International repeatedly insisted that phone-hacking was limited to a single rogue reporter.

But in the face of civil action from Coogan and other figures, the company admitted earlier this year it had evidence that the practice was more widespread, prompting a new police inquiry.

Some executives, including Murdoch's son James, chairman of News International, are facing accusations that they knew about the illegal activities at a far earlier date than they had previously admitted.

Other senior figures, including former editorial staff on the now defunct paper, have been arrested by police probing allegations journalists on the News of the World illegally intercepted the voicemails of mobile phones of celebrities, politicians, as well as victims of crime and their families.

It has also caused embarrassment for Prime Minister David Cameron whose former media chief -- previously a News of the World editor -- is one of those to have been arrested as part of the probe.

PHONE-HACKING DETECTIVE ARRESTED

In a twist on Friday, London police said one of the detectives involved in the inquiry, named Operation Weeting, had been arrested on suspicion of leaking details about the case.

The Metropolitan Police's anti-corruption unit detained the 51-year-old detective constable at work on Thursday. He is accused of misconduct in a public office and has been released on police bail and suspended from duty.

"I made it very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers who is leading the inquiry.

"It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to."

On Thursday, detectives arrested a senior Hollywood reporter from the News of the World, an arrest which was reported in detail by Britain's Guardian newspaper before any official announcement from the police.

Meanwhile, detectives from the Weeting team made their 14th arrest on Friday, a 35-year-old man who was held on suspicion of conspiring to unlawfully intercept voicemails. A source with knowledge of the inquiry named him as Dan Evans, a former feature writer on the tabloid.

He was detained after arriving by appointment at a London police station and later released on police bail until October.

(Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan, editing by Rosalind Russell)

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American orders 460 new planes from Boeing, Airbus (AP)

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines is buying at least 460 new planes over the next five years in the biggest single passenger jet order in history. And in a victory for Airbus, it's splitting the work between the European plane maker and Boeing.

American said Wednesday it will buy 260 planes from Airbus and 200 from Boeing Co. The new planes promise much much-needed fuel savings for the airline — its current fleet is among the industry's least fuel-efficient — and modern amenities like Wi-Fi and video for passengers.

It's a major win for Airbus, which hadn't taken an order from American since the 1980s. It can be seen as a win for Boeing, too, considering that it was in danger of losing the whole order to its European rival.

The jets carry a sticker price of more than $38 billion, although big airlines routinely get discounts and routinely play one aircraft maker off the other to get better deals.

The order is for Airbus's A320 and Boeing's 737, the world's two most widely-used commercial jets. U.S. airlines generally use these single-aisle planes on domestic routes. Current versions of the 737 have 110 to 220 seats. The A320 seats around 150.

The 737-800 has a list price of $80.8 million. The list price for the A320 is $85 million. Add about $6.2 million for the neo version.

AMR Corp., American's parent, also announced that it plans to spin off regional carrier American Eagle as a separate company in another cost-cutting move.

The twin announcements overshadowed the news that AMR lost $286 million in the second quarter, as rising fuel prices wiped out an increase in revenue. The loss equaled 85 cents per share. Wall Street was expecting a loss of 77 cents, according to FactSet. Still, AMR shares rose 9 cents to $5.01 in afternoon trading.

In recent weeks, the airline industry was riveted by the drama of Airbus and Boeing competing to overhaul American's fleet, which is currently all Boeing aircraft.

In discussions that lasted long into Tuesday night, American decided to buy 200 of the Boeing 737s, with deliveries starting in 2013. Half are expected to be equipped with updated, more fuel-efficient engines. The airline said it will take options for another 100 737s.

American also will buy 260 planes from Airbus's A320 series with deliveries starting in 2013, and take options and purchase rights for 365 more. Starting in 2017, American will get the first of 130 of a new Airbus plane called the A320neo — for new engine option — which Airbus claims will be 15 percent more fuel-efficient than current jets when it goes into service in late 2015.

American said the new planes will give it the youngest fleet among similar U.S. airlines within five years, although Delta Air Lines Inc. is also considering a large order to update its domestic fleet.

Customers should notice a big difference from American's current MD-80s, which many of the new planes will replace. The newer 737s have better lighting, more overhead space and entertainment systems, which the MD-80s lack. They're also less noisy.

American said it will move toward having on-board Internet across its domestic fleet, and the new planes will better seats in both coach and first class, American said.

Those amenities are important to business travelers, and "these airplanes are going to allow us to make a lot of progress on that front," said AMR Chairman and CEO Gerard Arpey.

American has used Airbus planes before, although only a few dozen of them — it grounded the last one in 2009. When American intensified plans to overhaul the fleet a couple of years ago, Chicago-based Boeing was seen as the favorite.

In recent months, Boeing has publicly debated whether to put a new engine on the 737 or take the more radical and costly but perhaps rewarding move of developing an entirely new plane. Airbus, meanwhile, was forging ahead by taking hundreds of orders for the A320neo.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders called American's decision "a strong vote of confidence in our product in the important North American market." Airbus is part of European Aeronautics Defence & Space Co. Shares of EADS rose 3.6 percent to euro24.79 on in Paris. Boeing shares were up $1.77, or 2.5 percent, to $72.30.

Airbus now has almost 1,200 firm orders and commitments for the A320neo, and has announced plans to increase production to 42 per month in 2013.

American desperately needed the upgrade. Its fleet of more than 600 planes averages about 15 years in age, among the oldest in the U.S. airline industry. At a time when the airline is paying more than $3 for a gallon of jet fuel, one-third of the fleet consists of fuel-guzzling MD-80s.

"The plan was to replace those MD-80s over seven or eight years," said Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant who studied American's fleet for its pilots' union. "Well, American can't wait that long, not with fuel over $3 a gallon. They've got to unload those MD-80s."

American said the new planes will burn 35 percent less fuel than MD-80s.

"This is just a no-brainer economic home run from day one when the airplanes show up," Arpey said.

The need for fuel-efficiency was evident in AMR's second-quarter results. Revenue rose to $6.11 billion from $5.67 billion a year ago, thanks to higher fares and fees. But American's fuel bill rose 33 percent — an increase of $547 million from the same period last year, outstripping the gain in revenue. Fuel has overtaken labor as the airline's biggest expense.

Analysts expect all the other major airlines to post a profit for the quarter. United Continental Holdings Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. report earnings tomorrow. Delta reports next week.

American said it got $13 billion in financing commitments from Airbus and Boeing to help buy the new planes. But AMR already has $17.1 billion in debt, and analysts wonder about the wisdom of borrowing more while the company is still posting huge losses.

"We understand that American's fleet (and brand) are tired," UBS analyst Kevin Crissey said in a note to clients, "but this announcement represents a ton of new capital being put into a failing business model."

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Airlines writers Joshua Freed in Minneapolis and Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed to this report.

David Koenig can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/airlinewriter

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Court orders immediate halt to gay military ban (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal appeals court ordered the U.S. government on Wednesday to immediately cease enforcing the ban on openly gay members of the military, a move that could speed the repeal of the 17-year-old rule.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the "don't ask, don't tell" policy must be lifted now that the Obama administration has concluded it's unconstitutional to treat gay Americans differently under the law. The appeals court noted that Congress repealed the policy in December and that the Pentagon is preparing to certify that it is ready to welcome gay military personnel.

Pentagon officials said Wednesday that they will comply with the court order and are taking immediate steps to inform commanders in the field. Col. Dave Lapan, Pentagon spokesman, said the department is studying the ruling.

Gay rights advocates said without an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court — which seems unlikely since the Pentagon already is committed to repealing the rule — the government now is barred from discharging gay or lesbian servicemembers anywhere in the world.

"The ruling ...removes all uncertainty — American servicemembers are no longer under threat of discharge as the repeal implementation process goes forward," said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans executive director.

The ruling came in response to a motion brought by Log Cabin Republicans, a group for gay GOP members, which last year persuaded a lower court judge to declare the ban unconstitutional.

After the government appealed U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips' decision, the 9th Circuit agreed to keep the policy in place until it could consider the matter. The appeals court reversed itself with Wednesday's order by lifting its hold on Phillips' decision.

"The circumstances and balance of hardships have changed, and (the government) can no longer satisfy the demanding standard for issuance of a stay," the panel said.

Although the stay is lifted, the 9th Circuit scheduled an Aug. 29 hearing to consider whether the government's appeal of the lower court's decision is valid. But it's unclear whether the Pentagon will pursue the appeal, since they have already said they'll stop enforcing the ban.

Still, Dan Woods, the lawyer representing Log Cabin Republicans, cautioned gay military personnel against rushing to declare their sexual orientations until the government declares that it intends to abide by the ruling.

During the eight-day period last fall before the 9th Circuit put Phillips' injunction prohibiting enforcement of "don't ask, don't tell" on hold, several of the estimated 14,000 veterans who had been discharged under the policy unsuccessfully tried to re-enlist. A handful of Air Force members and members of the National Guard have been discharged from the military under the policy since December.

The Pentagon has been moving carefully to implement the repeal of the ban on openly gay troops. Under the law passed and signed by the president in December, final implementation would go into effect 60 days after the president and his senior defense advisers certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' ability to fight.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said he was hopeful the Department of Defense would not challenge Wednesday's order.

"This whole matter could have been avoided had we had certification back in the spring. It's time to get on with that important certification, end the DADT confusion for all service members, and put a final end to this misguided policy," Sarvis said.

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Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

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Intl court orders arrest of Gadhafi, son, key aide (AP)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – International judges ordered the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi on Monday for murdering Libyan civilians who rose up against him, as NATO warplanes pounded his Tripoli compound and world leaders stepped up calls for the Libyan leader to resign.

The International Criminal Court said Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi and his intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi are wanted for orchestrating the killing, injuring, arrest and imprisonment of hundreds of civilians during the first 12 days of an uprising to topple Gadhafi from power, and for trying to cover up their alleged crimes.

The warrants from The Hague court turn the three men into internationally wanted suspects, potentially complicating efforts to mediate an end to more than four months of intense fighting in the North African nation. The warrants will be sent to Libya, where Gadhafi remains defiantly entrenched.

Presiding judge Sanji Monageng of Botswana called Gadhafi the "undisputed leader of Libya" who had "absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control" over his country's military and security forces. She said prosecutors presented evidence showing that following popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, Gadhafi and his inner circle plotted a "state policy ... aimed at deterring and quelling by any means — including by the use of lethal force — demonstrations by civilians against the regime."

Hundreds of civilians were killed, injured or arrested, she said, adding there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that Gadhafi and his son were both responsible for the murder and persecution of civilians.

Prosecutors said the three suspects should be arrested quickly "to prevent them covering up ongoing crimes and committing new crimes."

Gadhafi's regime rejected the court's authority even before the decision was read, accusing the court of unfairly targeting Africans while ignoring what it called crimes committed by NATO in Afghanistan, Iraq "and in Libya now."

"The ICC has no legitimacy whatsoever ... all of its activities are directed at African leaders," Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told reporters Sunday.

Rebels welcomed the court's action, but appeared divided about where Gadhafi should ultimately stand trial.

Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, head of the Benghazi Interim Council, said rebels would "welcome all assistance from the friendly countries" to help arrest the Libyan leader, and said: "We will hand Gadhafi to (the) ICC."

Mohammed al-Alaqi, justice minister in the Libyan rebel administration, picked up a copy of the warrant from the court, but suggested Gadhafi could be prosecuted in Libya "under the standards of this court."

He also hoped the warrants would persuade Gadhafi's forces to defect.

"Maybe this decision will make the military brigades change their minds, because Gadhafi and his son have no future at all," he said.

In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the court's decision highlighted the increasing isolation of the Gadhafi's regime.

"It reinforces the reason for NATO's mission, to protect the Libyan people from Gadhafi's forces," he said Monday, adding that the Libyan leader and his supporters need to realize that "time is rapidly running out for them."

NATO air forces have been conducting daily air strikes against military targets in Libya for the past 100 days — a bombing campaign that has drawn increasing international criticism.

In Tripoli, two loud explosions shook the area near Gadhafi's compound Monday, setting off a chorus of emergency sirens in the Libyan capital. Libyan officials said NATO fired two missiles targeting Gadhafi's personal bus, about 100 yards (meters) from the human shields the Libyan government keeps inside Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.

Journalists were taken to see a heavily damaged, burnt-out bus inside the compound two hours after the strike. It didn't appear to have been struck recently, however, since it was cool to the touch. No one was reported killed in the strike, though officials said two people were slightly injured.

A coalition including France, Britain and the United States began striking Gadhafi's forces under a United Nations resolution to protect civilians on March 19. NATO assumed control of the air campaign over Libya on March 31 and is joined by a number of Arab allies.

European nations praised the warrants.

"Gadhafi is now a fugitive from international justice," British Prime Minister David Cameron told lawmakers in the House of Commons. "The pressure and the time is telling on Gadhafi, and we will not let up until the job is done."

In Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said "after 41 years of dictatorship, it is perhaps time to stop, for him to leave power."

The Foreign Ministry of Italy, Libya's former colonial ruler, said the warrants confirmed that Gadhafi had "lost all legitimacy, political and moral."

"As such, he can have no role to play in Libya's future," it said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, however, warned that military action alone won't solve the crisis in Libya, and said his nation backs attempts to reach a political solution there.

"Foreign troops may be able to win war in a place, but they can hardly win peace. Hard lessons have been learned from what has happened in the Middle East and Afghanistan," Wen told reporters Monday in London.

Wen said China has had recent contacts with both Gadhafi's regime and the main opposition leadership based in eastern Libya.

It's unclear how the arrest warrant could restrict Gadhafi's travels within Africa, since many African states are not ICC signatories and others have declined to act on an ICC arrest warrant for another African leader, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The Sudanese leader was on his way to China at Beijing's invitation when the warrant was announced for Gadhafi.

The African Union has said al-Bashir's arrest would dangerously imperil the fragile peace process in Sudan and had asked the U.N. to defer the warrant for one year. The AU's host country of Ethiopia is not an ICC member.

Gadhafi regularly attends AU summits. The AU will hold a summit later this week in Equatorial Guinea, which is also not an ICC member.

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Adam Schreck in Tripoli, Libya contributed to this report

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