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Court rejects Hillary Clinton movie case

WASHINGTON, March 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday rejected an appeal from a group trying to promote an anti-Hillary Clinton movie without campaign finance law restrictions.

Citizens United wants to promote "Hillary: The Movie" without disclosing the names of donors, as required by the federal McCain-Feingold Act.

The group earlier asked a three-judge panel in Washington for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed it to ignore a prohibition against corporations and unions from paying for ads, including broadcast ads, that name a candidate before an election. The group had argued that the film didn't tell voters how they should vote, The Washington Post reported.

When the three-judge trial panel rejected the injunction request, the group appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices rejected the appeal, 07-953 Citizens United vs. FEC, saying it was "dismissed for want of jurisdiction." The court added that Justice Stephen Breyer would have affirmed the judgment of the three-judge panel.

Since the case hasn't gone to trial, Citizens United could appeal to the federal circuit court in Washington.

While the anti-Clinton movie is circulating on the Internet, the group is preparing a similarly critical movie on her Democratic presidential rival Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Scotusblog.com reported.

Clinton outlines housing initiative

PHILADELPHIA, March 24 (UPI) -- Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Monday unveiled a plan to counter the growing housing crisis and help homeowners keep their homes.

"The solution I've proposed is a sensible way for everyone -- lenders, investors, mortgage companies and borrowers -- to share responsibility, keep families in their homes, and stabilize our communities and our economy," she said in Philadelphia.

Clinton called for the extension of the Federal Housing Administration's ability to guarantee restructured mortgages -- proposed by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn. -- among other things.

Her proposal also includes steps to help homeowners restructure mortgages and to ease legal liability for mortgage service companies, Clinton wrote on her Web site. It also would provide an additional $30 billion to help states and localities fight foreclosures.

"Over the past week, we've seen unprecedented action to maintain confidence in our credit markets and head off a crisis for Wall Street banks," she said of the Federal Reserve's financial assistance in the sale of Bears Stearns to JP Morgan. "It's now time for equally aggressive action to help families avoid foreclosure and keep communities across this country from spiraling into recession."

Feds bust Calif. 'foreclosure rescue' scam

SACRAMENTO, March 24 (UPI) -- Sixteen people were indicted in what authorities in California called the largest "foreclosure rescue" scam in the United States.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento charged the defendants with targeting homeowners facing foreclosure and using straw buyers to basically steal the houses.

The alleged scam, based in Orange County, is believed to have victimized more than 250 homeowners nationwide over a two-year period, The Sacramento Bee said Monday.

The victims were allegedly lured into the scam through promises that their homes would be saved and their credit repaired. Instead, the straw buyers drained away their equity and left them with no place to live and their credit in even greater disarray, the Bee said.

The lead defendant in the case was identified as Charles Head, owner of Head Financial Services and a number of other companies in Costa Mesa, Calif.

New Pakistani prime minister frees judges

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 24 (UPI) -- Pakistani judges arrested under emergency rule were freed Monday by new Pakistani Prime Minister Yusef Rasa Gillani.

Gillani, of the Pakistan People's Party, announced the judges' release minutes after being elected prime minister by Pakistani lawmakers, the BBC reported. It is the first time in 12 years the PPP will lead the government.

Dozens of judges were detained in November when President Pervez Musharraf declared of a state of emergency. Musharraf fired the judges because the Supreme Court was prepared to rule on whether his re-election as president was legal.

Gillani also pledged to seek a resolution calling for an investigation by the United Nations into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Iraqi minister survives attack

BASRA, Iraq, March 24 (UPI) -- Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Boulani survived an assassination attempt on his motorcade in Basra, security officials said Monday.

The officials said Boulani's motorcade was attacked late Sunday by men attacking with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, reported KUNA, the Kuwaiti news agency.

Boulani wasn't hurt in the attack but several cars of the motorcade were damaged. He was in Basra to assess security conditions in the city, where incidents of violence have risen in recent months.