Probe: Palin abused power as governor
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin violated state ethics law by abusing her power, an official investigation has concluded.
The conclusion was contained in a report released Friday by the bipartisan Legislative Council following a daylong meeting that ended with a 12-0 vote to release the report, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported.
Investigator Steve Branchflower, who looked into Palin's dismissal in July of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, determined that Palin had violated Alaska's executive branch ethics act, which states that public officials hold office "as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."
Palin fired Monegan following his refusal to fire a state trooper, Palin's former brother-in-law, who was involved in a child custody dispute with the governor's sister. The Legislative Council hired Branchflower in August to investigate the matter, before Palin joined the Republican presidential ticket as John McCain's running mate.
Monegan has said he was dismissed because he would not fire the trooper, Michael Wooten.
Although the investigation concluded Palin violated state law, it found that Palin also had legitimate reasons for dismissing Monegan, MSNBC reported.
During the closed legislative hearing, about 50 supporters of the governor stood on the sidewalk outside the legislative building, waving signs reading "Palin Power," "Sarah's Right" and "Not Guilty," the Daily News reported. The group also chanted "Go, Sarah, Go" and "Who's the best mom in the world -- Sarah."
McCain backer calls Obama 'Arab'
WAUKESHA, Wis., Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Supporters in Wisconsin urged John McCain to get tougher on Democratic rival Barack Obama, but McCain chided a woman for calling Obama an "Arab."
During a joint town hall meeting, Republican presidential nominee McCain and running mate Sarah Palin heard supporters vent frustration about the financial crisis and concerns that Obama is not being scrutinized for his congressional record and associations with questionable people, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday.
"I am begging you, sir. I am begging you. Take it to him!" radio host James Harris told McCain during a Waukesha event.
Another supporter called the Illinois senator, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democrats "hooligans," adding he "I'm really mad."
Criticizing Obama's record and his 1990s association with 1960s anti-war radical William Ayers, McCain and Palin used their joint appearances in Waukesha and Mosinee to charge that Obama is a risky choice.
McCain called Obama's voting record on abortion "radical far left," and termed his record on crime issues "very, very weak."
However, at a subsequent rally, a woman told McCain: "I don't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's an Arab."
Some in the crowd booed when McCain told the woman Obama is "a decent family man" and a "citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues." Then there was some applause when McCain said, "That's what this campaign is all about."
A statement from the Obama campaign said McCain would "rather launch angry, personal attacks" than discuss the economy or his plan that calls for the treasury secretary to buy bad mortgages and renegotiate them at new-home values that would be more affordable.
Crisis will be resolved, Bush pledges
WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Friday said Washington will begin to acquire stock in financial institutions as part of a plan to loosen credit markets.
Paulson spoke at the end of another down day on Wall Street, and after he and Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke met with finance officials from Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and Canada, The New York Times reported.
"We are developing strategies to use the authority to purchase and insure mortgage assets and to purchase equity in financial institutions, as deemed necessary to promote financial market stability," Paulson said.
U.S. President George W. Bush sought to reassure Americans Friday morning that the financial crisis will be resolved and market stability will be restored.
"This is an anxious time," Bush said. "But the American people can be confident in our economic future."
He said he recognized "this is a deeply unsettling period" and Americans were concerned about their retirement accounts, investment and their economic well-being.
"The United States government is acting," he said, "to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets."
The U.S. Federal Reserve has injected "hundreds of billions of dollars" into key markets to boost liquidity and has worked with its global counterparts to cut interest rates to free up credit, Bush said.
Federal officials will use a number of tools to help banks rebuild capital, he said.
The bailout plan is aggressive but will take time for its full impact to be felt, Bush said.
"It is the right plan," Bush said. "It is big enough to work."
Mortgage lender drops eviction suit
CHICAGO, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- A mortgage lender Friday said it was dropping a lawsuit in Cook County, Ill., seeking to force a sheriff to begin evictions on foreclosed homes.
Accredited Home Lenders filed the lawsuit after Sheriff Tom Dart announced this week that he does not intend to follow court orders to evict Shirley McFarland of Dolton, Ill., from her foreclosed home, even under the threat of contempt-of-court charges, The Chicago Sun-Times said Friday.
Attorneys for the lender had issued a statement saying court orders must be enforced.
"Sheriff Dart may have concerns about the orders that he is charged with enforcing, but he simply cannot refuse to carry them out. The orders of the court must be enforced," the attorneys said. "This lawsuit is necessary to ensure that."
However, Accredited Home Lender issued a statement late Friday saying it has decided to drop the suit
"Upon further consideration of the facts surrounding this matter, we have decided to withdraw our petition against the County and have suspended our eviction action against our former borrower Shirley McFarland," the company's statement said.
At a meeting with Cook County Judge Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird, Dart said deputies frequently are called upon to evict renters who have not received notice that the property in which they reside is in foreclosure. Dart suggested the judge require lenders to file affidavits indicating that homeowners and renters have been given notice of possible eviction before bringing in deputies to carry out evictions.
Kinnaird said she would discuss putting such language in eviction orders, the newspaper said, but a spokesman for Dart said deputies will not enforce eviction notices until details are worked out.
