LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This is a critical contract with serious consequences for our military and economy, and this mistake will further delay an
award that has already been pushed back to allow an illegally subsidized company to compete.”
Sen. Patty Murray,
D-Wash., on the Air Force’s mistaken transmission of bid data to two competitors for a refueling-plane contract Article, this pageInsider-trading inquiry called far along
Federal prosecutors in New York are in the advanced stages of an extensive insider-trading investigation that could lead to criminal charges against Wall Street traders and executives, federal law enforcement officials said Saturday.
Authorities had been preparing to file charges in the probe within weeks, but that timetable could be accelerated after an article about the investigation appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, the officials said.
The investigation, conducted by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and the FBI, has been under way for several years and extends far beyond Wall Street to financial offices across the country, the newspaper reported. Officials would not discuss specific companies or individuals under scrutiny or provide further details. The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a parallel civil probe, officials said.
The Journal reported that authorities are investigating bankers at Goldman Sachs in particular who may have given confidential information about health-care mergers to certain investors. Goldman is the top provider of investment banking services in health-care deals. A Goldman spokesman declined to comment.
The Journal also said prosecutors are examining consultants with industry expertise who may be providing confidential information to hedge funds and mutual funds.
Ohio coroner: 3 stabbed, dismembered
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio - Two women and an 11-yearold boy were stabbed to death and dismembered before their remains were placed in a hollow tree, a coroner said Saturday.
Preliminary autopsy reports show that Tina Herrmann;
her son, Kody Maynard; and her friend Stephanie Sprang were attacked with a knife and stabbed multiple times in the back and chest, Knox County Coroner Jennifer Ogle said.
The victims were attacked on Nov. 10, and there were no signs of sexual assault, she said.
A search began on Nov. 12 after Herrmann failed to show up for work two days in a row and a co-worker who went to check on Herrmann at home found the place spattered with blood. Three days later, Herrmann’s 13-year-old daughter, Sarah Maynard, was found bound and gagged in the basement of a home about 10 miles away.
Matthew Hoffman, an unemployed tree trimmer, is accused of kidnapping the girl and keeping her for nearly four days in the basement of his home in Mount Vernon.
Hoffman gave information that led investigators to the bodies of the others, Knox County Sheriff David Barber said, and he is the only suspect in the killings.
Officers hunt Utah canyon for gunman
MOAB, Utah - Officers searching for a gunman in a rugged Utah canyon Saturday were believed to be closing in on the suspect accused of shooting and critically wounding a park ranger, authorities said.
Grand County Sheriff James Nyland said officers were able to pick up the man’s footprints and found his rifle and backpack along the Colorado River, about 22 miles southwest of Moab.
The search near Dead Horse State Park began after Utah State Parks Ranger Brody Young of Moab was shot three times Friday night while patrolling the popular Poison Spider Mesa Trail, authorities said.
300,000 under New Orleans boil order
NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Saturday that New Orleans’ most widespread boil-water order since Hurricane Katrina will continue at least until 3 p.m. today because that’s how long it will take to test for bacteria.
The order covered most of the city, affecting more than 300,000 people.
Landrieu said crews took water samples from 28 spots around the city’s east bank, but the samples need 24 hours to incubate.
Officials said the boil order was called as a precaution after a power failure late Friday at the city’s main treatment plant - including its three backup power systems - caused low water pressure throughout the east bank.
Electricity was restored about midnight, and water pressure was back to normal.
The city’s west bank was not affected.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 11/21/2010