Atlanta Unfiltered

They are runaways, truants, curfew violators, underage smokers and drinkers. They’re called status offenders because their actions are only an issue due to their status as juveniles; if an adult did the same thing, it wouldn’t be a crime. Now, a report commissioned by the Governor’s Office for Children and Families warns that Georgia could lose $2 million a year in federal funding if it continues locking them up at current rates.

A simple rule meant to cut paperwork for U.S. companies has grown into one of the biggest multinational tax breaks around, costing the United States and other governments billions of dollars in lost taxes each year. It thrives thanks to determined business support, including a campaign two years ago that forced the Obama administration to retreat from altering it and tax professionals worldwide who exploit its benefits.

Gov.-elect Nathan Deal left Congress this year but still made the list of 2010’s “most embarrassing re-elects” compiled by a Washington advocacy group. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which filed the 2009 complaint that led to a congressional ethics investigation of Deal, described him as a “new governor to watch” in a just-released report.

What do a homemaker from Charlotte, a manufacturer from Wisconsin and a retiree from San Diego have in common? None can vote for Tom Graves, but all want him in Congress. With the help of the Washington-based Club for Growth, hundreds of non-Georgians are bankrolling Graves’ run for the U.S. House, while the American Dental Association has stepped up for his opponent. Those groups have funneled more than $400,000 into the 9th District, raising the question: Why should a voter from Minnesota or Texas have anything to say about who North Georgia sends to Congress? Read on…

Connie Stokes has been an official candidate for Congress for two days, and she already owes herself almost $70,000. That total includes a $42,700 debt carried over from her 2004 run for Congress, plus obligations to pay her for services as campaign manager and campaign consultant and for yard signs, bumper stickers and travel, according to her campaign’s March financial disclosure.

Ethics report latest setback for Deal DA refers Hall County investigation to outside agency Vernon Jones defends himself, vows to continue Congress run

By MARIAN WANG/ProPublica Tickle fights vs. groping. Salty language vs. sexual harassment. For those who’ve been following the media circus around ex-Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), there’s been quite a lot to follow. Nonetheless, on Wednesday the House ethics committee closed its investigation into Massa, claiming his resignation rendered any findings “irrelevant” and put him “outside […]

When it comes to golf, Sen. Saxby Chambliss has champagne taste. In California, he’s putted with his back to the thundering surf near the 7th hole at Pebble Beach, where a round of golf costs $495. In Florida, he’s driven the ball down the fairways of the Boca Raton Resort, with its signature island green on the 18th hole and its Waldorf Astoria interior. These are among the dozen premiere resorts where Chambliss played golf in 2007 and 2008 at a cost of a quarter-million dollars. Chambliss paid those golf expenses from a political fund, supported almost exclusively by lobbyists, political action committees (PACs) and corporate leaders.

By PAUL KIEL, ProPublica

Among the crowd of government agencies that have rushed to aid the economy, the Federal Housing Administration often gets overlooked. And yet, along with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the FHA has played a huge role in preventing a complete housing collapse. All together, those three currently buy or guarantee more than 90 percent of mortgages. But the FHA is facing mounting losses and, The Wall Street Journal reports, it may soon be forced to notify Congress that its reserves have slipped below the mandated level. What will happen at that point, nobody seems to know.