The judge's fans see him as the rare authority trying to impose Wall Street penalties that fit the offense. His critics see him as a headline-chaser who could end up undermining his own agenda by forcing the SEC to actually win its cases.

By David S. Hilzenrath

The Washington Post

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASH. - With more soldiers stationed there than ever before, crime is on the rise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The News Tribune of Tacoma reports ( http://is.gd/BGoV5v) that the base recorded new highs last year for misdemeanor crimes and for offenses involving driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Felonies and domestic violence were also up last year compared with the previous year,…

In a striking reversal in state policy that has gained momentum this week, doctors are receiving stark warnings that the painkilling drug methadone is riskier and more dangerous than previously believed — a drug of last resort because it's unpredictable and poses a heightened risk of accidental death.

By Michael J. Berens and …

January 12, 2012 by Chris Lefkow…

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

Published: January 12, 2012

Surgeons in Sweden have replaced the cancerous windpipe of a Maryland man with one made in a laboratory and seeded with the man’s cells.…

Daimler Trucks North America, the U.S. truck division of Mercedes-Benz, said it will hire 1,100 workers this year to build more commercial trucks in North Carolina. (Daimler Trucks North America)

Iran said Saturday it has evidence that the United States was behind the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist this week in Tehran, state media reported.

By NASSER KARIMI

Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran —

Iran said Saturday it has evidence that the United States was behind the assassination of an…

December 17, 2011 by Nancy Owano 

 

RQ-170 Sentinel. © TruthDowser / Wikimedia Commons /…

December 18, 2011

Iran state television has broadcast a video of a young man who the Tehran government says is a CIA…

Tehran, December 16 (KCNA) -- The commander for mobilization of Iran, addressing a meeting on Dec. 14, scathingly accused the U.S. of opening a virtual embassy.

The U.S. will need a virtual White House as it opened a virtual embassy in Tehran, he said, adding that the U.S. should think about the virtual White House now that the capitalist system is facing its ruin.

The U.S. is now left with no option but to recover from its defeats and setbacks by playing computer games not only on…

When she was 10, Shyima Hall was smuggled from Egypt into the U.S. as a slave to a family in Irvine. In Montebello on Thursday, she became an American citizen.

Shyima Hall, 22, moments after becoming a U.S. citizen. She lives in Beaumont and is deciding whether to finish a college degree or apply for the local police force. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / …

A senior executive at a technology company that makes monitoring software secretly installed on 141 million cellphones said Thursday that the FBI approached the company about using its technology but was rebuffed. The disclosure came one day after FBI Director Robert Mueller assured Congress that agents "neither sought nor obtained any information" from the company, Carrier IQ.…

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday will release the findings of its investigation into allegations of excessive use of force and biased policing by the Seattle Police Department.

By Mike Carter and Steve Miletich…

By KIMBERLY HEFLING - AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON - Nine states will share $500 million in grant money won in a high-profile competition intended to jump-start improvements in often-overlooked early childhood programs, The Associated Press has learned.

The winners to be announced Friday at the White House are California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina,…

By MIKE FRANCIS - The Oregonian

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASH. - In the next war, one of the battlescapes is likely to include a brick building shaded by fir trees, not far from Interstate 5, north of Olympia. The two-story building, with office space downstairs and shared computer work spaces upstairs, is home to the Washington National Guard's 262nd Network Warfare Squadron, a unit assigned to provide cyberdefense and…

By GENE JOHNSON - Associated Press

SEATTLE - King County authorities and the Washington State Public Stadium Authority have agreed to stop harassing people collecting signatures outside the Seahawks football stadium for an initiative that would legalize and tax recreational marijuana in the state.

One of the collectors, Benjamin Schroeter, was arrested Nov. 13 after he refused an order to stop collecting signatures for Initiative 502 in a public area outside the stadium where fans…

The latest big viral success online takes the Occupy Wall Street movement to a place that most wouldn't expect it to go: A celebration of the smart, attractive women taking to the streets in search of economic justice. Or at least that's how The Hot Chicks of Wall Street blog is framing it. Here's what's racking up the web hits on Tumblr right now.

http://vimeo.com/30476100">Vimeo</a>;." title="Screenshots from the 'Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall…

Washington state education officials know a lot more about your kids than they ever knew about you. They can now track a child from kindergarten through college enrollment and soon will be able to tell you everything about every child who has gone to school in Washington from preschool through their first job.

By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP…

Rhodes Scholars named for 2012

The 32 American students chosen as Rhodes Scholars for 2012, listed by geographical region:

District 1:

Helen E. Jack, Hanover, N.H., Yale University

Emma F. LeBlanc, Manchester, N.H., Brown University

District 2:

Elizabeth W. Butterworth, Auburn, Mass., Princeton University

David S. Poritz, Amherst, Mass, Brown University

District 3:

Miriam Rosenbaum,…