The Daily Muck

One million dollars. That’s how much it cost the Defense Department to ship two 19-cent washers after a South Carolina small supplies shipping company exploited an automated shipping system designed to quickly get supplies to American troops. Charlene Corley, the owner of C&D Distributors LLC, pleaded guilty yesterday to wire fraud and money laundering when she and her late sister Darlene Wooten overcharged the government by over $20 million through a loophole in the automated system. (AP)

Someone doesn’t want the government to continue its raids against immigrants: the Census Bureau. The agency is trying to prepare for the 2010 population count, and it worries that the raids will erode what remains of the trust between immigrants and the federal government. (Associated Press)

First there were student loans scandals. Now investigators are looking into study abroad programs. The New York attorney general is looking into allegations that study abroad programs have been unfairly influencing universities to adopt their programs by giving cash incentives and perks to administrators. (NY Times)

Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) is looking for help with his legal defense fund. Unfortunately, one of the first contributors is Tyng-Lin Yang, a federal contractor whose close relationship with Feeney got both men in trouble when Feeney was a state representative. (Orlando Sentinel)

Let’s face it: it’s tough to be in the State Department. The agency is trying to modernize its embassies to keep up with the War on Terror, but a limited budget and cookie-cutter-style modernization reforms (like installing the same air conditioning system for embassies in Africa as those in Europe) means that these foreign branches are suffering. Embassies have had air conditioning problems, electrical fires and understaffed construction crews. And then there’s the Baghdad embassy… (Washington Post)

“The dissolution of a once proud House Republican leadership team is near complete.” Thus begins the Washington Post’s recap of the latest announced retirements from GOP Congressional leaders. (Washington Post)

It’s called public relations. Computers at the FBI and the CIA have been busy editing Wikipedia entries on controversial topics like the Iraq War and Guantanamo Bay, a possible violation of the site’s neutrality guidelines. (Reuters)

Hospital operator HCA Inc. founded by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and his brother has settled to pay $20 million to shareholders who claim the company misrepresented the company’s growth in 2005. (AP)

The federal government has agreed to settle with a couple that wore anti-Bush t-shirts to the Texas state capitol while Bush was making a speech there. (Associated Press)