Sunday, May 17, 2009

TOP STORIES' ZONE NEWS......

* A moderate earthquake shook the Los Angeles region late Sunday evening, reaching residents as far south as San Diego. There were no immediate reports of any major injuries or damage.

The magnitude 4.7 quake struck at 8:39 p.m. (0339 GMT), some 10 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, near Inglewood, according to a preliminary report by the U.S. Geological Survey. At least two aftershocks shook the area minutes later, including a magnitude 3.1.

Minor damage that involved broken glass windows in the North Long Beach area and falling dishes and books from shelves in other surrounding areas were reported.

It was the largest quake in the greater Los Angeles area since a magnitude 5.4 quake hit Chino Hills.


  • Auto, home, business and life insurance companies contributed $35,743,017 million to members of Congress during the last two election cycles, according to an analysis released by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Consumer Watchdog. About $5 million went to members of the House subcommittee holding a hearing last week entitled "How Should the Federal Government Oversee Insurance?"

The top recipients of insurer contributions in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives were Sen. McCain (R-AZ) $2,287,345, Sen. Dodd (D-CT) $1,102,056 and Rep. Kanjorski (D-PA) $491,545. Senator Chris Dodd heads the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over insurance matters, and Representative Paul Kanjorski chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee holding last week's hearing. Other top recipients include Rep. Bean (D-IL) $358,603 and Rep. Royce (R-CA) $297,574 who are co-sponsoring industry legislation to allow large insurers to opt out of state regulation in favor of a federal regulator. House Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. Frank (D-MA) and Vice Chair Rep. Bachus (R-AL) have received $342,796 and $312,550, respectively from industry sources.

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