Today in accountability news:

• Thought the GOP's one-year ban on earmarks meant no earmarks? Think again. Rep. Don Young of Alaska is still submitting his requests, reports McClatchy.
• You may have seen the Congressional wrangling over health care on C-SPAN, reports Politico, but what you didn't see was the equally intense, behind-the-scenes and around-the-clock efforts of interest groups and their lobbyists.
• The SEC's inspector general--the regulatory agency's watchdog--raises questions about the regulator's ability to effectively oversee the financial industry, reports The Washington Post.
• The EPA prepares to overhaul drinking water regulations and tighten rules on chemicals, though The New York Times reports that in many cases, current laws are sufficient--it's just that for years, violations have gone unpunished.
• Talking Points Memo: That payday lender down the block may look like a small operation, but it is part of an industry with extensive, expensive ties to Washington power players.
• The U.S.-backed Indonesian armed forces are soon due to receive fresh American aid, reports The Nation, despite the group's assassination of civilian activists in 2009.

These stories are part of our ongoing roundup of investigations from other news outlets. For more, visit our Investigations Elsewhere page.

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