Here are our editors’ picks from today’s roundup of investigative stories around the Web. Was there a story we missed? Please keep sending us your picks or include them in the comments section below.
President Obama has bestowed choice diplomatic posts on some of his top donors and fundraisers, reports ABC News. Like our new ambassador to Japan — who doesn’t speak Japanese. Capital Eye points out some others. Obama said in January that “there probably will be some” political appointees picked for ambassadorships, in addition to career diplomats.
Also, new rules addressing the problem of mortgage banks owning appraisal firms — a conflict that has prompted allegations of appraisal inflation schemes — were successfully watered down by the mortgage lobby, reports The Mortgage Lender. A mortgage industry analyst says the new rules will slow appraisal fraud, but won’t stop it.
