ABCDE Late storm. 94/74 • Tomorrow: Partly sunny. 90/75 • details, B10
Candidate banking on sympathy
by Philip Rucker
new york — It’s cocktail hour on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and doz- ens of rich New Yorkers are gathered around a grand piano, sipping white wine in the living room of an elegant high-rise apartment. There is plenty of gossip to be heard, but this is not a social event. The city’s moneyed elite have come to com- miserate about their growing distaste for their longtime congresswoman, Carolyn B. Maloney — and to open their wallets for the unlikely 34-year-old challenger they hope will defeat her. They did not always feel this way about
Maloney. The 64-year-old Democratic representative hasn’t faced a serious chal- lenge to her seat since she was first elect- ed in 1992. For nearly two decades, they have viewed her as a solid, if unremark- able, member of Congress. But to the dis- may of her ultra-rich constituents — among them more than a few Wall Street billionaires — Maloney has become one of the Capitol’s leading advocates for tough new restrictions on the banking and credit card industries. The way the people at the cocktail party see it, Malo- ney betrayed them. And they want her fired. Into this scene of despair steps Reshma Saujani, an Ivy League-educated lawyer with a compelling biography. She is the daughter of Indian parents who fled po- litical persecution while living in Uganda and wound up in the United States. But that isn’t the compelling part, at least not to this crowd. Rather, it’s that Saujani is a Wall Street veteran. She has worked at three hedge funds. She speaks the arcane language of derivatives and basis points
wall street continued on A11 Fed weighs steps
to bolster economy Worried that the recovery from the recession is faltering, Federal Reserve officials consider a change in tactics to stimulate growth. A11
Continent adrift According to the International Monetary Fund, Europe presents the main threat to global recovery. A11
THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2010 Moneyball, NBA style
for Wall St. In affluent N.Y. district, Rep. Maloney’s tough stance has alienated some voters
$119 million Joe Johnson
Signing with Atlanta
$100+ million* Dwyane Wade Signing with Miami
$100 million Amare Stoudemire Signing with New York
ANNOUNCEMENT
Pledge, brokered by church, is met with some skepticism
by William Booth and Karen DeYoung
mexico city — The Cuban govern- ment will free 52 political prisoners, Catholic officials in Havana said Wednes- day, the largest release of captive dis- sidents in decades and a surprise gesture that could help thaw relations with the United States. The scheduled release of those arrest- ed in a March 2003 crackdown against pro-democracy activists on the island was brokered by the country’s archbish- op, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, with help from visiting Spanish diplomats. Ortega met this week with Cuban
President Raúl Castro, brother of the country’s ailing dictator. Fidel Castro, 83, has not been seen in public for four years but remains the country’s supreme lead- er and probably approved the move. The Cuban government had nothing to say about the release, and human rights
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Cuba says it will free 52 dissidents
activists were cautious in their response to the church’s announcement. “This is significant, and good news, from the point of view of the prisoners and their families,” Elizardo Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission for Hu- man Rights, said by telephone from Ha- vana. “But it is a political decision of the Cuban government, taken for short-term political motives, to have an immediate effect overseas, not in Cuba itself.” If the government does release the prisoners, said José Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch in Washington, “it’s a significant number.” But he added: “That doesn’t mean we are going to con- gratulate a government that has decided to put people in prison who shouldn’t have been in prison in the first place. These are people whose crime is that they disagreed with the government.” U.S. officials have said that the release of political prisoners is a necessary step before the two governments can improve their often stormy relations. The United States has maintained a 50-year trade embargo against Cuba, and Americans who do not have relatives on the island need special permission from the U.S. government to travel there. The State Department said Wednesday night that it had no confirmation that any prisoners had been released. A spokes-
cuba continued on A7 DUANE BURLESON/ASSOCIATED PRESS $100+ million LeBron James announces his decision tonight on ESPN at 9 p.m. A
As Britain braces for painful budget cuts, royal family looks to tighten its belt, too
by Anthony Faiola
london — With historic budget cuts about to change the way the British live — slashing children’s benefits, freezing public salaries and trimming welfare rolls — one must do one’s part: Even the queen is cutting back.
Financially ailing Britain is dramat- ically shifting away from an era of big government, entering a new age of aus- terity to fend off the same kind of fiscal crisis now gripping Greece. With her subjects facing a bare-bones budget and a bevy of higher taxes, Queen Elizabeth II has launched what some here describe as a preemptive strike against those who say this deeply indebted nation can no
t least eight free agents are expected to sign with NBA teams for a total of about $800 million today, the first day contracts can be signed. Some say the huge deals are reckless gambles given that many basketball fran- chises are in serious financial trouble. STORY, D1
10 would be freed after plea deal in exchange for release of defense researcher
by Walter Pincus and Karen DeYoung
The United States and Russia are ne-
gotiating a swap in which 10 Russian spy suspects would be freed after a plea deal in exchange for Moscow’s release of a de- fense researcher held for the past decade on espionage charges, a U.S. official said. The official confirmed that talks be-
$90+ million* Chris Bosh Signing with Miami
$85 million Kevin Durant Signing with Okla. City
$75+ million* Carlos Boozer Signing with Chicago
* Terms haven’t been finalized for Wade, Bosh and Boozer.
Still living like a queen, but pinching her pennies
longer afford the gilded trappings of its monarchy. The queen is freezing salaries for royal
servants and aides earning more than $73,500 and reviewing all vacant slots with an eye to reducing her staff of 1,400 — which includes a royal piper who plays under her window in the mornings and an official counter of swans. For the first time in her 58-year reign, the queen has also agreed to regular audits of royal expenditures by the same national agen- cy that reviews education, defense and other types of government spending. The queen’s household is reportedly making plans to cut back on official en- gagements and reduce spending by 25 percent or more in the coming years, preparing for the possibility that govern- ment financing of the monarchy will be scaled back. Palace officials say that roof leaks at Buckingham Palace will be tem- porarily patched instead of pristinely re-
britain continued on A8
tween the two governments began last week shortly after the June 27 arrest of the suspects, who have been charged with conspiring to act as secret Russian agents in this country. Nine of them are also charged with money-laundering. An 11th person, also named in the indict- ment, is at large.
U.S., Russia negotiating swap of spy suspects
The diplomatic discussions depend on
lawyers reaching a plea arrangement in federal court in New York, which an at- torney for one of the suspects said could come as early as Thursday. Three arrest- ed in Northern Virginia and two arrested in the Boston area were transferred to New York on Wednesday, joining the five others. In Moscow, an attorney for Igor Sutya- gin, a Russian arms researcher who has spent 11 years in prison on espionage charges, said her client was unexpect- edly brought to the capital on Tuesday from a penal colony in the far northwest and told that he was being included in the exchange. Sutyagin, who has main- tained his innocence, was also issued a passport.
swap continued on A9
What’s in Russia’s hand in spy swap negotiations. A9
Tolerance for heat reaches boiling point Residents’ nerves start to fry as D.C. area records 3rd day of oppressive temperatures
by Michael E. Ruane The capital of Wednesday’s weather
misery, the crossroads of heat and stink and dust, might well have been the bus shelter on the southwestern corner of 14th and U streets in Northwest Wash- ington. There, about noon, with the tempera-
ture at 99, the intersection reeking of cooking grease spilled from a trash truck and street sweepers raising clouds of dust, a Metrobus pulled up with its desti- nation sign reading: “Not in service.” At this, Monica Bowles lost it. “It’s ri-
diculous,” she shouted over the noise of the bus engine. “It’s driving people crazy . . . then you jack the prices up on these buses. And then we sit out here in the heat and suffer.”
Bowles, of Columbia Heights, spoke for many in the Washington region Wednesday who had just about had it with the blistering weather of recent
INSIDE
METRO Falling through the census cracks Two complexes in College Park illustrate the importance of a final mop-up phase of the 2010 head count. B1
BUSINESS NEWS.......A10-12 CLASSIFIEDS .....................F1 COMICS ..........................C6-7
EDITORIALS/LETTERS...A14 FED PAGE.........................A13 LOTTERIES.........................B4
MOVIES..............................C4 OBITUARIES...................B6-9 STOCKS............................A12
TELEVISION.......................C5 WEATHER ........................B10 WORLD NEWS ...............A6-9
2WORLD CUP
It’s Spain vs. the Netherlands
The Spanish team defeats Germany, 1-0, to reach the deciding game. D1
Sunday’s final: 2:30 p.m., WJLA (Channel 7) STYLE
NPR is now just NPR Three things you won’t be hearing anymore: “ational,” “ublic” and “adio.” C1
Printed using recycled fiber
DAILY CODE 16 5 6 Details, B2
LOCAL LIVING Sniffing out the best kennels Before you go on vacation, pick the right place to house your pet.
OIL SPILL BP turns
to Abu Dhabi The company’s quest to shore up its finances takes CEO Tony Hayward to the oil-rich emirate. A2
1
OPINIONS E.J. Dionne Jr.: Why Michael Steele deserves his say. A15
The Washington Post Year 133, No. 215
CONTENTS© 2010
days and its attendant torments. On the third consecutive day of sear-
ing heat that stretched from North Caro- lina to Massachusetts, Washington area temperature records fell again, a heat- related death was reported in Baltimore and utilities begged consumers to cut back on electricity use.
From left, Aaron
Douoguih, Julia Anderson and Emilia Majersik cool off in front of a fan after the outdoor part of soccer camp at St. Albans School in the District.
TRACY A. WOODWARD/ THE WASHINGTON POST
And with the ground parched and
dusty and many suburban lawns brown and dry, forecasters said drought loomed if the area doesn’t get some rain soon. Sections of the District and Southern
Maryland are in moderate drought con- heat continued on A4
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