The suicide bomber that killed some of the CIA's top al Qaeda hunters lured the agents to the meeting by claiming he had just met with Ayman al Zawahiri, this country's most wanted terrorist after Osama bin Laden, sources told ABC News today.
Zawahiri founded al Qaeda with bin Laden and the two men have been at the top of the CIA's hit list since Sept. 11, 2001. The U.S. has posted a $25 million reward for each of them.
The informant-turned-bomber, a 36-year-old Jordanian doctor named Humam Khalil Muhammed Abu Mulal al-Balawi, told officials he had just met with al Zawahiri and had intelligence to share. Al-Balawi had been recruited by Jordanian intelligence to get information on al Zawahiri, sources told ABC News.
The promise of getting a bead on Zawahiri prompted one of the CIA's top analysts to travel last week from Kabul to the remote CIA listening post at Forward Operating Base Chapman in the middle of Taliban country near the Afghan-Pakistan border.
http://abcnews.go.com
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
New Rules Limit Some Credit Card Fees, But Banks Create Others
The new year is bringing new credit card rules, and when the Credit Card Act of 2009 goes into effect next month, it will place greater limitations on card issuers.
Among the limitations: banks won't be allowed to raise interest rates on balances that aren't 60 days late, and they'll be required to provide more disclosure to their customers.
While consumers may cheer, they should be aware that credit card companies have been preparing for the changes, and have implemented new policies and fees to recoup the potential losses of revenue.
Some banks and credit card issuers have even begun to charge fees for what used to be free services, and a survey by the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts found that interest rates have risen by about 23 percent since June 2009.
Mellody Hobson, "GMA" finance contributor and president of Ariel Investments, stopped by the "Good Morning America" Times Square studio to discuss how the new rules will affect card-holders.
abcnews
Among the limitations: banks won't be allowed to raise interest rates on balances that aren't 60 days late, and they'll be required to provide more disclosure to their customers.
While consumers may cheer, they should be aware that credit card companies have been preparing for the changes, and have implemented new policies and fees to recoup the potential losses of revenue.
Some banks and credit card issuers have even begun to charge fees for what used to be free services, and a survey by the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts found that interest rates have risen by about 23 percent since June 2009.
Mellody Hobson, "GMA" finance contributor and president of Ariel Investments, stopped by the "Good Morning America" Times Square studio to discuss how the new rules will affect card-holders.
abcnews
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