Don’t steal: An Oklahoma woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $200,000 from Lamar Advertising. According to the Norman Transcript, Angela M. Smith, an office manager at Lamar’s Oklahoma City office, cashed checks written to the company. She then changed information in Lamar’s computer database in Baton Rouge, to hide her embezzlement. Smith faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and making restitution payments to Lamar.
Project on schedule: Marathon Oil says a $3.2 billion expansion of its Garyville refinery is on schedule and will be finished by the end of the year, according to Reuters. The company says the expansion, which will bring the capacity from 245,000 barrels of crude oil per day to 425,000, is 75% complete. Marathon says it is delaying an expansion of its Detroit refinery until mid-2012 because of spending cuts. That expansion was set to open in late 2010.
Former Democratic Senate leader out of Obama cabinet: Tom Daschle withdrew Tuesday as President Barack Obama’s nominee to be health and human services secretary, dealing potential blows to both speedy health care reform and Obama’s hopes for a smooth start in the White House. “Now we must move forward,” Obama said in a written statement accepting “with sadness and regret” Daschle’s request to be removed from consideration. A day earlier, Obama had said he “absolutely” stood by Daschle in the face of problems over back taxes and potential conflicts of interest. The stunning Daschle development came less than three hours after another Obama nominee also withdrew from consideration, and also over tax problems. Nancy Killefer, nominated by Obama to be the government’s first chief performance officer, said she didn’t want her bungling of payroll taxes on her household help to be a distraction. Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader, a strong and early backer of Obama’s presidential bid and a close Obama friend, said he would have been unable to operate “with the full faith of Congress and the American people.”
