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February 13, 2012 | | EXCLUSIVE Nancy Brinker, the powerhouse founder of the embattled Komen Foundation, billed her charity for $133,507 in expenses at a time when she had a full-time job elsewhere. The Daily Beast’s Abigail Pesta and Aram Roston report on how her lavish spending and controversial leadership style alienated some staffers. CHAOS Greek lawmakers passed an unpopular bailout deal Sunday, as protesters took to the streets in outrage, attacking police with fire bombs and stones. Even a Starbucks was set on fire. There have been more than 50 arrests, 150 shops looted, and 34 buildings set on fire, and 100 riot police have been injured. After much pleading from Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, the plan, with its deep austerity measures, looks as though it will help the country avoid default in March. The measures will cut $4.35 billion in wages, pensions, and jobs—the price for a rescue package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. As Parliament convened, those rallying outside chanted "traitor." More than 40 MPs who did not back the austerity package have been expelled. The violence, the worst since 2008, has spread to tourist islands Corfu and Crete, the northern city Thessaloniki, and even central Greece. Challenge President Obama is set to unveil his 2013 budget proposal Monday, but the fighting has already begun. The document is expected to propose raising taxes on millionaires while seeking billions of dollars for infrastructure projects and job-training programs. House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan called it a “completely political document” that will worsen the deficit, and other Republicans have launched similar attacks. White House officials say the budget projects a deficit of $901 billion in 2013, down from $1.33 trillion this year. Jack Lew, the White House chief of staff and former budget director, said austerity should wait until the economy is back on track. Tragic Officials investigating the death of Whitney Houston say she may have drowned in her bathtub. The singer was found unresponsive in her tub at a Beverly Hills hotel. Radar Online and the New York Post quote anonymous sources saying Houston had prescription drugs in her room and may have fallen asleep in the bath after taking them. The Los Angeles County coroner's office said it performed the autopsy Sunday, but won't release any conclusions until toxicology results are finished, in six to eight weeks. Houston struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, and last year her spokeswoman had said she was headed back to rehab. Police say there is no indication of foul play. Revolving Door For a campaign running against Washington insiders, Mitt Romney’s team contains a lot of lobbyists. Romney’s kitchen cabinet includes a lobbyist for Walmart and AT&T, a representative of Pfizer, and a managing partner for Clark & Weinstock. Almost 300 lobbyists have donated at least $401,000 to Romney’s campaigns, plus 16 “bundlers” representing Microsoft, the tobacco company Altria, and Wall Street have raised more than $2 million. Other lobbyists have hosted fundraisers and serve as policy advisers. While President Obama doesn’t accept campaign contributions from registered lobbyists, at least 15 of his bundlers work at lobbying and consulting companies but have not registered as lobbyists. | | 
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