In what legal experts are calling the country's first cyber-bullying verdict, a Missouri mother has been convicted of impersonating a teenage boy online in a hoax that led to a young girl's suicide.

Lori Drew was convicted of three misdemeanors for violating MySpace's "terms of service," which requires users to submit "truthful and accurate" registration information.The impact of the case in a Los Angeles federal court is significant, experts say, in that it expands the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which was passed in 1986 as a tool against hackers, to include social networking Web sites.

The case has drawn worldwide attention and criticism from online experts, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, which accused the government of misusing the law.

The case was tried by the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, Thomas P. O'Brien, after Missouri officials determined that Drew had broken no state laws. MySpace is based in Los Angeles. O'Brien said the verdict yesterday sent an "overwhelming message" to Internet users.

In the past decade, online poker has grown into a lucrative industry, with millions of players placing billions of dollars worth of bets every year. The money flows to Web sites with often-murky ownership, based outside the United States in places without gambling laws. On Sunday, The Washington Post will publish an investigation of online poker and an inside account of the two largest cases of cheating in the industry's short history.

The report by Post investigative reporter Gilbert M. Gaul, in conjunction with CBS' 60 Minutes, will also include online extras: A reconstruction of how cheaters gamed the system to get an inside peek at other players' cards. A live discussion with Gaul and prominent online poker player Serge Ravitch. And a reporter's notebook from Gaul about how he investigated online poker.

See you back here on Sunday.

Federal investigators are looking into whether former American International Group Inc. executive Joseph J. Cassano "misled auditors and investors on subprime mortgage-related losses," Bloomberg reports.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn and the Justice Department are also working with the Securities and Exchange Commission in related investigations into New York-based AIG's activities.

Auditors at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP have been questioned about memos sent last year challenging the firm's financial controls, Bloomberg reports. At a Dec. 5, 2007, investment meeting, Cassano told shareholders at New York's Metropolitan Club "not to fear losses on AIG's portfolio," telling investors that the "losses will come back."

At an October congressional hearing, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the company's auditor, complained of a lack of access to Cassano and his London-based unit.

Good morning, and welcome to the Daily Read for Wednesday. Please note, we'll be taking off Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving -- but we'll be back in action first thing Monday morning. Feel free to leave comments and please let us know if we missed anything.

Melamine Found in U.S. Infant Formula» The FDA said Tuesday that it had discovered the toxic chemical melamine in infant formula made by an American manufacturer... meanwhile, former FDA officials, members of Congress, watchdog groups and various government reports say the FDA desperately needs an infusion of strong leadership, money, technology and personnel -- and perhaps a major restructuring. — New York Times, Washington Post

California to Investigate Mormon Aid for Prop. 8 » California officials will investigate accusations that the Mormon Church neglected to report a series of nonmonetary contributions -- including phone banks, a Web site and commercials -- on behalf of a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage. — New York Times

White House Prods Allies to Oppose Limits on Greenhouse Gases » As the Bush administration prepares to issue its ruling on whether to limit greenhouse gases, it's sending out a message to some of its allies: Tell us how much you don't want us to regulate emissions linked to global warming. — Washington Post

Bailout Problems » The first operational audit of the $700 billion bailout, to be delivered to Congress next Tuesday, is expected to be critical of the Treasury Department's failure to set up ways to track how its bailout money is being used in the marketplace... meanwhile, the Treasury has struggled to keep up with the task of hiring enough people to handle the bailout. — New York Times, Wall Street Journal

Ted Stevens

An unusual letter from a witness has prompted a federal judge to hold a hearing next week related to charges of prosecutorial misconduct in the corruption case of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.

The felony case against Stevens, the Republican who recently lost his bid for re-election to ex-Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, finished Oct. 27 with a guilty verdict. The 85-year-old senator has dismissed the notion that he would petition President Bush to grant him a pardon, instead indicating that he would file an appeal.

A key government witness sent a letter to prosecutors and defense attorneys Nov. 15, alleging, among other things, that he lied on the witness stand about having an immunity agreement and was coached about dates and details by prosecutors eagerly seeking a conviction. That witness, David Allen Anderson, is the nephew of oil company executive Bill Allen, the government's star witness in the case against Stevens. Anderson also worked for the Anchorage oil firm Veco and testified that he performed hundreds of hours of labor on Stevens's home.

Prosecutors say Anderson's allegations are false. But his three-page letter is a hot topic in Alaskan political circles, as attorneys plan for a "brief" Monday hearing on the matter.

Among Anderson's allegations:

A collection of government documents related to the FBI's investigation into scientist Steven J. Hatfill's suspected involvement in the 2001 anthrax attacks has been released.

The hundreds of pages of documents show agents searched Hatfill's Frederick, Md., apartment, his 2000 black Chevrolet Camaro and a storage locker in Ocala, Fla., in July and August 2002, seizing clothing, a tissue sample, a used Band-Aid, pharmaceuticals and biology equipment, financial records, VHS tapes and books, among other items.

Federal agents also described Hatfill's knowledge of anthrax "simulants" and his past laboratory experience at Oxford University and the National Institutes of Health (and his mercenary work with the Rhodesian military in the late 1970s and early 80s).

The FBI noted that Rhodesia experienced the worst outbreak of anthrax in history in 1979 and 1980, with 10,738 human cases and 182 deaths; that Hatfill had requested and filled prescriptions for the anthrax antibiotic Cipro; that Hatfill had said U.S. authorities weren't properly prepared for a potential "Pearl Harbor"-type anthrax attack; that Hatfill maintained a small batch of anthrax "simulant" at his apartment in 2001; and that Hatfill had written a fiction book in 1999 that theorized how a terrorist could release a deadly pathogen in the United States.

Hatfill's girlfriend's apartment in Northwest D.C. and her 1994 Toyota Corolla were also searched.

A federal judge earlier this month ordered that the government's search warrants and supporting documents relating to Hatfill be made public, months after the chief culprit in the case, Bruce E. Ivins, committed suicide.

Hatfill was named a "person of interest" in the anthrax attacks in 2002 but was later cleared of any wrongdoing. In June, he settled a lawsuit against the Justice Department for $5.85 million and, afterwards, prosecutors officially "excluded" him as a suspect in the attacks that killed five and sickened 17 others.

The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times asked U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to release the documents.

Updated at 3:43 p.m.

A former top Interior Department official has been charged with accepting kickbacks from business leaders in exchange for arranging meet-and-greets with government officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Edgar A. Johnson, 59, of Bowie, Md., worked in federal government for nearly 30 years, most recently as director of the Technical Assistance Division at the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs. He was charged yesterday in U.S. District Court in Washington with one count of honest services wire fraud, a felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. A date for Johnson's arraignment has not yet been set.

The technical assistance office provides money to U.S. possessions and territories, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, to increase "self-sufficiency" and encourage private sector investment.

Prosecutors allege that Johnson, who left his job in December 2007 earning $121,000 per year, plus benefits, as a GS-15 employee, used his position to get bribes from businesses seeking deals with the Virgin Islands. On Aug. 21, 2007, Johnson accepted $10,000 in exchange for introducing unnamed business leaders to senior officials in Virgin Islands government, "so those individuals could pitch insurance business to the government officials," according to court documents.

Johnson's attorney, Stephen O'Neal Russell, declined to comment on his client's case. Johnson did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.