BUSINESS BRIEFS
Ex-governor found guilty
Advertiser News Services
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth chief executive Richard Scrushy were convicted yesterday in federal court in a bribery scheme that derailed Siegelman's campaign to retake his former office.
Siegelman, 60, was accused of trading government favors for campaign donations when he was governor from 1999 to 2003 and lieutenant governor from 1995 to 1999.
MORE DOMESTIC PARTNERS COVERED
WASHINGTON — The latest indicator of the gay community's growing economic clout came yesterday in a report that found more than half of the United States' largest corporations now extend health insurance to employees' same-sex domestic partners.
The Washington-based Human Rights Campaign Foundation found that the number of Fortune 500 companies offering this benefit has doubled in six years. More than 250 companies are offering that benefit this year.
APPLE REWARDS ALSO DUBIOUS
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Computer Inc. yesterday joined the crowd of Silicon Valley companies to acknowledge some stock options awarded to employees might have been mishandled.
Without providing details, the Cupertino, Calif.-based maker of personal computers and the iPod music player said its own internal investigation had uncovered "irregularities" in employee stock options issued between 1997 and 2001.
