By MATT APUZZO By Matt Apuzzo The Associated Press WASHINGTON Jack Abramoff, the once-powerful lobbyist at the heart of a far- reaching political corruption scandal, was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday by a judge who said the case had shattered the public's confidence in government.

By Gzedit STEVEN Griles - a coal company lobbyist named deputy secretary of the interior by President Bush - made it easier for out-of-state energy corporations to blast the tops off West Virginia mountains.

The Bush administration is laying out a new secrecy defense in an effort to end a court battle about the White House visits of now-imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

WASHINGTON _ Julie A. MacDonald entered the Bush administration ready for war. She left it badly wounded, a case study in how political influence can backfire.

By Gale Courey Toensing, Indian Country Today, Oneida, N.Y. Sep. 19--WASHINGTON -- As the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation's court case against the Interior Department moves toward conclusion, the tribe has focused attention recently on Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason.