By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS By Julie Hirschfeld Davis The Associated Press WASHINGTON The now-bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers arranged millions of dollars in bonuses for fired executives as it pleaded for a federal lifeline, lawmakers learned Monday, as Congress began investigating what went so wrong on Wall Street to prompt a $700 billion government bailout.

By Paul Davidson Lehman Bros. CEO Richard Fuld on Monday blamed the company's collapse last month on short sellers that drove down the company's stock, credit agency downgrades and his own flawed but well-meaning decisions as the subprime mortgage decimated Wall Street.

By Stephen Foley DICK FULD, the chief executive of collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers, was forced to defend his multi-million dollar bonuses and lavish lifestyle, as Congressional leaders tore into him in hearings on Capitol Hill.

By Nick Clark Barclays was poised to announce the acquisition of the broker- dealer arm of Lehman Brothers in the US last night, just days after its decision to walk away from a full takeover contributed to Lehman's collapse.

By VINNEE TONG AND JOE BEL BRUNO By Vinnee Tong and Joe Bel Bruno The Associated Press New York Lehman Brothers, a 158-year-old investment bank choked by the credit crisis and falling real estate values, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the biggest bankruptcy filing ever on Monday and said it was trying to sell off key business units.