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A little progress has been made in Washington, believe it or not! In case you haven't spent the last four hours watching testimony in front of the Congressional committee looking into the AIG mess, you may be happy to hear that the insurance company's CEO, Ed Liddy, says he's asked the AIG employees who collected big bonuses to give half the money back. Okay, so it means we're only 50 percent of the way closer to a solution to this saga. But Liddy says that some employees have already agreed to the arrangement. And some really generous ones have even offered to give up all the cash!

As for the ones who haven't caved in yet, Rep. Barney Frank asked for a list of these miscreants, but Liddy balked and said he'd only give up the goods if Frank promised to keep the info super hush-hush. Frank said no dice and vowed to subpoena Liddy's ass if he didn't play ball. Then Liddy read some super-scary, random emails he'd received to try and make the case that releasing the names of immoral AIG employees might lead to a drive-by in Fairfield or Greenwich or wherever. Then the session drifted off to matters that have absolutely nothing to do with AIG specifically (mark-to-market accounting, anyone?), but give Republican congressman a chance to champion pet causes or tear into Obama's agenda for one reason or another. Oh, and every once in a while, those crazy ladies from Code Pink get bitched out by the old white men in suits who don't much appreciate their presence, although it's also a little unclear why they were even allowed to step inside in the first place. They're kind of easy to spot, ya know? They're dressed in pink! And they're women! Whatever. In the meantime, you're all caught up. And you're welcome.

A.I.G. Chief Offers Compromise on Bonuses [NYT/Dealbook]
Watching the A.I.G. Hearing on the Hill [NYT/The Caucus]