A wealth of accountability news out there from this morning and the weekend. Get caught up:

• The New York Times reports on a Defense Department official who set up a likely illegal, off-the-books spy operation that secretly uses private contractors to help track and kill militants.
• Medical equipment companies can pay third parties to do product reviews, which are submitted to the FDA. The devices are often approved. Sound right to you? Doesn't sound right to the FDA either, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Accountability among Afghan security forces is still found wanting--made evident when American forces recovered a huge cache of weapons that was given to Afghan forces but ended up with the Taliban, reports USA Today.
• A New York Times analysis shows that the nation's water and sewer systems are in trouble and will be costly to fix--think hundreds of billions.
• The Washington Post explains why the House ban on earmarks to for-profit companies won't stop them from getting the money.