‘Real Housewives’ Teresa Giudice, husband Joe Giudice indict…
‘Real Housewives’ Teresa Giudice, husband Joe Giudice indict…
The only solace for Isabel Santos as she spends her evenings huddled over stacks of yellowed foreclosure notices is that her parents are not alive to watch their ranch-style house in Pleasant Hill, Calif., slipping away.
Santos, 61, along with a growing number of baby boomers, is confronting a bitter inheritance: The same loans that were supposed to help their elderly parents stay in their houses are now pushing their children out.
“My dad had nothing when he came here from Cuba and worked so hard to buy this house,” Santos said, her voice quivering.
Similar scenes are being played out throughout an aging America, where the children of elderly borrowers are learning that their parents’ reverse mortgages are now threatening their own inheritances.
Reverse mortgages allow homeowners 62 and older to borrow against the value of their homes that need not be paid back until they move out or die. They’ve long posed pitfalls for older borrowers.
Now, many like Santos are discovering that reverse mortgages can also sting the heirs.
Under federal rules, survivors are supposed to be offered the option to settle the loan for a percentage of the full amount.
Instead, reverse-mortgage companies are increasingly threatening to foreclose unless heirs pay the mortgages in full, according to interviews with more than four dozen housing counselors, state regulators and 25 families whose parents took out reverse mortgages.
Some lenders are moving to foreclose just weeks after the borrower dies, many families say. The complaints are echoed by borrowers across the country, according to a review of federal and state court lawsuits against reverse-mortgage lenders.
Others say that they don’t get that far. Soon after their parents die, the heirs say they are plunged into a bureaucratic maze as they try to get details from lenders about how to keep their family homes.
Santos’ mother, Yolanda, began borrowing money against the equity in her home in 2009, when she was in her 80s. Santos thought the arrangement would defray her mother’s living and medical expenses by providing cash upfront.
It was only after her mother died two years later, with an outstanding reverse-mortgage balance of about $308,000, that Santos learned the loan had in fact jeopardized her parents’ nest egg. The financial company that extended the loan, Reverse Mortgage Solutions, moved to foreclose unless she paid the full balance.
What Santos did not know at first was that surviving family members were supposed to be offered the choice to settle the reverse mortgage for a percentage of the full amount. In her case, that lesser amount offered to heirs is 95 percent of the home’s current value, or about $237,000, according to one estimate.
Any shortfall if the home sells for less than the debt is covered by a federal insurance fund, which all reverse-mortgage borrowers are required to pay into each month.
After being contacted by The New York Times, the lender offered Santos the option to buy the home for 95 percent of the current value. The problem is the home is now worth more than it was three years ago when Santos’ mother died.
Lora Bitting, 61, said she was crippled by sadness after her father, Jesse, who took out a reverse mortgage on his Muskogee, Okla., home, died in December. Still, Bitting contacted the lender a month later to begin the process of paying off the $194,254.34 debt, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by The Times.
But because of delays in uploading her letter and a missing trust document, the lender ultimately sped up foreclosure proceedings on her father’s home in February.
There is no data on how many heirs are facing foreclosure because of reverse mortgages. But interviews with elder-care advocates, housing counselors and heirs, suggest it is a growing problem already affecting an estimated tens of thousands of.
And it is one that threatens to ensnare future generations, as older Americans increasingly turn to their homes for cash.
Already, the combined debt of Americans ages 65 to 74 is rising faster than that of any other age group, according to the Federal Reserve. And approximately 13 percent of the reverse mortgages outstanding are underwater, according to an estimate from New View Advisors, a New York consulting firm.
“It’s truly one of the thorniest issues I hear about from a growing number of attorneys,” said Diane E. Thompson, a lawyer at the National Consumer Law Center.
Lenders say they abide by federal rules, noting that their goal is to avert foreclosures, which can be costly and time-consuming. And used correctly, reverse mortgages can help older homeowners get cash to pay for retirement.
Peter H. Bell, president and chief executive of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, notes the loans are tightly regulated.
The reverse-mortgage market has fallen since the financial crisis. The number of such loans fell to 51,000 in 2012 from a peak of about 115,000 in 2007.
At the same time, the rate of default rose to approximately 9.4 percent of loans in 2012, up from 2 percent a decade earlier, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
As the market foundered, large banks left, replaced by a fleet of smaller lenders and brokers.
For heirs, the problem with reverse mortgages often centers on the little-known set of federal regulations administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A spokesman for the agency said it vetted participating reverse-mortgage firms to spot any possible violations, but did not provide a tally of those found in violation or of the participating firms that have been penalized.
The regulations apply to reverse mortgages that are insured by the Federal Housing Administration, virtually all of the market.
Lenders must offer heirs up to 30 days from when the loan becomes due to determine what they want to do with the property, and up to six months to arrange financing.
Most important, housing counselors say, is a rule that allows heirs to pay 95 percent of the current fair market value of the property — a price determined by an appraiser hired by the lenders. Bell, of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, said that lenders were strictly abiding by the 95 percent rule.
The difference offered by the 95 percent rule can be critical. After the financial crisis, when housing prices tumbled, the disparity between the current value of the home and the total balance on the mortgage often means the difference between keeping a home and losing it to foreclosure.
When Robert Campbell’s mother, Lillie, died in 2012, the outstanding loan balance was $123,773 — a sum impossible for him to pay.
But he could have cobbled together the $14,000, or 95 percent of the market value of the Chicago home when Campbell died.
The lender never informed him of that option, according to his lawyer, Kathryn Liss. It wasn’t until Campbell contacted the lawyer that he learned of an alternative.
There are others like him.
“There are hundreds of families who want to keep their homes and are simply not aware of their rights,” Jean Constantine-Davis, a senior lawyer for AARP, said.
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Does a new home loan make sense?
There are at least seven reasons to refinance a mortgage. You probably can think of the first one – to get a lower mortgage rate.
The average interest rate on an outstanding mortgage at the beginning of 2012 was 5.098 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. But lenders today are offering rates well below that benchmark, making a refinance a no-brainer for many.
But low rates are not the only motive for refinancing a home loan nowadays. The following are good reasons to consider a new home loan.
1 REFI FOR A LOWER RATE: The No. 1 reason to refi is to get a lower mortgage rate. Despite sinking rates, a lot of people haven’t refinanced.
Many homeowners would like to refinance but can’t because they have little or no equity due to falling home values. Jim Sahnger, mortgage consultant for FBC Mortgage in Jupiter, Fla., said too many of his clients can’t refi for this reason.
“But there are people who can, and some people who get so into whatever they’re doing that they don’t pay attention to the news and don’t pay attention to where rates are at,” Sahnger said.
So Sahnger will call to tell them that rates are near record lows.
2 CONVERT AN ARM: Stability-hungry borrowers are ditching adjustable-rate mortgages and refinancing into fixed-rate loans.
“Everybody’s frightened about inflation, so if they have an adjustable loan, that’s the No. 1 reason they’re getting out of them,” said Jeff Lazerson, president of Mortgage Grader, a lender based in Laguna Niguel, Calif. “It’s not because you can get them at a better rate, but because you can get them at a stable rate.”
Other borrowers swing from one hybrid ARM to another, said Matt Hackett, underwriting manager for Equity Now, a direct mortgage lender based in New York City.
“We’ve done a few of those for people who were in a five-year ARM that they originated four years ago, that was getting ready to adjust,” Hackett said.
Even though the rates were about to adjust downward, they got new 5/1 ARMs to extend low rates another five years.
3 GET A MORTGAGE ON A PAID-OFF HOUSE: This isn’t technically a refi, but it’s close. Mortgage-free homeowners sometimes get mortgages to put cash in their pockets.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t have a mortgage,” Hackett said. “Maybe they want to go to Florida, buy a second home with cash. So they cash out their first home and take the cash and go down there and don’t need a financing contingency, and they’re in a better position to bargain.”
They could also take out a mortgage on a paid-off property to start a business or for other reasons.
4 CASH OUT TO CONSOLIDATE DEBT: When house prices were rising by 10 percent or more a year, millions of borrowers got cash-out refinances. They refinanced for more than they owed, got cash, and spent or invested it.
The cash-out refi craze ended when the housing bust began. But there are still a few cash-out refis.
“We’re still in the business of cashing out people – paying off credit cards, for example,” said Michael Moskowitz, president of Equity Now.
Michael Becker, mortgage banker at Happy Mortgage in Lutherville, Md., said, “It’s not like it was years ago, when people took cash out to buy things, like a pool, a car or an RV. It seems more to be paying down debt, lowering their debt service, trying to save money.”
5 CASH OUT TO BUY OTHER PROPERTY: Lately, Lazerson has noticed an interesting refinancing trend.
“One thing that’s a trend now is that people are taking money out to purchase other properties,” he said.
Often, it’s to buy investment properties.
Refinancing to buy property can bring up unexpected tax and mortgage underwriting issues. A lot depends upon how the refinanced house and the new property will be used.
For example, which property will be the primary residence? Will the other property be rented out? Those are issues for a financial adviser or tax professional to untangle.
6 CONSOLIDATE TWO MORTGAGES: Some homeowners want to combine their first mortgage with the home equity line of credit.
“I’m seeing a lot of people, even if their rate on their home equity line of credit is 3 percent, refinancing to get rid of them,” Becker said.
Why get rid of a loan with such a low rate?
“Because they’re worried if five years from now, what if that rate jumps up to 12 (percent), 11 (percent), 13 percent?” Becker said.
7 ADDRESS FAMILY MATTERS: Divorces often lead to refis as a means of removing the absent former spouse from the note.
“That has less to do with rates and is more about timing,” Lazerson said.
Moskowitz said he recently did a $110,000 cash-out refi from a woman who used the money to bail out a son facing foreclosure on his own house.
That’s not how Moskowitz would spend his money from a cash-out refi. But to anyone who agrees with him, he said, “You’re clearly not a mother.”
If you are one of the many Americans with lots of equity in your home and would like to have more money in your pocket each month and you are 62 or older, a reverse mortgage may be right for you. The reverse mortgage is a financing tool that allows homeowners over 62 to keep their homes and stay in it without a mortgage payment (homeowners must continue to pay their property taxes and homeowners insurance).
It also allows a homeowner to tap equity in their homes to use for whatever they want. This loan has a variety of options. With a reverse mortgage, the homeowner can receive regular fixed monthly payments and/or a lump sum in cash and/or have access to a line of credit. The reverse mortgage can be used for a purchase or a refinance and can be customized to each borrower’s needs.
To qualify, all homeowners who are on title (or, in the case of a purchase, going on title) must be older than 62 and the home must be a principal residence of one to four units.
Condominiums, townhomes (planned unit developments), single family residences and manufactured homes (built after 1976) are all eligible properties.
Good credit is not required for this loan; in fact, even a home in foreclosure may qualify. Any federal debt such as IRS tax liens must be paid but this type of derogatory credit will not cause a loan to be denied. A bankruptcy is the only situation that may disqualify a person for this loan.
While there are different products available, the most popular Reverse Mortgage is FHA insured and is officially called a “Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) or, in slang, a ‘Heck-Um.’ The actual terms of the reverse mortgage are dependent on the borrowers’ ages, equity in the property, value and location of the home. When Reverse Mortgages first came out, the common misconception was that when the homeowner died, the heirs would lose any equity still in the home to the lender. If that was ever the case, it is certainly not the case today.
The reverse mortgage is just a lien on the property; the homeowner(s) is the only one on title and if and when the property is sold or the homeowner moves out, the Reverse Mortgage lender must be paid back either through a sale or a refinance. Upon death of the homeowner(s), the heirs have 6 months to pay off the reverse mortgage. Proceeds of the sale will go to the owner or heirs. If the amount owed is greater than the sale proceeds, there is no obligation to pay back the difference.
If you are a senior and do not want to be tied to a mortgage payment or if you want to tap the equity in your home to create some cash, be sure to explore the options of a reverse mortgage.
The homeowner’s responsibility is limited to paying the standard homeowner’s insurance and property taxes. There are no mortgage payments to be made. While most Reverse Mortgages are put in place as a refinance, it is also possible to buy a home with a reverse mortgage.
The buyer only needs to come up with the down payment and instead of obtaining a traditional mortgage that requires monthly payments, the reverse mortgage would provide the difference between the sales price and the down payment and would never require any monthly payments. Again, the homeowner would only be responsible for homeowner’s insurance and property taxes. To find out more, consult with an experienced, local HUD-approved lender who offers reverse mortgages. Not every lender provides Reverse Mortgages.
Local mortgage consultant Peter Boutell has been writing a weekly column for the Sentinel since 1995. Send questions to ‘Lending a Hand,’ 1535 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95062, fax them to 425-1044 or email them to email@example.com. Archived columns are available at www.peterboutell.com.
Some economists—together with policymakers at the White House and the Federal Reserve—have raised concerns that the mortgage-credit pendulum, after swinging too far to one extreme during the bubble, has today gotten stuck too far in the other direction. The worry is that entry-level buyers and others that suffered job loss or an income shock during the recession could be shut out of the housing rebound.
All-cash buyers have accounted for roughly one third of sales of previously-owned homes in recent years. “Goodness sakes—it shouldn’t be that high,” said Matt Vernon, a top lending executive at Bank of America, at an industry conference last fall. The high share of cash buyers is a sign that “a lot of folks are avoiding the hassle of our industry,” he said.
Research by analysts at the Urban Institute, a think tank in Washington, found that if credit standards in 2012 had returned to pre-bubble levels, around 200,000 more mortgages would have been made that year.
A separate report from economists at Goldman Sachs estimated that new home sales should rise to 800,000 units in 2017, from 430,000 last year, based on traditional drivers such as job growth and household formation. But if lending standards remained at their current level, new home sales would rise to just 600,000 units.
– AnnaMaria Andriotis contributed to this post.
The credit freeze is starting to thaw.
Mortgage lenders are beginning to ease the restrictive lending standards enacted after the housing boom turned to bust, a sign of their rising confidence in the housing market.
While standards remain tight by historical measures, lenders have started to accept lower credit scores and to reduce…
NEW YORK, April 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Mortgage rates fell further this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate retreating to 4.43 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.33 discount and origination points.
To see mortgage rates in your area, go to http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/
The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 3.48 percent, while the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 4.43 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages decreased as well, with the 5-year slipping to 3.32 percent; and the 7-year and 10-year falling to 3.56 percent and 3.84 percent, respectively.
“Mortgage rates dropped for the second week in a row amid mixed economic news abroad and in the United States,” said Polyana da Costa, senior mortgage analyst at Bankrate.com. “Despite some recent economic news, the United States is still perceived by investors as one of the safest places to park their money. Whenever investors seek safety in U.S. Treasuries and mortgage bonds, the yields on those investments tend to fall. Mortgage rates normally follow that trend.”
On May 1, 2013, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.52 percent. At that time, a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $900.32. Less than a year later, with the average rate at 4.43 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,005.07, a difference of $105 per month for anyone that waited.
30-year fixed: 4.43% — down from 4.47% last week (avg. points:0.33)
15-year fixed: 3.48% — down from 3.52% last week (avg. points:0.23)
5/1 ARM: 3.32% — down from 3.34% last week (avg. points:0.22)
Bankrate’s national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets.
For a full analysis of this week’s move in mortgage rates, go to http://www.bankrate.com/mortgagerates
The survey is complemented by Bankrate’s weekly Rate Trend Index, in which a panel of mortgage experts predicts which way the rates are headed over the next seven days. The panelists are divided, with 22 percent forecasting an increase in the coming week, and an equal 22 percent predicting rates to fall further. The remaining 56 percent expect mortgage rates to remain more or less unchanged in the next week.
For the full mortgage Rate Trend Index, go to http://www.bankrate.com/news/rate-trends/mortgage.aspx
To download the Bankrate Mortgage Calculator Mortgage Rates iPhone App 2.0 go to
About Bankrate, Inc.
is a leading publisher, aggregator, and distributor of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive, independent and objective personal finance editorial content across multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits, insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes Bankrate.com, our flagship website, and other owned and operated personal finance websites, including CreditCards.com, Interest.com, Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, InsuranceQuotes.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com, InsureMe.com, and NetQuote.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, Bankrate generates over 172,000 distinct rate tables capturing on average over three million pieces of information daily. Bankrate develops and provides web services to over 80 co-branded websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, CNN Money, CNBC, and Comcast. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe.
For more information contact:
Senior Director, Corporate Communications
SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.
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Mortgage lenders are students of history.
They’ve learned that when people haven’t paid their bills, it’s likely that practice will continue.
The past is prologue – except when there are extenuating circumstances. The federal government doesn’t want people who’ve missed bills through no fault of their own to be kept from buying a home.
Enter the FHA’s “Back to Work” program, which has begun to allow people with serious dents in their credit history – a foreclosure, bankruptcy, short sale, or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure – to be approved for a new government-backed mortgage just 12 months after the negative event.
“Normally it takes three to five years [after one of the above] to be eligible” for a new FHA mortgage, notes Heather Shanahan, director of program development at Springboard, a housing and credit counseling nonprofit.
But, if you can show that your household income decreased by 20 percent or more because of a loss of a job, or because you own a business that suffered, or you’ve had your hours cut, you may qualify for a FHA mortgage, says Shanahan, provided you’ve paid bills regularly for at least 12 months after one of these credit stains.
“I haven’t heard of a lot of borrowers using this program,” observes Don Frommeyer, president of The Association of Mortgage Professionals. “The financial crisis began several years ago. For many, it’s been years ago when they were laid off.”
But it can take a couple of years of missed payments before a foreclosure actually occurs, counters Shanahan, who says Springboard has seen “a steady stream” of people taking the first step – an hour long phone credit counseling session – from a HUD-approved counseling agency [visit hud.gov for a list of agencies].
Lenders also want to see proof of timely rent payments, Shanahan says. For example, if after the loss of a home people lived with friends or family, it will be difficult to be approved, she explains.
— Marilyn Kennedy Melia
© CTW Features
In recent years,
questions about reverse mortgages, and whether or not they are a practical way
to supplement retirement income, have become more frequent. I will explain the specifics of reverse mortgages in more detail for those who aren’t familiar with all of the benefits and costs.
What is a reverse mortgage? As you would guess, a lender
makes payments to you based on a percentage of your home’s appraised value.
There are three kinds of reverse mortgages.
I’ll be focusing on HECMs
for this post. HECMs allow a
homeowner or homeowners, aged 62 and older, who either own their home outright or have a small
existing mortgage, to borrow money against the equity of their home. Only single-family houses, occupied by the borrower
or two to four unit homes, with at least one unit occupied by the borrower, are
eligible. During the application process you’re required to meet
with a government-approved housing counselor who will determine if you’re financially
capable of paying the costs associated with the loan.
Because you’re taking out a loan against your home’s value,
you’re still the property owner until the loan is due. This means you’ll continue
to pay property taxes, homeowners’ insurance, and maintenance costs. The
balance of the loan becomes due when the borrower moves out of the house, or
passes away. The house is then liquidated, and the proceeds are used to pay off
the balance of the loan.
There are limits to how much a person can borrow using a HECM. A person can only take up to the FHA
HECM mortgage limit of $625,500. If
the home’s value is under that cap, then the borrower is able to access a
percentage of home’s appraised value. However, owners with a highly valued home
and little or no mortgage, may qualify for larger loan advances through a propriety-reverse mortgage, though the cost will likely be higher.
A reverse mortgage is typically structured so that the total
loan amount, including interest and fees, will not exceed the value of the home
over the life of the loan. However, if the proceeds from your home’s sale
exceed the balance of the loan, then you, your spouse, or your heirs will
receive the difference. Should the sale not cover the loan balance, then, in most
cases, the lenders insurance will cover the difference.
The fact that reverse mortgages allow people to stay in
their own homes is one of its major benefits, but if you’re considering
relocating or renting, then this is not your best option. If you become sick
and have to move into an assisted living facility for 12 consecutive months, then
your home is no longer considered a primary residence, and the bank has the
ability to take control over the house. This can become a major problem if only
one borrower is listed on the mortgage.
The amount of money you can expect to receive from a reverse
mortgage depends on several factors. The major components are your age,
value of the home and the length of the loan. If there are two people listed
on the mortgage, then the age of the youngest borrower is used. The current
interest rate, initial mortgage insurance premium, closing costs and repair
costs can also play a role in determining the monthly amount that you can
expect to receive.
Current interest rates are important to consider, because
they play two very important roles in the reverse mortgage process. First, they
help determine a borrower’s loan advance amounts. Second, they determine the interest
charged on the outstanding balance. It’s important to understand that the interest
accrues over time, increasing the loan amount. This means that interest
payments can take up a decent portion of your reverse mortgage payments,
leaving you with less money than expected.
There are several ways to structure payments from a reverse
mortgage, but the most common are:
Insurance premiums. All FHA backed loans require lenders to collect mortgage
insurance premiums. If you withdraw less than
60 percent of the available loan amount, during the first year, the mortgage insurance premium is 0.5 percent of
the maximum claim amount. If you take over 60 percent, the mortgage insurance premium increases to 2.5 percent. Borrowers
will also pay a 1.25 percent annual premium that based on the maximum claim amount.
Outside of the insurance costs, reverse mortgages also tend
to have high fees, including above average origination costs, closing costs and include numerous service fees. Origination fees can get fairly expensive.
The maximum allowed origination fee on federally insured loans is 2 percent of the
initial $200,000 of a home’s value and 1 percent of the remaining value, with a cap of
$6,000. As you can see, the costs of a reverse mortgage can quickly eat away at
the amount of money available.
A reverse mortgage isn’t right for everyone. You should
consult a financial professional who is familiar with your situation before you
would take this option. Although being able to access the equity in your house
without having to make monthly payments is attractive, the costs and fees associated
with a reverse mortgage are negatives that must be considered. People should remember they might not be able to bequeath their house to heirs, which could also be a
Seniors with a high credit score should carefully consider
and analyze their options, including traditional mortgages and home equity
loans. If you can comfortably make the monthly payments, then a home equity
loan might be a way to accomplish the same goal, while also avoiding the fees
associated with a reverse mortgage.
Bank of America Corp. fell in New York trading after the lender posted a surprise loss driven by $6 billion of costs tied to mortgage disputes.
The shares slid 1.6 percent to $16.13 at 4:15 p.m. as investors assessed the newest batch of legal expenses, which have cost Bank of America more than $50 billion since the financial crisis. The stock slipped as much as 3.7 percent during the session, its worst intraday showing since June.
Bank of America’s $276 million quarterly deficit was the fourth since Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan took the top job at the start of 2010. His predecessor’s 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. left BofA responsible for thousands of bad home loans, and the bank told investors today that more legal costs lay ahead.
“It’s a reminder there’s still a way to go to on litigation expenses for the industry and Bank of America,” said Devin Ryan, an analyst at JMP Securities LLC in New York. “You think you have your arms around what the exposure is to find there’s still room for surprises.”
The first-quarter loss equaled 5 cents a diluted share, compared with a profit of $1.48 billion, or 10 cents, a year earlier. Companywide revenue at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm dropped 2.7 percent to $22.6 billion. The bank is the second-largest in the U.S. by assets.
“The cost of resolving more of our mortgage issues hurt our earnings this quarter,” Moynihan said in a statement today detailing results. “But the earnings power of our business and customer strategy generated solid results.”
The $6 billion in legal costs included $3.6 billion tied to a settlement disclosed last month that covered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. There was also a $2.4 billion increase in reserves for “previously disclosed legacy mortgage-related matters,” the lender said in a presentation. Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson declined to specify which cases triggered the added reserves.
“These are ongoing discussions that we obviously have with people we’re in litigation with, and I just don’t think it’s going to be productive to give a breakout,” Thompson told reporters.
The bank also announced a $950 million accord today that extinguished claims from bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. The deal includes $584 million for the bond insurer plus cash payments to trusts for mortgage-backed securities, according to the firm. The cost was already covered by Bank of America’s reserves.
Last month, the bank said it may have to pay penalties tied to probes from government entities including the Justice Department and state attorneys general and that it faces civil lawsuits from the DOJ regarding its sales of mortgage bonds.
Remaining litigation costs could vary greatly from quarter to quarter, Thompson, 49, said during a conference call with analysts.
“I think we need to be realistic in your thoughts this quarter as it relates to the remaining couple of matters that we disclosed,” Thompson said. “It can be lumpy and it’s just very hard to predict.”
Earnings before taxes and loan-loss provisions fell to $500 million in the first quarter, compared with $3.9 billion a year ago. The measure is watched by analysts as a means to gauge a firm’s profitability without some of the distortions caused by one-time items.
Global markets, the trading operations overseen by co-Chief Operating Officer Thomas K. Montag, posted a 3.1 percent increase in quarterly profit to $1.24 billion excluding accounting adjustments tied to credit. Revenue in the division slipped 0.4 percent to $4.9 billion on declines in rates and currencies.
Revenue in the fixed-income, currency and commodities sales and trading division decreased 15 percent to about $2.95 billion, excluding the impact of a $450 million writedown a year ago. Equities sales and trading revenue was $1.2 billion, similar to a year earlier.
Income at the global banking unit fell 3.5 percent to $1.24 billion on a higher provision for credit losses. The consumer and business banking unit’s profit rose 15 percent to $1.66 billion as expenses fell 4 percent. The companywide staff was reduced by more than 3,500 people to 238,560 during the quarter.
Resolving the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cases, which date from 2011, ended one of the biggest legal disputes facing Bank of America. The settlement covered $57.5 billion in mortgage bonds.
Bank of America also said in a February regulatory filing that authorities in North America, Europe and Asia are examining participants in foreign-exchange markets for misconduct that spanned several years. The lender said it’s cooperating.
Last month, the lender won Federal Reserve approval for a higher dividend after lowering the amount of its initial request for returning capital to shareholders. The 5-cent quarterly payout, rising from a penny, will be accompanied by a $4 billion stock repurchase program.
To contact the reporter on this story: Hugh Son in New York at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at email@example.com Rick Green, Dan Kraut


text:
The current Kris Jenner boyfriend situation just got a little bit more complicated. According to insiders with reliable knowledge of the situation, Kris’ boy toy Corey Gamble has considered her marriage proposition–and has rejected it, on the grounds that he needs to be paid more of those Keeping Up With The Kardashians dollars, first.
Kris, 60, and Corey, 34, are set to make their television debut as a couple on the just-premiered season of KUWTK. Currently, Corey pulls in about $10,000 per month for both appearing on the show (starting with this weekend’s episode) and chaperoning Kris to her various social and charitable engagements. When Kris recently asked if he’d consider marrying her, though, Corey’s answer was firm.
“He’s starting to wise up to how things work,” said a trustworthy insider. “[Corey] figures a promotion should come with more cash.”
How much more? According to that insider, Gamble would consider the proposal if Kris doubled his current salary. He intends to wait until his episodes have begun to air–and for the proposal speculation to heat up well past the point of no return–before giving Kris his demands:
She has to pay everyone who appears on the show, but Corey’s realized he’s one of the lowest-paid of the lot. He’s waiting for all the storylines to be confirmed regarding their engagement and hopefully then it will be too late for her to change her mind.
Speculation about the true nature of the Kris Jenner boyfriend situation ran wild last month, when Kris and Corey returned to LA from a trip abroad–and Kris was sporting a large yellow-jeweled ring on her finger. She never commented on whether or not it was an engagement ring, but has worn it at every public appearance since.
(Photo credits: Kris Jenner boyfriend via WENN.com)

domain: celebrity


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Great dies to coordinate with the baby shaker card/foam.
I have recently been adding these to my collection. They are so easy to use for a background. They just help make cards more beautiful!
A must buy!!! Makes it easier to cut a background! Love it!!
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domain: artistic


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domain: geography


text: Ax Men Season 3 Meet the CrewsUploaded by HistoryChannel. – Classic TV and last night’s shows, online. Advertisements Share this:TwitterFacebookGoogleTumblrRedditPinterestLike this:Like Loading...TroyAnderson previous From the Unforgiving Landscape of the Pacific Northwest to the Dark Waters of Florida and Louisiana, Comes the Third Season of next New KICK-ASS Headquarters on RealLifeSuperheroes.org! You must log in to post a comment.This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


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They. Are. Back.
Not even a worldwide pandemic can keep New Mexico’s preeminent emcee Def-i and SoCal legend Ariano from staying on their grind and creating some of their best work to date with the forthcoming release of their new album, In the Meantime. A testament to their talents not only as solo artists but also to the unmistakable chemistry and magic that unfolds when they create as a duo, the first single off the new album, “Silly Love” showcases how they’ve elevated their craft once again.
“Silly Love” is a catchy, light-hearted joint that pulls you in and belies the toxic love buried in the lyrics. Produced, mixed and mastered by Ariano, with Austin’s Tanner Hoyt on guitar, the beat makes you nod your head and provides the perfect backdrop for Def-i to do what he does best. Using his smooth rasp to serve up verses laden with clever riddles and double meanings in an effortless flow, he is a true master of his craft who makes this shit look easy. Ariano delivers the sing-along hook with a honeyed baritone and silky smoothness.
“Silly Love” is as much a visual journey as a lyrical one. Filmed in Austin, Texas, the immensely talented Maurice Johnson out of New Mexico channeled his vision into a video with playful vintage vibes, clean lines and a mood all its own.
This latest single and video is just a taste of what is to come from Def-i and Ariano as they leave you hungry for more and prepare to drop In the Meantime.
Check out the video above.


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Who’s Willing to Pay $1 Billion for Hulu?
KKR & Co.’s (NYSE:KKR) joint bid with Guggenheim Digital Media was reportedly eliminated yesterday. Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE:TWC) has also expressed interest in buying stake in Hulu, offering an option of becoming an investor alongside Hulu’s current owners rather than buying the company outright.
The popular online TV streaming service is currently owned by Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS), 21st Century Fox, and Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA). Disney and Fox have had difficulty agreeing on a direction for the company, and so have decided to sell.
As online TV streaming becomes a more popular way for consumers to watch television, traditional cable and satellite TV companies are eager to jump on the trend. Web-based services like Hulu and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) are much less expensive than cable or satellite, and many people have turned to such services as a way to save money without losing TV completely.
While Hulu was a founding part of the streaming-TV trend, a purchase of the company would not be without disadvantages. Hulu offers a free ad-based version of the service through personal computers and a paid version with more content and availability for use on a range of devices called Hulu Plus.
The paid service has not yet become profitable, as licensing for its programming is more expensive than the $7.99 per month Hulu Plus costs. While the ad-based version makes some money, the company as a whole is not yet profitable. Secondly, the company that purchases Hulu will have to work out programming rights with Disney and Fox if Hulu is to keep the same programming it currently offers.
DirecTV and AT&T could benefit by offering Hulu in bundled TV packages along with their other services. One of Hulu’s biggest draws is that it starts streaming shows the day after they air. This has helped the site compete with Netflix, which generally doesn’t have access to such new programming.
Follow Jacqueline on Twitter (@Jacqui_WSCS)

domain: finance


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Five years have passed since the Kosovo Constitutional Court, which followed a 16-year-long court proceeding confirmed the decision of the Supreme Court of Kosovo to return 24 hectares of land to the monastery of Visoki Decani. The decision, however, has not been implemented to date, i.e. the land has not been registered in the cadastre. The ambassadors of the Quint countries and EU countries, as well as the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, have once again urged Kosovo authorities to implement this decision, while Pristina remains silent.
The head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Ambassador Tomas Szunyog, was the first to remind of the delayed implementation of the Constitutional Court’s decision.
“I regret that 5 years since the Constitutional Court ruled on land dispute in Decani, the ruling is still not being implemented. Kosovo can move forward only by upholding the rule of law as a fundamental democratic principle,” Szunyog tweeted.
Visoki Decani monastery also reacted.
“Our Church expects the international community to protect our rights as Bishop Teodosije has recently said,” reads the monastery’s comment on Szunyog’s tweet.
Head od the EU Office in #Kosovo expressed regret that since 2016 Kosovo institutions have not implemented decision on Dečani #Monastery land which recognizes our property. Our Church expects the international community to protect our rights as Bishop Teodosije has recently said. https://t.co/xwpW9a2hqM
— Dečani Monastery (@DecaniMonastery) May 19, 2021
The Quint countries embassies in Kosovo, as well as the Diocese of Raska and Prizren, reacted later in the day.
The heads of mission of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States wrote in a statement that Kurti’s government was appointed with a strong mandate of reform and respect for the rule of law.
According to them, one key test of its resolve will be the implementation of the May 2016 Kosovo Constitutional Court decision on registering the Decani Monastery’s land.
“Respecting the rule of law is an obligation for all governments. The Heads of Mission of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States strongly encourage the Government of Kosovo to proceed without further delay with the lawful registration in line with the Constitutional Court decision.”
Every year, the ambassadors of the Quint countries remind of this decision, calling on Kosovo institutions to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court on the monastery of Visoki Decani. This year’s Department of State report on religious freedoms also highlighted that the decision has not been implemented yet.
Quint Statement on the implementation of the May 2016 Kosovo Constitutional Court decision on registering the Decani Monastery’s land: https://t.co/PSJWQl6yHe
— U.S. Embassy Pristina (@USEmbPristina) May 19, 2021
Just out – see below our latest Quint Heads of Mission statement: On 22 March a new Government was appointed with a strong mandate of reform and respect for the rule of law.
— Ambassador Jörn Rohde (@GermanAmbKOS) May 19, 2021
Diocese of Raska-Prizren: Kosovan institutions do not respect their own court decisions and laws
“Although it is a ‘res judicata’ decision (without any possibility of appeal) which Kosovo institutions are obliged to implement according to the law, it is now 5 years since the decision has not been implemented,” the Diocese of Raska and Prizren wrote in a statement issued last night.
They recalled that they, immediately after the Court decision, requested from Decani Municipality and the Cadastre the implementation of the decision and inscription of the land in the Cadastre but this request was “flatly refused.”
In June 2019 the Constitutional Court wrote to the Monastery after the Visoki Decani Monastery had complained due to non-implementation of the Court decision. The Constitutional Court said that its decisions are obligatory for all parties, persons and institutions in Kosovo – the Diocese added, noting that at the end of the letter the Constitutional Court said that it would take all within its responsibilities to honor the Constitution and the laws.
“Regrettably, although the Monastery had in the meantime addressed the Central Cadastre in Pristina, the Court decision has remained unimplemented.”
They also alleged that last year, under the OSCE Mission in Kosovo supervision, the monastery repeated the procedure requesting the inscription of its land in accordance with the Constitutional Court decision. It was done first to the Municipal and then to the Central Cadastre and in both instances, the Monastery request was ignored.
“Having all this in mind it is clear that we are facing a deliberate legal obstruction by Kosovo institutions both on central and local levels, under the strong influence of formal and informal Kosovo Albanian centers of power which apparently remain determined that the Constitutional Court decision will never be implemented. We are saddened that the local judicial authorities in Kosovo are unable to do anything in this regard and that the institutions are firmly in hands of those who make justice on their own regardless of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts’ decisions as well as laws. At the same time, the international representatives simply have not found a way so far how to make Kosovo institutions implement the decision of their own Constitutional Court, respect decisions of their highest judicial institutions and the rule of law.”
The Diocese also claims that the Kosovan Minister of Spatial Planning, Liburn Aliu, according to several media outlets, clearly stated that the “Decani-Plav road, in accordance with the request of the Serbian Orthodox Church, is a dangerous precedent”. He also said that he is “against the construction of the bypass road circumventing the Special Protective Zone (SPZ) around the monastery.”
“To remind, in November 2020 the Implementation Monitoring Council (with EU and OSCE Heads of Mission, Kosovo ministers for Culture and Spatial Planning, as well as the representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church (Diocese of Raska and Prizren), in the presence of KFOR Commander, the Italian Ambassador to Kosovo and the Decani mayor unanimously adopted the decision of the IMC endorsing an Arrangement for the resolving of Decani-Plav road issue. According to the IMC decision, it was decided that the Decani-Plav road must not pass in any way through the Decani Monastery SPZ. Legal studies on this issue had previously been made by legal experts of both OSCE and EU Missions in Kosovo. It was decided that a bypass road should be constructed around the SPZ and that the rehabilitation of the local roads within the SPZ (with respect of all SPZ regulations) may be done in a synchronized way, according to clearly defined milestones, with the construction of a bypass road. In other words, any work on the local roads in the zone without parallel works on the bypass road would be illegal. With his statement, the new Minister for Spatial Planning has practically rejected the implementation of the IMC decision from November 2020 and thus called for law violation i.e. openly favored construction of a transit international road to Montenegro through the Monastery SPZ.”
They also commented on a recent letter Kosovo’s Ministers of Culture and Foreign Affairs addressed to Europa Nostra, in which they wrote that Visoki Decani Monastery must be removed from the list of 7 most endangered cultural monuments as it is not endangered because „Kosovo respects all international principles of protection.“
“As one can see Kosovo institutions not only disrespect their own judicial decisions, laws, the institutional continuity with decisions of their previous Governments, but also openly hide the truth of legal disorder and institutional pressures against the Serbian Orthodox Church. This is only the last phase of pressures which began with the systematic destruction of the Serbian spiritual and cultural heritage in Kosovo and Metohija, destruction of cemeteries and other cultural sites since the end of the war in 1999,” they underlined.
The Diocese of Raska and Prizren expressed “regret” and “open indignation” due to such behavior of Kosovo institutions which “openly show legal incompetence and an ill-willed position towards the Serbian Orthodox Church and its heritage.”
“The Diocese of Raska-Prizren of the SOC has always been and will be open for dialog with all people of good will as it is the position of the SOC Assembly of Bishops, but it will nevertheless not be able to attend any meetings with representatives of local Kosovo institutions until the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo on the Monastery land is implemented. Also, unless the decision of the IMC which was unanimously accepted and signed affirming the bypass road solution in November 2020, the Raska and Prizren Diocese will not be able to attend the meetings of the IMC as it is pointless to attend meetings with those who do not honor their own decisions and obligations. The Diocese emphasizes once again its readiness for a dialog as a SOC Diocese with administrative seat in Belgrade (as specified in the Ahtisaari document) but only if there is readiness from the Kosovo side for dialog and respect of laws and judicial decisions, especially towards the Serbian Orthodox Church (which is an obligation taken by Kosovo Government in Washington in 2020) and which is still insisted upon by the new US Administration.”
For any dialog, confidence and respect of previously adopted obligations are indispensable. As we can see this is not the case, we expect the international representatives to find ways to make Kosovo officials respect the rule of law and order – the Diocese emphasized.
“The issue of the Visoki Decani Monastery land is finalized by the decision of the highest Kosovo judicial bodes, the Supreme and Constitutional Courts of Kosovo and the issue of the bypass route around the Decani SPZ has been regulated by the decision of the IMC and represents the only way how the Decani-Plav road construction can be completed fully in accordance with Kosovo legislation. The readiness of Pristina to implement both decisions will open the door for a dialog on other practical issues related to the Serbian Orthodox Church in this area and the Diocese of Raska and Prizren remains fully open for a constructive dialog of that kind.”
700 ha of land taken from the monastery in 1946
Seven hundred hectares of land were seized from the Visoki Decani Monastery in 1946. However, the state of Serbia returned 24 hectares to the monastery in 1997. The monastery, when combined with the twenty hectares it previously owned, then owned 55 hectares of land.
This return of 24 hectares was regularly recorded in the cadaster, but since 1999, the local Kosovo authorities do not recognize that this land belongs to the monastery. Although the monastery continues to use the land, municipal authorities are beginning to challenge the ownership of the monasteries over these 24 hectares.
UNMIK then decided that the monastery would continue to use this property until the dispute is settled in court.
After 16 years of dispute over the ownership of the monastery land in the municipality of Decani, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo reached a decision in May 2016 to confirm the previous decision of the Supreme Court in 2012 on the confirmation of Visoki Decani monastery’s ownership rights of the 24 hectares of land.
The decision caused conflicting reactions in the Kosovo society, with the harshest criticism arriving from the municipal leadership, which still refuses to implement the court’s decision and to register the monastery’s ownership of the land in the cadaster.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.

domain: law


text:
America’s Path to World War II: Mobilizing Citizens for the Fight Ahead
In the early 1940s, the world was embroiled in a devastating conflict that would later be known as World War II. Although the United States did not enter the war until after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the country was already preparing for the possibility of conflict.
Before the Pearl Harbor attack, the United States was already providing war materials to its democratic allies in Europe and Asia. Meanwhile, young men across the country were answering the call to service, joining the military or participating in civilian defense programs. “Preparedness” became the watchword, as the country braced itself for what seemed to be an inevitable war with Japan and Germany.
During America’s war years in 1941, many citizens were divided in their views on the country’s involvement in the war. While some were eager to support the war effort, others were hesitant or even opposed to it.
To garner support, the US government launched a massive propaganda campaign that utilized various mediums such as newspapers, posters, films, and radio broadcasts. The goal was to create a sense of national unity and inspire patriotism. The government encouraged Americans to participate in the war effort by buying war bonds, conserving resources, and joining the military.
However, not all Americans were convinced. Some felt that the war was not their fight, and others believed that the government was exaggerating the threat. The government dealt with this by launching a series of campaigns aimed at convincing skeptics of the necessity of the war. They also implemented measures such as the draft to ensure that there were enough soldiers to fight the war.
Overall, the government’s efforts were successful in rallying the American people behind the war effort. However, there were still pockets of opposition, and dissent continued throughout the war years.
One of the ways in which America prepared for war was through a propaganda campaign aimed at getting citizens to support the war effort. The government used various media outlets to spread its message, from radio broadcasts and newspaper articles to posters and films. The iconic “Rosie the Riveter” poster, which featured a woman flexing her arm and proclaiming “We Can Do It!”, became a symbol of the women who joined the workforce to support the war effort.
In addition to propaganda, the government also implemented rationing and conservation programs to ensure that resources were available for the war effort. The Office of Price Administration regulated prices and rationed goods such as gasoline, sugar, and meat. Citizens were encouraged to grow their own vegetables and participate in scrap drives, which collected materials such as rubber, metal, and paper to be used in the war effort.
The government also established the Office of Civilian Defense, which coordinated civilian defense efforts such as air raid drills and blackout procedures. Volunteers were trained to serve as air raid wardens, first aid responders, and other roles. The government even distributed gas masks to civilians in case of a chemical attack.
However, not all citizens were eager to support the war effort. Many Americans, especially those with German or Japanese ancestry, faced discrimination and suspicion. The government implemented policies such as the internment of Japanese Americans, who were forcibly relocated and held in camps for the duration of the war.
Despite some citizens’ reluctance to enter the war, the U.S. government worked tirelessly to rally support for the war effort. The government launched propaganda campaigns and used media outlets to spread patriotic messages, highlighting the importance of national unity and the need to defeat the Axis powers.
Additionally, the government implemented conscription, or the draft, to ensure that enough soldiers were enlisted to fight the war. The Selective Service Act required all men between the ages of 18 and 45 to register for the draft, and the government also encouraged women to join the workforce to support the war effort.
The government also implemented rationing to ensure that the necessary resources were available for the military. Food, gasoline, and other consumer goods were rationed, and citizens were urged to conserve resources to support the war effort. Bonds and other forms of financial support were also promoted to fund the war effort.
Despite these challenges, the United States successfully mobilized its citizens for war. The country’s industry was able to shift to wartime production, producing the weapons, ammunition, and supplies necessary to support the war effort. Millions of Americans served in the military, with some making the ultimate sacrifice. The country’s participation in the war helped to secure victory for the Allied powers and establish the United States as a global superpower.
Overall, despite some initial reluctance from the public, the U.S. government was able to rally support for the war effort and prepare the nation for its entry into World War II.
In conclusion, the years leading up to America’s entry into World War II were marked by a concerted effort to prepare the country for the possibility of war. The government used propaganda, rationing and conservation programs, and civilian defense efforts to mobilize citizens and support the war effort. While not without its challenges, this effort ultimately proved successful in helping the United States emerge victorious from the conflict.

domain: history


text:
States Sue Biden Over Executive Order And Much More – Tune in today to hear some good news! 12 states sue Biden over a climate change executive order, ‘pro-life evangelicals for Biden’ wake up to the truth of his administration, and more!
Air Date: 03/19/2021
On-air Personalities: David Barton, Rick Green, and Tim Barton
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- Today’s Links:
- Biden Sued by 12 States Over Climate Executive Order
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- Victory! Supreme Court Rules For College Student Silenced From Sharing The Gospel
- Mississippi Bill Banning Transgender Student Athletes From Female Sports Heads to Governor
- Miss USA Can Reject Applicants Who Aren’t Biologically Female: Judge
- 8 Democrats Join Republicans in Rejecting Sanders’ $15 Minimum Wage Hike Bill
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Transcription note: Â As a courtesy for our listeners’ enjoyment, we are providing a transcription of this podcast. Transcription will be released shortly. However, as this is transcribed from a live talk show, words and sentence structure were not altered to fit grammatical, written norms in order to preserve the integrity of the actual dialogue between the speakers. Additionally, names may be misspelled or we might use an asterisk to indicate a missing word because of the difficulty in understanding the speaker at times. We apologize in advance.
Welcome to the intersection of faith and the culture. This is WallBuilders Live, looking forward to talking about the hot topics of the day from a biblical, historical and constitutional perspective. And of course, today since it’s Friday, that will be a lot of good news on looking at the issues of the day from a biblical, historical, and constitutional perspective.
David and Tim Barton have been gathering good news stories. And I know when I say that, you’re probably thinking, how is that possible, there’s so many bad things happening in America today? Well, friends, it depends on where you look. No question, we got huge challenges. But because of people just like you get engaged in the process, living out your freedom, doing your duty under the Constitution, we are seeing a lot of victories across the country, mostly at the local level and the state level, obviously a disaster at the federal level. But a lot of good stuff happening at the local and state level and we want to bring you some of that good news today. Here on this Good News Friday.
Now, if you listen to the day’s program, and even with the wonderful good news stories we’re going to share. It’s not enough. There’s more good news at our website. So be sure to visit our website wallbuilderslive.com, you can get the archives of the last few weeks and months, they’re in the website. And then also you can get a list of the stations across the country where we can be heard, as well as the great opportunity available to get the website to make a contribution. Yes, make that one-time or monthly contribution, it helps to amplify our voice, helps to get this voice of truth out there, teaching and educating and inspiring citizens to do their duty. So be a part of that, go to the website today at wallbuilderslive.com.
I am looking forward to some good news this week. So what is the start of our Good News Friday, David?
Well, it’s got to go back to some of Biden’s executive orders. He has cranked out executive orders, I mean, at an amazing rate, just in the first…
No, no, no, David, I said good news, good news…
It’s coming. It’s coming.
Good news and Biden’s executive orders, I did not expect to be in the same segment.
It’s coming. It took us a while to get there, but it’s coming. In the first nine days the number of collector orders he cranked out was more than what 15 separate presidents had issued throughout their entire presidency. So since then, it’s…
I kind of don’t want to guess on what presidents those were.
I bet you get most of them.
I bet and I bet most of them were back in the founding era when they weren’t doing as many executive orders. But yeah, that would be interesting, that’s a side note, that’s not part of the good news. So we’ll play this game, maybe on a break. But yes, okay, I’m going to come back to that thought.
Yeah, back in the founding era when they actually knew that legislators made policy and not presidents made policy, there were going to be very few. So with that, a lot of the states started saying, Wait a minute, with the way he’s cranking out executive orders, this is going to try to take over and federalize every state, you’ll lose all the distinction states, you’ll lose federalism, which is a great concept given by the Founding Fathers to separate the state governments from the federal government so that one size does not fit all. And so states, like here in Texas, our governor issued an executive order telling every agency be ready to sue and fight back and take the Biden administration to court for anything that gets into the state jurisdiction. If they start trying to run the state from Washington, you sue and go after them.
And let’s make an important distinction here, because you just said Biden executive orders are bad, Governor Abbott executive order, good. The distinction would be that Governor Abbott’s order says, guys, make sure we are following the Constitution. And I am encouraging you in this to follow the Constitution to protect our state, state’s rights, 10th Amendment, you can go through a litany of things. But this is an executive order to encourage following the Constitution. Whereas what we’re pointing out is that there’s probably executive orders from in this case, Joe Biden, where there are things that directly violate standards and principles and even letter of the law of American law policy in the Constitution. And this is where there’s an important distinction that it’s not hypocritical, saying this executive order good, this one bad, it’s a reflection of every time a leader says follow the Constitution, that’s a good thing.
And the Constitution is really clear in pointing out the jurisdictions generally between the federal and state governments. According to folks like James Madison and the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and writings of Thomas Jefferson, generally, the feds are tasked with foreign responsibilities and domestic responsibilities go to the states. That’s why education is a state area. It’s not a foreign area. Police power, state area, not a foreign area. Now when it comes to military and borders, etc, yeah, federal areas.
So in that distinction, the Constitution gives what are called enumerated powers. It says federal government, here are 17 things you can do. And then it very specifically says after that, that if it’s not one of those enumerated powers, it belongs to the states. So according to the Constitution, unless the federal gun is explicitly given the right to do something by the Constitution, it falls to the area of states. And that’s why the Founding Fathers said those areas that belonged to the federal government are limited and definite, and those that belong to the state governments are unlimited and numerous. So there’s a big difference there.
Well, as it turns out, one of President Biden’s executive orders was a climate change an executive order to say how businesses will be run and the states, what they can do, what energy they can do, what they can manufacture, how agriculture has to work, etc. And so the climate change really is killing tens of thousands of jobs in state across the United States. States are losing control of their own businesses. And so right now you have 12 states that properly filed an executive order saying, no, no, no, you can’t do this. This is not a federal jurisdiction and you’re not going to take over all the states just because this is what you believe to be right and true.
So it’s really good to see states pushing back and saying, this is not what we’re going to allow to happen. And it’s interesting to me that so many governors right off the bat knew right after the inauguration that this was going to happen. They saw this coming. And I’m going to extend this a little bit, Rick, and sorry, Tim, I’m going to cut into your time just a bit. But I thought…
Dad, it’s so shocking, is ever happened never happens. Guys, this is the first time ever, I don’t even know what to do now.
Since this is the first time I’m going to take liberty I haven’t taken, well, I can’t really say that, I’ve done this before. So I read this headline and I read this article, and I laughed out loud. And I laugh out loud for a lot of things, movies, etc. But I rarely laugh out loud for headlines that I see in articles that I see, but this is one of them.
It says “Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden ‘Feel Used and Betrayed’”. And they met with President Biden for the election said his pro-life evangelicals for you, we’re going to get out and work and support you because we believe you can bring dialogue between the pro-abortion, radical Democrats and the pro-life Republicans and we can find middle ground somewhere. And we’re counting on you to do that.
How dumb does somebody have to be to be a pro-life evangelical for Joe Biden?
And believe that he is actually going to ignore all of his voting record for years, ignore the platform of his party, ignore what he campaigned on, ignore what he had on his website, and say, we’re counting on you to bridge the gap between radical Democrats on abortion and pro-life Republicans.
And the notion that this used to be well understood is you kind of become like who you hang around. And so maybe you thought Joe Biden’s a really honorable person, and I’m not trying to necessarily criticize President Biden right now. But you look who he surrounds himself with? Let’s say that President Biden maybe wasn’t as extreme, when you surround yourself with extreme people when it comes to the issue of life that they believe not only in the murder of unborn babies, but even after they’re born in many occasions, that the doctors should still be able to take their life, you go down the list, he is surrounded himself with very extreme people that are pro-death of unborn children and you’re surprised that all of a sudden he’s consistent with all the people around him?
Dad, as you mentioned, not to mention the website and everything else you could have looked at, his own voting record for how many years, it’s really foolish to imagine that you were going to find something different than what he’s shown himself to be for all these years.
And this takes me back to what were called Aesop’s Fables is about 600 years before the birth of Christ. Aesop’s Fables came out and they were to really give you kind of stories that showed moral lessons you should learn. So you study Aesop’s Fables have these moral lessons. And one was the fable of a farmer who saw a viper out in freezing cold weather, struggling and freezing to death, because snakes are cold-blooded. They’re not like mammals would be, they respond to the weather. And so there’s a snake out there freezing to death in cold. And he takes pity on that viper and he picks it up and takes it home and gets it all warm and cares for it and it turned around, bites him and kills him.
And so I use that fable not to say that anybody in this new story we’re talking about is the viper. But to say the lesson was out there that you should not expect things to act contrary to their demonstrated nature. And so here these folks are saying, hey, we’re pro-life and we want Biden to be pro-life, and we’re going to support you, pro-life evangelicals for Biden. Look, don’t expect him to act differently than his nature. And I say that to go back to the executive order.
So many governors knew that when Biden was elected, we need to get ready to defend all sorts of rights given to the States by the Constitution, because he’s going to come after that. Why did they know that? Because of his record. Because of his platform. Because of how he campaigned. He’s going to act according to his nature. And the good news is that a lot of governors saw that and they’re taking action right now to try to limit that. It is unfortunate that some people are naive enough not to believe that people act according to the nature, but they do.
Alright guys quick break we’ll be right back, more good news when we return on WallBuilders Live.
This is Tim Barton from WallBuilders with another moment from American history. The Second Amendment to the Constitution which guarantees to every individual the right to keep and bear arms has been targeted for years now by those who are determined to dismantle the individual right to self-protection. Opponents argue that only the militia, the military and law enforcement are to have and use firearms.
But those who wrote the Second Amendment strenuously disagreed, including founding father Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration, a president of the Continental Congress, and one of those who actually frame the Second Amendment. He declared “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young how to use them.” For more information about Richard Henry Lee in the history of the Second Amendment, go to wall builders.com.
Welcome to WallBuilders Live, Good News Friday today, and Tim Barton’s got the next piece of good news or Tim, do we have to not let you have a piece of good news since your dad said he was going to take your time?
I think we can give him 15-20 seconds here.
You guys are so generous, man.
20 seconds, let see how fast he can talk.
Wow, the generosity abounds. Guys, thanks so much.
25 seconds, we’ll stretch it.
Okay. So this comes from the US Supreme Court, a decision that came down just very recently dealing with a student who in 2016 was at a college in Georgia, it was Georgia Gwinnett College. And he was a Christian. He wanted to share his faith, but he was told you can only share your faith if you stay in a free speech zone. There were two free speech zones on campus, which made up less than 1% of the college campus. So you can only…
And they were probably in the back parking lot on the other side of the parking lot underneath a gas tank somewhere.
Well, they didn’t give me that the layout of the campus. But what we know is this is utterly ridiculous on so many levels. Nonetheless, if you want to talk about Jesus, you can only do it on those two places that are very, very small. Well, he said, that’s fine. So he went to those places, began to talk about his faith. And police officers showed up and told him he was not to share his faith even in the free speech zones. The question might arise why, why can’t you talk about Jesus? Because the school said their policy prohibited offensive speech. And here’s one of the mind boggling things is who determines what is offensive?
When we have a language out there to say, well, we don’t allow hate speech, well, generally, I’m not in favor of somebody’s saying something offensive and hateful to somebody else. But who determines what’s offensive and hateful? And isn’t that more determined by intent and motive? And even then, that’s part of free speech that we recognize people are going to say bad things and dumb things, but we defend their right to say them. Nonetheless, the school said, no, you can’t do it.
So Alliance Defending Freedom got involved and this was back in 2016 when this happened, Alliance Defending Freedom got involved. They represent this young man at the various court levels. And the 11th Circuit actually rules that you know what, the school a couple years down the road, actually apologized, changed their mind. And so now it’s a moot case, because the school reversed their policy and so we’re going to throw this out.
And ADF and the young man argued, but at this point, they didn’t let me do it while I was there, so this is still a relevant issue for me. So this carried on to the US Supreme Court. The US Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision that the university was wrong and did owe this young individual some level of financial recompense, compensation for grievance of what was done and said that no school should ever be able to do this again. So here’s the good news is the US Supreme Court has just helped set a precedent in an 8-1 ruling that colleges can’t do this. So that’s really good news. What might be the interesting…
And by the way, the last word we had was about 40% of college campuses still have free speech zones like this. So this will be good news to get rid of that. Sorry, Tim.
Well, obviously, what might be interesting is, who was that loan dissent from the Justice who did not agree?
Do you know?
Tim: I do. It’s in the article. So the loan justice was actually the Chief Justice John Roberts. Now, maybe slightly in his defense, he argued that well, I don’t think we need to have the decision because, as the 11th Circuit argued, this was a moot case because the school already changed their mind. So maybe there’s a little grace given in some regard to that. Nonetheless, this is a very important precedent, letting colleges know that you can’t shut down Christian speech on campus just because they’re Christians, and they’re sharing their faith and testimony, this is not offensive to talk about Jesus. Nonetheless, good news coming from US Supreme Court here in just the last couple weeks.
Alright, very good news, we’ll be right back. More good news here on WallBuilders Live.
Friends, this is Tim Barton of WallBuilders. This is a time when most Americans don’t know much about American history or even heroes of the faith. And I know oftentimes we’re parents, we’re trying to find good content for our kids to read. And if you remember back to the Bible, the book of Hebrews, it has the faith Hall of Fame where they outline the leaders of faith that had gone before them. Well, this is something that as Americans, we really want to go back and outline some of these heroes not just of American history, but heroes of Christianity in our faith as well.
I want to let you know about some biographical sketches we have available on our website. One is called the Courageous Leaders collection. And this collection includes people like Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Francis Scott Key, George Washington Carver, Susanna Wesley, even the Wright brothers. And there’s a second collection called Heroes of History. In this collection, you’ll read about people like Benjamin Franklin, or Christopher Columbus, Daniel Boone, George Washington, Harriet Tubman, friends, the list goes on and on.
This is a great collection for your young person to have in read. And it’s a providential view of American and Christian history. This is [email protected]. That’s www.wallbuilders.com.
We’re back here on WallBuilders Live, is Good News Friday today. Let’s dive into some more good news. And the next one’s coming from David Barton.
This one actually deals with a bill that was just passed in Mississippi that bans transgender student athletes from female sports. So this is now 15 states that are doing this. And what states are trying to do is recognize that there actually is a gender difference. And it comes out when you get into things like sports. And we’ve talked about this for several programs across the years, even had interviews with folks.
I think the first bill came out of Idaho, great legislator up there who had been an NCAA college women’s basketball coach, said there’s a big difference. She started this. And now 15 states have jumped on board and saying, hey, there is a difference between male and female, especially when you get into sports, there are biological differences. Doesn’t matter what your head may think, if your body does have a difference and it does affect others, particularly when you compete against them at levels that really kind of makes it unfair. So that’s good news. This is starting to be a pushback across the nation with this mentality that says define yourself however you want to it has no consequences on anyone else. Yes, it does.
And adding to that, here’s a court case that just came down. And it said, Miss USA, EMISS, Miss USA can reject applicants who aren’t biologically female, according to a federal judge. So the rules that pageants say that you have to be a natural born female to participate in the Miss USA pageant. And there has been objections to that. And a lawsuit was filed and said, well, I want to participate, I’m not natural born female. And the judge says, no, it is fine to maintain that standard.
So to some degree, we’re seeing some kind of pushback where policies actually recognizing the laws of nature, nature’s God, to quote from the Declaration that there are gender male and female. Four times in the Bible says that God created them male and female. So this is a distinction that you see throughout nature with all mammals. But it’s nice to see that a federal judge is moving this direction as are 15 different state legislatures. And I think there’s more to come with this.
Yeah, it’s very good news, especially when you’ve seen this happening all over the place, and you start to think are there any sane people left? I mean, how crazy are things going to get, and then you see this push back and it gives you hope that there are people out there that are going to push back on these crazy things. So very good news. Quick break, we’ll be right back with our final piece of good news for the day. You’re listening to WallBuilders Live.
Hey, guys, we want to let you know about a new resource we have at WallBuilders called “The American Story”. For so many years, people have asked us to do a history book to help tell more of the story that’s just not known or not told today. And we would say very providentially in the midst of all of the new attacks coming out against America, whether it be from things like the 1619 project that say America is evil and everything in America was built off slavery, which is certainly not true or things like even the Black Lives Matter movement, the organization itself, not out of statement, Black Lives Matter, but the organization that says we’re against everything that America was built on, and this is part of the Marxist ideology. There’s so many things attacking America.
Well, is America worth defending? What is the true story of America? We actually have written and told that story. Starting with Christopher Columbus going roughly through Abraham Lincoln, we tell the story of America, not as the story of a perfect nation or a perfect people, but the story of how God used these imperfect people and did great things through this nation. It’s a story you want to check out, wallbuilder.com, “The American Story”.
We’re back here on WallBuilders Live. Thanks for staying with us on Good News Friday. Final segment of the day. So, Tim, how are we wrapping up our good news today?
Well, there is good news in the midst of not great news, but I’m going to focus on the good part. So as we look at the stimulus package that was done, the COVID-19 relief bill, all the [crosstalk 20:38] that was in there.
Are you sure COVID-19 got any relief from that?
Well, it got less than 10%. So I’m not sure that we can really count that. This is one of the silly things about Congress, and the political games that are played that too often the American people aren’t aware of or at least don’t hold Congress accountable for the ones that are aware of it, that you’re going to call this something that has very little to do with the bill as it is. So it’s a COVID-19 relief bill. And yet the majority of the bill does not go toward relief for people dealing with COVID-19, or for those businesses or for their homes, or the people that have lost their jobs along the way. It is utterly ridiculous.
In the midst of that, we know there’s a lot of packing that happens in some of these stimulus bills. Because people say, well, people don’t want to vote against COVID-19, that’s going to look bad for him. So people say let’s add on all these additional things, because we can get a pass in the midst of this. One of the additional thing…
And I think that’s why out of the Republican leadership office, they’re calling this the “Pelosi Progressive Wishlist Bill” rather than the COVID Relief Bill. Because the other the 90% of stuff in there, if most Americans saw what that 90% was, they would object to this vehemently.
At least object to the title of it being this, because there certainly are some Americans that would support a lot of these big bailouts for states and for companies and organizations and…
For blue states and for companies and for labor unions and for the cities, they get torn down by the governors who would not stop the riots that went for months this summer, I mean, they’re getting paid off for not enforcing the law. So yeah, there’s some crazy stuff there.
And of course, Americans are having to foot the bill on this. And so people are, for example, and some more conservative states where maybe they didn’t have a shutdown and so they’ve done better in their state and, and their policies were different, so they haven’t been impacted as hard. They’re having to pay a level of taxes for states that had governors who made poor decisions anyway. So in the midst of that, there’s a lot of problems with the stimulus package. And all of that being said, some of the good things that happen were some of the provisions that got cut out and kept out of this package.
One of those things was the minimum wage. Bernie Sanders encouraged and proposed that there should be a $15 minimum wage hike bill. And then this was in the Senate. Interestingly, it failed in the senate 58-42. And there were 8 Democrats who joined with the 50 Republicans to oppose this.
Wow, good for them.
Well, in the midst of that, some of these might not be super surprising, because some of the states they’re from. Although it’s interesting, recognizing that some of them would not have been the initial thoughts, or the initial names we would have thought might have been on this. But here’s the big news from this is one of the things that even many of these Democrat senators realized is that there’s a lot more negative impact that comes from a minimum wage increase than any gain that comes.
The argument is that that people need to make more so they can live better. We forget the idea of a minimum wage and just forget the even minimum wage being a pro-thing or negative thing for a minute. When you enter into the market, whatever you enter into that wage, that’s not supposed to be where you live the rest of your life, that is an entry level position. You enter into the market, you develop skill, you develop ability, and you progress from that position. That’s not meant to be where you are the rest of your life living in that position. And so this argument for raising minimum wages, well, people need to make more money so they can support their family.
Yeah, well, I don’t disagree that you want to make more money and support your family, but you don’t make more money supporting your family by increasing minimum wage. If you were only making “minimum wage”, and you’ve been in the same job for 15 years, either you need to find a different job or maybe there’s a reason that you haven’t gotten a raise in 15 years, and you’re still making the lowest level there is. There’s been poor decision somewhere by somebody, and you need a different position or you need a different work ethic or different attitudes, something needs to change.
Anyway, the big picture of this is the senate recognize, by and large, this was not going to be a positive position to increase the minimum wage. So even though there was so much nonsense in the stimulus package, there is a lot of good news of things that got excluded from it, including some more things we can talk about upcoming weeks, things like Senator Rand Paul help stop with things related to the life and abortion issues. So we’ll deal with that on another episode of Good News Friday. But at least for now, it’s really good news this provision did not pass and so at least that is not going to be part of the stimulus package.
Well, we’re out of time for good news today, we’ll have more good news on next Friday’s program to share with you. But I wanted to close this out with an email from one of our listeners, some good news from them. It’s Sebastian from Brooklyn, New York. And he says, “I’m so thankful that I found out about this WallBuilders Live radio program. And it’s thanks in part to all your hard labor that I’m more knowledgeable about the Bible, and for the most part more knowledgeable about American history.
In 2 Corinthians 11:8, Paul informs the Corinthian church that he took salaries from other churches for his service while charging them nothing. And this is how I felt when I first learned about the program. I was daily learning from all of you for free, knowing that you all could have chosen to charge for listeners to listen to full guest interviews. And I appreciate you not going that route. Like I do for church prioritizing 10% of my week’s wage so that God’s house could have food after praying about this one for some time, I’ve decided that I will apply the same principle to further the work of the WallBuilders ministry. I love you all. Thank you so much. And please keep up the hard work.”
Sebastian, thank you so much for being a listener of WallBuilders Live and for applying what we’re teaching here, and being a good voice of freedom in your community. And thank you for being a listener that supports the program as well. Thanks for your contributions, and thanks for your good word and email in that in. Folks, if you want to be like that, if you want to make that contribution, you can do so at WallBuilders Live right now by clicking on that donate button. And maybe it’s a one-time contribution or like Sebastian, you want to do some sort of weekly or monthly support to the program and invest in freedom in that way. We greatly appreciate it.
Thanks so much to all our listeners out there. Thank you for listening to WallBuilders Live.

domain: news


text:
Air Permeability Method:
The fineness of cement is
represented by specific surface, i.e. total surface area in cm2
per gram or m2 per kilogram of cement and is measured by Lea and
Nurse apparatus or by wagner turbidimeter..
and Nurse apparatus shown in Fig. 28 essentially consists of a permeability
test cell-where cement is placed and air pressure is
applied, flowmeter-to determine the quantity of air passing
per second through its capillary tube per unit difference of pressure, and
manometer-to measure the air pressure.
determine the fineness, a cement sample of 20 mm height is placed on a
perforated plate (40 micron perforations) and air pressure is applied. The
manometer is connected to the top of the permeability cell and the air is
turned on. The lower end of the permeability cell is then slowly connected to
the other end of the manometer. The rate of flow is so adjusted that the
flowmeter shows a pressure difference (h2) of 30-50 cm. The reading
(h 1) in the manometer is recorded. The process is repeated till the
ratio h1/h2 is constant. The specific surface is given by
The minimum specific surface for various cements should be as
specified in Table 6.
Table 6 Minimum Specific Surfaces of Cements

domain: chemistry


text:
At midnight Gucci Mane released his highly anticipated album, ‘The Return of East Atlanta Santa’.
Gucci Mane delivers an early holiday present to his fans with the release of The Return of East Atlanta Santa.
Continuing his prolific 2016, St. Brick comes down the chimney with his third solo project of the year, which follows August’s Everybody Looking and October’s Woptober.
The 13-track effort, which premiered on DJ Khaled’s We the Best Radio, features production from Mike WiLL Made-It, Metro Boomin, Southside, Murda Beatz, and Zaytoven, plus collaborations with Drake (“Both”), Travis Scott (“Last Time”), and Bryson Tiller (“Drove U Crazy”).
This isn’t the first time Gucci has basked in the holiday spirit. The original East Atlanta Santa dropped in 2014 and its sequel arrived last year.
Guwop’s epic 2016 was bolstered by his release from prison, which taught him some valuable lessons. “I learned that I don’t have the privilege to make another mistake or to blame an excuse,” he told Hot 97. “I can’t say it was drugs. I know my vices now. I know if I do this, where it’s gonna end up. There’s no excuse. There’s no plan. It’s just black and white with me. If I do the right things, I have no ceiling…I’ve got so much clarity on what I’ve got to do and what I can’t do.”
Look out for even more music from Gucci in 2017 with the release of The 6ers, his joint project with Drake.
Unwrap Guwop’s early Christmas gift below.
Go here: http://ift.tt/2hD8if4
Article by: Rap-Up


text:
Éclat Caramels Win Sofi Silver Award
WEST CHESTER, PA (July 8, 2010) - Éclat Chocolate has done it again! Their acclaimed "World's Greatest Caramels" have been awarded the sofi Silver at the 2010 NASFT Fancy Food Show. The sofi Awards are to food as the Golden Globes and Academy Awards are to Hollywood and the Grammy's are to music. Out of 110 submissions for the "Outstanding Chocolate" category, Éclat's Assorted Caramels box was one out of six chosen for the prestigious sofi Silver Award.
"This was our first time entering this international competition and it is truly and honor to be awarded the sofi Silver." said Curtin. "We are excited about the new developments in our products and look forward to entering the competition next year and in the years to come."
Master Chocolatier Christopher Curtin has perfected caramel to be what it should be - a heavenly explosion of flavor and artisanal genius. Éclat's caramels were previously acclaimed by food critic Jeffery Steingarten in Vogue Magazine as "World's Greatest Caramels." The award-winning Assorted Caramels box includes milk and dark chocolate caramels topped with fleur de sel sea salt, ginger caramel topped with a red Hawaiian volcanic sea salt, pear caramel, and calvados caramel. Caramels and assorted chocolates are sold as individual pieces ($2.00) or in 4-piece ($8.75), 12-piece ($21.75), or 20-piece ($35.75) boxes.
Éclat appeared in New York June 27th-29th with various unique chocolate flavor profiles including their European-style organic hot cocoa sticks, Aleppo Pink Peppercorn mendiants, and a brand new line of travel-inspired chocolate bars with an airport code theme. Held at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, the Fancy Food Show featured 180,000 specialty foods and beverages, 2,400 exhibitors from 77 countries, and over 24,000 attendees.

domain: food