Although the real estate market began its collapse several years ago, banks and lenders continue to sort out the related issues today. According to the New York Times, during the real estate boom years banks nationwide lent homeowners more than approximately a trillion dollars in the form of home equity loans. These loans were secured solely by the value of homes, which once seemed to increase without bound. As home values rapidly declined, though, so did the ability and willingness of these homeowners to repay their home equity loans. The American Bankers Association ...

New social media such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have provided a forum for many of us to interact with friends. Whether catching up with friends with whom we may have lost touch, sharing pictures of our families or our weekend adventures, or using the media to brag or "vent" about something we feel strongly about, social media allows us the ability to do all of this and more. While this may seem like innocent fun, many are finding out that what is posted or "tweeted" on or through these media sites can and will be used against them in family court. In a world ...

Workers' compensation helps many employees injured on the job to heal without the threat of financial ruin. These workers face an inability to work coupled with unexpected medical bills; luckily the workers' compensation system helps them to stay afloat. Unfortunately, some people abuse the system by exaggerating the extent of their injuries or by providing evidence for an injury that did not actually occur. These dishonest few have made it more difficult for employees with real injuries, who are now watched with critical eyes. While social media websites like Facebook ...

When deciding child custody arrangement, it is important to understand that the court will always decide custody disputes based on the "best interest of the child" standard. With this in mind, remember that there are ways to prepare for custody hearings that may increase your chances of achieving your desired result. It is important to understand the terminology and presumptions that are used by the court. In Texas, custody is referred to as "conservatorship." There is a presumption that the parents should serve as "joint managing conservators," however, this does not ...

Automakers have recalled nearly 20 million vehicles in the past year, including some recalls involving marginal safety risks. The spike in recalls prompts industry observers to wonder if manufacturers have become more concerned with safety, whether they're under pressure from an energized federal watchdog or whether they're simply doing all they can to avoid the damaging publicity Toyota endured during its massive recalls late in 2009 and early this year. In the first half of 2010, carmakers recalled 10.2 million vehicles, according to the Detroit News. That's about ...

Of all the various rules, regulations and warnings issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the most serious is a black box warning. The name refers to text that must appear in a black box on the drug package insert, warning users of very serious side effects. In February 2009 the FDA released a black box warning for metoclopramide, better known in the U.S. by its trade name of Reglan. Prolonged use of Reglan has been associated with tardive dyskinesia, a muscular disorder in which the patient has frequent uncontrollable movements of the face and mouth, ...

In the wake more than 1,000 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Toyota is recalling more than 1.1 million Corolla and Matrix vehicles, model years 2005-2008. The recall centers on a faulty electronic control module (ECM), which is a circuit board that helps control the engine's operation. A faulty ECM can lead to vehicle stalling without warning and at any speed, and then not restarting. One NHTSA complaint states: "I was driving 60 mph on the freeway and was almost hit from behind [when the engine stalled]. Another time I was ...

A 2009 incident involving a Grand Valley State University student who was shot by a specialty-drug-team officer highlights the fact that Michigan State Police target college students through drug busts in dorms and campus apartments. Accordingly, it is important for students to know their rights and options regarding police interaction and drug charges. The Specialty-Drug-Team Shooting Derek Copp, a GVSU student, said he was studying with his roommate at their Campus View apartment when he heard a knock at their sliding glass door in March 2009. Deputy Ryan Huizenga ...

In 2009, the top 10 child support evaders in Texas owed more than $500,000 in collective back payments and interest to their children. One parent alone owed over $130,000 in support for his two children. In March of this year, an ABC report noted that the most wanted list of child support evaders, published by the Office of the Attorney General, owed over $1 million in delinquent payments, with the top offender owing more than $160,000. According to the Office of the Attorney General's Child Support Division, Texas law requires the Office of the Attorney General to develop ...

The winding roads of western North Carolina are a haven for motorcycle enthusiasts around the south. With the increase in bike traffic, however, comes a higher risk of accidental injury or death. The recent death of former police officer Gerald Droze proves that even the most experienced riders are vulnerable when sharing the road with larger vehicles. The freedom and sense of liberation associated with motorcycling -- the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, the speed and joy of passing cars by -- can prove to be a distraction. Many people, particularly novice operators, ...

For the most part, motor vehicles hitting the roads in the United States are some of the safest in the world due to diligent efforts of government oversight agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). As this year's massive recall of millions of Toyota-brand cars, trucks and SUVs reminds us, however, there is always room for improvement. In addition to ensuring the safety of millions of drivers operating potentially dangerous vehicles, the recall served another very important purpose - it brought to light gaps in the regulatory system that, ...

In May of 2009, President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 into law. The goal of this legislation was to provide consumers with protection against unfair practices by credit card companies and to put an end to unreasonable interest rate hikes and hidden fees. According to White House statistics, nearly 80 percent of American families have a credit card and nearly half of those cards carry a balance from month to month. With the current economic conditions, more and more families are having trouble paying their ...

According to the State Department of Education, there are over 50,000 public school teachers in South Carolina. Most are inspiring professionals who do their best to educate their students and help them develop. However, the state has experienced several incidents over the past few years in which teachers have sexually abused or had inappropriate relationships with students. In May, a South Aiken teacher was required to give up his teaching license as punishment for having an inappropriate relationship with a 15 year-old student. In June, a seventh grade teacher was ...

The Governor's Highway Safety Administration reports that there were over 4,700 motorcycle accident fatalities in 2009, noting the first time in 12 years that the number of fatalities has declined. In Colorado, the number of deaths decreased as well, down over 10 percent from the 2008 high of 98. A recent report by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) states that there are nearly 175,000 registered motorcycles in the state. With more and more motorcyclist on the road, it is important for riders and drivers of other vehicles alike to take notice and help the ...

Cruise Amour, which brands itself as the Apple Mac of the cruise industry, is running a competition to win one of 50 free cruise holidays and over 200 cruise experiences, a prize fund believed to be the biggest ever offered by a cruise travel agency in the UK. The competition has been announced to coincide with the launch of company's brand new website. Managing Director Tim Hurrell said: "We've invested heavily in building a website that puts the customer first, offering usability and feature enhancements never before seen in the cruise industry. We felt it fitting ...

Europcar has revealed new research* that shows over one in four football fans now believing that following their team and attending matches is now a luxury they can't afford. Already Wigan F.C has made the headlines by taking a reported 60 away fans to their Premier League fixture at Spurs. Yet when it comes to away support, the 'big four' are bottom of the league according to the new research by Europcar. While the league's top teams have legions of armchair fans, the research reveals how few are prepared to hit the road for an away game. On average, Chelsea, Spurs ...

M&S Money has revealed new research that shows when shop keepers and businesses earn the British public's trust, customers return time and time again. From dentists to favourite shop keepers, on average these relationships with our favourite shops and people last the test of time, according to new research by M&S Money* to mark the company's 25th anniversary. The results showed that people have firm favourites among their shopkeepers and other professionals, with almost 25 million Brits remaining loyal to their favourites for 20 years or more. Six out of 10 say that ...

Web TV has just gotten a whole different look with www.notyourtv.com. The website integrates quality content with a unique user interface. Notyourtv's home page represents what the site is all about. It has the latest videos in news, technology, sports, and entertainment. It's organized and centered around a web player. It offers a unique user experience. The home page also encompasses a neat instant search feature, targeted for the site's channels and TV shows. The TV shows page on notyourtv is truly amazing. Not only does the site have direct links to almost all ...

The sequencing and analysis of the genome for the Criollo variety of the cacao tree, generally considered to produce the world's finest chocolate, was completed by an international team led by Claire Lanaud of CIRAD, France, with Mark Guiltinan of Penn State, and included scientists from 18 other institutions. "The large amount of information generated by this project dramatically changes the status of this tropical plant and its potential interest for the scientific community," said Guiltinan, professor of plant molecular biology, Penn State. The researchers not only ...

(Garrison, NY) As government support for personalized medicine grows, a consumer advocate, a patient, and bioethicists explore ethical controversies. Direct-to-consumer genetic tests, privacy, targeted cancer therapies, and Henrietta Lacks are among topics in a special issue of the Hastings center Report Behind the high expectations raised by personalized medicine – the use of genetic information to individualize treatment, improve care, and possibly save money – a series of essays in the Hastings Center Report examines the challenges in determining what is effective; ...

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- While natural food is a rising trend among humans, pet owners should be careful before feeding similar types of food to their pets, according to a Kansas State University veterinarian. All too often pet owners assume that because certain foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are healthy for them, they are also healthy for their pets, said Susan Nelson, K-State assistant professor of clinical services. "Natural and veggie-based pet foods are based more on market demand from owners, not because they are necessarily better for the pet," she said. Natural ...

The ability of phase-change materials to readily and swiftly transition between different phases has made them valuable as a low-power source of non-volatile or "flash" memory and data storage. Now an entire new class of phase-change materials has been discovered by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley that could be applied to phase change random access memory (PCM) technologies and possibly optical data storage as well. The new phase-change materials – nanocrystal alloys of a metal and ...

In 2008, Reuben Granich and his colleagues at the World Health Organization published a paper in the medical journal The Lancet that proposed a new strategy for combating HIV in South Africa, a country staggered by the virus, with as much as 18 percent of the population estimated to be infected. Based on a mathematical model, the study suggested a "test-and-treat" strategy. This would involve, among other steps, testing the entire population of South Africa for HIV and immediately beginning anti-retroviral therapy for all who tested positive. The current standard of ...

UCLA physicists have taken a significant step in controlling chemical reactions mechanically, an important advance in nanotechnology, UCLA physics professor Giovanni Zocchi and colleagues report. Chemical reactions in the cell are catalyzed by enzymes, which are protein molecules that speed up reactions. Each protein catalyzes a specific reaction. In a chemical reaction, two molecules collide and exchange atoms; the enzyme is the third party, the "midwife to the reaction." But the molecules have to collide in a certain way for the reaction to occur. The enzyme binds ...

For the first time in more than ten years, there has been a confirmed sighting of one of the rarest and most mysterious animals in the world, the saola of Laos and Vietnam. The Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (also known as Laos) announced on September15 that in late August villagers in the central province of Bolikhamxay captured a saola and brought it back to their village. The animal died several days later, but was photographed while still alive. This is the first confirmed record of the species since two photographs of wild saola were taken ...