US futures head lower on danger signs from Europe

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-futures-head-lower-danger-signs-europe-124332788--business.html

2012 nfl draft kevin durant jazz fest zurich classic selena lamichael james lamichael james

High rents, tight credit are squeezing many renters

Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters

World War II veteran Howard McGowan, 88, is facing a 50 percent rent hike on the one-bedroom apartment in Malden, Mass., he and his wife have shared for 25 years.

By Michelle Conlin and Ilaina Jonas, Reuters

One night last spring, David Hall returned home to his studio apartment outside Boston to learn that his monthly rent had spiked from $725 to $995.

It would be much cheaper for the maintenance manager to buy a nearby starter house than to stay put. But his mortgage broker told him that while his credit score was good, it was not high enough to meet banks' tough standards, he said.

"I know if I walk into a bank, they are just going to laugh at me," Hall says. "So I'm stuck."

He is not alone.

Five years after the housing bubble burst, the United States is in the midst of a housing affordability crisis. Home prices have fallen a third from their peaks, but many Americans cannot benefit because they cannot get a mortgage.

With credit tight, many consumers have no choice but to rent. Others who can afford to buy are also renting, because they view real estate as a lousy investment. With this increased demand, rents in some cities have jumped by double-digit percentage rates.

In the 12 months ended in May, rents rose 14 percent in San Francisco and 11 percent in San Jose, California, according to real estate data provider Zillow. Last year in Minneapolis, they spiked 11 percent even as home values sank 8 percent.

Apartment rent sticker shock gets worse?

People with lower incomes have long struggled to find affordable housing, but many in the middle class are now hurting, too.

Most personal finance experts recommend allocating no more of 30 percent of family income to housing, but nearly 40 percent of Americans are paying more than a third, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

In New York City, one-third of households are spending more than half their pay on rent.

"We have falling incomes, rising rents and nothing but substantial upward pressure on those rents," says Chris Herbert, director of Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. "And nothing in the cards suggests it will turn around anytime soon."

Today's housing market is a buyer's paradise.

It is now cheaper to buy a home than it is to rent in virtually every major city in the United States, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

But for many in the renter class, buying even a modest home is impossible because financing is so hard to secure.

Lending for home purchases hit a 12-year low of $404 billion last year, down from $1.4 trillion in 2006, according to trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance. That means mortgage credit is tighter than it was even before the housing boom.

This year, lending is expected to drop even more, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.

A recent Morgan Stanley research report states that the average credit score is 762 for a consumer securing a mortgage backed by government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae . But 65 percent of Americans have scores below 750.

In other words, a disproportionate number of mortgages are going to people with unusually good credit. A perfect score is 850, and anything below 660 is considered subprime.

"Basically, access to credit for borrowers with less than spotless credit is severely limited," the Morgan Stanley report states. "A good chunk" of U.S. households are "cut off from mortgage credit on this count alone."

For people who can get mortgages, rates are at their lowest levels in several generations. Add that to the cheap home prices, and houses are at their most affordable since at least 1970, when the National Association of Realtors began tracking this metric.

Normally, high affordability translates into higher sales. And the housing market is showing some signs of recovery -- the S&P/Case Shiller index of home prices had its third consecutive monthly gain in April. Last week, the NAR said pending home sales had matched a two-year high in May.

But any recovery has been tepid. The NAR said existing home sales had declined 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million in May from 4.62 million in April. That is 34.2 percent above the July 2010 bottom of 3.39 million, but far short of the 5.5 million pace that the NAR considers healthy.

"Home sales have just barely picked up from their cyclical lows, and that's because there are still constraints to borrowing," said Moody's Analytics economist Celia Chen.

Part of the lender pullback has to do with the stringent regulations Washington put in place after the housing crash, says Michael Fratantoni, vice president of the Mortgage Bankers Association. These rules put more of the losses from bad mortgages onto lenders, instead of investors or government-sponsored enterprises.

Then there is the climate of unstable home prices and a shaky labor market: "There's a risk that even a borrower with moderately good credit may fall behind," Fratantoni says.

Consumers who cannot buy must rent, and that is where many Americans are feeling the pressure. A rent index from Zillow shows year-over-year gains for 70 percent of the U.S. metropolitan areas, while its home value index rose in only 7.3 percent.

Only a few years ago, landlords in cities like San Francisco and New York were tossing in a month or two of free rent, sometimes with parking, to lure tenants into signing leases.

Today, applicants are showing up at apartment viewings with copies of their unblemished credit reports and letters of recommendation from bosses and prominent friends, in the hopes of snatching up a place to rent.

Equity Residential, one of the biggest apartment owners in the United States, has more renters with high credit scores than ever, Vice President of Operations David Santee said on an April conference call with analysts.

Demand for apartments is also higher because many potential buyers in their 20s and 30s want to stay flexible - home ownership is not as attractive as it was to earlier generations.

Still, plenty of people would prefer entry into the ownership class.

Last spring Rosemary Wynder, a physician order specialist, found her rent shooting up. She decided to buy a house.

But a bank glitch in February had caused one late car loan payment, dinging her credit score. The Utica, New York, resident has been unable to straighten out the mistake, and five banks have rejected her for a mortgage.

"I've been crying," says Wynder. "I've been praying."?

More money and business news:

Follow msnbc.com business on Twitter and Facebook

?

Source: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/08/12581158-high-rents-tight-credit-put-many-at-the-mercy-of-the-market?lite

bonjovi antonio brown martial law is jon bon jovi dead jon bon jovi jon bon jovi kim jong il died

Bizarre Bike With Extra Pedals On the Handlebars Exercises All Your Limbs At Once [Video]

If you're looking for an even more intense workout on your morning bike ride to the office, you need to look no further than the Raxibo which packs an extra set of pedals on the handlebars that exercise your arms and upper body as well. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/X_zTY-gJd0I/bizarre-bike-with-extra-pedals-on-the-handlebars-exercises-all-your-limbs-at-once

florida state football florida state football ben breedlove kid cudi ben breedlove matt barnes hcm loretta lynn

Raspberry Margarita Popsicles ? Recipes & Photos - Creative ...

by Creative Culinary on July 6, 2012 ? 1 comment

I?ve been making so many cocktails using the fresh fruits of summer I?ve sort of forgotten my ?Classic Cocktail? series that everyone loves which usually includes a history of the drink. I promise to do another of those soon but in the meantime, when fresh fruit is at it?s peak, I just love finding a way to use it for the cocktails I make. Considering the heat of the summer we?ve all been dealing with across the country; I thought everyone would love something a bit lighter and certainly a lot colder.

How cold? Well, you can?t get much colder than a popsicle, right? There was no great plan in the works to make these. As a matter of fact I was just tired of the heat. I?m going to do several cold, slushy or frozen treats this month whether for ice cream or in a fun cocktail fashion.

I also ordered some new molds and in a weird way the anticipation of those being delivered made it impossible for me to wait! So, after the dust settled for the fourth of July this past Wednesday evening I took stock of some juices in the fridge and some fruits in the freezer and came up with a plan for a slightly boozy popsicle.

Hold on?where?s the beef?or in this case, the popsicle?

I thought I was being conservative but in truth it?s evident I pushed the envelope (or tequila) just a bit too far. Too much alcohol and things won?t freeze. That?s good for Limoncello so you can keep it ice cold in the freezer but in the case of these popsicles it meant disaster. The sticks slid out of the frozen part and I don?t doubt the heat didn?t help. Some might cry (and take their miserable popsicles with them) but maybe high altitude baking has taught me a thing or two about perserverance. Don?t pitch it. Fix it.

Scooped out of the container, sticks removed and piled in a glass rimmed with salt and sugar?oh yeah they?re good! They?re fresh, they?re pretty and trust me, they go down VERY easy.

As for those popsicles, I?ve ordered a book filled with recipes for Mexican?Paletas. Paletas are Mexican Popsicles which are either cream or water-based treats and I love the unique flavor combinations; visit some parts of Denver and you can find them being sold from carts on neighborhood streets. We don?t have that in the burbs and I wanted to make my own; who knows maybe I?ll start my own paleta business (kidding) so look for one of those very soon.

Want to read the last part of the post I wrote before I took them out of the freezer? ?Don?t be tempted to up the booze ante though; too much and they would never freeze. Granted a margarita slush would be fine but these are light and sometimes that?s all we need.? A classic case of how I should have taken my own advice! Still, no worries; my next door neighbors have been called and I?m sure they will not refuse this frosty treat in a glass?neither should you! Can?t you almost taste how sweet, tart and cold it is?

Raspberry Margarita Popsicles

Both pretty and cold; these are a great summer refresher.

Ingredients

• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 & 1/2 cups fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3/4 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen; if fresh, add sugar to sweeten)
• 5 Tbsp Tequila
• 5 Tbsp Orange Liqueur
• Kosher salt for garnish
• Sugar for garnish

Preparation

1. Combine sugar and water in saucepan and heat just until sugar has dissolved. Remove pan from heat
2. Add lime juice, lemon and orange juices and stir; cool to room temperature.
3. Put raspberries into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and add sugar if necessary if using fresh berries.
4. Add juice mixture, tequila and orange liqueur and process just to blend. Strain through mesh strainer to remove any raspberry solids.
5. Pour into a container and freeze overnight.
6. Rim a glass with a salt and sugar combination and scoop the slush into the glass. Add a straw and have fun!

Notes

Freeze overnight for best results.

2.0

http://www.creative-culinary.com/2012/07/raspberry-margarita-popsicles/

This recipe brought to you by ? Creative Culinary | A Food and Cocktail Blog | Website: www.creative-culinary.com

To Receive Recipes in Your Inbox:

Source: http://www.creative-culinary.com/2012/07/raspberry-margarita-popsicles/

metta world peace ron artest gladys knight private practice deion sanders dancing with the stars aapl

Sunken NY yacht to be raised, may offer clues

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. (AP) ? A sunken yacht on which three children died during an Independence Day fireworks outing was tethered on Friday to prevent it from drifting away but must be raised from the water before investigators can determine what caused it to capsize.

There were 10 children and 17 adults aboard the Kandi Won when it tipped over and sank after the July Fourth nighttime fireworks show, trapping three children in the main cabin. Boating experts said the vessel was too full and was bound to capsize. That, combined with weather and a strong wave, might have doomed the yacht as it was steering toward land amid a throng of holiday boaters on Long Island Sound.

On Friday, a line was tied from police boats to the 34-foot-long sunken vessel so it wouldn't drift. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard may help raise the boat, which is submerged 60 feet below the surface.

The yacht's owner, Kevin Treanor, who's related to some of the victims, bought it in April 2011, boating records show. There was no answer to calls at his home Friday.

An insurance company lawyer who's representing him, James Mercante, said he'd like to know if something mechanical was responsible, "if something gave way."

"Thirty-four-foot boats shouldn't roll over, with or without people on it," he said.

Mercante lambasted media reports that there were not enough life jackets on board when the vessel sank, noting that the three children who died were in the cabin, where no life vests were required by law.

"There were enough life jackets on board for every person on board and more," he said. "There were plenty of life jackets on board. The life jackets had nothing to do with this incident."

Nassau County Detective Lt. John Azzata said the cause remained under investigation but possibilities include the weather, overcrowding and a wake from another vessel. He said the area was busy with boaters watching the fireworks.

Boater Scott Menzies, who said he positioned his 20-foot motor boat in the area to take in the celebration but didn't see the accident, said conditions on the water were calm during the fireworks and afterward. The National Weather Service said a thunderstorm moved through the area about 20 minutes after the first 911 call and winds never exceeded 10 to 15 mph.

The boat's skipper, Sal Aureliano, told TV's News12 Long Island on Thursday that he saw two lightning bolts and then a wave suddenly hit the yacht off Oyster Bay, on the north shore of Long Island.

"It turned the boat around," he said, his voice cracking. "It just turned the boat. I didn't see it. It was dark. I didn't see it."

Killed were Aureliano's nephew David Aureliano, 12, and two girls, Harley Treanor, 11, and Victoria Gaines, 8. No serious injuries were reported by the 24 passengers who were rescued from the water, mostly by fellow boaters.

The Silverton yacht was built in 1984. The manufacturer has since gone out of business. Safety experts said most boats have manufacturer's plates that list capacity by number of adults and by total weight. So, theoretically, a boat could safely handle more passengers if some were children.

Margaret Podlich, the president of the Boat Owners Association of the U.S., the largest recreational boating organization in the country, called the tragedy a "teachable moment."

"It would be very shortsighted of any of us boaters not to try to learn something from this," she said.

Scott Croft, a spokesman for the boating organization, said there are often mishaps and mistakes during the crowded Fourth of July holiday on the water.

"When fireworks end, our switchboard lights up like a Christmas tree," with problems from boaters, he said.

Each Fourth of July, vessels crowd the Long Island Sound shoreline to watch public and private fireworks displays. When the shows end, the exodus can be the nautical equivalent of a highway traffic jam.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sunken-ny-yacht-raised-may-offer-clues-205705458.html

ifl indoor football league newt gingrich wife callista rick perry travis barker get back on board

McCotter Defenestrates (talking-points-memo)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/237347011?client_source=feed&format=rss

obama budget woolly mammoth belize resorts nikki minaj grammy performance shel silverstein niki minaj grammy performance grammys 2012

Casey Anthony's Car Smelled Like Dead Body, Lawyer Says

Casey Anthony's former lawyer Jose Baez is certainly dropping some memorable quotes in his new book. Among them? That he felt her car smelled like a corpse.

In Presumed Guilty, Casey Anthony: The Inside Story Baez recalled looking in the car trunk, where prosecutors believed her daughter Caylee’s body was hidden.

“I could smell something rotten," he wrote. "I had been to a morgue before and my first impression was that this smelled like a dead body."

"I smelled something else, a chemical-like substance. If you took a good strong whiff, it almost hurt your nostrils. 'Oh my God,' I thought."

"'I’m going to have to talk to Casey about taking a plea.'"

Casey insists she did not kill Caylee, and a jury found her not guilty one year ago today, despite various witness accounts of her Pontiac Sunfire.

George Anthony, Casey's father, testified that when he went to pick up the car from the impound lot, he smelled “something that you would never forget.”

He said a prayer hoping he wouldn’t find Caylee’s body when he opened the trunk; he did not. Amazingly, her mother had about the same reaction.

Cindy Anthony told a 911 dispatcher in 2008 that, "I found my daughter's car today and it smells like there's been a dead body in the damn car!”

How did Baez work around this seemingly damning evidence? By proving that whatever his suspicions might be, it wasn't conclusive evidence at all.

Forensic expert Henry Lee said on the stand after examining the car, “You never know whether it’s decomposing garbage or a decomposing body.”

“I was extremely relieved,” Casey’s attorney wrote in the book about Lee's analysis, saying this was the answer he was looking for.

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/07/casey-anthony-car-smelled-like-dead-body-lawyer-says/

rachel crow rachel crow steelers browns va tech dan gilbert david stern david stern