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Watchdog: Fannie, Freddie should be required to recognize bad mortgages ‘immediately’

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are masking billions of dollars losses because of the level of delinquent home loans they carry, a federal watchdog said, and it said the companies should be required immediately to recognize the costs of some bad mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were seized by the U.S. government in September 2008 as rising mortgage losses threatened them with insolvency. The mortgage companies have cost taxpayers almost $188 billion to stay afloat. Fannie and Freddie have reduced their funds reserved to cover potential losses on bad loans due to the strengthening housing sector and higher home prices.” Continue reading →

Woman, clinically dead for 42-minutes, brought back to life by Australian doctors

“Mother-of-two Vanessa Tanasio, 41, was rushed to Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne last week after a major heart attack, with one of her main arteries fully blocked. She went into cardiac arrest and was declared clinically dead soon after arrival. Doctors refused to give up and used a compression device called a Lucas 2 — the only one of its kind in Australia — to keep blood flowing to her brain while cardiologist Wally Ahmar opened an artery to unblock it. The Lucas device physically compresses the chest, like during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), allowing doctors to work non-stop to put a stent into a blocked artery.” Continue reading →

Argentinian vet designs $3 IUD device to boost beef production

“Turin, 47, began experimenting with home-made bovine IUDs 20 years ago. Today he has a small factory built next to his home in Pergamino — 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Buenos Aires in Argentina’s livestock and agricultural heartland — to produce the $3.00 devices. The cheap and simple items have been a success: some 2.5 million bovine IUDs have been exported to places like Brazil — a world beef-producing giant — and Spain. Spanish officials have even approved one of Turin’s models for use in sows, especially since the castration of boars was recently banned due to animal welfare concerns.” Continue reading →

FDA launches inquiry about Merck drug Zilmax in cattle feed

“The USDA had no comment and referred questions to the FDA, which does not typically reveal its investigations. Merck said on Friday it was temporarily suspending sales of Zilmax in the United States and Canada, following concerns about the drug, which is given to cattle to increase their weight before slaughter. Last week, Tyson Foods Inc said it would stop accepting beef from Zilmax-fed cattle after it observed animals arriving at its slaughter facilities with signs that they had difficulty walking or moving. Merck on Tuesday revealed a new program to retrain and certify beef producers in administering Zilmax, which had sales of $159 million last year.” Continue reading →

NYPD: Largest-ever gun seizure by an undercover cop was thanks to ‘stop and frisk’

“The Commissioner was also quick to claim that, despite the undercover officers’ involvement and all other apparent evidence to the contrary, the seizure points to success of the ‘stop and frisk’ policy. Kelly’s claim rests on a wiretap of one of the accused, Eddie Campbell, who is heard to say that he prefers not to come to New York because of the stop-and-frisk policy: ‘I’m in Brownsville,’ Kelly quoted Campbell as saying. ‘We got like, umm, uh, whatchamacallit, stop and frisk.’ Campbell is accused of selling 90 guns during 24 meetings with the unnamed detective. Another alleged dealer, Walter Walker, is said to have sold him another 116 guns.” Continue reading →

Man finds 300 pounds of marijuana stashed in gun safe he bought on the Internet

“The 1,000-pound steel safe, ordered from Champion Safe Co. of Provo, Utah, was made in Nogales, Mexico, and shipped by truck from Mexico to Champion’s warehouse near Mansfield, Ohio, Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart said. The safe was delivered on June 19 to the customer in western Ohio by an independent driver working for Champion, Lenhart said. The marijuana, tightly wrapped in 10, 28-pound packages, has an estimated street value of $420,000, according to Lenhart. He said the truck’s shipment contained 25 to 30 safes, and that all the others were free of drugs.” Continue reading →

Do You Like Guns? Sitting? Introducing the CouchBunker

“And you thought stubbing your toe on the corner of the couch hurts bad now. Introducing the CouchBunker, a fire-rated gun safe hidden inside a custom built couch. Oh but does it get better: every CouchBunker comes with a bullet proof cushions fit with carry straps, so that they can be used as shields. The CouchBunker is the finest in lounge-centric security from the BedBunker company, which makes — surprise — safes that you can sleep on. ‘If you break it down and remove the cushions, you notice it looks like a normal sofa. But open up the lid, and you have a concealed gun safe,’ explained the company’s Brian Poitevent to KHOU.'” Continue reading →

Bolivian man claims to have lived for 123 years thanks to quinoa and coca leaves

“Bolivian indigenous farmer Carmelo Flores, who could be the oldest person to have ever lived, attributes his longevity to quinoa grains, riverside mushrooms and around-the-clock chewing of coca leaves. Speaking in the 4,000-metre (13,123-feet) high hamlet where he lives in a straw-roofed hut, Flores says the traditional Andean diet has kept him alive for 123 years. Flores is still strong enough to take daily walks in shoes made of recycled tires. Flores said he fought in the brutal 1932-35 Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, and had to hunt skunks to nourish himself.” Continue reading →