By VIKAS BAJAJ

Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, said yesterday that more borrowers with good credit were falling behind on their loans and that the housing market might not begin recovering until 2009 because of a decline in house prices that goes beyond anything experienced in decades.

The news from Countrywide, widely seen as a bellwether for the mortgage market, initiated a sell-off in the stock market, which is at its most volatile in more than a year. The Standard & Poor’s 500’stock index fell 30.53 points, or 2 percent, to 1,511.04, its biggest one-day drop in nearly five months. The dollar dropped to a new low against the euro, edging closer to $1.40 to 1 euro. Stocks opened sharply lower in Japan this morning.

The slumping housing market has become the biggest worry for the stock market, which just four days ago set records, because of its potential impact on the broader economy and financial system.

Countrywide’s stark assessment signaled a critical change in the substance and tenor of how housing executives are publicly describing the market. Just a couple of months ago, some executives were predicting a relatively quick recovery and saying that most home loans would be fine with the exception of those made to borrowers with weak credit who stretched too far financially.

Executives at Countrywide had for some time been more skeptical than others but the bluntness of their comments yesterday surprised many on Wall Street. In a conference call with analysts that lasted three hours, Countrywide’s chairman and chief executive, Angelo R. Mozilo, said home prices were falling “almost like never before, with the exception of the Great Depression.”

read more at The New York Times

from ABC News Online

Which Pets Are Most at Risk in the Heat?

Do you know which pets are most at risk during these hot days? Very young, very old and overweight dogs and cats, and short-nosed breeds like pugs, bulldogs and terriers.

Short-nosed breeds (also called brachycephalic breeds) with pushed-in faces are prone to breathing difficulties. Dogs pant to get rid of excess heat, and these dogs are the worst panters, which inhibits their ability to get rid of heat. Think of a human who can’t sweat.

If your dog or cat has a heavy coat, such as a sheepdog or a husky, or if you live in a hot, humid area like Florida or Texas, it’s a good idea to give your pet a crew cut by cutting their hair to about 1 inch long. But be careful, don’t cut their hair too short because it works as a natural sunscreen for your pets.

For other pets, a clean, well-brushed coat enables air to circulate between the hair and their skin, which will keep both dogs and cats naturally cool. Cats in particular need to be brushed frequently.

And here’s something you might not know: Dark-haired pets heat up much more quickly, just like humans who wear dark clothes. For those dogs, it’s very important to keep them out of the sun and their hair clipped short.

read more at ABC News Online

from Media Matters

On the July 23 edition of CNN’s The Situation Room, CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash referred to the “narrative that we’ve heard more and more from the Republicans here, which is that they say the Democratic Congress simply isn’t getting anything done.” Bash then showed a video clip of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) asserting that “the American people are looking at this Congress and saying, ‘Where’s the legislation? What are you going to do to make America better?’ ” But in airing the GOP claim that the Democratic leadership “isn’t getting anything done” — which Bash did not challenge — she ignored the Republicans’ record of blocking legislation proposed by the Democratic majority in the Senate. Indeed, as McClatchy Newspapers reported on July 20: “This year Senate Republicans are threatening filibusters to block more legislation than ever before.”

read more at MEDIA MATTERS

Written by Jay Rosen. Reported by Jen C., David Cohn,
Sarah Cove, Beverly Davis, River Curtis-Stanley,
Neil Nagraj, Nikki Summer, and Denise Wheeler.
cross posted at The Huffington Post

Jordan Williams was watching the debate with his mother and began jumping up and down when his video came on, and the candidates all turned their heads toward him. It asked how Obama or Clinton would reply to critics who charge that “one is not authentically black enough, or the other is not satisfactorily feminine.” Williams felt the candidates basically blew him off.

“Much to my chagrin, I felt Senator Clinton just cut off the fact that she’s a woman, instead of answering it.” He felt Obama “made a nice little joke…” (that taxi drivers in New York City seem to know he was black) “but didn’t answer it in the least.” Overall? “I was pretty disappointed by both of them.”

CNN, which had exclusive control over which questions got asked in last night’s co-production with YouTube, had a Kucinich supporter ask Dennis Kucinich a Kucinich question. It asked another questioner to re’shoot his video to make it 27seconds long. YouTube flew ten top contributors to Charleston, but none knew if their questions would make it on air. Some did, most didn’t. Meanwhile, others were watching at home hoping to see themselves and doubting it would ever happen. But then it did.

We also asked Steve Grove, politics editor of YouTube, what his goals were. “To further our mission of connecting the candidates and the voters directly to each other, without middlemen,” he said. Well, they got part of the way. Anderson Cooper was very much in the middle. But that’s not to say the “direct” connection didn’t happen.

read more at THE HUFFINGTON POST

Another fine example of this administration’s incompetence, as it trickles down to Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. Yet, NO ONE will be held accountable for this latest breach of personal security. - JS

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than a quarter of the computer equipment at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington could not be found by investigators, government auditors reported Tuesday.

Three other VA facilities showed slightly better results but still could not locate between 6% and 11% of their equipment, including computers, hard drives, monitors and other devices. In all, the four facilities audited by the Government Accountability Office reported more than 2,400 missing items originally worth $6.4 million.

Aside from decrying potentially wasted tax dollars, lawmakers said the report raises fresh questions about the security of the agency’s information, including sensitive medical records and Social Security numbers.

The audit follows a series of computer data security breaches at the agency that exposed millions of veterans and medical providers to possible identity theft.

“It has a very corrosive effect on trust in the VA in general,” said Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn. “I think all of us up here are sensing the frustrations of our constituents and our veterans.”

For the audit, the GAO sampled equipment inventories at medical centers in Washington, San Diego, Indianapolis and at VA headquarters offices.

The auditors said much of the equipment that could be found was not where inventory records said it should be. Equipment often was moved or set aside for discard without documentation. As a result, it was difficult or impossible to determine what had happened to the missing equipment, the report said.

Equipment slated for disposal - some containing sensitive records - often sat unprotected in storage rooms for months or years, the report said.

“Essentially no one was accountable for IT equipment,” it said.

read more at USA TODAY

By Peter Johnson
USA TODAY

CNN made it official Tuesday: Ratings-challenged Paula Zahn is out and Campbell Brown is in for the most competitive hour in cable news, 8 p.m. ET/5 PT.

Zahn, a fixture on network (CBS) and cable (Fox, then CNN) news for the past 20 years, leaves CNN next week. Substitute hosts will fill in until November, when Brown, formerly an anchor of NBC Weekend Today, will take over.

“I leave here with nothing but pride in the good journalism we were able to get on the air,” Zahn, 51, said in an interview. She notes that many historic stories occurred on her watch, including the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, Pope John Paul’s death and the Virginia Tech massacre.

“There are a lot of temptations when you’re involved in these shows about how much tabloid you’re going to do and what the right equation is,” she says. “We kept our standards very high.”

She says that “8 p.m. is the toughest time slot in all of cable news, and I knew that when I took on the challenge. The truth is, that hour is when the audience is drawn in by opinion, and that’s not what I do.”

For Zahn, it has been no fun watching as her opinionated, often-ranting competition - Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann and Headline News’ Nancy Grace - beat her.

“Was it dispiriting on nights when you’d put on a sensational show on race, exploring very raw issues that weren’t being tackled, and didn’t get the audience you think it deserved? Absolutely,” she says.

Asked if Brown, who announced Monday that she’s joining the cable network, might fare better, Zahn says, “That’s for (CNN) managers to figure out.”

CNN chief Jon Klein says he’s grateful for Zahn’s “dedication, professionalism and class over the last six years. She used her on-air platform to tap into issues that were underrepresented in the national dialogue.”

By John Dickerson
from Slate

Mitt Romney has been increasing his assault on the Democratic front-runners recently. During a recent campaign swing, he returned to a theme found in his earliest speeches: “The Democratic candidates want to run the largest enterprise in the world-the government of the United States-and yet have never run a corner store.” To make sure reporters get the point, Romney’s campaign has sent e-mails highlighting this attack and links to local wire stories featuring it.

Republican voters usually like to hear their candidates beat up the opposition, so the broad attack helps Romney in his effort to look like the party front-runner. But according to Romney insiders, the former Massachusetts governor is not just aiming at Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. His other, perhaps more salient target, is fellow Republican Fred Thompson. Like the Democratic front-runners, Fred Thompson has also never run anything, though he has pretended to run all kinds of things in his many films. Romney is laying the groundwork against Thompson now and plans to make the charge explicitly when the actor gets into the race.

Meanwhile, lolling on the sidelines seems to be working nicely for Thompson. He’s second in national polls, in key early states like Iowa and South Carolina and in big states like Florida. As the dream candidate of conservatives who are disappointed with the current Republican field, Thompson threatens Romney’s efforts to cultivate social conservatives, so that’s why the former Massachusetts governor has been the most aggressive of the Republican candidates in going after him.

read more at SLATE

By Sally Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer

NEW YORK, July 24 — National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern fought to restore public confidence in his league at a news conference Tuesday, asserting his belief that a referee under federal investigation for gambling and a link to organized crime was a “rogue, isolated criminal.” But the normally self-assured commissioner was grim in tone and appearance as he acknowledged that the NBA is facing “the most serious and the worst situation” in his 23 years as head of the league.

“My reaction is, I can’t believe it’s happening to us,” Stern said.

Tim Donaghy, a veteran referee of 13 years, resigned July 9 under investigation by the FBI for allegedly placing bets on NBA games, including some he officiated, and for providing inside information to others for profit over the last two seasons, Stern said. According to a source close to the investigation, the FBI’s Organized Crime Squad is particularly examining whether Donaghy influenced the outcome of games in which he was involved.

No referee or umpire has ever been indicted for fixing games in the history of the four major American professional leagues. The crisis faced by the NBA is perhaps comparable only to that faced by Major League Baseball in 1919, when eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series, or by the German soccer federation in 2005, when a referee was found to have match-fixed at the behest of a Croatian gambling ring .

read more at The Washington Post

By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN

WASHINGTON - Airport security officers around the nation have been alerted by federal officials to look out for terrorists practicing to carry explosive components onto aircraft, based on four curious seizures at airports since last September.

The unclassified alert was distributed on July 20 by the Transportation Security Administration to federal air marshals, its own transportation security officers and other law enforcement agencies.

The seizures at airports in San Diego, Milwaukee, Houston and Baltimore included “wires, switches, pipes or tubes, cell phone components and dense clay-like substances,” including block cheese, the bulletin said. “The unusual nature and increase in number of these improvised items raise concern.”

Security officers were urged to keep an eye out for “ordinary items that look like improvised explosive device components.”

The 13-paragraph bulletin was posted on the Internet by NBC Nightly News, which first reported the story.

A federal official familiar with the document confirmed the authenticity of the NBC posting but declined to be identified by name because it has not been officially released.

read more HERE

Vince Gill
“Next Big Thing”