THE WEEK IN NEWS – January 29th through February 4th
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine Nolan Photos Courtesy of A/P and Getty and Monica Almeida/NY TimesThe week in review was equally divided between international and national news this past week.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29TH
Heavy fog and unstable driving conditions caused a massive pileup of vehicles on I-75 South of Gainesville in Florida. Cars and trucks collided as drivers became blinded by smoke and fog in the early morning hours. There were 18 people hospitalized and at least 10 were killed. It was an ominous sight and those that made it out were haunted by the cries and screams and the sound of cars crashing. Six tractor-trailers were involved and some burst into flames. The Interstate was closed for most of Sunday and the huge accident is under investigation as to whether the brush fire, thought to be the cause, was intentional or not.
MONDAY, JANUARY 30th
To the dismay of Americans, word was released that Freddie Mac invested billions betting that struggling Americans will default on their home loans and won’t be able to refinance their mortgages at today’s lower rates. That is somewhat ironic since their job is to make home ownership easier. The company is owned by U.S. taxpayers and overseen by a regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Public documents are proof that in the last 2 years, Freddie Mac set out to make gains for its own investment portfolio by using complex mortgage securities that brought in more money for Freddie Mac when homeowners in higher interest rate loans were unable to qualify for refinancing. It appears to be a conflict of interest as well as Freddie Mac declined to comment.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31st
Unemployment is at an all-time high for the Euro Nations, particularly Greece (19.2%), Cyprus and Spain (22.9%). EU leaders agree that they must boost economic growth right away. At the end of December 2011, the unemployment rate was at 10.4%. This is largely attributed to Europe’s debt crisis. Both Austria and Germany have a far better story to tell. Leaders pledged to offer more training for young people to ease their transition into the work force, to deploy unused development funds to create jobs, to reduce barriers to doing business across the EU’s 27 countries and ensure small businesses have access to credit.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1st
Legendary ‘Soul Train’ creator, Don Cornelius, was found dead in his Sherman Oaks, California home with a ‘self-inflicted gunshot wound’. Many were utterly surprised and in disbelief that he was that despondent to carry out a suicide including his own children. Cornelius brought talent to the world such as ‘The Jackson Five’ and ‘Patti LaBelle’ and gave widespread exposure to artists such as Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin and James Brown. His show as one of the longest-running syndicated shows in television history running from 1971 to 2006 and was in close competition with Dick Clark’s ‘American Bandstand’. In recent years, Cornelius was plagued with many health issues. The world will surely miss him. He passed away at 75 years of age.
President Obama announced a proposition to assist responsible homeowners and heal the housing market. This would save homeowners thousands of dollars by refinancing at a lower interest rate. The plan is to:
* Provide access to refinancing for all non-GSE borrowers who are current on their payments and meet simple criteria
* Streamline the refinancing process for all GSE borrowers that are current on their loans
* Give borrowers the chance to rebuild equity through refinancing
There is much associated with this plan that will certainly be released in more detail in the coming weeks and months.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd
A soccer match turned deadly and went out of control in Egypt as 79 people died in a riot after the game and at least 900 were injured in Cairo. The soccer violence reignited demands for Egypt’s military-led government to make reforms and improve security in the region. An emergency parliamentary session was called. What started as a peaceful and entertaining sports match, turned deadly with chairs and rocks being thrown and knives and sticks being carried by people in the crowd. As fans tried to flee from the stadium, some were trampled as the escape was blocked by a locked steel gate.
Here at home, Mitt Romney was still exuberant from his big win in Florida as Donald Trump decided to announce that he was endorsing the candidate in Las Vegas just days before that state’s primary election. Trump was quoted as saying that Romney was tough, smart, sharp and would not allow bad things to happen to this country.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3rd
Egypt is once again thrown into the spotlight as two American tourists were kidnapped by gunmen and then after several hours of tense negotiations, were set free again. They were swapped for four Bedouins who had been arrested in the Sinai Peninsula earlier. Both of the captives were women who actually stated that their kidnappers were civil and did not harm them. This could be viewed as a negative blow to the tourist industry in Egypt as the incident happened in broad daylight on a busy highway. The two tourists were in a mini-van with their Egyptian guide leaving the peaceful and beautiful St. Catherine’s Monastery.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4th
The week ended on a high note for GOP candidate, Mitt Romney, as he dashed to the finish line with a double-digit margin lead. Romney has been focusing on the downfall of President Obama as he moves to each new state. His opponents will not drop out of the race just yet and Newt Gingrich is even more determined for a win now in one of the next states on the agenda. The next states in line will be Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri and Maine. Since Nevada is mostly a Mormon state, that worked in Romney’s favor as he is also of the Mormon faith. He pulled ahead with 48% of the vote with Gingrich taking 23%, Ron Paul taking 19% and Rick Santorum taking 11% of the vote.
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