The 287(g) program for local immigration enforcement continues to have problems, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, which has been reviewing spending on the program. The Washington Post writes:
“The Homeland Security Department's internal watchdog is unable to verify federal money for an immigration enforcement program was spent as Congress intended, according to a report issued Friday.
“The department's inspector general said Congress gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement $11.1 million in 2009 and 2010 for compliance reviews for a program known as 287(g), which allows local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws.
“But the inspector general's office said when it tried to confirm expenditures it was unable to get all documents to back up spending.”
After a brief pause, foreclosures are ramping up again this week. The New York Times writes a story on why banks won’t allow some mortgage holders to do short sales:
“Bank of America and GMAC are firing up their formidable foreclosure machines again today, after a brief pause.
“But hard-pressed homeowners like Lydia Sweetland are asking why lenders often balk at a less disruptive solution: short sales, which allow owners to sell deeply devalued homes for less than what remains on their mortgage.
“Ms. Sweetland, 47, tried such a sale this summer out of desperation. She had lost her high-paying job and drained her once-flush retirement savings, and her bank, GMAC, wouldn’t modify her mortgage. After seven months of being unable to pay her mortgage, she decided that a short sale would give her more time to move out of her Phoenix home and damage her credit rating less than a foreclosure.
“She owes $206,000 and found a buyer who would pay $200,000. Last Friday, GMAC rejected that offer and said it would foreclose in seven days, even though, according to Ms. Sweetland’s broker, the bank estimates it will make $19,000 less on a foreclosure than on a short sale.”
Taste buds recently discovered on the lungs could help treat asthma sufferers, according to the Los Angeles Times:
“An unexpected discovery of taste receptors in lungs may provide asthma sufferers with more effective ways to restore free breathing during attacks, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine reported Sunday.
“Experiments with mice and human tissues revealed that the receptors, like those found on the tongue, respond to bitter substances by signaling constricted muscles in the lungs to relax, reopening tight airways in seconds.
“The findings, published in the online journal Nature Medicine, could lead to the development of the first new class of asthma inhalers in 50 years, said Dr. Stephen B. Liggett, lead author of the study.”
Could premixed alcohol and caffeine be the next health hazard for collage students? According to a new study in USA Today, it could:
“Three beers, a can of Red Bull and a large espresso: no big deal, many college students might say. Three beers, a can of Red Bull and a large espresso times three or four, and they still might tell you they're not intoxicated.
“Therein lies the danger of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, whose popularity has grown in recent years among college-aged drinkers, drawing the attention of concerned health officials, politicians and college administrators. Experts say that even one is a recipe for disaster, and so do officials at Ramapo College: they banned alcoholic energy drinks on campus this month.
“Peter Mercer, president of the New Jersey college, said students referred to the above concoction when describing the effects of drinks such as Four Loko, which is particularly popular around the campus. Four Loko is one of a few flashy, canned drinks that take the mixing out of the equation, making it that much easier for students to get dangerously intoxicated, faster. Mercer said concerned students told him the inexpensive 23-ounce, 12% alcohol energy drinks were ‘all of a sudden very popular,’ and Four Loko was involved in a couple of incidents of excessive drinking. Since the start of fall semester, 23 people have been hospitalized with alcohol intoxication.”