Occupy abolishes $4 million in other people's student loan debt

Marking the third anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the group's Strike Debt initiative announced Wednesday it has abolished $3.8 million worth of private student loan debt since January. It said it has been buying the debts for pennies on the dollar from debt collectors, and then simply forgiving that money rather than trying to collect it.

In total, the group spent a little more than $100,000 to purchase the $3.8 million in debt.

While the group is unable to purchase the majority of the country's $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt because it is backed by the federal government, private student debt is fair game.

Related: U.S. government to Corinthian Colleges: Forgive $500 million in student loans

This debt Occupy bought belonged to 2,700 people who had taken out private student loans to attend Everest College, which is run by Corinthian Colleges. Occupy zeroed in on Everest because Corinthian Colleges is one of the country's largest for-profit education companies and has been in serious legal hot water lately.

Following a number of federal investigations, the college told investors this summer that it plans to sell or close its 107 campuses due to financial problems -- potentially leaving its 74,000 students in a lurch.

"Despite Corinthian's dire financial straits, checkered past, and history of lying to and misleading vulnerable students, tens of thousands of people may still be liable for the loans they have incurred while playing by the rules and trying to get an education," a Strike Debt member said in an email.

Then on Tuesday, the company was hit with a lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over allegations of predatory lending practices. The lawsuit demanded that Corinthian forgive the more than $500 million in outstanding student loan debt that its students had incurred since 2011. Should the court rule in the CFPB's favor, that means the debt Occupy bought and abolished would have been forgiven anyway.

Related: States, federal government cracking down on for-profit colleges

Corinthian Colleges spokesman Kent Jenkins said the school stands by the "high-quality" education its students have received and disputes the CFPB's allegations. He noted that Corinthian's default rate is lower than other community colleges and its graduation and job placement rates are higher.

Levia Welch, 32, enrolled at Everest College in January of last year. She had been struggling to find a job without a high school diploma or GED, so she signed up for an 8-month career training and GED preparation program at Everest. She took out several loans to pay for the program, and as it came to an end, she says administrators told her she wouldn't be able to get a GED unless she stayed in the program longer -- which meant taking out even more loans.

Related: 40 million Americans now have student loan debt

Eventually she gave up, saying the classes weren't helpful and were just putting her deeper into debt. She dropped out in May with nearly $18,000 in debt, spread out between four or five loans. She paid off one small loan of $636 while she was still in the program, and she has been looking for jobs so that she can pay the rest off. But without a GED, finding an employer to hire her has been tough.

"I just wanted to move forward in life but I didn't get that," she said. "I feel like I'm a victim."

Then, last week, she received a letter from Strike Debt saying it had abolished one of her loans of $669. While this means she still owes more than $16,000 in federal and private loans, the letter was a nice surprise.

Related: Big protests are coming to Hong Kong's financial district

The money Strike Debt uses to buy debts comes from a pool of about $700,000 it has received through fundraising events over the past few years. Before starting on student loan debt, the group abolished more than $15 million worth of emergency room bills for thousands of people.

Because the group realizes that abolishing all of the country's student loan and medical debt would be an impossible task, it is turning its attentions to a new platform called The Debt Collective as a way to bring debtors together so they can negotiate debts with creditors -- or refuse to pay them entirely.

"Debt is the tie that binds the 99%, whether you are a student delinquent on your student loans or a parent struggling to pay healthcare bills," Strike Debt member Ann Larson said in a statement. "Being forced into debt for basic social services is a systemic problem."

Fox News' Elisabeth Hasselbeck compares NFL's domestic abuse cases with Benghazi

"Fox & Friends" host Elisabeth Hasselbeck took to Twitter on Tuesday to compare the controversy over the NFL's handling of domestic abuse cases and the White House's handling of the Sept. 11, 2012, terror attack on American facilities in Benghazi, Libya.

"Imagine if everyone that asked for transparency in the #nfl @nfl Demanded that same #transparency in our #government #Benghazi," Hasselbeck wrote on Twitter.




Hasselbeck's tweet comes amid calls for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to resign over his response to the domestic abuse cases involving former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, and a day before the House Select Committee on Benghazi’s first open hearing.

Hasselbeck, who left "The View" to join Fox News in 2013, has a personal interest in both. She is married to former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, now an ESPN analyst.

Goodell's wife, Jane Skinner, was an anchor for Fox News from 1998 to 2010.

Fox News has been criticized for what some call an obsession with placing the blame for Benghazi on the Obama administration. According to a study conducted by liberal watchdog group Media Matters, Fox News' primetime lineup ran 1,098 segments on Benghazi in the first 20 months following the attacks, including 281 segments alleging a "coverup" by the Obama administration.

Later, Hasselbeck responded to one critic who said the insertion of Benghazi was "ridiculous."


 Hasselbeck is not the only "Fox & Friends" host to stir controversy while weighing in on the NFL's domestic abuse problem.

Last week, her co-hosts, Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy, joked about a lesson to be learned from the video showing Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his then-fiancee unconscious in an elevator.

"I think the message is, take the stairs," Kilmeade said during a discussion of the video.

"The message is, when you're in an elevator, there are cameras," co-host Steve Doocy added.

Only 4 states will see cuts to food stamps

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cuts to the nation's food stamp program enacted this year are only affecting four states, far from the sweeping overhaul that Republicans had pushed, an Associated Press review has found.

As a result, it's unclear whether the law will realize the estimated $8.6 billion in savings over 10 years that the GOP had advertised.

A farm bill signed by President Barack Obama in February attempted to save money by scaling back what lawmakers called a loophole in the food stamp program that entitles low-income families to more food aid if they participate in a federal heating assistance program. States were giving some people as little as $1 a year in heating assistance so they could get more food aid. It's called "heat and eat."

Among the 16 states that allow the practice or some form of it, 12 governors have taken steps to avoid the food stamp cuts.

"Government's role is to help people help themselves, and these steps are necessary to help our most vulnerable residents and families meet their most basic needs," Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said when he announced his state's move earlier this year.

The farm bill was held up for more than two years as conservatives insisted on cutting the nation's food stamp program, which now serves 1 in 7 Americans at a cost of around $80 billion a year. The roughly 1 percent cut was a compromise between Republicans who had hoped for far larger cuts and Democrats who didn't want to see any cuts at all.

The states' workaround — mostly by Democratic governors — has infuriated Republicans who pushed the cuts. In March, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called the states' moves "fraud." House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., have asked the Obama administration to "hold states accountable" for dodging the cuts.

The governors say they are following the law while preserving crucial benefits for their neediest citizens.
The new law says that people can't get the higher food benefits unless they receive more than $20 a year in heating assistance, which lawmakers hoped would be too expensive for states to pay. But the governors in 12 states and the mayor of the District of Columbia have said they will find a way. Most will use federal heating assistance dollars. At least one state, California, will use its own money.

As of now, the cuts will only affect Michigan, Wisconsin, New Jersey and New Hampshire. All but New Hampshire have Republican governors.

There are about 1.8 million households that receive food stamps in those four states, out of almost 23 million households nationwide.

It's unclear how many people will be affected. Officials in Wisconsin, New Jersey and New Hampshire said they don't track that number. Michigan officials say around 20 percent of the state's recipients, or around 170,000 households, participated in the "heat and eat" program and will see cuts.

Bob Wheaton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Human Services, says the state didn't want to "create a new loophole even beyond the loophole that previously existed" and draw down federal heating benefits for others in the cold-weather state. He said the average decrease will be around $76 a month for a family of four, starting in November. That amount varies by state.

Terry Smith, director of New Hampshire's family assistance programs, said his state's decision "was not to deplete an already tenuous LIHEAP allocation in our state and take needed heat from people."

LIHEAP is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and it is paid to states as federal grants each year. New Hampshire did not give recipients $1 payments but did allow a LIHEAP application to qualify them for higher food benefits. The farm bill's change in policy will discontinue that practice.

The states that are using that federal heating assistance money to avoid the food stamp cuts say they believe they can do it without significantly reducing heating aid to others who need it, even without more money from the federal government. Peter Merrill, the deputy director of MaineHousing, says he estimates that maintaining the food stamp benefits will only reduce federal heating assistance payments to Maine residents by about $4 a year on average.

In Washington state, residents will see food stamp benefits reduced briefly, in November and December, due to a backlog in getting their computer systems running. A spokeswoman for the governor said the state will reinstate the higher heating assistance payments in January, once the backlog clears, and 200,000 households will see their benefits go back up.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans say the states' decisions don't mean the farm bill cuts are obliterated. A GOP memo from the House Agriculture Committee staff notes that some states may reverse their decisions to avoid the cuts, especially as current recipients move off the rolls. And the Congressional Budget Office, which figures out how much bills cost, accounted for some states bowing out when coming up with its $8.6 billion estimate over 10 years. But the CBO hasn't said whether it accounted for high-population states like California, New York and Pennsylvania maintaining the higher food stamp benefits.

Other states that have dodged the cuts are Connecticut, Delaware, Montana, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Pat Baker of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, an advocacy group that focuses on poverty issues, says the "heat and eat" recipients are often elderly or disabled, sometimes living in apartments where utilities are included but the rent is higher. "This would be a significant loss in nutrition benefits to the lowest-income and neediest residents," she says.

CNN: Joan Rivers's Doctor Took Selfie, Performed Unauthorized Biopsy

oan Rivers's personal doctor began to perform an unauthorized biopsy on the 81-year-old just before she went into cardiac arrest, CNN reports. 

And another disturbing detail has emerged: An unnamed Yorkville Endoscopy Clinic staffer also told the news organization that the doctor — described as Joan's personal ear-nose-throat physician —  reportedly took a selfie while Rivers was under anesthesia.

Rivers was at the clinic for a scheduled throat procedure by another doctor, gastroenterologist Dr. Lawrence Cohen. When he was finished, the comedian's personal doctor (whose name has not been released) reportedly began to perform a biopsy without her prior consent, according to CNN. The ENT was not certified to perform procedures at the Manhattan clinic, as required by law, says CNN.

"Investigators believe that Rivers's vocal cords began to swell during the allegedly unauthorized biopsy, cutting off the flow of oxygen to her lungs, which led to cardiac arrest on the morning of August 29," the source said.

[Related: Joan Rivers's Star-Studded Funeral]

An investigation into what led to Rivers's death continues. However, this new information contradicts the clinic's previous statements: Yorkville Endoscopy last Thursday denied reports that any vocal cord biopsies had been performed there.

Dr. Cohen, the medical director at Yorkville Endoscopy, where Rivers was having her procedure and went into cardiac arrest, was asked by the board to step down from his post and accepted, "The Insider With Yahoo" confirmed on Friday.

"Dr. Cohen is not currently performing procedures at Yorkville Endoscopy; nor is he currently serving as medical director," a spokesperson for Yorkville Endoscopy said.

Despite attempts to revive Rivers once she stopped breathing, she never regained consciousness. She died at Mount Sinai Hospital on Sept. 4 after being removed from life support.

The Meds Pharmacists Take When They Get Sick

When sickness strikes, Americans tend to turn first to the white coat behind the pharmacy counter. Why? One word: convenience. In a recent Center for Medicine in the Public Interest survey, 77 percent of U.S. consumers said they value the 24/7 availability of over-the-counter cough medicines — and 78 percent think it would be a burden to have to seek a prescription from their doctor when the coughing kicks in. 

That means pharmacists are a valuable — even critical — resource when trying to decide which cold and flu meds to buy (seriously, who wants to read all of those labels?). Lucky for you, you don’t even have to talk to your pharmacist to get the scoop: The American Pharmacists Association recently asked 1,000 pharmacists which over-the-counter cold and flu medications they’re most likely to recommend — and Yahoo Health asked the experts to explain exactly how these OTC meds can help make you feel better, ASAP.

SINUS HEADACHE MEDS

The winner: Advil Cold & Sinus

This non-drowsy formula contains two misery-fighting ingredients: ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine. Ibuprofen is a painkiller that works by binding to an enzyme responsible for the production of inflammatory substances, like prostaglandins. “Reducing prostaglandin levels reduces inflammation and pain sensation,” Michelle Arkin, an associate professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at UC San Francfisco, told Yahoo Health in an email. 

The second ingredient, pseudoephedrine, acts as a decongestant. “It will open the nasal passages — it shrinks the blood vessels, and helps you breathe better,” said W. Steven Pray, a professor of pharmacy at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. It will also probably give you a burst of energy, which you may welcome if you’ve been dragging all day: “Pseudoephedrine can cause an adrenaline rush and suppress appetite,” Arkin said. 

Still, although it may provide some relief, you should see a doctor if you suspect you have a sinus infection, Pray cautioned. “There’s nothing to treat a sinus infection other than an antibiotic.” 

The runner-up: Sudafed 12 Hour Pressure + Pain 

Related: How to Avoid Getting Sick on Vacation

ADULT LIQUID COLD MEDS

The winner: Mucinex Cold, Flu & Sore Throat

Take one gulp of this powerful liquid, and you’ll simultaneously target coughing, congestion, and pain. One of the ingredients, guaifenesin, is an expectorant, which means “it helps thin the junk in your lungs, so when you cough, the junk will come up more readily,” Pray told Yahoo Health. The cough suppressant dextromethorphan, on the other hands, halts your hacking by zeroing in on the part of your brain that controls coughing, he said. 

But, warned Pray, since dextromethorphan suppresses coughing, it may reduce your ability to hack up the mucus that guaifenesin is encouraging you to expel. Times when this combo is worth considering: If your symptoms are keeping you up at night, the cough-suppressing power of dextromethorphan may help you sleep, while your lungs work on clearing the mucus with the help of guaifenesin, he said. The other occassion it might be worth a try: when there’s fluid begging to break free, but you’re hacking so hard it hurts.

The third ingredient, acetaminophen (what you find in Tylenol), helps relieve the pain that can accompany a cold, while phenylephrine combats congestion. It’s essentially a less potent version of pseudoephedrine, said Arkin.

Rosie O'Donnell Talks 50-Pound Weight Loss: "It's Filled With Emotional Turbulence"

Not all weight loss stories are 100 percent positive. Rosie O’Donnell, who is back hosting The View after her exit in 2007, shed 50 pounds after suffering a heart attack in 2012, and has struggled to adjust to her new body. 

PHOTOS: Celebrity weight loss transformations

"The fact that I look so different has been difficult and unexpected," she told ABC News on the set of The View. "Everyone assumes that obese people would just be jumping for joy that they were healthier and thinner and able to fit into store-bought sizes, we don't have to go to the plus store. But it's also filled with a lot of emotional turbulence you wouldn't expect." See Rosie's before and after weight loss pic.

PHOTOS: Celebrity weight fluctuations

Fortunately, this “turbulence” hasn’t hurt her marriage to second wife Michelle Rounds. 

"I have a group that I go to, where women talk about how they feel," she continued. "A lot of marriages break up once one person gets healthy. Luckily, my wife is very healthy, [has] always been healthy, loves me and encourages me to be healthy."

PHOTOS: Celebs who have lost or gained weight for a role

In fact, losing weight and taking care of herself was one of her wife’s requirements for marriage. 

"When we decided to get married, she said, 'But I want 40 more years and I don't want you to die on me, so you need to do something for your health,'" O’Donnell, 52, noted.

Though it’s been a complicated process, O’Donnell is happy to be back hosting The View and feeling better than ever.

PHOTOS: Celebrity weight loss spokespeople

"I feel good. I wouldn't have said yes to coming back if I didn't," she added. "The concept of being able to do this show in a way that celebrates and elevates women is hard for me to resist."

John Travolta Addresses Gay Rumors, Pending Lawsuit By an Alleged Former Lover

"This is every celebrity's Achilles heel."

In a new interview with The Daily Beast, John Travolta, 60, opens up about rumors that he's gay -- specifically a lawsuit from a man who alleged he was Travolta's former pilot, and that the two were engaged in a relationship that was more than professional.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Douglas Gotterba -- who worked for John Travolta's aircraft company Alto in the '80s -- will get the opportunity to argue in a lawsuit that he holds no confidentiality duties to the Grease actor, and is therefore free to write a book he’s allegedly been planning.

"This is every celebrity's Achilles heel. It's just about people wanting money," Travolta says about the lawsuit. "That’s all. It happens on many levels."

PHOTOS: 13 Celebs Who've Come Out as Bisexual

As to why these types of rumors seem to target him more than other celebrities, Travolta surprisingly says he actually doesn't "care that much about it."

"Other people may attack it back more than I do, but I let all the media stuff go a long time ago because I can’t control it," he explains. "I think that's why it persists, to some degree."

But he does draw the line at reports targeting his family.

"I found it most offensive with the loss of my son. I felt like that was the lowest I'd ever felt," he shares. "Sex stuff is always going to be interesting to somebody, but you stay away from family. You really should. With that, I always felt like the media -- not all of the media, but parts of it -- went too low there. .... The rest of the stuff I can deal with, but that one really made me question the whole thing."

In 2009, Travolta's son, Jett, died while on a Christmas vacation in the Bahamas due to a seizure.

VIDEO: 10 Celebs Who Were Too Old to Play High School Students

Travolta currently has a few upcoming films to promote, including the drama The Forger and the crime drama Criminal Activities, in which he raps!

Bride Memorializes Fiancé With Beautiful Underwater Photo Shoot

Two months before Janine was supposed to marry her fiancé, Johnny, he tragically passed away. But instead of letting her beautiful wedding dress hang in her closet as a constant reminder of what the couple could have been, she decided to memorialize their relationship and tackle her grief in a unique and beautiful way.

Because Janine loves swimming and finds water symbolic of cleansing and purification, she reached out to photographer Matt Adcock of Del Sol Photography to help her stage an underwater photo shoot of her wearing her white gown.

"I really felt that Johnny was smiling down at me and finally giving me closure that I can live my life in a positive way, but never forgetting why I was here," Janine wrote in a powerful blog post remembering the day of the shoot. Not only was it a way to commemorate Johnny, it also helped her in other ways as well. ”I want to move on and explore the world. I want to meet people who I can share that with. After the shoot I felt like all this was possible.”

Janine also offers advice for those mourning loved ones. “Listen to YOUR heart! You are the most important person and only YOU can help yourself … You have the right to cry and you have the right to be alone (but not too much alone),” she writes. “Reach out for help and never apologize for your actions because you are strong and you will get through this!

How to shake hands at the net, by Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (and other less-awesome tennis handshakes)

The drive-by handshake is about as commonplace on the women's Tour as the bathroom break.

But Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, a 28-year-old from the Czech Republic who upset Li Na and Caroline Wozniacki on her way to the Wimbledon quarter-finals this summer, would have none of it from 20-year-old Elina Svitolina after their first-round match in Tokyo Monday.

The image seems to be a little faster than real time. But only a little. And the funniest thing was that Svitolina – who was the WINNER – hardly seemed the least bit fazed by it, just accepted it and carried on with her day – which means she might not have gotten the point.


Zahlavova Strycova has been a shining example for her peers of late. Look at these moments from Arthur Ashe Kids' Day on the weekend before the U.S. Open.
She was practicing on one of the field courts as the official festivities for the kids were wrapping up. But approached by one of the dads of these two adorable girls, she took the time move to an adjacent court to hit a few balls with them and pose for photos.

There were plenty of players taking part in the Kids' Day festivities on court with the kids, and they were great. But we wandered around most of the day and this was the first example we saw of a little special treatment. It took just 10 minutes, but those two adorable little girls will never forget it.

The Czech player has probably heretofore been known for the challenge in pronouncing her name, and for a fair bit of emo and drama on court. In her 12th year on tour, she's turning into a role model for truth and justice. Who knew? It hasn't always been so. She's certainly had her moments.

Just for comparison's sake, here are a few classics from the "drive-by handshake" archives.


We start with the gold standard, laid on Daniela Hantuchova by the now-retired Patty Schnyder in Luxembourg in 2007. That Schnyder's now ex-husband Rainer Hoffman added a little extra by kicking Hantuchova's water bottle was a little over the top, even for Schnyder.

Lest you think we're just picking on the ladies - t'ain't so!


We begin with the gold standard of the genre: Oscar Hernandez and Daniel Koellerer, on a clay-court somewhere in South America (ALERT: Some profanity from the Spaniard at the end)

No post of this nature would be complete without the non-handshake from Zahlavova Strycova's countryman, Tomas Berdych, after his contentious win over Nicolas Almagro of Spain at the Australian Open (h/t to commenter Andrew).


Berdych took issue with Almagro drilling him in the arm when he was up at the net earlier in the match – a bit borderline, but still well within the area of "fair game." Berdych didn't do a "drive-by"; he did a "wave-by."

Bionic Pancreas: A Father's Mission To Fight Type 1 Diabetes

More than 29 million Americans have diabetes — it is the 7th leading cause of death in the U.S. In most cases, poor diet and lack of exercise are contributing factors to Type 2 diabetes, in which the pancreas doesn't use the hormone insulin properly. Insulin is needed to convert sugar into energy.

The rarer form of diabetes is Type 1, in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. About 3 million Americans have this form, which is usually diagnosed in children and young adults and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. Unlike Type 2 diabetes, Type 1 is chronic and requires a lifetime of insulin therapy.

For children and their parents, Type 1 diabetes is relentless. Imagine having to sort through information every five minutes — 288 times a day — about how to control your sugar levels. People with Type 1 diabetes often have to do just that. For parents, it can be frightening, especially at night when their child is asleep. Ed Damiano, an associate professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Boston University, knows that all too well. "The possibility that you could go to sleep and have your blood sugar drop profoundly low while you're unconscious and there's no one there to intervene. And the fear is something called 'dead in bed syndrome.'"

Damiano's son, David, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was an infant.

David will be going to college in 2017, something his dad worries about. "He's afraid that I won't be able to take care of myself as well when I'm away and alone," says David. "He felt like he needed to do something in order to make it better for me. So he took on this huge project of building and developing the bionic pancreas."

The bionic pancreas is a device that currently uses a smartphone that calculates blood sugar information and sends it wirelessly to two pumps that automatically release the  hormones insulin and glucagon.  Insulin lowers blood sugar and glucagon raises blood sugar.  "The idea behind the bionic pancreas is to emulate as much as possible what a healthy pancreas does," says Damiano.

Damiano is working with a team that's developing the device to take the thinking out of having to manage Type 1 diabetes 24/7. "People with Type 1 diabetes just don't have good enough tools. … The bionic pancreas is a device which gives them the tools they need to achieve good blood sugars. And so much so that they don't have to think about it anymore. That's really the ultimate goal."

Damiano hopes the bionic pancreas will be FDA approved by 2017. "Thirty-seven months from now — not that I'm counting — David goes to college," he says. "And so somebody needs to help him out, and I'm hoping his college roommate would. I'm actually hoping the bionic pancreas will take over. But if it weren't for that technology, then I'd have to rely on the kindness of strangers."

Watch the video above to learn more about the bionic pancreas and the story of Ed and David Damiano. For more about juvenile diabetes, go to The Barton Center for Diabetes Education or Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Envelopes in Marriott hotels invite tips for maids

NEW YORK (AP) — Do you leave a tip in your hotel room for the maid? Marriott is launching a program with Maria Shriver to put envelopes in hotel rooms to encourage tipping.

The campaign, called "The Envelope Please," begins this week. Envelopes will be placed in 160,000 rooms in the U.S. and Canada. Some 750 to 1,000 hotels will participate from Marriott brands like Courtyard, Residence Inn, J.W. Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Renaissance hotels.

The name of the person who cleans the room will be written on the envelope along with a message: "Our caring room attendants enjoyed making your stay warm and comfortable. Please feel free to leave a gratuity to express your appreciation for their efforts."

Shriver, who founded an organization called A Woman's Nation that aims to empower women, says many travelers don't realize tipping hotel room attendants is customary. "There's a huge education of the traveler that needs to occur," she said. "If you tell them, they ask, 'How do I do that?'" She said envelopes make it easy for guests to leave cash for the right person in a secure way.

So how much should you leave? Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson says $1 to $5 per night, depending on room rate, with more for a high-priced suite.

Michael Lynn, a professor at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, says his research shows that "30 percent of people stiff the maid," while 70 percent said they sometimes or usually leave a tip.

Sorenson noted that housekeepers "are less frequently tipped" than other hotel workers because they do an "invisible task." In contrast, workers who carry bags, hail cabs and park cars tend to get tipped because they "make a personal connection" with guests, he said.

Rosario Rodriguez, who works as a housekeeper at Marriott's Times Square hotel, says many guests don't tip and she welcomes the envelope campaign as "a good idea."

Jessica Lynn Strosky of DuBois, Pennsylvania, who earns $7.75 an hour cleaning rooms at a hotel that's not a Marriott, says only 1 in 15 or 20 guests leaves a tip. When they do, it's a dollar or two; she's lucky to get $20 a week in tips. "I've talked to lots of people who say they don't know they are supposed to tip," she said.

Unlike waitresses who earn less than minimum wage because tips are expected to raise their earnings, hotel housekeepers are paid minimum wage, and in expensive markets, substantially more. In Washington D.C., Sorenson said, Marriott housekeepers start in the mid-teens per hour.

Not everyone applauds the envelope concept. "It is not Marriott's responsibility to remind customers to tip; it's their responsibility to pay their workers enough so that tips aren't necessary," said author Barbara Ehrenreich, who tried working as a hotel maid for her 2001 book "Nickel and Dimed," which chronicled her experiences in low-wage jobs.

But Scott Lazerson, 42, who lives in Sundance, Utah, said he "had no idea" tipping was customary until his wife told him on a recent trip to Orlando. He said he "feels stupid" for not knowing all these years, and added: "Yes, the hotel industry needs to do a campaign about it."

Body Wash Vs. Bar Soap: Does it Matter?

According to a recent Nielsen Data study, 35% of American women use bar soap in the shower. But according to commercials, TV, and movies, 100% of American women use body wash and a loofah. So which is it? And does your skin really care what you use to clean it?

Soap is a $1.3 billion industry, about the same size as the body wash market, so why does it get a bad rap? Dr. Jennifer Chwalek, a dermatologist in New York City, says, “There’s always a lot of confusion about whether or not one is superior to the other, but it really comes down to the ingredients in the cleanser.” 

You often hear that soap strips the skin, doing more harm than good. The reason is that the soap-making process produces an inherently alkaline product. “That’s the cause of drying of the skin,” explains cosmetic chemist Ni’Kita Wilson, who has formulated thousands of products. “Soaps like Irish Spring or Ivory tend to have more alkaline ingredients,” Dr. Chwalek agrees. “That really strips your skin of oil.” 

That doesn’t mean that bar soap has to be drying, though. Wilson explains that soap formulators add ingredients known to moisturize skin. Olay’s Ultra Moisture bar ($6), for instance, uses shea butter.

Chemically speaking, shower gels and body washes can incorporate newer ingredients because they’re not confined to a certain pH. “You have much more flexibility,” Wilson explains. “You can use a milder surfactant.” Formulas can use more foaming agents, too—though Wilson notes that doesn’t lead to cleaner skin. “Foaming has nothing to do with how well a body wash works,” she says.  

One drawback of those more-flexible liquid formulas: they allow for more fragrance, which can cause skin irritation. “It’s best to avoid extra fragrances, and this can be an issue with gels,” Dr. Chwalek says. “You can develop allergies to certain plant extracts and fragrances. They can cause dry skin or itchy patches.”

So, is soap or shower gel better? The choice is yours, says Dr. Chwalek. “It’s a matter of preference,” she says, adding that simpler formulas are ideal. She frequently recommends soaps and shower gels from Dove, Aveeno, CeraVe, and Cetaphil. “So many times, less is more,” she says. Good advice in general—and especially for your skin.

Robin Thicke Admits Drug Abuse, Lying to Media in Wild 'Blurred Lines' Deposition (Exclusive)

"Blurred Lines," the pop hit that has quickly become one of the most fascinating and controversial songs of the young century, has now spawned even more to discuss thanks to the appearance of absolutely bizarre depositions given by the song's singer Robin Thicke and producer Pharrell Williams. The sworn testimony, revealed for the first time in a Los Angeles federal court on Monday, covers such subjects as authorship, song credit, drug abuse and media promotion, and with almost certainty, will change perceptions of a hit recording that was dubbed last year's Song of the Summer.

When "Blurred Lines" was released in March 2013, the catchy harmony became a cultural phenomenon, but since then, there's been substantial reassessment of what this song is all about. In some corners of the public, "Blurred Lines," with lyrics that include "Good girl, I know you want it," has been attacked as "kind of rapey." And in the past few months, Thicke has had to endure accusations of misogyny.

hen there's the lawsuit filed by Thicke, Williams and song co-writer Clifford "T.I." Harris Jr. in an effort to protect "Blurred Lines" against claims of being a rip-off. They're facing off against the children of Marvin Gaye, who in a cross-complaint accuse the plaintiffs of making an unauthorized derivative of their father's 1977 classic "Got to Give It Up."

Last week, Gaye's family filed summary motion papers and also lodged an audio mash-up of the two songs in an effort to win the case. A good portion of the court documents were designated as confidential, but after some back-and-forth between the parties, a judge has ordered that transcripts of the celebrities' depositions shouldn't be sealed. The Hollywood Reporter has obtained copies of the sensational testimony.

Thicke and Williams gave their depositions this past April, and they were both incredibly hostile.

For example, when Richard Busch, attorney for the Gayes, attempted to play the mash-up for Thicke to hear, the singer begged him to stop. "It's so hard to listen to it," said Thicke, referencing a clash between major and minor chords. "It's like nails on a f---ing chalkboard. ... This is [like] Stanley Kubrick's movie Clockwork Orange. Where he has to sit there and watch ... Mozart would be rolling in his grave right now."

The deposition turns even more strange once Thicke is forced to explain his many statements to the media about how Gaye has inspired him. For example, he once told GQ magazine, "Pharrell and I were in the studio and I told him that one of my favorite songs of all time was Marvin Gaye's 'Got to Give It Up.' I was like, 'Damn, we should make something like that, something with that groove.' Then he started playing a little something and we literally wrote the song in about a half hour and recorded it."

But that's not actually what happened, Thicke now admits.

The singer says under oath that after writing and producing six albums himself, "I was jealous and I wanted some of the credit ... I tried to take credit for it later because [Williams] wrote the whole thing pretty much by himself and I was envious of that."

In his deposition (read in full here), Thicke soon gets more specific:

"Q: Were you present during the creation of 'Blurred Lines'?

Thicke: I was present. Obviously, I sang it. I had to be there.

Q: When the rhythm track was being created, were you there with Pharrell?


Thicke: To be honest, that's the only part where -- I was high on Vicodin and alcohol when I showed up at the studio. So my recollection is when we made the song, I thought I wanted -- I -- I wanted to be more involved than I actually was by the time, nine months later, it became a huge hit and I wanted credit. So I started kind of convincing myself that I was a little more part of it than I was and I -- because I didn't want him -- I wanted some credit for this big hit. But the reality is, is that Pharrell had the beat and he wrote almost every single part of the song."

Thicke says he was just "lucky enough to be in the room" when Williams wrote the song. Afterward, he gave interviews to outlets like Billboard where he repeated the origin story surrounding "Blurred Lines" because he says he "thought it would help sell records." But he also states he hardly remembers his specific media comments because he "had a drug and alcohol problem for the year" and "didn't do a sober interview." In fact, when he appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show with his young son and talked about how weird it was to be in the midst of a legal battle with the family of a legendary soul singer who "inspires almost half of my music," Thicke admits he was drunk and taking Norco -- "which is like two Vicodin in one pill," he says.

The singer addresses his honesty ("I told my wife the truth. That's why she left me.") and after saying he's been sober for many months, clarifies toward the end of the deposition that he's given up Vicodin but not alcohol.

Despite having limited input into the creation of "Blurred Lines," Thicke was given a co-writer credit, which he says entitles him to about 18-22 percent of publishing royalties. Why would Williams be so generous?

"This is what happens every day in our industry," said Williams during his own deposition. "You know, people are made to look like they have much more authorship in the situation than they actually do. So that's where the embellishment comes in."

Williams' own testimony also got off to a belligerent start. At one point during the examination, Williams says he can read music, but then is shown a transcription of a song, and is asked to identify notes and durations. "I'm not comfortable," Williams responds eight times as Busch presses to figure out whether he really can read music.

The producer is evasive in other ways. Asked whether Marvin Gaye has influenced him, Williams says, "He's an Aries. I respect him."

Williams says he didn't go into the studio with the intention of making anything sound like Gaye. He takes the attorneys through his creative process and why the session on "Blurred Lines" was a bit different.

"When I work with a person, I think about three things," he says. "I think about the energy that they're coming with, but this wasn't the case because [Thicke] wasn't there yet. But usually, I think about the energy and what they come in with, like what's on their mind, you know, argument with a girlfriend, email with the husband, politics, state of the world. People walk in with vibes. They walk in with feelings. This was not one of those days."

The producer says he was in the "driver's seat" on this particular song, but does give Thicke some credit in a rather interesting section that seems to imply that white people are victims and beneficiaries of racial discrimination in the music business:

"Q: In your view, what holds 'Blurred Lines' together throughout the different sections?

Williams: What holds it together?

Q: Yeah.

Williams: Robin Thicke's voice.

Q: Does the bass line and the keyboard hold the songs together through the different sections?

A: No.

Q: Why not?


A: Because it's the white man singing soulfully and we, unfortunately, in this country don't get enough -- we don't get to hear that as often, so we get excited by it when the mainstream gives that a shot. But there's a lot of incredibly talented white folk with really soulful vocals, so when we're able to give them a shot -- and when I say 'we,' I mean like as in the public gives them a shot to be heard, then you hear the Justin Timberlakes and you hear the Christina Aguileras and you hear, you know, all of these masterful voices that have just been given, you know, an opportunity to be heard because they're doing something different."
Williams then adds that if he had sung the song, "It wouldn't be what it was -- what it is today."

He admits, though, it's his song. Asked whose creation were the "Blurred Lines" words, he answers, "Mine."

How all this fits into the ongoing lawsuit is an intriguing question in and of itself.

In attempting to keep the depositions private, Howard King and Seth Miller -- attorneys for Thicke and Williams -- argued that they were hardly relevant and merely intended to "distract attention from the real issues and to embarrass, harass, and annoy Plaintiffs." They begged the judge to take note of the fact that celebrity depositions can be the subject of "untoward media exploitation and public scrutiny," and instructed the judge, "Google 'Justin Bieber deposition.'" (The attorneys were at least successful in getting the judge to keep private the videotaped version of the depositions.)

The transcripts of the depositions don't necessarily refute the plaintiffs' contention in their own summary judgment motion that "Blurred Lines" and "Got to Give It Up" are not substantially similar for purposes of a copyright analysis, but on the road to a trial that is currently scheduled for February 10, 2015, the Gayes believe they have ammunition to destroy the plaintiffs' credibility and honor.


"Thicke, for his part, now claims he made all of his statements while drunk or on drugs, none of them true, and he mentioned Marvin Gaye only to sell records," states the counter-claimants' court papers. "He also actually testified that he is not an honest person. This complete contempt for the judicial system, and their obligations to tell the truth, can best be summed up by Thicke's ultimate admission, while under oath, that he '[does not] give a f--k' about this litigation."

Receipt showing LeSean McCoy's 20-cent tip gets $99,000 bid on eBay

The item up for Auction is the controversial $0.20 Receipt for Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean "Shady" McCoy's meal at Philadelphia Restaurant, PYT. The aforementioned receipt has caused quite the media buzz amongst social media/news networks/celebrities along with many others. Not only do you get to keep a memento of weird current events/social media history but you also get an autograph from incredibly talented Philadelphia Eagles running back, LeSean McCoy!!! As to how I came into possession of this item: My good friend Tommy Up has left this receipt in my possession in order to ensure something positive comes out of this somewhat negative action that has recently taken place.

The auction, which has solicited more than 140 bids, ends on Saturday. Proceeds from the sale will go toward "the largest tip possible to all PYT employees for their hard work and dedication."

The controversy began after Tommy Up, PYT's owner, posted a photo of the receipt on Facebook with a message shaming McCoy over his tiny tip.

"The twenty cent tip that the Eagles' LeSean McCoy just left our server on his $60 check is going to come in really handy for that new official NFL McCoy jersey he had his heart set on," Up wrote on Facebook. "That is a .03% tip. New record!"

McCoy said he left the bad tip to make a point.

"The 20-cent tip was kind of a statement," McCoy told reporters last week. "I didn't do anything wrong and if I had to do it again, I'd do it the same way.

"Just to be honest, like I'm always, I tip on my service," McCoy continued. "I think it's a difference between good service and bad service or just having a bad day. There's a big difference with just being rude and disrespectful. ... That's how that went."

He added: "In any restaurant I go around in Philadelphia, I tip very well. I'm very respectful. You can't be disrespectful and just expect somebody to tip you. I don't care who the person is. That's why I left my card, so they could see my name. Simple as that."

Up disputed McCoy's account.


"They were given excellent service. Impeccable service," he wrote in a separate Facebook message. "[McCoy] and his group, from the moment they sat down, were verbally abusive to our staff in the most insulting ways. The derogatory statements about women and their sheer contempt for the staff serving them wasn't the end, however. After Mr. McCoy and his group left I looked over and saw their server, my friend, with his head bowed down and with a very confused look on his face. I took the receipt out of his hand and I couldn't believe that anyone could be so callous."

McCoy signed a five-year, $45 million contract extension with the Eagles in 2012.

"I bet Mr McCoy is usually an awesome dude. And everyone has their bad days," Up added. "But the reports of him receiving 'bad service' is a complete slanderous lie, and my crew here is better than that and deserves better than that."

The story went viral, with some Facebook users criticizing the restaurant for posting the receipt.

"Bad form PYT," Aaron Pruzaniec wrote. "Posting this is disturbing and unprofessional. Have you read your Yelp page?"


Actor Charlie Sheen, though, sided with PYT, pledging a $1,000 tip to the server.

As many as 700 migrants feared drowned in Mediterranean

GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 700 people fleeing Africa and the Middle East may have drowned in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean over the last week, bringing the death toll this year to almost 3,000, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Monday.

In the worst incident, as many as 500 migrants are believed to have died after traffickers rammed their ship off Malta's coast last week, an event that only came to light this weekend in testimony from two of nine survivors.

The survivors said the traffickers ordered the migrants to change vessels in the middle of the Mediterranean. The migrants refused, leading to a confrontation that ended when traffickers rammed the ship carrying the migrants, causing it to sink, IOM spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume told Reuters in Geneva.

"Some 500 people were on board - Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians and Sudanese. They were trying to reach Europe," Berthiaume said.

"That means that 700 people perished at sea these last days in the Mediterranean, the deadliest incidents in the space of a few days," she said.

The vessel had set off on Saturday, Sept 6 from Damiette, Egypt, and sank off Malta's coast on Sept 10th, she said, adding that some of the survivors were only rescued on Friday.

The U.N. refugee agency also learned of the shipwreck off Malta, but said its information was that it occurred on Friday. The UNHCR could not confirm the circumstances of the incident but understood that the death toll was closer to 300.

"We don't have confirmation of this account of alleged ramming. That was given to Malta authorities by survivors, but we can't confirm it," said UNHCR spokesman Francis Markus.

The UNHCR was trying to get confirmation of five shipwrecks in all. "At least 500 people have died or are missing in the last three days", he said.


'DEADLIEST WEEKEND EVER'
"It was without any doubt the deadliest weekend ever in the Mediterranean," Carlotta Sami of the UNHCR said.

In the incident off Malta, nine people survived and were picked up boats, Berthiaume said. IOM officials interviewed two Palestinian survivors in Sicily, Italy, while other survivors were taken to Malta and to Crete, Greece, she said.

Another ship packed with up to 250 African emigrants sank off the Libyan coast, and most of them are feared dead, a spokesman for the Libyan navy said late on Sunday. Some 26 people survived.

Migrants have been streaming out of North Africa, mostly lawless Libya, in rickety boats in rising numbers for years. Many head for Italy, a gateway to the European Union (EU).


"A combination of factors have led to a major increase. They do not have other very easy options to get anywhere else from Libya. They are not able to get to surrounding countries in North Africa from Libya. These are all factors pushing up the number of people desperate to make the crossing who are preyed on by unscrupulous traffickers," Markus said.

Some 130,000 people have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year, compared with 60,000 last year, according to the UNHCR. Italy has received more than 118,000, most of them rescued at sea under its naval operation Mare Nostrum.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and UNHCR special envoy Angelina Jolie visited the naval rescue headquarters in Malta on Sunday, meeting survivors, the agency said in a statement issued on Monday.

"Amidst concerns about the sustainability of the Italian Mare Nostrum operation, they also called for increased efforts by European nations to contribute to rescue efforts and reduce deaths at sea," the UNHCR said.

Half of those arriving in Europe by boat are refugees from Syria and Eritrea, according to the agency.

"We all need to wake up to the scale of this crisis. There is a direct link between the conflicts in Syria and elsewhere and the rise in deaths at sea in the Mediterranean," Jolie said.


"Unless we address the root causes of these conflicts, the numbers of refugees dying or unable to find protection will continue to rise," she said.

George the Goldfish Swims After Lifesaving Surgery

A goldfish in Australia is swimming in its tank only days after undergoing a life-threatening surgery to remove a tumor from its head.

The goldfish, named George, was brought into the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne, Australia, last week after its owner noticed it wasn’t swimming or eating properly.

Dr. Tristan Rich, head of Lort Smith’s exotic and wildlife vet team, oversaw the surgery last Thursday that included putting the goldfish under anesthesia and using tissue glue to sew it back together again.

Instead of the operating table and recovery room used for human surgery, and even most pet surgery, the Lort Smith staff set up three buckets for George: one with a full dose of anesthesia, one with a maintenance level of anesthesia and then a clean bucket of water that served as the recovery room.

“Once George was asleep, Dr. Tristan ran a tube from the maintenance bucket which was being oxygenated, into George’s mouth, so that the water with the maintenance dose of anesthetic washed over his gills,” the clinic said on its Facebook page. “Dr. Tristan worked quickly to remove the large tumor, although the size of it meant that he had to use a gelatine sponge to control the bleeding during surgery.”

Once George was in the recovery tank, the clinic posted on Facebook, he was given injections for pain relief and antibiotics and quickly began breathing on his own.

Lort Smith officials, who could not be reached today by ABC News, told the Sydney Morning Herald, that George’s owner is a woman who is “quite attached” to the fish and willing to pay the $200 price of the surgery.

The 45-minute surgery on George was the 10th time Rich has performed a similar goldfish surgery in his career, he told the Herald.

Respiratory Virus Enterovirus D68 Spreads to the Northeast

Enterovirus D68, the respiratory illness suspected of hospitalizing hundreds of children in the nation, has now spread to the Northeast and is likely to hit the whole country.

Connecticut and New York are the latest states to report cases of the rapidly spreading virus that has targeted young children, especially those with asthma, in 21 states.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health received reports "from two hospitals in different parts of the state of clusters of severe respiratory illness among young children that could be due to enterovirus D68," the agency said in a statement.

Connecticut is working with the Centers for Disease Control to confirm the cases.

The New York State Department of Health has also confirmed more than a dozen cases of enterovirus D68 in children living in the state's capital and central regions, officials said.

The CDC has not confirmed New York's cases.

Enterovirus Likely to Spread Through Schools, Experts Say

What You Need to Know About the Enterovirus Outbreak

Unidentified Respiratory Virus Likely to Hit Kids Across Country

As of Saturday, enterovirus D68 had spread to 21 states across the Midwest and East Coast, with confirmed cases spanning from New Mexico to Montana to Delaware.

The virus is likely to spread across the country, ABC News' Dr. Richard Besser said Sunday morning.

"It's very hard for a virus to be limited by borders," Besser said. "I expect that it's going to hit the whole country."

Enterovirus D68 comes from a family of enteroviruses that can cause cold-like symptoms, typically during the month of September.

Besser warned parents to watch out for symptoms of coughs and wheezing among their children, especially if their children are asthmatic.

"The best approach for prevention is what we talk about all the time for respiratory infections, colds, and flus and that's really good hand washing," Besser said.

There have been no reported cases of adults contracting the virus.

Adults may already have built an immunity towards the virus from previous infections, or may just get a milder version of the disease, Besser said.

Children who contract enterovirus D68 first suffer from what appears to be a common cold, with symptoms including a runny nose, coughing, and sneezing, according to Besser.

The symptoms then escalate to difficulty breathing. Besser said parents should look out for their children exhibiting signs of wheezing, difficulty eating or speaking, and blueness around the lips.

Doctors have found a way to treat the symptoms, helping kids breath more easily so they can get through the virus, Besser said.

"It's the same medicine that's used for children who have asthma," he said. "But when I was in the emergency room this week in St. Louis, they were giving it to children who didn't have asthma, and you could just see them turn around. Their airways would open up -- some of them could leave the emergency room. Some had to stay, but the medicine helps a lot."

Stop Letting Avocados Get Brown!

Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we’re sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun. 

Today: Avocados are too good — and too expensive — to let fall to the wayside. Here are three of the best methods to keep avocados green, longer. 

Much like tomatoes, when we slice an avocado open to eat, we usually aren’t gunning to devour the whole fruit in a single meal. There’s a critical point at which crisp toast can’t take another dollop of mushed avocado, salad greens can’t support another creamy slice, and we have to tackle the conundrum of keeping an unused avocado half as green as possible until our next meal. 

The most common piece of advice is to leave the pit in the avocado half, or rather, use the pitted half first. However, while the parts of flesh that are in contact with the pit stay fresh, the rest of the avocado easily browns. This is simply because the pit is blocking air from reaching part of the flesh. So, to keep the exposed avocado from browning, we have to mimic what the pit does and create alternative barriers. Though avocado halves will always brown to some degree, the following methods kept the fruit green, longer. 

The Onion Method

Roughly chop a quarter of a red onion into large chunks. Line the bottom of a sealable container with the onion pieces, then place the avocado half cut side-up on top. Seal the container and keep in the fridge. According to The Kitchn, this is likely due to the vapors that onions emit. Luckily, because the skin is the only part of the avocado in contact with the onion, the flesh won’t take on any flavor. And you can save the onions for later use!

The Olive Oil Method

Brush the avocado half with olive oil (pick one without a strong flavor). The oil will keep the flesh from coming in direct contact with the air, preventing oxidization. After brushing with the oil, store the avocado in an airtight container in the fridge. 

The Lemon Juice Method

You can also brush your avocado’s flesh with lemon juice — the citric acid in the lemon juice dramatically slows the browning process. Again, store in an airtight container for extra protection.

How News Anchor's Difficult On-Air Cancer Revelation Could Help Others

When Illinois news anchor Dave Benton made a major on-air announcement recently, it was reportage at its most personal: Benton, 51, revealed that his doctors had told him that he has just four to six months left to live — the latest, most heartbreaking chapter in what has been an ongoing report about his yearlong battle with brain cancer. Benton, who has been with Champaign’s WCIA-3 news team for almost nine years, completed radiation treatment in February, but a new tumor grew back. 

“We’ve got some serious stuff to discuss, and we are an open book, and we wanted to let you guys in on something that we’ve known for a while,” Benton’s co-anchor Jennifer Roscoe told viewers at the end of their nightly newscast on Thursday.

Related: Layoff Letter to Woman With Cancer Causes Outcry

“Basically my cancer is back and it’s too big for surgery and radiation,” Benton said, his voice shaky in an attempt to contain his emotion. “Doctors have told me that I may have four to six months to live.” He added that he’ll be trying a new antibody chemotherapy treatment to help slow the tumor’s growth. “As you know,” he said, “I’m a born-again Christian, I believe that I’m in God’s hands, I’m at peace. I know that he’s going to take care of the days ahead, and that the goal here is to have the best ones possible.”

Roscoe praised her coworker’s “amazing attitude” and his ability to deflect his own suffering by his noting that he is not the only one with cancer in their community. “Right now, it is about you,” she told him. “I’ve had you sitting next to me for nine years, and I’m going to hold on to every single day that I can.”

Related: Facebook Apologizes for Banning 2-Month-Old Heart Patient’s ‘Gory’ Photo

Benton’s was easily one of the most intense on-air newscaster revelations in what has become an ongoing series of them, particularly on the national stage. In recent years, we’ve heard Robin Roberts’ disclosure that she had a rare bone-marrow disorder (which came after sharing news of her breast cancer and before she came out as a lesbian), Amy Robach’s revelation (after submitting to an on-air mammogram weeks earlier) that she would be undergoing a double mastectomy, Julie Chen’s big reveal that she’d had plastic surgery to reduce the Chinese look of her eyes, and Dan Harris’s discussion of his former drug use and panic attacks.

On local Tennessee station WMC-TV last year, meanwhile, anchor Pam McKelvy whipped off her wig at the end of a segment about her battle with breast cancer, revealing her post-chemo natural hair, which was slowly growing back. Lee Thomas, of Fox 2 News in Detroit, has been frank with viewers about his struggle with vitiligo, a pigment disorder. And in LaCrosse, Wis., anchor Jennifer Livingston opened up in 2012 about her lifelong struggle with weight after being prompted by a fat-shaming letter from a viewer.

The trend of self-revelation is not exactly brand new, noted Regina Tuma, a media psychology professor with the Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, Calif.. “There is actual a long history of sharing that predates social media,” she told Yahoo Health, referring to early talk shows, including “Oprah” when it first burst onto the scene in the 1980s, as well as moments such as when Katie Couric submitted to an on-air colonoscopy in 2000. “The way anchors related clearly has changed,” she said. “We’re seeing a sort of horizontality.”

Wife's Happiness is More Crucial to Marital Success Than Husband's, Study Finds

Turns out, the old adage “happy wife, happy life” is spot on. When a woman is happily married, her husband’s overall life satisfaction gets a boost, regardless of how he feels about their union, according to a new Rutgers University study, published in the October issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.

The researchers analyzed the marital quality and general well-being of 394 couples who’d been married, on average, for 39 years. (To be included, both spouses had to be at least 50 years old, and one at least 60.) Although overall life satisfaction didn’t significantly differ by gender, the men did tend to report slightly higher marital happiness than their wives did. 

Related: Who Knew? A Bigger Wedding Could Equal a Happier Marriage

And an unhappy wife spelled serious trouble: When the women didn’t report wedded bliss, their husbands’ overall life contentment tended to take a hit. This was true even when then men weren’t thrilled about the marriage either. Specifically, among husbands who thought their marital quality was “very poor,” those with equally unhappy wives reported a life satisfaction score of only 1.8 out of 6, compared to a 5.4 out of 6 if the unhappily married men’s wives were content in the relationship.  

By contrast, among women who rated their marriage poorly, overall life satisfaction was only minimally influenced by their husband’s marital happiness. 

So why is the woman’s contentment so critical? The reason is not the one you may suspect — that a happy wife is one who’s pampered (and therefore doesn’t complain). Quite the opposite. In fact, “if a wife is happy in her marriage, she will try hard to create a positive experience for her husband,” study author Deborah Carr told Yahoo Health. “So perhaps she listens to him more, she offers him more emotional support, or maybe she offers him more help with daily activities.” A satisfied wife may also be more willing to twist the sheets on a more regular basis.

“All of those things might make a husband happier in general, even if it doesn’t affect his views of the marriage,” said Carr. 

Consider the reverse, too: When a woman is unhappy in her marriage, there’s a good chance she’ll let her spouse know. “She is much more likely to talk, to be confrontational, and all of those things might affect the husband,” Carr explained. By contrast, the discontented husband is more likely to “sit and seethe silently,” so his misery might not make much of an impact on his wife. “She might be totally unaware of it,” she said.

The age of the couples in the study likely plays a significant role in the findings, since previous generations tended to think it was the woman’s job to set the emotional tone of the marriage.

“I think we might see more parallel findings for men and women of the younger generation,” said Carr. “Among people in their 30s and 40s, both men and women were raised to talk about their feelings. Young people today want to marry their soul mate, so the assumption is that you should share your hopes and dreams and passions — and you should put all of these abstract ideas on the table when you’re dating.” 

Related: The Case Against “Soul Mates”

Regardless of a couple’s age, Carr thinks her study serves as an important reminder: Communication about the state of your union is critical to your success as a couple. “The correlation between his and her marital appraisals isn’t that high, meaning that one spouse can be happy in a marriage, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that the other is also happy,” she told Yahoo Health.

How much of a down payment do you really need to buy a house?

Looking to get your foot in the door (of your new home)? If you’re a renter who’s tired of paying someone else’s mortgage, now may be the time to pursue the American dream of homeownership. In fact, the days of needing a 20% down payment are long gone. While you can always elect to put down the full 20% or more, there are now many alternatives available. Here’s what you want to know if buying a house is in your future.
In the mortgage industry, 20% down is considered the benchmark down payment for looking strong on paper as a home buyer. While this a general standard for financial strength, it is by no means a requirement, nor is it necessarily expected.

However, keep in mind that your purchase offer amount – your buying power — drives negotiation. How strong you are on paper does help, but when you make an offer to buy a home, the seller of the property has no idea of your financial strength other than what your real estate agent tells them and what’s on your pre-approval letter. The price dictates whether you’re in the game for the house, or whether you’ll continue to be on the search.

Down Payment Options

So let’s say you don’t have 20% down for a home. While there are many benefits to having more equity in the home you’re buying, that doesn’t mean you’re out of the running for becoming a homeowner. There are options for lower down payments.

3.5% Down

For an FHA loan, the minimum down payment you would need to buy a home is 3.5% down. Most lenders can lend up to $417,000 with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. An FHA loan comes with a monthly mortgage insurance payment, which can make it more expensive than a conventional mortgage.

[Shopping for a mortgage? Click to compare rates and lenders now.]

In some more affluent markets, the higher loan amounts (per county) allow someone with strong income and less cash to still get into the market.

5% Down

Another popular choice for buyers is using a conventional loan with 5% down. There are loan size amounts up to $417,000 (with the exception of Alaska, Hawaii and Guam) going as high as $417,000 with as little as 5% down. An alternative to the higher-priced FHA loan, the conventional loan allows for getting rid of the PMI after accumulating 20% equity after a minimum of 24 months.

0% Down

Two options exist for 0% down financing, one being through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The program allows a veteran to purchase a house for literally no money down. Yep, the purchase price and loan amount are equal.

The caveat? Actually, there are two: The program is for military veterans only, and the home must pass a clear pest report. This option could be optimal for brand-new construction or for property where any pest damage can be fixed in time for closing.

An alternative to this program is a loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA. You need not be a veteran for this particular loan, however in some areas, you may not be eligible to use the program due tighter qualifying income-to-payment ratios and location. The program also only works for homes designated rural by USDA. Additional income limitations also apply. For example: For a family of four, a household income cannot exceed $96,400 per year.

All of these options allow for the use of gift funds. Family members, cousins, relatives – these are all excellent sources to tap for possible down payment or closing costs (usually about 2% of the home price). Even if you already own a home and are looking to upgrade, all of these programs could present a viable option to bridging the gap between buying a home for the right price in the right area of vs. continuing to be on the search.

Boost Your Buying Power

Mortgage Tip: If you qualify for a smaller loan size, it could be more challenging to actually close escrow on your first home. Buying power is important, especially when negotiating in competitive markets. Pure and simple, the bigger the loan you qualify for, the more opportunity.

Conventional conforming loan — With conventional loans, you can get 95% financing up to $417,000. In counties where the maximum conforming loan limit is higher than $417,000, you can have up to 90% financing. For example: In Sonoma County, Calif., the maximum high-balance loan limit is $520,950. A loan exceeding $417,000, and up to $520,950, would require a 10% down payment.

VA loan – This type of loan allows for 100% financing all the way through the maximum conforming loan limit in the county in which the property is located. In fact, this type of loan can allow for even higher than the maximum conforming loan limit if you do have a down payment.


Here’s how: The buyer would need a 25% down payment only on the amount greater the conforming loan limit. For example, with a $520,950 loan (the maximum loan limit for Sonoma County) with a purchase price of $700,000. The difference is $179,050 – and the buyer would need to put down 25% of that difference — $44,763 – in order to get the additional VA loan financing.

USDA loan – These loans allow for financing up to $417,000, but here’s the kicker: A buyer would need an income of $95,000 to qualify for a $417,000 loan — which is getting very close to the USDA loan maximum income limitation of $96,400. More importantly, lending qualifying ratios are more stringent for this program than any other. To qualify for this loan, your proposed house payment before debts cannot be more than 29% of your gross monthly income, and the house payment plus other debts cannot be more than 31% of your gross monthly income.

FHA loans – An FHA loan will allow for as low as a 3.5% down payment up to the maximum conforming loan limit in the county in which the property is located.

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Jumbos loans – These loans usually can go as high as $750,000 with as little as 10% down.

Remember: When you’re putting less than 20% down on a home, your monthly property taxes and fire insurance terms are required to be built into your monthly mortgage payment, and you’ll likely pay private mortgage insurance, too. Some lenders might offer an alternative option called lender-paid mortgage insurance — where the lender actually pays the monthly PMI, despite not using 20% down to purchase a home. Make sure to do your homework, and talk to your lender so you know what your options are.

Of course, it’s always important to have your credit in the best shape possible. Before you start your home search, give yourself time to work on your credit so that you can qualify for better rates. Check your free annual credit reports for errors or any problems that could be hurting your credit scores. Using free tools on Credit.com can also help you identify problems with your credit that you can work on in order to raise your scores — and you also get two free credit scores updated monthly, which can help you track your progress.

Feds chase treasure hunter turned fugitive

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — One of the last times anyone ever saw Tommy Thompson, he was walking on the pool deck of a Florida mansion wearing nothing but eye glasses, leather shoes, socks and underwear, his brown hair growing wild.

It was a far cry from the conquering hero who, almost two decades before, docked a ship in Norfolk, Virginia, loaded with what's been described as the greatest lost treasure in American history — thousands of pounds of gold that sat in the ocean for 131 years after the ship carrying it sank during a hurricane.

On that day in 1989, Thompson couldn't contain a grin as hundreds cheered his achievement. But his victory was short-lived.

For the past two years, the U.S. Marshals Service has hunted Thompson as a fugitive — wanted for skipping a court date to explain to investors what happened to the riches. The rise and fall of the intrepid explorer is the stuff of storybooks, a tale receiving renewed attention amid a new expedition begun this year to the sunken ship.

"I think he had calculated it, whatever you want to call it, an escape plan," Marshals agent Brad Fleming said. "I think he's had that for a long time."

Around 1983, Thompson grew obsessed with tracking down the SS Central America. When the ship went down off the South Carolina coast in 1857, 425 people drowned and gold worth millions was lost.

Thompson, an oceanic engineer at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, convinced 161 people to invest in his quest, raising $12.7 million. On Oct. 1, 1988, he finally found the treasure, which he would later describe as "otherworldly in its splendor."

But his joy faded fast. Thirty-nine insurance companies sued Thompson, claiming they had insured the gold in 1857 and that it belonged to them. In 1996, Thompson's company was awarded 92 percent of the treasure, and the rest was divided among some of the insurers. Four years later, Thompson's company netted $50 million after selling 532 gold bars and thousands of coins to a gold marketing group.

Yet his legal troubles weren't over.

By 2005, Thompson's investors still had not been paid, and two sued — a now-deceased investment firm president who put in some $250,000 and the Dispatch Printing Company, which publishes The Columbus Dispatch newspaper and invested about $1 million. The following year, nine members of Thompson's crew also sued, saying they, too, were promised some proceeds.

Thompson went into seclusion, moving into a mansion in Vero Beach, Florida. After that, his behavior turned bizarre.

Thompson refused to use his real name on his utility bills, telling realtor Vance Brinkerhoff that his life had been threatened and asking him, "How would you like to live like that?" Brinkerhoff recounted the exchange in a court deposition.

In another deposition, maintenance worker James Kennedy recalled once going to the house and seeing Thompson on the pool deck wearing only socks, shoes and dirty underwear. "His hair was all crazy," Kennedy said. "After that, me and (a friend) referred to him as the crazy professor."

It's not clear exactly when Thompson disappeared. On Aug. 13, 2012, he failed to appear at a hearing in the court battles, and a federal judge found him in contempt and issued an arrest warrant. Not long after, Kennedy went inside the Florida mansion and found pre-paid disposable cellphones and bank wraps for $10,000, along with a book called "How to Live Your Life Invisible."

The Marshals Service has splashed Thompson's face on electronic billboards and run down hundreds of tips — from the guy who thought he might have shared an elevator with Thompson to a report that the name "Tommy" was signed on a memorial website for a dead friend of the treasure hunter. Nothing has panned out. A "Wanted" poster even hangs in the barge making a new voyage to the Central America in a new expedition to recover more treasure from the "Ship of Gold."

Since April, Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration has brought up millions of dollars in gold and silver bars and coins. That work will continue indefinitely, an Odyssey spokeswoman said, and Thompson's original investors are expected to receive part of the recovered riches.

An attorney for the investors who sued did not respond to requests for comment, nor did a number of the investors.

As to where Thompson, now 62, might be, theories abound. The crew members' attorney, Mike Szolosi, asserts that he's seen records indicating Thompson took 500 gold coins worth $2 million and took potentially millions from his own company on top of his approved compensation.

"Presumably all of that is still somewhere with Tommy," he said.

Attorney Rick Roble, who defended Thompson's company until he withdrew from the case last month, said there's no proof Thompson stole anything.

Author Gary Kinder, who chronicled the treasure hunt in "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea," said nothing in his time with Thompson gives him any insight into his whereabouts. "I don't know what it would entail to hide like that. Get your teeth fixed? Buy a blond wig?"

Agent Fleming believes Thompson is likely still stateside, although "we definitely never rule out ... that he may be abroad or at sea."

If caught, Thompson would be asked to account for the missing coins and explain where proceeds from the treasure's sale went. He could face jail time and hefty fines if he refuses.

Gil Kirk, a former director of one of Thompson's companies, said he put $1.8 million into the treasure hunt. Though he hasn't gotten any of that back, Kirk still supports Thompson and insists he never bilked anyone.

To Kirk, Thompson remains an American hero, "like the Wright brothers." The tragedy, he said, is that Thompson's dream became his doom.

"Tommy used the word, what's the word?" Kirk said. "Plague of the gold."