Shutdown Day 10: Obama, GOP To Meet Amid Signs Of Possible Thaw

Chairman of the House Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. Ryan has outlined the framework of a possible deal on the federal shutdown and the debt ceiling.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Chairman of the House Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. Ryan has outlined the framework of a possible deal on the federal shutdown and the debt ceiling.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

It's Day 10 of the partial federal government shutdown, and the big news is a meeting between President Obama and a select group of House Republicans.

The president will host the meeting, to include 18 key Republicans, which is aimed at finding a way around the partisan differences. The White House and Democrats want a "clean" continuing resolution to restore funding to government operations, but a substantial bloc of conservative Republicans in the House insist that such a temporary spending measure be tied to defunding and/or delaying the Affordable Care Act.

But the fight over the continuing resolution has morphed into a high stakes debate over raising the debt ceiling, which has to happen in the next week to forestall a likely U.S. default.

Thursday's noon meeting at the White House and signs of a possible compromise from Republicans, has some pundits talking of a "thaw" that could produce a deal. In an opinion piece published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal, House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, outlined a plan to extend the nation's borrowing limit for four to six weeks on condition that both sides sit down to deficit-reduction talks.

USA Today writes:

"Republicans have moved on from their original demand and are instead seeking an avenue for budget talks that could result in long-term agreements to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit. Democrats say they are open to such talks, but only after the shutdown ends and the default threat is off the table."

The Journal says:

"The White House said the session isn't a negotiation, in keeping with Mr. Obama's demand that lawmakers raise the debt ceiling and fully reopen the government without conditions before policy talks are held. But the meeting may allow House Republicans to say they had a policy conversation with the president, which they have been saying is a condition of resolving the impasse."

And The Washington Post reported Wednesday that:

"[House Speaker John Boehner] has closed the door on the idea of voting for a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government and a clean bill to raise the debt limit. But a short-term version of both might be least painful way out of what's proven to be a very tough situation for him.

If Boehner were to agree to a very short-term — say, six to eight weeks — debt ceiling extension and government funding bill, he could sell it to his conference as a chance to get Democrats to the negotiating table on health-care and spending. And in short order, Republicans would have some leverage once again, as yet another shutdown would be triggered without a deal and the risk of default would be resurrected without another debt ceiling increase."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/10/231350686/shutdown-day-10-obama-gop-to-meet-amid-signs-of-a-thaw?ft=1&f=1003
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Home Improvement - Plumbing Services - Pinnacle Maintenance

If you look around, you will find hundreds of plumbers, or at least people who bill themselves as plumbers. This doesn’t mean that everyone you talk to about a plumbing service is qualified to work on your home. There are many plumbers/plumbing contractors that will do sketchy things to homeowners. These shady contractors usually aren’t licensed and will leave their clients hanging when something goes wrong at the job site, even after being paid. If you are looking for the best plumbers in around Limerick, Clare, Kerry or its surrounding environments, Pinnacle Maintenance is the number one company that provides you with a one-stop shop of professionals and licensed plumbers.

Here are some examples of reasons to hire qualified, reliable and licensed Plumbers to work on your property:

Cutting cost by cutting quality

One incident that comes to mind is a homeowner that hired a plumber to install a shower in his family home. The shower had a pan liner, with a strainer. These shower pans require that pitch material be employed underneath. The contractor that was hired said that he never used pitch liner, and it was unnecessary extra cost and labor, so the job was “finished’ improperly. Sure enough, after some time had passed, enough water seeped down from the liner into the home’s structure to do significant damage to the floors. The repairs were costly, and the homeowner decided to never use an unlicensed contractor again.

Use of cheap materials

Good quality plumbing materials are essential for any plumbing job that you want to last longer than a year. And the good materials don’t come cheap. A contractor that picks up all of their materials at a local value for less store is likely trying to cut costs by using inferior materials. There are times when a part or tool can be grabbed from a hardware store, but high quality materials should be ordered from proper supply outlets for most jobs.

Liability insurance

A plumber must be licensed in order to obtain proper liability insurance. At all times, any job must be conducted by a licensed plumber, as well as any job involving sewage or freshwater lines. If they aren’t licensed, and something goes wrong, you could be footing the bill of some potentially massive costs. Even if the plumber is licensed, check their insurance to make sure that they haven’t let it lapse. If an unlicensed plumber conducts a repair or installation that later goes bad, you may end up being liable to pay for the repair job.

Insufficient skills or knowledge

Even if it’s just a toilet repair, you should avoid hiring anybody but the best, most qualified and licensed plumber around. It may seem like your local handyman can handle that hot water heater install job, and maybe he can, but if he doesn’t know which pressure relief valves to use and how to install them properly, there could be big problems when the hot water heater explodes. Not only will it flood your home but the explosion itself could hurt one of your family members. It may seem smart to cut costs by contracting out to the lowest bidder, but plumbing is one place where you do not want to do that. Even a small water leak from an improperly connected pipe can have major ramifications for your home’s infrastructure.

Hopefully you will keep the above reasons in mind the next time you are out searching for a plumber to conduct work on your home. Make sure to ask all the right questions and check their credentials. Look for reviews and properly vet all candidates. Don’t risk your home on a lousy contractor just because he says he can get the job done for a few bucks cheaper. Pay a little more and get the peace of mind that you deserve.
As always, we invite you to share this post on social media. If you have a friend or family member who is thinking of hiring a shady plumber, direct them here by all means.

Having good plumbing is very important part of managing your home. This article provides some fantastic tips for helping you maintain and fixing your own plumbing.
Have a professional flush your septic tank cleaned every five years to keep it working well. Although it could cost a good deal of money to pump out your septic tank, cleaning up sewage backup in your home will ultimately cost much more.
Do not pay your plumber until the problem is fixed. You may need to make a small down payment before the job has begun, but never pay the total cost until you know the job has been completed correctly. You want to know the bill when you are completely satisfied with the job.

Check the floors in your bathroom for soft areas around the toilet to determine floor damage. You can save money by noticing the problem as early as possible.
Avoid dumping oil, fat, and other oils down your drain. This is primarily true if you are someone who has a garbage disposal because the fats will make the blades go slower and less efficiently. Make certain you dispose of oils in other places other than the sink.
If you notice orange or pink stains in your bathroom fixtures, this occurs when the water has too much iron. You should purchase a water softener to use, or you can have a professional do it for you.

By having a regular cleaning routine, lemon rinds, dish soap and even pits from a cherry, you can keep your disposal running smoothly and smelling as fresh as the day it was installed.
Pour equal parts baking soda followed by vinegar down your bathtub drain every month. Plug up the opening or cover it with a cloth while the chemical reaction takes place. Wait until the chemical reaction runs its course, and then flush with boiling water. Doing this will clear your pipes of disgusting soap scum and blockages.
The best way to avoid plumbing bills is prevention. Drain clogs are a very common plumbing issue and sometimes expensive to repair when they are not addressed promptly. Drains easily clogged by hair. It’s a lot simpler to eliminate hair out of a screen than to pull it from a pipe.
Frozen pipes can lead to a large plumbing repair bills. The first thing to do is ensure your outside pipes are well insulated. When wintertime comes, drain and disconnect the hoses and shut off your outside faucet. Doing this can help save lots of plumbing repair bills?
Clean the aerator to if you are dealing with low water pressure issues which result from sediment buildup. Take out the aerator, disassemble it, and brush it clean with a little vinegar.

As you can see, there are many tips and tricks that you can use to fix the plumbing in your home. Apply what you have learned here, and build on that knowledge.

Courtesy of Pinnacle Maintenance Services Limerick

Tags: bathroom refurbishment, bathroom repairs, builders, carpenters, cleaning, cleaning company, plumbers, plumbing, plumbing services, professional plumbing

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Americans now love 15-year fixed mortgages

Rates on a 15-year fixed mortgage are so low that many homeowners can afford the higher payment, which allows them to pay off their mortgage in 15 years instead of the standard 30.

By G. Jeffrey MacDonald,?Correspondent / January 28, 2013

By refinancing their 30-year home loan into a 15-year fixed mortgage, one couple from Washington State expect to save $70,000 in interest charges.

Michael Sloan

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Move over, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. A shorter-term loan is enticing scores of home-owners to switch, now that they can finally afford to do so.

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Record-low rates are helping transform the 15-year mortgage from a rarely used instrument into a popular option, especially for refinancers. In November, 23 percent of refinance applications were for 15-year loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's up 51 percent from a year earlier.

The trend has gained steam since the economic slowdown led consumers to start slashing their debts. Fifteen-year mortgages made up just 8.5 percent of all refinance loans in 2007, but they made up 35 percent of the total last year, according to CoreLogic, a consumer research firm based in Irvine, Calif. One reason: Paying off the note in half the time means huge long-term savings in interest payments.

"Consumers are financially savvy, and they recognize 30-year fixed mortgages are a bargain," says Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac, a major provider of mortgage capital based in McLean, Va. "But then they say, 'Gosh, a 15-year fixed is three-quarters of a percentage point even lower'.... You can lock that in and never have to worry about refinancing again."

While 15-year loans have always been an interest-saving option, they usually come with a trade-off: higher monthly payments. That's because 15-year loans are structured to pay down principal more aggressively each month.

But today's extraordinary rates are changing the calculus. Interest on a 15-year loan hasn't been this low since at least the 1940s. Seldom have 15-year loans been so much cheaper than 30-year loans, according to Mr. Nothaft.

Until mid-December, Jeffrey and Amber DeGraaf of Kennewick, Wash., were paying 5.75 percent on a 30-year adjustable-rate mortgage that they took out in 2005 for $149,000. Their monthly payment was $1,097.

When they refinanced in December into a 15-year fixed at 3 percent, their monthly payment rose by only $123. The benefits far outweighed the $3,600 in refinance charges, Mr. DeGraaf says. The family expects to save around $70,000 in long-term interest. Plus they'll own their three-bedroom home free and clear eight years sooner.

"A lot of people would say, 'Another $120 a month? I don't know if I've got that'," says DeGraaf, a government contractor. "But to me, if you can afford it, it's worth it. You have your house paid off sooner. And you think about all the interest that you now won't be paying."

The DeGraafs have plenty of company, especially in regions where home prices aren't so high that a larger monthly payment would be out of the question. In five Midwestern states with relatively strong economies and low home prices, 30 to 40 percent of all refinanced loans are for 15-year terms.

The trend has followers on the coasts, too. Gesa Credit Union, based in Richland, Wash., which refinanced the DeGraafs, authorized 330 new 15-year refinance loans in 2012, up from 200 in 2010.

"In the second year of [a 15-year] loan, more than half of your payment is going towards principal," Randy Wacker, Gesa's vice president of mortgage lending, says via e-mail. "On a 30-year loan, that doesn't happen until year 11!"

The 15-year loan isn't for everyone. More than 80 percent of loans for new home purchases still utilize the 30-year fixed. For first-time buyers, the 30-year's low payments can be critical to home-ownership's success, Nothaft says.

Yet for those who can afford a higher payment, there's no reason to wait to refinance, he says. "We're not anticipating further substantial declines in mortgage rates from these very, very low levels. So since they're at pretty much the low right now, why delay?"

It doesn't help the economy in the short run to have consumers steering disposable income into larger monthly loan payments, according to Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics for the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C. But long term, "households have been saving more and accumulating less debt. That's going to build a more sustainable framework for [economic] growth going forward because people are living a little farther from the edge" of insolvency.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/_pV83DzhJS0/Americans-now-love-15-year-fixed-mortgages

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The Yeshiva World Decision Made Regarding Next Mayor of Bnei ...

With Rav Yaakov Asher?s successful election to Knesset, the seventh seat on the Yahadut Hatorah lineup, the post of Bnei Brak mayor became vacant. It has been decided the position will go to Rabbi Avrohom Rubinstein, who is close to HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky Shlita.

Rubinstein arrived at the home of HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita on motzei Shabbos with a letter of endorsement from Rav Kanievsky to hear the rav?s decision. After Rav Shteinman approved the appointment, Rav Rubinstein received a bracha. The rav also met with Av Beis Din HaGaon HaRav Nissim Karelitz Shlita and Rosh Yeshivas Ponevezh Rav Gershon Edelstein Shlita.

Rav Rubinstein has been the secretary of the Degel Hatorah Moetzas Gedolei Hatorah.

Others considered for the post included Mordechai Karelitz, Yaakov Gutterman and Reuven Korlensky.

It appears once Rav Chaim gave his letter of endorsement (click on image to enlarge), the issue was closed.

Have you checked out?YWN Radio?yet? Click?HERE?to listen!

(YWN ? Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

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Egyptian youths, police clash in fourth day of street violence

CAIRO (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas at dozens of stone-throwing protesters in Cairo on Sunday in a fourth day of street violence that has killed at least 41 people and compounded the political challenges facing President Mohamed Mursi.

The most deadly clashes flared up in Port Said where 32 people were killed on Saturday alone. That violence was provoked by a court verdict sentencing 21 people, mostly from the city, to death for their role in a deadly stadium disaster last year.

But protests have been going in cities across Egypt since Thursday led by opponents of Mursi and his Islamist allies. Demonstrations were initially timed to mark Friday's second anniversary of the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak.

Opponents say Mursi has betrayed the goals of the revolt.

The army, Egypt's interim rulers until Mursi's election June, were sent back onto the streets to restore order in Port Said and Suez, another port city on the Suez Canal where at least eight people have been killed in clashes with police.

Although scuffles continued on Sunday morning in Cairo, there was no immediate sign of the kind of deadly escalation of previous days in the capital or elsewhere.

The spasm of violence adds to the daunting task facing Mursi as he tries to fix a beleaguered economy and cool tempers before a parliamentary election expected in the next few months which is supposed to cement Egypt's transition to democracy.

It has also exposed a deep rift in the nation. Liberals and other opponents accuse Mursi of failing to deliver on economic promises and say he has not lived up to pledges to represent all Egyptians. His backers say the opposition is seeking to topple Egypt's first freely elected leader by undemocratic means.

"Till now, none of the revolution's goals have been realized," said Mohamed Sami, a protester in Tahrir Square. "Prices are going up. The blood of Egyptians is being spilt in the streets because of neglect and corruption and because the Muslim Brotherhood is ruling Egypt for their own interests."

On a bridge close to Tahrir Square, youths were hurling stones at police in riot gear who fired tear gas to push them back towards the square which was the cauldron of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later.

The U.S. embassy in Cairo, which is near Tahrir Square, said it was suspending public services on Sunday "due to the security situation in the vicinity" of the mission.

Many Egyptians are frustrated by the regular escalations that have hurt the economy and their livelihoods.

"They are not revolutionaries protesting," said taxi driver Kamal Hassan, 30. "They are thugs destroying the country."

CALL FOR DIALOGUE

The National Defense Council, headed by Mursi and including top army and other officials, has called for a national dialogue to discuss political differences.

That offer has been cautiously welcomed by the opposition National Salvation Front. But the organization has demanded a clear agenda and guarantees that any agreements will be implemented.

The Front, formed late last year when Mursi provoked protests and violence by expanding his powers and driving through an Islamist-tinged constitution, has threatened to boycott the parliamentary poll and to call for more protests if a list of demands is not met, including having an early presidential vote.

Egypt's transition has been blighted from the outset by political rows and street violence that have driven investors out and kept many tourists away, starving the economy of vital sources of hard currency.

Clashes in Port Said erupted after a judge sentenced 21 men to die for involvement in the deaths at a soccer match on February 1, 2012 between Cairo's Al Ahly club and the local al-Masri team. Many of the victims were fans of the visiting team.

There were 73 defendants in the case. Those not sentenced on Saturday will face a verdict on March 9, the judge said.

Al Ahly fans cheered the verdict after threatening action if the death penalty was not meted out. But Port Said residents were furious that people from their city were held responsible, triggering wild rampages through the streets.

A security source in Port Said said 32 people were killed, many from gunshot wounds. More than 300 were injured in one of the most deadly eruptions of violence during the past two years.

Clashes have also flared in Cairo, Alexandria and Port Said. Eight people died in Suez on Friday and police clashed with protesters again on Saturday.

Officers fired teargas when protesters angry at Friday's deaths hurled petrol bombs and stormed a police post and other government buildings. Around 18 prisoners escaped from police stations and stole some weapons, a security source said.

Reflecting international concern, British Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said: "This cannot help the process of dialogue which we encourage as vital for Egypt today, and we must condemn the violence in the strongest terms."

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged the Egyptian authorities to restore calm and order and called on all sides to show restraint, her spokesperson said.

(Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/riots-over-egyptian-death-sentences-kill-least-32-005245042.html

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Harry's Afghan downtime: movies, candy trades

LONDON (AP) ? Prince Harry's off-duty time in Afghanistan appeared to be full of war movies, board games and elaborate candy trades.

The 28-year-old helicopter pilot and fellow members of his squad swapped Kit Kats and Rice Krispies Squares for American soldiers' M&Ms, according to a British media pool report released Sunday.

Harry himself outlined one of his less-prestigious duties. The third-in-line to the U.K. throne said anyone who lost at Uckers ? a military game similar to Ludo or Parcheesi ? had to then wait on his comrades like a Buckingham Palace butler, ready with a fresh cup of tea whenever anyone rang their bell.

"Whoever loses ... then you have to make brews for everybody all day," Harry told journalists ahead of his return to Britain this week.

He also denied rumors that he was far better at PlayStation than at traditional board games.

"I don't know who told you that," he told reporters. "I lost two days ago, and yesterday, so since you guys have been here I've only lost."

Harry returned to Britain on Wednesday after a 20-week deployment in Afghanistan in which he acknowledged that he had targeted Taliban fighters from the cockpit of his Apache attack helicopter.

Asked in an earlier round of interviews whether he had killed anyone, Harry said: "Yeah, so, lots of people have." That admission disturbed some Britons and led to front-page headlines like the one in The Daily Mail that read: "Harry: I Have Killed."

This latest round of interviews, focusing on Harry's daily life at Britain's Camp Bastion military base in Afghanistan, is not likely to draw the same kind of headlines.

The report mainly carried glimpses of the prince's daily routine, including his favorite foods ? chicken and broccoli ? and his favorite movies ? "Full Metal Jacket," ''Apocalypse Now," and "Platoon."

In an interesting twist for an Apache pilot, "Black Hawk Down," the Ridley Scott film about a helicopter raid gone wrong in Somalia, was among the movies spotted in Harry's communal tent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/harrys-afghan-downtime-movies-candy-trades-090928405.html

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Huawei MediaPad 10 Link hits the FCC looking worse for wear

Huawei's MediaPad 10 Link clearly didn't know what it was getting itself into when it traveled to the FCC. The Android tablet, which made a brief appearance at CES a few weeks back, took quite a few hits to its 10.1-inch display, now that Wolverine is apparently handling electronics for the commission. According to notes from CES, the tablet's running Ice Cream Sandwich on a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. No word yet on how soon the newest member of the MediaPad family will be riding FCC approval onto our shores -- or if the name signals some new Hyrulian tie-in for the company.

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