Obama Announces Mortgage Plan; The Spotless Mind; California Budget Update
Obama Announces Mortgage Plan
Today President Obama unveiled a $75 billion plan to help up to 9 million homeowners avoid foreclosure, which has been a major cause of the current financial crisis. Among the highlights, it would allow an estimated 4 to 5 million ineligible homeowners with mortgages through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance at lower rates. It would create incentives for lenders to work with borrowers to modify the terms of subprime loans at risk of default or foreclosure, and use the $200 billion already approved by Congress to keep rates low for those seeking new mortgages. The plan would also change bankruptcy rules to help families avoid foreclosure. Larry Mantle and guests discuss Obama's plan to help relieve the financial crisis.
The Spotless Mind
Are you afraid of spiders? Did you have a bad accident you'd like to forget about? New research shows that medication could be used to help lessen the sting of bad memories and decrease phobias. Beta-blockers are blood pressure drugs that are also taken by actors, musicians and some athletes to lessen performance anxiety and stage fright. But according to a study by Nature Neuroscience, these same drugs might also work to erase emotional memories.
California Budget Update
Senate Republicans unseated California Senate leader Dave Cogdill and replaced him with Dennis Holllingsworth at 1 AM this morning in attempts to shoot down current budget proposals that would temporarily increase taxes in sales, gasoline and personal income. Legislators are hoping to get California out of a $41 billion budget deficit. In order to pass the current budget, the senate needs just one Republican vote. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg believes the change in leadership will not change the budget dynamic. Republicans and Democrats are split over whether raising taxes will save California from its fiscal crisis or drain the economy.