WASHINGTON — More than 90 percent of nursing homes were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, and for-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other types of nursing homes, federal investigators say in a report issued on Monday. About 17 percent of nursing homes had deficiencies that caused ‘actual harm or immediate jeopardy’ to patients, said the report, by Daniel R. Levinson, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services. Problems included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition and abuse and neglect of patients. Inspectors received 37,150 complaints about conditions in nursing homes last year, and they substantiated 39 percent of them, the report said. About one-fifth of the complaints verified by federal and state authorities involved the abuse or neglect of patients. About two-thirds of nursing homes are owned by for-profit companies, while 27 percent are owned by nonprofit organizations and 6 percent by government entities, the report said. The inspector general said 94 percent of for-profit nursing homes were cited for deficiencies last year, compared with 88 percent of nonprofit homes and 91 percent of government homes. ‘For-profit nursing homes had a […]
By voting down the proposed $700 billion financial bailout package – and causing a spectacular stock market rout – a majority of members in the House of Representatives made a clear statement that they didn’t want to put taxpayers on the hook for the failures of financial institutions. But there’s a catch: taxpayers are already on the hook for the failures of financial institutions, and it’s possible that the bill will actually be larger without bailout legislation than with it. That’s because the regulators who mind the financial industry – the Federal Reserve, Treasury and FDIC – will keep doing what they’ve been doing: stepping in to prevent the chaotic failure of banks and other large financial institutions. This means continuing to put hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars at risk, but in a way that adheres to no clear plan of action and doesn’t require members of Congress to explicitly approve their actions. On Monday afternoon, Wall Street basically stopped trading to watch TV – mainly CNBC – to see how the House of Representatives would vote on the $700 billion bailout package. When it first started looking like the bill would fail, the Dow plummeted 389 […]
NEW YORK — Oil prices tumbled more than $10 a barrel Monday, dropping back below $100 as a U.S. financial bailout failed to win legislative approval, raising fears of a prolonged economic downturn that could drastically erode global energy demand. Light, sweet crude for November delivery sank $10.52, or 9.8 percent, to settle at $96.36 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier dropping as low as $95.04. The dramatic sell-off capped a week of frenzied volatility in oil markets. A week earlier, prices shot up over $16 to $120.92 a barrel in the biggest one-day dollar gain ever. But as disagreements over the government’s $700 billion bailout plan intensified over the last several days, oil market traders began moving out of their positions at a rapid clip; Monday’s decline was the second largest ever in dollar terms and the biggest percentage-wise since 2001. Crude has now fallen almost $25, or 20 percent, in the last seven days. Monday’s nosedive came as House lawmakers defeated the emergency measure, which would have absorbed billions of dollars in banks’ bad mortgage-related debt and other risky assets in a bid to steady the teetering economy. Democratic and Republican […]
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Michael Mukasey agreed Monday to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate whether former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other officials involved in the firings of nine U.S. attorneys broke the law. The move comes at the request of Justice Department’s Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility, who in a report released Monday detailed ‘substantial evidence’ that partisan politics played a role in several of the ousters. Gonzales ‘abdicated his responsibility to safeguard the integrity and independence of the department,’ said a statement from Fine’s office. Mukasey appointed acting veteran federal prosecutor and acting Connecticut U.S. attorney Nora Dannehy to oversee the inquiry, virtually guaranteeing that the 18-month investigation will continue into the next administration. Several of the prosecutors who were fired said they were pleased that the investigation would continue despite resistance from some administration officials. ‘This report corroborates what my colleagues and I have been saying for the last 18 months: that the basis for our removal was improper, wrongful and now possibly criminal,’ said David Iglesias, the ousted U.S. attorney in New Mexico. Inspector General Glenn Fine and H. Marshall Jarrett, the head of the Justice Department’s […]
The US Senate Saturday approved 25 billion dollars in loan guarantees for the financially strapped US auto industry, intended to spark a wave of automotive innovation. The loan guarantees were included in a continuing resolution that included funding for the US government and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President George W. Bush has indicated that he intends to sign the bill. ‘We’re very pleased Congress has chosen to act at this critical time,’ said Greg Martin, director of communications for General Motors Corp’s Washington office. GM had been subject of much speculation that it could be forced into bankruptcy. The bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, are the first loan guarantees for US carmakers since Congress approved a similar 675 million dollar measure for Chrysler Corp. in 1980. Chrysler Chairman Robert Nardelli, however, said this week the loan guarantees should not be considered a rescue package for struggling carmakers. ‘This is not a bailout,’ he said. Under provisions of the new legislation, not only US carmakers are eligible for the guarantees but also suppliers and foreign automakers with plants in the United States that are more than […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
