Police: Florida mom forced to watch estranged husband kill their sons

By Gilma Avalos and Juan Ortega, NBC Miami

A South Florida man strangled his two young sons with a rope at his estranged wife?s house and then used a gun to shoot one of the boys several times before he shot himself to death, authorities said Saturday afternoon.

Police say Isidro Zavala, 45, early Saturday went to the Boynton Beach home of his wife with the intention of killing her and their children, Eduardo Zavala, 12, and Mario Zavala, 11.

At the crime scene, detectives found a blue bag with a second firearm, extra ammunition, duct tape, cutting shears and a note addressed to Zavala's oldest son, who was not at the residence during the killings, police said. ?

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Isidro Zavala carried out his plan, but with an exception:?He spared his wife, Victoria Flores Zavala, 36, so that she could suffer, police said.

Read more at NBC Miami

?What Mrs. Zavala had to go through -- watch her children killed before her -- is probably the most horrific thing you could ever imagine, at least for me,? said Boynton Beach Police Chief G. Matthew Immler, saying that he himself is a parent.

The motive for the killing "is just speculation at this point,"?Immler said.

Victoria Flores Zavala contacted police, who arrived at her house in the 400 block of Southwest Eighth Avenue about 1:50 a.m. Saturday.

Officers found one child dead in a back screened patio area. A second child was found dead in the kitchen dining room area. Officers found Isidro Zavala?s body in the kitchen, police said.

Victoria Zavala said that her husband killed their children, police said. She said she and her husband had been separated and that he no longer lived in the house.

She told detectives that she was watching TV when she heard commotion in the house, went to check on her children and saw Isidro Zavala choking one of his sons, police said.

Then he killed them. Mario was the boy who was shot repeatedly, police said. The mother had tried to stop her spouse.

?She tried fighting him off and begged him to kill her and not the children,? Boynton Beach police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said in a press release. ?He told her she was going to stay alive and suffer the loss of them.?

Detectives obtained a warrant to search the house, as well as a house in the 1100 block of Southeast Third Street, where Isidro Zavala had been living, police said.

The Zavalas have a 19-year-old son who does not live with his family and was not there when the killings occurred, police said. The note found at the crime scene addressed to him said something to the effect that "he was a good son,"?police said.

Detectives have called the state Department of Children and Families to investigate. ?It should be noted that there is no history of reports of domestic violence or abuse noted at the house,? Slater said.

The Zavala couple married in 1993, records show. In 1999, the pair signed a $73,700 mortgage on the home where the killings occurred, Palm Beach County records show.

In October last year, Victoria Flores Zavala filed for divorce from her husband in Palm Beach County, a case that records showed was still listed as pending.

Immler called Saturday's case "an unusually brutal type of murder,"?but said such murder-suicide cases unfortunately have been known to happen.?

"And certainly I?ve seen it over the years of being a police officer, that there are mentally disturbed people out there who commit these types against their own family members, against their own loved ones,"?he said.?

The police chief turned his attention to the surviving Zavalas.

"Hopefully, as time passes, perhaps their wounds will heal. I doubt it," he said. "You know, I don?t believe you could ever recover from something like this.

"Hopefully, the surviving Zavalas can get the help they need and somehow go on with life."

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/03/16829706-police-florida-mom-forced-to-watch-estranged-husband-kill-their-sons?lite

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Obama to campaign for gun proposals in Minnesota

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The fate of his gun proposals on Capitol Hill uncertain, President Barack Obama is seeking to rally support from the public and law enforcement community for his calls to ban assault weapons and install universal background checks for gun buyers.

Obama will pitch his proposals to stem gun violence Monday in Minnesota, a Democratic-leaning state where officials have been studying ways to reduce gun-related attacks and accidents for several years. His visit to the Minneapolis Police Department's Special Operations Center will mark the first time Obama has campaigned on his controversial proposals outside of Washington.

Ahead of the trip, the White House released a photo of the president skeet shooting at Camp David, the presidential retreat. Obama cited skeet shooting when asked in a recent interview whether he had ever shot a gun.

The president unveiled his sweeping package of proposals for curbing gun violence last month in response to the horrific mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He vowed to use the full weight of his office to fight for the proposals, many of which face tough opposition from congressional lawmakers and the powerful National Rifle Association.

The reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, is expected to be the steepest climb for Obama. Universal background checks for gun purchasers may have an easier time passing Congress, though the NRA also opposes that measure.

White House press secretary Jay Carney, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said Obama remained committed to the assault weapons ban and that it was too early to write off prospects for any parts of the package.

"We all recognize that all the components of this are difficult and face challenges, some perhaps even more than others," Carney said. "But the president's support is firm and clear."

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., has said he hopes his panel can write gun legislation this month, though it's unclear what it will contain.

The White House picked Minneapolis as the backdrop for Obama's remarks in part because of recent steps the city has taken to tackle gun violence, including a push for stricter background checks.

After a spike in violent crimes, the city launched a program in 2008 aimed at providing more resources for at-risk youth and helping rehabilitate young people who have already perpetrated crimes. In January, Minneapolis also hosted a regional summit on gun violence for elected officials from around the Midwest.

Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau and Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek are also among the officials Obama has consulted as he pursues his anti-gun violence measures.

Stanek has also been leading a group of Minnesota sheriffs pushing for stronger background checks for people trying to buy guns.

Obama is expected to make more trips around the country to build support for his anti-gun violence measures. The outside group Organizing For Action, an offshoot of Obama's presidential campaign, is also promoting the proposals.

White House officials say quick action on the president's gun measures gives them the best prospects for passing legislation in Congress. They fear that as time passes lawmakers will have less incentive to back the measures as the shock of the Newtown massacre fades.

In addition to the gun control measures, Obama's anti-violence proposals also included increasing mental health resources, boosting funding for school security, and lifting restrictions that prevent the government from studying the causes of gun violence.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-campaign-gun-proposals-minnesota-082922906--politics.html

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Analysis: Small lenders ride U.S. mortgage wave as big banks cut back

(Reuters) - Guaranteed Rate, Inc, a home loan company, opened shop in 2000 in Chicago with a single office. Now it is one of the 20 biggest U.S. mortgage lenders, with more than 140 offices.

Most of that growth has come in the last two years and Chief Executive Victor Ciardelli said in an interview he is not planning to slow down.

"We've hired over a thousand people over the last year and we're trying to hire a ton more," Ciardelli said.

Guaranteed Rate is one of scores of independent mortgage lenders and community banks pushing up through the rubble of the housing collapse, as profits rise amid improving demand for home loans for new purchases or mortgage refinancing. They are winning business from banks such as Citigroup Inc or Bank of America Corp that have retrenched after the financial crisis.

The five biggest U.S. mortgage lenders controlled just 53.2 percent of the market last year, down from nearly two-thirds in 2010, Inside Mortgage Finance data shows. As small lenders grow, that share could shrink to 40 percent of the $1.8 trillion mortgage market by 2014, a recent FBR Capital Markets report forecast.

The rise of smaller lenders is a boon for consumers. Several smaller lenders said lower costs, low interest rates and their faster processing times allowed them to be more aggressive on pricing than the bigger banks.

"When the big guys get backed up, they have a tendency to raise their price, to slow down volume. And that gives other lenders an opportunity, because the consumer thinks, ?Why would I pay an extra $100 a month,'" said Brian Hale, chief executive of Stearns Lending Inc.

Stearns, a home lender based in Santa Ana, California, saw originations increase 107 percent in 2012.

But the proliferation of lenders also comes with risks. While mortgage experts said underwriting standards are stricter now than in the years leading to the financial crisis, the rush into the sector raises the risk that regulators might not be able to police them effectively.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for example, has unveiled new rules for underwriting standards, but the bureau that was formed in 2011 as part of financial reforms has yet to prove itself.

"The CFPB is a very new agency that has been building out its examination force. They've been doing a very good job of that, but nevertheless a lot of the examiners are relatively new," said Patricia McCoy, a financial-institutions law professor at the University of Connecticut and a former senior mortgage-market official at the CFPB.

A CFPB official said the agency was staffing up and would continue to grow until it is at full capacity.

Small lenders, some of which are backed by private equity and hedge fund money, are also aggressively taking advantage of federal guarantees to make home loans geared toward low-income borrowers - more so than the big banks. Such loans, which are insured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), require a down payment of as little as 3.5 percent of the purchase price, compared with the usual 20 percent.

The CFPB's mortgage regulations specifically exempt the FHA, noted Guy Cecala, the publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance.

"There's no question that the FHA has the loosest underwriting of any mortgage program in the industry right now, and that naturally brings some risk," Cecala said. "The million-dollar question is, How much risk?"

Meanwhile, fast money looking for big returns is pouring into the sector.

"I get offers to be purchased by hedge funds and private equity all the time," Guaranteed's Ciardelli said.

To be sure, the increase in business for small lenders could be cut short as big banks ramp up. The two biggest players in the market now, Wells Fargo & Co and JPMorgan Chase & Co , have been gaining market share in recent years. Others such as Citigroup and Bank of America pulled back from the market during the financial crisis, but have been hiring loan officers in an effort to regain lost share.

Moreover, mortgage rates have risen recently, which could ultimately cut into demand for home loans.

But for now, small lenders and experts said the ramp up by the large banks is not enough to make up for all of the business they shed.

"There is a real opportunity for well-capitalized community banks and independent mortgage bankers to take market share," said Richard Bennion, director of residential lending at Seattle-based HomeStreet Bank.

BIG PROFITS

One reason for the rush into the market is enormous profits. The U.S. Federal Reserve last year said it was buying $40 billion of mortgages a month, which adds to demand for home loans and increases profits for banks that make loans and sell them to investors.

JPMorgan, for example, said earlier in January that margins from selling mortgage loans to investors were about 1.60 percentage points, more than double the historical level of about 0.65 percentage points.

Those kinds of margins give smaller competitors room to cut rates and still make money.

On its website at the end of January, Guaranteed Rate offered a $300,000, 30-year, fixed-rate home loan for 3.5 percent with up-front fees of $1,250. It claimed that compared favorably with three large banks - Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America - whose rates that day ranged from 3.625 percent to 3.75 percent for a similar mortgage, with fees starting at $3,200.

"The big banks are doing pretty well just turning on the lights and opening up the doors at their branch offices every day, so there's no need to compete on pricing," Inside Mortgage Finance's Cecala said.

Citigroup spokesman Mark Rodgers said the bank continually seeks to ensure that its mortgage rates are competitive. Wells Fargo spokesman Tom Goyda said he is confident his bank's pricing is competitive and noted that price is not a customer's only consideration when shopping for a mortgage. Bank of America spokeswoman Kris Yamamoto said rates and fees depend on multiple variables and that the bank offered discounts to certain customers who maintain assets with the bank.

'LENDER FOR THE MASSES'

While the FHA's lending has gradually decreased since the crisis, it has been a source of opportunity for smaller lenders. The agency insured $213 billion of loans in fiscal 2012, compared with $218 billion in 2011 and $298 billion in 2010, according to its 2012 annual report to Congress.

Cecala said this puts the FHA at 13.5 percent of the lending market, within its stated target range of 10 to 15 percent, and down from over 25 percent in 2009, when FHA lending peaked.

More so than big banks, many independent lenders are relying on FHA loans to keep their origination volumes high.

"This recession hit a lot of people hard and (the FHA program) gave us the opportunity to support those folks in a situation that was difficult for them," said Stanley Middleman, CEO of Freedom Mortgage Corp.

The Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based lender said about 35 percent of its $13 billion in mortgage origination for 2012 was FHA lending.

In contrast, JPMorgan's total government lending, which includes FHA, as well as programs targeted at veterans and rural homeowners, made up less than 21 percent of its overall origination volume, a spokeswoman said.

A Wells Fargo spokesman said an estimate of FHA lending at 15 to 20 percent would be reasonable, but would not confirm an exact number.

At another lender, Sherman Oaks, California-based Prospect Mortgage, FHA lending accounted for over 25 percent of its $8.42 billion in loans in 2012, a company spokesman said.

"We like to think of ourselves as the lender for the masses, not the classes," said Doug Long, Prospect's president of retail lending.

(Reporting By Anna Sussman; Editing by Carrick Mollenkamp, Dan Wilchins, Paritosh Bansal and Andre Grenon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-small-lenders-ride-u-mortgage-wave-big-050844365--sector.html

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Other business or advertising design contest | Weight Snap needs a ...

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Source: http://99designs.com/other-business-advertising/contests/weight-snap-needs-business-advertising-193784

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Oprah's OWN Hit With Sex And Pregnancy ... - AOL Jobs

By AOL Jobs Staff
Pregnancy discrimination complaints have been soaring in recent years, but still, the sex discrimination lawsuit against Oprah Winfrey's cable network was stunning. Carolyn Hommel, a former senior director of scheduling and acquisitions at OWN, alleges that OWN committed "acts of oppression, fraud or malice," freezing her out of her job and not considering her for a promotion because of her pregnancy, according to the lawsuit filed Friday (via Deadline.com).

Hommel says she was hired in 2010 and had a stellar performance review her first year of employment. She alleges the problems began in August 2011, after she informed her boss she was pregnant and went on a two-week medical leave, due to a pregnancy-related health issue, the lawsuit says. When she was out of the office, she says she learned her boss hired a temporary employee. And when Hommel returned to work, she says her responsibilities were gradually taken away from her and she was excluded from meetings, according to the lawsuit. In March 2012, a month after giving birth, Hommel said she was laid off. She applied for a job as vice president and was rejected.

The lawsuit doesn't name Oprah Winfrey as a defendant; the suit is aimed at the network and Hommel's former manager. The Oprah Winfrey Network went live in January 2011. It has struggled to find an audience. The OWN network didn't immediately respond to an AOL Jobs request for comment.

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Source: http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/02/02/oprahs-own-hit-with-sex-and-pregnancy-discrimination-lawsuit/

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New Android apps worth downloading: Carbon - App Sync and Backup, Google Play Music update, Zombie Road Trip

Today?s first fresh Android app is Carbon - App Sync and Backup, which backs up your apps and data to other locations, and protects everything you hold dear on your Android device. Next, a big update adds new functionality and features to the cloud-based Google Play Music. Rounding out today?s picks is Zombie Road Trip, a side-scrolling driving game developed by Noodlecake Studios.

What?s it about? The recently released Carbon - App Sync and Backup is for backing up your other mobile applications and data, either to a hardware location or on their cloud server.

What?s cool? It?s a pain in the you-know-what to switch app data from one device to another. Carbon - App Sync and Backup lets you transfer data among Android devices, and provides extra security in case you store private information or are particularly fond of your game high scores. The premium edition, which costs $4.99, enables backing up to cloud locations such as Dropbox.

Who?s it for? Simply put, Carbon - App Sync and Backup is for smartphone owners who want to back up their apps and data. Since Android devices are considered by most to be mini-computers, and we use them every day, it?s essential to save and secure important data.

What?s it like? Try App Backup and Restore and MyBackup for more data-saving options.

What?s it about? Google improves its cloud-based music player and storage service with new features by enhancing the listening experience.

What?s cool? For the uninitiated, Google Play Music is the portal between buying music from Google?s media store and accessing it on your Android devices. The app allows you to stream music from your cloud-based storage area, and Google Play Music even makes instant playlists based off your tracks. The new update includes improvements, such as: longer instant mixes, better shuffling for artists, albums and playlists, and lots more.

Who?s it for? This app is a no-brainer for anyone who downloads music from the Google Play store.

What?s it like? Amazon MP3 is the retail giant?s answer to Google Play Music, and offers a lot of the same services.

What?s it about? In Zombie Road Trip, a side-scrolling game, you must avoid undead hordes while driving and pulling off tricks in a customized deathmobile.

What?s cool? It?s a 2-D world full of obstacles and zombies. What?s not to love about that? The goal is to avoid crashing during your escape and rack up high scores. Zombie Road Trip randomizes its terrain, so every level is ostensibly brand new, and you can unlock up to 11 cars.

Who?s it for? If you like arcade running (or in this case, driving) titles, or just love zombie-themed games, push the pedal to the metal in Zombie Road Trip.

What?s it like? Tilt-based driving titles Snuggle Truck and Top Truck offer similar side-scrolling setups.

Download the Appolicious Android app

Source: http://www.androidapps.com/tech/articles/13184-new-android-apps-worth-downloading-carbon-app-sync-and-backup-google-play-music-update-zombie-road-trip

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Americans would pay more to fund Social Security

By Allison Linn, TODAY

Most Americans think it?s important to preserve adequate Social Security benefits for younger generations ? and they may even be willing to pay more taxes to get that assurance, a new survey finds.

The survey, released Thursday by the nonprofit National Academy of Social Insurance, found that about eight in 10 Americans think it is critical to support Social Security even if it means that working Americans have to pay more in taxes. A slightly higher percentage of the 2,000 people surveyed said they think it?s critical to save Social Security even if wealthy people have to pay more.

But here?s the thing: Many Americans also want something in return.

The study found broad-based support among both younger and older Americans for a plan that would gradually increase the amount of payroll taxes everyone pays and also eliminate the cap on the amount of income that can be taxed for Social Security. In return, that plan would call for raising minimum benefits and increasing cost-of-living-adjustments.

The survey comes as many Americans are growing more worried about whether they will see any Social Security benefits at all. Under current government estimates, Social Security could face funding shortfalls in about two decades because the U.S. population is aging and generally living longer.

Experts say it?s not too surprising to find that older people are heavily in favor of retaining Social Security benefits even if it means paying more taxes, but it?s a little more surprising to find that younger Americans also seem to? support it generally.

Still, after five difficult years in which many people have struggled financially, many workers may see the allure of a plan that would give them some financial certainty late in life.

?Social Security wasn?t designed to be a sole major source of retirement income, but for many people who haven?t saved enough ? it certainly looks attractive,? said Alan Auerbach, director of the Robert D. Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance at UC Berkeley.

Jasmine Tucker, income security research associate with the National Academy of Social Insurance, said she thinks the results show that people are willing to pay extra taxes for Social Security because they know that they will see a return on that investment later in life.

?People seem to be very resistant to raising any taxes, but I think Social Security is different,? she said.

Other studies have found support for raising taxes more narrowly on wealthy Americans to help fund Social Security. A Pew Research Center survey released in December found that 66 percent of Americans would support raising payroll taxes on high-income earners, while 55 percent would support reducing benefits for high-income seniors.

Related: Are you struggling in the suburbs? We want to hear from you.

Still, Auerbach ? who was not involved in the study ??noted that it?s one thing for people to say they would be willing to pay more taxes to help fund Social Security, and quite another for them to actually commit to a plan that would effectively shrink their current paycheck.

?Do people really know what this would mean in terms of their take-home pay? Have they really thought through what the implications are?? Auerbach asked.

Many Americans are seeing that real-world effect right now, because the end to the payroll tax holiday has resulted in an effective tax hike equal to about 2 percent of their wages. This survey was conducted in September, before the payroll tax holiday ended.

Critics also argue that it may not be feasible to fix Social Security?s funding woes just by raising taxes. Many other plans have called for a mix of raising taxes and reducing benefits either by curtailing cost-of-living adjustments or increasing the age at which people can get full benefits.

?There?s no attractive way to do this. There?s just a variety of less attractive ways,? said Andrew Biggs, resident scholar with the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute.

Biggs also argued that despite what the findings show, it would be difficult for politicians to garner support for a plan that involved raising taxes on all Americans.

?If this stuff was so popular, somebody would have proposed it by now,? he said.

It is clear that Americans are anxious for Congress and President Barack Obama to find some way to overhaul Social Security and other programs designed to help older Americans.

A Gallup poll?released just days after the 2012 presidential election found that nearly nine in 10 Americans thought it was important for? Obama to take major steps to ensure the long-term stability of Social Security and Medicare.?

Related: Yes, we can fix Social Security (but it won't be pretty)?

{"contentId":"16795417","totalVotes":"4667"}

Would you pay more in taxes to help avoid a Social Security funding shortfall?

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Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/02/01/16795417-americans-like-social-security-and-are-willing-to-pay-to-keep-it?lite

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