Brother and father faced in court for Afshan Azad

In a court in Manchester on Wednesday, Afshan Azad’s father and brother were both charged with attacking the young “Harry Potter” actress. Afshan Azad was in some of the "Harry Potter" movies. Her father, Abdul Azad, and brother, Ashraf Azad, have both been charged with threatening to kill the 22-year old.

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Afshan Azad's family and their charges

Afshan Azad claims that on May 21 of this year, her father and brother threatened to kill her and then they assaulted her. The problem in the family was reportedly because Afshan Azad was dating a Hindu man, while her family is Muslim. Her brother is charged with assault which her father is charged with threatening. Afshan Azad is reportedly staying in London with friends. Both her father and brother aren’t allowed to travel to London while the case is being heard.

Afshan Azad in some of the "Harry Potter" movies

Afshan Azad, who had no acting experience before being cast within the “Harry Potter” series, plays Padma Patil. Within the films, she and her twin sister Parvati are supporting characters that are at Hogwarts with the main characters, Harry, Ron and Hermionine. In four of the eight prepared movies, Afshan Azad appeared. Afshan Azad has not been reported as being involved in any movies since her “Harry Potter” appearance. Reportedly, though, she expressed just a little bit of concern about losing her job when she brought charges against her family members.

When the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" releases

Thus far, the Harry Potter franchise is the highest-grossing film series of all time. The first 6 movies made $5.4 billion. The final two movies, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” parts one and two, can be released in November of 2010 and July of 2011. These are expected to break box office records. The extended international sales, syndication agreements, and merchandising agreements guarantee even more income from the films.

Medicare NPI registry reveals confidential information

The NPI registry, or National Provider Identification registry, is a database of all Medicare providers. In a system that handles millions of pieces of confidential info, though, you will find weaknesses. The newest NPI database discloses extra information that opens the door for Medicare fraud.

Resource for this article: Medicare NPI registry reveals confidential data by Personal Money Store

The registry of NPI

The Medicare system is a very complicated bureaucratic maze that depends on the NPI registry, National Supplier Clearinghouse numbers and Medicare Administrative Contractors. The NPI Registry database is called the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System. The NPPES was intended to simplify the payment of Medicare claims. Within the end, though, the NPPES also gives out the National Supplier Clearinghouse number of a provider, which opens up both patient and provider information.

Some new information on NPI registry

The National Provider Identification registry works along with other cogs within the Medicare system. With just the NSC number and a patient’s claim number, anybody can access details on payment of claims, a patient’s diagnosis and procedures, and much more information. In other words, the new NPI registry opens up the bones of the Medicare payment system to possible exploitation.

NPI registry troubles being fixed

Contacting the 3 major arms of the Medicare payment system to ask about the NPI registry problem resulted in being given the runaround, as reported by Home Care Magazine. The suggestion of deleting the NPI details from the database, though, means that a provider might not get paid for work they've done. In other words, this means that providers have to choose between being paid by Medicare for services they provide, or safeguarding the personal data of the doctors and patients. Though a number of solutions very easily coded by dedicated programmers have been suggested, the NPI registry has not said they will be implementing any of them.

Citations:

Home Care Magazine

homecaremag.com/news/nsc-numbers-revealed-npi-registry/

Plunging consumer credit spawns deceptive new credit card fees

Consumer credit dropped in May further than was forecast, with the decline being led by significant drop in credit card debt. Since 2002, credit card delinquencies fell to their lowest rate. As Americans conserve more and borrow less, credit card companies are coming up with new ways to gouge customers. New credit card rules that are aimed at curbing the usurious behavior of credit card companies may be giving consumers a false sense of security.

Source for this article: Plunging consumer credit spawns deceptive new credit card fees by Personal Money Store

Consumer credit drop will exceed forecast

A Federal Reserve report released Thursday showed that consumer credit dropped at an adjusted annual rate of 4.5 percent in May–the fourth consecutive month of declining credit. Revolving debt, which includes most credit card debt, dropped by 10.5 percent ($ 7.3 billion) in May, according to the Fed’s report. In May, non revolving debt fell $ 1.8 billion. It was reported by Business Week that economists’ projections in a Bloomberg survey ranged from a decrease of $ 5.2 billion to a rise of $ 2 billion in May. Consumer credit has increased only twice since the end of 2008. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy and is what The US is counting on to revive the economy, can be weak as Americans pay down their debt.

Credit card delinquencies dropping also

Right now, credit card delinquencies are declining with consumer credit. It was reported by the American Bankers Association (ABA) that late payments for bank credit cards fell within the first quarter to the lowest level in eight years. As outlined by Market Watch, bank card delinquencies–card payments at least 30 days overdue, fell to 3.88 percent of all credit card accounts within the first quarter, compared with 4.39 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. Credit card delinquency rate has been the lowest since it was in 2002. The ABA report also said the overall consumer loan delinquencies declined a lot, but only job creation will bring further improvement.

Credit card rules that are new and will be broken

Revenues are declining for credit card companies. But even with new credit card rules intended to protect consumers going into effect next month, credit card companies try harder to burn customers with creative new fees. CNNMoney.com reports that banks can be able to get around numerous of the new rules. For example, new rules cap late fees at $ 25 and do away with inactivity fees, but now more credit card companies are charging annual fees.

Hope you won’t notice – credit card companies

When it comes to the new credit card rules, consumers may think that credit card companies can’t raise interest rates on existing cards anymore. However they can do anything they want with new balances, as long as they give 45 days’ notice. If your credit card company sent you a letter a when back and you see your interest rate skyrocket on your latest charges, that’s what happened. Plus, credit card companies can still cut credit limits and close credit cards without advance notice, which will really hurt a credit score.

Credit card mail needs to be opened

Other credit card companies have recently hiked balance transfer fees; cash today fees and foreign transaction fees. Gerri Detweiler, who’s the personal finance advisor at Credit.com, told CNN that read the mail you get from your credit card company is more significant now than ever. Do not assume its junk mail, because you are only going to have the 45 days to opt out if you really read the fine print. And as credit card companies become more desperate, they’ll not only raise existing fees but create all kinds of new fees.

Discover more data:

Businessweek.com

businessweek.com/news/2010-07-08/consumer-credit-in-u-s-declined-more-than-forecast.htmlv

Marketwatch.com

marketwatch.com/story/credit-card-delinquencies-fall-to-8-year-low-aba-2010-07-07?reflink=MW_news_stmp

CNN Money.com

money.cnn.com/2010/06/30/news/economy/credit_card_act_new_rules/index.htm?postversion=2010063007

For Jaycee Lee Dugard and children, there was a $ 20 million settlement

When kidnapper and registered sex offender Phillip Garrido and wife Nancy nevertheless have not gone to trial, as outlined by CNN, Jaycee Lee Dugard and her two teenage daughters are the recipients of a $ 20 million settlement from their case against the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The lawsuit stemmed from Jaycee Dugard’s claim that parole agents were in dereliction of their duties when they failed to investigate Phillip Garrido’s residence more thoroughly, which would have showed the imprisonment of both herself and her young daughters right in Garrido’s backyard. The bill appropriating the unprecedented $ 20 million Dugard settlement flew through very easily with a 30-1 vote within the California Senate and 62-0 within the California Assembly.

Source for this article: Jaycee Lee Dugard and children receive $ 20 million settlement by Personal Money Store

Jaycee Lee Dugard disappeared for 18 years

No amount of money can give the now 30-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard and her family back the lost years when she lived in Phillip Garrido’s makeshift backyard prison. But the $ 20 million Dugard settlement will enable Jaycee Dugard to purchase a home, pay for her children’s education and get as much therapy as is necessary, among other things. If nothing else, the scrutiny to the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s methods could prevent any person else from going through a similar ordeal. As outlined by department’s report that they made, “While it is true that Garrido’s California parole was never officially violated … the department failed to properly supervise Garrido and missed numerous opportunities to discover his victims.”

Against Dugard, state officials thought they had a case

When California State officials thought at one point that they might have had enough data on their side to contest Jaycee Lee Dugard’s claim, they ultimately ruled that it was not worth bringing the case before a jury. Their case evidently would have hinged upon jurisdictional matters, reports CNN. Public relations for California would have been bad. The state decided against passing the buck and claiming that it was the responsibility of federal parole officers (instead of California State parole officers).

More information about this topic at these websites:

CNN

cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/01/california.dugard/?hpt=T1

AP report on $ 20 million Dugard settlement:

youtube.com/watch?v=nr7xF52DMRU

Tar balls hit Texas beaches as weather disrupts cleanup of the oil spill

Tar balls have reached some of the Texas beaches, and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico 2010 has fouled the shoreline of each gulf state. Driven by winds from Hurricane Alex, the BP oil spill is spreading as bad weather continued to stop the cleanup efforts. Tar balls have also reached Louisiana’s Lake Ponchetrain. As the BP oil spill approaches 130 million gallons and counting, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expanded the no-fishing zone within the gulf and then explained that tar balls have a good chance of washing ashore as far away as Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

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As tar balls hit beaches, Texas is in denial

Tar balls found Sunday on eastern Galveston Island in Texas were from the oil spill within the Gulf of Mexico 2010, as reported by the U.S. Coast Guard. It was reported by the Houston Chronicle that officials believe the tar balls reached the Galveston area from a ship that got tar balls stuck or attached to its side traveling through the BP oil spill area. Ships which were passing through the BP oil spill are designed to go through a decontamination station before reaching the coastline. Texas authorities still insist the oil slick that has fouled the beaches of other Gulf states is not coming anywhere towards them.

Bad weather stops cleanup of the oil spill

Oil spill business BP said it’s stepping up oil skimming efforts, despite the fact that bad weather has made that impossible. Gulf tourism faced a very sad Fourth of July weekend that had nothing to do with the stormy weather. AOL News reports that Hurricane Alex shut down oil skimming last week and a new tropical system is brewing east of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. A new storm may strike Texas and Louisiana on Wednesday, as outlined by AccuWeather.com. High seas nevertheless held up oil skimming, burning oil or laying boom Tuesday.

Tested was huge oil skimming ship

Oil spill cleanup efforts may soon be aided by a vessel that's supposed to be the world’s biggest oil skimmer. The New York Times reports that the Taiwanese-flagged ship A Whale is three and a half football fields long and 10 stories high. It’s outfitted with vents on its bow, which are expected to skim as much as 21 million gallons of oil-tainted water each day. But stiff winds and choppy seas have made that impossible so far. A Whale is one of more than 6,563 ships, along with some 113 aircraft that BP is paying for within the oil spill cleanup. The spill price tag has hit $3.12 billion.

Tar balls forecasted to hit Miami soon

As skimming is on hold and the BP oil leak continues to spew into the sea, NOAA forecasts that the loop current brings a 61-80 percent chance that tar balls will reach within 20 miles of the coasts of the Florida Keys, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. It was reported by USA Today that NOAA said the coastlines most likely — 81 to 100 percent — to be hit by oil extend from the Mississippi River Delta to the western panhandle of Florida, where tar balls are already washing ashore. NOAA says Chances are slight — 1 to 20 percent — that oil will reach the Eastern Seaboard, and it is “increasingly unlikely” that oil will affect areas above North Carolina since the Gulf Stream moves away from the continental United States at Cape Hatteras.

More info accessible at these websites:

Houston Chronicle

chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7096109.html

AOL News

aolnews.com/article/tar-balls-reach-texas-shores-amid-new-storm-threat/19542753

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/07/06/us/06latest.html?scp=1&sq=A Whale oil spill&st=cse

USA Today

content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/07/us-report-bp-spill-likely-to-reach-florida-keys-miami/1

Healthcare.gov launches – health care finder goes live

Healthcare.gov launched today, as a part of the changes and updates mandated by the new health insurance reform bill. To function as both advice engine and search website, this site provides information for all people within the country. The website will help individuals conserve money, but even more so within the next few years.

Source of article: Healthcare.gov launches insurance solution finder by Personal Money Store

The mandate for healthcare.gov

The health care website was part of the mandates in the new health care bill. The half search engine, half data site has been built for easy use. The bill said users should be able to use the site to find out what choices are open for them to get insurance. The search engine is up and running, despite the fact that the government-supported health care choices won't be up and running until 2014.

The many insurance options on healthcare.gov

The healthcare.gov user interface is designed for simple use. The site asks a few questions at a time to help whittle down possibilities. The site also has questions and answers about numerous basic insurance questions, such as the state health insurance exchanges. The new health care law is explained within the "understanding the new law" section. The quality of various hospitals around the country is also rated on the site. In short, healthcare.gov is aiming to be the ultimate web destination for healthcare info.

The benefits of healthcare.gov

One of the biggest complaints of most health insurance customers has been the difficulty of “shopping around” for the best prices. By compiling data on health insurance choices and prices in one place, this website can certainly help individuals save money. The site also welcomes feedback from users who click around and make use of the website. This will help the website be as effective as possible in a couple of years, when exchanges go live. This will even help people save even more money by identifying the best places for them to reduce their insurance costs — from prevention to plans.

Apple/AT and T iPhone class action suit seems to trigger stampede of lawyers

The Apple/AT and T class action lawsuit is the latest act in the iPhone 4G saga. After they sold 1.7 million iPhone 4Gs in just 3 days, consumer complaints about the iPhone “Death Grip” spread like wildfire. After intensely coveting Apple’s latest iPhone, reception problems traced to a faulty iPhone antenna design is evidently too much to bear for some. Many of the iPhone 4G users have teamed up with trolling lawyers to file four class action lawsuits against Apple and wireless provider AT and T in Delaware and California.

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The iPhone and also the death grip saga

The Apple iPhone 4G has made for many excessive consumer lust than any product in memory. The expectations that Apple has created with its products is backfiring. It was reported by PC World that soon following the iPhone 4G started shipping to customers in late June, the legend of the iPhone 4 “death grip” was born. Complaints erupted on the Internet saying that holding the phone with fingers covering the 3 black lines on the phone’s edge and also the bottom left corner caused its reception to fizzle.

For plaintiffs, iPhone seems to cover too little, too late

In response to the iPhone 4 death grip furor, Apple said that “gripping any phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance." Placing an iPhone cover or “bumper” on the iPhone 4 seems to be able to eliminate death grip issues. Apple is prepping a software update that will stop these difficulties. But the iPhone cover fix isn't good enough for a couple of disappointed iPhone 4 users and a number of opportunistic legal eagles eager to angle for the potentially lucrative angst of 1.7 million iPhoniphiles and counting.

Lawyers just want money from Apple and AT and T

All the Apple/AT and T class action lawsuits are seeking punitive damages and an injunction against the continued manufacture and sale of the phones until the problem is fixed. As outlined by Macworld, of nine charges leveled in a case filed in Delaware against Apple and AT and T, only seven of them target AT and T and all nine apply to Apple: general negligence; defect in design, manufacture, and assembly; breach of express warranty; breach of implied warranty for merchantability; breach of implied warranty of fitness for a unique purpose; deceptive trade practices; intentional misrepresentation; negligent misrepresentation; and fraud by concealment.

Legal satisfaction wanted by iPhone users

In another Apple/AT and T class action lawsuit filed in California, it was reported by Reuters that the deeply hurt plaintiffs have no other choice because Apple and AT and T failed to provide customer support and, even worse, customers are left with only 3 remedies: “hold their phones in an awkward and unnatural manner,” pay a 10 percent restocking fee and return their phones, or pay $ 29.95 to buy the iPhone cover that is said to fix the reception problem.

Law firms hawking Apple/AT and T class action lawsuits

Neither Apple or AT and T has commented on the lawsuits. But now the cat is out of the bag, expect more lawsuits to emerge. For example, Gawker posted a link to the Website for law firm Kershaw, Cutter and Ratinoff, which is looking for individuals who are having iPhone 4 reception problems in hopes of getting their fair share of this potential legal bonanza.

Discover more about this topic here:

PC World

pcmag.com/article2/,2817,2365940,00.asp

Macworld

macworld.com/article/152457/2010/07/gavel_iphone4.html

Reuters

reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6603R620100701