Mortgage rates averaged 3.84 percent for a 30-year fixed rate this week, down from 3.88 percent last week and beating the previous all-time low of 3.87 percent registered Feb. 9, according to a report released Thursday by Freddie Mac. Read full article > >

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Mortgage rates reach new lows

A senior Environmental Protection Agency official resigned Sunday in an effort to end the furor over his remarks two years ago that the EPA should make examples of polluters the way Romans crucified people to quash rebellions. Read full article > >

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EPA official who compared enforcement to crucifixion resigns

A top Environmental Protection Agency official resigned Monday after comments that the agency should make examples of polluters the way Romans crucified people to quash rebellions caused a furor. In an internal memo to EPA employees, Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said Alfredo Juan “Al” Armendariz had “offered his resignation” as regional administrator for the agency’s South Central region. Read full article > >

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EPA official resigns after enforcement philosophy causes furor

Microsoft has rushed out a fix for a serious bug that affected its Hotmail webmail service.

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Fast fix for Hotmail password bug

Here’s a fundamental fact of the 2012 presidential race: President Obama is cool. Mitt Romney isn’t. Obama slow jams the news with Jimmy Fallon . He makes three pointers . He sings Al Green in tune . Read full article > >

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Barack Obama is cool. Mitt Romney is not. What does it mean for 2012?

The provocative move, defended by the Netanyahu government as fixing technical issues, marked the first establishment of new settlements in two decades.

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Israel Retroactively Legalizes 3 West Bank Settlements

If you listen, you can hear the shrieks of excitement from design-obsessed shelter magazine readers everywhere as they spot the cover of their beloved Domino back on the newsstands. But their happiness will likely be short-lived. Domino Quick Fixes , a special edition released last week and available though July 16, is mostly recycled material from the publication’s original four-year run. Another bummer: It costs $11. Read full article > >

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The resurrection of Domino magazine

I have to admit that I didn’t watch a lot of Sunday ’s episode of “ Game of Thrones ,” titled “Garden of Bones.” Or I should say, I couldn’t watch it because — yeesh — it was a rough one. Most characters either suffered, made others suffer or watched terrible suffering, all in their quest to win wars, be king or simply stay alive. Along the way one guy lost a foot, a woman lost the use of her bottom and a former smuggler lost the ability to say he’s never seen a priestess give birth to a shadow creature. Read full article > >

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‘Game of Thrones’ recap: No pain, no gain

While browsing around the Pew polling site this morning — and, yes, we do a fair amount of that — we came across a chart on the Supreme Court that reminded us, for the billionth time, that assuming the average person follows the back and forth of Washington as closely as we do is a major mistake. Read full article > >

Continued here:
The most amazing Supreme Court chart. Maybe ever.

Here’s what the Loop’s reading Monday morning: Sorry, Dad — Mitt Romney has plans to nix the agency his father once led. The former Massachusetts governor said at a private fundraiser that he would eliminate some agencies and combine others — and he singled out Housing and Urban Development — which his father once headed — for elimination, our colleague Rachel Weiner reports . Read full article > >

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Romney might nix HUD; Clinton lets her hair down; and a working woman flashback (read-this roundup)

Love e-ink but also love reading at night? Put away your flashlights and booklights, Barnes and Noble has just given its Nook Simple Touch e-ink reader a huge upgrade by adding a screen that glows. The new device will have a LED front light to let you see what you’re reading in the dark. Read full article > >

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Barnes and Noble announces Nook with a light

Via NOAA: “Irene has been retired from the official list of Atlantic Basin tropical storm names by the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) hurricane committee because of the fatalities and damage it caused in August 2011 and will be replaced by Irma.”

Originally posted here:
Goodnight, Irene: Hurricane retired from list of storm names

Brian:  Dark hair, dark eyes, shorter, great fashion sense but not fixated on name brands. Someone with style. Beth:  Physically, I tend to like dark hair, and I’m definitely more attracted to guys who are fit and somewhat muscular. Straight teeth are pretty important, too. Personality-wise, it’s hard to pinpoint, but some people just “sparkle.” Read full article > >

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Date Lab: Positive outlook, meet peppy energy

After Apple charged with price-fixing.

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Amazon to Cut E-Book Prices

The Justice Department on Wednesday accused five of the nation’s largest publishing houses and Apple of fixing prices on e-books, forcing consumers to pay tens of millions of dollars more for their favorite titles. Read full article > >

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Justice Department sues Apple, publishers over e-book prices