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In an attempt to lower high interest rates, the Federal Housing Administration announced it will be decreasing the monthly insurance premiums homeowners pay on FHA mortgages.

The premiums will decrease 25 basis points, which is determined based on the value of one’s home. Currently, every homeowner with a FHA mortgage pays 0.85% premiums off the home’s worth, but this percentage will now drop down to 0.60%. This change is set to go into effect for those who purchase new FHA homes or refinance their mortgage on or after January 27, 2017.

For those with a standard, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $200,000, this decrease will save about $500 a year. In total, the FHA predicts this reduction will target around one million buyers, and save current homeowners about half a billion dollars within 2017 alone.

The FHA sells insurance to those who conventionally wouldn’t get approved by traditional banks or credit unions. Since their rules only require a 3.5% down payment — compared to a standard 20% — more Millennials and first-time home buyers are able to manage the finances that come with owning a home. Plus, FHA also allows mortgages to be available to those with credit scores under 580.

This is the second time the FHA has reduced costs on their insurance plans, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro explains that these cuts have only been made available because their Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund recovered from the housing crash in the late 2000s.

For first-time homeowners, this price cut is great news. Any amount of money they can save now is helpful, considering they will have to save up to spend on home repairs in the future. ON average, a homeowner can expect to spend between 1-4% of a home’s value annually on maintenance and repairs.

“It’s time the FHA passed along some modest savings to working families,” Castro explains to Bloomberg.

Hiking and backpacking is growing in popularity across the country. In fact, back in 2008, the number of hiking enthusiasts amounted to 29.23 million; by 2014, that number had grown to 39.05 million. But for one woman, a recent hike wasn’t for purposes of fitness or leisure — it was a matter of life or death.

Last Thursday, Karen Klein, her husband, and their 10-year old son were on vacation in Arizona, en route to the Grand Canyon. Realizing that the main roads to their destination were closed due to snow, the family relied on their GPS to find an alternate route that looked relatively safe. But after traveling on dirt roads for a while, their car got stuck in the mud.

In the middle of nowhere, and stuck without food or a cell phone signal, Klein decided to go look for help. She decided that since she was an avid hiker, trained in survival skills, and a fitness enthusiast, she would find the way to the main road and flag down a passing car for help.

Little did they know that all the main roads were closed because of a snow storm and there wasn’t a car to be found.

A few hours later, Klein found herself alone in the dark and far away from any road. She hiked for 11 hours before she eventually took shelter underneath an evergreen tree, rocking herself back and forth for warmth. To survive she ate aspen and evergreen twigs, and melted snow for water.

However, walking in the heavy snow for hours took its toll. In addition to losing a shoe, Klein also pulled a muscle in her hip and developed frostbite. The only way she could walk was by physically lifting her leg and moving it forward. She could take only 10 or so steps at a time before needing to rest.

After almost 36 hours and 26 miles, Klein came across an uninhabited lodge for park rangers, broke a window with her elbow, and went inside for warmth.

When she didn’t return to the car after a day, her husband and son walked in the opposite direction that Klein had, searching for a cell phone signal. Once they called for help, the search and rescue team found Klein in relatively good spirits in the lodge.

On average, a hiker weighing 155 pounds and climbing hills carrying 10 to 20 pounds will burn 528 calories an hour, while a 208-lb hiker will burn almost 700 calories an hour. Consider these numbers, multiply them by 36, and add the fact that she barely ate anything, and it is simply a miracle Klein has survived.

As of the date of publication, Klein is doing remarkably well and is nursing a couple frostbitten toes back to health. While she does regret not planning her trip out a little more in detail, she thanks her “motherly instinct” for getting her through one of the most horrible ordeals of her life.

Klein tells NBC that the only thing keeping her going was her “solutions-oriented” nature, and she remembers thinking “”I can’t leave my son without a mom. I’m can’t leave my husband without a wife. I’m not letting my parents bury me.”

A true Christmas miracle.

(photo: Karen Klein and her husband, CBS News)

As parents in Tennessee mourn the death of six children after a bus crashed into a tree, debates over bus safety across the country have ensued.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drivers aged 18 to 34 are less likely than drivers over 35 to wear their seat belts. In addition, men are 10% less likely than women to wear seat belts. In school buses, however, even fewer children are protected by seat belts.

News Channel 5 reports that the Metro Council’s Education Committee has delayed a vote in Tennessee that has requested the Metro School Board to install seat belts on all new school buses. The resolution, sponsored by Karen Y. Johnson, requested that the school board “require that all buses nearing mandatory replacement age, or otherwise requiring replacement, be replaced with buses equipped with seat belts.”

It’s estimated that installing seat belts would cost an extra $12,000 for each bus.

“I don’t think any price is too much for the safety of our children,” said Anna Shepherd, the Metro School Board Chair.

CNN reports that the National Safety Council and American Academy of Pediatrics have long recommended that seat belts be installed on new school buses. Only New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and California have laws requiring passenger seat belts on their buses.

“That’s the best protection that we can give our kids. It’s what they’re used to in cars,” said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “We know that there are very few fatalities involving children on school buses every year — they are a safe form of transportation — but anything that we can do to make them safer is really our responsibility.”

School officials stated that every school bus costs Metro between $40,000 and $50,000 a year to operate and members of the Education Committee would prefer the school board to come up with its own plan for safety.

For many parents, balancing work and home life is as tricky as threading a needle. It’s so difficult, in fact, that parents are spending less time with their kids and more time in their car.

According to a survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Nintendo, 48% of parents report spending more time commuting to work than playing with their kids. In addition, the average parent tells their child they are too busy to play a full eight times a week.

“Between busy school and work lives, quality family time is becoming more and more limited,” said Meredith Sinclair, a lifestyle expert in play and family time explains to Business Wire.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports the average commute time in the U.S. to be 25.4 minutes. This number is dramatically higher in urban areas such as Denver, C.O., Washington, D.C., and Seattle, W.A. Comparatively, areas in Utah, Nevada, and western Texas have commute times of less than 10 minutes.

Tele-commuting could help this problem. As of right now, at least half of the American workforce holds a job that is compatible with partial tele-commuting. Many believe this work environment is the way of the future, and research shows it will only increase from here. In fact, within the past two decades, the amount of jobs allowing tele-commuting grew 25%.

Tele-commuting brings many benefits. A Forbes survey found that if a worker tele-commutes, they were 87% more likely to enjoy their job. This is because those with freedom in their schedule are more likely to have a better work and home balance, while boosting productivity.

Forbes details these three tips on how to convince a boss on allowing tele-commuting within the office.

1. Timing

Schedule a meeting instead of bombarding them with the question at any time.

2. Qualify your value

Put your value into numbers that your boss will understand. Include how much revenue you will be able to bring in once you are working from home with higher productivity and fewer distractions.

3. Anticipate red flags

It is always important to be mindful of the potential concerns your boss may have with tele-commuting, and be willing to work together to formulate a plan.

In a strong show of bipartisan support, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act with a 392 to 26 vote. The bill, aimed at integrating health information technology services and streamlining drug innovation, will now make its way to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass and eventually gain approval from President Obama.

As one of the last congressional votes for 2016 — and, for some representatives, the last votes of their Washington tenure — the Cures Act includes $6.3 billion in funding for various projects and initiatives over the coming years. Some $500 million will go toward an overhaul of the current drug approval process in the Food and Drug Administration, and another $4.8 million is allocated for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative. There are also suggested funds for research on Alzheimer’s disease as well as Vice-President Joe Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot” task force.

In addition to research funds, the bill also paves a pathway for more integrated health information technology (HIT) and electronic health records (EHR) for use between healthcare providers and patients. Past studies suggest that hospitals across the country could collectively save over $30 billion a year by connecting smart technology medical devices such as vital sign monitors, pumps, and ventilators with patient EHRs. Electronic billing can also provide a more efficient way for patients to interact with billers.

Advocates of the bill say that the measures will help improve the “discovery, development, and delivery” of new drugs and treatments, especially those for rare and debilitating diseases.

“There’s so much to like within the bill,” said Paul Melmeyer‎, associate director of Public Policy at the National Organization for Rare Disorders. “It gives [the FDA and the NIH] more tools to determine and assess safety and effectiveness within therapies — tools they they may not have had otherwise statutorily, but now Congress is giving them the ability to use.”

Despite the overwhelmingly favorable vote, some representatives and senators remain largely critical of the 21st Century Cures Act for its perceived allowance of pharmaceutical companies to push new drugs through the approval process and onto the market without thorough clinical trials.

“It’s time for Congress to stand up to the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, not give them more handouts,” said Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Of the 26.5 million businesses in the United States, big pharma companies such as Pfizer or Johnson and Johnson generate about $413 billion in global revenue every year.

A White House statement released after the Cure Act’s approval by the House acknowledged that “the bill is not perfect,” but the strengths of its ability to combat urgent issues such as the opioid epidemic and mental health outweighed its faults.

In an average year, termites cause between $1 and $2 billion in property damage across the United States.

In Georgia, the State Department of Agriculture’s Structural Pest Division, along with the Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black, issued a warning to area residents about the dangers of termites and other pests.

“I would like to encourage property owners affected by the recent storms to check for any potential property damage,” said Black’s statement, “especially subterranean termites.”

According to Insurance Business, many homes were affected by Hurricane Matthew. Even the case of homes that suffered minimal structural damage, just the smallest amount of flooding could result in a swarm of termites.

The Department of Agriculture recommends that residents review their termite control contract and make sure they’re getting the best possible service.

In Hawaii Magazine, researchers might have found a more practical home remedy to these unwanted pests.

Kama’aina Termite and Pest Control is using extracted Orange Oil to target termites and eradicate them from residents’ homes. The Orange Oil consists of D-limonene, which is its primary ingredient.

“Think of fumigation like an atom bomb. It’s non-specific,” said Mike Worden, Kama’aina Termite’s general manager. “Killing everything, and taking upwards of four to five weeks for completion. With Orange Oil, its targeted to where the infestation is occurring. With Orange Oil you don’t have to move out… it’s non-toxic so you can actually be in the home while using it. It’s eco-friendly and really the only thing left behind is a scent of oranges for a few days.”

The first step in ridding homes of termites with this citrusy remedy is to identify the infected area. After using a Termatrac device, which acts like a radar gun for termites, the oil is injected inside the wooden boards and the pest extermination begins.

“Orange Oil kills them quickly because the oil is highly acidic, eating through the outer layer of their skin,” Wood added.

Many people use yoga as a way to stay healthy and fit. But in addition to its physical benefits, yoga is often tied to spiritual practices that stem back to religious Hindu principles. Can Christians practice yoga without compromising their own faith? The answer may depend on how you approach the mat.

“We need to keep in mind that, in the traditional Hindu expression of yoga, the exercises are integral to the higher spiritual goal of attaining union with the god Shiva,” authors Ross Clifford and Philip Johnson of the new book Taboo or To Do?: Is Christianity Complementary with Yoga, Martial Arts, Hallowe’en, Mindfulness and Other Alternative Practices? told Christian Today.

“However,” Clifford and Johnson continued, “it is apparent in the West today that there are many teaching yoga where the physical and mental exercises are clearly divorced from Hindu faith. Many in the West insist that Hatha yoga, which is centered in the bodily postures and exercises, may be practised without all the trappings and teachings of traditional Hindu faith.”

A purely physical yoga practice can help fulfill the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended 2.5 hours of aerobic or muscle strengthening activity per week for health and body wellness. Yet some Christian yogis see the practice as an extension of their own faith and spiritual wellness, too.

Keleah Anderson, for example, opened her own studio, Beyond Yoga, in Franklin, TN, this year to incorporate more Christ-centered teachings into her classes.

“It occurred to me… [that] we can provide a place where people can come and worship God with their whole totality — their breath, their movement, their mind,” Anderson said. “We read the Bible and we pray and we use praise and worship music and we raise our hands and we fold them and we bow down. It’s difficult, active church.”

So what’s a Christian to do? The important part may be to simply maintain a self-awareness.

“What we are finding is that people want to have a conversation about these things,” Clifford and Johnson said. Talk with your church community leaders or yoga instructors to decide what’s best for you.

Hurricane Mathew may be out of sight, but it sure isn’t out of mind.

This powerful hurricane killed 45 Americans all over the East Coast, with more than half of the victims being from North Carolina. Although the weather conditions have improved since the storm, state officials are warning of the dangers of flooding.

“Everyone assumes it’s safe. It’s not safe right now,” North Carolina Governor Pat McCroy explained to CNN. He cautions, “If you’re near water, water will kill you.”

McCroy’s warnings are viable, as some communities are yet to see the full impact of the floodwaters. There are rivers and lakes that are expected to reach their highest levels in history, which can cause exponential damage to many across the state.

The Better Business Bureau has even made an official public announcement warning those looking to purchase a new vehicle to be careful. They expect submariners — vehicles that have suffered from water damage — to hit the used car market soon, which when bought can be a complete waste of money.

This is because water damage in a car takes a couple of weeks to appear. By the time a new owner has had their car for a couple of weeks, rust will start to show in their tire wells, mold will start to pop up on the upholstery, and internal wiring may start to act up.

The BBB warns that these cars are most often sold online and at auctions under false pretenses. They recommend asking for a title and a Carfax History report before signing on the dotted line.

Have a flooded car? It is easy to replace the car carpets, as any vehicle owner is able to purchase a car carpet made specifically to fit your vehicle’s make, model and year. This includes vehicles that date back to the 1940s!

While nowadays there are 10.4 million residential and 309,000 public swimming pools in the U.S., people in ancient times may have not had it so easy. Earlier this month, Scottish paleontologists revealed the fossil remains of a frightening sea monster that may have had cavemen swimming for their lives.

This sea monster is giving the Loch Ness Monster a run for its money. Known as Storr Lochs, he has been preserved in the National Museums Scotland for the past 50 years. He underwent a detailed study by University of Edinburgh researchers and has been released for public view.

Unearthed on Scotland’s northwestern Isle of Skye in 1966, Storr Lochs’ remains are around 13 feet in length and show a distinct long nose and a streamlined body. Paleontologists believe Storr Lochs lived primarily in the sea, and is apart of the ichthyosaurs dinosaur family.

Storr Lochs is unique in that he is the best ever seafaring skeleton from the Mesozoic era found in Scotland. This find is expected to lead researchers to dig up some interesting finds. The new research will pay more attention to how this particular dinosaur evolved during the Middle Jurassic period, as there are not a lot of fossils from this particular era.

“Ichthyosaurs like the Storr Lochs Monster ruled the waves while dinosaurs thundered across the land,” Dr. Steve Brusatte, Professor at the School of GeoSciences in Scotland explained to Tech Times. “Their bones are exceptionally rare in Scotland, which makes this specimen one of the crown jewels of Scottish fossils.”

These mammoth sea creatures had cone-shaped teeth good for eating fish and squid. Scientists believe they had incredibly fast swimming power.

They are compared to the dolphin of modern times. A scary one at that.

Photo: Todd Marshall for University of Edinburgh

Self-driving cars have been all over the news of late, but until now there has been little to no word on the specifics of their official regulation. But finally, the United States federal government has issued guidelines for the safety of these autonomous vehicles.

The new rules are meant to encourage a standardization of safety measures without over-regulating the burgeoning new industry. This is especially relevant as more and more companies begin to do road tests, like Uber is currently conducting in Pittsburgh.

National Economic Council Director Jeffery Zients, along with U.S. Department of Transportation Anthony Foxx, appeared to announce the new guidelines. Introduced was a “15-point safety checklist. The officials also discussed how current regulations could be adapted to self-driving cars, and called on states to develop rules for autonomous vehicles.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration spokesperson Bryan Thomas said, “We left some areas intentionally vague because we wanted to outline the areas that need to be addressed and leave the rest to innovators.”

Autonomous vehicles could lead to less congestion, pollution, and possibly vehicle-related deaths. There is 60% less traffic at night, and yet 40% of all fatal car crashes occur at night — technological advances in sensory technology for self-driving cars could drastically drive down this number.

President Obama and his administration also spoke up about the need for regulation (but not too much regulation) and the importance of developing these new technologies: “Right now, too many people die on our roads – 35,200 last year alone – with 94 percent of those the result of human error or choice. Automated vehicles have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives each year. And right now, for too many senior citizens and Americans with disabilities, driving isn’t an option. Automated vehicles could change their lives.”