Singer Janet Jackson Hospitalized

The singer Janet Jackson was taken to the hospital after not feeling well shortly before a concert in Montreal. During her sound check she suddenly felt sick and had to be taken to the hospital just before the show was scheduled to start. She is currently being monitored at the hospital and plans to reschedule the show.

Track Star Marion Jones Goes to Prison

The ex-track star Marion Jones has began her six month prison sentence on Friday. She was convicted of lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs and her part in a check-fraud scam. She turned herself in before noon on Friday at the Federal Medical Center Carswell, which is on the Naval Air Station. She had until Tuesday to turn herself in. The prison that she is in specializes in medical and mental health services, but it also has inmates who don’t need any care.

Bank Deposits Able To Be Made From Home

CheckFree Corp, an online banking service, is introducing technology called Remote Deposit Capture where people can scan their checks through their home computer and deposit them electronically. This means that people have another choice when it comes to depositing their checks without going to a bank branch. The service will start to be available this week for people who do their banking services online as long as their banks offer the service.

This technology has been around for several years but has mostly been used by businesses. It is already in use in the top 150 banks. It is easy to use and banks can customize it for their clients.

To use this service you would need a scanner, a computer, and an Internet connection. You would go to your home banking site and enter the amount of the check. You would scan both sides of the check, do a quick review of what you scanned, and then submit the scanned image. Banks can add their own fraud protection to make sue that bad checks aren’t cashed. The processing times for the checks would be as normal as cashing any other check.

CheckFree Corp, an online banking service, is introducing technology called Remote Deposit Capture where people can scan their checks through their home computer and deposit them electronically. This means that people have another choice when it comes to depositing their checks without going to a bank branch. The service will start to be available this week for people who do their banking services online as long as their banks offer the service.

This technology has been around for several years but has mostly been used by businesses. It is already in use in the top 150 banks. It is easy to use and banks can customize it for their clients.

To use this service you would need a scanner, a computer, and an Internet connection. You would go to your home banking site and enter the amount of the check. You would scan both sides of the check, do a quick review of what you scanned, and then submit the scanned image. Banks can add their own fraud protection to make sue that bad checks aren’t cashed. The processing times for the checks would be as normal as cashing any other check.

Social Security Checks Rising

In January, Social Security benefits are rising by 2.3 percent. The average check will receive an extra $24 per month. This is not much considering that food prices, medical prices, and general costs of living are significantly increasing each year. This increase is the smallest since a 2.1 percent rise in 2004. Last year it was 3.3 percent and the year before that it was 4.1 percent. Nearly 50 million Americans get social security checks and another 4 million get Supplemental Security Income payments.

The average check for a retired couple currently is $1,722. Individuals get $623. Disabled workers get $981 currently.

The government says that millions of people will have to pay higher taxes next year because the maximum amount of Social Security earnings subject to the payroll tax will rise from $97,500 to $102,000. Baby boomers, people born between 1946 and 1964, are going to be receiving Social Security payments soon. The first baby boomer will turn 62 next year. They estimate that between 2017 and 2041 Social Security will have completely depleted its reserves by paying out more in payments than it collects in payroll taxes and then each person will have to be completely responsible for their own financial well being without the help of the government for the rest of their life.

Moldy Homes Can Cause Depression

A new health study links damp, moldy homes to depression. To conduct the study the World Health Organization went to thousands of homes and asked residents a series of questions. They asked if they had depressive symptoms, such as decreased appetite, low self-esteem, and sleeping problems. They visually checked each household and looked for spots on walls and ceilings that indicated mold. The study concluded that a how healthy and clean a home is can affect a person’s health and well being.