Government takeover likely for Fannie, Freddie

Government takeover likely for Fannie, Freddie

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation’s largest buyers and backers of mortgages, are expected to be taken over by the government as soon as this weekend in a bold move designed to protect the mortgage market from the risk that the companies could fail, a source briefed on the matter said Friday night.

The details of the intervention, which could cost taxpayers billions, were not yet available, but are expected to include the departure of Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd and Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron, according to the source, who asked not to be identified because the plan had not been announced yet.

The news followed a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association that more than 4 million American homeowners with a mortgage, a record 9 percent, were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of June.

Gunman takes hostages then kills himself in bank

WHEATON, Ill. — A gunman who took a dozen hostages in a suburban Chicago bank after wresting a gun from a police officer Friday died after shooting himself in the head, police said.

The standoff began around 1:30 p.m., after a Wheaton police officer responded to a call of a hit-and-run accident near the bank. When the officer arrived, the suspect grabbed the officer from behind, held a knife to his throat and demanded his gun, Deputy Chief Thomas Meloni said.

During an ensuing struggle, the officer was cut on a forearm and the suspect was able to take the gun and run the lobby of the Wheaton Bank Trust, where he ordered everyone to the floor, Meloni said.

Wheaton is about 20 miles west of Chicago.

Ex-convict held in beating of his wife — a judge

LAS VEGAS — An ex-convict has been arrested on suspicion of trying to kill his wife, a suspended Nevada state judge facing misconduct charges for, among other things, allegedly having her husband sworn in to ask if he’d completed his chores at home.

Elizabeth Halverson, 50, was found in a rear bedroom of her southeast Las Vegas home late Thursday with severe face, chest and upper arm injuries. She told officers that her husband, Edward, had beaten her and had tried to kill her, according to a police statement.

Edward Halverson, 49, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and battery domestic violence, and was being held pending an initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court. His wife was in intensive care after surgery.

Teacher’s husband on trial in death of her teen lover

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A prosecutor described a schoolteacher’s husband as a jealous, calculating killer as trial opened Friday on charges he murdered his wife’s teenage lover. .

Eric McLean, 33, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sean Powell, the 18-year-old who was having an affair with student-teacher Erin McLean, then the 29-year-old wife of the defendant and mother of his two young sons.

McLean claims the single shot from a high-powered rifle that blew away part of Powell’s face was an accident, his lawyer said.

Police call in New Jersey is one for the birds

TRENTON, N.J. — Cries for help inside a Trenton, N.J., home turned out to be for the birds. Neighbors called police Wednesday morning after hearing a woman’s persistent cry of “Help me! Help me!” coming from a house. Officers arrived and when no one answered the door, they kicked it in to make a rescue.

But instead of a damsel in distress, officers found a caged cockatoo with a convincing call.

It wasn’t the first time the 10-year-old bird named Luna said something that brought authorities to the home of owner Evelyn DeLeon. About seven years ago, the bird cried like a baby for hours, leading to reports of a possible abandoned baby and a visit to the home by state child welfare workers.

Last admitted widow of Confederate dies at 93

HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. — Maudie Hopkins, who was the last publicly documented widow of a Confederate soldier, having married an elderly Civil War infantryman when she was a teenager, has died. She was 93.

Hopkins died Aug. 17 at a hospital in Helena-West Helena, Ark., according to media reports. She had been in failing health for several years.

Combined dispatches