Wyclef Jean, the former Fugees star is urging people to donate $5 to his Haitian charity, Yéle Haiti, by texting “YELE” to 501501. (The donation will be automatically charged to your cellphone bill.)

“I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse,” said Jean in a statement. “We must act now… Haiti needs your prayers and support.”

Jean said he is on his way to Haiti via the neighboring Dominican Republic and asked people to pray for Haiti and for him.

For more information on how to help, go to Jean's Yéle Haiti website, which crashed this morning due to the volume of traffic.

via Wyclef Jean Haiti earthquake: Singer leads charge to help through Yele Haiti charity – and Twitter / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com.

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“My determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people,” Obama said at the White House. “We want our money back, and we’re going to get it.”

The fee would apply to financial companies with assets of more than $50 billion. It would be based on bank liabilities and imposed starting June 30 on companies such as Citigroup Inc., American International Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp.

via Obama Says Bank Fee Aimed at Recovering Rescue Money (Update2) – Bloomberg.com.

Even though all of the banks except Bank of America HAVE PAID BACK THEIR TARP LOANS WITH INTEREST! Why are the auto companies being let off the hook? And what about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? (Companies that haven’t paid back the loans.)

“They’re not at an economic health standpoint yet that would allow us to do that,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Oh.

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…President Barack Obama wants a new 10-year tax on the country’s largest banks…

The president planned to propose Thursday a levy of 15 basis points, or 0.15 percent, on the liabilities of large financial institutions to make sure every dollar spent from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program to rescue Wall Street firms, auto companies and mortgage holders is either repaid or paid for.

A senior administration official said the tax, which officials are calling a “financial crisis responsibility fee,” would apply only to financial companies with assets of more than $50 billion. Those firms – estimated to amount to about 50 institutions – would have to pay the fee even though many did not accept any taxpayer assistance and most others already paid back their government infusions.

via My Way News – AP source: Obama seeking tax on biggest banks.

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Thank God for the U.S. Armed Forces. Because no one else can do this.

…the military has flown in hundreds of rescuers and has advance teams and assessment teams on the ground. The Coast Guard has deployed four ships as well as air support for evacuation efforts. The Navy destroyer USS Higgins, with about 320 sailors on board, arrived on Thursday.

Up to 3,500 soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg will be deployed in Haiti by Sunday. An advance group of about 125 troops will arrive on Thursday and 800 more will arrive on Friday. Another 2,200 Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Lejeune, N.C., may arrive this weekend or at the latest by Monday for what initially is expected to be about a 90-day deployment.

An amphibious readiness group with three ships – the USS Bataan, the USS Fort McHenry and USS Carter Hall — will take the Marines to Haiti. This group can produce its own purified water. A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, with a crew of between 4,000-5,000 sailors on board, is on the way and will arrive in the area by Friday, with 19 helicopters on board. It has three operating rooms, several dozen hospital beds and can produce fresh water. But the much-anticipated hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, will not arrive until around Jan 22 with its 12 operating rooms and 250 hospital beds. The Pentagon says the Comfort is a slow-moving vessel and will need a week to arrive in Haiti. Two additional ships, the USS Underwood and the USS Normandy, are also headed to Haiti. Editing by Cynthia Osterman

via Reuters AlertNet – FACTBOX-U.S. military mobilizes thousands for Haiti relief.

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