• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Pictures

A martial arts enthusiast pulls a vehicle with a rope connected to his eye sockets during a performance in Hefei, Anhui province November 30, 2009. Picture taken November 30, 2009. REUTERS/China Daily

Pictures of the year: Oddly

A look at the year's best strange and unusual photos.   Slideshow 

    No hope for help...

    WASHINGTON
    Fri Dec 7, 2007 12:43pm EST
    Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson glances over as President George W. Bush speaks at the White House in Washington December 6, 2007. U.S. homeowners who could face crippling mortgage payments will have a hard time getting help if they call a telephone number Bush recommended on Thursday -- he gave them the wrong number. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. homeowners who could face crippling mortgage payments will have a hard time getting help if they call a telephone number President George W. Bush recommended on Thursday -- he gave them the wrong number.

    Oddly Enough

    "I have a message for every homeowner worried about rising mortgage payments: The best you can do for your family is to call 1-800-995-HOPE," Bush said after a White House meeting with administration officials and lenders on a new plan to help.

    Unfortunately he was a couple digits off, it is actually 1-888-995-HOPE (4673). That gets you through to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, a nonprofit group which offers free housing counseling for homeowners.

    Moments after Bush completed his remarks, a White House aide told reporters the president misspoke and gave the correct number.

    Calls to the wrong number Bush gave out were met with a busy signal. A search on the Internet showed it belongs to the Freedom Christian Academy which offers religious-based curriculum for home schooling and is located in Ponder, Texas northwest of Dallas.

    (Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, Editing by David Storey)
    Oddly Enough


    More from Reuters

    Photo

    Obama blames "systemic failures" in U.S. security

    KANEOHE, Hawaii (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday blamed a combination of "human and systemic failures" for allowing the botched Christmas Day attack aboard a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner, in his first big test on homeland security. | Video

    » More Top News
    Leaves gather in front of an empty and boarded-up house in Youngstown, Ohio November 21, 2009. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

    Castles built on sand

    Rust-belt American cities like Youngstown, Ohio were battered by the downturn. Now they're ready to move on, but it won’t be easy. The first in a three-part report.  Full Article 

    Route to Recovery
    REUTERS/James Saft
    JAMES SAFT:

    Welcome to the "Teenies"

    Shrinking financial sector? Paltry investment returns? Welcome to the the next decade. Don't worry, there's some good news, too.  Commentary 

    COMMENTARY