Group begins anti-Yellen campaign

WASHINGTON » A conservative group has launched a campaign to stop Janet Yellen from becoming the next head of the Federal Reserve, arguing her confirmation would lead to an expansion of easy-money policies and that such a move would cause prices to soar.

American Principles in Action, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group, has created a website called NoOnYellen.com and said it planned to spend $25,000 placing a two-minute video on financial websites urging opposition to Yellen, President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Zuckerberg buys 4 homes near his

Living the fantasy of every homeowner who has faced the prospect of a nuisance project next door, Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has bought four homes adjacent to his own five-bedroom home in Palo Alto, Calif.

Zuckerberg paid top dollar — more than $30 million in total — for the four residential properties next door and behind his own. But he has no plans to build a Taj Mahal on the land, according to a person with knowledge of the transactions, who said Zuckerberg is leasing the existing homes back to the families that live there.

SHIFTING GEARS

Airplane noise tied to heart disease

Two studies linked aircraft noise to higher rates of cardiovascular disease in results that may fuel debate about the effect airports have on their neighbors.

The first study found rates of strokes and heart disease increased with people’s proximity to London’s Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest hub. The second found that older people on Medicare who were exposed to the most airplane noise were also more likely to have been hospitalized for heart disease. The British Medical Journal published both papers.

The research adds weight to the idea that where you put an airport doesn’t just affect neighbors’ quality of life, but also their health, Stephen Stansfeld, a psychiatry professor at Barts and the London School of Medicine, wrote in an editorial published alongside the two studies. Heathrow, in particular, has been mired in debate about how to add capacity to London’s airports.

Total recall

About 14,000 Frigidaire Professional blenders have been recalled because the blender’s blade shaft assembly can break during use, possible cutting users. The blenders were sold at Best Buy, Target and other stores nationwide and at amazon.com, bedbath.com and other online retailers from March 2012 through July 2013 for about $130. This recall involves Frigidaire Professional blender model FPJB56B7MS with a serial number between FFP 49 1203 0001 and FFP 49 1237 00974. Call Frigidaire toll-free at 888-747-7637 from 3 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Hawaii time Monday through Friday and from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, or go to www.frigidaire.com or www.blenderrecall.com.