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Ticker: Mortgage rates hit 23-year high; Unemployment applications inch up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

Home loan borrowing costs climbed again this week, pushing the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its highest level in nearly 23 years, another blow to prospective homebuyers facing an increasingly unaffordable housing market.The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.31%, from 7.19% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.70%.Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loan, also increased. The average rate rose to 6.72% from 6.54% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.96%, Freddie Mac said.“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has hit the highest level since the year 2000,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “However, unlike the turn of the millennium, house prices today are rising alongside mortgage rates, primarily due to low inventory. These headwinds are causing both buyers and sellers to hold out for better circumstances.̶...

Patriots-Cowboys injury report: Dallas gets healthier, 5 Patriots remain limited Thursday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

The Patriots posted an identical injury report Thursday to their initial report that listed five players as limited.Defensive linemen Davon Godchaux (ankle) and Christian Barmore (knee) are the headliners, followed by cornerback Jonathan Jones and offensive linemen Cole Strange and Sidy Sow. Jones has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. Strange was noticeably limited Thursday.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots offseason approach with Matt Judon paying off New England Patriots | Patriots look healthy before Cowboys game — with one exception New England Patriots | Patriots rookie Christian Gonzalez recognized for stellar start to career New England Patriots | How JuJu Smith-Schuster feels about role on Patriots through slow start to season New England Patriots | Callahan: Why this change in Mac Jones’ game could spur an upset of the Cowboys Meanwhile in Dallas, the Cowboys up...

National Security Agency is starting an artificial intelligence security center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Security Agency is starting an artificial intelligence security center — a crucial mission as AI capabilities are increasingly acquired, developed and integrated into U.S. defense and intelligence systems, the agency’s outgoing director announced Thursday.Army Gen. Paul Nakasone said the center would be incorporated into the NSA’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, where it works with private industry and international partners to harden the U.S. defense-industrial base against threats from adversaries led by China and Russia.“We maintain an advantage in AI in the United States today. That AI advantage should not be taken for granted,” Nakasone said at the National Press Club, emphasizing the threat from Beijing in particular.Asked if the U.S. has detected either Russia or China trying to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, Nakasone said, “We haven’t seen that yet.” He noted that a...

Creating new kicks for Manny Machado: 11-year-old designs cleats for Padres star

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- It was a dream come true for an 11-year-old Manny Machado fan, who recently designed cleats for the Padres star after winning a contest.Kyle Martin participated in a challenge arranged by the Padres third baseman and shortstop after the president of his baseball league shared it with his team. Martin, along with his teammates, drew a cleat design to submit in the running for Machado's new boot. Padres react to ‘AI robots’ at Petco Park With a mashup of colors like neon green, yellow, orange and brown -- Martin's design won.Cleat designed by Kyle Martin, 11, for Padres star Manny Machado. (Courtesy of Kyle Martin)Not only did his design make it to the turf during a game, but the boy also received his very own pair of shoes with the same design. In fact, they were given to him personally from Machado himself. Local 9-year-old wins free tickets to Little League World Series On the shoes, Machado wrote, "To Kyle, best athlete in the game. Thank you."Kyle Martin, 11, m...

Israel reopens the main Gaza crossing for Palestinian laborers after days of rising tensions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel reopened a main crossing with the Gaza Strip on Thursday to allow thousands of Palestinian laborers to enter the country for the first time in over a week, a move that eased tensions between Israel and the Palestinian enclave.The opening of the crossing was a sign of de-escalation after two weeks of violent protests along Gaza’s frontier with Israel, where Palestinian demonstrators have thrown explosives and rocks and launched incendiary balloons that have sparked fires in Israeli farmland. The outbreak of protests came as the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza, cash-strapped as its financial crisis worsens, slashed the salaries of its civil servants by nearly half this month. Political analysts have described the protests at the separation fence as an attempt by Hamas to wring concessions from Israel and the militant group’s financial patron, Qatar.Hamas insists that it never called for the protests, though it gave the rallies tacit...

Plane that crashed, killing Rep. Peltola’s husband, had over 500 pounds of meat and antlers on board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A small plane that crashed in rural Alaska earlier this month, killing the husband of U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, was carrying more than 500 pounds of moose meat and antlers from a remote hunting camp when it went down shortly after takeoff, according to an investigation report released Thursday.Eugene Peltola Jr., 57, was the only person aboard the plane that crashed Sept. 12 about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northeast of the small western Alaska community of St. Mary’s. He was found conscious but died at the scene, the initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board states.A final report with probable cause findings could take up to two years, the NTSB has said.According to the report, two days before the crash, Peltola took five hunters, a guide and equipment from Holy Cross to a site about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of the community, where the group set up camp next to a landing strip. The plan was for the group to hunt for moose and have it...

Menendez tells Senate colleagues he won’t resign, remains defiant amid bribery charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez remained defiant in the face of federal bribery charges on Thursday, telling a room full of his Senate Democratic colleagues that he has no plans to resign. Speaking behind closed doors at the Capitol, Menendez echoed his previous public statements in response to last week’s indictment, according to a person who attended the private luncheon and requested anonymity to discuss it. Menendez has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and pledged that he will beat the charges that he worked to secretly advance Egyptian interests and pressured prosecutors to help his friends. More than half of Democratic senators have said Menendez should step down. But none of them asked questions after he spoke and vowed to remain in office, according to several senators leaving the meeting. But Menendez’s remarks also appeared to win him no new allies, further isolating the New Jersey senator as his colleagues and Democratic leaders have wrestled ove...

Man shot and wounded at New Mexico protest over installation of Spanish conquistador statue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

ESPANOLA, N.M. (AP) — A suspect was taken into custody after allegedly shooting and wounding a man at a protest Thursday in Española where officials had planned to install a statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate, authorities said.Rio Arriba County sheriff’s officials said Ryan Martinez, 23, was taken into custody in connection with the shooting outside county offices where protesters had gathered and lingered after the instillation of a monument was cancelled.Authorities said they were not currently seeking any other suspects in connection with the shooting.The wounded man was shot in the upper torso and was being treated at a local hospital, according to sheriff’s officials.The names of the wounded man and the suspect were not immediately released. Authorities said a motive for the shooting was unclear.The Albuquerque Journal reported there was a scuffle among activists protesting the installation of the statue.Oñate, who arrived in present-day New Mexico in 1598, is celebra...

Latest fight in the Alex Murdaugh case is over who controls the convicted murderer’s assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Attorneys for convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh want the federal government to take over whatever is left of the millions of dollars and other assets the convicted murderer stole and earned through his legal work.The assets have been under state control for nearly two years, but Murdaugh’s attorneys said the federal government won’t charge the hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees the people watching over the state’s work have been paid.“The United States, however, will perform the same function in ancillary proceedings for free,” Murdaugh’s lawyers wrote.The lawyers handlings the assets for the state, who are called receivers, shot back with demands that Murdaugh’s lawyers reveal how much they have been paid. The receivers have already denied a request from Murdaugh’s attorneys for more money to pay for his appeal of his life sentence without parole for killing his wife and son.The fight over Murdaugh’s money emerged after...

Quebecer shot, facing weapons charge after allegedly threatening Trudeau, Legault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:39 GMT

SCOTSTOWN, Que. — A Quebec man who was shot by police Wednesday as they investigated threats against Premier François Legault and Prime Minster Justin Trudeau is facing a weapons charge.The provincial prosecution service said Thursday that Germain Lemay made a court appearance to face a charge of possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose.Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting, which left the suspect in hospital in stable condition.The agency, known as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, says the shooting by a provincial police tactical team occurred during an attempted arrest early Wednesday at a home in Scotstown, Que., about 180 kilometres east of Montreal.According to the BEI, an officer who was looking through a window shot the suspect when he saw him point a gun toward the door where officers were entering.Montreal police confirmed late Wednesday that the suspect had allegedly made threats against Legault and Trudeau.Legault’s office said in a ...