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US mortgage rates slide sharply, reinvigorating housing demand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

Reade Pickert | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsU.S. mortgage rates dropped sharply, capping the biggest four-week slide in nearly a year and spurring a fresh round of applications to purchase homes.The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage tumbled 20 basis points to 7.41% last week, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed Wednesday. The index of home-purchase applications increased 3.9% in the week ended Nov. 17, the most since June.Since reaching a 23-year high of nearly 8% in mid-October, mortgage rates have plunged nearly half a percentage point. The effective rate, which includes fees and compound interest, dropped to still-elevated 7.59%. In contrast, the five-year adjustable rate increased.Mortgage rates tend to move in tandem with Treasury yields. The 10-year Treasury yield has fallen steeply this month after hitting a 16-year high in October, helped by signs the economy is cooling along with inflation.The overall index of applications, which includes purchases and refinan...

Patriots missing 1 wide receiver at Wednesday practice before Giants game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots worked with a mostly full roster at Wednesday’s practice, missing only practice-squad wideout T.J. Luther.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Mac Jones’ plan is to be Patriots’ starting quarterback vs. Giants New England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots can beat the Giants without a quarterback Sunday New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Trent Brown, J.C. Jackson explain recent absences New England Patriots | Patriots QB Will Grier shares mentality if he gets called on to play New England Patriots | Mac Jones gets good news at first Patriots practice after bye week Mac Jones again took the first reps at quarterbacks during initial drills, when Conor McDermott played left tackle. McDermott, a veteran on the practice squad, has started the team’s last two games in place of Trent Brown, who told reporters he is dealing with a high ankle sprain, low ankle...

Is the US headed for a recession? Look at what richer Americans do on Black Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

Leslie Patton, Laura Bejder Jensen | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsRicher Americans are curtailing their spending ahead of Black Friday, a worrisome sign for an economy that has so far depended on the US consumer to stave off a recession.In the three months ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season, a group of retailers that cater to the upper middle class — including Apple, Coach and Nordstrom — saw its biggest sales drop in two years, according to an exclusive analysis of Bloomberg Second Measure data. The malaise also hit top-performing malls in wealthier areas, even as overall retail-sales figures march higher.Despite record interest rates and soaring inflation, the upper middle class “had been driving a lot of the stronger-than-expected spending,” says Kayla Bruun, a senior economist for Morning Consult, a survey research firm. Now, people with at least $100,000 in household income are starting to become more frugal, she says.On Tuesday, Best Buy Co. and Lowe’s Cos. cut their fo...

‘Near misses’ add urgency to FAA reauthorization efforts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

By Valerie Yurk, CQ-Roll CallA federal report detailing safety concerns with the nation’s air traffic control system is turning up the heat on lawmakers to pass the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, with a short window after the Thanksgiving recess to get it done or temporarily extend the agency’s authority.An independent review commissioned by the FAA in response to a number of near-miss incidents found the system is understaffed, old and inadequately funded, causing an “erosion in the margin of safety.”“Together, these challenges contribute to increased safety risk and should be regarded as incident precursors,” the panel concluded. “[T]he FAA continues to be asked to do more with less in an already strained system, and the series of serious incidents in early 2023 illuminate significant challenges to the provision and safety oversight of air traffic services.”FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said Monday he is taking actions to implement the report’s recommendat...

Quebec court orders pause to ratification of McGill student union pro-Palestine vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec Superior Court has issued an order temporarily blocking a McGill University student society from moving forward with a pro-Palestine policy approved in a recent referendum.The order states that the Students’ Society of McGill University has agreed not to ratify or implement its Policy Against Genocide in Palestine until the case returns to court in March.McGill students voted this month 78.7 per cent in favour of the policy, which calls for the school’s administration to condemn what it calls a “genocidal bombing campaign” against Gaza and to cut ties with corporations or institutions that are complicit in “settler-colonialism” or “apartheid.”An unnamed Jewish student from McGill went to court to challenge the policy, which she describes in court documents as “hate literature” that violates the student society’s own constitution as well as its antisemitism and equity policies.The student is also seek...

CP NewsAlert: Border closed after vehicle explosion on bridge near Niagara Falls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

The FBI says a border crossing between Canada and the U.S. has closed after a vehicle explosion on a bridge near Niagara Falls. More coming. The Canadian Press

Student Academy Awards – a launching pad into Hollywood – celebrate 50 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

Spike Lee already had several big moments with the Oscars by the time he finally won a competitive statuette in 2019.His first came almost 40 years earlier, in 1983, when he was a film student at New York University. Lee submitted his master’s thesis film “Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads,” starring Monty Ross, to the Student Academy Awards. And it won.The Student Academy Awards may not be as glitzy or high profile as the Oscars, but in its 50 years it has proven to be a vital launching ground for emerging filmmakers. Inclusion and access may sound like recent buzzwords, but the film academy has been striving to break down barriers to entry for decades.In 1973, then Academy president Walter Mirisch said, prophetically, that they were celebrating the young people who “will be taking our places.” Over the years, student winners have included Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker, Patricia Riggen, Bob Saget and Patricia Cardoso.“The legacy of the program is rich,” said Kendr...

Mississippi drops charges in killing of former state lawmaker but says new charges are possible

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi prosecutors have dismissed indictments against a man in the shooting death of a former state lawmaker and the earlier burning of a building, saying they need more time to investigate.The murder and arson charges against Billy Lamar Brooks were dismissed without prejudice, which means a grand jury could consider new charges later, according to a document filed Friday in Yalobusha County Circuit Court.Republican former state Rep. Ashley Henley, 40, was shot to death in June 2021 outside the burned-out mobile home in a rural area where her sister-in-law, Kristina Michelle Jones, was found dead in December 2020.“After reviewing the case for trial, attorneys for the State requested additional time to fully investigate and review this matter,” said the document signed by an assistant district attorney and Circuit Judge Smith Murphey.The document said it is “not possible to estimate the timeframe needed to complete this investigation,” but prosecutors coul...

Police say some 70 bullets fired in North Philadelphia shooting that left 2 dead, 5 wounded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia police investigation into the shooting of seven men, including two who died, continued Wednesday but authorities said no arrests have been made.Several guns were recovered from the scene and police said at least 70 rounds were fired around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, leaving bullet holes in vehicles and nearby buildings.Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said at the scene on Fairhill Street in North Philadelphia that drugs had also been found, although police are “not really sure of all that has occurred out here.”“This is a block that has had some narcotics activity,” he said. “It’s not a block that we aren’t familiar with.”The two men who died, ages 31 and 38, both had multiple bullet wounds and were pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital around 9 p.m. Tuesday. The other victims, ages 19-30, were being treated for gunshot wounds and considered to be in critical or stable condition, police said Wednesday. Names were not released...

Bridge crossings between Canada-New York closed after vehicle explosion at Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:48 GMT

The four international bridges between Canada and Western New York have been closed after a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing that connects Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York.In a social media post, the FBI Buffalo Field Office confirmed it is investigating a “vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge.”“The FBI is coordinating with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation. As this situation is very fluid, that’s all we can say at this time.”#FBI Buffalo statement on investigation at the Rainbow Bridge: pic.twitter.com/jRaGLL8sU8— FBI Buffalo (@FBIBuffalo) November 22, 2023New York State Governor Kathy Hochul posted on social media that she’s been briefed on the incident which is being “closely monitored.”“State agencies are on site and ready to assist,” she wrote.The CEO of the Buffalo & Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority confirms an explosion w...