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Ticker: Jobless claims rise; Mortgage rates retreat from high

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

More Americans filed for jobless claims last week and while the labor market remains broadly healthy, there are growing signs that it may finally be cooling.Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 231,000 for the week ending Nov. 11, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most in three months.Overall, 1.87 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Nov. 4, about 32,000 more than the previous week and the most in almost two years. It was the sixth straight week that continuing claims rose.“Job growth remains strong, and businesses have yet to start reducing their workforce in a significant way,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics. “But the continuing claims data are pointing to some softening in labor demand, in line with what the Fed wants to see.”Mortgage rates retreat from highThe average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages retreated to 7.66% this week, down fr...

Is ‘the pivot’ finally happening? 30-year mortgage backs off from 8%

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

Jeff Ostrowski | (TNS) Bankrate.comThe average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages retreated to 7.66% this week, down from 7.69% the previous week, according to Bankrate’s weekly national survey of large lenders.The slight reprieve could signal a prolonged drop in mortgage rates, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The average rate on 30-year home loans recently topped 8%, but that’s changing because of a number of factors, including a slowing job market and signs that the Federal Reserve’s ongoing war on inflation is working. Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury yields, an informal benchmark for 30-year mortgage rates, have dropped from 5% to 4.5% in recent days.“The pivot may have already occurred this week,” Yun said Wednesday during the annual Realtors conference in Anaheim, California. “The bond market has already said, ‘We’re pivoting.’”At the beginning of November, all eyes were on the Fed. The central bank sets policy that indirectly affects ...

Texas jury convicts woman of fatally shooting cyclist Anna “Mo” Wilson in jealous rage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury on Thursday convicted a woman of murder in the May 2022 shooting death of rising professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson in a case that led investigators on a 43-day international search for the killer.Kaitlin Armstrong, 35, faces up to life in prison when sentenced. Prosecutors said Armstrong gunned down the 25-year-old Wilson in a jealous rage. Wilson, who was also known as “Mo,” had briefly dated Armstrong’s boyfriend several months earlier. Wilson had gone swimming and to a meal with him the day she was killed.A Vermont native and former alpine skier at Dartmouth, Wilson was an emerging star in pro gravel and mountain bike racing. She was visiting Austin ahead of a race in Texas where she was among the favorites to win. Investigators said Armstrong tracked Wilson to the apartment where she was staying and shot her three times.Armstrong briefly met with police before selling her vehicle and using her sister’s name and passport to fly to Costa Ric...

Photographer found shot to death in violence plagued Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A photographer for a newspaper in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, which has been dominated by drug cartels, was found shot to death, prosecutors said Thursday.The body of news photographer Ismael Villagómez was found in the driver’s seat of a car just after midnight Thursday in Ciudad Juarez, a violence-plagued city across the border from El Paso, Texas. Villagómez’s newspaper, the Heraldo de Juarez, said he was found dead in a car that he had registered to use for work for a ride-hailing app. Given low salaries, it is not uncommon for journalists in Mexico to hold down more than one job. The newspaper said his phone was not found at the scene. Ciudad Juarez has been dominated by drug cartels and their turf battles for almost two decades, and gangs often object to photos of their victims or their activities being published.Carlos Manuel Salas, a prosecutor for the northern border state of Chihuahua, said authorities are investigating whether Villagómez h...

Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh to serve out suspension; Big Ten to close investigation into sign-stealing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will accept a three-game suspension from the Big Ten and theconference will end its investigation into a sign-stealing scheme as part of an agreement to resolve the school’s lawsuit against the league, Michigan said Thursday.Harbaugh was suspended last Friday by the Big Ten and Michigan hours later asked a court for an injunction and temporary restraining order. The restraining order was not ruled upon and Harbaugh did not coach the team against Penn State on Saturday.The two sides were expected in court Friday in Michigan, but instead Harbaugh will serve out the remainder of the suspension, missing games against Maryland on Saturday and Ohio State on Nov. 25.Ralph D. Russo And Larry Lage, The Associated Press

Florida university system sued over effort to disband pro-Palestinian student group

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s university system was sued Thursday over its effort to silence a chapter of a pro-Palestinian student group, with a free speech group arguing that the state is violating the First Amendment rights of an organization that’s promoting peace.State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues last month ordered schools to disband chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine, saying the national organization supports terrorism after Hamas fighters attacked Israeli citizens on Oct. 7. Rodrigues has since backed off the order while consulting lawyers to see how the state can proceed and whether it can force the groups to pledge to reject violence and Hamas and to follow the law.The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in federal court says the University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is only loosely affiliated with the national chapter and doesn’t accept money or coordinate planning with the group....

Massachusetts lawmakers fail to approve $250M in emergency shelter aid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Legislature wrapped up its formal session for the year without a deal on a $2.8 billion spending bill that included hundreds of millions of dollars to address the state’s emergency shelters that are buckling under a crush of migrant and homeless families.Both the House and Senate bills would steer $250 million toward the shelter system, but a conference committee was unable to resolve other differences early Thursday.Lawmakers embarked for the holiday break with uncertainty clouding the state’s response to shelter emergency.Some groups heaped scorn on lawmakers for failing to act. The Massachusetts Teachers Association said in a statement that it was “shocked, and frankly, disgusted” by lawmakers’ inaction on the supplemental budget.“This is another stain on a Legislature that struggles to meet its obligation to serve the public good,” the union that represents 117,000 members said in a statement.Across the region, advocates relied o...

Transportation Safety Board says fatal crash linked to undetected helicopter defect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

RICHMOND, B.C. — The Transportation Safety Board says an undetected defect deep within the engine of a helicopter caused a fatal crash on northern Vancouver Island last year.The board’s investigation report examined the April 6, 2022 crash of a Hughes 369D that went down near the Port McNeill airport, killing the lone pilot.The report says shrinkage voids developed during manufacturing of the helicopter engine’s sixth-stage compressor wheel, but that problem can’t be detected with existing inspection methods.The compressor wheel eventually fractured in two places, which the board says caused “catastrophic” engine failure.Because the pilot had just dropped a load of cedar blocks from a longline, the report says the helicopter was close to the ground and had little forward speed, leading to the crash within seconds of the engine failure.The TSB says the engine manufacturer has reissued a commercial service letter, which includes a recommendation that its ...

Max Verstappen unimpressed with excess and opulence of Las Vegas Grand Prix

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Grand Prix is an absolute spectacle of neon extravagance and Max Verstappen has absolutely no interest in the excess and opulence weaved into Formula One’s first visit to Sin City in 41 years.The reigning three-time Formula One champion called Saturday night’s race “99% show, and 1% sporting event” while complaining he felt like “a clown” standing on the stage during Wednesday night’s opening ceremony that featured multiple musical acts.The driver expected to win his 18th win of the season — sixth in a row — then skipped a VIP party at The Wynn in which F1 president Stefano Domenicali asked all drivers to attend.“I just like to always focus on the performance side of things. I don’t like all the things around it, anyway. I know, of course, in some places they are part of it, but let’s say it’s not in my interest,” the Red Bull driver said. “I’m looking forward to try to do the best I can, but I’m not looking forward to (th...

A family of 4 was found dead at Fort Stewart in Georgia, the Army says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:46 GMT

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — Four family members were found dead inside a home at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia, the U.S. Army said Thursday. Military police discovered the bodies of a soldier, her husband and their two children Wednesday afternoon after members of the soldier’s unit requested a welfare check, according to the statement from Fort Stewart officials. The statement did not say whether investigators were seeking suspects. But it called the deaths an “isolated incident” and said there is no threat to the broader community. Fort Stewart spokesperson Kevin Larson declined to comment further, citing the active investigation.The Army did not immediately release the names of those found dead.Fort Stewart is the biggest Army post east of the Mississippi River. Located about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Savannah, it is home to the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. The Associated Press