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Ticker: Mortgage rates slide; Jobless claims fall, layoffs remain low

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

The average long-term U.S. mortgage inched back down this week after five straight weeks of increases, good news for homebuyers as the housing market’s all-important spring buying season gets underway.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate slid back to 6.60% from 6.73% last week. The average rate a year ago was 4.16%.The average long-term rate hit 7.08% in the fall — a two-decade high — as the Federal Reserve continued to raise its key lending rate in a bid to cool the economy and quash persistent, four-decade high inflation.For all of 2022, the National Association of Realtors reported last month that existing U.S. home sales fell 17.8% from 2021, the weakest year for home sales since 2014 and the biggest annual decline since the housing crisis began in 2008.Jobless claims fall, layoffs remain lowFewer Americans applied for jobless claims last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite the Federal Reserve’s ...

Man arrested on suspicion of kidnapping; police find dead woman in home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man was arrested in the Palm City neighborhood on Wednesday after a woman told police she had been held captive inside a residence that harbored a dead body, authorities said.According to the San Diego Police Department, a call came in around 12:05 p.m. reporting an armed kidnapping at Palm Avenue and Saturn Boulevard. Responding officers found a 43-year-old woman who said she had been held captive by a man for the last 24 hours, police said.The woman told police the man allegedly threatened her with a weapon and sexually assaulted her. According to her recount, she had only known the man for about a week prior to the incident.The woman also told police there was a body in the house she was being held at, Lt. Jud Campbell said in a news release. Suspect arrested in sexual assault, groping spree After escaping the home, the woman flagged down a passing driver to call police, Campbell said.Following the woman's report, officers responded a residence located in the 220...

SDSU advances to 2nd round of NCAA Tournament

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego State University Men's Basketball team has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Charleston College 63-57.The Aztecs were led by guard Matt Bradley who had a team high 17 points.The back-and-forth game came down to the wire, with Charleston coming back and the game being tied with under three minutes left to play.Coming up next on the schedule, the Aztecs will play 13-seed Furman, who defeated 4-seed Virginia 68-67 in a major upset earlier in the day.The win marks SDSU's first win in the first round of the tournament since 2015.The Aztecs are looking to advance past the Sweet Sixteen, which they have been to twice, for the first time in team history.Bradley leading the team to victory is nothing new. The senior was named Most Valuable Player in the Mountain West Tournament, leading the Aztecs to a conference championship and leading the team in scoring on the season.The second round of the tournament will take place on Saturday...

Suspect arrested in sexual assault, groping spree

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of a string of sexual assaults and gropings over a nearly two-month period, the San Diego Police Department announced.Iniabasi Udom, 18, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, sexual battery and indecent exposure and was booked into San Diego County Jail, Lt. Adam Sharki said in a news release. Seven cases of the same person groping women or exposing himself to them were reported between Jan 2 and Feb. 17 in the University City area, police said. In February, police reached out to public for help in identifying the suspect, who they said was targeting female joggers near the UTC mall. Westbound SR-78 closure to last into weekend for emergency sinkhole repairs Officials said five of the alleged incidents happened in the areas near 8100 Via Kino, 7900 Caminito Dia, Nobel Drive and Regents Road, 9100 Judicial Drive and 4000 Palmilla Drive.After investigators received tips from the community and other law enforcement agencies,...

GOP lawmakers revive ban on gender-affirming care for youth

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kentucky revived a sweeping measure to ban nearly all gender-affirming care for transgender minors, repackaging a proposal Thursday that brought some opponents to tears.Supporters of the proposal, which affects how gender is discussed in schools, rushed to beat a Thursday deadline to retain their power to override an expected gubernatorial veto. A slimmed-down version of the bill had stalled in the GOP-dominated Senate on Wednesday.The bill’s foes denounced the fast-track maneuvering and the expanded measure’s implications for trans youths. Overcome with emotion, a sobbing Rep. Josie Raymond said children would be harmed. “I’m embarrassed and I’m appalled and I’m scared,” the Democrat said in opposing the bill in committee.Republicans backing a far-reaching version of the bill cobbled together a separate bill that hastily cleared a committee and won House passage. The measure headed to the Senate for a loomi...

Senate takes first step in repealing Iraq War authorizations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate took a first step Thursday toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War.Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted that March 2003 invasion of Iraq and also a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the repeal. The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement Thursday in support.“Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on curren...

NFL player armed in shooting but fired no shots: prosecutor

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon was armed with a legal weapon when a teenage boy was shot near the player’s home earlier this month but he did not fire the gun or do anything illegal, authorities said Thursday as they announced the indictments of Mixon’s sister and her boyfriend.Lamonte Brewer, whom authorities have identified as the shooter, remained at large Thursday, while Shalonda Mixon was apprehended Thursday afternoon by the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, citing U.S. Marshals supervisor Charles Sanso. Brewer fired several shots and is charged with felonious assault, tampering with evidence and two weapons counts, Prosecutor Melissa Powers said at a news conference Thursday. Shalonda Mixon is charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. Brewer faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts, while Shalonda Mixon faces up to four years. It was not known if eith...

Quick quotes: Reaction to two Edmonton police officers killed on duty

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

EDMONTON — Two officers were shot and killed while responding to a family dispute at an apartment complex in Edmonton on Thursday. The officers have been identified as Const. Travis Jordan, 35, and Const. Brett Ryan, 30. Police Chief Dale McFee said they were shot after they entered the building in the city’s northwest.Here are some reactions from across Canada: “Every day, police officers put themselves in harm’s way to keep people safe. The news that two Edmonton police officers have been killed in the line of duty reminds us of that reality. I’m sending my condolences to the officers’ loved ones and colleagues — we’re here for you.” — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau“Alberta would not be the great province it is today without the support of the courageous men and women who patrol our streets every day to keep our communities protected. The province is here to support the Edmonton Police Service during this tragic loss. To honour the service and de...

Fed lent $300B in emergency funds to banks in the past week

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cash-short banks have borrowed about $300 billion from the Federal Reserve in the past week, the Fed announced Thursday. Nearly half the money — $143 billion — went to holding companies for two major banks that failed over the past week, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, triggering widespread alarm in financial markets. The Fed did not identify the banks that received the other half of the funding or say how many of them did so.The holding companies for the two failed banks were set up by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which has taken over both banks. The money they borrowed was used mostly to pay their uninsured depositors, with bonds owned by both banks posted as collateral. The FDIC has guaranteed the repayment of the loans, the Fed said. The figures provide a first glimpse of the scale of the Fed’s assistance to the financial sector after the two banks collapsed this past weekend. The rest of the money was borrowed by banks seeking to ra...

Dozens of workers reject union at big Nissan Tennessee plant

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:32 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Several dozen workers among thousands at a Nissan factory in Tennessee voted not to unionize Thursday, another loss in tough territory for organized labor at a foreign-owned auto assembly plant in the traditionally anti-union South.The 62-9 vote against the union at Nissan’s Smyna plant followed two years of legal wrangling that spanned two presidential administrations.“Nissan respects this decision, and we remain focused on working with employees to drive our future forward together,” said Nissan spokesperson Lloryn Love-Carter.Organizers successfully argued that the group of 75 tool and die technicians were eligible for standalone representation because they have extremely specialized skills for a job that can’t be done by others at the facility. The Japan-based company contended the employees are not sufficiently distinct from other plant workers to be eligible for their own unionized bloc.In a statement, the union said the delayed decision from the board ...