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Mortgage rates soar to their highest level in 21 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

Washington, DC (CNN) — US mortgage rates surged this week, rising to their highest level in 21 years.The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.09% in the week ending August 17, up from 6.96% the week before, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 5.13%.Rates have been above 6.5% since the end of May and climbing higher since mid-July. The last time rates were over 7% was in November of last year when they hit 7.08%. This week’s average rate is the highest the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has been since April 2002 when it was 7.13%.Mortgage rates have spiked during the Federal Reserve’s historic rate-hiking campaign sending home affordability to its lowest level in several decades. Buying a home is more expensive because of the added cost of financing the mortgage, and homeowners who previously locked in lower rates are reluctant to sell. The combination of low inventory and high costs has squeezed would-be ho...

Groups pitch Widett Circle to relieve Mass. And Cass. impacts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

A coalition of Boston businesses and neighborhood groups kicked off a campaign Friday calling for creation of a recovery campus at the MBTA-owned Widett Circle, pitching it as a way to relieve the unyielding pressures of drug use and homelessness in the area known as “Mass. and Cass.”Leaders of the South End Forum, which represents neighborhood associations in Boston’s South End, and the Newmarket Business Improvement District unveiled a proposal that would stand up dozens of temporary cabins that could support residents through various steps of recovery.They set their sights on Widett Circle, a 24-acre property that was previously home to the New Boston Food Mart Corporation, had been eyed as a cornerstone of Boston’s ultimately suspended Olympics bid, and is now owned by the MBTA with plans to transform it into a major rail yard.Steve Fox, who chairs the South End Forum, said the “overriding objective” is to divert people away from the area near...

US, Japan and South Korea agree to expand security ties at summit amid China, North Korea worries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden and the leaders of Japan and South Korea agreed Friday to expand security and economic ties at a historic summit at the U.S. presidential retreat of Camp David. Their meeting and agreement come at a time that all three countries are on an increasingly tense ledge in their relations with China and North Korea.Biden said the three nations would establish a communications hotline to discuss responses to threats. He announced the agreements, including what the keaders termed the “Camp David Principles,” at the close of his talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.“The purpose of our trilateral security cooperation is and will remain to promote and enhance peace and stability throughout the region,” they said in a joint statement.“Our countries are stronger and the world will be safer as we stand together. And I know this is a belief that all three share,” Biden said as he ope...

Hurricane Hilary could dump over a year’s worth of rain on parts of the Southwest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

(CNN) — Concern is growing Hurricane Hilary will unleash a prolific amount of flooding rainfall on the southwestern US and parts of California as it makes a rare move over the region Sunday and into early next week, triggering the first ever tropical storm watch for California.Hilary could dump more than a year’s worth of rain in parts of three states: California, Nevada and Arizona. Because of the threat, parts of California face a rare high risk for excessive rainfall. This Level 4 of 4 threat is the first to ever be issued for this part of Southern California.Hilary was a powerful Category 4 hurricane churning about 360 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Friday afternoon with sustained winds of 145 mph with stronger gusts, the National Hurricane Center said.The storm underwent incredible rapid intensification Thursday into Friday, strengthening from a tropical storm to a Category 4 hurricane in just 24 hours. Hilary is forecast to remain a Category 4 ...

All Elite Wrestling champ Cash Wheeler arrested on assault charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

Daniel Wheeler, a tag-team champion in All Elite Wrestling, was arrested Friday morning by the Orlando Police Department and charged with one count of aggravated assault with a firearm. He was booked in Orange County Jail, according to county records.Wheeler, 36, better known in wrestling circles as Cash Wheeler, is a member of the tag team FTR with Dax Harwood. They hold the AEW tag-team championship.Wheeler appeared in court Friday afternoon, where it was revealed that the arrest stemmed from a “road-rage-type incident” where Wheeler did not know the alleged victim. Bail was set at $2,500, and Wheeler is forbidden from possessing a firearm or having contact with the alleged victims until the case is decided.According to court records, Wheeler’s alleged offense was committed on July 27 and a warrant was issued July 28 for his arrest. On Aug. 3, his attorneys issued a written plea of not guilty, and his appearance at a pretrial conference was waived on that day. His arrest affidavit...

HEAR IT: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunite on Dolly Parton’s cover of ‘Let It Be’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

Karu F. Daniels | (TNS) New York Daily NewsLeave it to Dolly Parton to revive The Beatles — like never before.The recent  Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee has reunited the two living members of the Fab Four for her rendition of the band’s 1970 hit “Let It Be.” Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr joined Parton on a new recording from her upcoming album “Rockstar,” which is set to be released in full Nov. 17. which was released Friday. Fellow legendary rockers Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood also appear on the track.Parton has been slowly sharing songs from the star-studded album since it was first announced in early May. On Friday, Parton took to social media to promote her latest release.British singer-songwriter Paul McCartney (R) and muscian Ringo Starr (L) of legendary rock-band The Beatles pose arriving on the carpet to attend a special screening of the film “The Beatles Eight Days A Week: The Touring Years” in London on September 15, 2016. / AFP / Ben STANSALL (Ph...

James Buckley, Conservative senator and brother of late writer William F. Buckley, dies at 100

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former New York Sen. James Buckley, an early agitator for Richard Nixon’s resignation and winner of a landmark lawsuit challenging campaign spending limits, died Friday at age 100.Buckley died at a hospital in Washington, D.C., according to his son David Buckley of Arlington, Virginia.Buckley was the fourth of 10 children of a millionaire oilman and older brother of conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr., who died in February 2008. He was the last survivor of the 10 siblings.Buckley was the sole Conservative Party candidate to win statewide office in New York, elected to the U.S. Senate in 1970 in a three-way race with 39% of the vote. Republican Sen. Charles Goodell, who was appointed to the job in 1968 after the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and Democratic Rep. Richard Ottinger split the moderate vote, allowing Buckley to capture the seat.His younger brother called his win “the crystallization of counterrevolutionary impulses”...

Rare New England tornado lifts car from a highway as strong storms damage homes and flood roads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

BOSTON — A rare Rhode Island tornado lifted a car off a highway Friday as severe weather swept already storm-weary New England, damaging homes, flooding roads and toppling trees.Tornadoes were reported in several spots in the same general area of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, but officials said it wasn’t yet clear whether it was one or multiple twisters. No injuries were reported.Firefighters rushed to help the startled motorist on Interstate 295 and found her unharmed from her brush with a tornado, Johnston Fire Chief David Iannuccilli said.“The driver said she got caught in the funnel, was lifted 10 feet in the air and was dropped back down on her tires,” Iannuccilli said. “She was shaken up more than anything.”The tornado also moved through wooded areas and residential neighborhoods, Iannuccilli said. Meteorologist Glenn Field with the National Weather Service said the tornado was confirmed by radar and carried tree limbs and other debris aloft.Tornado touchdowns al...

Alberta moves to de-privatize community lab tests in face of long waits, bottlenecks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

EDMONTON — The Alberta government is de-privatizing its community lab testing in the face of long waits and bottlenecks — a move the Opposition NDP calls an admission of colossal failure and blinkered ideology.Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said the province has signed a memorandum of understanding with private provider Dynalife to transfer its staff, equipment and property to the province by the end of the year.LaGrange did not discuss the cost of the deal, saying there is a memorandum of understanding with Dynalife and those details are still being hashed out, but said action had to be taken.“This change is necessary to make sure Albertans can get their lab work done when and where they need it and get timely results,” LaGrange told reporters Friday in Red Deer. “There will be no job loss for frontline lab workers.“But for Albertans that need lab work done this will mean faster access to high-quality care,” she added.LaGrange said there will be no i...

Man seriously injured in daytime shooting in Scarborough

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:29 GMT

An investigation is underway after a man was found with gunshot wounds in Scarborough.Police say they were called to the area of Huntingwood Drive and Midland Avenue just after 4 p.m. for reports of gunshots. When they arrived they found a man who had been shot. Paramedics say he has been taken to a nearby trauma centre with serious to possibly life-threatening injuries. There was no immediate word on what may have led up to the shooting or any possible suspect descriptions.