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Ticker: Mortgage rates see first drop in six weeks; Jobless claims inch down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

Mortgage rates in the US fell for the first time in six weeks, while sticking close to a two-decade high.The average for a 30-year, fixed loan slipped to 7.18%, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday. Last week, rates hit 7.23%, the highest level since May 2001.It’s just a slight break for house hunters struggling to afford a purchase in a market that’s starved of listings.In one potential bright spot, the number of newly listed homes in the US climbed 3.5% in August from July, according to a report by Realtor.com that called the increase “seasonally unusual.”While inventory continues to be in short supply, the uptick is “hopefully signaling a return in seller activity heading toward the fall season, which typically is the best time to buy a home,” Chief Economist Danielle Hale and Economic Data Manager Sabrina Speianu said in the report.Jobless claims inch downU.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week as companies held on to employees in an economy that ...

Patriots WR Demario Douglas aiming to ‘make a statement’ in NFL debut

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

FOXBORO — Demario “Pop” Douglas got his nickname from a late family member who passed away when he was young.If all goes well for Douglas next week, the nickname will stick in New England for a different reason.He’ll have “popped” in his NFL debut.“I’m excited for my first regular-season game and to make a statement,” Douglas told the Herald in the locker room Thursday. “I’m blessed to have this opportunity,”The statement, Douglas specified, is to prove he can play at the pro level. To show his sixth-round label doesn’t capture the player he is; a 5-foot-8, 192-pound dynamo who dazzled throughout training camp and, somehow, in just five preseason snaps.“Really, I just want to go out there and play. I just want to have fun,” Douglas said. “I love this game.”Over the past six weeks, Douglas has received daily feedback from veteran teammates who believe he can help the Patriots right a...

Kyle Hendricks is looking like the playoff-savvy veteran of old for the Chicago Cubs — and just in time for a pennant race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

Pennant races are like snowflakes.They all might look alike, but every one is different.Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks has been through six races over the last nine seasons and is involved in his seventh. Five of the six ended with the Cubs making the postseason, and one concluded with a World Series title.“There are a lot of similarities in a lot of ways,” Hendricks said in a recent interview. “Every year is different, just with the dynamics and the (different) guys. But this one in particular has some feel to ‘15. Just that it’s a little unexpected in a way, from the outside.“Definitely not internally. We knew what we had coming in and knew the chance we had. But both years, externally, the expectations were a lot lower than what we thought we had.”The 2015 Cubs were a far superior team than this bunch, led by Jake Arrieta’s untouchable run and the maturation of rookies Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber. That team was only five gam...

Anthony Volpe’s clutch homer not enough as Yankees fall to Tigers on walk-off error

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

The Yankees failed to finish a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, dropping Thursday afternoon’s series finale despite a game-tying, three-run home run by Anthony Volpe in the top of the ninth.A Gleyber Torres throwing error on a double-play attempt in the 10th inning allowed the Tigers to score the walk-off run in a 4-3 victory in Detroit. The Yankees challenged the final play, contending a slide at second interfered with Torres, but the call was upheld.The loss wasted the heroics by Volpe, who clubbed his clutch, opposite-field blast against Tigers closer Alex Lange with the Yankees down to their final out. Volpe made history in the process, becoming the first Yankee to record 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in his rookie season.A scoreless bottom of the ninth pitched by closer Clay Holmes pushed the game into extra innings, and the Yankees ended an Aaron Judge off day early by sending the slugger up to lead off the 10th. But Judge grounded out, and the Yankees’ au...

Ex-Proud Boys leader sentenced to 15 years in prison in Jan. 6 Capitol attack case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — A former leader of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in prison for spearheading an attack on the U.S. Capitol to try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election.Zachary Rehl was seen on video spraying a chemical irritant at law enforcement officers outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but he repeatedly lied about that assault while he testified at his trial, federal prosecutors said.Prosecutors had recommended a 30-year prison sentence for Rehl, who helped lead dozens of Proud Boys members and associates in marching to the Capitol on Jan. 6. Rehl and other Proud Boys joined the mob that broke through police lines and forced lawmakers to flee, disrupting the joint session of Congress for certifying the electoral victory by Biden, a Democrat.The judge who sentenced Rehl also on Thursday sentenced Proud Boys organi...

Source: Patriots claiming QB Matt Corral off waivers from Panthers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

The Patriots have added a second quarterback to their 53-man roster, claiming Matt Corral off waivers from the Panthers.Corral was waived Wednesday, one day after the majority of roster cuts. He was selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss and missed all of his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury suffered against the Patriots in the preseason.Corral completed 59.6% of his passes this preseason for 249 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He rushed four times for 47 yards. Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton beat out Corral for the Panthers’ backup quarterback job behind No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots WR DeVante Parker misses second straight practice Thursday New England Patriots | Callahan: Bailey Zappe’s release another reminder the Patriots have no sacred cows New England Patriots | Patriots sign 15 to practice squad, including new veteran tight en...

Housing advocacy groups donates $50K to rent control ballot question committee

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

An out-of-state advocacy group is throwing its weight early into a ballot question push to institute rent control in Massachusetts, handing $50,000 to supporters looking to repeal a 1994 ban on the measure.Housing Is A Human Right made the donation to a ballot question committee run by state Rep. Mike Connolly, the Cambridge Democrat said in a statement. The organization has taken part in successful rent control campaigns in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, and Pasadena, California.“We are engaging with a broad set of stakeholders to build consensus for the roll out of a full-fledged signature-gathering campaign this fall,” Connolly said in a statement. “We’re also working with experienced campaign professionals to map out a winning campaign plan for the 2024 general election and hoping to bring everyone to the table in support of housing justice in our commonwealth.”Housing Is Human Right is the housing advocacy division of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare, a global ...

Hundreds more migrants reach the Greek islands in boats and smaller vessels from Turkey

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More than 450 migrants reached Greece’s Aegean Sea islands in boats from Turkey in less than two days, Greek authorities said Thursday, including 51 people who made landfall on the high-end resort of Mykonos.The new arrivals come amid a steady rise in migration to the European Union country, which officials mostly attribute to better summer sailing conditions.While Greece was once the main entry point to the EU for people seeking a better life in the wealthy bloc, its Mediterranean neighbor Italy now has nearly seven times more arrivals.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni discussed immigration during a working dinner in Athens late Thursday, Mitsotakis’ office said. It added both leaders agreed on the need to police Europe’s borders and crack down on migrant smuggling networks.In the Mykonos incident, a Greek coast guard statement said a motor yacht that had landed 42 men, eight women and a child on the ...

Ongoing cost-of-living crisis should trigger another housing benefit payment: Singh

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government needs to issue another $500 benefit payment for low-income families struggling to keep a roof over their heads, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Thursday.Singh was in Sooke, B.C., on a cross-country summer tour where the national housing crisis and ongoing anxiety about the cost of living is taking centre stage. In an interview, he said the federal Liberals have done an “abysmal” job dealing with the housing crisis and he intends to make the upcoming fall sitting of Parliament all about getting more housing built.“They’re a failure,” he said bluntly of the Liberals.He said the NDP have a long list of policies they want the government to implement, but chief among them is a second top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit targeting low-income Canadians who spend more than a third of their income on rent. The first $500 top-up, which was announced in September 2022 alongside a temporary boost to the GST rebate, was rolled out just ...

Owners of Scranton Times-Tribune, 3 other Pennsylvania dailies sell to publishing giant

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:28 GMT

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania media conglomerate sold its four daily newspapers, including The Times-Tribune of Scranton, to publishing powerhouse MediaNews Group on Thursday, ending nearly 130 years of local ownership.Times-Shamrock Communications CEO Jim Lewandowski made the announcement to staff, The Times-Tribune reported.The other papers in the sale are The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre, the Republican Herald of Pottsville, and the (Hazleton) Standard-Speaker, as well as Times-Shamrock’s weeklies, commercial printing business and other divisions.Times-Shamrock retained control of its radio and billboard operations as well as the landmark Scranton Times building downtown, the Scranton paper reported.The terms of the sale were not disclosed.MediaNews Group’s parent company is Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that has been buying up newspapers across the country and faced criticism for slashing budgets and cutting jobs.A majority of Times-Shamrock’s shareholders...