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Average long-term US mortgage rate rises to 6.57% this week, highest level since mid March

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose this week to its highest level since mid March, driving up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers facing a housing market that’s constrained by a dearth of homes for sale.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 6.57% from 6.39% last week. The average rate a year ago was 5.10%.High rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for homebuyers, limiting how much buyers can afford in a market that remains unaffordable to many Americans after years of soaring home prices and limited housing inventory.The median monthly payment listed on applications for home purchase loans in April rose to $2,112, up nearly 12% from a year ago and a 0.9% increase from March, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. The average rate on a 30-year home loan has risen two weeks in a row, echoing moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to ...

Driver shot at multiple times in 'random' Jeffco shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Deputies in Jefferson County are investigating a "random and unprovoked" shooting after a victim's car was shot at multiple times while driving down West 32nd Avenue.Around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night, deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to a shooting in the Applewood neighborhood near West 32nd Avenue and Howell Road. According to JCSO, a man was driving west when his car was shot six times by an unknown caliber weapon. State Farm insures driver charged with DUI but won’t pay victim’s claim The driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries after he was hit by glass shards that went flying after a bullet passed through his windshield. His passenger was uninjured. JCSO said the shooting appears to be "random and unprovoked."At this time, deputies have not identified a suspect or a suspect vehicle. Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact JCSO.

Restaurant review: Ouzerie Mezedopolio

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

Chaussée d’Ixelles 235What’s good: This family-run restaurant has a lively atmosphere, with high-quality products and authentic Greek recipes. The food menu offers a broad range of mezzes, small dishes which are perfect for sharing: from cold dips such as tzatziki, a yogurt-based dip, and tarama, a fish roe spread; to warm options such as fried calamari, the traditional spanakopita or spinach pie, and tiropita, a cheese pie. The wine menu also does not disappoint. We opted for a flowery and fruity white wine which tasted fresh and conjured up a sunny day on the Greek coast. Do leave some space for dessert. The galaktoboureko, puff pastry with cream, and the portokalopita, a glazed orange cake, were so delicious they left us craving more. What’s not: The place is small and noisy. The restaurant staff is friendly but also busy, so it can be challenging to get their attention. If you are looking for a romantic atmosphere or to have a private conversation, this is not th...

Germany in recession: Berlin braces for budget cut battle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

BERLIN — Europe’s largest economy has money problems for the first time in nearly a decade — and it’s up to three squabbling parties to fix them.Germany has officially fallen into a recession, official figures showed Thursday, with economic output falling by 0.3 percent during the first quarter of the year — the second quarter in a row with a decreasing gross domestic product. The drop was largely attributed to lower consumer spending due to higher prices amid inflation of 7.2 percent.This adds to previously existing pressure on the trio of coalition partners in Berlin’s government to cut costs. That requires tough decisions, but their approaches to the problem are vastly different: The environmentalist Greens want to invest more in things like climate protection by taxing the rich — a prospect rejected by the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), who want to deregulate. Caught in the middle, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats hope attracting skilled forei...

Alex Murdaugh indicted on 22 federal counts for alleged financial schemes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

(CNN) — A federal grand jury has indicted disbarred South Carolina attorney and double murderer Alex Murdaugh on 22 charges in connection with schemes aimed at stealing money from his clients, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering, the office said Wednesday in a news release.Murdaugh, 54, “has been cooperating with the United States Attorneys’ Office and federal agencies in their investigation of a broad range of activities,” his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said Wednesday in a statement.“We anticipate that the charges brought today will be quickly resolved without a trial,” they said.Murdaugh, a former personal injury attorney, is appealing his conviction this year in South Carolina for murdering his wife and grown son; he was sentenced to life in prison. He’s being held at McCormick Correctional Institution, a ...

South Carolina governor signs 6-week abortion bill into law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

Washington (CNN) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday signed a bill into law that will limit most abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.South Carolina now joins a list of Republican-led states that have championed sweeping abortion restrictions in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The entire US South, with the exception of Virginia, has moved to significantly curtail abortion rights in the past year.“With my signature, the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act is now law and will begin saving the lives of unborn children immediately,” McMaster, a Republican, said in a statement. “This is a great day for life in South Carolina, but the fight is not over. We stand ready to defend this legislation against any challenges and are confident we will succeed. The right to life must be preserved, and we will do everything we can to protect it.”The law is effective immediately, but it already facing a legal c...

Actor Tom Hanks delivers Class of 2023 commencement at Harvard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

Harvard University’s Class of 2023 received words of inspiration from a man known for delivering such lines as “Life is like a box of chocolates.”Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks was in Boston this week to deliver the commencement address at Harvard’s graduation ceremony Thursday morning.The star of films such as “Forest Gump,” “The Green Mile,” and “Toy Story” was spotted shaking hands and taking selfies with graduates before the ceremony.“I don’t know much about Latin, I have no real passion for enzymes, and public global policy is something I scan in the newspaper just before I do the Wordle – and yet here I am,” Hanks joked during his speech.According to the university, Hanks was chosen for his contributions to American culture and for getting people to appreciate stories and history.For nearly 30 minutes, the star spoke about community, responsibility, and the role the students have to play in soci...

Giants OTA Notebook: Brian Daboll remains mum on Saquon Barkley at Thursday’s session

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

Saquon Barkley is not attending OTAs, having not signed his franchise tag tender or received a new contract yet. Giants head coach Brian Daboll preemptively announced in an opening statement that he would not comment on Barkley.“That situation is going to be between Saquon and the organization,” he said Thursday. “I’m not going to get into detail of any of the discussions we’ve had.”Daboll would not even say if he expects Barkley at mandatory minicamp in mid-June.“I’m not going to get into any discussions about that,” he said.Daniel Jones said he speaks to Barkley “pretty regularly” and called him a “close friend,” but he also said “that’s Saquon’s business between him and the team.”“I hope they get something done,” Big Blue’s quarterback said, who called Barkley a “great teammate”  and a “very important part” of what the Giants do.PRAC...

Daniel Jones’ new target Darren Waller looks different: ‘He’s a true 6-6 and he can fly’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

Daniel Jones could be forgiven this season if he throws to Darren Waller so often that he gets accused of forcing it to him.Waller looks like the first pick in a pickup basketball game. When he’s covered, he still looks open. He runs like a deer.It didn’t take long for Jones to notice how different Waller would be as a target when they first met in Arizona this spring.“As soon as you walk on the field,” Jones said Thursday with a smile. “He’s a true 6-6, and he can fly and he can run all the routes.”Waller seems to like the tone Jones has set as a leader, too.He said his first impression of the Giants QB was when he arrived at the house in Arizona, where Jones had invited teammates to come train.Jones was getting work done on his body so his arm would be ready to throw the next day.Waller said Jones has also organized extra throwing sessions for players during the spring, when their time playing football at the team’s facility is cappe...

California farm eager to reintroduce sweet, nutritious mulberries to America

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:15:23 GMT

“All fruits are beautiful, but the mulberry is the king of fruits.”– Persian ProverbMove over cherry, there’s a new berry in town.Thousands of cherry lovers throughout the Bay Area make their way each spring to one of dozens of U-pick farms in Brentwood for the plump, juicy round fruits, but now – for the first time – there’s another option that is arguably just as sweet: the Himalayan purple mulberry, which looks a bit like an elongated blackberry with tiny clusters of fruit.Not only is Habitera Farms the only one allowing visitors to partake in the picking of the tasty, dark-colored fleshy fruit — the season lasts about eight weeks — but it appears to be the only business selling mulberries on such a large scale commercially in the United States.A farmworker picks mulberries that fell onto nets attached to carts designed to shake trees as part of the harvest season at Habitera Farms in Brentwood, Calif., on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)Habitera’s organi...