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Average long-term US mortgage rate jumps to 7.23% this week to highest level since June 2001

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed further above 7% this week to its highest level since 2001, another blow to would-be homebuyers grappling with rising home prices and a stubbornly low supply of properties on the market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan climbed to 7.23% from 7.09% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.55%.It’s the fifth consecutive weekly increase for the average rate, which is now at its highest level since early June 2001, when it averaged 7.24%. High rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already unaffordable to many Americans. They also discourage homeowners who locked in low rates two years ago from selling.Mortgage rates have been rising along with the 10-year Treasury yield, used by lenders to price rates on mortgages and other loans. The yield has been climbing as bond traders react t...

Novak Djokovic’s US Open return will come against someone who’s never played a match there

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic’s return to the U.S. Open after missing it last year because he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19 will come against an opponent who never has played in the tournament, while defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff were drawn Thursday into a possible quarterfinal matchup.Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, the 2022 men’s champion at Flushing Meadows, and No. 6 seed Jannik Sinner could meet in the men’s quarterfinals again. That was the round in which Alcaraz’s thrilling five-set victory over rival Sinner last year ended at 2:50 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history. Instead of a public draw ceremony, the U.S. Tennis Association has set up its women’s and men’s singles brackets behind closed doors in recent years and did so again Thursday, when The Associated Press was invited to have a reporter present in a room at Arthur Ashe Stadium as an observer.Play in the final Grand Slam event of the se...

Prigozhin’s purported demise seems intended to send a clear message to potential Kremlin foes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

When Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his armed rebellion that challenged the Kremlin, Western officials predicted Russian President Vladimir Putin would seek vengeance against the mercenary leader.Two months to the day after the action that Putin labeled a “stab in the back” and “treason,” those forecasts seem to have come true, in ruthless and menacing fashion.Although authorities have not yet confirmed the deaths of Prigozhin and his top lieutenants from the Wagner private military contractor in Wednesday’s plane crash northwest of Moscow, it sent an immediate chill through Russian official circles.Even amid the uncertainty, the message was clear: Anyone who dares to cross the Kremlin will perish.But even as the crash worked to restore an image of Kremlin authority that was badly crippled by the Prigozhin mutiny, it also sowed confusion and anger among Russian hard-liners, heralding perhaps other challenges to Putin as the war in Ukraine marked its 18th month.Many see the events ...

Iran and Saudi Arabia are among 6 nations set to join China and Russia in the BRICS economic bloc

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Iran and Saudi Arabia were among six countries invited Thursday to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies in a move that showed signs of strengthening a China-Russia coalition as tensions with the West spiral higher.The United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia were also set to enter BRICS from Jan. 1, 2024, joining current members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to make an 11-nation bloc.The announcement came after two days of talks at a summit in Johannesburg involving Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in the discussions virtually after his travel to the summit was complicated by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against him over the war in Ukraine.Putin welcomed the six countries by video link. He did not mention Wednesday’s plane crash th...

No. 5 LSU to play without defensive tackle Maason Smith against No. 8 Florida State, AP source says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

LSU defensive tackle Maason Smith’s long-awaited return from a major knee injury last season will be delayed by one game because of a suspension that will sideline him for the No. 5 Tigers’ opener against No. 8 Florida State on Sept. 3, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.The NCAA suspended Smith in connection with his participation in an autograph signing shortly before a rule change in July 2021 allowed college players to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL), the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Smith’s discipline, first reported by The (Baton Rouge) Advocate, has not yet been made public by the NCAA or LSU.Smith cooperated with the NCAA’s investigation, the person said.Smith was injured in LSU’s 2022 season opener against Florida State in New Orleans. The former five-star recruit tore his left anterior cruciate ligament when he landed awkwardly after leaping in celebration of a teammate’s tack...

San Francisco’s music scene in the 1960s and ’70s takes center stage in an MGM+ docuseries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Janis Joplin’s first rehearsal with the rock band Big Brother & The Holding Company was apparently a loud affair. So loud it was alarming.Bassist Peter Albin recalls the band raising the roof off one day in the 1960s when their playing was interrupted by a knock at the door. Two San Francisco police officers were investigating reports of a woman screaming.“Oh, that’s just Janis. It’s OK,” came the reply.That fun nugget — as well as rare footage of the actual rehearsal — enliven “San Francisco Sounds: A Place in Time,” a two-part documentary on MGM+ that concludes Sunday. The first part dropped Aug. 20.The late Joplin is joined by an astonishing number of great artists who came to define the city — the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, The Great Society, Steve Miller,Carlos Santana, Moby Grape, and Country Joe & The Fish, all mixing rock, folk and the blues.Viewers get a street-level view of the rise of the San Fran...

Reports: Jerry Jeudy injured during joint practice with Los Angeles Rams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was injured at practice Thursday morning in Denver, according to reports.The practice is being held jointly with the Los Angeles Rams.According to a tweet from ESPN's Adam Schefter, trainers needed to help Jeudy off the field with "an apparent hamstring injury." FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The full extent of the injury is not known at this point. FOX31 is working to learn what was happening in the practice when Jeudy was injured.This is a breaking story. More updates will be added as they become available.

Fire causing black smoke to pour out of Sheraton Hotel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Heavy black smoke was pouring out of the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel after a diesel fire.FOX31 cameras captured black smoke coming from the roof of a downtown hotel. According to the Denver Fire Department, they are on scene of a fire at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel located at 1550 Court Place. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Denver Fire said a rooftop boiler was overfilled with diesel and the excess was burning off producing that dark smoke.At this time, no injuries have been reported.Denver Fire said smoke will be coming from the roof on and off for the next hour while they monitor the burn. FOX31 has a crew on the way to learn more.

US intelligence assessment determines intentionally caused explosion killed Wagner chief Prigozhin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment has found that the plane crash presumed to have killed Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was intentionally caused by an explosion, according to U.S. and Western officials.One of the officials, who were not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the explosion fell in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.”The officials did not offer any details of what caused the explosion that was believed to have killed Prigozhin and several of his lieutenants to avenge a mutiny that challenged the Russian leader’s authority.Details of the U.S. assessment surfaced as Putin on Thursday expressed his condolences to the families of those who were reported to be aboard the jet and referred to “serious mistakes.”THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his top lieutenants were presumed dead in ...

BSO searching for suspect in arson case at Oakland Park Church

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:47 GMT

The Broward Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Unit is on the lookout for an individual captured on surveillance video, setting fire to the front doors of the Power Outreach Ministry in Oakland Park.Authorities reported that on Monday, Aug. 14, at approximately 1:41 a.m., Broward County Regional Communications received an alert about a fire at 2600 N.W. 21st Ave. BSO deputies and Oakland Park Fire Rescue responded to the scene and contained the blaze. Further investigation by firefighters uncovered signs suggesting the fire at the church was intentionally set, as confirmed by the Oakland Park City Fire Marshal.The surveillance footage shows an unidentified person entering the property’s parking area with a gas can. The suspect is then seen pouring liquid on the front doors before igniting a paper towel and using it to set the entrance ablaze. The fire caused more than $1,000 in damage.The individual fled west on Northwest 26th Street. If anyone has information about the per...