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Ticker: US home sales fall again; Jobless applications at 8-month low

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the third month in a row in August, as higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a dearth of properties on the market shut out many would-be homebuyers.Existing home sales fell 0.7% last month from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.04 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s below the 4.10 million pace that economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Sales slumped 15.3% compared with the same month last year and are down 21% through the first eight months of the year versus the same stretch in 2022.Meanwhile, the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.19% from 7.18% last  week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.29%.The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now more than double what it was two years ago, when it was just 2.88%.Jobless applications at 8-month lowU.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest leve...

Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

Rupert Murdoch, the powerful and controversial mogul who helped transform the modern media landscape over seven decades, is stepping down as chairman of his two family-controlled companies Fox Corp. and News Corp.Murdoch, 92, who will be succeeded by his son Lachlan, announced his decision in a note sent to employees Thursday.“I am writing to let you all know that I have decided to transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus at Fox and News,” the mogul said. “For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. But the time is right for me to take on different roles.”Murdoch played a key role in Boston media history when he stepped in and bought the Hearst-owned Herald American as it foundered on the brink of collapse in 1982. He renamed the paper the Boston Herald and transformed it into a brash and feisty tabloid it remains today.Murdoch’s News Corp. also bought the then-named WXNE (25) in 1986, changed its call letters to WFXT,...

Bottle stop: Healey orders state agencies to stop buying single-use plastic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Maura Healey made Massachusetts the first state to declare it will no longer purchase single use plastic bottles.Ahead of an executive order signing ceremony held Thursday morning at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters alongside Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, and Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Tom O’Shea, Healey told an audience of environmental workers and activists the order was an easy step to take toward tackling an enormous problem.The order, Healey said, “is one of the most immediate and tangible ways we make a difference right now.”“We know that single-use plastics are among the biggest threats to our environment, our climate goals, and public health,” the governor said. “They are made of fossil fuels, they produce and emit greenhouse gasses, and as waste we know the damage they do. Anyone looking around, we can see what turns up in our streams, our ...

Boston College and Louisville have a new look at quarterback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

For the last three seasons, BC coach Jeff Hafley schemed up his defense against the Louisville Cardinals to contain one big threat.Louisville’s Malik Cunningham was the ACC’s uber dual threat quarterback forged from the same mold as his predecessor, Lamar Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens.Louisville first-year head coach Jeff Brohm will field a different kind of signal caller when the unbeaten Cardinals (3-0) host the BC Eagles (1-2) on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium.Louisville’s Jack Plummer is a 6-5, 215-pound, senior transfer who posted impressive passing numbers in his previous stops at Purdue and California. Plummer is more of a stay-at-home pocket passer and less of a threat to run like Cunningham and Jackson.“He is an experienced guy and he’s had at least two years of throwing for 3,000 yards and he looks very comfortable and can manage the game,” said Hafley. “He’s throws a lot of explosiv...

House of Commons ‘dropped the ball’ on rushing Liberal bail-reform bill, Senate hears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

OTTAWA — The Liberal government’s representative in the Senate encouraged the Upper Chamber to pass its bail-reform bill “expeditiously” Thursday, while acknowledging the picture of what bail looks like in Canada is incomplete. Sen. Marc Gold confirmed during a debate that the bail-reform package will be studied by a Senate committee, after the House of Commons gave unanimous consent Monday to pass the bill without study by MPs.The legislation was ultimately referred to the Senate’s legal affairs committee Thursday afternoon, but not before many senators voiced concerns about the potential effects of the bill — and the fact members of Parliament declined to study it. Prince Edward Island Sen. Percy Downe said that MPs “dropped the ball” in rushing the changes through the House of Commons without further scrutiny.He said that leaves the Senate having to start from “ground zero” in its review of the legislation. The speedy passage of the...

Prada explores lightness with windswept translucent chiffon for next summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Prada achieved a state of unbearable lightness in a series of translucent chiffon dresses that gently cosseted the form, trailed by wispy strands of the finest organza. Designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons aptly dubbed the series of ethereal, windswept dresses previewed during Milan Fashion Week on Thursday as “Haze.” They never altered shape, only the shades of muted pastels shifted. They were paired with bright satin mules, either flats or with small triangular heels.As they did during menswear in June, models walked past a wall of clear, oozing slime, which pooled, then drained down an industrial grate runway, this season in peach. Miuccia Prada said there was a thematic link.“The whole thing started from lightness,’’ Prada told reporters backstage. “We wanted to do a really light, light, light show. Usually, we … tend to do heavy. It was a challenge to do light.”Simons said it took the pair the full three years of their collaboration to date to figure ...

Nick Chubb’s injury underscores running backs’ pleas for bigger contracts and teams’ fears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

Nick Chubb’s injury underscores why running backs want better contracts and why NFL teams are reluctant to pay them.Chubb’s season ended abruptly when he suffered the devastating knee injury that was too gruesome for replay in Cleveland’s loss to Pittsburgh on Monday night. The four-time Pro Bowl pick faces a long, arduous road to recovery with no guaranteed money coming his way beyond the $10.85 million he’s making this season.Chubb will be attempting his second comeback from a significant injury to the same knee at age 28 with a non-guaranteed salary of $12.2 million due in 2024. The Browns would assume a $4 million dead cap hit if they release him next year, according to Spotrac.com.Running backs have been arguing for bigger contracts and more guaranteed money in recent years because they’re underpaid in comparison to their peers. Only kickers and punters had a lower franchise tag than running backs ($10.1 million) in 2023. The franchise tag represents the average of the top five...

Departure of Murdoch as Fox leader comes as conservative media landscape is increasingly fractured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The departure of Rupert Murdoch as the leader of Fox’s parent company and his News Corp. media holdings after decades at the helm is unlikely to have as much of an impact on conservative media overall as it would have a decade ago.That’s because the landscape in general is increasingly fractured, experts said. With a growing number of digital media sources available to them, right-leaning audiences have plenty of options for getting news, opinion and entertainment.“I think if Rupert Murdoch had stepped down in 2000 it would have had a much greater impact,” said Howard Polskin, whose website The Righting.com monitors conservative media. “The conservative media landscape is just much more diverse now.”Fox News’ website had nearly 74.8 million viewers in July 2023, while the No. 2 most visited site, The Washington Examiner, had just 7.5 million and No. 3, The Epoch Times, had 6.2 million, according to TheRighting.com.But people are turning more a...

Toronto’s 2023 CNE records highest attendance in 25 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) says this year’s annual event saw the highest attendance in 25 years.The CNE has confirmed its final attendance of more than 1.6 million visitors for the 144th edition from Aug. 18 to Sept. 4., surpassing the record of 1.601 million set in 2015.The fair’s CEO says last year’s impressive attendance of 1.56 million was primarily a result of an increase in demand following two years off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.“…We attributed the impressive attendance in part to pent-up demand following the pandemic; however, this year is validation that the CNE remains steadfast as one of the most enduring, resilient, and beloved annual events that continues to evolve and resonate with people across generations,” says Darrell Brown, CNE CEO.“Despite inflation and challenging economic times for many, we want to thank our patrons for coming out to enjoy the fair. The CNE is an important tradition for so...

After a lull, asylum-seekers adapt to US immigration changes and again overwhelm border agents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:51 GMT

JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — A group of migrants from China surrendered to a Border Patrol agent in remote Southern California as gusts of wind drowned the hum of high-voltage power lines, joining others from Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere in a desert campsite with shelters made from tree branches.Their arrival Wednesday was another sign that agents have become overwhelmed in recent days by asylum-seekers on parts of the U.S. border with Mexico. In tiny Eagle Pass, Texas, nearly 6,000 migrants crossed from Mexico in to the U.S. in two days, prompting authorities to close one of the town’s two official border crossings so those agents could instead help with the influx. Border crossings have closed recently for similar reasons in San Diego and El Paso, Texas.After a dip in illegal crossings that followed new asylum restrictions in May, President Joe Biden’s administration is again on its heels. Democratic mayors and governors are seeking more relief for hosting a...