Breaking News

Business

Average US rate on a 30-year mortgage dips to 6.65% after rising for 2 weeks

(AP) — The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. fell slightly this week, a welcome reversal for homebuyers in what’s traditionally the housing market’s busiest time of the year. The rate fell to 6.65% from 6.67% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.79%. This is the first decline in the average rate after rising two weeks in a row. The average rate has trended lower since mid-January, when it climbed to just over 7% — a relief for house hunters struggling to afford a home after years of soaring prices. Borrowing costs ...

Los Angeles sheriff’s department to retest 4,000 DNA samples after using faulty kits for 8 months

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said this week it will retest 4,000 DNA samples and open an internal investigation after learning that it used potentially flawed test kits for eight months. Sheriff’s officials said Wednesday that a test kit manufacturer sent a letter in August warning the department to stop using certain kits that were prone to giving incomplete results. However, the letter was received by a civilian employee who didn’t discard the kits or send them back, according to a department statement. The department used the flawed kits ...

What is Signal, the chat app used by US officials to share attack plans?

LONDON (AP) — A magazine journalist’s account of being added to a group chat of U.S. national security officials coordinating plans for airstrikes has raised questions about how highly sensitive information is supposed to be handled. Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg detailed a ...

US consumer confidence tumbles for the 4th straight month as future expectations hit a 12-year low

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month as Americans’ anxiety about their financial futures declined to a 12-year low amid rising concern over tariffs and inflation. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9. Analysts were expecting a decline to a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet. The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2. It is the lowest ...