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Ticker: Average long-term US mortgage rate dips below 7%; Retail sales rise 0.3% in November

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dropped below 7% to its lowest level since early August, another boost for prospective homebuyers who have largely been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 6.95% from 7.03% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.31%.Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loan, edged up this week, lifting the average rate to 6.38% from 6.29% last week. A year ago, it averaged 5.54%, Freddie Mac said.The latest drop in rates is the seventh in as many weeks. Mortgage rates have been easing since late October, when they reached 7.79%, the highest level since late 2000.Retail sales rise 0.3% in NovemberAmericans picked up their spending from October to November unexpectedly as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring the power of sh...

In-house leadership at Convention Center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

Former Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board chair Gloria Cordes Larson will take over running the agency on a temporary basis after its previous executive director left amidst controversy with its board.The MCCA board approved Larson for the interim executive director role during a late-afternoon meeting on Thursday. She will serve in the role for six months, board chair Emme Handy said.Larson’s salary will be “along the same parameters” as past director Gibbons, Handy said. Gibbons made $316,000 in 2022.Larson will have to right the ship after former Executive Director David Gibbons stepped down last month more than a year before his contract was set to end and shortly after a series of apparent missteps. An investigation this fall found the agency fell short on diversity and inclusion efforts, and drama escalated surrounding an allegedly opaque process to choose a developer for a valuable piece of state-owned land in South Boston.Larson is a lawyer who...

Biden hosts four NASA astronauts, the first crew aiming to fly around the moon in a half-century

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

By COLLEEN LONG (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The four astronauts assigned to fly around the moon for the first time in 50 years met with President Joe Biden on Thursday at the White House, where he showed off an moon rock on display in the Oval Office that was collected in the Apollo era. The Artemis II crew — three Americans and one Canadian — said the president was making good on a promise to host them at the White House after they were named to the mission earlier this year. They also met with Vice President Kamala Harris. “It’s been really nice to shake their hands and tell them thank you for their leadership and making it possible for us to have this amazing journey,” said pilot Victor Glover. The four astronauts will be the first to fly NASA’s Orion capsule, launching atop a Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than late 2024. They will not land or even go into lunar orbit, but rather fly around the mo...

Shohei Ohtani reveals dog’s name at Dodgers’ introduction: Decoy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nearly all the mystery around Shohei Ohtani’s unprecedented free agency was revealed over the last week, yet baseball fans kept sniffing around on a most fuzzy question.Just who was the pup sitting on Ohtani’s lap when he was voted AL MVP for the second time last month?Fans speculated the dog’s name could have been a hint at his intentions — What if the pooch was named Dodger? Or Giant? Or Blue Jay?All a Decoy, turns out.Introduced by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday after agreeing to a $700 million, 10-year deal, Ohtani revealed that the brown and white dog who joined him on television last month is named Dekopin or Decopin in Japanese, depending on the transliteration — but he suggests Americans call him Decoy. “I figured it would be hard for American people to pronounce it, so he has an American name,” Ohtani said via translator Ippei Mizuhara.Ohtani didn’t speak to reporters after winning his MVP award, and the dog’s name never...

Former Turkish soccer team president gets permanent ban for punching referee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The former president of a Turkish soccer team who punched a referee on the field moments after a game has been permanently banned by the Turkish Football Federation.The federation late on Thursday said that it banned Faruk Koca, who has resigned as president of MKE Ankaragucu, for punching referee Halil Umut Meler on Monday night.Meler, who was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday with a small fracture near his eye, was attacked shortly after the final whistle of a 1-1 draw between Ankaragucu and Caykur Rizespor in Turkey’s top league.Koca was arrested for causing injury to a public official, and two other people face charges for kicking the referee.The federation had initially suspended all league games in response to the incident before announcing that matches will resume next Tuesday in Turkey, which has been selected to co-host the 2032 European Championship with Italy.Koca’s resignation was announced on Ankaragucu’s website.The federation also s...

Ohtani reveals dog’s name, but won’t discuss Blue Jays or any other team

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

As the Los Angeles Dodgers officially revealed Shohei Ohtani to the public Thursday, the Japanese star refused to discuss any other teams.However, Ohtani did reveal an answer to a question that has been on the minds of baseball fans since he was joined by his furry friend on MLB Network during the 2023 AL MVP announcement.What is the name of his dog?“So his name is Dekopin, that’s a Japanese name,” Ohtani said through translator Ippei Mizuhara. “I figured it’d be hard for American people to pronounce it, so he has an American name. It’s Decoy.”Shohei Ohtani has named his dog Dekopin in Japanese, but he also has an American name: Decoy! ???? Decoy! pic.twitter.com/9CatffBmcf— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 14, 2023Rumours had swirled throughout the off-season that “Decoy’s” name was related to one of the team’s vying for Ohtani’s services.As the sweepstakes unfolded with a reported order fro...

Rocket Lab plans to launch a Japanese satellite from the space company’s complex in New Zealand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — California-based Rocket Lab, which specializes in putting small satellites into orbit, plans to launch a Japanese satellite on Friday from the space company’s complex on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.The mission, named “The Moon God Awakens,” was initially scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed due to forecast strong winds. The Electron rocket is scheduled to launch during a two-hour window that starts at 5 p.m. local time (04:00 GMT), the company said.The rocket will carry a TSUKUYOMI-I satellite into orbit on behalf of a Japanese start-up Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space Inc.The synthetic-aperture radar satellite, named after a Japanese god of the moon, will collect images of the Earth, Rocket Lab said.The mission would be Rocket Lab’s 10th for 2023, exceeding its annual record of nine set last year.It will be the 42nd Electron launch from Mahia or at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, since 2017. Rocket La...

Chicago cousins wrongfully convicted in 1981 homicides exonerated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

CHICAGO — Two Chicago men wrongfully convicted of murder more than 40 years ago will be home with their families for the holiday season.Jimmy Soto's wife says the ruling is a long time coming. "We're grateful to the judge," she told reporters in the Cook County Criminal Courts Building lobby. Family questions CPD’s response after Midway Airport worker shot, killed Soto, along with David Ayala, were wrongly arrested and later convicted in 1981 in connection with two Chicago murders. Under coerced testimony, both were convicted, with Soto being the shooter and Ayalya, a gang leader who allegedly ordered the hits. The Exoneration Project took up their cases and proved corruption."Both of them are absolutely innocent and it’s a tragedy. They have served 42 years...over 42 years wrongfully that they will never get that back," said Lauren Myerscough-Mueller with the Exoneration Project.Ayala was 18 at the time of the arrest. Soto was 20. Soto's sister, Pilar More, was eight when h...

Mayor says Elk Grove Village police officers used Taser before deadly shooting: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — The mayor of Elk Grove Village said police officers tried to defuse a response that resulted in the death of a 24-year-old man. The Daily News-Herald reports that Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson spoke at a village board meeting on Tuesday, saying that officers tried to use a Taser to disarm James Murray on Dec. 1. Police said Murray was armed with a knife amid their response to the 200 block of Fern Drive. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Family of Elk Grove Village man shot, killed by police seek answersLethal force was only used once Murray advanced toward officers with a knife, officials added.In the days following the deadly shooting, Murray's family retained the law services of Romanucci & Blandin. Through a statement, family members raised questions about the shooting, saying that the Elk Grove Village Police Department knew of Murray from previous encounters. Murray had called village police in the past, seeking help if he felt his health and wellne...

What's Mayor Brandon Johnson's safety plan for Chicago?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:52:14 GMT

CHICAGO -- Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled his long-awaited community safety plan on Thursday with some proposals that sound similar to previous mayors' commitments.The mayor insists his efforts to invest in at-risk kids and re-invest in neighborhoods hard hit by violence are different because they'll be led by community leaders. Mayor Brandon Johnson faces rising pressure to address migrant crisis following failed Brighton Park site The focus would be on the causes of violence in the city and Mayor Johnson said Chicago has placed too much responsibility on policing.He hopes Violence Interrupter Specialists will help to defuse violence before it happens and more outreach workers to help with breakdowns in mental health and more. City Council rejects ruling on police discipline, approves contract extension Executives with BMO Commercial Bank and other business leaders are reportedly looking to back the new effort, including $100 million investment.For more, watch WGN-TV Julian Cre...