By Elle Reeve, Samantha Guff and Deborah Brunswick, CNN It felt like Covid-19 was closing in around us during the five days in August this CNN crew spent in Carter County, Missouri. In Van Buren, the county’s biggest town, we were sitting next to a 16-year-old when she got a text that masks would be
Continue ReadingBy Elle Reeve, Samantha Guff and Deborah Brunswick, CNN It felt like Covid-19 was closing in around us during the five days in August this CNN crew spent in Carter County, Missouri. In Van Buren, the county’s biggest town, we were sitting next to a 16-year-old when she got a text that masks would be
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By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Soaring home prices and rents are fueling real estate companies’ appetite for houses, adding unwelcome competition for many would-be homebuyers. Residential real estate bought by companies or institutions hit an all-time high of 67,943 properties in the second quarter. That’s according to Redfin, a Seattle-based
Continue ReadingBy Kara Fox, CNN The Taliban announced the formation of an interim government for Afghanistan this week, with a hardline group of veteran militants at the helm. Notably absent from Tuesday’s announcement were women — and the post for the Ministry of Women appears to have been scrapped all together under the new regime. Despite
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By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to campaign for California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the final days of a recall campaign. Biden will join the Democratic governor in the Southern California city of Long Beach on Monday. Voting ends Tuesday. Biden is the latest in a string
Continue Reading WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term mortgage rates were marginally higher this week as the recovering economy appeared stalled against the backdrop of a wave of new delta variant coronavirus cases. They remained under 3%. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year mortgage edged up to 2.88% from 2.87% last week. The
Continue Reading WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term mortgage rates were marginally higher this week as the recovering economy appeared stalled against the backdrop of a wave of new delta variant coronavirus cases. They remained under 3%. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for a 30-year mortgage edged up to 2.88% from 2.87% last week. The
Continue Reading By MICHAEL BALSAMO and PAUL WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department is suing Texas over a new state law that bans most abortions, arguing that it was enacted “in open defiance of the Constitution.” The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Texas, asks a federal judge to declare that the
Continue Reading By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that Florida’s new “anti-riot” law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as a way to quell violent protests is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. The decision Thursday by U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee found the recently
Continue Reading The Associated Press Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities, and foreign exchange levels.
Continue Reading By BEN FOX Associated Press NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (AP) — President Joe Biden turned the page on one legacy of 9/11 when he ended the war in Afghanistan, but he has yet to do much about another: the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The White House says it intends to shutter the notorious prison
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By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal and state lawyers will meet next week to negotiate a settlement for money that North Dakota claims it spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. North Dakota filed a lawsuit two years ago seeking to recover more than $38 million in damages from
Continue Reading By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal and state lawyers will meet next week to negotiate a settlement for money that North Dakota claims it spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. North Dakota filed a lawsuit two years ago seeking to recover more than $38 million in damages from
Continue Reading LAFAYETTE, Calif. (AP) — A volunteer crossing guard at a middle school in the San Francisco Bay Area pushed children from the path of a vehicle that ended up striking and killing him. Ashley Dias is being hailed as a hero after he saved a group of children leaving Stanley Middle School in Lafayette from
Continue ReadingBy Lauren M. Johnson, CNN For 10 days, Gary Crane stood outside of his wife’s ICU room holding a simple reminder of his love for her. Donna Crane, 56, of Port Orange, Florida, told CNN she tested positive for Covid-19 just two weeks before becoming fully vaccinated, and about 10 days later she found herself
Continue Reading By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal and state lawyers will meet next week to negotiate a settlement for money that North Dakota claims it spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. North Dakota filed a lawsuit two years ago seeking to recover more than $38 million in damages from
Continue Reading By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials have delayed a high-stakes decision on whether to permit bestselling vaping brand Juul to stay on the market. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of thousands of other, lesser-known electronic cigarettes and related products. Parents, politicians and
Continue Reading By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials have delayed a high-stakes decision on whether to permit bestselling vaping brand Juul to stay on the market. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of thousands of other, lesser-known electronic cigarettes and related products. Parents, politicians and
Continue Reading NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — An investment fund manager from Philadelphia has admitted orchestrating a $100 million securities fraud scheme. Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say Brenda Smith faces up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine when she is sentenced Jan. 20. She pleaded guilty Thursday to a securities fraud count. Prosecutors
Continue Reading By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Police say a man suspected of killing a family of four and setting their Houston home on fire fatally shot himself as officers tried to arrest him. Firefighters discovered the bodies of a man and woman and two children Sunday morning after extinguishing a blaze at
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