WASHINGTON — High mortgage rates and rising prices continued to put a damper on the spring homebuying season last month. Existing home sales fell 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million in April from a revised 4.22 million in March, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday....
Stenhouse Fined $75,000 by NASCAR, Busch Avoids Penalty for Post All-Star Race Fight
CONCORD — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 by NASCAR on Wednesday for fighting with Kyle Busch after the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Stenhouse's father, who joined the fracas, was suspended indefinitely. The $75,000 fine was the largest ever handed down by NASCAR for fighting. Busch was not...
Senate Confirms 200th Federal Judge Under Biden as Democrats Surpass Trump’s Pace
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the 200th federal judge of President Joe Biden's tenure, about a month earlier than when Donald Trump hit that mark in his term, though Trump still holds the edge when it comes to the most impactful confirmations — those to the Supreme Court and the...
Graceland Foreclosure Sale Halted as Presley Estate’s Lawsuit Moves Forward
MEMPHIS — A judge on Wednesday said Elvis Presley's estate could be successful in arguing that a company's attempt to auction Graceland is fraudulent as he halted a foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction. Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued a temporary injunction against the proposed auction that...
Anonymous Gifts Are Common. But a Climate Group Says a $10 Million Gift It Got Is an All-Out Mystery
On a Friday morning in April, Dan Stein, the founder of Giving Green, a climate philanthropy organization, found some big news in a surprising email. An anonymous donor had given his fund $10 million. “I didn’t quite process the number of zeroes,” Stein said, adding he was “tickled, awestruck, surprised”...
Use of Wegovy and Other Weight-Loss Drugs Soars Among Kids and Young Adults
At 17, Israel McKenzie was so burdened by obesity that he stopped going to high school in person and was embarrassed to speak to people at his restaurant job. “I was in a really dark place,” says McKenzie, whose weight had climbed to 335 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame, despite...
Reparations Proposals for Black Californians Advance to State Assembly
SACRAMENTO — The California Senate advanced a set of ambitious reparations proposals Tuesday, including legislation that would create an agency to help Black families research their family lineage and confirm their eligibility for any future restitution passed by the state. Lawmakers also passed bills to create a fund for reparations...
Ex-Employee Kills 2, Injures 3 in Suburban Philadelphia Linen Company Shooting
CHESTER, Pa. — A former employee armed with a handgun opened fire early Wednesday at a linen company in a Philadelphia suburb, killing two people and wounding three others, police said. The shooting at Delaware County Linen in Chester occurred around 8:30 a.m., and the shooter fled the scene in...
Daily Marijuana Use Outpaces Daily Drinking in the US, a New Study Says
Millions of people in the U.S. report using marijuana daily or nearly every day, according to an analysis of national survey data, and those people now outnumber those who say they are daily or nearly-daily drinkers of alcohol. Alcohol is still more widely used, but 2022 was the first time...
Spain, Ireland, Norway to Recognize Palestinian State: Why Does It Matters?
Spain, Ireland and Norway said Wednesday that they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, a step toward a long-held Palestinian aspiration that came amid international outrage over the civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip following Israel’s offensive. The almost simultaneous decisions by two European Union countries, and...