COLUMBIA, S.C. — A sporting goods chain is paying the families of three people shot to death by a South Carolina serial killer $2.5 million after one of its stores sold guns to a straw buyer who gave them to the killer, a felon who couldn't legally buy the weapons....
Average US Mortgage Rate Slides to Lowest Level Since Late September
LOS ANGELES — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the fifth week in a row, more good news for prospective homebuyers grappling with an increasingly unaffordable housing market. The latest decline brought the average rate on a 30-year mortgage down to 7.22% from 7.29% last week, mortgage buyer...
Thousands of Fake Facebook Accounts Shut Down by Meta Were Primed to Polarize Voters Ahead of 2024
WASHINGTON — Someone in China created thousands of fake social media accounts designed to appear to be from Americans and used them to spread polarizing political content in an apparent effort to divide the U.S. ahead of next year's elections, Meta said Thursday. The network of nearly 4,800 fake accounts was attempting...
Russia’s Supreme Court Effectively Outlaws LGBTQ+ Activism in a Landmark Ruling
TALLINN, Estonia — Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism on Thursday, the most drastic step against advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in the increasingly conservative country. Ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry, the court labeled what the suit called the LGBTQ+ “movement”...
UN Weather Agency Says 2023 Is the Hottest Year on Record, Warns of Further Climate Extremes Ahead
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.N. weather agency said Thursday that 2023 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record, and warning of worrying trends that suggest increasing floods, wildfires, glacier melt, and heat waves in the future. The World Meteorological Organization also warned that the...
Blinken Urges Israel to Comply With International Law and Spare Civilians in War Against Hamas
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday stepped up calls for Israel to comply with international law and spare civilians as it wages its war against Hamas in Gaza. Blinken's Middle East Visit On his third trip to the Middle East since the war began on Oct. 7, Blinken said...
In Profane Rant, Musk Blasts Advertisers Fleeing X Over Hate Speech
NEW YORK — Billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that advertisers who have halted spending on his social media platform X in response to antisemitic and other hateful material are engaging in “blackmail” and, using a profanity, essentially told them to go away. “Don't advertise,” Musk said. “Go f--- yourself,” he...
Data Shows Price Pressures Continuing to Cool as High Interest Rates Bite
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure cooled last month, the latest sign that price pressures are waning in the face of high interest rates and moderating economic growth. Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said prices were unchanged from September to October, down from a 0.4% rise the previous...
Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State Under Presidents Nixon and Ford, Dies at 100
WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He was 100. With his gruff yet commanding presence and behind-the-scenes...
Truce in Gaza Extended Another Day but Talks Over Remaining Hostages Held by Hamas Could Get Tougher
JERUSALEM — Israel and Hamas agreed at the last minute Thursday to extend their cease-fire in Gaza by another day. But any further renewal of the deal that has seen dozens of hostages and prisoners released could prove more daunting since Hamas is expected to set a higher price for many...