General World News

Osaka, Nadal Both Out for Wimbledon; She’ll Go to Olympics

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Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal are sitting out Wimbledon, leaving the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament without two of the sport’s biggest stars as it returns after being canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid, wrote Thursday in an email that the four-time Grand Slam champion does plan to head […]

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The 19 best true crime books, from the investigation of the Golden State Killer to a Truman Capote classic

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  Summary List Placement True crime — nonfiction accounts of real crimes — is a quickly growing genre in nearly all forms of media, from podcasts to documentaries. Nonfiction true crime books in particular often offer more details that not only give readers information about notable crimes but can garner greater empathy for victims, shed […]

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Harvard Extension School is Harvard’s online school for career advancement — here’s everything you need to know before enrolling

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 Table of Contents: Masthead StickySummary List Placement If you’re looking to advance your career and need further education to do it, you’ve probably run into Harvard Extension School. It offers a wide range of graduate programs and certificates in such subjects as sustainability, creative writing, and back-end web development.  Like Harvard Divinity School, HES is […]

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New home sales fall due to low inventory and high prices

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Mortgage applications for new home purchases fell 9% month-over-month in May at a seasonally unadjusted pace ― the second consecutive month sales of new homes have dropped, according to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Compared to May of last year, MBA’s Builder Application Survey (BAS) revealed purchases are down 5.9%. On a […]

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Bernie Sanders is drafting a $6 trillion infrastructure package, which Senate Democrats are considering passing without the GOP

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Summary List Placement Sen. Bernie Sanders, chair of the Senate Budget Committee, drafted a $6 trillion infrastructure package that Senate Democrats are considering approving without GOP support, per two people familiar with the matter. The sources, who described it as an early blueprint, were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The figure […]

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Mortgage rates continue their fall, to 2.93%

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The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell three basis points from the week prior to 2.93%, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac‘s PMMS. This marks the first time in over two months mortgage rates have fluctuated outside a five basis point range above or below 3%. “Mortgage rates continued to drift down as markets concur with […]

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US weekly jobless claims rise to 412,000, snapping 6 straight weeks of declines

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Summary List Placement Filings for unemployment insurance increased last week, indicating new snags in the labor market’s recovery. Weekly jobless claims came in at an unadjusted 412,000 last week, according to the Labor Department. The median estimate from economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 370,000 claims. The reading snaps six straight weeks of declines that […]

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Rafael Nadal Pulls Out of Wimbledon, Tokyo Olympics

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Spain’s Rafael Nadal will not play at Wimbledon or at the Tokyo Olympics, saying Thursday he has decided to skip the two tournaments after “listening” to his body. Nadal, who reached the French Open semifinals this month but lost to Novak Djokovic, won the title at Wimbledon twice. He also won the Olympic gold medal […]

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Democrats are weighing moving immigration reform to help finance Biden’s infrastructure plans without GOP support

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Summary List Placement Democrats are weighing tucking immigration reform into a large infrastructure package using reconciliation this summer, a step that could significantly expand the scope of a Democratic-only package. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said that Democrats were interested in fully financing Biden’s $4 trillion infrastructure plans instead of deficit-spending, meaning the cost of […]

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10 Democrats and 10 Republicans sign onto bipartisan infrastructure deal, but nobody knows what’s in it

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Summary List Placement A group of ten Republican and ten Democratic Senators announced on Wednesday that they supported a bipartisan proposal for the infrastructure spending package. Sens. Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Chris Coons, Lindsey Graham, Maggie Hassan, John Hickenlooper, Mark Kelly, Angus King, Joe Manchin, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Mitt Romney, Mike Rounds, […]

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Fannie Mae, and the housing market’s inflation problem

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Another month of steadily increasing home prices and insatiable demand led Fannie Mae‘s Economic and Strategic Research Group to alter many of its 2021 predictions – in particular, its outlook on the symbiotic relationship between the housing market and inflation measures. While the housing research group believes current inflation acceleration could be considered transitory, price […]

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Secretary Cardona Holds Virtual Roundtable with Early Childhood Stakeholders to Discuss Priorities for Early Learning

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Today, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona held a virtual roundtable conversation with a diverse group of early childhood stakeholders and leaders who bring perspective from the experiences of early educators, families, and communities during the public health emergency. Today’s conversation will help inform the Department’s early learning priorities. Topics that the early childhood stakeholders discussed included the early educator workforce, childcare and pre-K, early intervention and early childhood special education […]

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America’s 50 richest families saw their wealth increase 10 times faster than the average US family during the pandemic

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Summary List Placement Dynastic wealth is growing — and it’s growing faster than the average American family’s wealth. Ten times faster, to be exact. That’s according to a new report from the left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies titled “Silver Spoon Oligarchs,” which examined the growing concentration of wealth in the US. It found that America’s […]

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Republicans don’t want to overhaul the economy as Biden’s infrastructure plans draw strong public support

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Summary List Placement Republicans are holding strong on their opposition to President Joe Biden’s proposed spending to aggressively combat climate change, along with social investments already on the table. They have long resisted expanding the definition of infrastructure beyond physical items like roads, bridges, and highways. An emerging $1 trillion infrastructure framework that’s being drafted […]

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Biden’s Education Secretary may have opened the door to further delay in student loan payments past October

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Summary List Placement As one of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden extended the pause on student-loan payments through September to give borrowers financial relief during the pandemic. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of extending the pause even further. “We are continuing conversations about if that’s the best […]

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U.S. Department of Education Confirms Title IX Protects Students from Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

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The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights today issued a Notice of Interpretationexplaining that it will enforce Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex to include: (1) discrimination based on sexual orientation; and (2) discrimination based on gender identity. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the […]

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A possible cyberattack forced a Massachusetts college to shut down its campus and cancel classes

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Summary List Placement A possible cyberattack at The University of Massachusetts Lowell forced school officials to close the campus and cancel classes. According to WCVB, officials at the state school first discovered the possible cyberattack on Tuesday, causing them to cancel classes Wednesday. “UMass Lowell continues to retain control over its IT infrastructure and is […]

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Biden’s Education Department just cancelled $500 million of student debt for 18,000 defrauded borrowers

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Summary List Placement As one of his first actions as Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona cancelled student debt for about 72,000 borrowers defrauded by for-profit schools. On Wednesday, 18,000 more got student-debt relief. The Education Department announced in a press release that it had approved 18,000 borrower defense to repayment claims for borrowers who attended ITT […]

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El Salvador’s ‘stupid’ decision to adopt bitcoin as legal tender could collapse the economy, economist Steve Hanke said

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Summary List Placement El Salvador’s move to classify bitcoin as legal currency has the potential to completely collapse its economy, Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, said in a Kitco News interview on Tuesday.  After describing President Nayib Bukele and members of government who voted to pass the bitcoin law as […]

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Department of Education Announces Approval of New Categories of Borrower Defense Claims Totaling $500 Million in Loan Relief to 18,000 Borrowers

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The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced today the approval of 18,000 borrower defense to repayment (borrower defense) claims for individuals who attended ITT Technical Institute (ITT). These borrowers will receive 100 percent loan discharges, resulting in approximately $500 million in relief. This brings total loan cancellation under borrower defense by the Biden-Harris Administration to […]

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Mortgage applications increase as 30-year rate falls

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After three straight weeks of declines, mortgage applications increased 4.2% for the week ending June 11, 2021, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Both purchase and refinance applications increased, with refinances notably up 5.5%, according to Joel Kan, the MBA’s vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “The jump in refinances […]

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Chicken wing prices could keep rising — and pizzas might also get more expensive thanks to rising ingredient costs, a restaurant owner said

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Summary List Placement Pizza joints may soon have to raise their prices to cope with soaring ingredient costs, a New Jersey restaurant owner said. The restaurant industry is currently paying more for some ingredients because of supply-chain problems and falling production — and a shortage of workers is forcing them to push up wages, too. […]

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3 secrets that America’s richest family dynasties use to hang onto their money, from a report on their breakaway wealth during the pandemic

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Summary List Placement America’s richest family dynasties had a lucrative pandemic year. The top 10 richest saw their net worths grew by a median 25%, while family dynasties’ wealth grew at a rate 10 times greater than that of a typical family, according to a new report from the left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). […]

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Why female leadership is crucial to the mortgage industry

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Women in brokerage aren’t common, but Rocket Pro TPO aims to change that. By integrating programs that enhance inclusivity, the company encourages female leadership. HousingWire recently spoke with Keri Stichler, Divisional Vice President at Rocket Pro TPO, about why female leadership is crucial in the mortgage industry and how companies can advocate for inclusivity. HousingWire: […]

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Sprout Mortgage taps Wells Fargo veteran to lead retail

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Non-QM lender Sprout Mortgage is setting up a distributed retail operation, and it’s picked a veteran of Wells Fargo to lead the new division. Sprout hired former Wells Fargo executive Michael Johnson to expand Sprout’s consumer and retail sales channel, the company said Tuesday. Johnson, who most recently led the depository bank’s Southeast division, will […]

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A bipartisan Senate group wants to fund an IRS crackdown on ‘tax cheats’ in nascent infrastructure proposal

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Summary List Placement As bipartisan infrastructure talks plod on, funneling money to beef up IRS enforcement looks like it’ll be sticking around. Sen. Angus King, an independent of Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, told Insider on Tuesday that deciding what pay-fors make it into the final package is difficult — but suggested that funding […]

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Cornerstone Home Lending to acquire Roscoe State Bank

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Houston-based nonbank mortgage lender Cornerstone Home Lending is buying Roscoe State Bank, a traditional depository bank headquartered in Roscoe, Texas. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and it’s unclear when the deal will close. The prospective merger – relatively rare for a nonbank mortgage lender – […]

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Slashing unemployment benefits isn’t just a terrible economic idea — it’s a cruel gut punch for millions of Americans

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Summary List Placement At least half of US states will soon put a halt to benefits that many unemployed or underemployed workers have relied upon to keep their heads above water financially through the pandemic.  More than two dozen Republican governors have announced that their states would soon begin to opt out of federal pandemic […]

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Biden’s Education Dept. just laid out its priorities for student-loan relief — they’re vague

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Summary List Placement From fighting the climate crisis to strengthening protections against racial discrimination, President Joe Biden’s regulatory agenda released on Friday covers a lot of ground. Significantly, unlike his budget, it even mentions student-loan forgiveness. But for borrowers waiting for clarity on what will happen to their debt loads, the details are scanty. The […]

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Chicken wings prices have shot up 99% because farms can’t get enough workers, a Buffalo, New York, restaurant owner said

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Summary List Placement Chicken wings are getting much more expensive because farms are struggling to hire staff during a national labor shortage, a Buffalo, New York, restaurant owner told Fox Business Monday. “The chicken wing farms in America, they’re having trouble retaining and recruiting employees,” Greg Duell, the co-owner of a Duff’s Famous Wings restaurant […]