Day: January 2, 2025

Mortgage Rates Near Six-Month Peak as Bidenomics Burns Through American Buying Power

Daily Caller News Foundation
Home Buyers

U.S. mortgage rates rose to an almost six-month high toward the end of 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

In the waning days of President Joe Biden’s term, the recent surge in mortgage rates rounds out four years of inflated home prices and high rates that have boxed out many first time home buyers. The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances of $766,550 or less jumped to 6.97% over a one week period ending Dec. 27, 2024, which is up from 6.89% the week prior, resulting in a suppressed volume of mortgage applications, according to a Thursday press release from MBA.

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Tennessee State Sen. Brent Taylor Celebrates Following Resignation of Judge Who ‘Detests’ State Bail System

Tom Pappert
State Senator Brent Taylor, Judge Bill Anderson

Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) celebrated on Thursday after Shelby County General Session Court Bill Anderson announced his resignation, confirming he will leave the judicial bench on March 1.

Anderson was previously the subject of complaints by Taylor to the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct (BJC), initially for declaring his “detest” for the Volunteer State’s bond and bail system, and more recently for releasing a man from jail despite the defendant being accused of firing a gun at a Memphis FedEx facility, citing the defendant’s ability to pay bail, despite Tennessee legislation that specifically prohibits judges from considering the financial circumstances of a suspect.

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Mexico’s Tariff Move on Apparel Imports Disrupts Supply Chains, Pushes Firms Toward Reshoring in the US

Christina Botteri
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum

Just before Christmas, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a significant increase in tariffs on textiles and apparel imports, along with the end of a “border-skipping” practice, which allowed U.S. e-commerce sellers to bypass tariffs on Chinese goods. The move – part of Mexico’s strategy to protect its own domestic textile industry and reduce reliance on Chinese imports – sent ripples through the global supply chain.

“The increased tariffs and cessation of duty-free imports puts apparel brands in a scramble to find alternative fulfillment solutions and consider shifting strategies from nearshoring via Mexico to reshoring their operations in the U.S.,” Ryan Martin, President of Distribution and Fulfillment at ITS Logistics said in a statement. 

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New Orleans Police Chief Admits She ‘Didn’t Know’ City Had Barriers to Stop Vehicles Driving on Sidewalks Before Terrorist Attack

Tom Pappert
NOLA Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick

New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said in a brief Thursday press conference that she was unaware New Orleans had “yellow archer” obstacles designed to prevent vehicles from driving on sidewalks.

Kirkpatrick’s remarks come after video was posted to the social media platform X showing the white Ford truck authorities say was used by terrorist Shasmud Din Jabbar to kill 14 people was able to evade a police vehicle and commit the attack after driving on the sidewalk.

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The United Football League Announces Its 2025 Season

Christina Botteri
UFL Roughnecks

The United Football League (UFL) announced its full 2025 game schedule on Thursday, adding that league’s media partners – FOX, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FOX Deportes, and ESPN Deportes – will broadcast all 43 games.

“We are thrilled to have exceptional partners like FOX and ESPN, who share our passion for celebrating the game and telling our story to a wide audience,” Russ Brandon, UFL President and CEO said in a statement. “With the launch of FOX UFL Friday, we’re excited to invite new fans to experience the incredible talent and heart that our players bring to the field.”

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FBI Silent on Whether Videos Recorded by Terrorist Shamsud Din Jabbar Before New Orleans Attack are ‘Legacy Tokens’ Unfit for Release

Tom Pappert
Shamsud Din Jabbar

The FBI did not immediately respond to a Thursday press inquiry from The Tennessee Star asking whether the agency will release the videos allegedly recorded by Shamsud Din Jabbar, who authorities say committed the January 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans that claimed the lives of at least 14 people.

According to CNN, with the outlet citing law enforcement sources, Jabbar recorded and posted to Facebook a series of videos during his drive from his modular home community the outskirts of Houston, Texas to New Orleans.

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Trump’s Former DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark Has Oral Argument Appealing Recommendation to Suspend His Law License

Rachel Alexander
Jeffery Clark

Oral arguments took place last month in the appeal by Donald Trump’s former Department of Justice Jeffrey Clark over a recommendation suspending his law license for two years due to his efforts advising Trump on 2020 election irregularities. A three-member committee of the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility (BPR) found him culpable on August 1 of violating attorney ethics rules due to drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options in dealing with the irregularities. 

The Washington D.C. Bar’s counsel, Hamilton Fox, who is pressing to disbar Clark as a “threat to democracy,” gave the argument for the bar to eight members of the BPR. Fox referred to the letter Clark drafted as a “false letter,” since the officials above him decided not to send it. One of the attorney members on the BPR responded that attorney ethics rules don’t prohibit attorneys from disagreeing with their superiors.

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Homelessness Spiked 18 Percent in 2024; Migrants Caused Record Rise

The Center Square
Homeless

The number of homeless people in the U.S. reached the highest level recorded in 2024, as more than 770,000 people lived without housing on a single night in January, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual report.

The number is an 18% increase from 2023, fueled in part by the surge of migrants illegally entering the U.S. and residing without housing in sanctuary cities, the report noted.

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Violent Venezuelan Gang Reportedly Attacked Border Crossings as Concerns Mount About More Possible Violence

Daily Caller News Foundation

Tren de Aragua gang members armed with weapons attacked crossings along the Texas-Mexico border, according to an internal memo obtained by the New York Post.

Earlier in December, 20 members of the notorious Venezuelan prison gang attempted to force their way into the country at a border checkpoint near El Paso, Texas, while armed with blades, broken liquor bottles and tire irons, according to a leaked Texas Department of Public Safety memo obtained by the Post. Another attempt to bust into the U.S. is expected on New Year’s Day.

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Commentary: Betting on Homeschooling and Microschooling

Admin
Mother with kids

I have spent the past thirty-five years creating small, highly-personalized schools where students flourish. I have, if you will, bet my life on the value of these schools—microschools before they became a thing. Over the course of that time, I’ve seen hundreds of children who were anxious, depressed—sometimes even suicidal—become happy and well within weeks or months of switching from a large, impersonal public school to a small learning environment which offered a closely-connected community.

Based on that experience, for the past decade I’ve been looking at research showing the various ways in which small, high-touch learning environments may be more beneficial for student mental health than are large, impersonal public schools.

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Tech Giants Secure Work Visas for Tens of Thousands of Foreigners While Kicking Existing Employees to the Curb

Daily Caller News Foundation
Worker at Desk

U.S. tech giants have been sacking employees in droves while simultaneously importing tens of thousands of foreign workers.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft have laid off at least 27,000, 12,000 and 16,000 employees, respectively, since 2022. However, in that same roughly three-year period, the companies have secured at least 61,000 H-1B visas combined for foreign workers, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

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