Refinance demand is now half what it was a year ago, as mortgage rates rise again

CNBC - Oct 7, 2026

Mortgage rates rose to the highest level in nearly three years, causing demand for both refinancing and homebuying to decline even further.

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Cornell brings in ex-Justice official to review school's handling of sex assault claims
Oct 7, 2026
Cornell brings in ex-Justice official to review school's handling of sex assault claims

ITHACA, N.Y. — A former high-ranking Department of Justice official will look at how Cornell handles sexual misconduct complaints, university trustees announced Tuesday as they tried to address an outpouring of anger over allegations of a 2024 gang rape at a fraternity house. Sally Yates, who was a deputy attorney general in the Obama administration, will spearhead the review, the trustees said in an announcement. The assessment is to include how the Ivy League university investigates reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment, what support students get, how the disciplinary process works, campus police responses and oversight of fraternities, sororities and other student organizations. The announcement comes after days of outrage and demonstrations over Cornell’s response to a complaint from a woman known publicly only as Jane Doe, who told campus police in November 2024 that she had been sexually assaulted by multiple Chi Phi fraternity brothers the month before after being pressured into drinking and taking drugs. No criminal charges have been filed. The Chi Phi chapter at C

The world has nearly burned through its oil stockpile buffer, executives say
Oct 7, 2026
The world has nearly burned through its oil stockpile buffer, executives say

LONDON — The amount of oil in storage that is accessible to the global market is running low, industry executives said at a forum in London this week, making the market more fragile and putting upward pressure on prices. Governments and energy companies have drawn oil from stockpiles to alleviate pressure in a global oil market facing unprecedented supply disruptions this year due to the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. "Less than 6 billion barrels of commercial inventories remain today, with the vast majority not practically available, so the system is already straining," Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Arabia's state oil company Saudi Aramco, said at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London. More than 1 billion barrels of oil have been released mainly from onshore commercial inventories since the start of this year's Middle East crisis, which was the last major tool in the box, Nasser said. The International Energy Agency, the West's oil watchdog and coordinator of its strategic oil reserves, is preparing to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel to help alleviate soaring diese

French riot police fire tear gas as more than 250,000 rally nationwide for school funding
Oct 7, 2026
French riot police fire tear gas as more than 250,000 rally nationwide for school funding

PARIS — Police fired tear gas to control crowds in Paris and elsewhere in France on Tuesday as more than a quarter of a million people rallied nationwide to support school pupils demanding more education funding, according to government figures. The protests increased pressure on the administration of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. As pupils again blockaded high schools, large crowds waving flags and placards gathered in Marseille, Strasbourg and other cities. The demonstrations showed how protests that began at a high school in the Paris region in mid-September have grown into a nationwide movement — the latest of many that have marked Macron’s nearly decade-long tenure. “We need to listen to them,” said Léa Monimart, a demonstrator in the northern city of Lille. “They are 17 years old; they are not completely clueless, and they know what they are talking about. It’s important to show that there are adults who support them.” The Interior Ministry estimated that 256,000 people took part in demonstrations across the country on Tuesday, including 56,000 in Paris, whe

Californians blast Trump remark that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles, San Diego
Oct 7, 2026
Californians blast Trump remark that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles, San Diego

LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump suggested to a crowd of his supporters in Nebraska that Iran could "take out" a major U.S. city like Los Angeles or San Diego, drawing a swift rebuke from California's Democratic leaders and some fellow Republicans. Trump, speaking at a political rally in the state's farm belt on Monday, discussed American wartime economic sacrifices and said he was determined to "see a tremendous victory, because it verifies all the things we did." "And again, remember, with the war, it's just artificial, it's a little bit high, it's a small price to pay," he told the crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, apparently referring to rising prices of fuel, fertilizer and other products attributed to energy market disruptions from the war. "It's a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let 'em take out Los Angeles, let 'em take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it's going to be over with very soon," he said. "It's essentially almost over with," Trump went on. "But it's going to end very soon

Ukraine says S. Korea exports eased Russia fuel crisis caused by drone strikes
Oct 7, 2026
Ukraine says S. Korea exports eased Russia fuel crisis caused by drone strikes

LONDON/SEOUL —Russia imported more than 176,000 tons of petroleum products from South Korean ports in July and August, easing the impact of a fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, Ukraine's top sanctions official said on Tuesday. The supplies from South Korea made up 31 percent of Russian fuel imports in August, according to the official, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, citing what he said were reports that tankers, including ones under Western sanctions, were used for the deliveries. "These shipments began precisely when Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries were reducing processing volumes and creating a fuel shortage within Russia," Vlasiuk, presidential commissioner for Ukrainian sanctions policy, wrote on Facebook. His comments come amid a diplomatic row between Seoul and Kyiv that erupted last month when President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea, a step that Seoul says was meant to stay secret. Ukraine has used long-range drones to attack Russian oil refineries and depots this year in what

Ukraine fires nearly 900 drones at Russia as Kyiv braces for expected huge aerial attack
Oct 7, 2026
Ukraine fires nearly 900 drones at Russia as Kyiv braces for expected huge aerial attack

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian air defenses intercepted nearly 900 Ukrainian drones overnight over multiple regions of the country, as well as the occupied Crimean Peninsula and the Sea of Azov, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Tuesday. Unconfirmed media reports said a major fuel depot in the Moscow region was on fire after the attack that killed two people. Ukraine’s domestically developed long-range drones and, increasingly, missiles have allowed Kyiv to hit Russian soil during the more than 4 ½ years since Moscow’s forces launched a full-scale invasion. It has hit targets as far east as the Urals and Siberia. The bigger Russian military’s air superiority during the war has made aerial attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine routine. Ukrainian officials are now bracing for what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Tuesday is an upcoming “massive” aerial attack by Russia. “Today, we received updated intelligence on Russia’s preparations for a massive strike. We are preparing countermeasures,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “We set deadlines for a significant part of the ta

Wall Street rallies toward an all-time high
Oct 7, 2026
Wall Street rallies toward an all-time high

NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market is closing in on an all-time high on Tuesday. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent and is on track to finish the day above its record closing level set in August. Even with worries about war , high inflation and cranked-up pressure from the bond market continuing to weigh on it, the backbone of many 401(k) accounts has soared nearly 24 percent since hitting a bottom in late March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 343 points, or 0.7 percent, as of noon Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was adding 0.8 percent to its own all-time high set the day before. The record-high stock prices are helping investors feel better about their finances, or at least less bad, when Americans are generally feeling more discouraged about keeping up with the fast-rising cost of living. Many of the fears that sent the U.S. stock market to its bottom in March, sparked by the war with Iran , have indeed come true. Oil prices have jumped, which has made inflation worse. That in turn helped send yields higher in bond markets worldwide, which is threatening to slow the eco

What do we know about plague institute lab worker's death in Russia?
Oct 7, 2026
What do we know about plague institute lab worker's death in Russia?

MOSCOW/LONDON — A laboratory worker at a plague research institute in Siberia fell ill and died in undisclosed circumstances on October 2, prompting authorities to quarantine about 200 people and causing public health fears on social media. Here's what we know about the case, which officials have not linked to her work or plague, and about the disease she studied. What happened? Russian media named the victim as Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East. The authorities said she died of an unknown type of pneumonia but that as a precaution they quarantined everyone who had come into contact with her. Unconfirmed reports of how she fell ill have circulated on social media. One version said she had dropped a test tube containing live bacteria at work, a theory rejected by Russia's health watchdog. Another said she became sick after travelling to Thailand. A third said she fell ill after going to an area near the border with Mongolia. There is no evidence in the public domain to support any of those theories. Did

Trump orders firing squad for gunman who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas
Oct 7, 2026
Trump orders firing squad for gunman who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has ordered the use of a firing squad to execute the former U.S. Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in a 2009 shooting spree the gunman later described as retaliation for U.S. wars in the Muslim world, the Pentagon said on Monday. Putting former U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan to death by Army firing squad was approved by Trump at the recommendation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on X. Parnell noted that Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" — God is greatest in Arabic — during the attack, which killed 12 unarmed active-duty soldiers and a retired serviceman, and wounded 32 others. The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution, Parnell said, adding, "Judgment day for Hasan has finally come." Death by firing squad was one of several forms of capital punishment the Trump administration recently added to permissible forms of execution for the gravest of federal crimes, along with electrocution and gas asphyxiation. The number of federal execution options was expanded in

In interview, US Vice President Vance says Iran must cut enrichment to end war
Oct 7, 2026
In interview, US Vice President Vance says Iran must cut enrichment to end war

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — US Vice President JD Vance said in an exclusive interview with Reuters that Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the countries’ seven-month war, even as Washington was unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations. Vance, a longtime skeptic of US involvement in foreign wars, has taken a leading role in negotiating a settlement to the conflict and brokered a provisional peace agreement in September that quickly fell apart. The war has jolted global energy markets and become a political liability for President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans ahead of November midterm elections. Speaking on Monday after a campaign trip in Alaska, Vance said any agreement would require Iran to reduce its nuclear enrichment capacity, rather than offer assurances of future nuclear drawdowns. "If you don't want a nuclear weapon, then why do you need 60% enriched fuel? And if you want to show commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, don't build highly enriched fuel. That's a very basic threshold issue," V

Trump to speak to Putin on plague as US, UN urge transparency
Oct 7, 2026
Trump to speak to Putin on plague as US, UN urge transparency

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would speak very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the reported plague death of a laboratory technician, as Washington and the United Nations called for transparency from Moscow. Russian authorities denied that they were imposing anti-plague measures and played down the reports of an incident at a plague research institute in Siberia's Irkutsk region last week. But Washington is showing growing concern, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on Russia to be open about the situation. The World Health Organization issued a similar appeal Tuesday. "We encourage Russia to be transparent and share more information with the world so that all of us could react accordingly and appropriately," Rubio said during a trip to Iceland. Trump later said he would be speaking to Putin about what happened. "I have a call scheduled, yes," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he had spoken to Putin on the issue yet, adding that it would happen "very soon." Asked what US intelligence agencies were saying about the situa

California couple arrested on child abuse charges in horrifying surrogacy probe
Oct 7, 2026
California couple arrested on child abuse charges in horrifying surrogacy probe

LOS ANGELES — An extremely wealthy Chinese immigrant and his wife amassed a brood of 21 children through a surrogacy scheme and raised them in a “house of horrors,” prosecutors alleged Tuesday. Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested at their sprawling mansion in Arcadia, a city about 13 miles (20 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The children suffered daily beatings from cruel nannies as the couple watched over a network of surveillance cameras and laughed, according to prosecutors. The couple allegedly recruited women across the country to serve as surrogates, promising them that they were just looking for another child to grow their family. The couple face several counts of child abuse as well as conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact and dissuading a witness, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. “This case is unprecedented. It is horrific,” he said during a morning news conference. “The physical abuse, beating and punishment that these very young children received is despicable.” In an afternoon c

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