Mortgage rates in the U.S. hit their highest level in a year on Thursday as renewed tensions in the Middle East and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision this week fanned inflation concerns. The rate on a conventional 30-year mortgage averaged 6.66% in the week ending July 30, the highest level since July 2025, according to…
Every major European national soccer team threatened Thursday to collectively boycott competitions organized by global soccer’s nonprofit governing body FIFA over plans by the federation to sell off a minority stake in the World Cup tournament to private investors. A source close to Joshua Kushner’s company, Thrive Capital, dismissed criticism over the firm’s involvement in…
European football’s governing body UEFA said on Thursday it would boycott the World Cup should FIFA press ahead with its private investor plan. “No UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been…
Washington — President Trump on Thursday said he has “no objection” to withdrawing Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general until Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina leave office in January, as their concerns have effectively placed Blanche’s nomination process on hold. Cornyn in particular has demanded that the Justice…
Ege-Cap Ferret, France — French authorities gave the go-ahead Thursday for 84,000 evacuees forced out by a monster wildfire to go back to their homes in southwest France, the strongest sign yet that firefighters are turning a corner in their battle against the flames that have burned an area four times the size of Paris. The…
More airlines are banning humanoid and pet-like robots from boarding flights or traveling in passengers’ checked luggage, citing potential safety concerns. Although humanoid robots remain rare outside the laboratory and even the factory floor, numerous companies are developing the technology, with robot evangelists such as Elon Musk predicting that they will eventually become common. Earlier…
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it is leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged, a sign policymakers expect inflation to ebb despite higher energy costs due to the war in Iran. This marks the fifth consecutive time the central bank has held rates steady this year. The last time Fed officials voted to change…
Two firefighters died Wednesday while battling a blaze on the Greek island of Crete, officials said, while crews in southern France worked to extinguish a massive, uncontained wildfire that had spread to roughly four times the size of Paris. Across Europe, firefighters confronted a dangerous combination of high temperatures, drought and powerful winds, compromising containment…
The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its July meeting on Wednesday, but rising oil prices have prompted investors to sharply increase their bets that a fresh rate hike could come later this year. At the start of the year, many economists expected at least one rate cut in 2026. But…
More than 10 million people were under flood alerts across the northeastern United States on Wednesday, as a storm system that brought tornadoes to parts of the Midwest earlier in the week moves into New England. The National Weather Service issued flood watches for large chunks of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont that…
