It’s Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil made his prediction on what the weather will be like for the next six weeks. Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow — presaging early springlike weather. The expert groundhog made his annual winter weather forecast Friday at Gobbler’s Knob In Punxsutawney‚ Pennsylvania‚ the scene of the country’s largest and most well-known Groundhog Day celebration. Members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “Inner Circle‚” with roots in the...

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank in 2023 to a nearly 30-year low‚ as sharply higher mortgage rates‚ rising prices and a persistently low level of homes on the market combined to push homeownership out of reach for many Americans. The National Association of Realtors said Friday that existing U.S. home sales totaled 4.09 million last year‚ an 18.7% decline from 2022. That is the weakest year for home sales since 1995 and the biggest annual decline since 2007‚ the start of the...

WWE co-founder Vince McMahon is under federal investigation over the allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking against him‚ according to a report Prosecutors in New York have been in touch with alleged victims of McMahon’s sexual misconduct‚ people familiar with the investigation told the Wall Street Journal. McMahon resigned last week from the WWE after former employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing her and trafficking her to other men inside...

U.S. job growth unexpectedly surged in January‚ underscoring the resilience of the labor market even in the face of high interest rates and stubborn inflation. Employers added 353‚000 jobs in January‚ the Labor Department said in its monthly payroll report released Friday‚ easily topping the 180‚000 gain forecast by Refinitiv economists. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%. Wage growth also accelerated last month‚ with average hourly earnings – a key measure of inflation –...

Former President Donald Trump said Friday if he is reelected in November‚ he would not appoint Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve‚ Bloomberg reports. "No‚ I wouldn't‚" Trump responded to a reporter's question about keeping Powell in the position. "I think he's going to do something to help the Democrats‚ if he lowers interest rates‚" Trump said. As to why the stock market is booming when President Joe Biden gets poor marks on the economy in polls‚ Trump said the...

More than 800 serving officials in the US and Europe have signed a statement warning that their own governments' policies on the Israel-Gaza war could amount to "grave violations of international law". The "transatlantic statement"‚ a copy of which was passed to the BBC‚ says their administrations risk being complicit in "one of the worst human catastrophes of this century" but that their expert advice has been sidelined. It is the latest sign of significant levels of dissent within the...

Nevada is doing things differently this election season‚ and not necessarily for the better. Former President Donald Trump and his former US ambassador to the United Nations‚ Nikki Haley‚ are competing in Nevada as the last two major candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination. But‚ confusingly‚ they’ll do so on two separate days — and in two entirely different types of contests. Haley will appear on the state’s primary ballot on February 6‚ and Trump will...

Two events in Washington‚ D.C.‚ this week made clear how bad crime has gotten in the nation’s capital‚ and how badly the D.C. government has responded to it. On Monday‚ Mike Gill was waiting in his car outside his wife’s office in downtown D.C. to pick her up when a man entered his vehicle and shot him. The assailant fled‚ attempted two more carjackings in D.C. later that night (the second succeeded)‚ and died in a standoff with police early the next morning in Maryland (after...

Tesla is recalling nearly all of the electric vehicles it has sold in the U.S. over problems with warning lights‚ its biggest recall to date and the latest in a series of setbacks for the automaker. “Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read‚ increasing the risk of a crash‚” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The recall affects as many as 2.19 million vehicles sold between...

A group of close to 700 government officials in the U.S.‚ Britain and major European countries ― as well as European Union institutions ― has signed a letter urging Western countries to reconsider their policy of near-total support for Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza. The letter‚ released Friday‚ urges those governments to use all possible leverage‚ including potentially cutting off military support for Israel‚ to secure a cease-fire in Gaza that will increase aid for Palestinians and...