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Future homebuyer in the dark needs light at the end of the tunnel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

Question: We are ready to buy a house. A remodeled home is out of the question. It is too costly. Besides, we want to fix up the house. We will do some repairs. Regarding specialties, we will hire appropriate licensed contractors. The loan officer shared his thoughts on buying an older home without upgrades the day after our approval. It was odd timing. He knew our plans. The loan officer involved is discouraging purchasing a home needing remodeling. Last night, he emailed, “It is not a good idea.” Then he added, “A remodeled home in an established neighborhood would sail through the escrow process.”After a month of paperwork to get home loan approval, the loan officer is suddenly persuading us to change our plans. Please educate us. Why is the loan officer promoting a “turnkey” home purchase? What did he fail to tell us about purchasing a home, specifically to choose a do-it-yourself project as owner-contractors?Answer: This is a lesson for home sellers, successor trustees and prob...

Stephens: Antisemitism is the hate that doesn’t know its own name

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

When historian Deborah Lipstadt defeated a libel suit brought against her in a British court by Holocaust denier David Irving in April 2000, it was almost possible to imagine that antisemitism might someday become a thing of the past, at least in much of the West. Taking a trip to Israel was not an ideologically fraught choice. Wearing a Star of David was not a personally risky one. College campuses did not feel hostile to Jewish students. Synagogues (at least in the United States) did not have police officers stationed outside their doors.Not anymore.The Anti-Defamation League recorded 751 antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2013. There were 3,697 in 2022. There was a nearly 400% increase in the two weeks after the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7 compared with the year before. Last week, “Jewish students specifically were warned not to enter MIT’s front entrance due to a risk to their physical safety,” according to a public letter from Jewish students there. In Montreal, a Jewis...

Horoscopes Nov. 18, 2023: Chloe Sevigny, set a good example

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Damon Wayans Jr., 41; Chloe Sevigny, 49; Owen Wilson, 55; Oscar Nunez, 65.Happy Birthday: Pick up the pace and tidy up loose ends. The world is yours to discover, and you will find new possibilities through travel, educational pursuits and communication. Be open to suggestions and embrace change with open arms, and you’ll discover something that brings you joy. Don’t limit what you can achieve because you prefer to work alone. Set a good example, and you will gain respect, help and support when necessary. Your numbers are 3, 9, 20, 24, 33, 38, 45.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Speak up. Don’t hesitate to point out anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Pay attention to how you look and present yourself to the world. A little primping will lead to compliments and erase insecurities that can hold you back. Love and relationships are favored. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Keep your emotions in check. Don’t give anyone the upper ...

‘The church is a trusted place’: Prince George’s Co. churches host community gun buyback event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

Two mega-churches in Prince George’s County, Maryland, had the idea that people may be more comfortable handing their guns over in their place of worship.On Saturday, Zion Church and First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro held a gun buyback event in partnership with Prince George’s County Police.“It really is a partnership to help galvanize our work in coming together to help make the community safer in working in partnership with the police,” said Madye Henson-McCannon, Zion Church’s chief external engagements and impact officer. “The church is a trusted place for many people to come. And with that we wanted to allow ourselves to be really that venue to help get guns off of the street.”Henson-McCannon said this has been a partnership since 2016 and, in the last two years, the churches have been able to collect over 425 guns and gifted more than $52,000 to the community.In exchange for each gun, participants receive cash card gifts depending on the type of gun. Shotguns...

Muere una fan de Taylor Swift antes del concierto en Río de Janeiro, informa la cantante

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

(CNN) — Una fan de Taylor Swift murió el viernes por la noche antes del show Eras Tour en Río de Janeiro, Brasil, dijo la cantante en Instagram.“No puedo creer que esté escribiendo estas palabras, pero es con el corazón destrozado que digo que perdimos a una fan esta noche temprano antes de mi show”, dijo Swift. “Ni siquiera puedo decirles lo devastada que estoy por esto. Tengo muy poca información, aparte del hecho de que era increíblemente guapa y demasiado joven”.El viernes fue el primer concierto de Swift en Río de Janeiro, que está experimentando altas temperaturas, según el Instituto Nacional de Meteorología de Brasil.“No voy a poder hablar de esto desde el escenario porque me siento abrumada por el dolor cuando siquiera intento hablar de ello”, dijo Swift. “Quiero decir ahora que siento profundamente esta pérdida y que mi corazón roto está con su familia y amigos. Esto es lo último que pensé que pasaría cuando decidimos traer es...

La caída de los precios puede sonar bien, pero la deflación puede ser peligrosa. Esta es la razón

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

(CNN) — Tras más de dos años de subidas rápidas de precios, los descuentos en algunas tiendas se sienten como un respiro muy necesario.Pero los líderes empresariales, economistas y magnates de la inversión no son tan optimistas al respecto.La inversora en tecnología Cathie Wood, fundadora de ARK Investment Management, declaró a The Wall Street Journal en un artículo publicado el miércoles que está más preocupada por la deflación, cuando los precios caen, que por la inflación. “Cada vez vemos más signos” de la deflación, dijo.La caída de los precios de materias primas como el cobre y la madera “afectó negativamente” a los beneficios de Home Depot en el tercer trimestre, dijo el CEO Ted Decker a los inversores en la llamada de resultados de la empresa a principios de esta semana.“Por ejemplo, la media de la madera de construcción era de unos US$ 420 por cada 1.000 pies tablares, frente a los US$ 545 del tercer trimestre de 2022, lo que representa un...

The Final Drive: A look at the closing weeks of Pac-12 football

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

The final football season for the Pac-12 with its current membership is coming to a thrilling conclusion.Four teams still have hopes of advancing to the conference title game in Las Vegas on Dec. 1, while Washington and Oregon still have hopes of getting the Pac-12 its first College Football Playoff berth since 2016.Even though there is plenty of excitement on the field, there remain some who are sad about the breakup of the conference, along with the end of traditional rivalries The Associated Press is taking a look at the final weeks through the eyes of players, coaches, broadcasters and longtime fans.Erickson: “It’s sad, and I think it’s ridiculous, to be very honest”As the former coach at both Oregon State and Washington State, Dennis Erickson has strong feelings about the demise of the Pac-12 as we know it.“To me it’s sad, and I think it’s ridiculous, to be very honest. This whole move is about money. We’ve got all these school presidents talking about being togethe...

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsburg dominates first-ever NWSL Skills Challenge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

With the sun setting in San Diego, California, on Nov. 10, Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury had enough of the shenanigans.At the first-ever Skills Challenge event by the National Women’s Soccer League, Kingsbury watched as event ‘officials’ lost count of the score to help the opposing Western conference team catch up during the crossbar event.As soon as the opposition officially tied the proceedings, Kingsbury called the game: launching an over-40-yard blast toward the goal post. Once the ball clanged off the post and smacked the pitch, the rest of the Eastern Conference team erupted into celebration around the goalkeeper.“I came to win, so that was very gratifying,” Kingsbury said. “Especially after they lost count, so I was like, ‘OK, I’ll show them. Time to end this right now.'”The Spirit’s captain was the star of the Skills Challenge, stopping three of four shooters in the shootout challenge before capping ...

Las Vegas Grand Prix offer of a $200 discount doesn’t go far

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas Grand Prix officials took steps to mend relations with Formula One fans who were angered or disappointed about not getting what they paid for Thursday night by offering those with single-event tickets a $200 discount at the official gift shop.Two problems.The offer doesn’t apply to the majority of fans who purchased three-day passes. And the $200 gesture doesn’t go far — at all.There are a number of ways, though, to take advantage of the $200.Someone could spend it all on one item, such as a quarter-zip racing team pullover, but that doesn’t cover the roughly 8% Nevada sales tax. For a little more bang for the buck, consider a $160 racing team sweatshirt and a $40 Las Vegas Grand Prix baseball cap, though again the tax would be on the consumer.The merchandise tent is split into the more expensive team merch on the right side and the bargain-bin-by-comparison general Las Vegas Grand Prix items on the left.So to make $200 go the furthest, c...

Una estación de esquí italiana cerrada por el cambio climático planea reabrir con nieve artificial. No todo el mundo está contento

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:44 GMT

(CNN) — Pocas cosas hacen mejor los italianos que soñar a lo grande contra viento y marea. Por ejemplo, el plan multimillonario que se lleva preparando desde los años 90 para construir el puente colgante más largo del mundo sobre el estrecho de Mesina, en el corazón de la tierra de la mafia. O la existencia misma de la ciudad de Venecia, construida sobre un sistema de lagunas que ahora está mejor protegido de los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos gracias a unas compuertas mecánicas que tardaron más de 20 años en realizarse.Ahora, los planes para construir unas instalaciones de esquí multimillonarias en una montaña sin nieve del norte de Italia pueden resultar igual de desafiantes.Se trata del monte San Primo, un precioso promontorio de 1.682 metros de altitud desde el que se divisa gran parte del paisaje del extremo norte del lago de Como. La pintoresca ciudad empedrada de Bellagio, en su base, es conocida como la “perla” del lago por su belleza, que ha atraído a c...