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Mortgage rates top 7%, reaching highest level in two decades

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

Mortgage rates climbed above 7% this week to their highest level since 2002, throwing more cold water on the Bay Area housing market as buyers face soaring monthly home loan payments that are thousands of dollars more than a few years ago.The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.09% as of Thursday, up from 6.96% last week, Freddie Mac reported. That’s an increase from 5.13% a year ago and more than double the historic-low 2.86% average rate this time in 2021.A 30-year fixed “jumbo” home loan — which is common for more expensive homes — averaged 7.65% on Thursday, according to Bankrate.com. In the Bay Area, a jumbo loan is a mortgage that exceeds $1,089,200.Mortgage rates have been on an upward trajectory since last spring when the Federal Reserve began raising the cost of borrowing in a bid to slow inflation. Rates briefly topped 7% percent in November, before falling to around 6% in February. They’ve trended up since then.Related ArticlesReal Estate | ...

Two drunk US tourists ‘trapped’ overnight up the Eiffel Tower

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

By Joseph Ataman | CNNParis — Two American men were discovered on Monday after spending a drunken night up the Eiffel Tower, the monument’s management told CNN on Wednesday.The two men, who had Sunday evening tickets for Paris’ famous iron tower, were “allegedly trapped there due to their excessive alcohol consumption,” the Paris prosecutor’s office told CNN.The tourists were found asleep early on Monday morning by Eiffel Tower security staff doing their rounds ahead of the monument’s opening, according to the prosecutor’s office and SETE (Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel), the operator that runs the site.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Early morning dogwalker dies in freak accident near her California home Crime and Public Safety | Sailboat stays stuck at Stinson Beach as owner works to remove it Crime and Public Safety | 13 Canada geese die after landing in La Brea Tar Pits; 2 are recovering Crime and Public Safety ...

Could Buster Posey really be a future SF Giants manager? Here’s why it’s impossible now — and unlikely later

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

Buster Posey’s plans to return to the Bay Area may have stirred up some speculation about managing the Giants down the line, but don’t count on No. 28 returning to the dugout.Posey recently told The Athletic that his family is moving back to the Bay Area, having packed up his home in Georgia earlier this month after moving there in 2022.Posey, 36, said the Bay Area truly felt like home: Posey and his wife Kristen’s two sets of twins were born during Posey’s career in San Francisco, one set born in 2011 and another adopted in 2020.His move will allow the former catcher to watch the Giants more often and see team’s new wave of players, led by Patrick Bailey at his old position.But the move has also led to some speculation: Could this be a sign that Posey wants to manage? 95.7 The Game’s “Morning Roast” hosts Bonta Hill and Joe “Butcher Boy” Shasky seem to think so.Could Buster Posey be in line to manage the #SFGiants?https://t.co/kxGHU5kO0Yhttps://t.co/r6XYJ5UyOV pic.twitt...

Intuit executive Alex Chriss to become president and CEO of PayPal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

Intuit executive Alex Chriss will become the president and CEO of digital payments company PayPal next month.Chriss will take over the CEO post from Dan Schulman, who told PayPal’s board in February that he planned to retire at the end of the year. Schulman will stay on PayPal’s board until its next annual shareholders meeting in May 2024.In January PayPal announced that it would cut about 7% of its total workforce, or about 2,000 full-time workers, due to challenging macro-economic conditions.Related ArticlesBusiness | Uptown Market launches in downtown Oakland Business | Magid: Backing up is not hard to do Business | San Jose office building wobbles into default — again Business | Tech companies, bank chop hundreds of Bay Area jobs in fresh layoffs Business | Google will activate downtown San Jose village sites ahead of project Chriss, who has worked at Intuit for 19 years, has served as executiv...

Antioch police officers arrested by FBI, mayor says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The hammer finally dropped on Bay Area law enforcement officers who were arrested by FBI agents Thursday morning in connection to an 18-month investigation."Today is a dark day in our city’s history, as people trusted to uphold the law, allegedly breached that trust and were arrested by the FBI. Today's actions are the beginning of the end of a long and arduous process. Today’s arrests are demonstrative of the issues that have plagued the Antioch Police Department for decades," Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe told KRON4. The FBI's raid reportedly targeted several Antioch and Pittsburg police department officers. U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Tripp will hold a news conference at 3:30 p.m. at the federal courthouse in San Francisco to release more details on the raid. KRON4.com will be streaming the news conference live. A sweeping 18-month investigation began in early 2022 as a narrow probe into officers who allegedly cheated on...

Over 6,000 flavored vape cartridges seized at San Mateo smoke shop

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

(KRON) -- Over 6,000 flavored vape cartridges were confiscated at a San Mateo smoke shop during a random compliance check, according to the San Mateo Police Department. Officers performed a random compliance check at the store -- the Magic Theater Smoke Shop -- at 3:33 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Starbucks no longer offering disposable cups at these North Bay locations During the compliance check at the store, which is located on 2206 South El Camino Real, officers with the SMPD Youth Services Unit witnessed a store employee sell flavored tobacco to a customer, police said. California voters passed SB793 last November, banning the sale of flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, e-liquids, pods, and any other vape device.Photo: SMPDPhoto: SMPDPhoto: SMPDAn investigation of the store revealed 6,298 flavored vape cartridges, valued at around $189,000, according to police. The cartridges were seized, but the investigation remains ongoing.The San Mateo Police Department is co...

SFO already accepting digital driver's licenses ahead of wider rollout

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

Ever been denied a drink because you forgot your driver's license at home? Well, those days may be over.California is continuing its rollout of mobile driver's licenses, and the public can sign up to have their identification card downloaded onto their phone.The free app works on both iOS and Android devices, and users can register remotely by scanning their license through the DMV's wallet app. San Francisco city officials ask for pause in robotaxi expansion The program is currently in its pilot phase, though some locations — including security checkpoints at SFO and SJC — already accept the mobile driver's license (aka mDL) as a valid form of identification. Photo: DMVIt's important, however, to continue to carry a physical driver's license for locations that don't yet accept the digital version, officials said. To see a list of participating airports, visit the Transportation Security Administration's website.

Gang member arrested for drive-by shooting in San Pablo

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

(KRON) -- A man was arrested following a drive-by shooting on Monday, according to the San Pablo Police Department.At 12:10 p.m., officers responded to the 1300 block of 23rd Street after receiving a report of a drive-by shooting. Video of the incident was captured by multiple surveillance cameras. A group of four people are seen walking on the sidewalk as the suspect car drives past them and makes a U-turn up ahead. The car drives back, this time in the opposite direction, and fires two rounds at the victims while shouting out a gang expletive, SPPD said. Photo: SPPDThe victims take cover behind a parked car as the suspect car drives away. One of the rounds struck the parked car that the victims were hiding behind, Detective Brian Biama said. The other round struck through the living room of a nearby residence. Photo: SPPDPhoto: SPPDNo injuries were reported during the shooting, police said.San Pablo Public Safety cameras were used to identify the suspect, Guillermo Santizo, 21, of...

In Trump’s Georgia Indictment, a Tale of Two Election Workers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

President Joe Biden awards the Presidential Citizens Medal to Fulton County, Georgia, election worker Ruby Freeman in the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2023.Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty ImagesRuby Freeman and Misty Hampton had a few things in common. They were both from Georgia, and both were election workers in their hometowns. But their paths sharply diverged when Donald Trump began to push his fraudulent claims that he had won the 2020 presidential election and pressured officials in key swing states, including Georgia, to illegally change the outcome.As part of their unrelenting pressure on Georgia officials in the weeks after the November 2020 election, Trump and his allies launched a vicious campaign of harassment against Freeman, ginning up crazy conspiracy theories about her and falsely accusing her of altering the vote count in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, where she served as a temporary election worker. Trump’s supporters even tried to trick Fr...

Former F1 driver Massa claims conspiracy and says he is ‘rightful’ 2008 champion not Hamilton

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Formula One driver Felipe Massa has accused auto racing’s governing body of conspiring to prevent him from winning the 2008 title, and the Brazilian claimed he is the “rightful” champion.Massa, who was the runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 season, made his claim in a letter sent to the FIA in the first step of a legal battle to take place in Britain.A member of Massa’s management team told The Associated Press the letter was also sent to Formula One Management, alleging the two bodies failed to act after learning that same year that Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr. had deliberately crashed at the Singapore Grand Prix to help then-teammate Fernando Alonso win the race.The crash caused a safety car to come in with Massa in the lead and squandered his advantage. A calamitous pit stop at the Ferrari boxes soon after cost the Brazilian the race, where he finished 13th.McLaren’s Hamilton finished third in Singapore. The British driver went ...