News From Around the Web
#10 Simply Unaffordable! Mortgage Demand Increased 13% From Last Week, But Still Down 8% From Last Year (Home Prices UP 33% Under Biden, Mortgage Rates UP 146%!) - Confounded Interest
Housing is simply unaffordable for millions of Americans. Home prices are up 33% under Biden’s Reign of Error, while mortgage rates are up 146% under Vacation Joe. Somehow, I doubt if Biden will brag about home prices and mortgage rates in his State of the Union address. On the mortgage side, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 9.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 12 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 11 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 13 percent compared with the previous week and was 8 percent lower than the same week one year ago...
#9 Insurance Giant Fidelity Hit By Data Breach — Thousands of Customers May Have Had Data Stolen - Sead Fadilpašić for Tech Radar
Sensitive information belonging to tens of thousands of Fidelity Investments Life Insurance customers was stolen, reportedly thanks to a supply chain attack that happened in 2023. The insurance giant has filed a data breach notification with the Maine attorney general’s office in which it stated that 28,268 of its customers had their private data leaked after a data breach at Infosys McCamish Systems LLC - a US subsidiary of Indian tech services giant Infosys. The breach, which happened in November 2023, resulted in the theft of people’s names, Social Security numbers, states of residence, bank accounts and routing numbers, or credit/debit card numbers in combination with access codes, passwords, and PINs for the account, and dates of birth...
#8 Healthcare Providers Hit by Frozen Payments in Ransomware Outage - Reuters
Healthcare providers across the United States are struggling to get paid following the week-long ransomware outage at a key tech unit of UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N), which opens a new tab, with some smaller providers saying they are already running low on cash. Large hospital chains are also locked out of processing payments, with some absorbing the upfront costs of being unable to collect, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA), which represents nearly 5,000 hospitals, healthcare systems, networks, and other providers...#7 Blaze Media Releases Never-Before-Seen Video of Steve Baker in US Capitol on Jan. 6; Baker, Others Blast Charges Against Him - Dave Urbanski for Blaze Media
In the wake of the arrest Friday of Blaze News investigative journalist Steve Baker in connection with his reporting on Jan. 6, 2021, Blaze Media on Wednesday released a never-before-seen video showing Baker's movements in and around the U.S. Capitol that day, which appears to stand in stark contrast to the narrative the federal government is floating about him. The 47-minute video includes Baker's cellphone camera documentation of what went on inside the Capitol building alongside newly released footage from the Capitol's CCTV cameras that BlazeTV obtained primarily through the efforts of Republican U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia. Loudermilk and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) have made providing access to Jan. 6 videos a priority....
#6 Gov. Hochul Deploys 1,000 National Guardsmen, State Cops to Carry Out Bag Checks in NYC Subways - The New York Post and Disclose TV
Hundreds of National Guard troops began flooding city subways Wednesday as part of a crime-fighting plan suddenly unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul following a series of attacks underground. The governor defended the major show of force — not seen since the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks — as an “even better” way to help New York City “solve this crisis.” “These brazen heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated,” Hochul declared from the MTA’s Transit Rail Control Center in Midtown, pointing to last week’s random slashing of a train conductor and other recent acts of violence... The FBI in Miami has warned of an Iranian assassin who is wanted in connection to assassination targets against former and current public officials, such as those involved in former President Donald Trump's administration. The FBI field office in Miami shared a wanted notice for Majid Dastjani Farahani on Friday. "Majid Dastjani Farahani, an Iranian intelligence officer, is wanted for questioning in connection with the recruitment of individuals for various operations in the United States, to include lethal targeting of current and former United States Government officials as revenge for the killing of IRGC-QF Commander Qasem Soleimani," the FBI stated... Oprah Winfrey announced that she will be stepping down from the board of Weight Watchers after admitting to using weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy. The 70-year-old talk show host has served on the Weight Watchers board of directors since 2015, when she acquired a 10% stake. However, she revealed that she will not be standing for re-election at the shareholder meeting in May after admitting to using one of the controversial weight loss drugs to help her slim down... A salon owner who was jailed for violating COVID lockdown restrictions unseated an incumbent state representative in the Texas GOP primary Tuesday night. Shelley Luther, who was arrested after refusing to comply with orders to close her business during the COVID-19 pandemic, defeated incumbent Reggie Smith for Texas’ House District 62 seat, The Associated Press reported... Amid another possible government shutdown, a passage in an omnibus bill, which includes $15 million to electronically track livestock, raises alarms with Republicans. The House on Wednesday passed a $460 billion spending bill to fund about half the federal government through September 30, and avert a partial shutdown at the end of the week. The measure would package together six spending bills, extending funding for dozens of federal programs covering agriculture, energy and the environment, transportation, housing, the Justice Department, and veterans. A blizzard that pummeled California over the weekend has brought good news regarding the state's drought outlook. The massive storm started late last week and brought more than 100 inches of snow to some high-elevation areas. The blizzard followed a slew of atmospheric rivers that brought a deluge of rain to the state. The weather has drenched California this winter, and several cities have already surpassed their annual average rainfall amounts. AccuWeather meteorologists expect that the influx of water has eliminated one of California's biggest problems, at least temporarily.
#5 Assassin Targeting Trump Allies Is on the Loose, FBI Warns - Matthew Impelli for Newsweek
#4 Oprah Winfrey Steps Down From Her Position At Weight Watchers After Admitting That She Had Taken Weight Loss Drugs - Maria Pierides for Newsbreak and X
#3 Salon Owner Jailed For Violating COVID Lockdown Unseats Incumbent In State House Primary - Julianna Frieman for The Daily Caller and X
#2 Plan to Track Cows Raises Alarm Bells With Republicans - Natalie Venegas and X
#1 Rep. Massie on Edible Vaccines: We Shouldn’t Play God with Our Food - Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The HighWire
In the not-too-distant future, Americans may consume meals containing genetically modified plants or other food products that create and deliver mRNA vaccines into our bodies. For years, hard-earned taxpayer dollars have funded research to slink contaminated vaccine-like products into our meals, yet, as Rep. Thomas Massie pointed out last September, “It’s dangerous to play God…
And Now for Something Special
California Drought Outlook Gets Good News After 'Biblical' Blizzard - Anna Skinner for Newsweek and X
