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Buying a house in 2024: How to overcome the challenges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

By Abby Badach Doyle | NerdWalletFrom high prices to low inventory, potential home buyers know it’s gnarly out there. But if you’re ready for homeownership, the long-term benefit of buying often outweighs the pain of toughing out the search — even these days.Think of it like your 5 a.m. spin class: You know it’s good for you, even if it takes grit (and leaves you feeling sore).With some market savvy, you can make the most of today’s challenging conditions. Here’s your game plan for buying a house in 2024.The challenge: Stubbornly high mortgage rates squeeze shoppers’ buying powerBuyers have been at the mercy of mortgage rates’ meteoric rise, holding on as the average 30-year fixed rate climbed from 3% to nearly 7% in 2022. In October 2023, rates topped 8% for the first time since 2000 — a surprise even many top economists didn’t predict. But throughout November, they dropped slightly, landing at an average of 7.03% for the week ending Dec. 7.Higher interest rates make it more expens...

2 charged, over $40,000 in property recovered from retail theft where items were re-sold in Toronto

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

York police’s Criminal Investigations Bureau has charged two people in connection with organized retail thefts, where items were being re-sold at a convenience store in Toronto.On Dec. 16, an investigation began into commercial thefts from drug stores in Vaughan and Richmond Hill. Stolen products included high-end cosmetics, hygiene items and over-the-counter medications, such as vitamins and pain-relievers. Police identified two suspects, learning that the items were being re-sold from a commercial business in Toronto.On December 20, 2023, a search warrant was executed at two locations in Toronto. More than $40,000 worth of property was recovered, and police discovered the accused were also allegedly re-selling alcohol from their business.Thi Hong Hanh Luu, 52, of Toronto and Tan Dung Nguyen, 68, of Toronto, were both charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, trafficking in possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and selling/offering liq...

‘Slap in the face’: Images of Canadian child abuse victims training AI generators

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

Pictures of Canadian victims are among the thousands of images depicting child sexual abuse that an internet watchdog group found in databases used to train popular artificial image generators“That’s another slap in the face to victims,” said Lloyd Richardson, director of technology at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.Richardson said it shows artificial intelligence must be considered as the federal government develops its long-awaited online harms legislation. A recent report form the Stanford Internet Observatory found more than 3,200 images of suspected child sexual abuse in the database LAION — the publicly available non-profit Large-scale Artificial Intelligence Open Network — which was used to train well-known AI image-makers.The observatory, based at Stanford University, worked with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to verify the findings through the centre’s Project Arachnid tool, which has a log of known images of child sexual abuse.Richardson did...

Woman sexually assaulted after mistaking suspect’s vehicle for ride share: Toronto police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

A suspect is being sought after a woman who hopped into the wrong vehicle, thinking it was her ride share, was sexually assaulted by the driver, Toronto police said in a release Friday.Officers were called to the Portland Street and Adelaide Street West area on Sunday, December 17.Police said the victim entered a vehicle which she mistook for her ride share.The driver then took her to an unknown location and sexually assaulted her, police said.He’s described as a white male, 35 to 40 years old with an Eastern European accent. He had a brown, well-groomed beard and was wearing a white long-sleeve button-up shirt and blue jeans.The vehicle he was driving was a dark red or rust coloured SUV, possibly a Hyundai Santa Fe.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heading to Jamaica for post-Christmas vacation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Jamaica next week for a family vacation over the holiday break.The Prime Minister’s Office says Trudeau will travel with his immediate family to the Caribbean country from Dec. 26 to Jan. 4. Jamaica is a frequent vacation spot for Trudeau, who spent time there in August as well as after Christmas last year.He will be travelling with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, after the pair announced earlier this year they were separating following 18 years of marriage. At the time, the Prime Minister’s Office said Canadians could expect to see the family together, and both said in individual statements they would remain close. The office says it consulted the federal ethics commissioner ahead of the coming trip, and that the family will cover the cost of its stay as well as reimburse the cost of travelling on a government plane. Trudeau will also remain in contact with staff and receive briefings on issues of the day.This report by The ...

Police video shows police knew Maine shooter was a threat. They also felt confronting him was unsafe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Police in Maine feared that confronting an Army reservist prior to the worst mass shooting in state history would “throw a stick of dynamite on a pool of gas,” according to video footage released by law enforcement.The footage release on Friday documents a call between Sgt. Aaron Skolfield of the Sagadoc County Sheriff’s Office and Army Reserve Capt. Jeremy Reamer. Skolfield was following up with Reamer about the potential threat posed by Robert Card, a 40-year-old Army reservist from the Lewiston area.Skolfield mentioned Maine’s yellow flag law after Reamer said Card had refused medical treatment after his hospitalization during his Army service. Under Maine’s yellow flag law, a warning to police can trigger a process where an officer visits an individual and makes a judgment call on whether that person should be placed in temporary protective custody, triggering assessments that with a judge’s approval can lead to a 14-day weapons restriction. A full c...

Man charged following armed carjacking robbery in Mississauga

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

Investigators from the Provincial Carjacking Joint Task Force (PCJTF) and Peel police’s Central Robbery Bureau (CRB) have charged a 35-year-old man after an armed carjacking in Mississauga. On Dec. 19, at approximately 11:45 p.m., a 34-year-old woman from Mississauga was allegedly in a parking lot near Queen Frederica Drive and Bloor Street. The suspect, armed with a firearm, approached her and demanded her vehicle. Fearing for her safety, the victim complied and the suspect drove away in her car. The victim did not sustain any injuries from the robbery.The PCJTF and CRB quickly located the suspect a short distance away and he was taken into custody without incident. At the time of arrest the suspect had an edged weapon and a replica firearm that were seized by police. The victim’s vehicle was recovered.Michael Birchall, a 35-year-old man from Mississauga, has been charged with robbery, use imitation firearm while committing an offence, two counts of possession of property obt...

Aurora City Council calls special meeting to discuss unscheduled arrival of migrants bused to city from Texas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

AURORA, Ill. — The Aurora City Council scheduled a special meeting Friday afternoon to discuss the recent influx of migrants arriving by bus from Texas.Aurora city officials say buses coming from Texas have started dropping migrants off at the Aurora Transportation Center. According to city officials, the migrants are then encouraged to board Metra trains and head to Chicago. WGN Investigates: ‘We are not all bad’: Migrants stuck waiting at O’Hare, facing uncertain future in latest kick of ‘political football’ from Texas The Aurora City Council scheduled the special meeting Friday afternoon to discuss the migrant issue. The agenda calls for discussion of a proposed ordinance that would define and prohibit the types of "unscheduled bus stops" that are dropping migrants off. The ordinance would also require transportation companies to give the city at least five days of notice to get approval for a drop-off, which would only be granted if a detailed care plan is provided for the pas...

Push for federal help as more migrants arrive to Chicago

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

CHICAGO — More migrants arriving in Chicago on Friday as Illinois lawmakers increase pressure on the White House to help with the migrant crisis.A group of migrants were dropped off at a truck stop along Interstate 57 Thursday in Kankakee. Some were picked up from there, while others began to walk the more than 60 miles towards Chicago. Those migrants should have been taken to 800 South Des Plaines Street, which is the landing zone for new asylum seekers coming into the city. Planeload of migrants sent to O’Hare Airport by Texas emergency management officials, City of Chicago confirms Following the incident, suburban leaders are taking action. The village of Tinley Park has issued a community alert, urging residents to contact police if they see any buses in the area attempting to drop off passengers.Other municipalities have scheduled special meetings to discuss the arrival of migrants.More than a dozen migrants were dropped off at a Greyhound station in the Loop Friday morning. ...

US to begin 2024 with smallest military in over 80 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The United States is set to enter the new year with its smallest military in over 80 years.  According to the Department of Defense, the Army, Navy and Air Force missed their recruiting goals in 2023 by a combined 41,000 personnel. “We didn’t get into this problem overnight and it’s not going to be solved overnight,” Pentagon Press Secretary, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. “But we are confident that we will continue to see those numbers increase and it’s something that will obviously continue to work very hard at.” Ryder says heading into 2024, the Defense Department’s greatest challenge is recruitment. “We don’t take anything for granted,” Ryder said. “At the end of the day one of the strengths is that we are an all-volunteer military and each of us here takes the oath of office and the oath to protect and defend the constitution by choice, no one is making us do this.” But Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) says Congress is partly to blame for t...