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Looking to apply for home equity lines of credit? Some larger banks have a pause on them

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

For homeowners looking to take out new applications for home equity lines of credit, they may be out of luck with some of the larger banks.A few of the major banks in the United States still have a pause on accepting new applications for home equity lines of credit, known as HELOC, amid what they describe as economic uncertainty.A HELOC is a line of credit that allows homeowners to borrow against the value of their homes, which can be used for large expenses ranging from home repairs or improvements.Home equity lines of credit are still popular among homeowners in light of rising values and dwindling inventory in the market.With mortgage rates high, and inventory levels still low, it’s a viable option for homeowners to upgrade their homes without having to move into a new one, and possibly have to do the same, says Melissa Hoff, of The Hoff Group at Compass.” A lot of people are still going for HELOCs because their property values have gone up and they have money sitting there,” Hof...

University of California moves toward hiring undocumented students despite federal law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

(The Hill) -- The University of California (UC) system is moving toward hiring undocumented students for student-employment positions despite a federal law banning the practice. UC President Michael Drake and Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib said in a statement on Thursday that the board has appointed a working group that will consider relevant issues to ensuring all students have employment opportunities regardless of immigration status. The group will develop an implementation plan and legal strategy by November and whether, how and when to take the next steps. “The University is committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their immigration status, can pursue and attain a world-class UC education,” they said. “This should include providing enriching student employment opportunities to all students.” The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 established civil and criminal penalties for employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants and those ...

Kensington Market community group agrees to buy homes as development rumours swirl

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

Kensington Market’s iconic Victorian homes have stood for more than a century, now housing vintage clothing stores and fresh food markets that have shaped the market into one of Toronto’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. But recently there have been rumours that could all change, with a significant portion of the market flattened for a new development.A community group has signed a deal to buy two of the homes in question along Kensington Avenue, before they can fall into developers’ hands, but now they need to come up with the cash to do it.“We’ve put in an offer at $4 million,” says Dominique Russell, co-chair of the Kensington Market Community Land Trust. “The expectation was that we would be able to access city financing…we’re finding that might in fact be not accessible to us.”With a deadline looming to complete the sale, the Land Trust is now turning to the community for help paying the hefty price tag.“We don’...

Quebec Indigenous group says CAQ MNA who dismissed alleged police abuse must resign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

MONTREAL — The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador wants a member of Quebec’s governing Coalition Avenir Quebec party to resign after he suggested numerous Indigenous women lied about being sexually assaulted by police officers. Pierre Dufour was speaking about the issue of homelessness at a city council meeting last week in Val d’Or, Que., a city in his riding about 500 kilometres northwest of Montreal.After discussing the programs offered by the provincial government, Dufour told the council that a 2015 investigation by Radio-Canada, which looked into physical and sexual assaults of Indigenous women in the community by police, had contributed to the problem.Dufour said the television documentary was full of “lies” and criticized the conclusions of a public inquiry called following the broadcast. Dufour apologized for the comments on his Facebook page. But Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, says its clear Dufour do...

Book Review: In ‘Brave the Wild River,’ the true story of 2 scientists who explored the Grand Canyon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — “Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon” by Melissa L. Sevigny (W. W. Norton & Company) Long before climate change threatened the very existence of the Colorado River, two women botanists set off with a group of amateur boatmen to record the plants that lived along what was then the most dangerous river in the world. In “Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon,” science journalist Melissa L. Sevigny draws on the diaries of Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter to trace their 43-day sojourn in the summer of 1938. The bookish Jotter, then 23, joined Clover, an old school but stylish scientist who was then 41. They were the only women on the small excursion to “botanize” the Grand Canyon. Well publicized by newspapermen who suggested the trip was inappropriate and dangerous for women, stories written at the time underscored how females were then viewed and diminished....

Belarus opposition group urges EU to maintain sanctions on Belarus state companies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A member of the Belarus opposition movement urged the European Union on Monday to keep sanctions against a Belarusian state fertilizer producer, warning that lifting them would generate a $1.5 billion windfall for Alexander Lukashenko’s regime as it supports Russia’s war on Ukraine.Pavel Latushka, a former Belarusian minister of culture who is now in exile in Poland, said he feared the EU might be tempted to lift sanctions against Belaruskali, which is one of the world’s largest exporters of potash fertilizers.Latushka heads an opposition group, the National Anti-Crisis Management, which has been documenting what it alleges is Lukashenko’s participation in a scheme to deport Ukrainian orphans to camps in Belarus. The team has been working to bring international attention to its findings in an attempt to stop the alleged deportations and hold Lukashenko to account. “Belaruskali is the firm that finances the deportation of Ukrainian children,” Latushka, who...

Stock market today: Wall Street is mixed ahead of talks to avoid U.S. default

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are moving tentatively Monday, as Wall Street waits to see whether a pivotal meeting later in the day will help the U.S. government avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt.The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher after coming off its best week since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 67 points, or 0.2%, at 33,359, as of 3:05 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.The stock market is near its highest level since August, but it’s been mostly drifting within a tight range for weeks as several big worries weigh. The biggest near-term risk is the possibility of a U.S. default, something that could occur as soon as June 1.That’s when Washington could run out of cash to pay its bills, unless Congress allows it to borrow more. Because Treasurys are seen as the safest investment on Earth, economists and investors say a default would likely trigger a recession for the economy and deep pain for financial markets. President Joe Biden...

Oklahoma lures Enel solar panel manufacturing facility with $180M incentive package

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Enel North America announced Monday it plans to build a solar cell and panel manufacturing facility in eastern Oklahoma that would employ about 1,000 people after the Legislature agreed to a $180 million incentive package to help lure the company.The company will invest $1 billion in the project, which includes the construction of a 2 million-square-foot solar photovoltaic cell and panel manufacturing facility that will have an annual production capacity of 3 gigawatts, it said in a statement. Construction on the massive facility is expected to begin in the fall in Inola, Oklahoma, which is located about 27 miles (43 kilometers) east of Tulsa.“Our selection of Oklahoma is a testament to the strength of the Tulsa Port of Inola site, the state’s commitment to workforce development and an attractive investment climate,” said Giovanni Bertolino, head of Enel North America’s affiliate 3Sun USA.The decision was announced after the Legislature and Gov. Kevi...

Steer on the run for weeks lassoed, captured on Detroit-area freeway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

HOLLY, Mich. (AP) — A team of wranglers — including one on horseback — chased down and captured a wayward steer named Lester across several lanes of a Detroit-area freeway.State police in-car video shows the tail-end of Sunday afternoon’s chase on northbound Interstate 75 in Holly, about 57 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.A rider on horseback and three people in two ATVs can be seen chasing Lester in and around fields and woods along the east side of the freeway as the state police car follows slowly behind on the shoulder.At one point, Lester races from near a clump of trees toward the freeway lanes and is quickly cut off by one of the ATVs before running behind the vehicle and into traffic. Three vehicles pass the steer as it runs into the northbound lanes.The rider on horseback catches up and lassos Lester, which then runs into the median and hops a guardrail onto the freeway’s southbound shoulder before it is stopped.“Eventually after much tom foolery, th...

California, Arizona, Nevada offer landmark drought deal to use less Colorado River water – for now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:25 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years, a potential breakthrough in a year-long stalemate that pitted Western states against one another.The plan would conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water through 2026, when current guidelines for how the river is shared expire. About half the cuts would come by the end of 2024. That’s less than what federal officials said last year would be needed to stave off crisis in the river but still marks a notable step in long and difficult negotiations between the three states.The 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes. It produces hydropower and supplies water to farms that grow most of the nation’s winter vegetables. In exchange for temporarily using less water, cities, irr...