Mortgage Predictions: What Today’s Inflation Report Means for Mortgage Rates

The Consumer Price Index for February, which measures changes in the cost of food, housing, gasoline, utilities and other goods, rose by 3.2% over the past 12 months. Markets and experts had expected the figure to be around 3.1%.  So what does inflation have to do with mortgage rates?  Historically speaking, when inflation rises and … Read more

Our Flag Means Death is Well and Truly Dead

Image: HBO This past January, HBO canceled Our Flag Means Death after the show’s second season premiered (and wrapped) in October. As with most cancled shows, a fan campaign emerged to try and get HBO to renew the show, while creator David Jenkins said he’d try his best to shop the show around somewhere else … Read more

US lawmakers just introduced another bill to ban TikTok. Here’s what it means

Omar Chatriwala/Getty Images This week, US government officials are trying again to push legislation to ban TikTok, the popular short-form video platform. TikTok has been under intense scrutiny by the US government for years. Former President Donald Trump first attempted to force Chinese tech company ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell the app to American … Read more

Less Sea Ice Means More Arctic Trees—Which Means Trouble

Like a nice wool blanket can help a human baby stay warm and healthy, so too does a baby white spruce get protection from a blanket of snow. At the same time, by preventing the chill of winter from reaching the ground, the snow blanket helps thaw permafrost, or frozen soil packed with ancient plant … Read more

Google Maps’ new ‘glanceable directions’ feature means safer driving with less battery drain

Artie Beaty/ZDNET If you use Google Maps for navigation, a new feature will not only make your driving safer, it’ll make your phone’s battery last longer.  Also: The best rugged phones: Expert tested Starting today, Maps users on both Android and iOS gain access to glanceable directions (or turn-by-turn navigation), updated ETA, and the next … Read more

Supreme Court Will Decide What Free Speech Means on Social Media

The Supreme Court is hearing two cases on Monday that could set new precedents around free speech on social media platforms. The cases challenge two similar laws from Florida and Texas, respectively, which aim to reduce “Silicon Valley censorship” on social media, much like Elon Musk has done at X in the last year. Twitter … Read more

Do you pee multiple times at night? Here’s what that means about your health

Waking up to pee overnight is nothing to be ashamed of, but frequent nighttime bathroom breaks can be annoying and disrupt your sleep. Waking up more than once during the night to urinate is technically called “nocturia,” and it can happen to anyone at any age. If you experience nocturia regularly, you’re not alone. “It’s … Read more

Greek lawmakers are debating a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Here’s what it means

ATHENS, Greece — Lawmakers begin a debate Wednesday on a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage that would make Greece the first Orthodox Christian country to do so. The Valentine’s Day session in parliament follows vocal opposition and protests from the church but also a shift in public opinion which – while still divided – … Read more

West African coup juntas threaten to quit regional bloc: What it means

ACCRA, Ghana – ECOWAS flag with member flags at the second extraordinary summit on the political situation in Burkina Faso, in Accra, Ghana, on February 3, 2022. Photo by NIPAH DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images Three West African countries currently under the rule of military juntas have announced plans to exit the Economic Community of West … Read more

What King Charles’ Cancer Diagnosis Means for Royal Family

With just over a year under his belt as Britain’s monarch, King Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer. The news was announced by Buckingham Palace on Monday and led to an outpour of national and global solidarity as the 75-year-old began treatment at a London clinic. The palace said that the King … Read more