Author: Grace Thompson

Why is purchasing a home so difficult? The salaries of the middle class have not kept up with prices. For the first time since 2002, mortgage rates are higher than 7%. Also, three out of ten houses are sold for more than their listing price. However, none of those elements really reflects the range of difficulties that consumers across the country encounter in the present marketplace. On the ground, situations might differ significantly between states and even counties. We are launching a new monthly indicator, the NBC News Home Buyer Index, to more accurately and closely reflect changes in the local housing market. The Home Buyer Index is a score on a range of 0 to 100 that indicates the difficulties a prospective buyer encounters while attempting to purchase a home. It was created by NBC...

I particularly enjoy the warm, inside pleasures that come with snowy days, such as cuddling up with a puzzle or binge-watching my favorite television series, having endured more than 20 years of Canadian winters. But for those who love snow sports, winter is also the greatest—and sometimes the only—time of year to grab your snowboard or skis and head to the slopes. Make sure you have the greatest gear before you glide down a mountain, and ski goggles are a great way to achieve so. Ski goggles shield your eyes from debris, wind, UV rays, snow, and ice, among other things. According to experts, they are also a must for any snowboarder or skier. Continue reading to learn all you need to know about choosing the best ski goggles for your upcoming day on the slopes, including suggestions and sho...

Hospitals in the nation's capital, Colorado, and Virginia said on Thursday that they have put a halt to gender-affirming care for youth while they assess President Donald Trump's executive order that would reduce federal funding for such care. In order to comply with the executive order and maintain federal funds, Denver Health in Colorado has ceased performing gender-affirming procedures on patients under the age of 19, a spokeswoman said Thursday. It's unclear if the hospital will keep offering puberty blockers and hormone therapy, among other gender-affirming treatments, to young people. VCU Health and Children's Hospital of Richmond in Virginia announced that they had stopped providing gender-affirming drugs and surgeries to anyone younger than 19. Children's National Hospital in Washi...

The Women's National Basketball Association secretly submitted a trademark application this week for the name Detroit Shock as communities all around the nation compete for the next club. According to the petition, which was dated Thursday, the proposed purpose is for a basketball team, jerseys, merchandise, and in-arena signage that might be shown on radio or television. It might provide hints about the league's final choice regarding where to locate a new club. Tom Gores, the owner of the Detroit Pistons, made a proposal on Friday to have a new franchise move to the Motor City. Gores would lead the ownership group, which also includes Sheila Ford Hamp, the major owner and chair of the Detroit Lions; former Detroit Pistons players Chris Webber and Grant Hill; Mary Barra, the CEO of Genera...

A Biden administration policy that provided reimbursement to military members and dependents for travel to states that allow abortion and other reproductive health treatments has been revoked by the Pentagon. The document, which immediately stopped reimbursements, was released by the Pentagon's Defense Travel Management Office on Wednesday. The action undoes a 2023 policy implemented under then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and it is already attracting criticism from female members of Congress. For soldiers and their families who had to traverse state lines because they were stationed in a location where the military did not offer abortion or other reproductive care, like in vitro fertilization, or where such services were illegal or unavailable, ...

The updated South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services (SCDPPPS) website, hosted by SC.gov, was launched today at https://ppp.sc.gov/. Courts, victims, offenders, and other members of the public serviced by SCDPPPS will find detailed information much easier to access thanks to our updated, user-friendly website. The redesigned website will primarily showcase available positions and the many career pathways offered by SCDPPPS (https://ppp.sc.gov/careers). Like its predecessor, the new website offers a handy link that enables people under SCDPPPS supervision to make online payments for their restitution and supervision costs (https://ppp.sc.gov/supervision-rehabilitation/offender-search). Acting Director Chad Gambrell stated, "We are still dedicated to holding crimin...

As part of President Donald Trump's larger campaign to eradicate diversity, equality, and inclusion measures throughout the federal government, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is removing a large portion of HIV-related content off its website on Friday. The main HIV page of the CDC has been restored after a brief outage. According to one federal employee, the CDC started eliminating any gender identity-related content on Friday. It seems that pages pertaining to HIV were included in that activity. In a memo obtained by NBC News, Charles Ezell, the acting director of the U.S. office of personnel management, sent CDC employees an email on January 29 titled "Defending Women," which stated that they were to recognize only two sexes, male and female, and not make references to or...