Inflation remained stubbornly high in January, possibly pushing back any interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Still, the long line graph indicates a cooling trend, albeit a bumpy one. Nevertheless, lenders have already begun lowering mortgage rates in anticipation of any cuts to the federal funds rate. According to Freddie Mac, the rate on a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage …

On the ruins of what was once Gaza’s main coastal road, Palestinians displaced by months of intense fighting as Israel battles to destroy Hamas were on the move again Tuesday. This time, they were looking for food. Across the decimated Gaza Strip, starvation has become so acute that the Jordanian military has taken to airdropping rations. Videos posted online Tuesday …

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the tipped-over Odysseus lander on the surface of the moon, officials said Monday, confirming it touched down less than a mile from its planned landing site near the moon’s south pole. Odysseus builder Intuitive Machines of Houston posted a picture captured by the lander during its final descent, along with a blurry shot apparently …

Tokyo — The slow demise of a stray whale that spent its last days circling Osaka Bay not only saddened TV viewers across Japan, it also alarmed cetacean experts who called the whale the latest casualty of a warming planet. “Whales used to lose their way every three years or so,” Yasunobu Nabeshima, a visiting researcher at the Osaka Museum …

Washington — President Biden said Monday that a deal between Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire in Gaza is close. “My national security adviser tells me that we’re close, we’re close, it’s not done yet. And my hope is that by next Monday we’ll have a cease-fire,” Mr. Biden told reporters during a stop in New York City. Mr. Biden …

Three NASA astronauts and their Russian cosmonaut crewmate flew to the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday to prepare for launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Friday, kicking off a planned six-month tour of duty aboard the International Space Station. Flying in from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps …

Dr. Nahreen Ahmed, a Philadelphia-based doctor and medical director for MedGlobal, a U.S. based nongovernmental organization that sends volunteer doctors and nurses into disaster areas and war zones, has been to Syria, Yemen and Ukraine. But the American doctor said that what she saw in Gaza before she left in January was incomparable. What most impacted Ahmed, who spent 16 …

Americans for Prosperity Action, a libertarian conservative political policy network founded by the billionaire Koch brothers, announced on Sunday that it will no longer spend on Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign. The cut comes after Haley lost the Republican primary in her home state of South Carolina on Saturday to former President Donald Trump by 20 points. “Nikki Haley has shown …

Here are thelatest resultsin the South Carolina GOP primary. South Carolina allows registered voters — Republicans, Democrats and independents — to participate in any primary of their choosing. But they can only vote in one, not both. Former President Donald Trump railed against South Carolina’s 2024 open GOP primary earlier this month as he sought to convince Republicans that he …

They might be tiny, but insects rule the planet, making up over two-thirds of the world’s 1.5 million known animal species and the backbone of the food chain. But despite their immense impact and large numbers, bugs might be in trouble. Scientists estimate that 40% of insect species are in decline, and a third are endangered. Habitat loss, the use …

Pope Francis has canceled an audience scheduled for Saturday as a precaution after suffering a mild flu, the Vatican press office said in a short statement, without adding details. Francis was scheduled to meet with Rome deacons in the morning. The pontiff, 87, had already been forced to cancel some of his activities in November due to breathing problems. A …

A South Carolina man was found guilty Friday of killing a Black transgender woman in thenation’s first federal trial over a hate crime based on gender identity. After deliberating for roughly four hours, jurors convicted Daqua Lameek Ritter of a hate crime for the murder of a woman referred to as “Dime Doe” in 2019. Ritter was also found guilty …

Friends and family expressed shock and disbelief whenKouri Richins was arrested in connection with the death of her husband, Eric, at their home in Kamas, Utah, in 2022. “I was shocked,” said her mother Lisa Darden, remembering when she heard the news. “She can’t be arrested.” Darden believed that Kouri and Eric had a great relationship, though there were sometimes …

Two draft resolutions circulated by a member of the Republican National Committee call on the party to adopt proposals that would keep it from having to pay for any presidential candidate’s legal fees and would also make it party policy to remain neutral in the Republican presidential primaries. The first of the proposals, drafted by longtime RNC member Henry Barbour, …

The body of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has been handed over to his mother, an aide to Navalny said Saturday. Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, made the announcement on his Telegram account and thanked “everyone” who had called on Russian authorities toreturn Navalny’s body to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya. “Thank you very much. Thanks to everyone …