The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage edged higher for the second week in a row, though it remains near its low point so far this year.
The average long-term mortgage rate ticked up to 6.24% from 6.22% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.78%.
Just two weeks ago, the average rate was at 6.17%, its lowest level in more than a year.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, edged lower this week. The rate averaged 5.49%, down from 5.5% last week. A year ago, it was 5.99%, Freddie Mac said.
Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.
The 10-year yield was at 4.10% at midday Thursday, up slightly from a week ago.
When mortgage rates rise they reduce homebuyers’ purchasing power. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has been stuck above 6% since September 2022, the year mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. The housing market has been in a slump ever since.
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Applications for loans to buy a home jumped nearly 6% last week to their strongest pace since September, even as mortgage rates ticked higher, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The late-summer pullback in mortgage rates has also benefited homeowners eager to refinance their current home loan to a lower rate. Applications for mortgage refinancing loans accounted for about 56% of all mortgage applications last week, down slightly from the previous week.
The parents of at least two babies sickened in an infantile botulism outbreak are suing the makers of the ByHeart baby formula at the heart of a nationwide recall.
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Stephen and Yurany Dexter, of Flagstaff, Arizona, said their 4-month-old daughter, Rose, had to be flown by air ambulance to a children’s hospital two hours from home and treated for several weeks this summer.
Michael and Hanna Everett, of Richmond, Kentucky, said their daughter, Piper, also 4 months, was rushed to a hospital Nov. 8 with worsening symptoms of the rare and potentially deadly disease.
The lawsuits, filed in federal courts in two states, allege that the ByHeart formula the babies consumed was defective and that the company was negligent in selling it. They seek financial payment for medical bills, emotional distress and other harm.
Both families said they bought the organic formula to provide what they viewed as a natural, healthier alternative to traditional baby formulas, and that they were shocked and angered by the suffering their children endured.
“I wouldn’t guess that a product designed for a helpless, developing human in the United States could cause something this severe,” said Stephen Dexter, 44.
“She’s so little and you’re just helplessly watching this,” said Hanna Everett, 28. “It was awful.”
This photo provided by Hanna Everett shows 4-month-old Piper Everett being treated for infantile botulism on Nov. 10, 2025, in a Kentucky hospital. (Hanna Everett via AP)
In this photo provided by Stephen Dexter, his 2-month-old daughter Rose Dexter is being treated for infantile botulism at Phoenix Children’s Hospital on Sept. 4, 2025, in Phoenix, Ariz. (Stephen Dexter via AP)
Yurany Dexter holds her 4-month-old daughter, who was recently hospitalized for botulism, at their home in Flagstaff, Ariz. on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Cheyanne Mumphrey)
Stephen Dexter holds a container of ByHeart baby formula, which was recently recalled by ByHeart, in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Cheyanne Mumphrey)
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This photo provided by Hanna Everett shows 4-month-old Piper Everett being treated for infantile botulism on Nov. 10, 2025, in a Kentucky hospital. (Hanna Everett via AP)
Rose Dexter and Piper Everett are among at least 15 infants in a dozen states who have been sickened in the outbreak that began in August, according to federal and state health officials. No deaths have been reported.
Both received the sole treatment available for botulism in children less than a year old: an IV medication called BabyBIG, made from the blood plasma of people immunized against the neurotoxins that cause the illness.
Investigations into more potential botulism cases are pending after ByHeart, the New York-based formula manufacturer, recalled all of its formula nationwide on Tuesday. At least 84 U.S. babies have been treated for infantile botulism since August, including those in the outbreak, California officials said.
The company sells about 200,000 cans of formula per month. It can take up to 30 days for signs of infantile botulism infection to appear, medical experts said.
California officials confirmed that a sample from an open can of ByHeart formula fed to an infant who fell ill contained the type of bacteria that can lead to illness.
The lawsuits filed Wednesday could be the first of many legal actions against ByHeart, said Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer who represents Dexter.
“This company potentially faces an existential crisis,” he said.
ByHeart officials didn’t respond to questions about the new lawsuits but said they would “address any legal claims in due course.”
“We remain focused on ensuring that families using ByHeart products are aware of the recall and have factual information about steps they should take,” the company said in a statement.
Parents fretted as babies grew sicker
In Rose Dexter’s case, she received ByHeart formula within days of her birth in July after breast milk was insufficient, her father said. Stephen Dexter said he went to Whole Foods to find a “natural option.”
“I’m a little concerned with things that are in food that may cause problems,” he said. “We do our best to buy something that says it’s organic.”
But Rose, who was healthy at birth, didn’t thrive on the formula. She had trouble feeding and was fussy and fretful as she got sicker. On Aug. 31, when she was 8 weeks old, her parents couldn’t wake her.
Rose was flown by air ambulance to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where she stayed for nearly two weeks.
Hanna Everett said she used ByHeart to supplement breastfeeding starting when Piper was 6 weeks old.
“It’s supposed to be similar to breast milk,” she said.
Last weekend, Piper started showing signs of illness. Everett said she became more worried when a friend told her ByHeart had recalled two lots of its Whole Nutrition Infant Formula. When a family member checked the empty cans, they matched the recalled lots.
“I was like, ’Oh my god, we need to go to the ER,” Everett recalled.
At Kentucky Children’s Hospital, Piper’s condition worsened rapidly. Her pupils stopped dilating correctly and she lost her gag reflex. Her head and arms became limp and floppy.
Doctors immediately ordered doses of the BabyBIG medication, which had to be shipped from California, Everett said. In the meantime, Piper had to have a feeding tube and IV lines inserted.
In both cases, the babies improved after receiving treatment. Rose went home in September and she no longer requires a feeding tube. Piper went home this week.
They appear to be doing well on different formulas, the families said.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
DETROIT (AP) — The state of Michigan is giving up ownership of a rare relic from the famous Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck, just weeks after it strangely obtained it through a settlement in a lawsuit that was completely unrelated to the doomed freighter.
Larry Orr is getting one of the ship’s life rings back — and the state will still pay $600,000 to settle his lawsuit over police misconduct.
“I feel a whole lot better,” Orr, 77, told The Associated Press this week.
In 1975, eight days after the Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, killing all 29 men, Orr said he found the life ring and a piece of a lifeboat on shore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“There was an eerie feeling. Maybe someone had survived,” he recalled. “I looked around for footprints or any other sign of life for a while and never found anything.”
Fast forward 50 years to this autumn: Orr was in talks with the Michigan State Police to settle a lawsuit. He accused Lt. David Busacca of violating his rights during a sexual abuse investigation that was ultimately discredited. Orr had spent five months in jail, in addition to house arrest, before charges were dropped in 2019.
Orr and his attorney, Shannon Smith, said the state suddenly expressed interest in the Fitzgerald life ring during the negotiations. Orr said Busacca was aware that he owned it when he saw paperwork during a search of his Michigan home.
Orr said he felt he was being manipulated, but he also needed money to move out of a recreation vehicle in Yulee, Florida. Smith said throwing the ring into the deal raised the settlement to $600,000 from roughly $300,000.
“I think we should have gotten a million for everything they did to me,” Orr said.
The AP was first to report the peculiar deal on Oct. 23. When state police were asked to explain why it was appropriate, spokesperson Shanon Banner said the department was “not comfortable.”
Additional talks among lawyers led to a new agreement: Orr gets the ring back while taxpayers will still be on the hook for $600,000 to close the police misconduct lawsuit. Banner acknowledged the terms this week.
For decades, Orr allowed the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Michigan, to display the orange ring, which has “Fitzgerald” in stenciled letters. Now he might sell it at auction.
Orr said he’s trying to buy a modular home and his wife’s car “is on its last legs.”
“I need all the money I can get,” he said.
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The city of St. Paul is offering up to $2,500 in emergency rental assistance for low-income tenants at risk of eviction. The “Emergency Rental Assistance and Eviction Prevention Program,” or ERA, is open for applications.
To receive ERA funds, landlords must agree to not evict the tenant receiving assistance. The goal of the program is to help prevent eviction and homelessness through one-time grants.
The program was funded by $1 million from this year’s city budget following collaboration from the mayor’s office, the Department of Planning and Economic Development, Ward 7 City Council Member Cheniqua Johnson’s office and the unanimous support of the city council. It revives and builds upon an anti-displacement program launched by the city during the COVID-19 pandemic using funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
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“My ward has one of the highest eviction rates in Ramsey County, and that is simply not okay,” said Johnson, in a written statement. “We needed to bring this program back, expand who we can help, and make sure resources reach people faster. Everyone deserves stable housing.”
To be eligible, applicants must be able to verify a household income at or below 80% of area median income and provide proof of a pending eviction such as a 14-day notice or housing court summons. The city council is exploring continuing to fund the program in 2026. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/EvictionHelpStp25.
