16 Oct 2025

Average long-term US mortgage rate slips to 6.27%, nearing a low for 2025

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By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage declined again this week, easing to just above its lowest level this year.

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Average long-term US mortgage rate ticks up for second straight week, to 6.34%

The average long-term mortgage rate slipped to 6.27% from 6.3% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.44%.

The latest dip brings the average rate to just above 6.26%, where it was four weeks ago after a string of declines brought down home loan borrowing costs to their lowest level since early October 2024.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also eased this week. The average rate dropped to 5.52% from 5.53% last week. A year ago, it was 5.63%, 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 4.02% at midday Thursday, down from around 4.14% the same time last week.

Mortgage rates started declining in July in the lead-up to the Federal Reserve’s decision last month to cut its main interest rate for the first time in a year amid growing concern over the U.S. job market.

At their September policy meeting, Fed officials forecast that the central bank would reduce its rate twice more this year and once in 2026. Still, the Fed could change course if inflation jumps amid the Trump administration’s expanding use of tariffs and the recent trade war escalation with China.

Even if the Fed opts to cut its short-term rate further that doesn’t necessarily mean mortgage rates will keep declining. Last fall, after the Fed cut its rate for the first time in more than four years, mortgage rates marched higher, eventually reaching just above 7% in January this year.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained above 6% since September 2022, the year mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. The housing market has been in a slump ever since.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. So far this year, sales are running below where they were at this time in 2024.

16 Oct 2025

What a North Texas Pride Fest Taught Me About Today’s ‘Rainbow Panic’

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At the end of the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s, a man in my hometown was accused of sexually abusing children. The claims were bizarre: He had supposedly taken children to secret tunnels beneath a church, killed animals, and forced children to participate in satanic rituals. The trial became a public spectacle when the CEO of Jack in the Box pressured the prosecution. 

After a seven-month trial, the man was acquitted on all charges. There was no physical evidence—no animal remains, no witnesses, no corroboration of any kind. The jury took just hours to reach its decision.

From the 1980s into the ’90s, more than 12,000 accusations of satanic or ritual child abuse were lodged—but not one was substantiated. The “Satanic Panic” revealed more about our capacity for fear than about actual abuse.

That history came to mind earlier this month at the Keller–Southlake Pride Festival, hosted by a local church. My wife and I went, unsure what to expect.

We found a warm community gathering—food trucks, live music, local artisans, and booths from counseling agencies and support groups. I was surprised—and pleased—to see several churches there. A group of moms offered hugs and encouragement to anyone who needed it. The organizers said more than 1,000 people attended.

The only thing that felt out of place was the protest at the edge of the property. About a dozen people held signs accusing festival-goers of “sexual immorality” and “grooming children.” A protester with a megaphone shouted insults at families inside the church grounds. 

There were a few flamboyant characters—bright costumes and glitter—but I would judge the content far tamer than many primetime TV shows. And I’m still not sure what kind of grooming could possibly occur at a neighborhood festival where toddlers and grandparents dance to a B-52s cover band.

If the 1980s had its “Satanic Panic,” today’s protests feel like a kind of “Rainbow Panic.” LGBTQ+ people, drag performers, and even affirming parents are being accused of “grooming”—a claim that carries emotional weight but few facts. Children, it is said, will be “sexualized” and “scarred for life.” Yet PolitiFact found no evidence that exposure to LGBTQ+ people or topics influences a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity. 

What began as a cultural fear is now shaping public policy. Texas recently passed a law restricting drag performances, though it is currently blocked by the courts. And Governor Greg Abbott has directed cities to remove street markings deemed “political,” prompting several to begin eliminating rainbow crosswalks. Both moves send the same message: that visibility itself is a threat.

I have no doubt that the lawmakers care about protecting children, but when fear drives the conversation, it drains energy from where it’s needed most—helping kids feel safe, seen, and supported. LGBTQ+ youth already experience much higher rates of bullying, depression, and suicide attempts than their peers, according to the Trevor Project. Research from the American Psychological Association shows that when LGBTQ+ young people feel accepted and supported at home, school, and in their communities, their mental health and suicide risk improve dramatically.

We humans are storytellers by nature. When our stories are driven by fear, we see monsters. When they are driven by love, we see neighbors.

The Satanic Panic ruined reputations and led to years of mistrust. Today’s Rainbow Panic risks dehumanizing our neighbors and turning kindness into a political statement.

One woman’s T-shirt at the Pride event summed up the spirit of the day: “Y’all Means All.” Fear can spread quickly, but love can move faster. 

The post What a North Texas Pride Fest Taught Me About Today’s ‘Rainbow Panic’ appeared first on The Texas Observer.

16 Oct 2025

Gun safety advocates warn of a surge in untraceable 3D-printed weapons in the US

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By CLAUDIA LAUER, Associated Press

As police departments around the country report a surge in 3D-printed firearms turning up at crime scenes, gun safety advocates and law enforcement officials are warning that a new generation of untraceable weapons could soon eclipse the “ghost guns” that have already flooded U.S. streets.

At a summit in New York City on Thursday, the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety will bring together policymakers, academics, 3D-printing industry leaders and law enforcement officials to confront the growing challenge. They fear that as the printers become cheaper and more sophisticated — and blueprints for gun parts spread rapidly online — the U.S. could be on the brink of another wave of unregulated, homemade weapons that evade serial-number tracking and background checks.

Numbers collected by Everytown from about two dozen police departments show how quickly the problem is growing: A little over 30 3D-printed guns were recovered in 2020. By 2024, that figure had climbed above 300. While still a fraction of the tens of thousands of firearms seized each year by the nation’s nearly 18,000 police departments, the spike mirrors the early trajectory of ghost guns — build-it-yourself weapons assembled from kits that for years eluded federal regulation.

“We are now starting to see what kind of feels very familiar,” said Nick Suplina, senior vice president of law and policy at Everytown. “It’s now at a small number of recoveries in certain major cities, such that it’s doubling or tripling year over year. We’re seeing this very familiar rate of growth and that’s why we’re getting this group together to discuss how to stop it.”

Ghost guns, provided by the New York City Police Department, are displayed in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives imposed new rules in 2022 requiring serial numbers, background checks and age verification for ghost-gun kits, regulations upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year. Lawsuits and state-level bans eventually pushed Polymer80, once the leading manufacturer of those kits, out of business in 2024.

But 3D-printed weapons present a thornier problem. They aren’t manufactured or sold through the firearms industry, and neither 3D-printer companies nor the cloud-based platforms that host gun blueprints fall under the ATF’s authority. That leaves much of the prevention work to voluntary action and new legislation.

In addition to seeking industry self regulations, the summit aims to bring together academics and policymakers to talk about possible legislative ways to address the issue such as creating statutes to criminalize manufacturing ghost guns or selling blueprints.

In New York, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has pressed printer manufacturers and online platforms to take down gun designs and add safeguards against misuse. His office recently asked YouTube to remove a tutorial on printing a gun that a suspect said he found while watching a Call of Duty demonstration.

″So we reached out to YouTube and got their policies updated,” Bragg said. “If we were just prosecuting gun possessions rather than thinking about how to prevent these guns from getting printed and proactively talking to these companies, then we would be sorely behind the curve.”

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A major digital design platform also agreed to implement a detection and removal program earlier this year after Bragg’s office found numerous gun blueprints being shared and available for download on its site.

Both Everytown and Bragg said companies have been receptive. Some printer makers have introduced firmware that recognizes gun part shapes and blocks the machines from producing them, an approach that advocates compare to safeguards added decades ago to prevent color printers from copying currency.

John Amin, founder and CEO of Spanish company Print&Go, said he became fascinated with 3D printing when he was an engineering student. He voluntarily implemented a series of checks to prevent illegal weapons from being made including human oversight and automated detections.

“We must focus on curbing misuse, not demonizing the tool. And we already have powerful ways to do just that,” Amin said.

16 Oct 2025

Federal immigration officers in Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras, judge says

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By CHRISTINE FERNANDO, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras, a judge said Thursday after seeing tear gas and other aggressive steps used against protesters.

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U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said she was a “little startled” after seeing TV images of clashes between agents and the public during President Donald Trump’s administration’s immigration crackdown.

“I live in Chicago if folks haven’t noticed,” she said. “And I’m not blind, right?”

Community efforts to oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have ramped up in the nation’s third-largest city, where neighborhood groups have assembled to monitor ICE activity and film incidents involving agents. More than 1,000 immigrants have been arrested since September.

Separately, the Trump administration has tried to deploy National Guard troops, but the strategy was halted last week by a different judge.

Ellis last week said agents in the area must wear badges, and she banned them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists.

“I’m having concerns about my order being followed,” the judge said.

“I am adding that all agents who are operating in Operation Midway Blitz are to wear body-worn cameras, and they are to be on,” Ellis said, referring to the government’s name for the crackdown.

U.S. Justice Department attorney Sean Skedzielewski laid blame with “one-sided and selectively edited media reports.” He also said it wouldn’t be possible to immediately distribute cameras.

“I understand that. I would not be expecting agents to wear body-worn cameras they do not have,” Ellis said, adding that the details could be worked out later.

She said the field director of the enforcement effort must appear in court Monday.

In 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement began deploying about 1,600 body cameras to agents assigned to Enforcement and Removal Operations.

At the time, officials said they would be provided to agents in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, New York and Detroit. Other Homeland Security Department agencies require some agents to wear cameras. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released body-camera video when force has been used by its agents or officers.