By Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — A deadly, drug-resistant fungus that preys on the sick and old is continuing to spread in hospitals and senior care facilities across the country, killing more than 1 in 3 infected.

Candida auris, a type of yeast that can cause life-threatening illness, was first identified in the U.S. in 2016 with 52 infections reported across the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number of cases has more than doubled annually, hitting 4,514 in 2023, the latest year the CDC has data available. During this same period, California reported 1,566 infections, more than any other state.

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The CDC issued a public safety announcement declaring C. auris an “urgent threat” in 2023 because it is resistant to many antifungal drugs, spreads rapidly in healthcare facilities and can cause severe infections with high death rates.

“The rapid rise and geographic spread of cases is concerning and emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, expanded lab capacity, quicker diagnostic tests, and adherence to proven infection prevention and control,” CDC epidemiologist Dr. Meghan Lyman said in a statement.

Now, there are signs that the fungus is once again on the move. The Georgia Department of Public Health recently reported a surge in cases in healthcare facilities, and a recent study found an alarming rate of spread in Florida hospitals.

C. auris spreads through direct contact with colonized or infected individuals, contaminated surfaces and medical equipment.

A colonized person has the fungus on their skin but does not experience symptoms. In an infected person, the fungus invades the body and causes symptoms such as fever, chills, sepsis and organ failure.

The risk of infection is especially high for patients with catheters, breathing tubes or feeding tubes because they create direct entry points for C. auris to enter the bloodstream or lungs. Most healthy people are not at serious risk of complications from infections.

“Most of the patients that get infections with Candida auris are themselves pretty sick to start with,” said Stuart Cohen, chief of infectious diseases at UC Davis. “This is something that can push people over the edge and become life-threatening.”

Studies have found C. auris infections have a mortality rate of 30% to 60%.

To prevent the spread of the disease, most California hospitals have implemented screening procedures for patients transferred from high-risk healthcare settings. Those found to have C. auris are then isolated from the rest of the hospital.

“The goal is, first and foremost, to keep the people in your hospital safe,” Cohen said. “When somebody comes in for a procedure, they’re not expecting to go home with a life-threatening illness or having spent time in an ICU from a hospital infection.”

Most common disinfectants do not kill C. auris, which can live on surfaces for weeks. There are, however, specialized products that hospitals can use to eliminate the yeast.

©2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Stephanie Farr, The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA — As I walked through Philadelphia City Hall last week, a woman was singing with gusto in the exterior north corridor about how she “don’t have to worry about Betty no more.”

She wasn’t singing for money, just for herself and the acoustics. In that moment, it felt like City Hall was as much hers as it was the mayor’s or City Council’s.

During my nearly 18 years in Philly, I’ve wandered through City Hall’s courtyard and corridors countless times, attended news conferences in the Mayor’s Reception Room, and covered civil cases in the building’s courtrooms.

But I’ve never taken a tour of City Hall, even though it’s long been on my Philly bucket list. Last Friday, I finally checked it off.

Rather than focus on facts — City Hall is the largest municipal building in the U.S., it took 30 years to build, and has 700 fully occupied rooms — I’m going to tell you how the tours made me feel and whether I think they’re worth your time and money.

Two tours are available: one of the building, which lasts about an hour and costs between $20 and $26 per person (depending on your age and military status) and one of the tower, which runs 15 to 30 minutes and ranges between $10 and $16 per person. I did both and with a $2 service fee online, the total was $44.

The public tours, which began in 1991 and were developed by retired director Greta Greenberger (who still gives one a week), are now run by the Philadelphia Visitor Center, which is currently operating out of a temporary trailer in City Hall’s courtyard due to renovations (the City Hall Visitor Center is slated to reopen this spring).

Inside, the space was tight but the mood was light. I joined Richard, a lovely retired gentleman from North Jersey whose wife was attending a conference nearby, and George Evans, our building tour guide, a retired Washington, D.C., city planner and Philly transplant who’s volunteered leading tours here for 22 years.

The building tour

I didn’t identify myself as a journalist in advance because I wanted the real-deal experience. That being said, I’m not Nellie Bly and I wasn’t undercover, so if it came up, I had to be honest about what I do.

Evans first took us to the north exterior, where he talked about the architecture (French Second Empire style), and how every side of City Hall tells a story.

I must have walked under the north arch hundreds of times, but it was only during the tour that I noticed William Penn’s face is the keystone of that arch. I felt a spark of wonder, like I’d found an Easter egg, but I was also struck with the painful realization that I may be the least observant journalist ever.

As Evans spoke, his passion for Philadelphia and City Hall was evident.

“I love this building, how can you not?” he said. “There’s nothing like it in the country.”

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We briefly toured the courtyard and exterior corridors, and my mind was blown when Evans showed us the building’s cornerstone, which, once again, I’ve walked by countless times but never saw before. It’s in what resembles a shallow well, at the bottom of which are hundreds of pennies symbolizing hundreds of wishes. I couldn’t help but wonder how far they dated back — both the pennies and the wishes — and I hoped that at least a few came true.

At one point, Evans highlighted statues of children playing marbles high above us and said that behind them was a sculpture of a penny farthing, and asked if we knew what that was. When I said it’s a bicycle with a big wheel in front and a small one in back, Evans insisted I tell him how I knew this, as he encounters few people who do.

It was then I had to confess I write for the Inquirer and once profiled a man who rides a penny farthing around Philadelphia (because that’s the kind of dapper metropolis we live in).

Inside City Hall, we visited the Mayor’s Reception Room, City Council Chambers, Conversation Hall, and the City Council Caucus Room. Evans provided insight on the building’s architecture and construction; on Philly’s political history, from William Penn to its current government; and on City Hall’s cameos in movies and its greatest urban legend (the curse of William Penn), but I loved when he gave me new insight on things I’d already seen.

When we got off the elevator on the second floor, Evans told us to look straight ahead. That hallway is the length of a city block, he said, as are all the hallways (which explains why when I’ve gone the wrong direction, it takes what feels like three city blocks to get to the bathroom).

Our hour was soon up. I was left wanting more but luckily, my tower tour was next, so I met up with my volunteer tower tour guide, Hilary Easley, and my fellow guests, a young Philly resident and her friend from South Korea.

The tower tour

Easley, a retiree, was as enthusiastic about City Hall’s tower as Leslie Knope was about running Pawnee’s Parks and Recreation Department. She radiated infectious joy and told me her favorite part of giving these tours, aside from the spectacular views, is meeting people from all over the world.

We took the standard elevators in City Hall as far as we could then walked through some “non-public areas,” which felt like being backstage at a theater. In one hallway, Easley pointed out City Hall’s first switchboard, which we got to check out up close.

An escalator then took us up to the elevator that led to the tower. There, in a circular room, was a small exhibit about City Hall and its iconic statute of William Penn by Alexander Milne Calder, which is 37 feet tall and 53,000 pounds (of course, Easley told the legend of the curse of William Penn too).

Tower tours are limited to four guests, and as we packed into the tiny elevator to head to the top, I saw why. If you’re claustrophobic, this tour probably isn’t for you.

I’ve taken the glass express elevator at the Comcast Technology Center 60 floors up, which is stunning and feels Willy Wonka-esque, but this was completely different. It felt secret and oldfangled, like I was in an “Indiana Jones” movie, especially when we went through the middle of the tower’s clocks, which Easley told us are bigger than those in London’s Big Ben (26 ft. in diameter vs. Big Ben’s 23 ft.).

When the elevator opened, I was awed by the 360-degree view of Philadelphia and by the massive statue of Penn and his outstretched hand directly above my head.

“Dear Lord, he is large,” I thought. “And my God, this city is beautiful.”

Easley heard me gasp.

“You see why I do this! This is my happy place,” she said.

Easley pointed out major landmarks for us and offered to take our photos. We probably got about five minutes on the deck before she got a call that the next tour was ready and we had to head back down.

When I got home that night and told my husband about my adventures, it spurred us to research additional information about City Hall. The tours and my guides made me even more curious about the building and its history, and I can’t think of a higher compliment than that.

If you go

—Tours run 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday.

—The building tour is ADA accessible but the tower tour is not.

—Both tours require a metal detector screening.

—The tower’s observation deck is enclosed, but there are some areas with grating, so it can get cold and windy.

For more information or to sign up for tours of City Hall, visit phlvisitorcenter.com/CityHall or call (267) 514-4757.

©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

“Unlike many housing programs that depend on uncertain federal funding, the Affordable Housing Retention Act is a state-level solution that ensures lasting affordability.”

An apartment building in Brooklyn. Photo by Adi Talwar.

New York City’s housing crisis is no longer a distant threat—it is an urgent reality reshaping the lives of countless residents.

As the cost of living skyrockets, working families are being priced out of their neighborhoods as once-affordable rental units transition to market rates. At Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester County, we witness the devastating impact of this crisis every day. Families who have lived in their homes for decades suddenly face impossible rent hikes. Renters who have diligently saved for a home find themselves priced out of the city entirely.

But there is hope. A new proposal before the State Legislature, the Affordable Housing Retention Act (S1354/A4954), sponsored by State Senator Cordell Cleare and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, offers a groundbreaking market-driven solution to preserve affordability and expand homeownership opportunities for working families. And New Yorkers overwhelmingly support it.

Unlike many housing programs that depend on uncertain federal funding, the Affordable Housing Retention Act is a state-level solution that ensures lasting affordability. It accomplishes two crucial goals: preserving expiring affordable rental units and creating a viable path to homeownership. This proposal would grant both market-rate and affordable renters in qualifying buildings the opportunity to purchase their homes, helping them build equity and stay rooted in their communities.

With renters making up 70 percent of New York City residents, concerns about the future of affordable housing are widespread. A recent poll conducted by The Parkside Group on behalf of Habitat NYC and Westchester found that of the 800 voters surveyed, more than 80 percent support this plan.

After learning additional details—such as how the proposal would ensure long-term affordability for at-risk apartments and allow landlords and developers of qualified buildings to sell units directly to renters interested in homeownership—support increased to 86 percent, with a staggering 75-point margin between supporters and opponents. These numbers send an unmistakable message: New Yorkers want immediate legislative action.

The stakes are high. Thousands of affordable housing units are at risk of becoming market-rate, making them unaffordable to the very families who rely on them. The numbers paint a stark picture: 69 percent of renters say they do not own a home because it is simply too expensive. Nearly half of renters expect to leave the city in search of homeownership opportunities elsewhere. Two-thirds of renters aspire to own a home in their current neighborhood, yet only one in three believe it will ever happen. With housing costs spiraling out of reach—averaging $900,000 for a single-family home—this bill presents a critical opportunity to reverse the tide.

New York City is in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis—one that will only worsen if affordable units are lost and become market-rate. In some cases, this shift could lead to rent increases of up to 10 times the current cost. That is simply unacceptable. The Affordable Housing Retention Act provides a fair, sustainable way to protect affordability while fostering new opportunities for homeownership.

New Yorkers have spoken, and their message is clear: they demand real solutions to the housing crisis—and they demand them now. The time for action is long overdue. Albany must heed the voices of working families and pass this common-sense legislation before more New Yorkers are forced out of the communities they love.

Sabrina Lippman is the CEO of Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester County.

The post Opinion: A Common-Sense Solution to New York City’s Affordable Housing Crisis appeared first on City Limits.

By Holden Lewis, NerdWallet

Want to be a successful home buyer this spring and summer? Act decisively and swiftly, whether your market is hot or cool.

That’s the advice from real estate agents in Boston (a hot, fast-selling market where buyers tussle over scarce houses) and in Dallas (a cooler, slower-selling market where competition isn’t so frenzied).

We’re entering the time of year when the sales pace picks up even in sedate housing markets. Around 4 million existing homes will be sold in 2025, and roughly half of them will change hands from April through August.

In the five years since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, demand has exceeded supply in most housing markets. That imbalance still exists in the hotter markets of New England, the Upper Midwest and much of California. The shortfall has eased (but not gone away) in some cities, notably in Florida, Texas, the Gulf coast and the Pacific Northwest — those are the cooler markets.

Real estate agents’ advice this homebuying season is consistent, no matter the temperature of the local market: Treat the search like a job. Get preapproved for a mortgage.

And remember that desirable houses go fast.

The race goes to the swift

“Properties that are move-in ready — they’re still flying off the market in a matter of days with multiple offers,” says Rich Rosa, a buyer’s agent and co-founder of Buyers Brokers Only in the Boston area (one of the nation’s hottest markets). Houses sold there in February had typically been on the market for 33 days, according to Realtor.com, making it one of the fastest-selling metro areas. Nationally, time on market ranged from a low of 22 days in San Jose to 118 days in Kalispell, Montana.

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Kate Ziegler, a real estate agent with Arborview Realty in the Boston area, says it’s important to prioritize house-hunting on the weekends when you’re seriously searching. Relaxation might have to take a backseat to the job of finding a house.

“Being ready to see things the first weekend that they’re on the market really is important,” Ziegler says. If you don’t tour an attractive house this weekend, it might be gone before you can look at it next weekend, she says.

It’s not unusual for a Boston house to hit the market on Thursday morning, have multiple showings over the weekend, and for the sellers to request offers by Monday evening. Then the seller accepts one of several competing offers. Elapsed time: less than a week. You might find compressed timelines in other hot markets, too.

Buyers can take more time in cooler markets such as Dallas-Fort Worth, where the typical home had been on the market 56 days when it was sold in February. Even so, well-maintained properties are sold quickly. “You need to jump on the good houses because they’re going to sell, period,” says Cliff Freeman, a real estate agent with eXp Realty in Dallas.

Secure a preapproval to show sellers you’re prepared

It’s always a good idea to get preapproved for a mortgage when you shop for a home, whether sellers or buyers have the upper hand. When you get a preapproval, the lender takes your financial information, including credit score and income, and tells you how much you can borrow.

Not only does a mortgage preapproval show you how much home you can afford — it signals to sellers that you’ve rustled up your financial documents and a lender has already assessed your creditworthiness.

Freeman says one sign of having an experienced agent is that they will make sure you’ve talked to a lender. “Especially for first-time home buyers, and second and move-up buyers, having a true professional that has experience in several types of markets is the best asset you can have,” he says.

Don’t get hung up on asking price

You probably won’t pay the asking price for your next house. If the property attracts multiple offers in the first week or two, you might pay more than the asking price (if you make the successful bid). If the home lingers on the market for weeks without any serious offers, you might pay less than the asking price.

“What I tell my clients is don’t get too caught up in what the asking price is,” Rosa says. Pricing strategies vary from seller to seller, and every property is different. Just because one place sells for 3% more than the asking price doesn’t mean other houses will too.

An experienced agent who understands your local market can be an advantage here too.

In hot markets, consider fast-tracking the inspection

Buyers often waived property inspections in 2020 and 2021, when mortgage rates were low and competition was fierce. Today, most buyers insist on property inspections. But in fast markets, buyers can employ a few tactics to mollify sellers.

One such tactic is the “pre-offer inspection,” in which an inspector examines the house before the buyer makes an offer. “So you’re effectively submitting a ‘clean’ offer without an inspection contingency because you’ve already done inspection,” Ziegler says.

As an agent, Ziegler says she tries to avoid pre-offer inspections because they can be less thorough — and the buyer pays the inspector whether or not they end up making an offer on the house. The benefit of a pre-offer inspection is that it reassures the seller that this buyer won’t back out if their offer is accepted.

In another inspection-related tactic, the buyer promises to pay for repairs up to a specified dollar amount instead of expecting the seller to pay every penny. Ziegler calls it a partial inspection contingency; the goal is to avoid giving the seller the perception that they’re being nickel-and-dimed. “It mitigates the buyer’s risk and sort of caps what they are exposed to,” Ziegler says, while assuring sellers that the buyer won’t withdraw their offer over minor defects.

However you do it, make sure you do get a home inspection.

In growing areas, consider new homes

In some cities, new construction could be a solid option. We’re talking mostly about metros in the South and Southwest where developers build communities of hundreds of new houses. To make new homes affordable, developers often offer incentives such as reductions in mortgage interest rates.

“The reality is for first-time home buyers, it’s probably a great decision to buy a new home,” Freeman says, because a well-built new house won’t require expensive repairs or upgrades in the first few years.

Take a real estate agent with you the first time you look at a community of new houses, Freeman advises. The agent can help you negotiate discounts on mortgage rates or upgraded amenities.

Holden Lewis writes for NerdWallet. Email: hlewis@nerdwallet.com.

The article Homebuying Tips This Season for Markets Hot and Cold originally appeared on NerdWallet.