By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press Business Writer

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged prospective home buyers during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

Existing home sales dropped 0.5% last month from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The sales decline marks the slowest sales pace for the month of April going back to 2009. March’s sales pace was also the slowest for that month going back to 2009.

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Sales fell 2% compared with April last year. The latest home sales fell slightly short of the 4.10 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 22nd consecutive month, although at a slower rate. The national median sales price rose 1.8% in April from a year earlier to $414,000, an all-time high for the month of April.

“The affordability condition is clearly hurting the market, particularly higher mortgage rates,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained relatively close to its high so far this year of just above 7%, which it set in mid-January. The average rate’s low point so far was five weeks ago, when it briefly dropped to 6.62%.

The elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have kept frozen out many would-be homebuyers, even as the inventory of homes on the market has risen sharply from last year.

There were 1.45 million unsold homes at the end of last month, a 9% increase from March, and 20.8% higher than April last year, NAR said.

That translates to a 4.4-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.5-month pace at the end of April last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday effectively ended a publicly funded Catholic charter school in Oklahoma, dividing 4-4.

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The outcome keeps in place an Oklahoma court decision that invalidated a vote by a state charter school board to approve the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would have been the nation’s first religious charter school. But it leaves the issue unresolved nationally.

The one-sentence notice from the court provides an unsatisfying end to one of the term’s most closely watched cases.

The Catholic Church in Oklahoma had wanted taxpayers to fund the online charter school “faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ.” Opponents warned that allowing it would blur the separation between church and state, sap money from public schools and possibly upend the rules governing charter schools in almost every state.

Only eight of the nine justices took part in the case. Justice Amy Coney Barrett didn’t explain her absence, but she is good friends and used to teach with Notre Dame law professor Nicole Garnett, who has been an adviser to the school.

The issue could return to the high court in the future, with the prospect that all nine justices could participate.

The court, following its custom, did not provide a breakdown of the votes. But during arguments last month, four conservative justices seemed likely to side with the school, while the three liberals seemed just as firmly on the other side.

That left Chief Justice John Roberts appearing to hold the key vote, and suggests he went with the liberals to make the outcome 4-4.

The case came to the court amid efforts, mainly in conservative-led states, to insert religion into public schools. Those include a challenged Louisiana requirement that the Ten Commandments be posted in classrooms and a mandate from Oklahoma’s state schools superintendent that the Bible be placed in public school classrooms.

St. Isidore, a K-12 online school, had planned to start classes for its first 200 enrollees last fall, with part of its mission to evangelize its students in the Catholic faith.

A key unresolved issue is whether the school is public or private. Charter schools are deemed public in Oklahoma and the other 45 states and the District of Columbia where they operate. North Dakota recently enacted legislation allowing for charter schools.

They are free and open to all, receive state funding, abide by antidiscrimination laws and submit to oversight of curriculum and testing. But they also are run by independent boards that are not part of local public school systems.

Minnesota United’s path in the U.S. Open Cup will run through St. Paul. If the Loons win out, they won’t have to leave Allianz Field for the national tournament.

The draw Thursday determined the Loons will host Chicago Fire for the quarterfinals on May 8 or 9. If MNUFC wins, they will host the San Jose/Austin winner in the semifinals on Sept. 16 or 17.

If Minnesota wins again, they would hold the final at home on Oct. 1 against the club to come out of the East side of the bracket. Philadelphia Union, DC United, Nashville SC and New York Red Bulls are on the other side of the bracket.

MNUFC, which lost the Open Cup final to Atlanta in 2019, went on the road to beat Louisville City of the USL Championship in the Round of 32 in early May.

On Wednesday, the Loons returned home and came back to beat St. Louis City 3-2 at Allianz Field. Kelvin Yeboah gave Minnesota a first-half lead and Anthony Markanich scored two late goals to propel the win.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Kermit the Frog knows it’s not easy being green — or graduating from college and entering the real world, especially during a time of economic uncertainty and political turmoil.

Members of the University of Maryland’s class of 2025 will receive their diplomas Thursday evening with sage advice from the amphibious Muppet ringing in their ears.

The university announced in March that Kermit, who was created in 1955 and became the centerpiece of the Muppets franchise, would be this year’s commencement speaker. He’s also no stranger to the school.

Muppets creator Jim Henson graduated from Maryland in 1960. A home economics major, he fashioned the original frog puppet from one of his mother’s coats and a ping-pong ball cut in half, according to a statement from the university. Henson died in 1990.

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A bronze statue of Henson and Kermit sitting on a bench is a well-known feature of the College Park campus.

In a video announcing the speaker pick, Kermit is described as an environmental advocate, a best-selling author, an international superstar and a champion of creativity, kindness and believing in the impossible.

His speaker bio calls him “a star of stage, screen and swamp” whose simple mission is to “sing and dance and make people happy.”

“I am thrilled that our graduates and their families will experience the optimism and insight of the world-renowned Kermit the Frog at such a meaningful time in their lives,” university President Darryll J. Pines said in a statement.

The statement also quoted the beloved frog himself: “Nothing could make these feet happier than to speak at the University of Maryland. I just know the class of 2025 is going to leap into the world and make it a better place, so if a few encouraging words from a frog can help, then I’ll be there!”