If you’re house hunting, last weekend’s record-breaking snowfall is a valid reason to put your search on ice. But winter weather doesn’t faze Desirae Allen, a real estate broker with Sound Realty in Valdez, Alaska. In a city that gets more than 300 inches of snow in a season, that’s just business as usual.

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“I’ve got a showing that all of a sudden came unexpectedly, and I haven’t got a guy over there to plow the driveway, ” she says. “I’ve got to tell the buyers, you know, ‘Grab your boots or grab your snowshoes — we’re going to wade our way in.’”

Nationally, winter is the sleepiest season for the housing market, but some home buyers still get it done. About 13,000 houses are sold every day from December through February, reports the National Association of Realtors.

If you’re ready to buy a house — and you made it through the storm with heat and power — why not start looking now? Here’s how to turn the winter off-season into your advantage.

Pay attention to price drops

If you need a reason to crawl out of hibernation, mortgage rates are dangling a rare opportunity. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 5.97% in the week ending Jan. 22. That’s a full percentage point lower than the average rate in January 2025, and nearly the lowest we’ve seen in three years.

If you don’t have one yet, now’s a good time to shop around for a mortgage preapproval. Get a quote from at least three different lenders to make sure you’re getting the best deal. A preapproval typically locks in your mortgage rate for 30, 60 or 90 days. Try to snag one on the longer side so you’re covered through spring.

When comparing offers, ask if your lender has a “float down” option. This allows you to swap your quoted rate for a lower one if rates keep dropping after your preapproval.

Another way to save: Average prices tend to drop in the winter months. Homes listed from December-February are priced 16% lower than those listed in June, reports the NAR. On top of that, motivated sellers are more willing to negotiate on price — especially if their home has been sitting on the market since summer or fall.

Expect slimmer selection

Winter bargains come with tradeoffs. Inventory is thinner this time of year, limiting buyers’ options. Monica Haynes, director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Minnesota Duluth, says flexibility can help buyers make that dynamic work in their favor.

“If you’re someone who is willing to buy a fixer-upper, or someone who’s willing to overlook some maybe less desirable things, then you can probably get a better deal in the winter,” she says.

In many areas, more listings start popping up in February, but every market has its own rhythm. A local buyer’s agent can help you understand what’s typical in your neighborhood.

Know what a winter inspection can’t spot

When you get to the walk-through phase, pay extra attention to how the house feels in winter weather. Are the windows drafty? How’s the natural light?

Ask the sellers for photos of the property in milder weather. Deep snow can mask major issues, like siding damage, roof issues or problems with the septic system.

Allen, speaking from experience in Alaska, has seen just how weird that reveal can get.

“Is there a dead car out there in the woods that I’m going to be surprised by, come summertime?” she says. “So do a little bit more homework, lean on your home inspection and just really slow down and do your due diligence.”

Stay flexible on timing

Once you’re clear to close, build some wiggle room into your timeline to save money (and stress).

Moving companies often charge less for a winter move, thanks to lower demand in the off-season. However, inclement weather can erase those savings pretty quickly if it leads to longer routes, heavier fuel usage or more labor hours — especially for long-distance moves.

Winter’s slow season can mean more flexible contractor schedules — and potential savings — on cosmetic work like painting or minor remodeling, often at the top of new homeowners’ to-do lists. But with seasonal demand, it might be harder to book plumbers, HVAC techs and electricians.

“Come winter, they are pretty backed up with no heat calls, frozen pipes — you know, more the 9-1-1 things — where they’re using their summers for projects,” Allen says.

Slow down and be intentional

Winter has a way of slowing everything down. While spring brings more listings, it also brings more competition and pressure to move fast.

This time of year, homes tend to attract fewer offers — about two per listing in December 2025, according to the NAR. Compared to peak homebuying season, homes stay on the market a median 20 days longer in the winter, giving buyers more breathing room and negotiating power.

With fewer transactions happening overall, you may get more face time and attention from everyone involved, from your buyer’s agent to the lender to the title company. Instead of rushing, winter gives you space to ask questions and move forward with intention.

When you’re making a decision as big as buying a home, taking your time is a good thing. A slower winter market gives you time to build confidence and figure out each step in the homebuying process. That way, you’re ready whenever the right home comes along — now or in the spring.

Abby Badach Doyle writes for NerdWallet. Email: abadachdoyle@nerdwallet.com.

The article How to Buy a House in the Winter (Yes, It’s Possible) originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By LAURA UNGAR

A new study suggests that babies are able to distinguish between the different objects they see around them at 2 months old, which is earlier than scientists previously thought.

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The findings, published Monday in Nature Neuroscience, may help doctors and researchers better understand cognitive development in infancy.

“It really tells us that infants are interacting with the world in a lot more complex of a way than we might imagine,” said lead author Cliona O’Doherty. “Looking at a 2-month-old, we maybe wouldn’t think that they’re understanding the world to that level.”

The study looked at data from 130 2-month-olds who underwent brain scans while awake. The babies viewed images from a dozen categories commonly seen in the first year of life, such as trees and animals. When babies looked at an image like a cat, their brains might “fire” a certain way that researchers could record, O’Doherty said. If they looked at an inanimate object, their brains would fire differently.

The technique — known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI — allowed scientists to examine visual function more precisely than in the past. Many previous studies relied on how long an infant looked at an object, which can be difficult to assess at younger ages. Some of those past studies suggested that infants as young as 3 to 4 months could distinguish between categories such as animals and furniture.

“What we’re showing is that they really already have this ability to group together categories at two months,” O’Doherty said. “So it’s something much more complex than we would’ve thought before.”

In the new study, many of the babies returned at 9 months, and researchers successfully collected data from 66 of them. In the 9-month-olds, the brain was able to distinguish living things from inanimate objects much more strongly than in the 2-month-olds, O’Doherty said.

Someday, researchers said, scientists may be able to connect such brain imaging to cognitive outcomes later in life.

Liuba Papeo, a neuroscientist at the National Center for Scientific Research in France, said the number of babies in the study is one thing that makes the work “impressive and unique.” Brain imaging with very young infants presents challenges.

“One — perhaps the most obvious — is that the infant needs to (lie) comfortably in the fMRI scanner while awake without moving,” she said in an email.

O’Doherty, who did the work at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, said the key was making the experience as comfortable as possible for the babies. Inside the scanner, they reclined on a bean bag so they were snug.

The images “appear really big above them while they’re lying down,” she said. “It’s like IMAX for babies.”

AP video journalist Havovi Todd contributed to this story from London.

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.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday rejected calls for a Europe-wide army, warning that it could be “extremely dangerous” as the bloc considers ways to provide its own security after the United States warned that its priorities lie elsewhere.

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Talk of a European army has resurfaced amid tensions within NATO over President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland, the semiautonomous territory of NATO-ally Denmark.

“Those who say that we need a European army, maybe those people haven’t really thought this through practically,” Kallas said. “If you are already part of NATO then you can’t create a separate army.”

Kallas told a security conference in Norway that the most important military asset during a crisis “is the chain of command — who gives orders to whom.”

She added: “And if you have, like the European army and then you have the NATO (one), then, you know, the ball just falls between the chairs. And this is extremely, extremely dangerous.”

NATO’s military operations are overseen by a Supreme Allied Commander, who is always a top U.S. officer. The role is currently held by Airforce Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich.

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said: “NATO is there with the decision-making process among allies, which is in itself complex, but it is trained to work.” He rejected calls for a European army, saying that “it is not a road we should travel.” Norway is not a member of the EU.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last week that Europe is incapable of defending itself without U.S. military support and would have to more than double current military spending targets to be able to do so.

“If anyone thinks here … that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the U.S., keep on dreaming. You can’t,” Rutte told EU lawmakers in Brussels.

Europe and the United States “need each other,” he said.

By TRÂN NGUYỄN, SOPHIE BATES, JONATHAN MATTISE and SUSAN HAIGH

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Mai Vang wouldn’t be born for another seven years when Bob Matsui was first elected to Congress from California in 1978. By the time Matsui died in 2005 and was replaced by his widow, Doris Matsui, Vang was still studying biology and sociology in college.

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Now a member of the Sacramento City Council, Vang, 40, is mounting the first serious challenge 81-year-old Matsui has faced since she began representing the area two decades ago. Vang is among a nationwide cadre of young Democrats trying to oust some of their party’s most stalwart figures in Washington, channeling angst that an aging generation of lawmakers is unable or unwilling to mount a bare-knuckles opposition to President Donald Trump.

“I’m not waiting for permission,” Vang said. “Because our communities are under attack, and we need leaders in this moment that understand the day-to-day struggles of our working families, and I believe that I could be the leader in this moment.”

In Trump’s first term, grassroots Democrats focused their ire on the Republican president. But now, after President Joe Biden’s reluctance to step aside in 2024 at age 81 helped pave the way for Trump’s return to the White House, many see their party’s own veterans as part of the problem.

Matsui, who was born in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, said she’s fought Trump’s strict immigration policies and delivered billions of dollars for her district. She said in a statement experience is about “being effective when the stakes are highest for our families.”

Civil rights leader faces an economic populist

Evan Turnage had barely learned to walk when Rep. Bennie Thompson, a civil rights leader, was first elected to Congress from Mississippi.

Democrat Evan Turnage, who is challenging Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in the March primary, poses for a portrait in Jackson, Miss., Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)

Now Thompson, 78, is one of the most senior Black lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and Turnage, 33, is challenging him in the state’s Democratic primary. Turnage, who’s also Black, is an antitrust lawyer who previously worked for top Senate Democrats in Washington, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

He said the modern era demands leaders who understand how social media and artificial intelligence are transforming life.

“Just steadily doing the committee work with your head down behind the scenes is not how we’re gonna get the transformational change that we need here in this district,” Turnage said.

Thompson formerly chaired the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump’s supporters.

“Elections were created to give people the ability to make a choice,” he said. “I trust the voters of the district.”

A congressman is challenged by a former intern

Rep. Steve Cohen, 76, of Tennessee, is running for an 11th term. He’s up against Justin Pearson, 31, who was a sixth grader promising better school lunches as president of the student government when Cohen was first elected to Congress. He later interned for Cohen.

Pearson was one of two Black Democrats expelled from the Tennessee Legislature by Republicans after leading a gun control protest inside the state Capitol building. He was quickly reinstated by local officials and later reelected.

FILE – Tennessee state lawmaker Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, speaks with reporters after meeting with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

“With all due respect to Steve, he’s been in office for 43 years, and he has done the best that he can possibly do, and the status quo is still what it is,” Pearson said, tallying up Cohen’s time in the state legislature and in Congress.

Democrats have held their party back by hanging around too long, he said.

“Time and time again, we are seeing people who are staying in positions of power who are good people but who are no longer doing it for the benefit of their constituencies but for themselves,” Pearson said.

A polio survivor, Cohen has won nearly every election with more than 70% of the vote. Cohen said age shouldn’t be the criterion for judging a lawmaker and he’s never been status quo.

“I’ve always been an iconoclast,” he said in an interview.

Former mayor takes on a House veteran

In Connecticut, several Democrats in their 30s and 40s are challenging 77-year-old Rep. John Larson for the party’s endorsement at Connecticut’s Democratic state convention in May.

Luke Bronin, former mayor of Hartford, Conn., who is challenging Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., in the 2026 election primary, right, speaks with James Jeter, left, at the Semilla Cafe and Studio in Hartford on Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

Concerns about Larson’s health and age intensified last year after he abruptly stopped speaking during a speech on the House floor.

His office later said the 13-term lawmaker had suffered a complex partial seizure. Larson has said medication helps control the condition and he is fit to seek a 14th term.

Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, 46, is widely viewed as the leading challenger, buoyed by his name recognition and fundraising. A Rhodes scholar, lawyer and U.S. Navy Reserve officer, Bronin was a sophomore at Yale when Larson was first elected to Congress.

Bronin said the Democratic Party has been too reluctant to embrace generational change.

“Part of meeting this moment means getting new members of Congress, new Democratic leaders who have the energy and courage and clarity of mission that this moment demands,” he said.

Larson is leaning on his progressive credentials and touting his experience as a virtue.

“Another Wall Street-funded corporate lawyer using this office as a stepping stone is not the kind of change this district needs,” Larson’s campaign manager, Gerry Gerratana, said in a statement. “It deserves a progressive champion like John Larson who grew up in the district, understands the challenges people face because he’s seen them firsthand, and has a proven record of taking on Trump.”

Bates reported from Jackson, Miss., Haigh from Hartford, Conn., and Mattise from Nashville, Tenn. Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.