By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press

President Donald Trump’s plans for bringing homeownership within reach of more Americans involve pushing for lower interest rates on home loans and credit cards, and banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.

In his address Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump outlined four policies his administration is pursuing in a bid to make homeownership more affordable. Each had been previously mentioned by him or his administration in recent weeks, part of a broader push to address affordability generally, a hot-button issue with voters heading into the midterms.

The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. The combination of higher mortgage rates, years of skyrocketing home prices and a chronic shortage of homes nationally following more than a decade of below-average home construction have left many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes remained stuck last year at 30-year lows.

President Donald Trump points during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

In his remarks, Trump stressed the need to lower interest rates on home loans and credit cards in order to give aspiring homebuyers more financial flexibility to save up for a down payment on a home and more purchasing power when it comes time to buy.

“We can drop interest rates to a level, and that’s one thing we do want to do,” said Trump. “That’s natural. That’s good for everybody. You know, the dropping of the interest rate, we should be paying a much lower interest than we are.”

Trump noted that he has directed the federal government to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, a move he said would help reduce mortgage rates. Trump said earlier this month that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have $200 billion in cash that would be used to buy mortgage bonds. However, some economists have said such a move would likely have only a minimal impact on mortgage rates.

Trump, who spent much of last year demanding that the Federal Reserve lower interest rates, also reiterated that he will be announcing a new Fed chair soon to replace Jerome Powell, whose term as chair is due to end in May.

“I think they’ll do a very good job,” he said.

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Still, Fed rate cuts don’t always translate into lower mortgage rates. That’s what happened in the fall of 2024 after the central bank cut its main rate for the first time in more than four years. Instead of falling, mortgage rates marched higher, eventually cresting above 7% in January this year. At that time, the 10-year Treasury yield was climbing toward 5%.

More recently, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage was at 6.06% last week, its lowest level in more than three years, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.

While lower mortgage rates help boost homebuyers’ purchasing power, the biggest hurdle many aspiring homeowners face is being able to save up for a down payment.

To that end, Trump said he is asking Congress for legislation that would mandate credit card issuers cap interest rates at 10% for one year — after the industry ignored his demand earlier this month that they implement the cap by Jan. 20. The average rate on credit cards is around 21%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Trump also reiterated that he wants to block large institutional investors from buying single-family homes, so that Americans don’t have to compete with such well-funded rivals when they shop for a home.

“Homes are built for people, not for corporations, and America will not become a nation of renters,” he said.

Trump issued an executive order late Tuesday directing his administration to review the laws that govern how big institutional investors make large purchases of single-family homes and determine whether such investors are engaging in anti-competitive practices.

The order, which exempts companies that build homes for rent, also includes provisions to give ordinary home shoppers the opportunity to buy foreclosed homes before investors do and bars government housing agencies from guaranteeing, insuring or otherwise facilitating large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.

Still, it’s unclear how the administration will define a large investor. And while some metro areas, like Atlanta and Phoenix, have a larger share of corporate-owned single-family homes for rent, the vast majority of rental houses are owned by small individual investors, which wouldn’t be barred from buying more homes.

“It probably won’t make a noticeable impact on the housing market,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.

Trump was expected to give more details about his housing policy in the speech, but devoted most of it to other subjects. Kevin Hassett, director of Trump’s National Economic Council, told Bloomberg that Trump was just “foreshadowing” an upcoming policy announcement. The White House is reportedly considering a new way for Americans with a 401(k) retirement savings plan to fund the down payment on a home, among other policies.

AP Business Writer Bernard Condon contributed to this report.

The Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills faced similar decisions after another promising season ended short of the Super Bowl.

The Packers opted to give coach Matt LaFleur a contract extension in hopes that he can still get the team over the hump, while the Bills fired coach Sean McDermott following an unprecedented sixth straight season that featured a playoff win and no Super Bowl appearance.

LaFleur and McDermott were two of the four NFL coaches with at least seven seasons at their current spots and no Super Bowl titles, with Kyle Shanahan having just finished his ninth season with San Francisco and Zac Taylor his seventh in Cincinnati. Andy Reid is the longest tenured coach and has won three Super Bowl titles in 13 seasons in Kansas City.

The four long-term coaches without a title had success, combining for 25 playoff wins and 21 postseason appearances without winning it all. Shanahan lost twice in the Super Bowl in the 2019 and ’23 seasons, while Taylor fell short in 2021 with the Bengals.

Whether Shanahan, LaFleur or Taylor will break through and win it all at their current spots remains unknown, history shows that’s much less certain. Only one coach hired since the start of the Super Bowl era in 1966 won his first championship with a team later than his eighth season; Bill Cowher won it all with Pittsburgh after the end of his 14th season in 2005.

There have been 36 coaches to win a Super Bowl with Vince Lombardi, Weeb Ewbank, Hank Stram and Tom Landry all having been on the job before the first Super Bowl was played.

Of the other 32 winners, exactly half won their first title within their first three seasons with a team, while 12 others did it in the fourth or fifth season. The only ones besides to Cowher to take longer than five years were Pittsburgh’s Chuck Noll (year six), Reid (year seven) and the Raiders’ John Madden (year eight).

There were more than 60 other coaches who had at least six seasons with a team who didn’t win it all.

McDermott’s eight playoff wins are the most for any coach in the Super Bowl era who hasn’t made it to the title game, and the Bills were the first team to win a playoff game in six straight seasons without reaching a Super Bowl.

Shanahan’s nine playoff wins are the fourth most for a coach who hasn’t won it all.

LaFleur has made the playoffs in six of seven seasons with Green Bay but has just three playoff wins to show for it and hasn’t made it past the divisional round since losing his second straight NFC title game in the 2020 season against Tampa Bay.

In all, there have been a record-tying 10 coaching changes this offseason, matching the previous high last reached in 2022. The only other seasons with 10 came in 2006, 1997 and 1978.

Only two of the 10 coaches hired four years ago remain on the job with Kevin O’Connell about to enter his fifth season in Minnesota and Todd Bowles the same in Tampa.

Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams, front, scores a touchdown after evading a tackle by Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson during the second half of an NFL football divisional playoff game Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

OT odds

The change in the playoff overtime rules that went into place when Kansas City knocked out Buffalo in the 2021 divisional round with an opening drive touchdown had a big impact on this season’s divisional round.

With both teams now guaranteed a chance at one possession even if the first team scores a touchdown, the choice of whether to take the ball or kick off in overtime is more complicated.

Shanahan chose getting the ball in the first game under the new rules in Super Bowl 58 and the 49ers lost when they settled for a field goal on the opening drive against Kansas City. The Chiefs drove for a game-ending TD — with help of a fourth-down conversion when the Chiefs knew they needed a score.

There were two overtime games this weekend and both teams that won the toss opted to kick, choosing the advantage of knowing what the first team did on the opening possession. While that is sound strategy if overtime lasts only two possessions, it is a disadvantage if the game is tied after two possessions. That’s what happened in both games this weekend.

Denver and the Rams both drove for winning field goals on the third possession of overtime when it was sudden death, taking advantage of the extra possession that the team that won the coin toss didn’t get.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jarrett Stidham is tackled by Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle T.Y. McGill during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Quarterback shuffle

The injury that knocked Denver’s Bo Nix out of the playoffs has created a most unusual situation with Jarrett Stidham set to start the AFC title game after not throwing a single pass during a game the last two seasons.

When Stidham takes the field against New England on Sunday, it will be 749 days since his last pass attempt in the regular season or playoffs in Week 18 of the 2022 season against Las Vegas. According to the NFL research department, that will be more than double the previous longest stretch without a pass attempt by a playoff starter with Joe Webb having gone 370 days before his 2012 wild-card start for Minnesota against Green Bay.

Stidham’s four career starts are the fewest ever for a QB starting in a conference championship game — one fewer than Jeff Hostetler had when he started the 1990 NFC title game for the Giants. Hostetler had four career regular-season starts and had won the divisional round when he started that win over San Francisco.

The Broncos will be the ninth team to start multiple quarterbacks in the same postseason and will try to become the fifth to get wins from both. Buffalo was the last to do it when backup Frank Reich won two games in place of the injured Jim Kelly in the 1992 playoffs before Kelly returned and won the AFC title game. The Bills lost the Super Bowl to Dallas.

The 1972 Dolphins, who finished a perfect 17-0, were the only Super Bowl champions to use two starting quarterbacks in the playoffs with Earl Morrall winning the first two rounds before Bob Griese returned from a broken leg to win the Super Bowl.

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MILAN (AP) — Two Olympic cauldrons for the Milan Cortina Games will pay homage to Leonardo da Vinci.

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“For the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, two cauldrons (in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo) will be lit and extinguished simultaneously in two different locations,” organizers said in a statement.

The design has been revealed and it is a sun-like structure that is inspired by Leonardo’s intricate knot patterns. Leonardo spent almost 25 years of his life in Milan and many of his most famous works are from his time in the city.

The cauldrons have been designed to open and close — with a diameter that expands from 3.1 meters to 4.5 meters — and will contain the Olympic flame at their core, encased in a glass and metal container.

The cauldron in Milan will be at the city’s Arco della Pace, while it will be in Piazza Dibona in Cortina.

They will be lit simultaneously during the widespread opening ceremony on Feb. 6 and extinguished on Feb. 22. They will burn with the Paralympic flame from March 6-15.

There will also be a special show lasting three to five minutes, hourly at the Milan cauldron in the evenings during the Olympics.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

By DAVE SKRETTA

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The best figure skater of his generation may just go down as the best of any generation. He’s capable of landing jumps nobody else can, with creativity that is nearly unmatched and plenty of artistry to go with all of his otherworldly execution.

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All that Ilia Malinin must do now is deliver on the Olympic stage.

The 20-year-old American phenom has waited four long years for the Milan Cortina Games, after he was controversially left off the U.S. team for the Beijing Olympics. It was primarily due to his age and inexperience — it certainly wasn’t due to his ability, which had already put him in rarified air — and it fueled Malinin during the past quadrennial to become the best in the world.

Malinin has won the past two world titles, the latest last year in Boston with relative ease. He hasn’t lost a competition in about two years, whether it be lower-level tune-ups, elite-level Grand Prix events or the national championships, where Malinin triumphed for the fourth consecutive time in St. Louis earlier this month.

The scores that he has posted along the way rival the best in history, including the standard set by his countryman, Nathan Chen.

“Ilia is a whole different, like, factor,” says his U.S. teammate, Amber Glenn. “I mean, he’s the son of two incredible figure skaters, and he’s just built, quite literally, different. And like, it’s insane. He’s both talented and hard working, and it’s amazing what he does.”

A family affair

Malinin’s Russian-born mother, Tatiana Malinina, competed at the 1998 Olympics for Uzbekistan, and won the prestigious Grand Prix Final the next year. His Russian-born father, Roman Skorniakov, competed for Uzbekistan at both the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games.

Malinin’s genes go deeper, though. His grandfather, Valery Malinin, competed for the Soviet Union and still coaches in Russia.

So it was never really a question whether he would go into the family business.

Malinin would tag along to the rink with his parents as a kid, though back then he preferred soccer to skating. But once he began to hit those big jumps that have become his hallmark, Malinin was committed. His parents coached him to the junior world title in 2022 after he had missed out on the Winter Games.

With Hall of Fame coach Rafael Arutyunyan soon joining his team, Malinin won his first senior U.S. title, then began winning on the Grand Prix stage. The gold medals soon began to pile up in the most elite competitions in figure skating.

“Ilia challenges himself constantly,” explains Arutyunyan, who coached Chen to gold at the Beijing Games. “Our biggest challenge is keeping the team of people who work with him on the same page. We’re all there for him when he needs his team most.”

Malinin has never needed it as much as now.

As the Milan Cortina Games draw nearer, the pressure is mounting, on the ice and off. Malinin has a number of corporate sponsors, and that comes with a certain amount of weight. His face is omnipresent in NBC spots leading up to its broadcast of the Olympics. And he is accosted by fans for photos and autographs just about everywhere he goes.

“With my team, we’ve been planning a strategic plan to prepare myself mentally and physically, so when I get to the Olympics, that’s when I’m at my peak,” Malinin told The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview. “We’ve talked for months, and managing what I train and how I train specifically, and what I’m going to do at all the competitions leading up to the Olympics.”

In a class of his own

Malinin began his season by capturing the Lombardia Trophy, then he dominated the Grand Prix de France and Skate Canada, where his score of 333.81 was nearly 80 points better than second-place Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia.

In fact, his personal-best score nearly broke the world record of 335.30 points, set by Chen in 2019 at the Grand Prix Final.

Then, Malinin added another Grand Prix Final title of his own in December, and another national championship in January.

Malinin won that won easily, despite a dialed-back free skate as he sorted out some issues with a new set of skates.

“He has such a passionate fire for skating,” says his choreographer, Shae-Lynn Bourne. “He’s one of those that have skates on an hour before we work and an hour after we work. He just puts the time in, and he’s constantly — not just loves to skate, but he’s not someone who will ever coast, or just go on what he knows he can do. He constantly wants to be challenged.”

That’s why Malinin pushed himself to land the quad axel, a 4 1/2-rotation jump nobody else has landed in competition. And it was the impetus behind his signature “raspberry twist,” and a myriad other spins, leaps and moves that seem to defy gravity and logic.

“It’s been amazing to see him, not only how he deals with the pressure but how he’s really matured as a person,” says Jason Brown, a two-time Olympian. “We’re behind him every step of the way. Everyone feels that way.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics