By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is increasing the size of home loans that the government can guarantee against default as it takes into account rising housing prices.

Beginning next year, mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be able to acquire loans of up to $832,750 on single-family homes in most of the country, the agency said Tuesday.

The new conforming loan limit is a 3.3% increase from its 2025 level.

FHFA oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which buy home loans from banks and other lenders, guaranteeing them against default. The loans are then bundled into securities sold to investors.

But FHFA sets limits to the size of the loans that Fannie and Freddie can buy. Such loans are known as conforming loans, while mortgages above the conforming loan limit are known as jumbo loans.

FHFA adjusts the limits of a confirming loan annually to reflect changes in U.S. home values, which have been rising this year, albeit more slowly.

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The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

Sales have remained sluggish this year, running essentially flat compared to last year through the first 10 months of 2025, even after getting a boost this fall as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage declined to its lowest level in more than a year.

The FHFA’s House Price Index showed that, on average, U.S. home prices climbed 3.3% in the July-September quarter compared to a year earlier.

The 2026 single-family home conforming loan limit will apply to most of the country, though the FHFA allows higher loan limits for certain states, such as Alaska and Hawaii, and in counties where the local median home value is more than double the conforming loan limit.

For example, the conforming loan limit for single-family homes in Los Angeles and New York counties will be $1,249,125 starting next year.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, Associated Press

They go by names like @TRUMP_ARMY— or @MAGANationX, and their verified accounts proudly display portraits of President Donald Trump, voter rallies and American flags. And they’re constantly posting about U.S. politics to their followers, sounding like diehard fans of the president.

But after a weekend update to the social media platform X, it’s now clear that the owners of these accounts, and many others, are located in regions such as South Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Elon Musk’s X unveiled a feature Saturday that lets users see where an account is based. Online sleuths and experts quickly found that many popular accounts posting in support of the MAGA movement to thousands or hundreds of thousands of followers, are based outside the United States — raising concerns about foreign influence on U.S. politics.

Researchers at NewsGuard, a firm that tracks online misinformation, identified several popular accounts — purportedly run by Americans interested in politics – that instead were based in Eastern Europe, Asia or Africa.

The accounts were leading disseminators of some misleading and polarizing claims about U.S. politics, including ones that said Democrats bribed the moderators of a 2024 presidential debate.

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What is the location feature?

Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, announced Saturday that the social media platform is rolling out an “About This Account” tool, which lets users see the country or region where an account is based. To find an account’s location, tap or click the signup date displayed on the profile.

“This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square. We plan to provide many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X,” Bier wrote.

In countries with punitive speech restrictions, a privacy tool on X lets account holders only show their region rather than a specific country. So instead of India, for instance, an account can say it is based in South Asia.

Bier said Sunday that after an update to the tool, it would 99.99% accurate, though this could not be independently verified. Accounts, for instance, can use a virtual private network, or VPN, to mask their true location. On some accounts, there’s a notice saying the location data may not be accurate, either because the account uses a VPN or because some internet providers use proxies automatically, without action by the user.

Which accounts are causing controversy?

Some of the accounts supported slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk as well as President Donald Trump’s children. Many of the accounts were adorned with U.S. flags or made comments suggesting they were American. An account called “@BarronTNews_,” for instance, is shown as being located in “Eastern Europe (Non-EU),” even though the display location on its profile says “Mar A Lago.” The account, which has more than 580,000 followers, posted on Tuesday that “This is a FAN account, 100 % independent, run by one guy who loves this country and supports President Trump with everything I’ve got.”

NewsGuard also found evidence that some X users are spreading misinformation about the location feature itself, incorrectly accusing some accounts of being operated from abroad when they’re actually used by Americans. Investigators found several instances where one user created fake screenshots that appear to suggest an account was created overseas.

It’s not always clear what the motives of the accounts. While some may be state actors, it’s likely that many are financially motivated, posting commentary, memes and videos to draw engagement.

Users were divided over the new ability to see an account’s location information, with some questioning whether it went too far.

“Isn’t this kind of an invasion of privacy?” One X user wrote. “No one needs to see this info.”

Associated Press Writer David Klepper contributed to this story.

By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A political consultant who sent artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking former President Joe Biden to New Hampshire Democrats said Tuesday he will not pay $22,500 to three voters despite a recent federal court order.

The order, issued Friday in a lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters, came five months after a jury acquitted Steven Kramer of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate. In the civil case, the judge entered a default judgement after Kramer failed to appear in court.

“I never responded to them because I was already acquitted on 22 counts,” Kramer said in an email, insisting that the lawsuit was a publicity stunt that wasted the court’s time. He also has refused to pay a $6 million fine issued by the Federal Communications Commission.

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Though jurors sided with Kramer in the criminal trial, the judge in the civil case not only ordered him to pay $7,500 to each voter who sued but banned him from engaging in the same conduct nationwide. Caren Short, director of legal and research at the League of Women Voters, described the decision as a “critical precedent against the weaponization of artificial intelligence in elections.”

Plaintiffs will explore further action if Kramer doesn’t pay up, said Courtney Hostetler of Free Speech for People, which provided the League with legal assistance.

“Mr. Kramer has shown a consistent disregard for the law and the rights of voters,” she said. “His plan to defy the court’s order continues this pattern, and reinforces the importance of the injunction and the damages award.”

Kramer, 56, of New Orleans, admitted orchestrating a message sent to thousands of voters two days before the state’s Jan. 23, 2024, presidential primary. Recipients heard an AI-generated voice similar to Biden’s that suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November.

“It’s important that you save your vote for the November election,” voters were told. “Your votes make a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”

Kramer, who would have faced decades in prison if convicted, testified that he wanted to send a wake-up call about the potential dangers of AI when he paid a New Orleans magician $150 to create the recording. He said he was getting frequent calls from people using AI in campaigns, and, worried about the lack of regulations, made it his New Year’s resolution to take action.

“This is going to be my one good deed this year,” he recalled while testifying in Belknap County Superior Court in June.

Kramer argued that the primary was a meaningless straw poll, and therefore the state’s voter suppression law didn’t apply. The primary was held in defiance of the Democratic National Committee, which had dislodged New Hampshire from its traditional spot in the nominating calendar, though the state’s delegates were still seated at the national convention. Biden did not put his name on the ballot or campaign there but won as a write-in.

Lingo Telecom, the company that transmitted the calls, agreed to pay $1 million in a settlement with the FCC in August 2024. The agency, which did not respond to requests for comment, was developing AI-related rules when Donald Trump won the presidency, but it has since shown signs of a shift toward loosening regulations.

And though multiple states have enacted legislation targeting the use of video or audio content that mimics candidates in political campaigns, Trump is considering pressuring states to stop regulating artificial intelligence. Trump and some Republicans argue that such regulation will dampen innovation, while critics worry about allowing big AI companies to operate with little oversight.

The Campbell’s Co. said Tuesday it has placed one of its executives on leave while it investigates claims that he made racist comments and mocked the company’s products and customers in an audio recording.

Martin Bally, Campbell’s vice president of information technology, was named in a lawsuit filed last week by Robert Garza, a former Campbell’s employee. The lawsuit was filed in Michigan, where both men live. Campbell’s is headquartered in New Jersey.

In the lawsuit, Garza claimed he met with Bally in November 2024 to discuss his salary. During the meeting, which Garza allegedly recorded, Bally described Campbell’s as “highly process(ed) food” and said it was for “poor people.”

Garza claimed that Bally made racist remarks about Indian workers, whom he called “idiots,” according to the lawsuit. Garza said Bally also told him that he often went to work high after consuming marijuana edibles.

Garza said he told his manager, J.D. Aupperle, on Jan. 10 that he wanted to report Bally’s comments to Campbell’s human resources department. Garza said Aupperle didn’t encourage him to report the comments but also gave him no advice on how to proceed.

On Jan. 30, Garza was terminated from Campbell’s. He is seeking monetary damages from Campbell’s. He also names Bally and Aupperle in the lawsuit, saying they were responsible for his termination.

In its statement Tuesday, Campbell’s said that if the comments on the audio recording were in fact made by Bally, they are unacceptable.

“Such language does not reflect our values and the culture of our company,” the company said. “We do not tolerate that kind of language under any circumstances.”

Campbell’s added that the comments were allegedly made by someone in IT “who has nothing to do with how we make our food.”

“We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it and the high-quality ingredients we use to provide consumers with good food at a good value,” Campbell’s said. “The comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate — they are patently absurd.”

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