Today’s News
Local home sales up 2.1% this year
The number of homes sold in central Ohio is up 2.1 percent so far this year compared to the first nine months of 2024, according to new figures from Columbus Realtors. Home sales increased 7.9 percent in September with an average sale price of $368,290. The average price of a home sold this year is up 2.9 percent, to $377,636 while the median sales price so far this year is $329,000, an increase of 2.8 [...]
Department of Agriculture reopens 2,100 offices to help farmers access $3B in aid
The U.S. Department of Agriculture was scheduled to reopen about 2,100 county offices across the country last week despite the ongoing government shutdown to help farmers and ranchers gain access to $3 billion of aid from existing programs. The USDA said each Farm Service Agency office will have two workers who will be paid even though the government remained shutdown as of late last week. The offices help farmers apply for farm loans, crop insurance, [...]
PM: Canada to expand exports beyond U.S.
TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney set a goal for Canada to double its non-United States exports in the next decade, saying American tariffs are causing a chill in investment. Carney said many of Canada’s former strengths — based on close ties to America — have become vulnerabilities. “The jobs of workers in our industries most affected by U.S. tariffs — autos, steel, lumber — are under threat. Our businesses are holding back investments, [...]
Tesla’s EV sales increase, but profit declines in 3Q
NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla reported a fourth straight decline in quarterly profit even as sales rose. The car company run by Elon Musk reported third-quarter earnings declined 37 percent to $1.4 billion, or 39 cents a share, from $2.2 billion, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. That marked the fourth quarter in a row that profit dropped. Even the revenue increase, a welcome relief from a sales plunge earlier in the year, [...]
Meta Platforms to cut about 600 AI jobs
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Meta Platforms is cutting roughly 600 artificial intelligence jobs even as it continues to hire more workers for its superintelligence lab, the company confirmed last week. Axios first reported the cuts, which will affect Meta’s Fundamental AI Research, or FAIR unit, as well as product-related AI and AI infrastructure units. Its newer TBD Lab unit won’t be affected. Citing a memo sent to workers by chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, [...]
As CEO makes case for merger, Union Pacific reports 7 percent higher profits
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific delivered 7 percent growth in its third-quarter earnings as its CEO continues to make the case for the potential benefits of acquiring one of the railroad operator’s eastern rivals. The Omaha, Neb.-based railroad company said it earned $1.79 billion, or $3.01 per share, in the quarter. That’s up from $1.67 billion, or $2.75 per share, a year ago. Without $41 million in merger costs, the railroad firm would have [...]
Dozens charged in illegal sports betting, rigged poker games
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are among 34 people charged in connection with schemes involving illegal sports betting and rigged poker games backed by the Mafia, authorities said last week. FBI Director Kash Patel and other law enforcement officials said the multiple charges involve four of the five leading mafia families and organized crime networks, and “mind-boggling” amounts of fraud. The indictments are related to two major [...]
U.S. debt hits $38T, increasing $1 trillion since August
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the midst of a federal government shutdown, the government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion last week, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’s balance sheet. It’s also the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic: the United States hit $37 trillion in gross national debt in August. The $38 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report, [...]
Trump levies new sanctions on Russian oil companies
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration last week announced new “massive sanctions” against Russia’s oil industry that are aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bringing an end to Moscow’s war on Ukraine. The sanctions against oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil followed months of calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as bipartisan pressure on Trump to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry, the economic [...]
Reddit sues AI company for scraping user comments
Social media platform Reddit sued artificial intelligence firm Perplexity AI and three other entities last week, alleging their involvement in an “industrial-scale, unlawful” economy to “scrape” the comments of millions of Reddit users for commercial gain. Reddit’s lawsuit in a New York federal court takes aim at San Francisco-based Perplexity, maker of an AI chatbot and “answer engine” that competes with Google, ChatGPT and others in online search. Also named in the lawsuit are Lithuanian [...]
Legal News
Judge grants temporary order allowing Ohio high school athletes to profit from NIL deals
CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio common pleas judge this week granted a temporary restraining order which would allow high school athletes in the state to [...]
High court to consider if pot smokers may own guns
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said it will consider whether people who regularly smoke marijuana can legally own guns, the latest firearm case to [...]
Lawsuit: Plastic bag makers lied about products being recyclable
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has ramped up its efforts to curb plastic pollution, suing three plastic-bag makers the state accuses of falsely claiming their [...]
Business News
Newspapers closing, news deserts growing, report finds
Some 136 newspapers in the United States have closed in the past year, news deserts are expanding and web traffic to the nation’s top newspapers [...]
Coca-Cola sees third-quarter revenue rise on higher prices; unit case volumes increase 1%
The Coca-Cola Co. earlier this week said its third-quarter revenue rose mostly due to higher prices. The Atlanta beverage giant said its organic revenue rose [...]
GM boosts outlook as 3Q results top expectations
General Motors anticipates a smaller impact from tariffs and is boosting its full-year adjusted earnings forecast as its third-quarter performance topped Wall Street’s expectations. The [...]
Real Estate
JPMorgan Chase unveils 60-story HQ
NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase unveiled its new 60-story headquarters to the public this week, one of the first major office buildings to be [...]
Franklin County affordable housing projects receive OHFA financing approval
Two local affordable housing projects have been approved for financing through various programs, according to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. The agency’s board last week [...]
Settlement clears way for suburban Browns stadium
CLEVELAND (AP) — Mayor Justin M. Bibb and the ownership group of the Cleveland Browns have reached a $100 million settlement that will clear the [...]
Politics
China borrows from the U.S. playbook in trade war
WASHINGTON (AP) — China likes to condemn the United States for extending its arm too far outside of its borders to make demands on non-American [...]
United States and Australia sign $8.5 billion critical-minerals agreement
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this week signed a critical-minerals deal at the White House as the [...]
Trump offers U.S. automakers additional relief from his tariffs
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is giving domestic automakers additional relief from tariffs on auto parts, extending what was supposed to have been a [...]