Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Articles from the July 14, 2025 edition


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  • The 10 most affordable and most expensive US cities to buy a house

    Stacker, Jamie Forbes for Redfin Real Estate|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    The 10 most affordable and most expensive US cities to buy a house For many people, buying a house is simply out of reach today. Housing costs have reached record highs, pricing buyers out and leaving more homes on the market than there have been in years. The data backs this up: Nationwide, just 35% of homes are affordable to the average homebuyer — down from 60% in 2022. Affordability has dropped since the pandemic because house prices and mortgage rates rose in tandem. B...

  • Should I ditch my credit card for BNPL?

    Stacker|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    Should I ditch my credit card for BNPL? Buy now, pay later (BNPL) is popping up everywhere. An April 2025 LendingTree survey found that around half of Americans have used BNPL, and around 1 in 3 have used it more than once. Buyers aren’t just using it for essentials either, with a Billboard report finding that nearly 2 in 3 attendees at this year’s Coachella festival used BNPL to buy their tickets. Credit cards, the grandfather of deferred payment solutions, have been aro...

  • Cities across the American Sun Belt have started to see listings lingering on the market far longer than they did two or three years ago

    Stacker, Michael Balintona for Property Reach|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    Where homes are sitting on the market the longest and why In recent years, the only certainty in the housing market is uncertainty. From the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic to unprecedented economic shifts, today’s market has seen plenty of changes. Early in the pandemic, for instance, many buyers sought to take advantage of low mortgage rates, leading to a seller’s market. Today, sellers still have a great deal of leverage in many places thanks to relatively low inv...

  • When tenants have a right to counsel in eviction cases, but there aren't enough lawyers to help

    Stacker, Bryce Covert for Economic Hardship Reporting Project and The Baffler|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    When tenants have a right to counsel in eviction cases, but there aren’t enough lawyers to help Icy snow crusted the sidewalks outside the Bronx housing courthouse on a Thursday in late January, a bitterly cold day in a string of bitterly cold days. Inside, spread out over three floors, dozens of people in puffy coats, some cradling babies or hunched over canes, waited to find out whether they would be kicked out of their homes or what it would take to stay housed. Every f...

  • Former Navy SEALs are diving to save the ocean

    Stacker, Michaela Haas for Reasons to be Cheerful|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    Former Navy SEALs are diving to save the ocean When Rodolfo “Rudy” Reyes went diving in the Cayman Islands in 2015, the experience changed his life. The highly decorated veteran had logged thousands of dives as a Special Ops Force Recon Marine in 18 years of service. But, as Reyes recalls, “As combat divers we operate at night, pushing 200 pounds of equipment, carrying massive weapons. It’s very stressful, and we focus on the mission — taking on the enemy.” In the Caribbean,...

  • Use it or lose it: How age affects cognitive skills

    Stacker, Eric Hanushek for The 74|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    Use it or lose it: How age affects cognitive skills Conventional wisdom tells us that cognitive skills continue developing until people reach their early 30s and then begin a long fall. However, that conclusion does not come from following individuals as they age. Instead, it comes from comparing the math and reading skills of individuals of different ages at a single point in time. The problem is that people of various ages have different educational experiences, different...

  • When building sandcastles and tunnels, beware collapsing sand

    Stacker, Stephen P. Leatherman for The Conversation|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    When building sandcastles and tunnels, beware collapsing sand While millions of Americans vacation on beaches every year to seek out sun, sand and the sea, many might not realize how dangerous digging holes in the sand can be. In February 2024, a 7-year-old girl died after an approximately 5-foot (1.5-meter) hole she and her brother dug in the sand collapsed in on her, burying her alive. Stephen P. Leatherman, a coastal science researcher who’s been studying beaches for m...

  • 4 expiring tax breaks for homeowners in 2025

    Stacker, Michael Letendre for NewHomeSource|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    4 expiring tax breaks for homeowners in 2025 Several significant tax benefits that homeowners have relied on for years will disappear on December 31, 2025, reports NewHomeSource. Why it matters : These expiring tax breaks could mean thousands of dollars in additional taxes for homeowners across the country. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed in 2017, was designed to reduce taxes for most Americans by simplifying the tax code and lowering rates. Many of its key provisions...

  • Top 20 US places where homes sell fastest

    Stacker, Michael Stancil for Offerpad|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    Top 20 US places where homes sell fastest When the time comes to put your home on the market, a host of questions need to be answered. The most pressing question is, “How long will my house take to sell?” This is also an interesting talking point from a home buyer’s perspective. It’s important to know how much time you’ve got to put an offer in on your dream property before it’s snapped up by someone else. The key statistic that matters in this context is Days on Market (DOM...

  • Dems Try to Gaslight America About How Dangerous LA's MacArthur Park Has Become, Due Mostly to Illegal Aliens Present There

    Stan Greene, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    MacArthur Park, once a vibrant community hub in the heart of Los Angeles, has become a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement. A recent large-scale Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation targeting the park has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic leaders, with Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) at the forefront, accusing federal authorities of turning a family-friendly space into a militarized zone. Critics, however, argue that Swalwell...

  • Insane Doorcam Footage of Shootout in Philadelphia Residential Neighborhood

    Samuel Alioto, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    **Philadelphia, PA - July 7, 2025** - A violent shootout erupted in the heart of Philadelphia late Monday evening, leaving three people dead and nine others injured, including three children, according to local authorities and eyewitness accounts. The harrowing incident, captured on a Ring doorbell camera, has reignited concerns about the escalating gun violence plaguing urban areas across the United States. Original ring camera footage may be seen on X.com at:...

  • DOJ and FBI Claim Jeffrey Epstein Had No 'Client List,' and Died by Suicide, but Questions Linger

    Stan Greene, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    NEW YORK — In a report released late Sunday, July 6, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded that disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein did not maintain a “client list” of powerful figures, did not blackmail prominent individuals, and died by suicide in his Manhattan cell in August 2019. The findings, touted as a definitive debunking of long-running conspiracy theories, aim to put to rest specu...

  • Ducklings Cross Wilshire Blvd at Chelsea, With a Little Help From Some Friends

    Clara Evans, Observer Staff Writer|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    Ducklings’ Daring Dash Across Wilshire Blvd Captivates Santa Monica *By Clara Evans | Santa Monica Observer | SANTA MONICA — A heartwarming yet tense wildlife drama unfolded on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Chelsea Avenue near Douglas Park, as a family of ducks attempted a perilous cross. Longtime resident Melanie Martin witnessed seven ducklings struggling to follow their mother across the busy road, thwarted by a high concrete median th...

  • Gov. Newsom Allocates $101M for Low-Income Housing on Burned Palisades Lots

    Alex Rivera, Pacific Pulse|Updated Jul 11, 2025

    LOS ANGELES - California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a $101 million state investment on July 8, 2025, to develop low-income housing on land devastated by the Palisades Fire earlier this year. The January blaze, which razed 6,837 structures across 1,500 acres in Pacific Palisades, has left the affluent community grappling with recovery-and now, a contentious redevelopment plan. The funding, managed by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, targets m...