A ”For Sale” sign is outside a residential home in Oro Valley, Ariz., Dec.12, 2025. (Michael Yanow/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level since September as fallout from the Iran war ripples through financial markets, Freddie Mac data on Thursday showed.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.46%, continuing a weeks-long surge since the war began on Feb. 28, during which time mortgage rates have increased nearly half a percentage point.
Mortgage rates remain slightly lower than this time a year ago, when the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stood at 6.64%.
The recent spike in borrowing costs risks further strain on U.S. households as they weather elevated gasoline prices.
The rise in mortgage rates owes to a jump in U.S. Treasury yields as investors fear a bout of inflation in response to the Middle East conflict.
High bond yields make borrowing more expensive for average Americans, since 10-year Treasury rates influence the rates offered for a variety of loans, including mortgages and credit cards.
Since bonds pay a given investor a fixed amount each year, the specter of inflation risks higher consumer prices that would eat away at those annual payouts. In turn, bonds often become less attractive in response to economic turmoil. When demand falls, bond yields rise.
The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, meaning the amount paid to a bondholder annually, stands at about 4.31%, about 0.35 percentage points higher than pre-war levels.
“Mortgage rates have risen as bond market yields have sought to price in the risk of higher inflation in the future,” Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, previously told ABC News.
Last week, bond yields soared close to levels reached in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs in April 2025, when the 10-year Treasury yield peaked at around 4.5%.
Bond yields eased in recent days as Trump signaled a possible off-ramp from the war with Iran.
Tiger Woods is shown in the back of a patrol car during his arrest in Juniper, Florida, on March 27, 2026. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
(MARTIN COUNTY, Fla.) — Body camera footage has been released showing Tiger Woods’ arrest for driving under the influence following his rollover crash in Florida last week.
The footage from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office shows the legendary golfer undergoing a field sobriety test, being placed into handcuffs and then driven from the scene in the back of the patrol vehicle following Friday’s crash.
One of the first deputies to arrive at the scene is seen talking to a man who says he pulled up after the incident and that no one is in the vehicle, which is seen on its side.
“Who’s involved?” the deputy asks.
“It’s Tiger Woods,” the man says.
“Oh, s—, all right,” the deputy says.
When a deputy responds to conduct a field sobriety test as part of a DUI investigation, Woods tells her he was “looking down at my phone, about ready to change the radio station,” when the crash occurred.
He tells the deputy that he had no alcohol to drink that day and takes “a few” medications, several of which are redacted in the video. He says he does not take any illegal substances.
He is seen hiccuping throughout the field sobriety test, at the end of which he is placed in handcuffs, with the deputy telling him she believes his “normal faculties are impaired” due to an “unknown substance.”
“I’m being arrested?” Woods asks.
“Yes, sir,” the deputy responds, saying he is being arrested for DUI.
Woods was charged with driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test following last Friday’s accident in Jupiter Island, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said. No one was injured, officials said.
He was released on bail later Friday.
Woods waived his right to an arraignment and entered a not guilty plea earlier this week, according to court documents.
The accident unfolded when Woods tried to pass a truck in front of him, authorities said. Woods clipped the back of the truck’s trailer, causing the golfer’s SUV to tip on its side, authorities said.
Woods told deputies he was looking down at his phone and changing the radio station and didn’t realize the truck in front of him had slowed down, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Two hydrocodone pills were found in Woods’ pants pocket, the probable cause affidavit said. Hydrocodone is a prescription medication intended to treat severe, chronic pain and common side effects include dizziness and drowsiness.
The golfer had “bloodshot and glassy” eyes and “extremely dilated” pupils, the probable cause affidavit said. Woods’ movement was “lethargic,” but he was also “extremely alert and talkative,” the document said.
A breathalyzer showed no alcohol in his system, but Woods refused to take a urine test, which is used to detect drugs or medication, authorities said.
Woods broke his silence about the crash on Tuesday, saying in a statement, “I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today. I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.”
“This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery,” he said.
On Wednesday, a Marin County judge granted Woods permission to travel out of the U.S. to begin “comprehensive inpatient treatment,” court records show.
Woods won’t participate in the Masters, which begins April 9, tournament officials said.
The PGA Tour said in a statement, “Our focus is on his health and well‑being. Tiger continues to have our full support as he takes this important step.”
Selena Gomez and David Henrie on the ‘Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’ set. (Disney/Eric McCandless)
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is ready to cast one last spell.
Disney+ and Disney Channel have announced that the Wizards of Waverly Place spinoff series will return for its final chapter this summer. Production on the new episodes starts next week.
Selena Gomez will make her directorial debut as she helms the premiere episode of this final chapter in the Russo family’s story. In addition to directing, Gomez will reprise her role of Alex Russo over the course of multiple episodes and continue executive producing.
Wizards Beyond Waverly Place stars David Henrie as Justin Russo and Janice LeAnn Brown as the young wizard Billie. Alkaio Thiele, Max Matenko, Taylor Cora and Mimi Gianopulos also make up the main cast.
This final chapter of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place is being billed as a special four-part event.
“Billie, still reeling from losing Alex at the end of season 2, discovers that the only way to rescue her mother is to reunite with her long-lost father,” according to an official description from Disney. “As her family bands together to find Alex, Billie realizes that their combined power is the only way the Russos can defeat the evil plaguing them.”
Disney Channel released a teaser for the new episodes on Thursday. The video features a moment from the emotional ending of season 2, with Billie and Alex embracing each other.
“Hold on tight for some news,” the video says, before announcing the upcoming new and final episodes.
Iraqi Shiite militia groups organize a military parade as part of the ‘World Quds Day’ events in Baghdad, Iraq, March 28, 2025. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. officials have issued a new warning to Americans still in Iraq, advising them to leave the country immediately as Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may “intend to conduct attacks” in central Baghdad.
“U.S. citizens should leave Iraq now,” said the alert issued on Thursday by the United States Embassy and Consulate in Iraq, which has previously issued warnings for Americans to leave the country due to security risks.
The new alert comes as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has entered its second month.
The security alert also came just days after an American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, was kidnapped in broad daylight on a busy street in Baghdad, allegedly by an Iran-linked militia group.
“Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours,” the U.S. Embassy’s alert said.
The embassy’s statement added that Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist militias have already conducted “widespread attacks against U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.”
The alert cautioned Americans to be aware that militia groups “may claim to be associated with the Iraqi government.”
“Terrorists may carry identification denoting their status as Iraqi government employees,” according to the alert.
In addition to U.S. citizens, terrorist militias might also target businesses, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, airports and “other locations perceived to be associated with the United States,” according to the alert.
While telling U.S. citizens to leave the country immediately, U.S. officials also said the only escape routes out of Iraq are overland to Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey because the airspace is closed, preventing commercial airlines from flying out of Iraq.
“Local ground transportation options are functioning. Americans should depart now via one of these overland routes,” according to the alert.
For the time being, the U.S. Mission in Iraq remains open. But the alert advised Americans not to go there.
“Do not attempt to come to the Embassy in Baghdad or the Consulate General in Erbil in light of significant security risks,” the alert said.
The search for Kittleson, 49, a freelance journalist originally from Wisconsin, continued on Thursday, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.
“We have no answer or explanation,” the interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday about Kittleson’s abduction.
In a security camera recording verified by ABC News and confirmed by Iraq’s interior ministry to show the moment Kittleson was kidnapped on Tuesday, the journalist is seen standing on a sidewalk as a silver car approaches before she is pushed towards the car, which then quickly speeds away.
One suspect alleged to be involved in the kidnapping was arrested when one of the cars fleeing the scene crashed and overturned, according to Iraq’s interior ministry. Kittleson had been forced into another car that got away.
Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs for the State Department, said in a statement on Wednesday that the suspect has ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah.
Pam Bondi, US attorney general, center, during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 26, 2026. (Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Pam Bondi was being ousted as his attorney general in a post on his social media platform, saying she’ll move to a role working in the private sector.
“We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future,” Trump said in the post.
Trump’s deputy attorney general and former personal attorney Todd Blanche will serve as acting Attorney General, the president said.
“And our Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General,” Trump wrote.
Trump had raised potentially removing Bondi as attorney general in recent discussions with senior administration officials, sources told ABC News on Wednesday, amid months of mounting frustration that the Justice Department isn’t doing enough to target his political opponents for prosecution.
Blanche previously served as Trump’s defense attorney in the cases brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and former special counsel Jack Smith.
He has served as the nation’s No. 2 law enforcement official since being confirmed by the Senate in March of last year, and previously served in the Justice Department as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York.
Like Bondi, he has been vocal about his personal loyalties to President Trump and just last week appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he cheered the purge of prosecutors who previously worked on investigations into Trump and defended the DOJ from criticism by the MAGA base.
“So when people say, ‘Why aren’t you doing more?’ I welcome that criticism,” Blanche said. “Keep on putting pressure on us. Do you think it makes me upset when you go on X and say, ‘Come on, Blanche, why aren’t we doing more?’ You don’t know me. That’s what motivates me.”
The shakeup comes as Democrats and voting rights groups have expressed alarm that the White House may seek to use the DOJ and FBI to intervene in the midterm elections in November.
The president’s announcement brings an end to a rocky tenure for Bondi as the nation’s top law enforcement official, during which she aggressively sought to reshape the Justice Department as an enforcer of Trump’s agenda — repeatedly breaking with institutional norms implemented after the Watergate era that had encouraged independence from the political demands of the White House.
From her first days in office, Bondi emphasized her personal loyalty to Trump and echoed his longstanding grievances with the DOJ and FBI that the president and his allies have long accused of being “weaponized” against him.
During Trump’s first term in office he faced resistance from top officials at the DOJ and FBI against using the vast powers of their agencies to punish the president’s perceived enemies, but Bondi publicly embraced Trump’s demands to launch prosecutions against specific targets — to mixed effect.
The department’s attempts to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James fell apart after a federal judge ruled that the Trump-appointed prosecutor who indicted them was appointed unlawfully. Attempts to revive the case against James were twice rejected by a grand jury, sources previously told ABC News.
A separate effort by the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, to indict six Democratic lawmakers who posted a video urging military service members to refuse to follow unlawful orders was also rejected by a grand jury — despite Trump’s accusation the group was guilty of “treason.”
Pirro and the department are separately appealing an order from the chief judge in Washington, D.C., that has put on hold their attempt to launch a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, another frequent target of Trump’s ire.
In recent months, Trump has repeatedly vented frustration to aides regarding both the pace and the effectiveness of the Justice Department’s ability to target his foes — concerns he had also conveyed directly to Bondi — according to sources familiar with the matter.
Trump and other senior White House officials have also criticized Bondi’s handling of the DOJ’s files from its investigations into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which has consumed months of media attention and led to widespread backlash from some of Trump’s most devoted supporters.
Bondi’s appearance in front of the House Judiciary Committee in February, in which she repeatedly yelled at lawmakers and sidestepped questions about the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files and other sensitive matters, was also a subject of some criticism at the White House, sources say. Trump posted afterward on social media that Bondi was “fantastic” at the hearing.
Weeks later, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Oversight committee voted to subpoena Bondi with a demand that she sit for a deposition on the Epstein files in mid-April.
ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
Mayor Mamdani speaks at a press conference after a 7-month-old child was fatally shot in Brooklyn, New York, on April 1, 2026. (NYPD)
(NEW YORK) — A 21-year-old will be placed under arrest in his hospital bed on charges he murdered a baby in Brooklyn by a stray bullet, the New York City Police Department said Thursday.
Amare Green allegedly fired shots from the back of a moped into a crowd in Williamsburg that struck and killed 7-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore and grazed her 2-year-old brother as they sat in a stroller on Wednesday afternoon.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it a “devastating shooting” and said, “My heart aches for the parents impacted,” at a press conference on Thursday.
Green is a known associate of a street gang operating out of a public housing project in Brooklyn, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said. Investigators are looking into whether the baby’s father may have been the intended target as part of a dispute with a rival gang.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said detectives have identified the moped driver, but she declined to release a name. The driver is at large.
Tisch mentioned the impending arrest in a crime that shocked the city as she touted a continued drop in crime.
The shooting was reported at about 1:20 p.m. on the corner of Humboldt and Moore streets in the East Williamsburg area, according to police.
Several adults, including two people with strollers, and several other children, were nearby when two males approached the intersection on a moped, Tisch said. The rear passenger on the moped pulled out a gun and fired at least two shots toward the corner, Tisch told reporters, citing surveillance video.
“Today our city suffered a horrifying, senseless tragedy: a 7-month-old child being pushed in a stroller along a busy Brooklyn sidewalk was shot and killed in broad daylight,” the police commissioner said.
The baby was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
After the shooting, the two suspects collided with an oncoming car about two blocks away, police said. Both men were thrown from the moped. The rear passenger, who fits the description of the shooter, was taken to the hospital and is in police custody, Tisch said.
The other passenger took off, but police later located the moped.
Mamdani called the shooting a “devastating reminder” of the work that remains to be done to combat gun violence.
“A life that had barely begun was taken in an instant,” Mamdani said. “There are no words that can mend the heartbreak this family is feeling now.”
Mesa County Clerk and Colorado Republican candidate for secretary of state Tina Peters reacts to early election returns during a primary night watch party at the Wide Open Saloon on June 28, 2022 in Sedalia, Colorado. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)
(MESA COUNTY, Colo.) — A Colorado appeals court has overturned the prison sentence of Tina Peters, the former Colorado county clerk who was convicted in a scheme to breach voting systems in search of evidence of election fraud in 2020.
In its decision on Thursday, the appeals court upheld Peters’ conviction but ordered her case to be sent to a lower court for a judge to issue a new sentence.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Josh Allen and Hailee Steinfeld pose for a photo on the red carpet the 14th Annual NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre, Feb. 6, 2025, in New Orleans. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen and his Oscar-nominated wife, Hailee Steinfeld, are new parents.
The couple announced Thursday that they had welcomed their first child, a daughter.
“Our baby girl has arrived!!” they wrote in a joint message shared in Steinfeld’s Beau Society newsletter. “We’re feeling incredibly grateful and blessed and savouring these early moments. Thank you so much for the love and well wishes.”
The message featured an illustration of a stork carrying a baby, whose blanket bore the Beau Society logo.
The quarterback and Sinners star, both 29, did not share further details about their daughter’s birth or her name.
Allen and Steinfeld wed last May in Santa Barbara, California, after announcing their engagement in November 2024.
The couple announced on social media in December that they were expecting their first child.
In an interview with Bustle published last November, Steinfeld opened up about the couple’s relationship and wanting kids with Allen, saying, “I literally thank God every day that I found my person, and it’s the greatest thing in the world.”
“Life makes sense,” Steinfeld added. “Everything makes sense. I feel like I am stepping into the version that I’ve always dreamed of being, having so much to do with being with him.”
Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General is probing contracts that were handled by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the influence of former staffer Corey Lewandowski, according to sources.
The investigation is sprawling, according to sources, and court records indicate that at least one former Federal Emergency Management Agency official has received a notice to retain documents.
The IG’s office doesn’t confirm or deny “criminal or administrative” investigations, according to a statement from the office. The office did say it is auditing DHS grants and contracts, which it publicly posted on its website.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
During his confirmation hearing last month, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that the department will cooperate with any such investigations.
The IG will be “doing the investigation,” Mullin said. “I will do everything required to me by law. And in the policies that you guys give me, there won’t be any gray area with me. We want to have a good relationship with, with the IG. He’s got a job to do.”
The FEMA official in question, Kara Voorhies, was installed by Noem to work at the department on a contract basis, according to sources.
The IG is probing her involvement in FEMA contracting processes. The cost of her contract also is under scrutiny by the IG, according to a source.
Sources have told ABC News that during the Texas floods over the July 4 holiday last year, Voorhies was unreachable during the early part of the floods and senior leadership ended up acting without getting her approval, due to the life and death nature of the floods.
A court filing said last week she is no longer a contractor or employee of FEMA, and acknowledged that her devices were with the OIG as part of the investigation. The lawsuit relates to the FEMA contracting process.
Contact information wasn’t immediately available for Voorhies.
Before President Donald Trump fired Noem as DHS secretary, the DHS IG, Joseph Cuffari, had repeatedly warned Congress that the former secretary was blocking his investigations into various matters and stalling reports from being implemented.
Lewandowski was known around the department as “the chief” according to sources, and had heavy influence in decision making at the Department. He is no longer an employee at DHS, according to a department spokesperson.
The inspector general, according to sources, is scrutinizing how he — along with Noem — handled and awarded the contracts at DHS.
Through a spokesperson to other outlets, he has denied any wrongdoing. ABC News has reached out to Lewandowski’s attorney for comment.
Cuffari warned that the policy change last July eliminating the need for airline passengers to remove their shoes as part of Transportation Security Administration screening procedures created a “significant” security risk, and the recommendations to that report have not yet been implemented despite the secretary’s assertions to Congress that they have.
“I am writing to inform you that OIG has not received such information — written or oral — from DHS or TSA, despite our requests to the Secretary and you for that information,” Cuffari wrote to Ha Nguyen McNeil, the acting TSA administrator, in a March 4 letter. “After receiving this information, OIG will assess whether TSA’s actions adequately address the findings and recommendations and we will evaluate any evidence provided to determine whether the status of each recommendation should be ‘open and unresolved,’ ‘open and resolved,’ or ‘closed.'”
John Sandweg, the former acting general counsel at DHS, said the IG investigation appears to be wide-ranging.
“The scope of the IG review will be sweeping, looking for any improprieties in how contracts were awarded, to include whether any crimes were committed,” he told ABC News. “At the conclusion of the review, the IG would normally document their findings in a public report, describing any violations of regulation or policy or summarizing the ways in which the contract approval process hindered DHS operations.”
Netflix has released the full-length trailer for season 2 of the popular Emmy-winning anthology series from A24 and creator Lee Sung Jin.
This season features a brand-new story with a completely different cast of characters. Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny star in season 2. The incident that sparks the new “beef” is a Gen Z couple witnessing an alarming fight between their millennial boss and his wife.
“Newly-engaged Ashley Miller (Spaeny) and Austin Davis (Melton), both lower-level staff at a country club, become entangled in the unraveling marriage of their General Manager, Joshua Martín (Isaac), and his wife, Lindsay Crane-Martín (Mulligan),” according to its official synopsis. “Through favors and coercion, both couples vie for the approval of the elitist club’s billionaire owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh Jung), who struggles to manage her own scandal involving her second husband, Doctor Kim (Song Kang Ho).”
The trailer shows off the moment of Ashley and Austin witnessing the alarming fight between Joshua and Lindsay. It also features Ashley asking Lindsay some advice about marriage, which she describes to be a “temporary Band-Aid” that covers “the immense pain of knowing you picked the wrong person.”
“Don’t people say you shouldn’t be looking for the right person, but actually, the right wrong person?” Ashley says at the end of the trailer.
There will be eight 30-minute episodes in season 2. Lee returns as its creator, showrunner and executive producer. The first season’s stars, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, also return to executive produce season 2, joined by Mulligan, Isaac, Melton and Spaeny as executive producers.
