Wastewater tests can find mpox, study finds

NEW YORK (AP) — New research bolsters a push to use sewage to track more diseases in the U.S. Wastewater testing does a good job at detecting mpox infections. That’s according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday. It found that over the course of a week, there was a 32% likelihood the tests would detect the presence of at least one person infected with mpox in a population ranging from thousands to millions. The testing is now a staple of COVID-19 tracking. And CDC is now using it for flu and RSV too. Soon, the agency plans to start watching for germs that are resistant to antibiotics and some food poisoning bugs.

Average long-term mortgage rate falls to 6.6%, lowest level since May

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell this week to its lowest level since May, welcome news for prospective homebuyers facing rising home prices and intense competition for relatively few properties on the market. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped to 6.6% from 6.66% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.15%. The decline, which follows two weeks of increases, brings the average rate down to the lowest level it’s been in since late May, when it was 6.57%. Still, the average rate remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.56%.

US applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level since September 2022

(AP) –The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in more than a year, underscoring the resilience of the labor market amid elevated interest rates. Jobless claim applications fell to 187,000 for the week ending Jan. 13, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the fewest since September of 2022. Overall, 1.81 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Jan. 6, a decline of 26,000 from the previous week. Weekly unemployment claims are viewed as representative for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week.

Report: More than 300 journalists around the world imprisoned

NEW YORK (AP) — An estimated 320 journalists around the world were imprisoned because of their work toward the end of 2023. That’s from the Committee to Protect Journalists, which on Thursday issued its annual census as of Dec. 1, 2023. The committee has been doing this since 1992, and last year had the second-highest number of journalists held because of their jobs. Only 2022 was higher. CPJ says the number went down in 2023 largely because Iran released several prisoners on bail or because they’re awaiting sentencing.

Man acquitted in a 2021 fatal shooting at Virginia high school

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A Virginia jury has acquitted a man in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old outside a high school basketball game in 2021. The Daily Press reports that the Newport News Circuit Court jury took about 50 minutes last week to find Demari Batten not guilty. Batten was 18 at the time of the shooting and had been charged with manslaughter in Justice Dunham’s death. The shooting happened as fans left a game at Menchville High School. Batten testified that he fired in self-defense as Dunham approached him while sitting in a car.