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Those who believe California home prices will crash in 2026 and improve affordability, along with folks hoping for more soaring values to pad their wealth, won’t like Zillow’s latest forecast. My trusty spreadsheet analyzed price outlooks for calendar 2026 for 50 big metropolitan areas – including six in California – and found Zillow’s estimates suggest a dull year ahead. Meek price movements are forecast for the firm’s regional indexes of its home valuations. A 1% gain was the estimated median price change among the six Golden State metros in the report. That’s a slight reversal from the 2.3% dip in…

By BEN FINLEY and STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is expected to vote this week on a bill authorizing $900 billion for military programs, including boosting pay for service members, cutting Pentagon diversity efforts and requiring footage to be released of forces blowing up alleged drug boats. The National Defense Authorization Act is traditionally a strong bipartisan bill that lays out the nation’s defense policies. But it’s coming up for a vote as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces mounting scrutiny over the boat strikes off Venezuela’s coast. Lawmakers’ concerns are apparent in the compromise bill released…

By KELVIN CHAN LONDON (AP) — Google faces fresh antitrust scrutiny from European Union regulators, who opened an investigation Tuesday into the company’s use of online content for its artificial intelligence models and services. The latest regulatory flexing by Brussels risks antagonizing President Donald Trump’s administration, though EU officials denied they were singling out American Big Tech companies. The European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, said it’s examining whether Google has breached competition rules through its use of content from web publishers and material uploaded to YouTube for AI purposes. Regulators are concerned that Google has…

By VALERIE GONZALEZ, Associated Press McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Hundreds of immigrant children across the nation were detained for longer than the legal limit this summer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has admitted in a court filing, alarming legal advocates who say the government is failing to safeguard children. In a court filing Wednesday evening, attorneys for detainees highlighted the government’s own admissions to longer custody times for immigrant children, unsanitary conditions reported by families and monitors at federal facilities, and a renewed reliance on hotels for detention. The reports were filed as part of an ongoing civil lawsuit launched…

MARGARET GILES and CHRISTINE BENZ of Morningstar As 2025 winds down, here are some moves to help you finish the year strong financially. Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning, Christine Benz, discusses strategies. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Benefits of Rebalancing Your Portfolio Q: What are the benefits of portfolio rebalancing, and who most needs to do it? A: The main benefit of rebalancing is risk reduction. You trim securities that have performed really well, presumably ones with higher valuations today. And you redirect the money into securities where returns have lagged, but valuations…

By DAVID A. LIEB, Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Opponents of Missouri’s new congressional map submitted thousands of petition signatures Tuesday calling for a statewide referendum on a redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump as part of his quest to hold on to a slim Republican majority in next year’s elections. Organizers of the petition drive said they turned in more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office — well more than the roughly 110,000 needed to suspend the new U.S. House districts from taking effect until a public vote can be held next year.…

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Dodgers are taking another swing at getting an established closer. The Dodgers reportedly reached a three-year, $69 million deal with right-hander Edwin Diaz, who had 28 saves with a 1.63 ERA with the New York Mets last season. Diaz, 31, has 253 saves with a 2.82 ERA in his career. He was considered the top closer on the free agent market this winter. Because Diaz rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets, the Dodgers will lose their second- and fifth-highest selections in the draft and $1 million from their international bonus pool. Last year, the Dodgers…

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady on Tuesday as Wall Street waits to hear what the Federal Reserve will say on Wednesday about where interest rates are heading. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% in morning trading, coming off just its second loss in the last 11 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 122 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower. Exxon Mobil was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500. It climbed 3.4% after increasing its forecast for profit over the…

A Ukrainian woman was arrested by federal immigration agents last week while attending her scheduled green card interview at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in downtown San Diego, an occurrence that immigration attorneys say is becoming increasingly common. Viktoriia Bulavina first entered the country in 2022 through a Biden-era humanitarian parole program for Ukrainians displaced by the war. Her daughter was participating in a gymnastics competition in the U.S. when the war started, and they were later reunited through the Uniting for Ukraine program. As of Sept. 30, 2023, more than 158,000 people arrived in the United States…

By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings barely budged in October, coming in at 7.7 million with ongoing uncertainty over the direction of the American economy. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 7.67 million vacancies in October, close to September’s 7.66 million. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which was delayed by the extended government shutdown, also showed that the layoffs rose and number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in the labor market — fell in October. Job openings have come down steadily since peaking…