(NewsNation) — For much of the year, automakers have had a supply problem, but as production ramps up and interest rates continue to rise, now they’re worried about the opposite — lower demand.

Those fears are primarily driven by affordability concerns. With an average transaction price of $48,681, Americans who bought new vehicles last month paid more than ever before, according to Cox Automotive.

That elevated price is primarily due to strong luxury vehicle sales, said Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst at Cox Automotive, who pointed out that those who are buying new cars in today’s market tend to be more affluent.

Overall, new vehicle prices are up 7.2% compared to last year, according to this week’s inflation report.

But the high sales price is just part of the overall cost. On Wednesday, the federal reserve announced another half-point interest rate hike as part of an ongoing effort to curb inflation. Those increases are affecting interest rates for auto loans which have surged in recent months.

At the end of 2021, the average interest rate on a five-year new car loan was 3.85%, according to Bankrate.com. Today, the average interest rate for the same loan is around 6%.

Those with lower credit scores tend to pay higher rates, but industry insiders say even people with impeccable scores are seeing expensive loan terms.

“We just had an 820 credit score get quoted 8% from Capital One and 10% from Ally for a CAR LOAN,” CarDealershipGuy, the anonymous CEO of a car dealer group behind a popular industry newsletter, tweeted this week.

Meanwhile, auto dealer sentiment has dropped to its lowest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent Cox Automotive report. That’s an indication more dealers view the current market as weak than strong.

New vehicle sales volumes were down in November compared to the month prior.

“Production is improving, inventory is improving, but consumers are starting to tap the brakes on sales because of high-interest rates and a possible recession,” said Krebs.

Last month, the U.S. supply of unsold new vehicles stood at 1.64 million units — the highest level since May 2021, according to Cox Automotive. That’s still well below the November 2019 supply of 3.55 million vehicles, but marks an 81% increase from this time last year.

Despite improved inventory levels, the average listing price for a new vehicle in the U.S. is up 4% from this time last year, at $46,823.

It’s not all bad news for consumers, especially for those looking to buy a used car.

Wholesale used vehicle prices are down more than 14% compared to a year ago, according to Cox. Used vehicle inventory has recovered to 2.44 million units, which is near pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

The average listing price for a used car is about half that of a new one, which means those who can afford to pay in cash will avoid interest rates altogether.

“We’ve never seen this level of people paying cash for vehicles,” said Krebs.

It remains to be seen whether car manufacturers will attempt to lure consumers back by re-introducing incentives like cash rebates or low-interest financing.

Today, the average incentive package is just 2.2% of the average transaction price. By comparison, in November 2019, the average incentive package was 10.6% of the average transaction price, per Cox.

For now, automakers will be glad they have vehicles to sell but as we head into 2023, all eyes will be on consumer demand.

(NewsNation) — A group of mostly white Christian women are making immigration reform a sticking point in their politics — but not in the way you may think. 

Immigration policy has long been a political wedge, and many popular reforms have languished in Congress in recent years.

That’s why Tess Clarke started We Welcome, a group trying to help families, friends, church groups and lawmakers have more nuanced conversations about immigration, decoupling religious faith from which party you vote for. 

“For the people who maybe don’t have proximity to immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers … so often what we hear is, ‘I don’t want the partisan talking points,’” Clarke said. “(And in) a lot of advocacy groups, sometimes you feel if you’re not up to speed on everything, you don’t have a seat at the table.”

Clarke is well aware of the high stakes that come when political views are so intertwined with faith. In the early days of the Trump administration, a refugee organization she was a part of started losing support with churchgoers.

“The message was: ‘We didn’t know refugees were dangerous,’” she said. “Then we also saw this rise of people looking for information, looking for what does the Bible say about immigrants.”

Clarke has tapped into a small but documented shift within Millennial and Gen Z Christian voters who grew up in conservative Evangelical communities but no longer identify with their parents’ political beliefs. 

“Ten to 20% of people are with you; 20% never will be,” Clarke said. “We’re focusing on the 60% in the middle, who are really looking … for someone to listen to some of their fears that are legitimate to them and help balance that with the conversation, (for a place) where they feel they don’t feel like a bigot because they have those questions.”

Leveraging relationships

We Welcome are more like a loose association than a strict organization. This allows members to use what works best in their local areas, whether a book club in Pennsylvania or an online Zoom meeting in Oklahoma. 

They encourage volunteering for organizations supporting refugees and immigrants. We Welcome will also take groups to meet with nonprofits and Border Patrol agents at the border, so people can see what circumstances are like for themselves.

Such a trip was a pivotal moment for Brooklyn Stephens, a community liaison from North Carolina.

“There has been this tie between politics and faith, the church, and … a lot of it is fear-driven,” she said.

As a kid, her dad worked in construction, “so I grew up around a lot of people who were from Mexico, kind of (viewing) them as friends or uncles,” she said. “But I didn’t know the journey that had gotten them to that point.”

That changed in 2019, when she took a border trip with We Welcome.

“Really that transformed how I was able to see what was going on in immigration — by hearing people’s stories in person,” she said.

Still, there’s a delicate balance to strike when having conversations with family and friends on such a polarizing issue — and “we’re always living in the tension of it,” Stephens said.

In addition to fighting polarization, the group educates members how to press their lawmakers to find immigration solutions where there is widespread consensus. 

For example, 72% of Americans say they want permanent resettlement for Afghan refugees and 74% say they want a path to citizenship for DACA recipients. Even the slightly divisive proposal — making it easier for people to apply for asylum — has 60% support among the public.

To date, about 10,000 people in their network have contacted lawmakers about The Dream Act, Clarke said, and thousands more contacted President Joe Biden about the status of Afghan refugees. 

Ultimately the key to helping people overcome stereotypes and fear — and work together to find solutions they agree on.

“Relationship is a necessity in this work,” Clarke said. “And it’s not quick.”

The words “to honor and to protect” have never resonated more than now. President Biden has done it. He has signed into law the respect for marriage act. In one of the most outstanding achievements of his presidency, President Joe Biden came through.

President Biden appeared on Capitol Hill. All around him were others who had worked tirelessly, including VP Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi. December 13, 2022, will now take its place in history.

People will read about this many years from now. They will read about President Biden’s bold and protective steps on this shining day. Same-sex are now codified into law. Take that, Clarence Thomas!

This bill requires that states recognize same-sex marriages across state lines. Federal benefits will be guaranteed. It was an amazing day. And that is the upside of politics. Sometimes, the darkness, the horrific, the insane — are thrown away in favor of honor, protection, and service. That is just what happened today. Thank you, President Biden.

The post Score one for the Democrats appeared first on Palmer Report.

Elon Musk and the Gulfstream G550 jet.

Sean Zanni / Contributor/Getty Images; Courtesy of Jetcraft

• The college student who tracked Elon Musk’s jet on Twitter had over 30 of his accounts banned on Wednesday.
• Twitter also blocked anyone from sharing links to Sweeney’s accounts on other platforms.
• Musk said in November he would allow the account to remain due to his “commitment to free speech.”

Twitter on Wednesday banned an account that previously tracked Elon Musk’s private jet — but it also went a step further, banning anyone from sharing a link to similar accounts on other social media sites.

The @ElonJet Twitter account, run by college student Jack Sweeney, was suspended from the platform, despite Musk saying in November he would not ban the account due to his “commitment to free speech.” Sweeney told Insider at the time he was “pleased” that Musk would allow his account to remain.

“I kind of figured that was his stance because if it wasn’t people would be after him for saying one thing and then coming and banning my account,” Sweeney, who called himself a fan of Musk, said in November.

But on Wednesday the account — as well as more than 30 others that Sweeney used to track the private jets of celebrities — was suspended. Shortly after, Twitter announced an update to its “Private Information policy” that would “prohibit sharing someone else’s live location in most cases.”

“When someone shares an individual’s live location on Twitter, there is an increased risk of physical harm. Moving forward, we’ll remove Tweets that share this information, and accounts dedicated to sharing someone else’s live location will be suspended,” the company said in a tweet.

In addition to blocking the Twitter account that tracked Musk’s jet, the platform has also banned sharing links to Sweeney’s @elonmusksjet Instagram account and his “Elon Musk’s Jet” Facebook page. When trying to tweet a link to the Instagram account as of Wednesday evening, Twitter returned an error message with the note: “We can’t complete this request because the link has been identified by Twitter or our partners as being potentially harmful.”

Twitter has blocked sharing links to Instagram and Facebook pages that track his private jet.

Twitter

In the updated policy, Twitter also stated that sharing links to sites that track real-time location would also be blocked, writing that prohibited live location information included “information shared on Twitter directly or links to 3rd-party URL(s) of travel routes, actual physical location, or other identifying information that would reveal a person’s location, regardless if this information is publicly available.”

Sweeney told Insider’s Grace Kay on Wednesday that his personal Twitter account was suspended hours after his jet tracking accounts, which compiled and published publicly available data.

“I really didn’t think he’d suspend my personal account,” Sweeney said. “I didn’t think he’d do anything because of all the media attention he’d get.”

Sweeney, who previously said his account had been “shadow-banned,” also said he planned to continue tracking Musk’s jet on other platforms. 

“I mean, fuck this guy,” he said. “This is ridiculous. My personal account doesn’t even track the planes. I’m going full-blast.”

U.S. citizen Suedi Murekezi holds a Ukrainian national flag after a prisoners-of-war (POWs) swap, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in an unknown location, Ukraine, in this handout picture released December 14, 2022.

Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office Andriy Yermak via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS

• An American vet is headed home after spending months in Russian captivity and occupied territory.
• Suedi Murekezi was among dozens of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners included in the exchange.
• Murekezi, who lived in Ukraine since 2018, told ABC the Russians accused him of being in the CIA.

A US citizen was among the dozens of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners freed in an organized swap on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said.  

Suedi Murekezi, an American Air Force veteran and native of Rwanda, spent months in Russian-controlled territory after being detained in June. Prior to his arrest, Murekezi had been living in Ukraine since 2018, working in the technology sector in the southern Kherson region, his family told The Washington Post this week.

Murekezi’s brother, Sele Murekezi, told The Post that his sibling immigrated to the US when he was a teenager and served in the Air Force for eight years before moving to Ukraine and settling in the Kherson area.

He chose not to leave the country when Russia invaded in February, the outlet reported, and Kherson was the first major city to fall to Russian forces less than a week after the war began. Ukrainian forces have since recaptured the region.

Murekezi, who is not believed to have been part of the fighting, told ABC News on Wednesday that the Russians accused him of being a member of the CIA and taking part in pro-Ukrainian demonstrations. He said the Russians kept him in a basement for weeks in the southern Kherson region, which he described as a “torture chamber.” 

He told the outlet that he was then moved closer to the Russian border where he was held in prison in the Donetsk People’s Republic for three months. Russian separatists have controlled the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, known as the Donbas, for eight years. 

There, Murekezi met other Russian prisoners from the West, including two Americans who volunteered to fight on behalf of Ukraine. The two men, Alex Drueke and Andy Tai Huynh, were released in a September prisoner swap and described horrendous conditions during their time in captivity.

Murekezi, who was not included in the September swap, told ABC that he was shocked and beaten by his captors. He was later released by the Russians, but did not have access to his US passport, which left him essentially stranded in the separatist-controlled regions, he told the outlet, saying he felt “trapped.

Russian President Vladimir Putin officially annexed four Ukrainian regions in September including Donetsk and Luhansk.

While detained with his fellow American prisoners, Murekezi said the Russians gave them minimal food and water. He told ABC that he was most looking forward to a peanut butter sandwich upon his return home.

Murekezi’s brother told the Post he believes his brother will return to the United States after his ordeal. He previously lived in Minnesota. 

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said in a Wednesday tweet that 64 Ukrainian soldiers were also included in the prisoner exchange, as well as the bodies of four soldiers killed in action. 

—Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) December 14, 2022

 

Ten years after one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, residents of the Connecticut town where it took place marked Wednesday’s anniversary by attending vigils, paying respects at a new memorial and reflecting in private with loved ones.

The rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012 – when a heavily armed gunman killed 20 young children and six educators – shocked the country and forever linked Newtown, a picturesque New England town, with the epidemic of mass shootings that has wracked the United States in recent years.

For many residents, the anniversary means a phalanx of reporters and cameras and yet another round of recurring stress. Yet it is also a time to honor the memories of the fallen, be it at a church service or a gathering of family and close friends.

At a memorial mass held every year at St. Rose of Lima Church, where many of the slain 6- and 7-year-olds had worshipped, Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport spoke of the “senseless evil” behind the shooting and of the wounds that “perhaps will never fully heal” in the town of 27,000 people.

But Caggiano also noted how, not long after the tragedy, the community responded with a motto that quickly found its way onto bumper stickers: We are Sandy Hook, We choose love.

“A profound affirmation that we believe that love can heal, that love gives hope, that love shines in the darkest hours of the night,” Caggiano said to the more than 300 people in attendance. “We must go forward and choose love.”

This year’s anniversary comes on the heels of recent court rulings in which conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and the parent of his Infowars website were ordered to pay about $1.5 billion for spreading lies about Sandy Hook. For years, Jones claimed the shooting was a hoax, compounding the community’s grief.

It also comes six months after the U.S. Congress passed the first major federal gun reform in three decades, a bipartisan bill that included $750 million to help states implement red flag laws. It came together just weeks after two teachers and 19 elementary school students were killed in Uvalde, Texas, and 10 people were shot to death at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

Noting the enactment of the bill, President Joe Biden said in a statement on Wednesday that more was needed to be done on gun control. He renewed a call to ban the kind of military-style rifles used in Sandy Hook and many other mass shootings.

“We owe it to the courageous, young survivors and to the families who lost part of their soul 10 years ago to turn their pain into purpose,” Biden said. “Enough is enough.”

Early on Wednesday morning, several residents visited the memorial, which opened to the public last month. Set on 5 acres (2 hectares) bordering the school grounds where the massacre occurred, the monument’s focal point is a circular water feature with the names of the 26 victims engraved on granite capstones.

One of the visitors, Skeff Bisset, had two children who were inside the school in 2012 and survived. Wearing a green sweater – the Sandy Hook school color – he walked the memorial, stopping at the names of the children who now would have been 16 and 17.

“This is a celebrity nobody wants,” Bisset said of the spotlight on Newtown. “The only reason I’m here, you know, remembering this, is because 26 people lost their lives. We are blessed that our kids are continuing to thrive and grow.”

Members of the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Kansas presented a wreath with six white roses and 20 mini carnations at the memorial on Wednesday. The ceremony was meant to symbolically connect the memorial with one in Emporia, Kansas, for educators who have lost their lives.

“We want the people of Newtown, Connecticut, to know that halfway across the country in the heart of America, we remember those people that were so dear to you,” said Carol Strickland of the Hall of Fame after reciting the names of the six educators.

Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son Daniel was killed at Sandy Hook, is one of several parents who channeled their grief into advocacy. He co-founded Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit that aims to educate teachers and students about warning signs that can be used to identify likely mass shooters.

Barden said he hoped people would take a moment on Wednesday to remember all the victims of gun violence but then also ask themselves what they can do to address the problem. Just talking with others about potential solutions is important, he said.

“If everybody does a little bit, we can really make a difference,” Barden said.

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Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has sold 22 million shares worth $3.58 billion in the electric-vehicle maker, a U.S. securities filing showed on Wednesday.

The latest sale brings the total Tesla stocks sold by Musk to nearly $40 billion over the past year.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside business hours.

Shares of Tesla, the world’s most valuable carmaker, is one of the worst performing stocks among major automakers and tech companies this year, as investors worry that Musk’s purchase of Twitter could divert his time away from Tesla.

Musk unloaded shares over three days between Monday and Wednesday, according to the filing.

An Australian regulator, after using new powers to make the tech giants share information about their methods, accused Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) not doing enough to stop child exploitation content on their platforms.

The e-Safety Commissioner, an office set up to protect internet users, said that after sending legal demands for information to some of the world’s biggest internet firms, the responses showed Apple and Microsoft did not proactively screen for child abuse material in their storage services, iCloud and OneDrive.

The two firms also confirmed they did not use any technology to detect live-streaming of child sexual abuse on video services Skype and Microsoft Teams, which are owned by Microsoft, and FaceTime, which is owned by Apple, the commissioner said in a report published on Thursday.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company was committed to combatting proliferation of abuse material but “as threats to children’s safety continue to evolve and bad actors become more sophisticated in their tactics, we continue to challenge ourselves to adapt our response”.

Apple was not immediately available for comment.

The disclosure confirms gaps in the child protection measures of some of the world’s biggest tech firms, building public pressure on them to do more, according to the commissioner. Meta Platforms Inc, (META.O) which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and Snapchat owner Snap Inc (SNAP.N) also got demands for information.

The responses overall were “alarming” and raised concerns of “clearly inadequate and inconsistent use of widely available technology to detect child abuse material and grooming”, commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement.

Microsoft and Apple “do not even attempt to proactively detect previously confirmed child abuse material” on their storage services, although a Microsoft-developed detection product is used by law enforcement agencies.

An Apple announcement a week ago that it would stop scanning iCloud accounts for child abuse, following pressure from privacy advocates, was “a major step backwards from their responsibilities to help keep children safe” Inman Grant said.

The failure of both firms to detect live-streamed abuse amounted to “some of the biggest and richest technology companies in the world turning a blind eye and failing to take appropriate steps to protect the most vulnerable from the most predatory”, she added.

($1 = 1.4588 Australian dollars)