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Two software bugs allowed the attacker to create more than 2,000 times Bitcoin’s maximum supply in unbacked syBTC. Symbiosis puts preliminary losses at 9.97 BTC.

The bank expects tokenization to make Arbitrum a favored network for traditional finance, even though ARB holders currently have no direct claim on the fees.

Congress needs 60 Senators willing to put innovation first and provide critical relief to the digital asset industry, argues Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.)

Average mortgage rates today

Mortgage Type
Label
Rate
APR

30-Year Fixed
Most Popular
6.91%
6.96%

30-Year FHA
Lower Credit
6.41%
7.61%

30-Year VA
Military
6.49%
6.65%

30-Year Jumbo
High Balance
7.03%
7.05%

15-Year Fixed
Shorter Term
6.24%
6.31%

7/6 ARM
Shorter Term
6.42%
6.49%

HELOC
Home Equity
8.03%
8.03%

Home Equity Loan
Home Equity
8.14%
8.14%

Updated on 09/14/2026

Rate data provided by RateUpdate.com. Displayed by Mortgage Research Center, LLC, NMLS# 1907, Equal Housing Opportunity, Payments do not include taxes or insurance premiums. Actual payments will be greater with taxes and insurance included. Rate and Product details

Mortgage rates are nearing 7%. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan jumped to 6.96%, up from 6.89%. Elevated rates are keeping many prospective buyers on the sidelines as the summer buying season ends.
Key mortgage rate averages:

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.89% APR
The 30-year fixed-rate FHA mortgage averaged 7.61% APR
The 30-year fixed-rate VA mortgage averaged 6.65% APR
The 30-year fixed-rate jumbo mortgage averaged 7.05% APR
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.31% APR
The 7/6 adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% APR
The rate on a HELOC averaged 8.03% APR
The rate on a home equity loan averaged 8.14% APR

Mortgage rate trends
Mortgage rates are edging higher as the Iran War escalates, pushing oil prices up and raising concerns about higher consumer prices. Rising national debt is also putting upward pressure on Treasury yields, despite efforts by the U.S. Treasury Department to lower bond prices.
Housing experts now expect mortgage rates to remain elevated through the rest of the year. Zillow has increased its year-end rate forecast to 6.7%. In a recent report, Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow Home Loans, says that the mortgage math for prospective buyers is harder now than it was a few months ago.
“For many households, gains in housing affordability are quickly offset by living expenses — with CPI inflation rising faster than wages, there’s little breathing room left in budgets,” Ng notes.
Which loan is best for you?
When shopping for a mortgage, you may be offered several loan options to meet different needs. Here’s a rundown of the most common loan types you’ll find, and who they work best for.
30-year conventional mortgage: Conventional loans work best for borrowers who have a credit score above 620, have saved enough to make a down payment of at least 3% and are looking for flexibility in the type of property being purchased.
30-year Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage: FHA loans are good for first-time homebuyers, borrowers with less-than-perfect credit scores or those with a high debt-to-income ratio.
30-year U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan: Specifically designed for active-duty and retired service members, members of the National Guard and Reserves, and surviving spouses. Offers 0% down loan options, competitive rates and accepts less-than-perfect credit scores.
30-year jumbo loan: Good for homebuyers purchasing property that is priced above the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) conforming loan limit. In 2026, that limit is $832,750 in most of the U.S. but increases to $1,249,125 in high-cost areas.
15-year fixed-rate loan: Borrowers who prefer a shorter loan term and can afford to make higher monthly payments will pay less overall interest with a 15-year mortgage and pay off the loan faster.
7/6 adjustable rate loan: Good for a buyer who wants to lock in a favorable interest rate for a set period of time and either plans on selling the home before the interest rate starts, is willing to make a higher monthly payment once the rate becomes variable or is open to refinancing the loan.
Home equity line of credit (HELOC): A good option for a homeowner who wants to access the equity they’ve accumulated in their home and have an open line of credit to use as needed.
Home equity loan: Another option for a homeowner who wants to access their home equity and have the financial capacity to take on a second mortgage.

How mortgage rates affect affordability
The rate on your mortgage can make a big difference in how much home you can afford and the size of your monthly payments. That’s true whether buying your primary residence, an investment property or refinancing an existing loan.
Here’s an example. If you bought a $250,000 home and made a 20% down payment of $50,000, you would end up with a starting loan balance of $200,000. On a $200,000 home loan with a fixed rate for 30 years, here’s what you would pay:

At a 3% interest rate = $843 in monthly payments (not including taxes, insurance, or HOA fees)
At a 4% interest rate = $955 in monthly payments (not including taxes, insurance, or HOA fees)
At a 6% interest rate = $1,199 in monthly payments (not including taxes, insurance, or HOA fees)
At an 8% interest rate = $1,468 in monthly payments (not including taxes, insurance, or HOA fees)

Experimenting with a mortgage calculator allows you to find out how much a lower rate or other changes could impact what you pay. A home affordability calculator can also estimate the maximum loan amount you may qualify for based on your income, debt-to-income ratio, mortgage interest rate and other variables. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can also provide a range of rates lenders offer in each state.

Current mortgage rates FAQs
What is a 30-year mortgage rate right now?
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.96% as of September 14, according to Money’s rate data. Other rate surveys show 30-year rates averaging over 7%.
Can you get a 4% mortgage rate?
No, not under current market conditions. A 30-year fixed-rate loan is averaging close to 7% as of September 14.
Will we ever see a 3% mortgage rate again?
Mortgage rates are unlikely to fall below 3% in the near term unless a severe economic downturn occurs. However, rates averaged in the mid-3% range before the pandemic, so a return to that range at some point in the future is not out of the question.
How much is a $300,000 mortgage at 7%?
The monthly payment on a 30-year, $300,000 conventional mortgage at 7% is $1,995.91, excluding taxes, insurance and HOA fees. Your actual payment will vary depending on your credit score, down payment, lender and location, among other factors.

The New York Yankees’ superstar slugger threw some cold water on his teammate’s hopes for a major season award.

The Gates Foundation published its annual Goalkeepers Report on Tuesday, where the billionaire said AI could be a “great equalizer—or widen the gap.”

At the start of September, an Amazon cargo plane overran a runway at Miami International Airport by 1,300 feet and struck several vehicles before bursting into flames in a massive accident that caused the death of five cleaning crew workers who were traveling in a van on a nearby road.

Five other people suffered injuries of varying degrees of severity.

The Boeing 767 freighter plane running Flight 7598 from Puerto Rico was operated by 21 Air, a North Carolina cargo airline that provided airmail services for companies including DHL and Amazon.

Amid an ongoing National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the accident, Amazon announced that it is suspending its partnership with 21 Air for the time being.

Amazon suspends partnership with 21 Air, says it is “supporting the investigation”

“After the tragic incident last weekend, we’ve spent time supporting the investigation and reviewing some of the surrounding circumstances, and we’ve decided to pause our operations with 21 Air, the operator of Flight 7598,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a Sept. 13 statement to Reuters cited by CNBC. “We’ll continue working to support the investigation and everyone affected.”

Preliminary evidence released by the NTSB reveals cockpit voice recordings in which one pilot warns another that they are coming into the landing too fast, and a pilot suggests a go-around, which is the industry term for an aborted landing, approximately 15 seconds before the crash, Airline Geeks reported.

Both pilots survived the crash and were briefly hospitalized, during which they were interviewed by investigators.

Related: Which flights out of Miami International are canceled right now

Amazon said it will use other partners, which include Sun Country Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Air Transport International, ABX Air, ASL Airlines, and Cargojet, to transport its deliveries pending the NTSB investigation.

21 Air, meanwhile, issued a statement expressing sympathy with the victims of the crash and saying it is “working closely with the NTSB and all our partners, like Amazon, as the investigation continues,” NBC News confirmed.

The Prime Air crash led to five fatalities and caused days of disruption at Miami International.Bloomberg / Getty Images

21 Air responds: “We are confident in our safety policies”

“We are confident in our safety policies, procedures and training,” an 21 Air representative said further. Several senior employees had previously claimed they were fired from 21 Air after raising safety and procedural concerns with upper management, CBS reported.The five people killed on the ground have been identified as Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53; Rolando Aleman Leon, 55; Julio C. Pineda, 75; Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53; and Javierkys Reyes Quevedo, 47.

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Houston Astros baseball team owner Jim Crane was the primary owner of the airline through an LLC.

Roosevelt Torres, an employee of the same cleaning service who was injured in the crash, has filed a lawsuit with the cargo company and the two pilots.

“He was actually able to see the airplane approaching in the last final seconds,” Pablo Rojas, the attorney representing Torres in the lawsuit, said in a statement.

The widow of 53-year-old Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the plane company, according to CBS News.

Related: Another national airline files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Have you been using an AI chatbot to give you quick answers for life’s daily tasks?

You’re not alone in this time-saving measure, but you should be careful with just how much you trust the answers you receive on certain topics.

Take credit cards, for example.

AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, are 5.7 times more likely to recommend a credit card with an annual fee of $400 or more than they are to recommend a no-annual-fee card, according to research by 5W Public Relations.

Given that Team Clark believes the overwhelming majority of consumers are better off with no-annual-fee cash back credit cards based on their spending habits, that’s a troubling statistic.

The credit card recommendations you get from your chatbot aren’t necessarily bad, but that statistic should have your antenna up for suggestions that don’t look right for your situation.

That awareness could save you money on a premium travel credit card that you may not actually need.

In this article, I’ll explain how your chatbot’s credit card recommendations may be manipulated.

Why AI Chatbot Advice for Credit Cards Can Be Tricky

If you’re new to using a chatbot, you may not be familiar with how it gathers information to answer questions about topics like credit cards.

Here’s a brief explanation of how this often works:

How Chatbots Acquire Information

You submit a question to the chatbot. Maybe something like “Which rewards credit card is best?”

The chatbot deploys a “real-time” web scrape. This basically means it searches all of the internet for the latest credit card offers, annual fees, and sign-up bonuses in real time. I asked Google’s Gemini to define that scraping process. It said, “I do not rely on static internal knowledge. Instead, I deploy search tools to scan high-authority financial aggregate sites (like U.S. News, Yahoo Finance, WalletHub, and CreditCards.com) alongside direct card issuer terms. This ensures rates, fees, and perks are accurate up to the current day.”

The chatbot uses the acquired information to develop a response tailored to your specific prompt. I asked Gemini to tell me about that process, and it told me that it has a “risk mitigation” process that weighs the pros and cons of each card while also applying a “de-biasing” process to try to identify where its source material may have shown bias. Additionally, it accounts for prevailing user opinion by scanning for online chatter about the topic for “real” feedback.

The “bias” that it is attempting to eliminate is what can make the recommendation you receive on a credit card go sideways. And, according to the data provided by 5W, it happens more than we’d hope.

Here’s why it’s an ongoing issue that AI chatbots are battling:

Source Material Can Be Tainted by Financial Motives

The data provided by 5W is pretty eye-opening on the sourcing by AI chatbots in the credit card space:

“Across 4,200 credit card prompts tested between January and April 2026, three publisher domains – The Points Guy, NerdWallet, and Bankrate – were observed to dominate the citation surface, accounting for more than 62% of source attributions inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews answers.”

It’s no secret that websites, including Clark.com, that review consumer products like credit cards are often affiliate partners for the products they review.

This means the website, like the ones listed as prominent sources in the study above, may receive compensation from the product it reviews in exchange for driving customers to that product.

And not all of these sites have your best interests at heart.

For example, some may feature a credit card as its “top choice” in a category because the affiliate agreement for that card may be more profitable than a card with similar or potentially superior characteristics.

Bottom line: The sites that AI chatbots cite could be dishing out financially-fueled credit card recommendations. And the chatbot, while trying to filter that bias out, may still be giving you information tainted by it.

What Makes Clark.com Credit Card Content Different?

If this has you wondering how Team Clark handles credit card content differently, see our credit card disclosure:

Clark.com has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Clark.com and CardRatings may receive a commission from some card issuers may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. Any potential commission DOES NOT influence if or where a card will appear in our content. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of the card issuers.

As Team Clark’s lead credit card writer, I can take this a step further: We go to great lengths to separate the “business” side of credit cards from the “content production” side. As such, I’m “in the dark” on much of our affiliate process.

We feel it is important that you get an unbiased review from us on each card regardless of any potential affiliate earnings. And if a non-affiliate card is the best fit for your wallet, that’s what we recommend.

Simply put: Your trust is what we value most.

Non-expert Opinions on Certain Sites Can Be Overweighted

In addition to “expert” sites that review credit cards for a living and the “official” sites of the credit cards in question, AI chatbots also cite the internet’s prevailing opinions on a particular card to develop its answers to your queries.

For example, 38% of travel credit card-related queries analyzed in the 5W study included prevailing citations from one of three Reddit forums.

Reddit happens to have a great credit card subreddit that is a good resource for strategy discussion, but that reliance on one source for prevailing user opinion on specific credit cards is ripe for potential manipulation.

Not unlike the struggle with avoiding “fake reviews” on Google or Yelp! for other product types, relying too much on one forum to develop overall user sentiment for a credit card can be dangerous.

I like to “fact check” my chatbot answers by clicking on the links it sources to provide an answer to see where it’s getting its “opinion” on a topic to see if it’s something that I’d trust myself as a healthy skeptic of internet opinions.

Bottom Line

Chatbots are increasingly useful tools for saving time. And they’re getting better at weeding out bad information by the day.

But you should still be very careful about the financial advice that you receive from one. That includes credit card recommendations.

Outside forces like affiliate marketers with financial incentives and outspoken internet forum users touting their favorite cards may have a disproportionate amount of influence on your chatbot of choice.

And the end result could be a recommendation that doesn’t quite fit.

That’s why Team Clark likes to keep it simple, transparent and relatable when we dish out credit card advice to the average consumer:

Read money expert Clark Howard’s rules for credit card usage to get started, which include starting with a no-annual-fee credit card that pays you an unlimited 2% cash back on all of your spending.

Visit our guide to rewards credit cards to get started on the right card strategy for your spending habits.

Do you use a chatbot for credit card advice? What has your experience been like? We’d love to hear about it in the Clark.com community.
The post Why You Should Be Careful Taking Credit Card Advice from AI appeared first on Clark Howard.

While some international carriers have resumed limited service into Middle Eastern cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Tel Aviv, the security and financial risks amid a prolonged conflict following the U.S. strike on Iran have pushed most to take the more cautious route.

United Airlines recently pushed back the restart of its flight from Newark Liberty (EWR) to Dubai International Airport (DXB) from February until March 2027. American Airlines also recently confirmed that it will not restart its route to Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha until 2027 at the earliest.

United Kingdom flag carrier British Airways once ran an extensive Middle Eastern network of flights to cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Amman, Manama and Tel Aviv from London.

British Airways permanently axes London-Abu Dhabi flight amid Middle Eastern unrest

After repeatedly pushing back the restart date throughout 2026 over the security situation in the region, preliminary reporting suggests that British Airways is permanently pulling the plug on its route between London Heathrow (LHR) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH).

The national airline is yet to formally confirm the cancelation but Cirium schedule data first reported by Simple Flying shows that six weekly flights to Abu Dhabi on Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 planes that were initially slated as resuming in February 2027 have been scrapped from the carrier’s flying schedule.

Related: Frontier Airlines to exit entire market by October

Flights to the other Middle Eastern cities are still slated to resume on a rolling schedule in late 2026 and 2027; in line with other major airlines, British Airways service to Tel Aviv is scheduled to restart next in October 2026 while the flight to Doha from London has been running daily since the start of September.

“Due to ongoing uncertainty and airspace restrictions, some of our flights in the region have been cancelled or temporarily suspended, including services to and from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha Dubai, Tel Aviv, and Riyadh,” British Airways says in a statement that has been in place since March 2026.

British Airways has flown to Abu Dhabi daily between 2024 and the U.S. strike on Iran in early 2026.Shutterstock

Why is British Airways canceling its Abu Dhabi flight

British Airways restarted its daily nonstop service to Abu Dhabi in April 2024 after a four-year hiatus prompted by the covid-19 pandemic; while the airline has served the city in different forms since the 1970s (the first flights flew to the city on BOAC VC10 jet airliners), Abu Dhabi sees significantly less traffic from London and other international destinations than Dubai.

More Travel News:

Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.

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Unexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026

Low-cost airline launches easier way to get to Sri Lanka

With the British Airways exit from this market, United Arab Emirates flag carrier Etihad Airways will be the only airline linking London with Abu Dhabi four times a week on Airbus A380 and A350 aircraft. Along with fellow state-owned carrier Emirates, the airline has been the main and most reliable link into and out of the country at a time when many international carriers have canceled service.

Etihad also flies to Abu Dhabi from Manchester Airport (MAN) in northwestern England four times a week on a Boeing 777-300ER.

Related: Another national airline files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The wine industry has faced a significant decline since the Covid-19 pandemic that has led several wineries to file for bankruptcy protection to avoid foreclosure sales and other litigation, as well as potential closures.

A major economic issue the wine sector faced was a 21% decline in industry revenue from 2020 through 2025, according to Silicon Valley Bank’s State of the U.S. Wine Industry Report.

Napa Valley winery Signorello Estate LP, facing financial distress, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 27 to halt a foreclosure sale and prepare the debtor for a going-concern sale to stalking-horse investors, according to court documents.

A bankruptcy filing imposes an automatic stay against legal actions against a debtor, but in certain cases a bankruptcy can be filed long after a business has already closed.

Moon Dancer Winery closed its facilities after losing a lawsuit judgment.Yulia Shaihudinova / Getty Images

Moon Dancer Winery forced to close

Pennsylvania winery owner Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept. 11, 2026, to reorganize its business and restructure its debts about 10 months after being forced to close its facilities.

The debtor owns Moon Dancer Winery, which permanently closed its winery and tasting room on Nov. 19, 2025, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the owner’s final appeal to continue operating its business, according to a statement the winery posted on Instagram.

The Wrightsville, Pa., winery and vineyard filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, listing $100,000 to $500,000 in assets and $1 million to $10 million in debts.

Moon Dancer Winery’s largest unsecured creditors include M&T Bank, owed over $757,000; U.S. Small Business Administration, owed over $500,000; McNeese Wallace & Nurick LLC, owed $450,000; and First Data – Clover Capital, owed $30,000.

The winery opened in 2003 and operated for 13 years before Matthew S. Balsavage and Amenda Perko purchased an adjacent residential property in 2016, according to court papers. The winery has 10 acres of vineyards and replanted 2,400 vines in spring 2025, with Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay as two of its primary grapes.

Neighbors file lawsuit against winery

Balsavage and Perko filed a lawsuit in the Court of Common Pleas of York County in Pennsylvania against the winery on Oct. 22, 2018, alleging that the winery’s operations, including a tasting room, a pizzeria restaurant, wedding venue, and music festival site, were prohibited by language in the property’s deeds.

Moon Dancer Winery claimed in court papers that it was an allowed agricultural operation, while the plaintiffs asserted that it was a prohibited commercial operation.

Supreme Court rules against Moon Dancer

The winery continued operating while it appealed its case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but permanently closed the winery the day after the court denied the appeal on Nov. 18, 2025.

“While we are saddened by the state Supreme Court’s decision today, we remain forever grateful for the thousands of friends and loyal customers who have continued to stand by us in this fight, and the countless wonderful memories we have made over these last 22 years,” Moon Dancer Winery’s owner Jim Miller said in a statement.

Related: 38-year-old beloved steakhouse chain closing over 40 locations