All publications of Mark Vitk . Los Angeles , United States of Ame

The Pentagon on Thursday will present plans to the White House to send up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, in a move to beef up defenses against potential Iranian threats, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The officials said no final decision has been made yet, and it's not clear if the White House would approve sending all or just some of the requested forces. Officials said the move is not in response to any new threat from Iran, but is aimed at reinforcing security in the region. They said the troops would be defensive forces, and the discussions include additional Patriot missile batteries, more ships and increased efforts to monitor Iran. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been formally announced. Thursday morning's meeting comes as tensions with Iran continue to simmer, and it wasn't clear if a decision would be made during the session. Any move to deploy more forces to the Middle East would signal a shift for President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly emphasized the need to reduce America's troop presence in the region. U.S. officials have provided few details about possible Iranian threats, but indicated they initially involved missiles loaded onto small Iranian boats. This week officials said the missiles have been taken off the boats near Iran's shore, but other maritime threats continue. Sending more troops could also raise questions on Capitol Hill. During back-to-back closed briefings for the House and Senate on Tuesday, defense leaders told congressional officials the U.S. doesn't want to go to war with Iran and wants to de-escalate the situation. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told lawmakers the U.S. is seeking to deter, not provoke, Iran, even while accusing Tehran of threatening U.S. interests in the Mideast. Shanahan told reporters, "Our biggest focus at this point is to prevent Iranian miscalculation."Many in Congress are skeptical of the administration's approach to Iran, questioning whether it is responding to significant new Iranian threats or escalating a situation that could lead to war. CNN first reported that the Pentagon will brief the White House on a plan that could send thousands of additional U.S. troops to the Middle East. Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declined to comment, saying, "As a matter of long-standing policy, we are not going to discuss or speculate on potential or alleged future operations or plans." In early May, the U.S. accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Mideast and sent four B-52 bomber aircraft to the region. The Pentagon also decided to move a Patriot air-defense missile battery to an undisclosed country in the area. The Trump administration has evacuated nonessential personnel from Iraq, amid unspecified threats the administration said are linked to Iranian-backed militias in the country. On Sunday, a rocket was fired into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from the sprawling U.S. Embassy. There were no injuries and no group claimed responsibility, but the rocket was believed to have been fired from east Baghdad — which is home to Iran-backed Shiite militias. Some Democrats say Trump is responsible for drawing Iran's ire. Last year he abruptly pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated during the Obama administration to prevent Iran from nuclear weapons production, without crafting a coherent strategy for how to combat other Iranian behavior like supporting extremist organizations. He also has reimposed punishing sanctions that have crippled Tehran's economy, and designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization in April. "I have yet to see any exhibited strategy," said Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, a former CIA officer. She said she finds many of the administration's recent statements on Iran to be "deeply troubling." Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-officials-plan-may-send-up-to-10000-troops-to-mideast/ar-AABKNIz

Pakistan's military says it has successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. A statement from the military says the surface-to-surface Shaheen-II missile, which has a range of 1,500 kilometers, or 932 miles, was launched on Thursday and ended in the Arabian Sea. The announcement comes after a six-week general election in neighboring India, Pakistan's chief regional rival. Both nations have nuclear arms and have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. They regularly test-fire missiles. Vote counting in India shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party have a commanding lead, making another five-year term for the Hindu nationalist leader very likely. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pakistan-says-it-has-test-fired-nuclear-capable-missile/ar-AABMXDc

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party claimed it had won reelection with a commanding lead in Thursday's vote count, while the stock market soared in anticipation of another five-year term for the pro-business Hindu nationalist leader. Election Commission data by midafternoon showed the Bharatiya Janata Party leading in contests for 299 out of 542 seats in the lower house of Parliament, with its main rival, the Indian National Congress, ahead in 50 contests. The data didn't indicate what percentage of the estimated 600 million votes cast over the six-week election had been counted. Although the final tally was not expected until Thursday evening at the earliest, BJP President Amit Shah claimed a victory, crediting Modi's "leadership." Modi himself tweeted: "India wins yet again." The election has been seen as a referendum on India's 68-year-old prime minister, whose economic reforms have had mixed results but whose popularity as a social underdog in India's highly stratified society has endured. Critics have said his Hindu-first platform risks exacerbating social tensions in the country of 1.3 billion people. On the campaign trail, Modi presented himself as a self-made man with the confidence to cut red tape and unleash India's economic potential, and labeled Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, the scion of a political dynasty that lost power in 2014, as an out-of-touch elite. The BJP's performance "is absolutely stunning. Modi is the predominant leader in India today. He has pushed everybody else aside. Nobody in the opposition is a match for him," said political commentator Arti Jerath. Half a dozen exit polls released after voting concluded Sunday showed Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party winning. A party or coalition needs a simple majority of 272 seats, or just over half the seats in Parliament's lower house, to govern. "Mr. Modi's going to be the next prime minister, we are very assured of that," said Meenakshi Lekhi, a member of Parliament running for re-election in New Delhi. Shortly after officials began tabulating the votes, India's Sensex jumped 2.3% to an all-time high over 40,000. If BJP's lead holds, it won't need a coalition partner to stay in power and could even improve its position compared to 2014, when it won 282 seats. This election may mark the first time in the party's history that it has two consecutive elections on its own. World leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, congratulated Modi on Twitter. Trends in the election data suggest that BJP's strategy of pursuing an aggressive campaign in eastern India paid off, with the party breaking into the citadels of Trinamool Congress Party in West Bengal state and the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha state. Picking up seats in these two states would compensate for projected losses in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The biggest losers appear to be the communists who ruled West Bengal state for 34 years until they were ousted by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress Party in 2011. Coalition partners of the Congress-led government in New Delhi between 2004 and 2008, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was leading in only three constituencies and the Communist party of India in two constituencies. Outside BJP headquarters in New Delhi, hundreds of people cheered and shouted party slogans, lifting cardboard cut-outs of Modi and BJP President Amit Shah into the air as other people played drums and set off fireworks. Mohit Sharma, a 29-year-old who runs a bathroom fittings business, said India had never had a prime minister like Modi. "In the past, when leaders after they won elections, they sat in air-conditioned rooms and they never reached out to people, but Modi was never like that. He was always connected to the people through social media," Sharma said. Fashion designer Sandeep Verma, 39, said he wasn't a BJP supporter but had voted for the party in the elections. "A country like India needs a decisive leader and the people did not find that in Rahul Gandhi. There was no alternative to Modi," Verma said. The BJP harnessed social media, including Twitter, where Modi has 47.4 million followers, and WhatsApp to reach out to millions of supporters. Modi also capitalized on a suicide bombing in Kashmir in February that killed 40 Indian soldiers. India retaliated with airstrikes at alleged terrorist training camps in Pakistan, fanning the flames of nationalism and helping the BJP turn voters' attention away from the flailing economy and onto matters of national security. The airstrike "gave him the narrative he needed to counter all these allegations of non-performance, unemployment and rural distress. It reenergized him and enabled him to reclaim his image as a strong leader India needs at this juncture," Jerath said. As votes were counted across India, Pakistan's military said it has successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. At Congress headquarters, only a few party workers stood outside looking dejected. Jagdish Sharma, 50, blamed the counting method, using electronic voting machines, saying "Rahul Gandhi is the crowd's favorite, but has always lost only due to EVMs. While EVMs exist even Lord Vishnu can't defeat Modi," he said, referring to a powerful Hindu god. Voters cast ballots on some 40 million electronic voting machines, a method India began using 15 years ago after complaints that the manual count of paper ballots was tainted by fraud and abuse. But losing candidates and political parties have raised doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the electronic method, doing so again this week. Top opposition leaders met with Election Commission officials on Tuesday after videos appeared on social media showing some electronic voting machines being moved. The party officials alleged that the machines were going to be altered, but the commission said the images showed unused machines being moved into storage. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/indias-ruling-party-claims-win-with-assured-lead-in-votes/ar-AABLUAM

Celebrity chef Mario Batali is facing a criminal charge on allegations that he forcibly kissed and groped a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017. Batali, who recently gave up financial stakes in all his restaurants, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on a charge of indecent assault and battery, a spokeswoman for Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said. It's the first criminal charge against Batali resulting from several sexual harassment and assault allegations that crippled his career amid the #MeToo movement. A criminal complaint filed last month says the woman told police that Batali noticed her taking a picture of him at the restaurant and offered to take a selfie with her, The Boston Globe reported . The woman says Batali then grabbed her chest, kissed her face and touched her groin without her consent. The details in the complaint mirror those in a civil lawsuit filed against Batali in August. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for "severe emotional distress" including anxiety and self-doubt. A lawyer for Batali said the chef denies the allegations. "The charges, brought by the same individual without any new basis, are without merit," Attorney Anthony Fuller said in an emailed statement. "He intends to fight the allegations vigorously and we expect the outcome to fully vindicate Mr. Batali," Fuller said. Several other women have previously come forward to allege sexual misconduct by Batali. Batali stepped down from daily operations at his restaurant empire and cooking show "The Chew" in December 2017 after four women accused him of inappropriate touching. Batali apologized that month, saying the allegations "match up" with ways he has acted. "I have made many mistakes and I am so very sorry that I have disappointed my friends, my family, my fans and my team," Batali said in an email newsletter. "My behavior was wrong and there are no excuses. I take full responsibility." The New York Police Department said last year that it was investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against the chef after a woman told "60 Minutes" that Batali drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2005. Batali denied assaulting the woman. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/celebrity-chef-mario-batali-facing-assault-charge-in-boston/ar-AABMpu1

John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban" whose capture in Afghanistan riveted a country in the early days after the September 11 attacks, has been released from prison. After serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence, Lindh, the first US-born detainee in the war on terror, on Thursday walked out of a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, and will join the small, but growing, group of Americans convicted of terror-related charges attempting to re-enter into society. Lindh will live in Virginia subject to the direction of his probation officer, his lawyer, Bill Cummings, tells CNN. But some are already calling for an investigation into his time in prison -- where he is said in two US government reports to have made pro-ISIS and other extremist statements -- that could send him back into detention. Reports of Lindh's maintained radicalization, detailed in two 2017 official counterterrorism assessments, are also driving questions about the efforts of the US government to rehabilitate former sympathizers like him, who are expected to complete prison sentences in waves in the coming years. Raised in the suburbs north of San Francisco, Lindh took an interest in Islam at a young age, converting to the religion at 16 and moving to the Middle East to learn Arabic after finishing high school. In 2000, according to documentation of his interrogations, Lindh went to Pakistan and trained with a radical Islamic group there before moving to Afghanistan and joining the Taliban. Because he was not native to Afghanistan and did not speak the local languages, Lindh told investigators that he joined the "Arab group," or al Qaeda, studying maps and explosives, fighting on a front line, and at one point, meeting with Osama bin Laden. When US troops first encountered Lindh in November 2001, just weeks after the September 11 attacks, he was bedraggled and injured. A CNN camera filmed as Lindh, a daze cast over his dirty face, told American forces how he had wound up at a detention camp in northern Afghanistan and survived a Taliban uprising there that killed hundreds of prisoners and a CIA officer, Johnny Michael Spann. Lindh admitted to participating in the revolt near Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, but prosecutors did not say that he had a role in Spann's death. Initially charged with a raft of serious offenses, including conspiracy to kill US nationals, Lindh, in 2002, struck a deal reportedly offered by prosecutors in part to prevent details of the apparent mistreatment of Lindh at the hand of US forces by his defense. Lindh pleaded guilty to fighting alongside the Taliban. At a sentencing hearing in Virginia that year, he sniffled and nearly broke down as he addressed the court in a 14-minute speech. "Had I realized then what I know now about the Taliban, I would never have joined them," Lindh said. "I never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism or terrorism." That contrition has been contested by a pair of official reports, from the National Counterterrorism Center and the federal Bureau of Prisons, that were first published by Foreign Policy in 2017. According to the NCTC report, as of May 2016, Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts." In March 2016, the report says, he "told a television news producer that he would continue to spread violent extremist Islam upon his release." Lindh had made "pro ISIS statements to various reporters," the Bureau of Prisons report also stated. In an email to his father included in the BOP report, Lindh said that he was "not interested in renouncing my beliefs or issuing condemnations." The two assessments do not provide details for the statements, and the BOP and the NCTC declined to comment to CNN on the reports. Lindh denied a request by CNN to be interviewed in prison and his lawyers declined to comment on the counterterrorism assessments. Prison term In prison, Lindh was known to be deeply religious -- he recited the entire Quran from memory each week, and regularly gave a call to prayer for the other Muslims in his unit, according to a narrative written by an inmate who served with him. Lindh went by the name Yayha, the inmate wrote in the anonymous essay, which was published by CAGE, a group started by someone released without charges after being detained in Guantanamo that advocates for those arrested or prosecuted in the war on terror. The human rights group Amnesty International cut ties with CAGE because of some of its statements and relationships with terror suspects. "His whole life revolves around reading, writing, praying, and working out in his cell. His Muslim brothers know he is busy so they don't hesitate to cook for him in order make sure he eats well," the inmate wrote. Lindh discussed his values in his own essay, published by CAGE in 2014 and titled "Memorising the Qur'an: A Practical Guide for Prisoners." "Free time is a great gift from Allah and few people enjoy more of it than prisoners," Lindh wrote. "The best way we can express our gratitude to Allah for this gift is through the study, recitation, memorisation, contemplation, and implementation of His Noble Book." On Monday, Johnny Spann, the father of the CIA officer killed in the Taliban uprising that Lindh participated in, petitioned the Virginia judge overseeing Lindh's case to investigate the extremist comments he allegedly made while in prison. "You need to find out for sure, is this guy still the same al Qaeda member we put in jail? If he is still the al Qaeda member we put in jail then we need to throw the plea agreement away and do something else," Spann told CNN in an interview. Spann has protested Lindh's early release to lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, who said last month that he raised the issue with the White House. In a tweet, Shelby wrote that President Donald Trump agreed that Lindh should serve his full sentence. Lindh's early release this week appears to be the result of time taken off of his sentence for good behavior. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on this story, and legal experts question what power the President could have to prevent Lindh's release outside of a wider regulation change, which would likely invite a backlash. Feds not prepared, experts say After he leaves prison, Lindh's actions will be closely watched as part of a sweeping set of conditions imposed on his three years of supervised release by Judge T.S. Ellis, who oversees his case in Virginia. Under the conditions, Lindh is not allowed to possess any "internet capable device" without permission from the probation office, and any approved device would be "monitored continuously." Lindh is not allowed to have any online communications in any language other than English unless otherwise approved, cannot communicate with a known extremist, and cannot possess or view "material that reflects extremist or terroristic views." The strict impositions are likely to be mirrored in dozens of cases like Lindh's. As of last week, there were 421 inmates with a history of, or nexus to, international terrorism, in the federal prison system, according to the Bureau of Prisons. Some 60 to 100 of those prisoners are expected to be released in the next five years, said Mitch Silber, the former director of Intelligence Analysis at the NYPD, who now runs a nonprofit that works to rehabilitate radicalized individuals. Counterterrorism experts have said that the federal government has not done enough to prepare for the coming trend of releases. "Right now there is no program to rehabilitate and reintegrate them, give them the type of skills that will make it less likely they will recidivise to some type of criminality," Silber said. Mary McCord, the former acting assistant attorney general for National Security at the Justice Department, said officials at the Justice Department had only begun to consider the impending releases during her tenure, which ended in 2017. "At the time I left not nearly enough had been done and we were nervous about it," McCord said in an interview. The Justice Department referred CNN to the BOP for comment, which said in a statement that it has policies to monitor communications of inmates with known or suspected ties to domestic and foreign terrorism and that they share information with law enforcement as appropriate. The BOP also says it encourages all inmates, including those linked to terrorism, to participate in programs "that assist offenders in developing the skills necessary for a successful reintegration into society." "Based on a series of focused interviews conducted by BOP staff, the BOP has found that many inmates have turned away from radicalized ideology in prison based on self-study, or due to participation in programming or sentence length," BOP said. Silber, who founded his non-profit Parallel Networks with a former American al Qaeda sympathizer convicted of conspiring to solicit murder, said that prisons could adapt already existing re-entry programs for gang offenders to fit extremists. He also noted that a dialogue about the origins of an extremist's turn to radicalization can be helpful in determining how to move away from an ideology. In the absence of that, or in the case of a return to criminal behavior, federal investigators could open a new investigation into a released prisoner. "Ultimately the hammer that the federal government has over (Lindh) is that if he does behave in a way that looks like he is turning toward terrorism, they can open up a new investigation on him and essentially we can begin the process again," Silber said. Terms of release In emails Lindh wrote from behind bars referenced in the BOP report, he expressed interest in moving post-release to Ireland, where he is a citizen, as well as Puerto Rico. Lindh said that he had gained Irish citizenship in 2013 "as a result of having an Irish grandparent" and wanted to petition the country to take him in by explaining the "unique circumstances that make my survival in the US practically impossible." "Essentially I am seeking asylum from one country where I am a citizen in another country where I am also a citizen," Lindh wrote in an email to CAGE, who he had asked to help him with his attempt to relocate to Ireland. A person familiar with Lindh's status confirmed he is an Irish citizen. It appears likely that Lindh's plan to move to Ireland may be prevented at least for now by the terms of his supervised release, which say that he cannot hold a passport and can't leave the United States "without the express permission of this Court." Prisoners leaving detention under terms of supervised release are required to send a release plan to the probation office of the district in the country where they want to go, who will investigate the case and decide whether or not to allow the residency. CAGE's Outreach Director Moazzam Begg, who has spoken with Frank Lindh about his son's case, told CNN that it would make sense for Lindh to move back with his father in northern California. "His father has always been a great supporter of him and has believed in his son's cause," Begg said. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/american-taliban-john-walker-lindh-released-from-prison/ar-AABKTOQ

Amazon is upping the stakes to increase its shipping time by turning to its employees for help. On Monday, the e-commerce giant announced a new initiative to pay employees to quit and start their own delivery business. to help them meet its goal of one day delivery for Prime Members. The new incentive is an expansion of its Delivery Service Partner Program that allows current Amazon employees a chance to start their own small business delivery company with its backing. The company said it now plans to fund startup costs, up to $10,000, as well as supplement three months of the former employee’s last gross salary to get the delivery business of the ground. The move is a way for Amazon is to control more of its deliveries, rather than relying on the U.S. postal service or other carriers such as UPS. The only caveat is that the startups can only deliver Amazon and Whole Foods products. Since the program launched last year, more than 200 new small businesses have launched as a result. “We received overwhelming interest from tens of thousands of individuals who applied to be part of the Delivery Service Partner program, including many employees,” Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations at Amazon said. In addition to the cash, Amazon will provide hands-on-training, access to delivery technology and discounts on assets and services, including its own-branded delivery vans and uniforms. “We’ve heard from associates that they want to participate in the program but struggled with the transition. Now we have a path for those associated with an appetite for opportunities to own their own businesses.” The offer is up open most part-time and full-time Amazon employees, including warehouse workers who already pack and ship order. Whole Foods employees, however, are not eligible. Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/amazon-to-pay-employees-to-quit-and-start-their-own-delivery-businesses

NFL star Russell Wilson Opens a New Window. might’ve won Mother’s Day this year. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback – who last month reportedly agreed Opens a New Window. to a four-year, $140 million extension with the team – shared a video Opens a New Window. on Instagram Sunday of the moment he gave his mother a house Opens a New Window. . Wilson’s mom showed an array of feelings – going from shocked to excited to tears of joy – after receiving what her son said was “the key to your house.” And after taking a few steps up to the door, she seemed thrilled to find that the key did in fact work. Wilson expressed his appreciation for his mother in the caption, thanking her for her selflessness and love. “All these years you have never asked me for anything... only thing you ever wanted is for me to LOVE,” Wilson – who is married to singer, Ciara – wrote. “Well thanks for loving us the way you do. This ones for you. I love you momma.” He concluded the post with “#HappyMothersDay” and “#GodIsGood,” alongside an emoji of a house. Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/nfl-star-russell-wilson-gifts-mom-a-house-for-mothers-day-shares-touching-video

Bill Johnson, the former Heinz CEO, tells FOX Business Opens a New Window. the company's troubles stem from shifting its focus to cutting costs while trying to drive up current margins. “I don’t think they have the right people to do that. I’ve lost a lot of confidence in what’s going on there,” he said on “Cavuto: Coast-to-Coast Opens a New Window. ” Monday. Earlier this month, the maker of Heinz ketchup and Kraft Mac and Cheese reported it would cut its dividend and 2019 profits would fall below expectations. The stock price has lost 24 percent already this year. “The stock has gone from a high of close to $90 [per share] I guess down to the low $30s and I think there’s a real lesson here in their zeal to cut cost and so forth they removed all the intuitional knowledge and therefore no one can tell them what they shouldn’t do because it has been done before and it hadn’t worked,” Johnson said. In 2015, H.J. Heinz Company and Kraft Foods Group Inc. merged in a deal valued around $49 billion to create the third-largest food and beverage company in North America. Warren Buffett Opens a New Window. ’s Berkshire Hathaway and private equity firm 3G Capital combined the consumer-goods giants to form The Kraft Heinz Company. At this year's annual meeting, the billionaire investor stated Berkshire Hathawa Opens a New Window. y overpaid for the embattled Kraft Heinz at the time. “We paid too much for Kraft,” he told FOX Business’ Liz Claman during an interview ahead of Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. As for Buffett's admission, Johnson was not surprised. “I think Mr. Buffett has no choices but to undergird it because he’s got so much invested in it,” he said. Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/fmr-heinz-chief-says-he-has-lost-confidence-in-former-company

If you're looking to buy your first home Opens a New Window. , you may want to start saving up Opens a New Window. — but just how much money, exactly, you'll need in your bank account depends on location. Though pending U.S. homes sales increased by 4.6 percent in January, four major U.S. regions saw a rapid decline in sales (down 4.9 percent) in March, according to the National Association of Realtors Opens a New Window. . And according to 2018 research Opens a New Window. conducted by Freddie Mac, 78 percent of renters believe it's more affordable to continue renting than to own a property. But that doesn't mean everyone has lost all hope. In fact, a new study Opens a New Window. by Bank of America found that a majority of those who identify as Gen Z want to own a home before the age of 30. "While young prospective buyers identify saving for a down payment and closing costs (66 percent) as the top barrier to buying, they see it as less of a challenge than other generations do (vs. 69 percent of millennials, 72 percent of Gen Xers, and 74 percent of baby boomers). Covering the monthly costs of owning (58 percent) and – more so than any other generation – lacking knowledge about where to start (52 percent) are also considered barriers to homeownership by Gen Z," Bank of America explained in a recent blog post Opens a New Window. . The good news is there are some areas that are more affordable than others, especially if you're a first-time buyer. To give prospective homebuyers a better picture of what they can or cannot afford, Money magazine partnered with real estate property company Attom Data Solutions to depict the average down payment needed in each state. In 2018, the average sales price of a house was $265,500, which means roughly $53,000 — a 20 percent rate — is needed for the down payment, the magazine reported, citing Attom's data. "The amount you’ll be required to put down on a house depends on the type of loan you get and lender requirements. Normally, a 20 percent down payment is what’s expected for conventional loans," Bankrate explains Opens a New Window. . Here's a look at the media down payment — based on median sales prices from the third quarter of 2018 — that's required in each of the 50 states, according to Money and Attom Data Solutions. Alabama - $12,740 Alaska - $20,563 Arizona - $17,493 Arkansas - $10,710 California - $34,930 Colorado -$25,326 Connecticut - $18,550 Delaware - $16,800 Florida - $16,695 Georgia - $14,840 Hawaii - $39,900 Idaho - $17,149 Illinois - $15,706 Indiana - $12,887 Iowa - $12,040 Kansas - $11,713 Kentucky - $11,550 Louisiana - $13,125 Maine - $18,642 Maryland - $21,350 Massachusetts - $25,270 Michigan - $12,600 Minnesota - $17,150 Mississippi - $15,278 Missouri - $12,714 Montana - $18,725 Nebraska - $12,950 Nevada - $19,950 New Hampshire - $19,110 New Jersey - $23,450 New Mexico - $14,131 New York - $21,630 North Carolina - $15,330 North Dakota - $14,193 Ohio - $11,683 Oklahoma - $11,165 Oregon - $23,443 Pennsylvania - $14,350 Rhode Island - $18,550 South Carolina - $13,882 South Dakota - $13,090 Tennessee - $13,475 Texas - $16,144 Utah - $21,833 Vermont - $15,050 Virginia - $20,923 Washington - $25,200 West Virginia - $11,025 Wisconsin - $13,300 Wyoming - $16,004 Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/first-time-homebuyer-average-down-payment-costs-each-state

The Supreme Court ruled against Apple Opens a New Window. on Monday to allow consumers to proceed with an antitrust lawsuit that accused the tech Opens a New Window. company of monopolizing iOS apps and artificially inflating prices through its App Store. In a 5-4 ruling Opens a New Window. on Apple Inc. v. Pepper, the Supreme Court said iPhone buyers were “direct purchasers” who can sue Apple for alleged monopolization. Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the court's four liberal judges — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — in the ruling. “The plaintiffs purchased apps directly from Apple and therefore are direct purchasers under Illinois Brick,” Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion, citing the doctrine that prohibits indirect purchasers from suing companies for damages under antitrust law. “At this early pleadings stage of the litigation, we do not assess the merits of the plaintiffs’ antitrust claims against Apple, nor do we consider any other defenses Apple might have,” he added. “We merely hold that the Illinois Brick direct-purchaser rule does not bar these plaintiffs from suing Apple under the antitrust laws.” Robert Pepper and three other iPhone users filed an antitrust complaint in 2011 claiming Apple created an unfair monopoly over the "iPhone apps aftermarket" and drove up phone prices by blocking third-party apps. IOS users can only download apps through the App store and the tech company takes 30 percent commission on every sale. The developers, who also have to pay a $99 annual membership fees and set their own price on the apps, then pass the expenses on to consumers, Pepper argued. “The consumers argue, in particular, that Apple has monopolized the retail market for the sale of apps and has unlawfully used its monopolistic power to charge consumers higher-than-competitive prices,” the Supreme Court opinion Opens a New Window. stated. Apple said its App store "is not a monopoly by any metric." "Today's decision means plaintiffs can proceed with their case in District court. We’re confident we will prevail when the facts are presented and that the App Store is not a monopoly by any metric," the company wrote in its statement. We’re proud to have created the safest, most secure and trusted platform for customers and a great business opportunity for all developers around the world." The tech company argued that it had no role in app prices and that those were set by developers. "The vast majority of apps on the App Store are free and Apple gets nothing from them. The only instance where Apple shares in revenue is if the developer chooses to sell digital services through the App Store," the statement continued. "Developers have a number of platforms to choose from to deliver their software — from other apps stores, to Smart TVs to gaming consoles - and we work hard every day to make our store is the best, safest and most competitive in the world." Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a dissent for four conservative justices. "The consumers' complaint against Apple is the kind of case earlier high court rulings said was not allowed under federal laws that prohibit unfair control of a market," Gorsuch wrote. The ruling may require Apple to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to developers and make changes to its App store, the Verge Opens a New Window. previously reported. A judge could triple the compensation to consumers under antitrust law if Apple ultimately loses the suit. There has been exponential growth in the availability of apps since Apple created the App Store in 2008 with 500 choices. In April 2009, less than a year after its debut, the App Store reached a landmark one billion app downloads. Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/supreme-court-rules-apple-lawsuit-app-store