The reliability of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids has dramatically improved, narrowing a wide gap with gas-powered automobiles, according to the latest survey by Consumer Reports. But vehicles with internal combustion engines and gas-electric hybrids are still far more dependable, the survey found. Consumer Reports subscribers, who filled out surveys during much of 2024, reported that electric vehicles had 42% more problems than gas autos on average. But that was down from 79% more in the 2023 survey. The survey released Thursday measured reliability of vehicles mainly from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 model years.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased again this week, slipping to its lowest level since late October. The rate dropped to 6.69% from 6.81% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.03%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also eased this week. The average rate fell to 5.96% from 6.1% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.29%, Freddie Mac said. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including the moves in the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to price home loans. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now at its lowest level since October 24, when it was at 6.54%.

Mexico’s president said Thursday she will ask President-elect Donald Trump to deport non-Mexican migrants directly to their home countries, rather than dumping them at the Mexican border. President Claudia Sheinbaum said she hopes to reach an agreement with Trump so that “they send people who come from other countries to their countries of origin.” Mexico, like any other country, is not obligated to accept non-Mexican migrants, but it has agreed to do so in the recent past, especially from countries like Cuba and Venezuela, which often refuse deportation flights from the United States, but may accept them from Mexico.

One of the country’s largest health insurers reversed a change in policy Thursday after widespread outcry, saying it would not tie payments in some states to the length of time a patient went under anesthesia. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said in a statement that its decision to backpedal resulted from “significant widespread misinformation” about the policy. “To be clear, it never was and never will be the policy of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to not pay for medically necessary anesthesia services,” the statement said.

In a recent sermon delivered at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), urged American Muslims to actively “market Islam” to the broader public. Speaking to a congregation and a live YouTube audience, Awad outlined a strategic vision to reshape public perceptions of Islam in the United States. “No product in the United States can succeed without marketing,” Awad stated, asserting that Islam is often misrepresented by media, Hollywood, and academic institutions.

NASA announced more delays Thursday in sending astronauts back to the moon more than 50 years after Apollo. Administrator Bill Nelson said the next mission in the Artemis program — flying four astronauts around the moon and back – is now targeted for April 2026. It had been on the books for September 2025, after slipping from this year. The investigation into heat shield damage from the capsule’s initial test flight two years ago took time, officials said, and other spacecraft improvements are still needed. This bumps the third Artemis mission — a moon landing by two other astronauts — to at least 2027. NASA had been aiming for 2026. NASA’s Artemis program, a follow-up to the Apollo moonshots of the late 1960s and early 1970s, has completed only one mission.

Edison, New Jersey, has become the center of controversy after its township council introduced a rule banning “props,” including American flags and the U.S. Constitution, from public town meetings. The decision has sparked outrage among residents, leading to tense exchanges, police removals, and accusations of un-American policies. The controversy erupted after resident and attorney Joel Bassoff was escorted out of a council meeting by police for holding a small American flag in protest of the rule. Council President Nishith Patel defended the ban, claiming such items disrupt the meetings. Critics, however, argue the ordinance violates First Amendment rights and undermines free expression.

Two suspects at the center of a high-profile scandal involving the Prime Minister’s Office and the alleged leak of classified documents will remain in detention after prosecutors appealed a Tel Aviv District Court decision to release them to house arrest. Supreme Court Justice Alex Stein announced today that the court’s release order would be frozen while he reviews the case. A final decision is expected next week. The suspects include Eli Feldstein, a spokesperson and aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an IDF reservist. They are accused of leaking classified military intelligence, which was subsequently published in the foreign press.

Two residents of the northern Druze village of Mas’ade are accused of conducting surveillance missions on behalf of Iran’s Quds Force, Israeli authorities announced Friday. The Shin Bet security agency and Israeli police revealed that Bassem and Tahrir Safadi, a father and son, were arrested in November on suspicion of espionage and contact with a foreign agent during wartime. According to the Shin Bet, Tahrir, 21, a software engineering student, had been conducting surveillance activities for Iran and its regional proxies in recent years under the guidance of his father. Their activities reportedly included collecting information on IDF operations in the Golan Heights.

Israel is bracing for the possible collapse of the Syrian army as rebel forces, led by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), continue to make rapid territorial gains. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a high-level security meeting Thursday night to address the escalating situation, which Israeli military officials describe as increasingly volatile. Reports from Israeli media suggest that the IDF now views the rebel offensive as a credible threat to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Channel 12 noted that Israel has been caught off guard by the Syrian army’s inability to stem the advance of jihadist fighters, who have recently captured key strategic cities.