WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded employers 
and self-employed individuals that chose to defer paying part of their 
2020 Social Security tax liability that their second annual installment 
of the deferred amount is due on December 31, 2022.

As part of the COVID relief provided during 2020, employers could 
choose to put off paying the employer's share of their Social Security 
tax liability, which is 6.2% of wages. Self-employed individuals could 
also choose to defer a similar amount of their self-employment tax. 
Generally, half of that deferral was due on December 31, 2021. The other
 half is due on December 31, 2022.

Earlier this fall, the IRS sent reminder notices to affected 
employers and self-employed individuals. The agency noted, however, that
 those affected are still required to make the payment on time, even if 
they did not receive a notice.

Employers and individuals have several options for making this payment. Deferral payments can made through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/eftps-the-electronic-federal-tax-payment-system">Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)</a>, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay">Direct Pay</a>, by <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-taxes-by-debit-or-credit-card">debit card, credit card or digital wallet</a>, or with a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-by-check-or-money-order">check or money order</a>.
 No matter which payment option is chosen, it must be made separately 
from other tax payments and deposits. This will ensure that it is 
credited properly and will help avoid follow-up bills or notices.

Employers and individuals can make the deferral payments through enrollment in the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/eftps-the-electronic-federal-tax-payment-system">Electronic Federal Tax Payment System</a>, a free service available from the Treasury Department. On the Tax Type Selection screen, choose Deferred Social Security Tax and then change the date to the applicable tax period (the calendar quarter in 2020 for which tax was deferred). Visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/eftps-the-electronic-federal-tax-payment-system">EFTPS.gov</a>&nbsp;or call <a href="tel:800-555-4477">800-555-4477</a> or <a href="tel:800-733-4829">800-733-4829</a> for details.

Alternatively, self-employed individual taxpayers can choose Direct 
Pay to pay directly from a checking or savings account. This service is 
available free only on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay">Direct Pay With Bank Account</a>.
 Select the "Balance Due" reason for payment and apply the payment to 
the 2020 tax year where the payment was deferred. Direct Pay is not 
available to pay employment taxes.

Debit card, credit card or digital wallet

If paying with a credit card, debit card or digital wallet, select 
"installment agreement." Apply the payment to the 2020 tax year where 
the payment was deferred. Note that the IRS does not charge a fee for 
this service, but the authorized third-party payment processors do. 
Visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments">IRS.gov/payments</a> for details.

Make any check or money order payable to United States Treasury, not IRS. For more information on where to mail payments see <a href="https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i941#en_US_202206_publink100065907">Instructions for Form 941</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded employers 
and self-employed individuals that chose to defer paying part of their 
2020 Social Security tax liability that their second annual installment 
of the deferred amount is due on December 31, 2022.As part of the COVID relief provided during 2020, employers could 
choose to put off paying the employer's share of their Social Security 
tax liability, which is 6.2% of wages. Self-employed individuals could 
also choose to defer a similar amount of their self-employment tax. 
Generally, half of that deferral was due on December 31, 2021. The other
 half is due on December 31, 2022.Earlier this fall, the IRS sent reminder notices to affected 
employers and self-employed individuals. The agency noted, however, that
 those affected are still required to make the payment on time, even if 
they did not receive a notice.<h2>How to repay the deferred taxes</h2>Employers and individuals have several options for making this payment. Deferral payments can made through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/eftps-the-electronic-federal-tax-payment-system">Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)</a>, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay">Direct Pay</a>, by <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-taxes-by-debit-or-credit-card">debit card, credit card or digital wallet</a>, or with a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-by-check-or-money-order">check or money order</a>.
 No matter which payment option is chosen, it must be made separately 
from other tax payments and deposits. This will ensure that it is 
credited properly and will help avoid follow-up bills or notices.<h2>EFTPS</h2>Employers and individuals can make the deferral payments through enrollment in the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/eftps-the-electronic-federal-tax-payment-system">Electronic Federal Tax Payment System</a>, a free service available from the Treasury Department. On the Tax Type Selection screen, choose Deferred Social Security Tax and then change the date to the applicable tax period (the calendar quarter in 2020 for which tax was deferred). Visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/eftps-the-electronic-federal-tax-payment-system">EFTPS.gov</a>&nbsp;or call <a href="tel:800-555-4477">800-555-4477</a> or <a href="tel:800-733-4829">800-733-4829</a> for details.<h2>Direct Pay</h2>Alternatively, self-employed individual taxpayers can choose Direct 
Pay to pay directly from a checking or savings account. This service is 
available free only on <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay">Direct Pay With Bank Account</a>.
 Select the "Balance Due" reason for payment and apply the payment to 
the 2020 tax year where the payment was deferred. Direct Pay is not 
available to pay employment taxes.<h2>Debit card, credit card or digital wallet</h2>If paying with a credit card, debit card or digital wallet, select 
"installment agreement." Apply the payment to the 2020 tax year where 
the payment was deferred. Note that the IRS does not charge a fee for 
this service, but the authorized third-party payment processors do. 
Visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments">IRS.gov/payments</a> for details.<h2>Check or money order</h2>Make any check or money order payable to United States Treasury, not IRS. For more information on where to mail payments see <a href="https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i941#en_US_202206_publink100065907">Instructions for Form 941</a>.

IRS deadline looms for many employers, self-employed people

By JOCELYN NOVECK&nbsp; Associated Press

The 1989 rom-com “When Harry Met Sally” is one of 25 films chosen this year to enter the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/">National Film Registry,</a>
 a list that ranges from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” to an 1898 silent
 documentary, long thought lost, about the Mardi Gras parade in New 
Orleans.

Also chosen this year for preservation: Marvel’s “Iron 
Man,” John Waters’ “Hairspray,” Brian de Palma’s “Carrie” and the 1950 
“Cyrano de Bergerac” starring Jose Ferrer, whose performance made him 
the first Hispanic actor to win a best actor Oscar.

The registry 
is housed at the Library of Congress, which since 1988 has selected 
movies for preservation based on their cultural and historic importance.
 This year’s picks bring the total number of films in the registry to 
850 — many of which are among the 1.7 million films in the library’s 
collections.

The oldest film selected this year is the 1898 “Mardi
 Gras Carnival,” a silent-era documentary with the earliest known 
footage of the carnival in New Orleans. A copy was recently found at the
 Eye Filmmuseum in the Netherlands. Showing floats, spectators and 
marchers at a parade, the film is one of nine documentaries chosen, 
covering topics like the Attica prison rebellion, female union workers, 
mental health treatment, LGBTQ history and others.

And the most 
recent film on this year’s list is the 2011 “Pariah,” by Dee Rees, a 
coming-out story about a lesbian teen in Brooklyn that's considered a 
prominent film in modern queer cinema.

Among a number of other 
LGBTQ-themed films chosen this year is the 1967 student short film 
“Behind Every Good Man” by Nikolai Ursin, a look at Black gender 
fluidity in Los Angeles. Another: the 1977 “Word is Out: Stories of Some
 of Our Lives," which interviewed over two dozen gay people about their 
lives, becoming a landmark of the early gay rights movement.

“We 
are proud to add 25 more films by a group of vibrant and diverse 
filmmakers to the National Film Registry as we preserve our cinematic 
heritage,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.

—
 "When Harry Met Sally” (1989), Rob Reiner’s much-loved rom-com starring
 Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan with a script by Nora Ephron, and one of the
 best scenes ever filmed in a deli.

— "Iron Man” (2008), the Marvel superhero film starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Jon Favreau.

— "Carrie” (1976), the Brian de Palma horror classic about a teen outcast (Sissy Spacek) with telekinetic powers.

—
 "Hairspray” (1988), the John Waters version of the story about 
teenagers in Baltimore, starring Ricki Lake, Debbie Harry, Jerry 
Stiller, Sonny Bono and Divine. The film would go on to become a 
successful Broadway musical.

— "Charade” (1963) by Stanley Donen, the only movie to pair Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

—
 "Cyrano de Bergerac” (1950) directed by Michael Gordon, the first U.S. 
film version of Rostand’s 1897 French play. Ferrer won the best actor 
Oscar.

— "The Little Mermaid (1989), the classic Disney production
 with Alan Menken and Howard Ashman songs (“Part of Your World” and 
“Under the Sea,” for example) about Ariel, who lives under the sea but 
wishes she were human.

The library said that Turner Classic Movies
 would host a TV special on Dec. 27, screening a selection of this 
year’s movies entering the registry.

Also being preserved: “Cab 
Calloway Home Movies” (1948-1951), Scorpio Rising (1963), “Titicut 
Follies” (1967), “Mingus” (1968), “Manzanar” (1971), “Betty Tells Her 
Story” (1972), “Super Fly” (1972), “Attica” (1974), “Union Maids” 
(1076), “Bush Mama” (1999), “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (1982), 
“Itam Hakim, Hoplit” (1984), “Tongues Untied” (1989), and “House Party” 
(1990).

<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vmSpCLefjnw"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VjUGH3dGESg"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JOCELYN NOVECK&nbsp; Associated PressThey’ll have what she’s having.The 1989 rom-com “When Harry Met Sally” is one of 25 films chosen this year to enter the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/">National Film Registry,</a>
 a list that ranges from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” to an 1898 silent
 documentary, long thought lost, about the Mardi Gras parade in New 
Orleans.Also chosen this year for preservation: Marvel’s “Iron 
Man,” John Waters’ “Hairspray,” Brian de Palma’s “Carrie” and the 1950 
“Cyrano de Bergerac” starring Jose Ferrer, whose performance made him 
the first Hispanic actor to win a best actor Oscar.The registry 
is housed at the Library of Congress, which since 1988 has selected 
movies for preservation based on their cultural and historic importance.
 This year’s picks bring the total number of films in the registry to 
850 — many of which are among the 1.7 million films in the library’s 
collections.The oldest film selected this year is the 1898 “Mardi
 Gras Carnival,” a silent-era documentary with the earliest known 
footage of the carnival in New Orleans. A copy was recently found at the
 Eye Filmmuseum in the Netherlands. Showing floats, spectators and 
marchers at a parade, the film is one of nine documentaries chosen, 
covering topics like the Attica prison rebellion, female union workers, 
mental health treatment, LGBTQ history and others.And the most 
recent film on this year’s list is the 2011 “Pariah,” by Dee Rees, a 
coming-out story about a lesbian teen in Brooklyn that's considered a 
prominent film in modern queer cinema.Among a number of other 
LGBTQ-themed films chosen this year is the 1967 student short film 
“Behind Every Good Man” by Nikolai Ursin, a look at Black gender 
fluidity in Los Angeles. Another: the 1977 “Word is Out: Stories of Some
 of Our Lives," which interviewed over two dozen gay people about their 
lives, becoming a landmark of the early gay rights movement.“We 
are proud to add 25 more films by a group of vibrant and diverse 
filmmakers to the National Film Registry as we preserve our cinematic 
heritage,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.Among the films entering the registry:—
 "When Harry Met Sally” (1989), Rob Reiner’s much-loved rom-com starring
 Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan with a script by Nora Ephron, and one of the
 best scenes ever filmed in a deli.— "Iron Man” (2008), the Marvel superhero film starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, directed by Jon Favreau.— "Carrie” (1976), the Brian de Palma horror classic about a teen outcast (Sissy Spacek) with telekinetic powers.—
 "Hairspray” (1988), the John Waters version of the story about 
teenagers in Baltimore, starring Ricki Lake, Debbie Harry, Jerry 
Stiller, Sonny Bono and Divine. The film would go on to become a 
successful Broadway musical.— "Charade” (1963) by Stanley Donen, the only movie to pair Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.—
 "Cyrano de Bergerac” (1950) directed by Michael Gordon, the first U.S. 
film version of Rostand’s 1897 French play. Ferrer won the best actor 
Oscar.— "The Little Mermaid (1989), the classic Disney production
 with Alan Menken and Howard Ashman songs (“Part of Your World” and 
“Under the Sea,” for example) about Ariel, who lives under the sea but 
wishes she were human.The library said that Turner Classic Movies
 would host a TV special on Dec. 27, screening a selection of this 
year’s movies entering the registry.Also being preserved: “Cab 
Calloway Home Movies” (1948-1951), Scorpio Rising (1963), “Titicut 
Follies” (1967), “Mingus” (1968), “Manzanar” (1971), “Betty Tells Her 
Story” (1972), “Super Fly” (1972), “Attica” (1974), “Union Maids” 
(1076), “Bush Mama” (1999), “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (1982), 
“Itam Hakim, Hoplit” (1984), “Tongues Untied” (1989), and “House Party” 
(1990).Cover image courtesy Pixabay

🎥 'When Harry Met Sally,' 'Iron Man' added to film registry

The Federal Reserve <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fed-could-pencil-in-higher-interest-rates-next-year-while-slowing-hikes-in-december-11670208857">is expected to raise interest rates</a> by half a percentage point on Dec. 14, 2022, to a range of 4.25 to 4.5%, which would be the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/openmarket.htm">seventh increase this year</a>.
 So far in 2022, the Fed has lifted its benchmark short-term rate, which
 influences most other borrowing costs in the economy, by 3.75 
percentage points from a low of about zero as recently as March.

But even as the U.S. central bank continues to lift rates – and 
plans to keep doing so in 2023 – homebuyers are beginning to notice a 
pleasant surprise: <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US">Mortgage rates have been falling</a>.

We asked <a href="https://scholar.google.ch/citations?hl=en&amp;view_op=list_works&amp;gmla=AJsN-F4fuP-jZCTY0dss1jyFm2bODATjgGmtalW1ZCYWx6Sw-w7-2gMSs_-5u0HsxzA0_0AxX69RwCOCKv-y6oSwPfRDnRwa5C62z81iNnOd7OLu7HZKegI&amp;user=VxWst50AAAAJ">Brian Blank</a>, a finance professor who has <a href="https://doi.org//10.1080/10527001.2021.2008094">researched mortgage rates and bank loans</a>, to explain the paradox of falling mortgage costs at a time of rising base interest rates.

By D. BRIAN BLANK <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-reserve-is-about-to-hike-interest-rates-once-again-so-why-are-mortgage-rates-coming-down-195779">The Conversation</a>

After soaring for much of 2022, mortgage rates and other long-term rates are starting to come down.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US">has fallen 0.75 percentage points</a>
 in the past month or so, after hitting a 20-year high of 7.08% in early
 November. Rates reached 6.33% on Dec. 8, the lowest level since 
September. This occurred over the same period as the Fed lifted its 
benchmark interest rate 1.5 percentage points.

Another key rate that fell is the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/US10Y">has declined by a similar amount</a>, to 3.5%.

Why are mortgage rates falling if the Fed is still hiking?

The short and rather boring technical answer is that bond markets 
anticipated this rate hike many months ago. And as market factors 
largely dictate the costs of borrowing, the increase was already 
absorbed into home loan rates.

Mortgage rates, while rising due to the Federal Reserve’s rapid hiking pace, are actually more closely linked to the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?graph_id=281291">interest rate on Treasury securities</a>,
 specifically the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond. That security 
began to anticipate the Fed’s interest rate increases a year ago and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/bond/BX/TMUBMUSD10Y">rose from less than 1.5% in December 2021</a> to more than 3.25% by June.

And now, with signs that inflation has already peaked and amid 
growing concerns of a slowing economy, these longer-term rates are 
coming down in anticipation of fewer future Fed rate hikes than expected
 only a short time ago. In fact, mortgage and other long-term rates may 
keep falling over the coming months – assuming the Fed manages to get 
inflation under control so it is able to lower its benchmark rate again.

Why do mortgage rates follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond?

Even though 30-year mortgages can be held for three decades, <a href="https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/average-mortgage-length">most people sell their house or refinance within a decade</a>, which means the investor who is receiving the mortgage payments is effectively investing in a 10-year bond.

As a result, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage interest rate is normally <a href="https://www.blackknightinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BKI_MM_Feb2020_Chart11.pdf">1 to 2 percentage points higher</a> than the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond.

However, when the economy has more uncertainty than usual, like earlier this year, <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4545035-mortgage-demand-plunges-spread-between-mortgage-rate-and-10-year-treasury-yield-blows-out">this spread can get as large as 3 percentage points</a>. This uncertainty can be the result of a potential economic <a href="https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2018/404">downturn</a>, the possibility of the Fed raising rates more than expected, inflation, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-22/mortgage-investors-jump-in-after-fed-says-mbs-sales-aren-t-near#xj4y7vzkg">Fed balance sheet changes</a> or all of the above – as happened in 2022.

Why are mortgage rates higher than Treasury yields?

Since the United States Treasury is more likely to pay investors back than almost any individual homeowner, <a href="https://www.investright.org/understand-investing/high-risk-investments/#nvkForm6529d2c3b5fdc05a987634da4327a5eb">investors charge a higher interest rate</a> due to the additional risk they are taking.

Even though individuals go to banks to borrow, <a href="https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/housing-finance-policy-center/projects/mortgage-servicing-collaborative/help-me-understand-mortgage-servicing/how-does-securitization-affect-mortgage-servicing">banks often sell</a> <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2008/09/pdf/basics.pdf">those loans to investors</a>, who then receive the money individuals pay back on the loan.

Since individuals default on mortgages more often than the U.S. government defaults on Treasury bonds, investors <a href="https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/equities/required-rate-of-return/">require</a> a <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com/im/en-us/individual-investor/insights/articles/market-expected-return-on-investment.html">higher return</a> to purchase the rights to receive the payments from those mortgages.

If mortgage rates fall, will the Fed have to raise rates even higher to control inflation?

Falling mortgage rates preceded an increase in the home purchase index, which is a measure of current market <a href="https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/news/11302022-mortgage-application-volume">conditions</a> to purchase homes. This suggests the <a href="https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2022/11/mba-mortgage-applications-decrease-in_0650395375.html">housing market may finally start to pick up steam</a> after slowing down all year.

Since the Fed is trying to slow economic <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf">activity</a> to bring down inflation, this <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/macroeconomics/income-and-expenditure-topic/macroeconomics-is-lm/v/investment-and-real-interest-rates">could cause housing prices</a> to increase again, thus forcing the Fed to raise its target rate more than planned.

However, I believe the effective federal funds rate, which is the 
market rate directly influenced by the Fed’s target range, is already <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20221130a.htm">sufficiently restrictive</a>
 to slow the housing market and restore more normal economic conditions 
in 2023. Moreover, the decline in mortgage rates is still quite small – 
they remain over double what they were a year ago – so the drop isn’t 
likely to have much of an impact alone.

What the Fed itself thinks about this challenge – and where it <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomcprojtabl20220921.pdf">projects</a> to take interest <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-26/the-treasury-market-s-big-recession-trade-is-gathering-momentum">rates</a> next year – is what I and many other <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fed-could-pencil-in-higher-interest-rates-next-year-while-slowing-hikes-in-december-11670208857">economists</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-05/study-of-5-trillion-funds-show-pros-positioned-for-soft-economic-landing">investors</a> will be monitoring closely as it meets for the last time of 2022. It should tell us what to expect in 2023 – so stay tuned.

D. Brian Blank is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Mississippi State University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670968577081.jpg" alt="Homebuyers are receiving something of a holiday gift in falling mortgage costs. Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Homebuyers are receiving something of a holiday gift in falling mortgage costs. Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>The Federal Reserve <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fed-could-pencil-in-higher-interest-rates-next-year-while-slowing-hikes-in-december-11670208857">is expected to raise interest rates</a> by half a percentage point on Dec. 14, 2022, to a range of 4.25 to 4.5%, which would be the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/openmarket.htm">seventh increase this year</a>.
 So far in 2022, the Fed has lifted its benchmark short-term rate, which
 influences most other borrowing costs in the economy, by 3.75 
percentage points from a low of about zero as recently as March.But even as the U.S. central bank continues to lift rates – and 
plans to keep doing so in 2023 – homebuyers are beginning to notice a 
pleasant surprise: <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US">Mortgage rates have been falling</a>.What’s going on?We asked <a href="https://scholar.google.ch/citations?hl=en&amp;view_op=list_works&amp;gmla=AJsN-F4fuP-jZCTY0dss1jyFm2bODATjgGmtalW1ZCYWx6Sw-w7-2gMSs_-5u0HsxzA0_0AxX69RwCOCKv-y6oSwPfRDnRwa5C62z81iNnOd7OLu7HZKegI&amp;user=VxWst50AAAAJ">Brian Blank</a>, a finance professor who has <a href="https://doi.org//10.1080/10527001.2021.2008094">researched mortgage rates and bank loans</a>, to explain the paradox of falling mortgage costs at a time of rising base interest rates.By D. BRIAN BLANK <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-reserve-is-about-to-hike-interest-rates-once-again-so-why-are-mortgage-rates-coming-down-195779">The Conversation</a><h2>What’s happening with mortgage rates?</h2>After soaring for much of 2022, mortgage rates and other long-term rates are starting to come down.The average rate on a 30-year mortgage <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US">has fallen 0.75 percentage points</a>
 in the past month or so, after hitting a 20-year high of 7.08% in early
 November. Rates reached 6.33% on Dec. 8, the lowest level since 
September. This occurred over the same period as the Fed lifted its 
benchmark interest rate 1.5 percentage points. Another key rate that fell is the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/US10Y">has declined by a similar amount</a>, to 3.5%.<h2>Why are mortgage rates falling if the Fed is still hiking?</h2>The short and rather boring technical answer is that bond markets 
anticipated this rate hike many months ago. And as market factors 
largely dictate the costs of borrowing, the increase was already 
absorbed into home loan rates.Mortgage rates, while rising due to the Federal Reserve’s rapid hiking pace, are actually more closely linked to the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?graph_id=281291">interest rate on Treasury securities</a>,
 specifically the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond. That security 
began to anticipate the Fed’s interest rate increases a year ago and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/bond/BX/TMUBMUSD10Y">rose from less than 1.5% in December 2021</a> to more than 3.25% by June. And now, with signs that inflation has already peaked and amid 
growing concerns of a slowing economy, these longer-term rates are 
coming down in anticipation of fewer future Fed rate hikes than expected
 only a short time ago. In fact, mortgage and other long-term rates may 
keep falling over the coming months – assuming the Fed manages to get 
inflation under control so it is able to lower its benchmark rate again.<h2>Why do mortgage rates follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond?</h2>Even though 30-year mortgages can be held for three decades, <a href="https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/average-mortgage-length">most people sell their house or refinance within a decade</a>, which means the investor who is receiving the mortgage payments is effectively investing in a 10-year bond. As a result, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage interest rate is normally <a href="https://www.blackknightinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BKI_MM_Feb2020_Chart11.pdf">1 to 2 percentage points higher</a> than the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond.However, when the economy has more uncertainty than usual, like earlier this year, <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4545035-mortgage-demand-plunges-spread-between-mortgage-rate-and-10-year-treasury-yield-blows-out">this spread can get as large as 3 percentage points</a>. This uncertainty can be the result of a potential economic <a href="https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2018/404">downturn</a>, the possibility of the Fed raising rates more than expected, inflation, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-22/mortgage-investors-jump-in-after-fed-says-mbs-sales-aren-t-near#xj4y7vzkg">Fed balance sheet changes</a> or all of the above – as happened in 2022.<h2>Why are mortgage rates higher than Treasury yields?</h2>Since the United States Treasury is more likely to pay investors back than almost any individual homeowner, <a href="https://www.investright.org/understand-investing/high-risk-investments/#nvkForm6529d2c3b5fdc05a987634da4327a5eb">investors charge a higher interest rate</a> due to the additional risk they are taking. Even though individuals go to banks to borrow, <a href="https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/housing-finance-policy-center/projects/mortgage-servicing-collaborative/help-me-understand-mortgage-servicing/how-does-securitization-affect-mortgage-servicing">banks often sell</a> <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2008/09/pdf/basics.pdf">those loans to investors</a>, who then receive the money individuals pay back on the loan. Since individuals default on mortgages more often than the U.S. government defaults on Treasury bonds, investors <a href="https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/equities/required-rate-of-return/">require</a> a <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com/im/en-us/individual-investor/insights/articles/market-expected-return-on-investment.html">higher return</a> to purchase the rights to receive the payments from those mortgages.<h2>If mortgage rates fall, will the Fed have to raise rates even higher to control inflation?</h2>Falling mortgage rates preceded an increase in the home purchase index, which is a measure of current market <a href="https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/news/11302022-mortgage-application-volume">conditions</a> to purchase homes. This suggests the <a href="https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2022/11/mba-mortgage-applications-decrease-in_0650395375.html">housing market may finally start to pick up steam</a> after slowing down all year. Since the Fed is trying to slow economic <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf">activity</a> to bring down inflation, this <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/macroeconomics/income-and-expenditure-topic/macroeconomics-is-lm/v/investment-and-real-interest-rates">could cause housing prices</a> to increase again, thus forcing the Fed to raise its target rate more than planned. However, I believe the effective federal funds rate, which is the 
market rate directly influenced by the Fed’s target range, is already <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20221130a.htm">sufficiently restrictive</a>
 to slow the housing market and restore more normal economic conditions 
in 2023. Moreover, the decline in mortgage rates is still quite small – 
they remain over double what they were a year ago – so the drop isn’t 
likely to have much of an impact alone.What the Fed itself thinks about this challenge – and where it <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomcprojtabl20220921.pdf">projects</a> to take interest <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-26/the-treasury-market-s-big-recession-trade-is-gathering-momentum">rates</a> next year – is what I and many other <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fed-could-pencil-in-higher-interest-rates-next-year-while-slowing-hikes-in-december-11670208857">economists</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-05/study-of-5-trillion-funds-show-pros-positioned-for-soft-economic-landing">investors</a> will be monitoring closely as it meets for the last time of 2022. It should tell us what to expect in 2023 – so stay tuned.D. Brian Blank is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Mississippi State University.<div><iframe src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195779/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe></div>

Interest rates way up – so why are mortgage rates coming down?

The rise of <a href="https://www.bbb.org/all/online-shopping">online marketplaces</a> and expedited delivery services is a convenient service for many consumers across the nation, allowing <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/23348-shop-safe">holiday purchasers</a>
 to search for the perfect gift for friends and family. Unfortunately, 
purchasing and having the item delivered to the proper address does not 
guarantee you will receive it. According to market research firm <a href="https://www.crresearch.com/blog/2022-package-theft-statistics-report" target="_blank">C+R Research</a>,
 package theft continues to be an issue for many Americans, with 
approximately 14% of consumers experiencing package theft in 2022.

Package thieves, also known as “porch pirates,” often take advantage 
of an opportunity and may frequent a neighborhood or community multiple 
times before moving on to another. They will often target houses that 
provide a quick in-and-out route, especially if the porch or area where <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/14276-bbb-safe-delivery-tips-for-holiday-shipping">packages are delivered</a>
 is within 25 feet of the street and are easily visible. Over the past 
five years, internet searches using the keywords “package stolen” nearly
 doubled <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&amp;geo=US&amp;q=package%20stolen" target="_blank">during December</a>, demonstrating the impact of this crime on households across the nation.

As a crime of opportunity, preventing or discouraging package theft 
can be accomplished in several ways, depending on the location of your 
residence, type, and community. For instance, preventing package theft 
at an apartment complex in the middle of the city differs from a 
suburban residential community. However, consumers can use specific 
strategies to discourage the act no matter where they live.

BBB provides the following tips to prevent package thieves from affecting your holiday plans (and the rest of the year):

If you fear that your package has been stolen, file a report with 
your local police department and the delivery company. Depending on 
which delivery service you use, they may offer insurance or other 
policies to reimburse you for your losses.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1579883951052.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>BBBThe rise of <a href="https://www.bbb.org/all/online-shopping">online marketplaces</a> and expedited delivery services is a convenient service for many consumers across the nation, allowing <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/23348-shop-safe">holiday purchasers</a>
 to search for the perfect gift for friends and family. Unfortunately, 
purchasing and having the item delivered to the proper address does not 
guarantee you will receive it. According to market research firm <a href="https://www.crresearch.com/blog/2022-package-theft-statistics-report" target="_blank">C+R Research</a>,
 package theft continues to be an issue for many Americans, with 
approximately 14% of consumers experiencing package theft in 2022.Package thieves, also known as “porch pirates,” often take advantage 
of an opportunity and may frequent a neighborhood or community multiple 
times before moving on to another. They will often target houses that 
provide a quick in-and-out route, especially if the porch or area where <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/14276-bbb-safe-delivery-tips-for-holiday-shipping">packages are delivered</a>
 is within 25 feet of the street and are easily visible. Over the past 
five years, internet searches using the keywords “package stolen” nearly
 doubled <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&amp;geo=US&amp;q=package%20stolen" target="_blank">during December</a>, demonstrating the impact of this crime on households across the nation.As a crime of opportunity, preventing or discouraging package theft 
can be accomplished in several ways, depending on the location of your 
residence, type, and community. For instance, preventing package theft 
at an apartment complex in the middle of the city differs from a 
suburban residential community. However, consumers can use specific 
strategies to discourage the act no matter where they live.BBB provides the following tips to prevent package thieves from affecting your holiday plans (and the rest of the year):<ul>
 <li>Check with neighbors.&nbsp;Sometimes, your package may 
not be stolen, just simply at the wrong address. Before filing a report 
or contacting the sender, check with your neighbors and see if the 
delivery service may have dropped off your package at the wrong address.
 Many delivery companies will take pictures of your package in the 
designated location – be sure to check for the photo and verify it is at
 the right spot.</li><li>Don’t leave unattended packages.&nbsp;When possible, do 
not leave delivered packages unattended for long periods. If you are 
expecting a package, attempt to schedule its delivery when you know you 
will be home. Ask your neighbors if they would mind holding on to 
packages delivered if you plan to be gone for an extended time during 
the holidays.</li><li>Ship to store.&nbsp;If purchasing an item from a 
retailer that has a physical location near your home, consider shipping 
it there instead. Retailers will require proof of purchase or 
identification before releasing packages they have received, and this is
 a sure way to avoid porch pirates.</li><li>Use a security camera.&nbsp;Installing a <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/2270-bbb-tip-buying-a-home-security-system">home security system</a> with cameras or simply a <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/26369-bbb-tip-your-guide-to-purchasing-a-smart-doorbell">camera-enabled doorbell</a>
 is a great way to deter package theft, especially when highly visible. 
Consider including a sign that specifically states that the residence is
 under surveillance. Even if a package is stolen from your porch, the 
video evidence will help law enforcement track down the thieves (but be 
wary of the risk of <a href="https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/20827-dont-let-these-scary-cyber-safety-risks-creep-up-on-you">internet-connected devices</a> and research before you purchase).</li><li>Require a signature.&nbsp;Many delivery companies 
include the option to require a signature before leaving a package, 
letting you take physical possession of the item as soon as it is 
delivered. While this option works well for those who are often at home,
 especially for expensive items, it may create difficulties in receiving
 packages if your schedule and the delivery service are different. Be 
sure to check with the delivery company on their policy for packages 
that are not signed for; they may return it to the sender after a 
certain number of attempts.</li><li>Consider a package receiving service.&nbsp;Some major 
retailers, such as Amazon, offer secure package receiving locations away
 from your home that you can access with a key or code. Some independent
 businesses also specialize in this service, allowing you to designate a
 different delivery location for your packages and the ability to pick 
them up on your way home.</li>
 </ul>If you fear that your package has been stolen, file a report with 
your local police department and the delivery company. Depending on 
which delivery service you use, they may offer insurance or other 
policies to reimburse you for your losses.

6 steps to stop porch pirates this holiday season

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission ahs announced it is committing nearly $54 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.  The funding commitments support applications from all three application windows, benefiting approximately 150,000 students across the country, including students in Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington, and West Virginia.

“We need to make sure all our kids have the digital tools they need to connect with teachers and online homework,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel.  “This latest round of funding brings us closer to our goal of closing the Homework Gap.”

To date, the Commission has committed over $6.4 billion to schools and libraries across the country as part of the Emergency Connectivity Program, which launched last year.  The program has provided schools and libraries three different “application windows” for schools and libraries to apply for support.  Today’s announcement will support approximately 100 schools, 10 libraries, and 2 consortia.

The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework, to ensure

students across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education.  To date, the program has provided support to approximately 10,000 schools, 900 libraries, and 100  consortia, and providing approximately 12 million connected devices and 8 million broadband connections.  Of the over $6.4 billion in funding commitments approved to date, approximately $4.14 billion is supporting applications from Window 1; $833 million from Window 2; and $1.43 billion from Window 3.  

More details about which schools and libraries have received funding commitments can be found <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-connectivity-fund">HERE</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584977952684.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission ahs announced it is committing nearly $54 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country. The funding commitments support applications from all three application windows, benefiting approximately 150,000 students across the country, including students in Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington, and West Virginia.“We need to make sure all our kids have the digital tools they need to connect with teachers and online homework,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “This latest round of funding brings us closer to our goal of closing the Homework Gap.”To date, the Commission has committed over $6.4 billion to schools and libraries across the country as part of the Emergency Connectivity Program, which launched last year. The program has provided schools and libraries three different “application windows” for schools and libraries to apply for support. Today’s announcement will support approximately 100 schools, 10 libraries, and 2 consortia.The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework, to ensurestudents across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education. To date, the program has provided support to approximately 10,000 schools, 900 libraries, and 100 consortia, and providing approximately 12 million connected devices and 8 million broadband connections. Of the over $6.4 billion in funding commitments approved to date, approximately $4.14 billion is supporting applications from Window 1; $833 million from Window 2; and $1.43 billion from Window 3. More details about which schools and libraries have received funding commitments can be found <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-connectivity-fund">HERE</a>.

FCC: Another $54M for emergency broadband connectivity

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded those who 
were born in 1950 or earlier that funds in their retirement plans and 
individual retirement arrangements face important upcoming deadlines for
 required minimum distributions to avoid penalties.

<a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds">Required minimum distributions</a>,
 or RMDs, are minimum amounts that many retirement plan and IRA account 
owners must generally withdraw annually after they reach age 72. Account
 owners can delay taking their first RMD until April 1 following the 
later of the calendar year they reach age 72 or, in a workplace 
retirement plan, retire. RMDs are taxable income and may be subject to 
penalities if not timely taken.

IRAs: The RMD rules require <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/individual-retirement-arrangements-iras">traditional IRA</a>,
 and SEP, SARSEP, and SIMPLE IRA account holders to begin taking 
distributions at age 72, even if they're still working. Account holders 
reaching age 72 in 2022 must take their first RMD by April 1, 2023, and 
the second RMD by December 31, 2023, and each year thereafter.

Retirement Plans: In 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) 
plans; profit-sharing and other defined contribution plans; and defined 
benefit plans, the first RMD is due by April 1 of the later of the year 
they reach age 72, or the participant is no longer employed (if allowed 
by the plan). A 5% owner of the employer must begin taking RMDs at age 
72.

RMDs may not be rolled over to another IRA or retirement plan. See the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/rmd-comparison-chart-iras-vs-defined-contribution-plans">RMD Comparison Chart</a> that highlights some of the basic RMD rules that apply to IRAs and defined contribution plans. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras">Roth IRAs</a> do not require distributions while the original owner is alive.

RMD Calculations and 50% tax on missed distributions

An IRA trustee, or plan administrator, must either report the amount 
of the RMD to the IRA owner or offer to calculate it. An IRA owner, or 
trustee, must calculate the RMD separately for each IRA owned. They may 
be able to withdraw the total amount from one or more of the IRAs. 
However, RMDs from workplace retirement plans must be taken separately 
from each plan.

Not taking a required distribution, or not withdrawing enough, could 
mean a 50% excise tax on the amount not distributed. The IRS has <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/required-minimum-distribution-worksheets">worksheets</a> to calculate the RMD and payout periods.

An RMD may be required for an IRA, retirement plan account or Roth IRA inherited from the original owner. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-beneficiary">Retirement Topics - Beneficiary</a>
 has information on taking RMDs from an inherited IRA or retirement 
account and reporting taxable distributions as part of gross income. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p559">Publication 559, Survivors, Executors and Administrators</a>,
 can help those in charge of the estate complete and file federal income
 tax returns, and explains their responsibility to pay any taxes due on 
behalf of the decedent or person who has died.

Since 2020 RMDs were waived, an account owner or beneficiary who 
received an RMD in 2020 had the option of returning it to their IRA or 
other qualified plan to avoid paying taxes on that distribution. A 2020 
RMD that qualified as a coronavirus-related distribution may be repaid 
over a 3-year period or have the taxes due on the distribution spread 
over three years.

A 2020 withdrawal from an inherited IRA could not be repaid to the 
inherited IRA but may be spread over three years for income inclusion. 
For more information see the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/coronavirus-relief-for-retirement-plans-and-iras">Coronavirus Relief for Retirement Plans and IRAs</a> page.

Taxpayers can find forms, instructions, publications, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">Frequently Asked Questions regarding Required Minimum Distributions</a> and other easy-to-use tools at IRS.gov.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="IRS" />
 <figcaption>IRS</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded those who 
were born in 1950 or earlier that funds in their retirement plans and 
individual retirement arrangements face important upcoming deadlines for
 required minimum distributions to avoid penalties.<a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds">Required minimum distributions</a>,
 or RMDs, are minimum amounts that many retirement plan and IRA account 
owners must generally withdraw annually after they reach age 72. Account
 owners can delay taking their first RMD until April 1 following the 
later of the calendar year they reach age 72 or, in a workplace 
retirement plan, retire. RMDs are taxable income and may be subject to 
penalities if not timely taken.IRAs: The RMD rules require <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/individual-retirement-arrangements-iras">traditional IRA</a>,
 and SEP, SARSEP, and SIMPLE IRA account holders to begin taking 
distributions at age 72, even if they're still working. Account holders 
reaching age 72 in 2022 must take their first RMD by April 1, 2023, and 
the second RMD by December 31, 2023, and each year thereafter.Retirement Plans: In 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) 
plans; profit-sharing and other defined contribution plans; and defined 
benefit plans, the first RMD is due by April 1 of the later of the year 
they reach age 72, or the participant is no longer employed (if allowed 
by the plan). A 5% owner of the employer must begin taking RMDs at age 
72.RMDs may not be rolled over to another IRA or retirement plan. See the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/rmd-comparison-chart-iras-vs-defined-contribution-plans">RMD Comparison Chart</a> that highlights some of the basic RMD rules that apply to IRAs and defined contribution plans. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras">Roth IRAs</a> do not require distributions while the original owner is alive.<h2>RMD Calculations and 50% tax on missed distributions</h2>An IRA trustee, or plan administrator, must either report the amount 
of the RMD to the IRA owner or offer to calculate it. An IRA owner, or 
trustee, must calculate the RMD separately for each IRA owned. They may 
be able to withdraw the total amount from one or more of the IRAs. 
However, RMDs from workplace retirement plans must be taken separately 
from each plan.Not taking a required distribution, or not withdrawing enough, could 
mean a 50% excise tax on the amount not distributed. The IRS has <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/required-minimum-distribution-worksheets">worksheets</a> to calculate the RMD and payout periods.<h2>Inherited IRAs</h2>An RMD may be required for an IRA, retirement plan account or Roth IRA inherited from the original owner. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-beneficiary">Retirement Topics - Beneficiary</a>
 has information on taking RMDs from an inherited IRA or retirement 
account and reporting taxable distributions as part of gross income. <a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p559">Publication 559, Survivors, Executors and Administrators</a>,
 can help those in charge of the estate complete and file federal income
 tax returns, and explains their responsibility to pay any taxes due on 
behalf of the decedent or person who has died.<h2>2020 coronavirus-related distribution</h2>Since 2020 RMDs were waived, an account owner or beneficiary who 
received an RMD in 2020 had the option of returning it to their IRA or 
other qualified plan to avoid paying taxes on that distribution. A 2020 
RMD that qualified as a coronavirus-related distribution may be repaid 
over a 3-year period or have the taxes due on the distribution spread 
over three years.A 2020 withdrawal from an inherited IRA could not be repaid to the 
inherited IRA but may be spread over three years for income inclusion. 
For more information see the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/coronavirus-relief-for-retirement-plans-and-iras">Coronavirus Relief for Retirement Plans and IRAs</a> page.Taxpayers can find forms, instructions, publications, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-required-minimum-distributions">Frequently Asked Questions regarding Required Minimum Distributions</a> and other easy-to-use tools at IRS.gov.

Over age 72? Tips on avoiding IRA, retirement plan penalties

By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;

It’s the Festival of Lights. Twinkly lights adorn five acres of trees, barns and buildings as excited families enjoy hot chocolate and homemade, spiced wine.&nbsp;

It’s an annual Christmas celebration hosted by a family-owned winery on the high plains of rural Kansas.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kirk and Treva Johnston are the owners and founders of Shiloh Vineyard and Winery near WaKeeney. The vineyard hosts special events throughout the year, including the weeklong Festival of Lights during the week before Christmas.&nbsp;

Kirk Johnston grew up in Goodland. His wife Treva is originally from Damar. Kirk was always interested in farming. He grew up helping his uncle on the farm and earned a degree in agronomy from Kansas State University.&nbsp;

“I took lots of chemistry classes,” Kirk said. The two married and eventually ended up on his grandfather’s place near WaKeeney.&nbsp;

“My grandfather bought this place in 1921 because it had a horse barn on it,” Kirk said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“They built a chicken house and by 1925, had 300 layers in it.”&nbsp;

In 1929, they added the family home: “It was a house ordered out of the Montgomery Ward catalog,” Kirk said.&nbsp;

When Kirk and Treva got the property decades later, they considered their options. “We wanted to farm, but diversification seemed like a good idea, compared to spending millions of dollars for new farm equipment,” Kirk said.&nbsp;

Instead of big farm equipment, they put in a vineyard, installing a drip irrigation system. “We planted our first grapes in 2008,” Kirk said. Ultimately, this became a commercial winery.&nbsp;

“I read everything I could and went to a lot of conferences,” Kirk said. He learned from other commercial operators as well.&nbsp;

“We were assistant pastors at a local church in Hays and felt called to make an overseas trip,” Kirk said. Kirk and Treva went to a vineyard in Shiloh, Israel to help trim the vineyard and prune their vines. It was a powerful experience for them.&nbsp;

“If you let God direct your paths, his peace will come in,” Kirk said. “We want to provide top quality service so that people can experience that peace here in western Kansas.”&nbsp;

Today, Shiloh Vineyard and Winery offers a variety of premium wines made from the farm’s own fruit. This includes&nbsp;dry whites, dry reds, semi-sweet white, fruit and dessert wines.&nbsp;

“We started with 350 gallons in our first year,” Kirk said. “In 2021, we produced 1,000 cases at 2.5 gallons per case.”&nbsp;

They have upgraded their facilities and renovated the chicken house, barn, and a 100-year-old granary. In 2020, Treva’s niece, Kym, and her husband, Chris Heitke, relocated from California to WaKeeney to help with the business.&nbsp;

Shiloh Vineyard and Winery also hosts special events, lots of weddings, and visitors throughout the year. In addition to the nightly Festival of Lights during the week before Christmas, they offer a Sip of Summer Patio Party, Fall Festival dinner, and much more.&nbsp;&nbsp;Three times a year, they host five course meals paired with their wines.&nbsp;

The Johnstons also offer recreational vehicle dry camping sites at the vineyard. They connected with a national website called Harvest Hosts which promotes RV camping at farms, breweries, wineries and more across the country. The website has brought in lots of visitors.&nbsp;

“It’s been so wonderful,” Kirk said. “People say this is an oasis.”&nbsp;

They have had guests from every state in the U.S. plus Brazil, China, Peru, Germany, Australia and more.&nbsp;

Shiloh wines are available at a variety of retail outlets in western Kansas as well as at the vineyard itself. The vineyard is located in the country between WaKeeney and the rural community of Collyer, population 97 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;

For more information, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.shilohvineyard.com/">www.shilohvineyard.com</a>.&nbsp;

It’s time to leave the Festival of Lights, one of several events that bring guests to the Shiloh Vineyard and Winery. We commend Kirk and Treva Johnston for making a difference with grape and wine production and lots of great hospitality on the high plains.&nbsp;

They are helping to bring happiness to light.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670423416710.png" alt="Treva and Kirk Johnston / Courtesy K-State Extension" />
 <figcaption>Treva and Kirk Johnston / Courtesy K-State Extension</figcaption>
 </figure>By RON WILSON Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development&nbsp;It’s the Festival of Lights. Twinkly lights adorn five acres of trees, barns and buildings as excited families enjoy hot chocolate and homemade, spiced wine.&nbsp;It’s an annual Christmas celebration hosted by a family-owned winery on the high plains of rural Kansas.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kirk and Treva Johnston are the owners and founders of Shiloh Vineyard and Winery near WaKeeney. The vineyard hosts special events throughout the year, including the weeklong Festival of Lights during the week before Christmas.&nbsp;Kirk Johnston grew up in Goodland. His wife Treva is originally from Damar. Kirk was always interested in farming. He grew up helping his uncle on the farm and earned a degree in agronomy from Kansas State University.&nbsp;“I took lots of chemistry classes,” Kirk said. The two married and eventually ended up on his grandfather’s place near WaKeeney.&nbsp;“My grandfather bought this place in 1921 because it had a horse barn on it,” Kirk said.&nbsp;&nbsp;“They built a chicken house and by 1925, had 300 layers in it.”&nbsp;In 1929, they added the family home: “It was a house ordered out of the Montgomery Ward catalog,” Kirk said.&nbsp;When Kirk and Treva got the property decades later, they considered their options. “We wanted to farm, but diversification seemed like a good idea, compared to spending millions of dollars for new farm equipment,” Kirk said.&nbsp;Instead of big farm equipment, they put in a vineyard, installing a drip irrigation system. “We planted our first grapes in 2008,” Kirk said. Ultimately, this became a commercial winery.&nbsp;“I read everything I could and went to a lot of conferences,” Kirk said. He learned from other commercial operators as well.&nbsp;“We were assistant pastors at a local church in Hays and felt called to make an overseas trip,” Kirk said. Kirk and Treva went to a vineyard in Shiloh, Israel to help trim the vineyard and prune their vines. It was a powerful experience for them.&nbsp;“If you let God direct your paths, his peace will come in,” Kirk said. “We want to provide top quality service so that people can experience that peace here in western Kansas.”&nbsp;Today, Shiloh Vineyard and Winery offers a variety of premium wines made from the farm’s own fruit. This includes&nbsp;dry whites, dry reds, semi-sweet white, fruit and dessert wines.&nbsp;“We started with 350 gallons in our first year,” Kirk said. “In 2021, we produced 1,000 cases at 2.5 gallons per case.”&nbsp;They have upgraded their facilities and renovated the chicken house, barn, and a 100-year-old granary. In 2020, Treva’s niece, Kym, and her husband, Chris Heitke, relocated from California to WaKeeney to help with the business.&nbsp;Shiloh Vineyard and Winery also hosts special events, lots of weddings, and visitors throughout the year. In addition to the nightly Festival of Lights during the week before Christmas, they offer a Sip of Summer Patio Party, Fall Festival dinner, and much more.&nbsp;&nbsp;Three times a year, they host five course meals paired with their wines.&nbsp;The Johnstons also offer recreational vehicle dry camping sites at the vineyard. They connected with a national website called Harvest Hosts which promotes RV camping at farms, breweries, wineries and more across the country. The website has brought in lots of visitors.&nbsp;“It’s been so wonderful,” Kirk said. “People say this is an oasis.”&nbsp;They have had guests from every state in the U.S. plus Brazil, China, Peru, Germany, Australia and more.&nbsp;Shiloh wines are available at a variety of retail outlets in western Kansas as well as at the vineyard itself. The vineyard is located in the country between WaKeeney and the rural community of Collyer, population 97 people. Now, that’s rural.&nbsp;For more information, go to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.shilohvineyard.com/">www.shilohvineyard.com</a>.&nbsp;It’s time to leave the Festival of Lights, one of several events that bring guests to the Shiloh Vineyard and Winery. We commend Kirk and Treva Johnston for making a difference with grape and wine production and lots of great hospitality on the high plains.&nbsp;They are helping to bring happiness to light.&nbsp;

Now That’s Rural: Trego County's Shiloh Vineyard 

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/cristiano-ronaldo">Cristiano Ronaldo</a> was dropped from Portugal's starting lineup for the second straight match at the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a>.

The
 37-year-old Ronaldo won't play from the outset in the quarterfinal 
match against Morocco on Saturday, after starting on the bench and then 
coming on as a substitute for the round-of-16 match against Switzerland.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-sports-soccer-switzerland-qatar-7a9c02a043f225cbd440c2b32244542d">Gonçalo Ramos</a>, who scored a hat trick on Tuesday in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-sports-soccer-europe-middle-east-33b3bb4766719b3d22f589cc3be1fb62">Portugal's 6-1 win over Switzerland</a> on his first start for Portugal, was again selected ahead of Ronaldo.

Ronaldo is playing in his fifth and likely final World Cup.

He
 was left out of the lineup against the Swiss after coach Fernando 
Santos expressed frustration about his team captain’s attitude in the 
previous game.

Santos later said Ronaldo was “not happy” to be 
told he was being benched, but never threatened to leave the World Cup 
because of the decision.

Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in 
men's international soccer with 118 goals, eventually came in as a 
replacement in the 74th minute. He had looked somewhat disconnected from
 the rest of the squad after the match, and had already shown a poor 
attitude after being substituted in the last group game against South 
Korea.

Ronaldo was coming off lackluster performances in the group stage, though <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-sports-soccer-europe-middle-east-03eada6b729b1f68ae27041829ac5cb6">he scored in the 3-2 win against Ghana</a> to become the first player to score in five World Cups. He has played in every edition of the tournament since 2006.

Portugal's other starters against Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium included João Félix, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Otávio.

Portugal
 is trying to make it to the last four for the third time, having 
finished third in 1966 and fourth in 2006. It hadn't gotten past the 
round of 16 since that tournament in Germany 16 years ago.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/cristiano-ronaldo">Cristiano Ronaldo</a> was dropped from Portugal's starting lineup for the second straight match at the <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup">World Cup</a>.The
 37-year-old Ronaldo won't play from the outset in the quarterfinal 
match against Morocco on Saturday, after starting on the bench and then 
coming on as a substitute for the round-of-16 match against Switzerland.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-sports-soccer-switzerland-qatar-7a9c02a043f225cbd440c2b32244542d">Gonçalo Ramos</a>, who scored a hat trick on Tuesday in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-sports-soccer-europe-middle-east-33b3bb4766719b3d22f589cc3be1fb62">Portugal's 6-1 win over Switzerland</a> on his first start for Portugal, was again selected ahead of Ronaldo.Ronaldo is playing in his fifth and likely final World Cup.He
 was left out of the lineup against the Swiss after coach Fernando 
Santos expressed frustration about his team captain’s attitude in the 
previous game.Santos later said Ronaldo was “not happy” to be 
told he was being benched, but never threatened to leave the World Cup 
because of the decision.Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in 
men's international soccer with 118 goals, eventually came in as a 
replacement in the 74th minute. He had looked somewhat disconnected from
 the rest of the squad after the match, and had already shown a poor 
attitude after being substituted in the last group game against South 
Korea.Ronaldo was coming off lackluster performances in the group stage, though <a href="https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-sports-soccer-europe-middle-east-03eada6b729b1f68ae27041829ac5cb6">he scored in the 3-2 win against Ghana</a> to become the first player to score in five World Cups. He has played in every edition of the tournament since 2006.Portugal's other starters against Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium included João Félix, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Otávio.Portugal
 is trying to make it to the last four for the third time, having 
finished third in 1966 and fourth in 2006. It hadn't gotten past the 
round of 16 since that tournament in Germany 16 years ago.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670686795287.jpg" alt="Pixabay photo" />
 <figcaption>Pixabay photo</figcaption>
 </figure>

Ronaldo benched again against Morocco in World Cup quarterfinals

By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/09/when-the-world-cup-comes-to-kansas-city-tough-questions-will-follow/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

Last weekend, the team representing the United States at the World Cup in Qatar crashed out of the tournament following a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-6110921be00004b?cmpid=google-one-box">3-1 loss against the Netherlands</a>.

As a fan, I have tracked this team 
from qualifying in CONCACAF to pre-tournament friendlies, from the group
 stage into the knockout round, monitoring the pre-match lineups and 
coaching decisions. Even my soccer-crazed son might have rolled his eyes
 at the arcane statistics I recited to him, likely from one of the 
dozens of <a target="_blank" href="https://meninblazers.com/page/podcasts">podcasts</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://theathletic.com/">articles</a> or videos I gobbled up.

Besides the results for the U.S. 
men’s national team, the other dominant storyline from the World Cup has
 little to do with assists, corner kicks or <a target="_blank" href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/07/what-are-expected-goals-xg/">xG</a>.
 Counterintuitively, this second storyline might determine the success 
of the 2026 World Cup in the United States even more than the wins, 
losses and ties of our national team.

The referee’s final whistle at 
Khalifa International Stadium signaled the start of a new storyline. The
 next World Cup match that the U.S. will play will likely be at home — 
in the United States.

This storyline is the stew of 
political hijinks and squabbles that flooded the World Cup this year. 
That storyline includes how journalists have covered (or failed to 
cover) the politics of this multibillion dollar global sports event.

With Kansas City hosting games for 
the 2026 event, our region will be dipped into that World Cup stew. As 
local journalists, many of us will decide how to cover it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

One thing is certain: This year’s 
World Cup has provided lessons on what not to do as both a host nation 
and as journalists. Let’s study the lessons now for 2026, so we don’t 
make the same blunders.

We start with the profit-driven 
cowardice of Fox Sports. In the years preceding the Qatar World Cup, 
FIFA and the host nation generated so many newsworthy controversies: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/20/fifa-qatar-world-cup-corruption/">accusations of bribes to FIFA</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/the-world-cup-is-officially-underway-in-qatar-heres-why-its-so-controversial">anti-gay laws in Qatar</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022">deaths of foreign workers</a>.
 The question for Fox Sports, the broadcast rights holder in the United 
States, was how it would cover these juicy narratives during the match 
telecasts.

How would they cover the diplomatic 
tensions between the competing countries? Perhaps, they would cover 
international flaps — like the social media staff of the U.S. team 
foolishly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/27/usmnt-twitter-iran-flag-change/">removing a portion of the Iran flag</a>
 on some social media posts — during pregame segments. Or perhaps we 
would hear the in-match commentators interject the news into their 
play-by-play.

Fox Sports made short work of that decision by simply opting not to cover any of it.

Their possible motive? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">The Washington Post reported</a>
 that Fox Sports agreed to a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. That 
funding (and perhaps some complementary airfare for Fox Sports staff) 
may have enabled the broadcaster to set up a swank studio in Qatar 
rather than anchoring coverage from Los Angeles.&nbsp;

Who owns the airline? Qatar itself, suggesting an unsightly quid pro quo. A Fox Sports spokesman <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">told the Post</a> that the network did not agree to censor its political coverage in exchange for the Qatar Airways sponsorship deal.

However, contrast Fox Sports’ 
editorial spinelessness with the words of Telemundo Deportes president 
Ray Warren about how his network would cover World Cup politics: “I do 
think we have to talk about the legacy we leave. By the time the 
tournament’s over, we (won’t have been) ignoring the geopolitical issues
 that might arise.”

I doubt that an American sponsor in 
2026 will make such a brazen attempt to neuter a media outlet, at least 
partially because of how embarrassing this incident has been for Fox 
Sports.

However, millions of sponsorship 
dollars will flood the Kansas City region. Might a sponsor ask a local 
publication or broadcaster to weaken its scrutiny with a wink? How might
 an advertiser discourage honest coverage through a financial nudge?

“World Corrupt,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/world-corrupt/">a podcast series</a>
 that has chronicled the hypocrisy and corruption of this World Cup, 
summarized what it looks like to watch the coverage of a World Cup that 
has been artificially sweetened.

“It is basically the Splenda of international tournaments,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast/world-corrupt-episode-7-stoppage-time/">co-host Tommy Vietor half-joked</a>.

Fewer controversies should ignite in 
the run-up to the World Cup in North America. However, smoke-free skies 
can’t be guaranteed with a flammable international syndicate like FIFA.

Because Kansas City will host 
matches, we should also expect that the visiting foreign press will zoom
 in on the blemishes of Missouri, Kansas and the Midwest. As the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/world-cup-2026-venues-los-angeles-new-york-list">only host city in the central United States</a>,
 our local site will stand in for all of middle America in news 
coverage. You could travel west from Pennsylvania to California, and the
 only host city you would pass would be KC.

Of course, we want our region to be a
 great place to live for the sake of, well, being a great place to live.
 However, if we need any extra motivation, maybe we will clean up our 
room before the house guests come to visit.

Consider, for example, the local headlines that the foreign press might have seized on during the last month. A<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/4-teens-man-charged-in-shooting-death-of-kansas-city-man-in-shawnee"> recent Shawnee shooting</a> resulted in charges for four teens. Alleged <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/corruption-in-kansas-city-kansas">corruption in the Kansas City, Kansas, police department</a> allowed an officer to terrorize citizens. A small town <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/06/kansas-towns-library-lease-renewed-after-months-of-debate-about-lgbtq-content/">nearly shuttered its library</a> because it included books about LGBTQ lives.

If we need any proof that the 
visiting press will care about these stories, note how the American 
press is rightfully scrutinizing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/qatar-world-cup-migrant-deaths-28679897">the death of a foreign worker in Qatar</a> this week.

We should also prepare ourselves for absurd questions from hostile journalists with an agenda. Here’s how <a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/6237256/usmnt-press-conference-tyler-adams/">they grilled the U.S. team captain</a> Tyler Adams about racism in America, after chiding him for his pronunciation of Iran.

“Are you OK to be representing a 
country that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own 
borders?” a reporter for Iran’s state-controlled TV station asked during
 a pre-match press conference.

Or — even more bonkers — how the same press gaggle asked U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter for <a target="_blank" href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/28/us-coach-gregg-berhalter-grilled-at-world-cup-presser-before-iran-match/">his take on the position of U.S. warships</a>.

Everything will be inbounds. We, as Americans and Midwesterners, will need answers.

Adams’ response to the grilling by 
the Iranian press displayed the kind of eloquence and patience that our 
politicians and players will need in 2026.

“There’s discrimination everywhere 
you go,” he said. “In the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every 
single day … through education. I think it’s super important. Like you 
just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a 
process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”

Or, perhaps we need to all practice the kind of deflection that Berhalter used.

“I don’t know enough about politics; I’m a soccer coach,” Berhalter said, dodging a foreign affairs kerfuffle.

As hosts, we will need to do a bit of each: toughen our skin, clean up our affairs and provide thoughtful and patient answers.

Like the team itself, we will need 
some practice to prepare for the World Cup in Kansas City. The 2026 
summer of soccer and all its controversial storylines are coming, along 
with the goals and celebrations.

Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670597372971.png" alt="The U.S. men’s national soccer team warms up before a friendly match against the national team of Uruguay on June 5, 2022, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Eric Thomas, courtesy Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The U.S. men’s national soccer team warms up before a friendly match against the national team of Uruguay on June 5, 2022, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Eric Thomas, courtesy Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By ERIC THOMAS <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/09/when-the-world-cup-comes-to-kansas-city-tough-questions-will-follow/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>Last weekend, the team representing the United States at the World Cup in Qatar crashed out of the tournament following a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxsports.com/watch/play-6110921be00004b?cmpid=google-one-box">3-1 loss against the Netherlands</a>.As a fan, I have tracked this team 
from qualifying in CONCACAF to pre-tournament friendlies, from the group
 stage into the knockout round, monitoring the pre-match lineups and 
coaching decisions. Even my soccer-crazed son might have rolled his eyes
 at the arcane statistics I recited to him, likely from one of the 
dozens of <a target="_blank" href="https://meninblazers.com/page/podcasts">podcasts</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://theathletic.com/">articles</a> or videos I gobbled up.Besides the results for the U.S. 
men’s national team, the other dominant storyline from the World Cup has
 little to do with assists, corner kicks or <a target="_blank" href="https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/07/what-are-expected-goals-xg/">xG</a>.
 Counterintuitively, this second storyline might determine the success 
of the 2026 World Cup in the United States even more than the wins, 
losses and ties of our national team.The referee’s final whistle at 
Khalifa International Stadium signaled the start of a new storyline. The
 next World Cup match that the U.S. will play will likely be at home — 
in the United States.This storyline is the stew of 
political hijinks and squabbles that flooded the World Cup this year. 
That storyline includes how journalists have covered (or failed to 
cover) the politics of this multibillion dollar global sports event.With Kansas City hosting games for 
the 2026 event, our region will be dipped into that World Cup stew. As 
local journalists, many of us will decide how to cover it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One thing is certain: This year’s 
World Cup has provided lessons on what not to do as both a host nation 
and as journalists. Let’s study the lessons now for 2026, so we don’t 
make the same blunders.We start with the profit-driven 
cowardice of Fox Sports. In the years preceding the Qatar World Cup, 
FIFA and the host nation generated so many newsworthy controversies: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/20/fifa-qatar-world-cup-corruption/">accusations of bribes to FIFA</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/the-world-cup-is-officially-underway-in-qatar-heres-why-its-so-controversial">anti-gay laws in Qatar</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022">deaths of foreign workers</a>.
 The question for Fox Sports, the broadcast rights holder in the United 
States, was how it would cover these juicy narratives during the match 
telecasts.How would they cover the diplomatic 
tensions between the competing countries? Perhaps, they would cover 
international flaps — like the social media staff of the U.S. team 
foolishly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/27/usmnt-twitter-iran-flag-change/">removing a portion of the Iran flag</a>
 on some social media posts — during pregame segments. Or perhaps we 
would hear the in-match commentators interject the news into their 
play-by-play.Fox Sports made short work of that decision by simply opting not to cover any of it.Their possible motive? <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">The Washington Post reported</a>
 that Fox Sports agreed to a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. That 
funding (and perhaps some complementary airfare for Fox Sports staff) 
may have enabled the broadcaster to set up a swank studio in Qatar 
rather than anchoring coverage from Los Angeles.&nbsp;Who owns the airline? Qatar itself, suggesting an unsightly quid pro quo. A Fox Sports spokesman <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/11/18/fox-qatar-world-cup-coverage/">told the Post</a> that the network did not agree to censor its political coverage in exchange for the Qatar Airways sponsorship deal.However, contrast Fox Sports’ 
editorial spinelessness with the words of Telemundo Deportes president 
Ray Warren about how his network would cover World Cup politics: “I do 
think we have to talk about the legacy we leave. By the time the 
tournament’s over, we (won’t have been) ignoring the geopolitical issues
 that might arise.”I doubt that an American sponsor in 
2026 will make such a brazen attempt to neuter a media outlet, at least 
partially because of how embarrassing this incident has been for Fox 
Sports.However, millions of sponsorship 
dollars will flood the Kansas City region. Might a sponsor ask a local 
publication or broadcaster to weaken its scrutiny with a wink? How might
 an advertiser discourage honest coverage through a financial nudge?“World Corrupt,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/world-corrupt/">a podcast series</a>
 that has chronicled the hypocrisy and corruption of this World Cup, 
summarized what it looks like to watch the coverage of a World Cup that 
has been artificially sweetened.“It is basically the Splenda of international tournaments,” <a target="_blank" href="https://crooked.com/podcast/world-corrupt-episode-7-stoppage-time/">co-host Tommy Vietor half-joked</a>.Fewer controversies should ignite in 
the run-up to the World Cup in North America. However, smoke-free skies 
can’t be guaranteed with a flammable international syndicate like FIFA.Because Kansas City will host 
matches, we should also expect that the visiting foreign press will zoom
 in on the blemishes of Missouri, Kansas and the Midwest. As the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/16/world-cup-2026-venues-los-angeles-new-york-list">only host city in the central United States</a>,
 our local site will stand in for all of middle America in news 
coverage. You could travel west from Pennsylvania to California, and the
 only host city you would pass would be KC.Of course, we want our region to be a
 great place to live for the sake of, well, being a great place to live.
 However, if we need any extra motivation, maybe we will clean up our 
room before the house guests come to visit.Consider, for example, the local headlines that the foreign press might have seized on during the last month. A<a target="_blank" href="https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/4-teens-man-charged-in-shooting-death-of-kansas-city-man-in-shawnee"> recent Shawnee shooting</a> resulted in charges for four teens. Alleged <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kcur.org/corruption-in-kansas-city-kansas">corruption in the Kansas City, Kansas, police department</a> allowed an officer to terrorize citizens. A small town <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/12/06/kansas-towns-library-lease-renewed-after-months-of-debate-about-lgbtq-content/">nearly shuttered its library</a> because it included books about LGBTQ lives.If we need any proof that the 
visiting press will care about these stories, note how the American 
press is rightfully scrutinizing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/qatar-world-cup-migrant-deaths-28679897">the death of a foreign worker in Qatar</a> this week.We should also prepare ourselves for absurd questions from hostile journalists with an agenda. Here’s how <a target="_blank" href="https://time.com/6237256/usmnt-press-conference-tyler-adams/">they grilled the U.S. team captain</a> Tyler Adams about racism in America, after chiding him for his pronunciation of Iran.“Are you OK to be representing a 
country that has so much discrimination against Black people in its own 
borders?” a reporter for Iran’s state-controlled TV station asked during
 a pre-match press conference.Or — even more bonkers — how the same press gaggle asked U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter for <a target="_blank" href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/28/us-coach-gregg-berhalter-grilled-at-world-cup-presser-before-iran-match/">his take on the position of U.S. warships</a>.Everything will be inbounds. We, as Americans and Midwesterners, will need answers.Adams’ response to the grilling by 
the Iranian press displayed the kind of eloquence and patience that our 
politicians and players will need in 2026.“There’s discrimination everywhere 
you go,” he said. “In the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every 
single day … through education. I think it’s super important. Like you 
just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a 
process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”Or, perhaps we need to all practice the kind of deflection that Berhalter used.“I don’t know enough about politics; I’m a soccer coach,” Berhalter said, dodging a foreign affairs kerfuffle.As hosts, we will need to do a bit of each: toughen our skin, clean up our affairs and provide thoughtful and patient answers.Like the team itself, we will need 
some practice to prepare for the World Cup in Kansas City. The 2026 
summer of soccer and all its controversial storylines are coming, along 
with the goals and celebrations.Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.&nbsp;

OPINION: World Cup kicks tough questions at Kansas City

Newswire, courtesy Associated Press

As the end of the year approaches, people start looking forward to 
their tax refunds. Many use these refunds to restock their emergency 
savings, invest, make big purchases, and travel. But the IRS can take a 
long time to get your refund to you, even if you sign up for direct 
deposit. If you need the money faster, you may have considered a tax 
refund loan. This article will explain how <a href="https://www.advanceamerica.net/money-saving-tips/money-management/pros-and-cons-of-a-tax-refund-loan">tax refund loans</a> work and their benefits and drawbacks. Then, we'll dive into a few tax refund loan alternatives for your consideration.

Tax
 refund loans let taxpayers who qualify for a tax refund borrow against 
that refund. After filing your taxes with a tax preparer, you can apply 
for one of these loans with no credit check. If approved, they're 
typically disbursed to you via prepaid card or check within 24 hours of 
filing your return.

You don't repay these — instead, the lender 
opens a temporary bank account and tells the IRS to deposit the refund 
into it. They then take the loan amount plus fees and tax prep costs out
 of the refund before paying you the remainder. These loans are often 
interest-free. However, you may owe a fee, depending on the lender or 
tax filing service you work with.

Tax
 refund loans can be hard to compare since you can often only get one 
from your tax preparer. They're also fairly costly in some cases. Plus, 
there's always the chance your tax return has an error that, when 
corrected, reduces your refund. You may owe money if you borrowed more 
than your correct refund. So, if you need your refund fast but don't 
want a tax refund loan, consider these alternatives:

Cash
 advances are fast, small-dollar loans that you can use to cover 
expenses until your next payday. Many lenders have less strict 
requirements and will consider factors like your income and current 
debts in addition to your credit score. This means you can still get 
this type of loan with poor or fair credit.

If approved for a cash
 advance, you can often get the funds as soon as the same day you apply.
 Then, you'll repay what you owe plus interest in two to four weeks. You
 can also roll over the loan for an additional fee if you can't repay.

Installment
 loans let you borrow large lump sums and repay them in fixed monthly 
principal and interest payments. These tend to offer better interest 
rates and are easy to budget for, thanks to their predictable payments.

Plus,
 installment loans have longer timelines. This lets you borrow more and 
spread it out over a longer amount of time in case you need more than 
your tax refund amount. There are installment loans available to 
borrowers with a wide variety of credit scores and histories.

If
 you own your car outright, a title loan lets you borrow against your 
vehicle's title for a quick loan. Lenders appraise your vehicle, verify 
your income, and then offer you a loan worth 25% to 50% of your car's 
value. You can then get your funds that same day and continue driving 
your vehicle during repayment.

Consider a loan while you wait for your tax refund

Tax
 refund loans make it easy to access your money ASAP if you need it 
quickly. However, they can come with fees, and it's hard to compare 
options. Luckily, if you don't want a tax refund loan, there are plenty 
of alternatives.

Cash advances are one of the fastest short-term 
options for anyone, whereas title loans could be more suited for people 
who own vehicles outright. Installment loans may work well for people 
with larger refunds or who need to borrow more and want fixed payments. 
Whichever option you choose, make sure you budget for the loan. This 
will help you minimize costs and financial stress while allowing you to 
take advantage of the extra funds.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Newswire, courtesy Associated PressAs the end of the year approaches, people start looking forward to 
their tax refunds. Many use these refunds to restock their emergency 
savings, invest, make big purchases, and travel. But the IRS can take a 
long time to get your refund to you, even if you sign up for direct 
deposit. If you need the money faster, you may have considered a tax 
refund loan. This article will explain how <a href="https://www.advanceamerica.net/money-saving-tips/money-management/pros-and-cons-of-a-tax-refund-loan">tax refund loans</a> work and their benefits and drawbacks. Then, we'll dive into a few tax refund loan alternatives for your consideration.How does a tax refund loan work?Tax
 refund loans let taxpayers who qualify for a tax refund borrow against 
that refund. After filing your taxes with a tax preparer, you can apply 
for one of these loans with no credit check. If approved, they're 
typically disbursed to you via prepaid card or check within 24 hours of 
filing your return.You don't repay these — instead, the lender 
opens a temporary bank account and tells the IRS to deposit the refund 
into it. They then take the loan amount plus fees and tax prep costs out
 of the refund before paying you the remainder. These loans are often 
interest-free. However, you may owe a fee, depending on the lender or 
tax filing service you work with.Tax refund loan alternativesTax
 refund loans can be hard to compare since you can often only get one 
from your tax preparer. They're also fairly costly in some cases. Plus, 
there's always the chance your tax return has an error that, when 
corrected, reduces your refund. You may owe money if you borrowed more 
than your correct refund. So, if you need your refund fast but don't 
want a tax refund loan, consider these alternatives:1. Cash advancesCash
 advances are fast, small-dollar loans that you can use to cover 
expenses until your next payday. Many lenders have less strict 
requirements and will consider factors like your income and current 
debts in addition to your credit score. This means you can still get 
this type of loan with poor or fair credit.If approved for a cash
 advance, you can often get the funds as soon as the same day you apply.
 Then, you'll repay what you owe plus interest in two to four weeks. You
 can also roll over the loan for an additional fee if you can't repay.2. Installment loansInstallment
 loans let you borrow large lump sums and repay them in fixed monthly 
principal and interest payments. These tend to offer better interest 
rates and are easy to budget for, thanks to their predictable payments.Plus,
 installment loans have longer timelines. This lets you borrow more and 
spread it out over a longer amount of time in case you need more than 
your tax refund amount. There are installment loans available to 
borrowers with a wide variety of credit scores and histories.3. Title loansIf
 you own your car outright, a title loan lets you borrow against your 
vehicle's title for a quick loan. Lenders appraise your vehicle, verify 
your income, and then offer you a loan worth 25% to 50% of your car's 
value. You can then get your funds that same day and continue driving 
your vehicle during repayment.Consider a loan while you wait for your tax refundTax
 refund loans make it easy to access your money ASAP if you need it 
quickly. However, they can come with fees, and it's hard to compare 
options. Luckily, if you don't want a tax refund loan, there are plenty 
of alternatives.Cash advances are one of the fastest short-term 
options for anyone, whereas title loans could be more suited for people 
who own vehicles outright. Installment loans may work well for people 
with larger refunds or who need to borrow more and want fixed payments. 
Whichever option you choose, make sure you budget for the loan. This 
will help you minimize costs and financial stress while allowing you to 
take advantage of the extra funds.

Risk and reward: How fast can I get a tax refund loan?

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:

All votes counted in Maricopa County, despite online claims

CLAIM: Uncounted ballots that got mixed with counted ballots at voting sites in Arizona’s Maricopa County were not included in the final midterm election results.

THE FACTS: While such ballots were mixed at two separate voting centers on Election Day, they were properly vetted and accurately tabulated, officials said. During November’s midterm elections, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-arizona-4e15278b82452878d6f6aa45b2984579">printing malfunction</a>&nbsp;caused tabulation machines at dozens of voting sites in Maricopa County to reject ballots on Election Day. Poll workers advised voters whose ballots were rejected to put them in a secure drop box referred to as “door 3” or “box 3” to be counted later at the county’s central tabulation facility. And while poll workers were trained to keep such yet-to-be-counted votes separate from those tabulated on-site, the ballots were “returned together,” Megan Gilbertson, a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Elections Department, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. As the state&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-biden-cabinet-phoenix-government-and-politics-29f0883bf2a47743d55d1b45ec43cbbf">certified its results</a>&nbsp;this week, posts continued to circulate on social media falsely claiming that those ballots were never counted in the final results, with users citing a video of a self-described poll observer speaking at a Nov. 28 Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting. The woman in the video said that such ballots were combined at her voting site located “off of Camelback and 7th street.” “They commingled the un-tabulated ballots of drawer 3 with the tabulated ballots,” the woman says in the clip, referring to box 3. “There is no way to ever sort that and track that. Those are lost votes. Those are lost voices.” But, as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-space-exploration-science-arizona-7037da2cf999f54587b59319a5a4a3ae">the county explained</a>&nbsp;in the days after the election, there is a way to sort and track such ballots, and the votes were counted in the final results. Additionally, such ballot mixing only occurred at two voting locations: Desert Hills Community Church in North Phoenix and the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS in Gilbert, according to Gilbertson. There is no record of such ballot mixing occurring at other voting centers, and the county never received a report of the issue occurring at the voting site described by the woman, Gilbertson told the AP by phone on Wednesday. An attempt to reach the woman who made the claim during the Nov. 28 meeting was unsuccessful. At the sites where mixing did occur, affected ballots were isolated and audited to make sure no votes were missed or double counted, Gilbertson wrote in an email this week. That process, called audit reconciliation, involves checking that the total number of ballots from a given vote center matches with the number of voters who checked-in at the site. Observers from both political parties were present. All Election Day ballots are required to undergo the process. “We have redundancies in place that help us ensure each legal ballot is only counted once,” Gilbertson wrote. “This process ensures that no ballot was double counted and that all ballots cast at the Vote Center were counted.” In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maricopa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/80026/Maricopa-County-Response-11-27-2022">November report</a>&nbsp;responding to questions from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the Maricopa County Elections Department similarly asserted it “retabulated the entire batch of ballots” from the two affected voting centers to ensure the accuracy of the count. Gilbertson said in the days after the election that similar mistakes have been made before, and the process to address it has been in place for decades,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-space-exploration-science-arizona-7037da2cf999f54587b59319a5a4a3ae">the AP reported</a>. “Every single polling location in Maricopa County has a reconciliation audit that’s completed for every single election,” said Tammy Patrick, a former federal compliance officer for the county election department. “It’s been that way literally for 30 years or more.”

— Associated Press writer Josh Kelety in Phoenix contributed this report.

Patent application doesn’t show COVID test was developed in 2015

CLAIM: A COVID-19 test patent application is dated 2020 but was actually filed in 2015.

THE FACTS: The patent application, for a system to determine if someone has a viral infection such as COVID-19, notes that a related provisional patent application was filed in 2015. But while the earlier provisional application is related to the technology in the 2020 application, it made no mention of COVID-19. Social media users are sharing the inaccurate claim through a meme, which implies that COVID-19 was actually known years before it emerged in late 2019. The meme also suggests such information is being censored on social media. “The patent of the covid testkit is hold by Richard A. Rothchild,” a meme shared on Instagram reads, incorrectly spelling the last name of the inventor, Rothschild. “It’s dated in 2020 but was filled 10/13/2015 and it’s called US2020279585(A1).” But the&nbsp;<a href="https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/61/a3/0d/3d91325d909386/US20200279585A1.pdf">patent application</a>&nbsp;in question was filed in May 2020 and describes a method of using biometric data to “to determine whether the user is suffering from a viral infection, such as COVID-19.” Under a section titled “Related U.S. Application Data,” the application makes note of a provisional application filed on Oct. 13, 2015. What that means, though, is that the patent is related to the provisional application that was filed years ago. They are not one in the same. A provisional application is essentially a placeholder for an intention to file a formal patent application, said Jonathan D’Silva, an assistant professor of clinical law and director of the Intellectual Property Law Clinic at Penn State University. Inventors may file a provisional application for different reasons, such as raising money or publicly disclosing their idea as they work on it, he said. The&nbsp;<a href="https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/applications/62240783/ifw/docs">provisional application</a>&nbsp;in 2015 was for a “System and Method for Using, Processing, and Displaying Biometric Data.” The 2020 patent application, meanwhile, was a “continuation-in-part” of a previous patent application, which means that new material was added, D’Silva said. In this case, the new material included the references to COVID-19. “Generally, you don’t have to guess what was in these other patent applications,” he said, since they’re publicly available. And in the earlier parent applications, “there was no mention of COVID-19.”

— Associated Press writer Angelo Fichera in Philadelphia contributed this report.

Post distorts facts on registered voters in Arizona

CLAIM: Arizona has 9,871,525 registered voters but its population is 7,270,000.

THE FACTS: The state had about 4 million registered voters, which is millions less than its population of about 7 million people. A popular Instagram post is using the erroneous claim to suggest potential election fraud in the state, which has been home to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-biden-cabinet-phoenix-government-and-politics-29f0883bf2a47743d55d1b45ec43cbbf">midterm election controversy</a>. “9,871,525 is the number of registered voters in AZ according to FB,” the post reads, “AZ population is 7,270,000.” A caption with the post reads, “ballot harvesting?” — the pejorative term for ballot collection. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-government-and-politics-8eaf001732ac25976f0560a3e49ed500">laws around dropping off ballots</a>&nbsp;for other voters varies by state and in Arizona, only caregivers, family members or household members can drop off a ballot for someone else. But the post’s claim about registered voters in Arizona is false. Arizona actually logged 4,143,929 voters for the Nov. 8 midterm elections, according to data from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office. The total population in Arizona was 7,276,316, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AZ">July 2021 estimate</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Fabricated tweets originated from account impersonating Hallie Biden

CLAIM: President Joe Biden’s daughter-in-law Hallie Biden tweeted that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. She also tweeted that on election night, first lady Jill Biden phoned election workers to stop counting ballots and “rush in fake ballots.”

THE FACTS: The account that made these tweets is “fraudulent,” said the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children, whose board Hallie Biden chairs.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/top-officials-elections-most-secure-66f9361084ccbc461e3bbf42861057a5">President Joe Biden defeated Trump</a>&nbsp;in the 2020 presidential election,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-270-electoral-college-vote-d429ef97af2bf574d16463384dc7cc1e">earning 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232</a>, and there was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voter-fraud-election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-7fcb6f134e528fee8237c7601db3328f">no evidence of widespread fraud</a>. The fabricated tweets attributed to Hallie Biden — the widow of the president’s deceased son Beau Biden — resurfaced after circulating in past months. The fake tweets claim that on election night in 2020, Jill Biden was on the phone with “state legislators and the people who tabulate the vote” to stop the count and execute a deal to “rush in fake ballots.” "President Trump won that election and my entire family knows it,” one of the fabricated tweets reads. “Ms. Hallie Biden does not have a Twitter account,” the foundation said in an emailed statement. “Any account bearing her name is fraudulent.” An internet archive search for the Twitter account that posted the tweets, @HallieBiden, shows that it was suspended for violating the platform’s rules between&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220831070720/https://twitter.com/HallieBiden">late August</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220902113558/https://twitter.com/halliebiden">early September</a>&nbsp;2022. The platform had a policy against impersonation, which it has continued to prioritize under new ownership. Archived versions of the account show that it posted numerous false and unverified claims about the election being stolen and about Presidents Biden and Obama and their families.

— Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report.

Traffic plan in Oxfordshire, England, isn’t a ‘climate lockdown’

CLAIM: The county of Oxfordshire, England, which includes the city of Oxford, is imposing a “climate lockdown” that will confine residents to their neighborhoods.

THE FACTS: Oxfordshire has approved a plan to put “traffic filters” on some main roads, restricting drivers’ access during daytime hours and freeing up space for buses, cyclists and pedestrians. But car owners can apply for daylong permits to bypass the new rules, and many other vehicles are exempt. All parts of the county will remain accessible by car, officials said. Last week, local leaders in Oxfordshire voted to try a&nbsp;<a href="https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/traffic-filters-2022">new traffic reduction system</a>&nbsp;in an effort to reduce congestion in the county’s namesake city. Some on social media have since likened the scheme to stringent government COVID-19 containment policies. “UK. - Oxfordshire Council, part of the 15 minute city club, has passed a plan to trial a Climate lockdown,” tweeted one user, alongside a screenshot of an article warning that “residents will be confined to their local neighbourhood.” The plan “would control movements in a gated city, allowing only 100 car journeys in &amp; out per car &amp; monitoring all movements,” the tweet continued. But Oxfordshire’s “traffic filters” will not block access to any part of the city of Oxford or the rest of the county, let alone lock people in their neighborhoods, the county government told The Associated Press. “Everywhere in the city will still be accessible by car,” Paul Smith, spokesperson for the Oxfordshire County Council, wrote in an email. “Nobody will need permission from the county council to drive or leave their home.” The “traffic filters” are license plate recognition cameras, not physical barriers. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., drivers in private cars will be automatically fined if they cross through the filters without a permit. Motorists who live in Oxford will be able to apply for 100 daylong permits to drive through the filters per year. The “15 minute city club” referenced by one of the misleading tweets is an unrelated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.15minutecity.com/">urban planning framework</a>&nbsp;under which city residents would ideally be able to reach essential services within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their home. Officials with the city of Oxford have&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/OxfordCity/status/1582295424768962560">separately proposed</a>&nbsp;pursuing these goals. But some on social media have incorrectly linked the two, suggesting the traffic rules will also bar residents from leaving their neighborhoods. The city and county emphasized in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article/2332/joint_statement_from_oxfordshire_county_council_and_oxford_city_council_on_oxford_s_traffic_filters">joint statement</a>&nbsp;that the traffic restrictions will not “be used to confine people” to a given area. “Everyone can go through all the filters at any time by bus, bike, taxi, scooter or walking,” the statement added. Many vehicles, like vans and motorcycles, are exempt from the new rules. Disabled drivers and first responders will likewise not be affected. Drivers who lack a permit will also still be able to access all of the city without being fined. They “might just need to use a different route or drive through the ring road to avoid the traffic filters,” Smith wrote.

— Associated Press writer Graph Massara in San Francisco contributed this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1572956883313.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Associated PressA roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:All votes counted in Maricopa County, despite online claimsCLAIM: Uncounted ballots that got mixed with counted ballots at voting sites in Arizona’s Maricopa County were not included in the final midterm election results.THE FACTS: While such ballots were mixed at two separate voting centers on Election Day, they were properly vetted and accurately tabulated, officials said. During November’s midterm elections, a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-arizona-4e15278b82452878d6f6aa45b2984579">printing malfunction</a>&nbsp;caused tabulation machines at dozens of voting sites in Maricopa County to reject ballots on Election Day. Poll workers advised voters whose ballots were rejected to put them in a secure drop box referred to as “door 3” or “box 3” to be counted later at the county’s central tabulation facility. And while poll workers were trained to keep such yet-to-be-counted votes separate from those tabulated on-site, the ballots were “returned together,” Megan Gilbertson, a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Elections Department, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. As the state&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-biden-cabinet-phoenix-government-and-politics-29f0883bf2a47743d55d1b45ec43cbbf">certified its results</a>&nbsp;this week, posts continued to circulate on social media falsely claiming that those ballots were never counted in the final results, with users citing a video of a self-described poll observer speaking at a Nov. 28 Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting. The woman in the video said that such ballots were combined at her voting site located “off of Camelback and 7th street.” “They commingled the un-tabulated ballots of drawer 3 with the tabulated ballots,” the woman says in the clip, referring to box 3. “There is no way to ever sort that and track that. Those are lost votes. Those are lost voices.” But, as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-space-exploration-science-arizona-7037da2cf999f54587b59319a5a4a3ae">the county explained</a>&nbsp;in the days after the election, there is a way to sort and track such ballots, and the votes were counted in the final results. Additionally, such ballot mixing only occurred at two voting locations: Desert Hills Community Church in North Phoenix and the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS in Gilbert, according to Gilbertson. There is no record of such ballot mixing occurring at other voting centers, and the county never received a report of the issue occurring at the voting site described by the woman, Gilbertson told the AP by phone on Wednesday. An attempt to reach the woman who made the claim during the Nov. 28 meeting was unsuccessful. At the sites where mixing did occur, affected ballots were isolated and audited to make sure no votes were missed or double counted, Gilbertson wrote in an email this week. That process, called audit reconciliation, involves checking that the total number of ballots from a given vote center matches with the number of voters who checked-in at the site. Observers from both political parties were present. All Election Day ballots are required to undergo the process. “We have redundancies in place that help us ensure each legal ballot is only counted once,” Gilbertson wrote. “This process ensures that no ballot was double counted and that all ballots cast at the Vote Center were counted.” In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maricopa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/80026/Maricopa-County-Response-11-27-2022">November report</a>&nbsp;responding to questions from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the Maricopa County Elections Department similarly asserted it “retabulated the entire batch of ballots” from the two affected voting centers to ensure the accuracy of the count. Gilbertson said in the days after the election that similar mistakes have been made before, and the process to address it has been in place for decades,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-biden-space-exploration-science-arizona-7037da2cf999f54587b59319a5a4a3ae">the AP reported</a>. “Every single polling location in Maricopa County has a reconciliation audit that’s completed for every single election,” said Tammy Patrick, a former federal compliance officer for the county election department. “It’s been that way literally for 30 years or more.”— Associated Press writer Josh Kelety in Phoenix contributed this report.___Patent application doesn’t show COVID test was developed in 2015CLAIM: A COVID-19 test patent application is dated 2020 but was actually filed in 2015.THE FACTS: The patent application, for a system to determine if someone has a viral infection such as COVID-19, notes that a related provisional patent application was filed in 2015. But while the earlier provisional application is related to the technology in the 2020 application, it made no mention of COVID-19. Social media users are sharing the inaccurate claim through a meme, which implies that COVID-19 was actually known years before it emerged in late 2019. The meme also suggests such information is being censored on social media. “The patent of the covid testkit is hold by Richard A. Rothchild,” a meme shared on Instagram reads, incorrectly spelling the last name of the inventor, Rothschild. “It’s dated in 2020 but was filled 10/13/2015 and it’s called US2020279585(A1).” But the&nbsp;<a href="https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/61/a3/0d/3d91325d909386/US20200279585A1.pdf">patent application</a>&nbsp;in question was filed in May 2020 and describes a method of using biometric data to “to determine whether the user is suffering from a viral infection, such as COVID-19.” Under a section titled “Related U.S. Application Data,” the application makes note of a provisional application filed on Oct. 13, 2015. What that means, though, is that the patent is related to the provisional application that was filed years ago. They are not one in the same. A provisional application is essentially a placeholder for an intention to file a formal patent application, said Jonathan D’Silva, an assistant professor of clinical law and director of the Intellectual Property Law Clinic at Penn State University. Inventors may file a provisional application for different reasons, such as raising money or publicly disclosing their idea as they work on it, he said. The&nbsp;<a href="https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/applications/62240783/ifw/docs">provisional application</a>&nbsp;in 2015 was for a “System and Method for Using, Processing, and Displaying Biometric Data.” The 2020 patent application, meanwhile, was a “continuation-in-part” of a previous patent application, which means that new material was added, D’Silva said. In this case, the new material included the references to COVID-19. “Generally, you don’t have to guess what was in these other patent applications,” he said, since they’re publicly available. And in the earlier parent applications, “there was no mention of COVID-19.”— Associated Press writer Angelo Fichera in Philadelphia contributed this report.___Post distorts facts on registered voters in ArizonaCLAIM: Arizona has 9,871,525 registered voters but its population is 7,270,000.THE FACTS: The state had about 4 million registered voters, which is millions less than its population of about 7 million people. A popular Instagram post is using the erroneous claim to suggest potential election fraud in the state, which has been home to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-biden-cabinet-phoenix-government-and-politics-29f0883bf2a47743d55d1b45ec43cbbf">midterm election controversy</a>. “9,871,525 is the number of registered voters in AZ according to FB,” the post reads, “AZ population is 7,270,000.” A caption with the post reads, “ballot harvesting?” — the pejorative term for ballot collection. The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-government-and-politics-8eaf001732ac25976f0560a3e49ed500">laws around dropping off ballots</a>&nbsp;for other voters varies by state and in Arizona, only caregivers, family members or household members can drop off a ballot for someone else. But the post’s claim about registered voters in Arizona is false. Arizona actually logged 4,143,929 voters for the Nov. 8 midterm elections, according to data from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office. The total population in Arizona was 7,276,316, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/AZ">July 2021 estimate</a>&nbsp;by the U.S. Census Bureau.— Angelo Fichera___Fabricated tweets originated from account impersonating Hallie BidenCLAIM: President Joe Biden’s daughter-in-law Hallie Biden tweeted that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. She also tweeted that on election night, first lady Jill Biden phoned election workers to stop counting ballots and “rush in fake ballots.”THE FACTS: The account that made these tweets is “fraudulent,” said the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children, whose board Hallie Biden chairs.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/top-officials-elections-most-secure-66f9361084ccbc461e3bbf42861057a5">President Joe Biden defeated Trump</a>&nbsp;in the 2020 presidential election,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-270-electoral-college-vote-d429ef97af2bf574d16463384dc7cc1e">earning 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232</a>, and there was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voter-fraud-election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-7fcb6f134e528fee8237c7601db3328f">no evidence of widespread fraud</a>. The fabricated tweets attributed to Hallie Biden — the widow of the president’s deceased son Beau Biden — resurfaced after circulating in past months. The fake tweets claim that on election night in 2020, Jill Biden was on the phone with “state legislators and the people who tabulate the vote” to stop the count and execute a deal to “rush in fake ballots.” "President Trump won that election and my entire family knows it,” one of the fabricated tweets reads. “Ms. Hallie Biden does not have a Twitter account,” the foundation said in an emailed statement. “Any account bearing her name is fraudulent.” An internet archive search for the Twitter account that posted the tweets, @HallieBiden, shows that it was suspended for violating the platform’s rules between&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220831070720/https://twitter.com/HallieBiden">late August</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220902113558/https://twitter.com/halliebiden">early September</a>&nbsp;2022. The platform had a policy against impersonation, which it has continued to prioritize under new ownership. Archived versions of the account show that it posted numerous false and unverified claims about the election being stolen and about Presidents Biden and Obama and their families.— Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed this report.___Traffic plan in Oxfordshire, England, isn’t a ‘climate lockdown’CLAIM: The county of Oxfordshire, England, which includes the city of Oxford, is imposing a “climate lockdown” that will confine residents to their neighborhoods.THE FACTS: Oxfordshire has approved a plan to put “traffic filters” on some main roads, restricting drivers’ access during daytime hours and freeing up space for buses, cyclists and pedestrians. But car owners can apply for daylong permits to bypass the new rules, and many other vehicles are exempt. All parts of the county will remain accessible by car, officials said. Last week, local leaders in Oxfordshire voted to try a&nbsp;<a href="https://letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/traffic-filters-2022">new traffic reduction system</a>&nbsp;in an effort to reduce congestion in the county’s namesake city. Some on social media have since likened the scheme to stringent government COVID-19 containment policies. “UK. - Oxfordshire Council, part of the 15 minute city club, has passed a plan to trial a Climate lockdown,” tweeted one user, alongside a screenshot of an article warning that “residents will be confined to their local neighbourhood.” The plan “would control movements in a gated city, allowing only 100 car journeys in &amp; out per car &amp; monitoring all movements,” the tweet continued. But Oxfordshire’s “traffic filters” will not block access to any part of the city of Oxford or the rest of the county, let alone lock people in their neighborhoods, the county government told The Associated Press. “Everywhere in the city will still be accessible by car,” Paul Smith, spokesperson for the Oxfordshire County Council, wrote in an email. “Nobody will need permission from the county council to drive or leave their home.” The “traffic filters” are license plate recognition cameras, not physical barriers. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., drivers in private cars will be automatically fined if they cross through the filters without a permit. Motorists who live in Oxford will be able to apply for 100 daylong permits to drive through the filters per year. The “15 minute city club” referenced by one of the misleading tweets is an unrelated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.15minutecity.com/">urban planning framework</a>&nbsp;under which city residents would ideally be able to reach essential services within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their home. Officials with the city of Oxford have&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/OxfordCity/status/1582295424768962560">separately proposed</a>&nbsp;pursuing these goals. But some on social media have incorrectly linked the two, suggesting the traffic rules will also bar residents from leaving their neighborhoods. The city and county emphasized in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article/2332/joint_statement_from_oxfordshire_county_council_and_oxford_city_council_on_oxford_s_traffic_filters">joint statement</a>&nbsp;that the traffic restrictions will not “be used to confine people” to a given area. “Everyone can go through all the filters at any time by bus, bike, taxi, scooter or walking,” the statement added. Many vehicles, like vans and motorcycles, are exempt from the new rules. Disabled drivers and first responders will likewise not be affected. Drivers who lack a permit will also still be able to access all of the city without being fined. They “might just need to use a different route or drive through the ring road to avoid the traffic filters,” Smith wrote.— Associated Press writer Graph Massara in San Francisco contributed this report.

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

The
 Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued to block Microsoft’s planned 
$69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying 
it could suppress <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-mexico-europe-f16b8638b40cf649bc10acb35590bd6b">competitors to Microsoft’s Xbox game console</a> and its growing games subscription business.

The
 FTC’s challenge could be a test case for President Joe Biden’s mandate 
to scrutinize big tech mergers. The commission voted 3-1 to issue the 
complaint after a closed-door meeting, with the three Democratic 
commissioners voting in favor and the sole Republican voting against.

The
 complaint points to Microsoft’s previous game acquisitions, especially 
of well-known developer Bethesda Softworks and its parent company 
ZeniMax, as an example of where Microsoft is making some upcoming game 
titles exclusive to Xbox despite assuring European regulators it had no 
intention to do so.

“Microsoft has already shown that it can and 
will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” said a prepared statement
 from Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Today 
we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading 
independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple 
dynamic and fast-growing <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-game-awards-indie-neon-white-stray-1c66c4338c1b36868f293d832e4e6fa4">gaming markets</a>.”

Associated PressThe
 Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued to block Microsoft’s planned 
$69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying 
it could suppress <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-mexico-europe-f16b8638b40cf649bc10acb35590bd6b">competitors to Microsoft’s Xbox game console</a> and its growing games subscription business.The
 FTC’s challenge could be a test case for President Joe Biden’s mandate 
to scrutinize big tech mergers. The commission voted 3-1 to issue the 
complaint after a closed-door meeting, with the three Democratic 
commissioners voting in favor and the sole Republican voting against.The
 complaint points to Microsoft’s previous game acquisitions, especially 
of well-known developer Bethesda Softworks and its parent company 
ZeniMax, as an example of where Microsoft is making some upcoming game 
titles exclusive to Xbox despite assuring European regulators it had no 
intention to do so.“Microsoft has already shown that it can and 
will withhold content from its gaming rivals,” said a prepared statement
 from Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Today 
we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading 
independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple 
dynamic and fast-growing <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-game-awards-indie-neon-white-stray-1c66c4338c1b36868f293d832e4e6fa4">gaming markets</a>.”The
 FTC said it was filing the complaint through its administrative process
 rather than taking the case to a federal court. That means an 
administrative law judge will hear the case.Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, signaled in a statement Thursday that the company is likely to challenge the FTC’s decision.“While
 we believed in giving peace a chance, we have complete confidence in 
our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court,” 
Smith said.The company had been ramping up its public defense of 
the deal in recent days as it awaited a decision. Smith said Microsoft 
has been committed to addressing competition concerns and brought 
proposed concessions to the FTC earlier this week.“We continue to
 believe that this deal will expand competition and create more 
opportunities for gamers and game developers,” Smith said.Microsoft <a href="https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-activision-blizzard-acquisition-call-of-duty-7a9e2bcc8f0b7b9049e4f93fe3e0a4dd">announced the merger deal</a>
 in January but has faced months of resistance from Sony, which makes 
the competing PlayStation console and has raised concerns with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-games-8d8340d840a531973c4c0be37b70a15f">antitrust watchdogs</a>
 around the world about losing access to popular Activision Blizzard 
game franchises such as the military shooter game Call of Duty.Antitrust
 regulators under Biden “have staked out the view that for decades 
merger policy has been too weak and they’ve said, repeatedly, ‘We’re 
changing that,’” said William Kovacic, a former chair of the FTC.That
 has put pressure on the FTC to fulfill its bold promises to “not allow 
dodgy deals and not accept weak settlements,” said Kovacic, who was a 
Republican commissioner appointed in 2006 by then-President George W. 
Bush. But he said Microsoft has a good chance of winning its legal 
challenge.“It’s evident that the company has been making a number
 of concessions,” he said. “Microsoft would likely raise them in court 
and say the FTC is being incorrigibly stubborn about this.”Microsoft announced its latest promise Wednesday, saying it would make <a href="https://apnews.com/article/microsoft-nintendo-call-of-duty-deal-0dfea66c7e77f9bfd36cf3c1965c57c0">Call of Duty available on Nintendo</a> devices for 10 years should its acquisition go through. It has said it tried to offer the same commitment to Sony.In
 an appeal to Biden administration priorities, Microsoft had also sought
 to characterize its deal as worker-friendly after announcing a “labor 
neutrality agreement” in June with the Communications Workers of America
 that would allow workers to unionize after the acquisition closes. The 
union’s president, Chris Shelton, wrote an opinion column in The Hill 
this week calling on the FTC to “seal the deal, not blow it up.”The
 deal is also under close scrutiny in the European Union and the United 
Kingdom, where investigations aren’t due to be completed until next 
year.FTC's decision to send the complaint to its in-house judge 
instead of seeking an urgent federal court injunction to halt the merger
 could drag the case out for months and give more “confidence to 
authorities outside the U.S. to take a swing at the deal on their own,” 
said Kovacic, who is now a professor at George Washington University Law
 School.Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a message to
 employees Thursday that the FTC’s action “sounds alarming, so I want to
 reinforce my confidence that this deal will close.”“The 
allegation that this deal is anti-competitive doesn’t align with the 
facts, and we believe we’ll win this challenge,” Kotick wrote.Kotick said the deal will be good for players, employees, competition and the industry."We
 believe these arguments will win despite a regulatory environment 
focused on ideology and misconceptions about the tech industry,” he 
said.Led by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/frances-haugen-lina-khan-elizabeth-holmes-37d14570b9221962010171c0844e534a">FTC Chair Lina Khan</a>,
 a legal scholar who’s advocated for tougher antitrust enforcement, the 
commission is made up of three Democrats and one Republican after a 
second Republican stepped down earlier this year and left an open seat 
on the panel.Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted 
Thursday that she welcomed the FTC action, noting that she had urged 
Khan to scrutinize the proposed merger.“Corporate monopolies have
 had free rein to hike prices and harm workers, but now the Biden admin 
is committed to promoting competition,” Warren said.Both the 
Justice Department and the FTC this year have looked at strengthening 
merger guidelines to better detect and prevent illegal and 
anticompetitive deals. The agencies have been stressing the importance 
of robust competition to the economy, workers, consumers and small 
businesses.Federal regulators also on Thursday <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-lawsuits-government-and-politics-meta-platforms-inc-06cf1518344a1a08f339467a2d0da8de">opened their campaign</a> to block Facebook parent Meta’s acquisition of a virtual-reality company Thursday in a San Jose, California, courtroom.In
 that case, the FTC sued to prevent Meta’s acquisition of Within 
Unlimited and its fitness app Supernatural, asserting it would hurt 
competition and violate antitrust laws.Microsoft in recent years 
has largely escaped the more intense regulatory backlash its tech rivals
 such as Amazon, Google and Meta have endured. But the sheer size of the
 Activision Blizzard acquisition — which could be the priciest in tech 
industry history — has drawn attention.Microsoft's <a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-microsoft-doj-6a800b51cc9b6b1c4d1b23bad4510040">last big antitrust battle</a>
 occurred more than two decades ago when a federal judge ordered its 
breakup following the company’s anticompetitive actions related to its 
dominant Windows software. That verdict was overturned on appeal, 
although the court imposed other, less drastic, penalties on the 
company.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1670540769783.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>

Misc