Buying a home? Skip the 'love letter' to the seller
CNN
The housing market is so competitive, buyers are doing anything they can to get a home.
A common way to try to stand out is to write a heartfelt "love letter" to a seller -- a seemingly harmless note to express appreciation of the home and make a personal connection. But in this overheated real estate market, what were once simple handwritten or typed letters have lately given way to more polished packages, with photographs of the buyers and even videos, agents say. Some prospective homebuyers even purchase letter templates on sites like Etsy.
Tim Walz is headed back out on the road – this time, for a tour of House districts represented by Republicans, some of whom have stopped holding town halls amid the raucous receptions their colleagues have gotten across the country.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has announced a “strategic alliance” to fight organized crime with Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private defense contractor formerly known as Blackwater.
CNN’s 5 Things PM brings you the stories you might have missed during your busy day.
Indian authorities have arrested a Lithuanian man wanted by the US for allegedly running a $96 billion cryptocurrency exchange that allowed terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals to launder money.
A federal judge on Wednesday halted parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order that targeted a Democratic-linked law firm.
The sister of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the target of a bomb threat at her home earlier this month in Charleston, South Carolina, police said Wednesday.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire announced Wednesday that she will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision that will bring an end to the senator’s historic career in Congress and sets up a competitive race for the Senate seat in the Granite State.
As Trump imposes sweeping 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, Mark Carney, leader of Canada’s ruling Liberal Party, told workers at a steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario that the country’s leadership was ready to sit down with the US “under a position where there’s respect for Canadian sovereignty.”
As the Office of Personnel Management oversaw the layoffs of thousands of federal workers and pressed others to justify their positions, the agency’s chief spokesperson repeatedly used her office for a side hustle: aspiring Instagram fashion influencer.
José Daniel Simancas Rodríguez was one of 177 Venezuelans that the US deported and sent to its naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba. He said his 15-day detention was unbearable and compared it to “hell.”
A 41-year-old woman was found alive on Tuesday after being trapped in her car for six days following a crash in northwest Indiana, officials said.
On a Friday afternoon in downtown Philadelphia, dozens gather on the corner of South 2nd and Chestnut streets. A mix of retirees and fired federal workers, they are teeming with fury, but not just toward President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the early actions of the administration.
Lucas Hunter loves to kitesurf, so along with his sister Sophie he planned a trip to Colombia to take advantage of the “good waves” in the north of the country in late December last year.