America In Focus: affordability concerns rise as Fed hikes key rate, mortgage rate reaches nearly 7%

The economy, inflation and how those forces could impact the lives of Americans were front and center over the past week. Trips to the grocery store and gas station are more painful than they were last year, and rising costs are impacting the decisions of both households and businesses.

Here’s a snapshot of prominent economic data and news that occurred over the past week and what it potentially means for you.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for the first time since 2023 in an effort to quell stubbornly high inflation, and the central bank signaled another rate hike could occur later this year.

The quarter-point increase lifts the Fed’s key rate to about 3.9% and, over time, could result in higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. In a set of quarterly projections, the Fed also signaled its rate-setting committee could raise it a second time to 4.1%.

The move comes as Americans are already struggling with high costs for groceries, gas and housing. Affordability has taken on a leading role in the upcoming midterm elections, just seven weeks away.

Home shoppers holding out for relief from rising mortgage rates may be in for a long wait.

The weekly average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan has been rising for months and this week climbed to just below 7% — its highest level in over 19 months.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 6.95% from 6.76% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.26%.

This is the fourth week in a row that mortgage rates have moved higher. The average rate hasn’t reached this level since Jan. 30, 2025.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 6.26% from 6.09% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.41%.

Consumers stepped up their spending at a better-than-anticipated pace in August after an unexpectedly sharp pullback in July.

Retail sales rose 1.2% last month after recording a revised 0.5% dip in July, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. Economists were expecting a 0.7% gain for the month, according to FactSet.

The decline in July was notable because there had been few signs of fatigue from U.S. consumers. Americans spent heavily during the World Cup and Amazon Prime Day sales this summer. That followed heavy retail traffic in April and May as Americans dipped into their government tax refunds.

Excluding business at gas stations, retail sales rose 1.1% in August. The government figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.

Sales at clothing and accessories stores were up 0.7%, while furniture and home furnishings stores saw a 0.9% increase. Online retailers registered a 2.6% gain.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, another sign that layoffs remain rare and most Americans enjoy job security.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims slid to 196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, dropped to 203,250.

Economists had expected claims to come in at 207,500, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet.

Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly stayed within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 a week.

Wall Street stumbled to close out an up -and- down week.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in the final day of trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down. The Nasdaq composite was fighting to stay positive, but just barely.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, got to nearly $110 early this week, up from a little over $70 in July. It has been seesawing since.

It briefly dropped below $102 in overnight before erasing much of the loss and pulling back to $104.07. But oil pointed lower for the week.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Apple CEO John Ternus and Deirdre O'brien, Vice President of Retail, open the Apple store on Fifth Avenue for Apple's launch of the iPhone 18 Pro, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two major news networks' journalists said they were denied access to the White House on Saturday morning, with reporters from CNN and MS NOW both going live to report about the circumstances of the ban imposed by President Donald Trump.

The actions escalated Trump’s long-running efforts to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable, and is the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States. Trump said Friday he would ban both organizations and Politico because of their coverage.

CNN issued a statement saying it stood behind its reporters. “We will not be deflected from our duty to hold the government and other public bodies to account,” it said. The statement was shown on the air before senior White House reporter Betsy Klein began to report on her ban.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

MS NOW said its journalists were denied access to the White House Saturday morning, a day after President Donald Trump said he would ban the network and two other news outlets from the complex. There was no immediate word about access for the other two — Politico and CNN.

The action escalated Trump’s long-running efforts to restrict news coverage by journalists he finds objectionable, and is the latest test of First Amendment protections in the United States.

MS NOW said in a statement that it stands behind its journalists.

“The White House belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars,” the network said in a statement Saturday. “MS NOW intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy.”

Trump said Friday that he was barring the news channel, along with CNN and Politico, from the White House due to what he called unfavorable coverage and “fake news.”

It was unclear Saturday morning whether CNN journalists were also being blocked from the White House grounds. Network correspondents are usually present on the weekends when the president is in Washington or at nearby Camp David. Trump is at the presidential retreat in Maryland this weekend.

Politico journalists typically are not at the White House on Saturdays.

MS NOW White House correspondent Akayla Gardner was turned away, her entry badge confiscated, she said on air Saturday morning.

She noted she had walked through two gates successfully, but once she got to where her badge needed to be scanned, an officer told her it was disabled and asked her to hand it over. He said the decision “was above him," she reported.

An MS NOW producer was able to get in, but a photographer's badge was also disabled, Gardner said.

The president wrote on his social media site Friday that effective immediately, “I am banning” CNN, MS NOW and Politico “from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” Minutes later, speaking at an event in the Oval Office, Trump was asked to explain his statement.

“Because they’re fake news,” he said. “You get so tired of reading and seeing fake news. When you look at CNN, it’s just fake. That’s why their ratings are no good. When you look at MS NOW … , it’s fake news.”

“And when you look at Politico ... the stories they wrote are fake. So there’s a lot of news and there may be others to join them, and maybe they can get better,” he said. “But our country has to have honest news.”

In his second term, Trump and his administration have upped the ante and punished certain media outlets, both in the courtroom and through regulatory action. Trump has also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms.

The move follows the president’s decision last year to bar Associated Press reporters from the Oval Office, Air Force One and other events in retaliation for the news outlet’s decision not to follow his lead in changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, which lies partially in Mexican and other waters. The AP said that it would note when appropriate that Trump had ordered it renamed the “Gulf of America.”

President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the Ellipse near the White House, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)