Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan ticked down to 3.83 percent. That's the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. And it's below the previous record rate of 3.84 percent reached last week.

The 15-year mortgage, a popular option for refinancing, dropped to 3.05 percent, also a record. That's down from last week's previous record of 3.07 percent.

Low mortgage rates haven't done much to boost home sales. Rates have been below 4 percent for all but one week since early December. Yet sales of both previously occupied homes and new homes fell in March.

There have been some positive signs in recent months. January and February made up the best winter for sales of previously occupied homes in five years. And builders are laying plans to construct more homes in 2012 than at any other point in past 3 1/2 years. That suggests some see the housing market slowly starting to turn around.

Still, many would-be buyers can't qualify for loans or afford higher down payments required by banks. Home prices in many cities continue to fall. That has made those who can afford to buy uneasy about entering the market. And for those who are willing to brave the troubled market, many have already taken advantage of lower rates mortgage rates have been below 5 percent for more than a year now.

Mortgage rates are lower because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Slower U.S. job growth and uncertainty about how Europe will resolve its debt crisis have led investors to buy more Treasurys, which are considered safe investments. As demand for Treasurys increases, the yield falls.

To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.

The average rage does not include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for 30-year loans was 0.7 last week, down from 0.8 the previous week. The fee on 15-year loans also was 0.7, unchanged from the previous week.

The average on one-year adjustable rate was 2.73 percent last week, down from 2.7 percent the previous week. The fee on one-year adjustable rate mortgages was 0.5, down from 0.6.

"Having looked back at Earth from outer space, I have seen just how fragile our home planet is and I'm committed to doing everything I can to help protect it," NASA chief Charles Bolden, a former space shuttle commander, wrote in a NASA blog post Wednesday (June 26).

Obama outlined hisa day earlier in a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The president's proposal focuses on reducing the amount of carbon pollution in the country, leading the global effort to fight climate change, and preparing U.S. communities to endure the extreme weather expected to become more frequent in a warming world. []

NASA's satellite fleet may be among Earth's best witnesses to the effects of climate change. Bolden highlighted some of the 17 missions in NASA's Earth Science program that are currently monitoring the Earth's atmosphere, oceans, weather and climate from a remote perch in space to study and predict changes over time, as well as those due to .

Theseries, for example, has provided high resolution images of the planet's surface for the past 40 years and have helped establish a baseline of understanding the Earth's changes, Bolden wrote. He also mentioned the $1.5 billion Earth-observing satellite Suomi/NPP spacecraft, which launched in 2011 and is collecting data for short-term weather forecasts and long-term climate models.

"The data we collect helps us understand our planet as a dynamic, unified system," Bolden said. "It helps us predict natural and manmade disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires and recover from them. Our satellites will play a critical role in helping us assess thecarbon emissionsproblem, its history, current status, and possible future so decision makers can make informed policy decisions."

Bolden also wrote that Obama's 2014 budget request for NASA would support seven new Earth Science missions set to launch through 2020, including the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2).

He said all of NASA's work in exploration "has benefits here on Earth, by helping us understand and protect our natural resources, improve lives, and strengthen the economy. The President's climate initiative provides one more opportunity for our missions in space to bring science and technology home to the American people in a meaningful way."

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By Julien Pretot

MONT VENTOUX, France, July 14 - Chris Froome moved closer to a maiden Tour de France title with an awe-inspiring victory on top of the intimidating Mont Ventoux, pulling away from his rivals in brutal fashion seven kilometers from the finish on Sunday.

The British rider stayed rooted to his saddle as he left Alberto Contador for dead with an attack which, if not easy on the eye due to his jutting elbows and nodding head, proved ruthlessly efficient.

He crossed the line 29 seconds ahead of Colombian Nairo Quintana, who had launched an attack 13km from the finish.

Team Sky's Froome, who showed he is unbeatable on a single climb, now leads Dutchman Bauke Mollema by 4:14 in the overall standings.

This is roughly the same as Alberto Contador's winning margin over Andy Schleck when the Spaniard won the Tour in 2009 after three weeks of racing.

Contador, the 2007 and 2009 champion, crossed the line in sixth place after the 242.5-km 15th stage, 1:40 behind Froome to leave him third overall, 4:25 off the pace.

Mollema was eighth on the day, six seconds behind Contador, who was clearly stunned.

"He is very superior to everyone in the mountains," Contador told reporters."

"He showed it in the Pyrenees and once again here. I did what I could, climbing at my rhythm but he was too strong.

"I came here to win but Froome is very strong and every time he takes time from me."

His sports director Philippe Mauduit said: "We will talk and see what tactics we can set up for the rest of the race."

Froome had lost 1:09 to Contador on Friday's flat stage after being trapped by the Spaniard's Team Saxo-Tinkoff, but he came back with a bang.

"I did not imagine this. This climb is so historic, it means so much to this race. I did not see myself winning. I thought I had to surrender the stage to Quintana," Froome, who spent most of the ascent talking to the team car on his radio, told reporters.

Froome is the first yellow jersey wearer since Eddy Merckx in 1970 to win on top of Mont Ventoux, a climb packed with history and the scene of British rider Tom Simpson's death in 1967.

"My goal was to take time from my GC (general classification) rivals," added Froome, who had to be supplied with oxygen at the finish after the 20.8-km climb at an average gradient of 7.5 per cent.

"I thought Quintana would win but in the last two kilometers he could not follow."

Quintana, who took the young rider's white jersey from Pole Michal Kwiatkowski, said: "I had already made an enormous effort and when he caught me I had not much left in the tank."

ISOLATE FROOME

A 10-man breakaway formed early and tried to build a decent lead, but when Pierre Rolland slipped back into the peloton, his Europcar team upped the pace.

France's Julien El Fares was dropped and the other escapees were kept within range with Quintana's Movistar team setting the tempo around 100 kilometers from the finish.

The barren summit of Mont Ventoux was draped in a thin veil of cloud as Team Sky hit the front and upped the pace six kilometers from the base to put Froome in a perfect position at the foot of the climb.

On Bastille Day, Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel powered away from the lead group, but he was quickly swallowed up by the Sky-led main bunch.

Peter Sagan, also part of the breakaway, rode on his back wheel and showboated to the cameras after claiming 20 points to stay in charge of the green jersey, before he too was caught.

The fun and games were cut short as Team Sky's Peter Kennaugh took his turn at the front of the peloton.

Australian team mate Richie Porte then took over and his long drag up the shadowy part of the mountain thinned the peloton until only him, Froome and Contador remained.

The Spaniard had no answer to Froome's attack seven kilometers from the finish, just like he could not respond to his rival's acceleration in the previous mountaintop finish in the Pyrenees.

There are, however, two grueling stages left in the Alps, with several tough climbs on the menu.

These will provide the perfect terrain for Sky's rivals to try to isolate Froome, like they did in the second Pyrenean stage.

Some of the top names in the sport were humbled on Sunday.

Andy Schleck, the 2010 champion who had targeted the stage win, almost rode into a low dry stone wall in the first part of the climb and finished 10:42 behind.

Australian Cadel Evans, who won the race two years ago, crossed the line 8:46 off the pace.

"It was a terrible day for me," he said.

"I came to the Tour de France with high expectations but I did not live up to them."

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by Toby Davis)

The two officials said the militants were riding on a motorcycle Saturday when two missiles hit them.

The incident happened in the village of Musaki outside of Mir Ali, one of the main towns in North Waziristan province.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

It was the second strike in Pakistan this month. An earlier attack killed 16 suspected militants in North Waziristan.

U.S. drone strikes have become a serious source of tension between Washington and Islamabad. The Pakistani government regularly denounces the strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty.

The bells of Ste-Agnes church will chime 50 times, followed by a minute of silence at noon.

"Think of the people who are enduring this, who are in mourning," said Jean-Denis Martel, as he sat in the church on Friday, his voice choked with emotion.

"It's good to take a moment of silence, for those with loved ones. It's not easy. It hurts bad."

The tribute follows one Friday night in which people gathered for a candlelight vigil as darkness settled over the town.

They stood in small clusters, whispering to each other or hugging on the steps of the church. Some arrived with small children in strollers.

"In one way or another, we're all affected," said Bianca Fillion.

But the vigil offered some solace.

"We can feel the love," said Cynthia Jacques.

Another group walked solemnly through Old Montreal before stopping in front of historic Notre-Dame Basilica where they erected a small shrine.

A visibly moved Richard Lafontaine said he had to show support for the people in Lac-Megantic.

"Solidarity," he said. "We're participating in a movement of solidarity for the region and especially the town."

Vigils were held in other Quebec communities including Sherbrooke, Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau as well as cities outside the province such as Winnipeg.

The Lac-Megantic vigil had initially been cancelled because the community is still under a state of emergency. Quebec provincial police, who are busy combing through the obliterated downtown in search of bodies, said they couldn't spare the resources to handle a large crowd.

But that didn't stop heartsick townsfolk from gathering to share their grief and light candles in memory of missing and dead loved ones.

The tributes are only just beginning.

Quebecers are also being urged to attend at least three benefit concerts scheduled for next week. Events are planned in Montreal, Quebec City and St-Georges-de-Beauce. Players from the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers are among those contributing items for charity auctions for Lac-Megantic.

When the clock struck 1:14 a.m. on Saturday, it marked one week to the minute when an out-of-control caravan of rail tanker cars came rumbling into the town, jumped the tracks and exploded into searing balls of flame.

The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Inc. train had been parked for the night a few kilometres away on a steep grade. The engineer had left it unattended to get some shuteye.

The explosion and fire triggered by the derailment incinerated much of Lac-Megantic's downtown, which was dotted with historic buildings, homes and commercial outlets.

About 1,800 people had to flee the area but most were able to return as the week progressed.

Along with grief there is also a lot of anger at the railway as townsfolk struggle to cope with their terrible losses. An appearance by railway chairman Ed Burkhardt at an impromptu news conference earlier in the week sparked outrage and Burkhardt was reportedly advised to scrap plans to address a town meeting.

Officials have confirmed 28 deaths so far and have been able to identify eight of the victims. However, another 22 people remain missing and are also feared to have perished.

Provincial police, backed up by the RCMP, have cordoned off a swath of the town to facilitate the recovery effort and the investigation of what has been declared a crime scene.

Police have already arrested one trespasser and on Friday warned people not to climb fences erected around the area or try to get a look at the devastated area from surrounding rooftops.

Insp. Michel Forget said several people had been spotted doing that and he warned of the danger of such behaviour.

"We don't want any more victims," he said.

The federal Transportation Safety Board said its investigation into the derailment will likely take months.

"This may well be the most devastating rail accident in Canadian history," board chairwoman Wendy Tadros told a news conference.

Elsewhere, the chairman of the House of Commons transportation committee said a push for parliamentarians to meet this summer to assess railway safety is more about partisan politics than Quebec's catastrophe.

Conservative Larry Miller made the remarks from his riding in Owen Sound, Ont., in response to calls by the NDP and Bloc Quebecois to convene hearings next month.

"There has to be something concrete that we can actually do or it's just a waste of everybody's time," he said.

(With files from Nelson Wyatt and Jerome Roy in Montreal and Patrice Bergeron and Melanie Marquis in Lac-Megantic)

The bells of Ste-Agnes church will chime 50 times, followed by a minute of silence at noon.

"Think of the people who are enduring this, who are in mourning," said Jean-Denis Martel, as he sat in the church on Friday, his voice choked with emotion.

"It's good to take a moment of silence, for those with loved ones. It's not easy. It hurts bad."

The tribute follows one Friday night in which people gathered for a candlelight vigil as darkness settled over the town.

They stood in small clusters, whispering to each other or hugging on the steps of the church. Some arrived with small children in strollers.

"In one way or another, we're all affected," said Bianca Fillion.

But the vigil offered some solace.

"We can feel the love," said Cynthia Jacques.

Another group walked solemnly through Old Montreal before stopping in front of historic Notre-Dame Basilica where they erected a small shrine.

A visibly moved Richard Lafontaine said he had to show support for the people in Lac-Megantic.

"Solidarity," he said. "We're participating in a movement of solidarity for the region and especially the town."

Vigils were held in other Quebec communities including Sherbrooke, Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres and Gatineau as well as cities outside the province such as Winnipeg.

The Lac-Megantic vigil had initially been cancelled because the community is still under a state of emergency. Quebec provincial police, who are busy combing through the obliterated downtown in search of bodies, said they couldn't spare the resources to handle a large crowd.

But that didn't stop heartsick townsfolk from gathering to share their grief and light candles in memory of missing and dead loved ones.

The tributes are only just beginning.

Quebecers are also being urged to attend at least three benefit concerts scheduled for next week. Events are planned in Montreal, Quebec City and St-Georges-de-Beauce. Players from the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers are among those contributing items for charity auctions for Lac-Megantic.

When the clock struck 1:14 a.m. on Saturday, it marked one week to the minute when an out-of-control caravan of rail tanker cars came rumbling into the town, jumped the tracks and exploded into searing balls of flame.

The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Inc. train had been parked for the night a few kilometres away on a steep grade. The engineer had left it unattended to get some shuteye.

The explosion and fire triggered by the derailment incinerated much of Lac-Megantic's downtown, which was dotted with historic buildings, homes and commercial outlets.

About 1,800 people had to flee the area but most were able to return as the week progressed.

Along with grief there is also a lot of anger at the railway as townsfolk struggle to cope with their terrible losses. An appearance by railway chairman Ed Burkhardt at an impromptu news conference earlier in the week sparked outrage and Burkhardt was reportedly advised to scrap plans to address a town meeting.

Officials have confirmed 28 deaths so far and have been able to identify eight of the victims. However, another 22 people remain missing and are also feared to have perished.

Provincial police, backed up by the RCMP, have cordoned off a swath of the town to facilitate the recovery effort and the investigation of what has been declared a crime scene.

Police have already arrested one trespasser and on Friday warned people not to climb fences erected around the area or try to get a look at the devastated area from surrounding rooftops.

Insp. Michel Forget said several people had been spotted doing that and he warned of the danger of such behaviour.

"We don't want any more victims," he said.

The federal Transportation Safety Board said its investigation into the derailment will likely take months.

"This may well be the most devastating rail accident in Canadian history," board chairwoman Wendy Tadros told a news conference.

Elsewhere, the chairman of the House of Commons transportation committee said a push for parliamentarians to meet this summer to assess railway safety is more about partisan politics than Quebec's catastrophe.

Conservative Larry Miller made the remarks from his riding in Owen Sound, Ont., in response to calls by the NDP and Bloc Quebecois to convene hearings next month.

"There has to be something concrete that we can actually do or it's just a waste of everybody's time," he said.

(With files from Nelson Wyatt and Jerome Roy in Montreal and Patrice Bergeron and Melanie Marquis in Lac-Megantic)

Amid revelations that House Republicans are crafting battle plans that include raising the debt ceiling in exchange for plum policy prizes including an overhaul of entitlements, Senate Democrats are occupying a redoubt they view as the political high ground. They argue that Republicans are holding the governments debt obligations hostage to their demands for lower government spending.

There should be no debt-ceiling negotiations, said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Its this view that some people are willing to, in any way, bump up against that. If that lesson wasnt learned with what happened in August 2011, I dont know what you do here.

Whats new for Democratic leaders is that their GOP opponents on the other side of the Capitol have begun focusing their strategy. For now, Democrats seem to be deferring to the White Houses message circa 2011.

I think the president has laid out a pretty clear path forward, which is, we dont play chicken with the debt ceiling, said Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del. We dont put at risk our rating. We dont put at risk our nations economy.

Even if Senate Democrats object to negotiating over the debt limit, they admit that a budget conferencewhich, so far, Senate Republicans have objected to precisely because they fear House Republicans might agree to a deal involving spending and the debt limitis a reasonable option for mapping a way forward.

The best first step I can think of would be to go to conference on our budgets, and for a few members of the Senate to stop objecting every time we try to go to conference, Coons said. Taking hostage the American economy doesnt strike me as a very constructive route.

Congress set the stage for the likely impasse earlier this year when House Republicans, wanting to avoid another nasty fight over the debt limit, agreed to raise the ceiling and defer the confrontation until the fiscal-cliff crisis was well behind them.

House Republicans thought they had wedged Senate Democrats into a tough spot, with Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin hammering senators for not passing a budget in four years.

But in March, Republicans lost that foothold when, during an all-night session, Senate leaders managed to get a 50-49 vote to pass a budget. That budget became the Senates new marker for fiscal and debt negotiations and effectively represents the chambers position.

Its unclear how much time Congress has until the country reaches the debt ceiling. Earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told Congress the government could hold out until September.

Some Democrats, though, seem hopeful that the deadline could be even later. Is it October already? Coons responded when approached about the subject.

The captain was back.

Jeter reached with an infield single on his first pitch following the long layoff, immediately testing his healed left ankle Thursday in the first inning of the New York Yankees' series finale against the Kansas City Royals.

Jeter didn't acknowledge the fans as he made his long-awaited return. He turned on a 95 mph fastball from Ervin Santana and sent a three-hopper up the third-base line that fell from Miguel Tejada's throwing hand.

Fans chanted "De-rek Je-ter! De-rek Je-ter!" as the 39-year-old shortstop ran up the line well past first base, then returned to the bag. The ankle got more tests when he raced to third on Robinson Cano's single up the middle and came home without a throw on Vernon Well's sacrifice fly to right.

Jeter was the designated hitter and batted second in his first big league game since he broke his left ankle during the AL championship series opener Oct. 13. He said after the initial injury he would return by opening day, then fractured the ankle again in April during his rehabilitation and missed the first 91 games of the season.

Jeter had not been introduced at Yankee Stadium by Bob Sheppard's recording in 271 days, since he sprawled onto his stomach while trying to field Jhonny Peralta's 12th-inning grounder up the middle, immobile on the infield dirt and yelled out in pain. He hobbled off the field on his good ankle, one arm draped around manager Joe Girardi and the other around trainer Steve Donahue.

New York cut short his rehabilitation assignment in the minor leagues after just four games following injuries Wednesday night to Travis Hafner and speedy Brett Gardner.

"He can DH tonight in Scranton or he can DH today in New York," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "Might as well bring him in and DH him in New York."

Cashman made the decision when he was driving home after New York's 8-1 win Wednesday's and spoke with Jeter by phone. Jeter went 1 for 9 in his tuneup at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, including 0 for 3 with a throwing error during seven innings Wednesday night.

Girardi said Jeter is likely to start at shortstop for Friday's series opener against Minnesota.

"I think Derek would run himself out there the next 70 games if it was up to him," Girardi said. "I mean, that's just who he is. He expects to play every day. So from that standpoint I think we have to guard against rushing him back too much, and we have to pick days off, and we have to pick DH days. In the perfect world, you have a month of spring training, but this has not been a perfect world around here this year."

Jeter did not speak with reporters before the game.

Cashman said former GM Gene Michael was at Wednesday's game and gave a positive report on Jeter's mobility. Girardi said he expects Jeter "to be the Derek that he was last year. There's nothing that tells me right now that he can't be."

A 13-time All-Star with a .313 career average, Jeter hopes to jolt a batting order that is next to last in runs in the AL. The Yankees started Thursday fourth in the AL East at 49-42.

Six players have appeared at shortstop in his absence, hitting a combined .211 with two homers and 25 RBIs, according to STATS. Only Seattle shortstops had a lower batting average.

New York hopes to get third baseman Alex Rodriguez back this month following January hip surgery and center fielder Curtis Granderson next month after his broken pinkie has healed. First baseman Mark Teixeira is out for the season following wrist surgery.

Rodriguez began Thursday 2 for 15 (.133) with one RBI in six minor league games for Tampa and Charleston, both Class A farm teams. Cashman said Rodriguez will be given the full 20 days of the rehab assignment, which runs through July 21.

"There's a reason he's in A-ball, and there's a reason we were able to put Derek in Triple-A right from the start, because Derek was obviously much farther along," Cashman said.

NOTES: The Yankees cleared a roster spot by designating 1B Travis Ishikawa for assignment. ... Hafner bruised his left foot and Gardner his right leg when he was hit by a pitch for the second time.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Oregon gubernatorial candidate Craig Berkman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding investors by persuading them he could use their money to buy shares of Facebook Inc before the company's May 2012 initial public offering.

Berkman, a Republican who ran for governor in 1994, admitted he told investors he had access to scarce pre-IPO shares of Facebook as well as LinkedIn Corp, Groupon Inc and Zynga Inc.

Instead, Berkman used investors' money to make payments to earlier investors - a classic Ponzi scheme - and to pay personal expenses, including $6 million in a personal bankruptcy case, Assistant U.S. Attorney John O'Donnell said at a hearing in federal court in New York.

Berkman pleaded guilty to one charge of securities fraud and one charge of wire fraud. Each carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

"I deeply regret my actions," a weeping Berkman, wearing beige jail scrubs, said at the hearing on Tuesday. "I've devastated my family." He apologized to his investors, saying some of them were "dear, dear friends."

"I'm very, very sorry," he said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox set sentencing for October 1.

As part of a plea deal, Berkman agreed to forfeit $13.2 million he raised from more than 120 investors.

Berkman had long been active in Oregon politics and served for a time as the head of the state's Republican Party. He lost in the Republican primary for governor in 1994. He explored a bid for governor in 2002, according to the newspaper The Oregonian.

Berkman was arrested in March at his home in Odessa, Florida.

"RECIDIVIST HISTORY"

Berkman's scam was similar to one perpetrated by former Florida fund manager John Mattera, who defrauded investors of $13 million by telling them he could invest their money in pre-IPO shares of Facebook and Groupon. Mattera was sentenced to 11 years in prison on June 21.

Berkman's guilty plea culminates what the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had called a "recidivist history."

In 2001, the Oregon Division of Finance and Securities issued a cease-and-desist order and a $50,000 fine against Berkman for offering and selling convertible promissory notes without a brokerage license, according to the SEC.

In 2008, an Oregon jury found Berkman liable in a private action for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion of investor funds, and misrepresentation to investors, related to his involvement with a firm called Synectic Ventures.

The criminal case is U.S. v. Berkman, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-mg-00732.

(Reporting by Bernard Vaughan; Editing by John Wallace)

Called the Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act, the bill was introduced Monday (July 8) by Rep. Donna Edwards of (D-Md.) and was co-sponsored by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas).

The bill (House Resolution 2617) was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the House Committee on Natural Resources. []

Protect sites for posterity

Noting that thewas one of the greatest achievements in American history, the bill notes that, as commercial enterprises and foreign nations acquire the ability to land on the moon, "it is necessary to protect the Apollo lunar landing sites for posterity."

In part, the bill calls for no later than one year after the date of enactment of the act, "there shall be established as a unit of the National Park System the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park."

Creating such a park will expand and enhance the protection and , the bill states, "and provide for greater recognition and public understanding of this singular achievement in American history."