Mortgage demand slipped to the lowest level since December 2018, even after rates declined slightly last week .Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 1 percent last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 14 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

Some are worried their districts are unable to offer a strong virtual learning program. For others who may have been considering homeschooling, concerns for their familys health amid the coronavirus and the on-again, off-again planning for in-person instruction are leading them to part ways with school systems. Mindy Kroesche, a freelance writer and editor from Lincoln, Nebraska, had been leaning toward homeschooling her 12-year-old son, who has autism and ADHD diagnoses that made middle school a challenge. But she always felt her 10-year-old daughter was built for school. Now with the pandemic raging, she is pulling them both out for the year. And parents and teachers are tired of what appear to be arbitrary and capricious decisions.