Adnan Syed to stay free after judge decides on time served for his murder sentence

BALTIMORE (AP) — The man whose legal saga amassed a worldwide following of “Serial” podcast listeners will remain free even though his murder conviction still stands. A Baltimore judge ruled on Thursday for Adnan Syed’s sentence to be set to time served under a relatively new state law that provides a pathway to release for people convicted of crimes committed when they were minors. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys agree that Syed doesn’t pose a risk to public safety. He maintains his innocence. Syed was released after more than 23 years in prison three years ago when his conviction was temporarily vacated.

2nd federal judge extends block preventing the Trump admin. from freezing funding

BOSTON (AP) — Attorneys general in New York and Rhode Island are backing a federal judge’s decision to extend a block barring the Trump administration from freezing grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars. The judge Thursday granted a request for a preliminary injunction from nearly two dozen Democratic states. Last month, the White House said it’d temporarily halt federal funding to ensure the payments complied with President Donald Trump’s orders barring diversity programs. Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James calls the funding freeze illegal. The judge says the executive branch was trying to put itself above Congress. Government lawyers argue the court lacks the constitutional authority to block a funding pause by the Republican administration.

Attorneys file class action appeals to federal board for thousands of workers Trump fired

(AP) — Attorneys said Thursday they’ve filed class action appeals to a federal board for thousands of workers fired by President Donald Trump. Several appeals already have been filed against multiple federal agencies, with plans to bring about 15 more on behalf of thousands of fired probationary federal workers, said Christopher Bonk, a partner at Gilbert Employment Law. While multiple lawsuits have been filed in federal court against Trump’s administration over the mass terminations, the appeals announced Thursday are taking legal actions to a federal board that is an independent agency. The board is responsible for protecting federal government employees from political reprisals or retaliation for whistleblowing.

Mortgage rates have declined but could stay at a level that makes it tough to afford a home

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mortgage rates eased this week for the seventh week in a row, a trend that gives prospective home shoppers more financial flexibility just as the spring homebuying season gets going. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. fell to 6.63% from 6.76% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 6.88%. But the same factors that have pulled mortgage rates to their lowest level since December — signs that the U.S. economy is slowing and uncertainty over the potential fallout from the Trump administration’s tariffs on imports — are clouding the outlook for where mortgage rates will go from here.