• Rent growth has been accelerating in recent months, though prices are still in check.
• Apartment affordability could get stretched during a seasonally busy spring.
• Here are a dozen large US cities where rent is becoming more affordable.

Tenants should be on guard, as a brief winter slowdown in the rental market may end soon.

Rent growth rose on a year-over-year basis at the fastest pace in over 12 months in February, according to fresh rental data from listings site Zumper. One-bedroom fixtures were 2.9% more expensive than last year at $1,525, and two-bedroom units surged 3.7% to $1,905. Last month, rent increased by 2.5% and 3.2%, respectively, compared to the start of 2024.

That swifter growth "is a nod to how much demand there is across the country, even at a time of record-high supply," said Zumper's Crystal Chen, who authored the report, in a message to Business Insider. Her firm said last summer that new apartment supply had hit a 50-year high.

Curiously, apartments were actually slightly cheaper this month than in January, when the median rate for one-bedroom setups was $1,534. The same was true last year, as going rates for one-bedroom apartments fell from $1,496 last January to $1,482 in February 2024.

But renters shouldn't count on more affordable apartments — in fact, the opposite may be true.

Back-to-back years of rent sliding from January to February could simply mean that more leases end in the first month of the year. A smaller pool of tenants deciding to move or re-up could translate to softer rental demand, which would temporarily cause apartment prices to pull back.

However, that relief likely won't last long, as price growth resumed in March before taking off in the late spring and early summer. Either way, the difference in median rents at the national level was just a few dollars in either direction, which is unlikely to be a major tipping point.

"Rents staying pretty flat on a monthly basis is pretty on trend with this time of year," Chen told BI. "Winter months see lower rental demand, so even as some leases end, limited competition keeps prices relatively stable until the busier spring and summer seasons."

12 top cities for deal-minded renters

Apartment prices in the 100 largest US cities that Zumper tracks each month foreshadow what's ahead for shelter inflation, which rose at the slowest rate in three years in January. But Zumper researchers are wary of leaning on lagging indicators more than their proprietary price data.

"Although shelter inflation has eased in recent months, its lagging nature — due to the way it's calculated — means the full impact has yet to be realized," said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades in a statement for the report. He added: "The annual rent increases seen in our most recent data are likely to be reflected in CPI metrics over the coming months."

More than two-thirds of the biggest US rental markets experienced rent increases in February, up from just under that mark in January. Price hikes were most prevalent in regions with fewer available apartments, like the Northeast and Midwest, Chen remarked.

Conversely, higher-inventory cities in the once-trendy Sun Belt region saw some of the largest drops, though those declines were tempered relative to early 2024.

Business Insider analyzed Zumper's latest rental data and found a dozen cities where rent for one-bedroom apartments is both below the national median of $1,525 and down more than 1% from February 2024. Below are those 12 cities, along with their median rent, year-over-year and month-over-month rent changes, and the cost savings for renters versus the national median.

"We are primarily interested in understanding the essence of President Trump's new line," a former Russian envoy told Newsweek.

One legal analyst believes that there will be "chaos" in the federal courts.

The Duchess of Sussex danced and hugged a crew member from her "With Love, Meghan" cooking show in a newly released video.

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Hackman, 95, was known for his iconic roles in "The French Connection" and "Superman."

Despite his hospitalization, the pope has maintained a degree of governance and authorized the appointment of four new bishops.

• Gene Hackman, 95, has died, a Santa Fe Sheriff confirmed on Thursday morning.
• Betsy Arakawa, his wife, was also found dead at their home, alongside the couple's dog.
• The authorities said they do not suspect foul play.

Gene Hackman has died at 95.

The Santa Fe Sheriff, Adan Mendoza, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that the Oscar-winning actor died on Wednesday at his New Mexico home alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog.

He said there was no indication of foul play.

Mendoza added: "All I can say is that we're in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant. I want to assure the community and neighborhood that there's no immediate danger to anyone."

The Santa Fe Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Hackman is survived by his three children from his first marriage to Faye Maltese.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as more details emerge.

Hackman had his big break in 'Bonnie and Clyde'

Hackman played a wide range of roles over his four-decade career, making him beloved by audiences and peers alike.

His breakout part was in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde," where he played the older brother of the gangster Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) for which he received an Oscar nomination. He became a leading man as the hard-nosed detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in 1971's "The French Connection," which earned him an Oscar.

He spent the 1970s working on movies that would become classics, such as "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Conversation." At the end of the decade, he played Lex Luthor in "Superman" (a role he reprised in "Superman II" and "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace).

The 1980s saw Hackman's star soar with movies like "Hoosiers" and "Mississippi Burning" (earning him another Oscar nomination). He started the 1990s with another Oscar win, this time for 1992's Clint Eastwood-directed Western "Unforgiven." As the decade went on he did some of his best work with "The Firm, "The Quick and the Dead," "Crimson Tide," "Get Story," and "The Birdcage."

As the 2000s came around it seemed Hackman wasn't going to slow down in his 70s. He starred in wide-ranging projects: playing a football head coach in "The Replacements," being part of an ensemble cast in Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums," and outwitting everyone in the clever "Heist."

But Hackman actor had other ideas.

After starring in 2004's "Welcome to Mooseport" he abruptly retired from acting.

Hackman, who wrote the 1999 novel "Wake of the Perdido Star," focused more on his writing during this period. He wrote four more books, the last of which was the police thriller "Pursuit," in 2013.

Hackman was a Marine before he started acting

Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California. He moved frequently as a kid and by the time he started high school his family had set roots in Iowa. At 16, he enlisted in the Marines and served four and a half years as a field radio operator in the late 1940s. He was discharged in 1951 and, after toying with a career in media by studying journalism and television production at the University of Illinois with the help of the GI Bill, Hackman moved back to California.

Hackman's acting career began in the 1960s at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. There, he befriended fellow aspiring actor Dustin Hoffman, and the two hit it off as they tried to navigate their careers.

The pair moved to New York City to try to make it big and soon befriended another California actor with the same goal: Robert Duvall.

Alongside off-Broadway plays, Hackman found work with small TV parts. In 1964, he got a part in the movie, "Lilith," starring Warren Beatty, leading to his big break with "Bonnie and Clyde."

From then, Hackman would become and all-time great thanks to his passionate performances and ability to play gruff everyman characters, but with a charming quality whenever he flashed that smile or gave that crackling laugh.

Hackman never returned to acting

Hackman's status as a legend only grew after his retirement, as one of few icons able to walk away and stay away from the business.

In one of his final interviews, in 2011, GQ asked him if he'd ever do another more movie:

"I don't know," he said. "If I could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people."

Correction: February 27, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated the circumstances of Gene Hackman's death. The Santa Fe New Mexican cited Sheriff Adan Mendoza as saying Hackman, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were found dead Wednesday afternoon, not that they died Thursday. Mendoza was said to have confirmed their deaths Thursday.

• House Republicans passed a budget plan that could include big cuts to Medicaid.
• Medicaid covers over 72 million Americans, with significant reliance in states like California.
• Mike Johnson said Republicans are focused on "rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse" within Medicaid.

Congressional Republicans are hotly debating their budget plans, and Medicaid cuts may be on the table. It could affect Americans across the country.

The committee that oversees Medicaid's budget aims to cut $880 billion over a decade as part of the House's narrowly passed budget outline. The math points to those cuts including Medicaid, since it and Medicare —which the Trump administration said it would not cut — make up the overwhelming majority of that committee's budget.

In states such as New Mexico, California, and New York, over a third of residents receive Medicaid, per a Business Insider analysis of Medicaid enrollment data from October 2024 and Census Bureau population estimates from July 2024. The analysis found that about 23.3% of all Americans receive Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, which is for children in families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid.

This map shows the percentage of each state's residents who received coverage for Medicaid or CHIP.

Areas with higher percentages of Medicaid recipients included the West, Southwest, and Northeast, while parts of the Midwest and South relied less on Medicaid. Utah was least reliant at 9.7%, followed by Wyoming at 10.8%.

As of October, Medicaid provides health and long-term care coverage to over 72 million Americans of all ages, predominantly those with low incomes and few other resources. Another 7.2 million children under age 18 receive payments from CHIP. Medicaid is financed by federal and state governments.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has argued that the budget plan doesn't explicitly call for Medicaid cuts.

Over the last few months, some Republican leaders have proposed per-capita caps on Medicaid, which would fix federal funding amounts per enrollee. A House Budget Committee proposal estimated this move could save up to $900 billion. Others have backed a proposal to install a Medicaid work requirement.

Tuesday's House vote is only the first step in a long process. Senate Republicans have competing plans, which, unlike the House's proposal, do not include an extension of Trump's 2017 tax law or new proposals like ending taxes on tips. Both sides will need to reconcile their blueprints before they can move forward.

Most states have expanded their Medicaid coverage for those making under a given income threshold — for individuals, about $21,600 a year — an expansion included in the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Before the vote, Johnson said Republicans are focused on "rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse" within Medicaid. On Tuesday, he declined to tell reporters that House Republicans would not cut the program, arguing that making sure "illegal aliens" are not receiving Medicaid and eliminating other unspecified fraud will help the GOP save money.

"Medicaid is hugely problematic because it has a lot of fraud, waste, and abuse," Johnson told reporters at the Capitol.

People in the US illegally are not eligible for Medicaid. Hospitals can be reimbursed for emergency care if a patient, regardless of their immigration status, is otherwise eligible for Medicaid. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, $27 billion total was spent on emergency Medicaid for non-citizens from fiscal year 2017 through 2023.

Do you have a story to share about Medicaid? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at nshei0227.30. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Kevin Hartz, an early Uber angel investor, directed his VC firm A Star Capital to take Waymos only.
• Hartz told BI that he believes Waymo is the "least expensive option."
• A former investor at A Star roughly estimated spending about $10K on Waymos in the past year.

Kevin Hartz, an early Uber angel investor and cofounder of Eventbrite, directed his San Francisco-based venture capital firm, A Star Capital, to only take Waymo robotaxis in the city because he believes they provide the best value.

"Waymo is now required in SF as it is always substantially lower price and often faster," Hartz wrote in an email to his firm of 10 employees on January 16, which was shared on X.

The VC head wrote that a ride in an Uber "Green," the sustainable ride option offered on the platform, was $50 to his destination in San Francisco, whereas a ride back with a Waymo, which only operates Jaguar I-PACE electric vehicles, was $19.

Hartz told Business Insider over the phone that his email was indeed a serious mandate given that employees get their rideshare costs comped by the firm.

"Waymo is simply a better value," he said, adding that he believes "it's the safest and the fastest when you think about its ability to calculate the most efficient route."

Employees can substitute Waymo with another rideshare platform if wait times are too long and would make firm employees late to the office, Hartz wrote in the email.

Since Waymo began offering rides to the SF public in June, the Alphabet-owned company has chipped away at the rideshare market in the city that was once solely dominated by Uber and Lyft.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during the third-quarter earnings call in October that the company puts Waymo's market share within its limited operating areas of SF at "high single-digits or low double digits." He did not state an exact figure.

Waymo said in a press release that it averages 150,000 rides per week throughout its operating cities. The robotaxi company does not offer rides on San Francisco's highways or to the airport.

A Waymo spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a study conducted last year by Evercore ISI, comparing 1,000 trips across the Waymo, Uber, and Lyft platforms, analysts found that Waymo's pricing has become increasingly competitive in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The average cost of a Waymo ride for that quarter was $21.91, compared to $21.34 for an UberX — the basic level of service the rideshare platform offers — and $22.36 for a Lyft. Prices for Uber and Lyft exclude tips to drivers, Evercore analysts wrote in their report.

An Uber spokesperson declined to comment. Lyft did not respond to a request for comment.

Hartz said he was an early believer in Uber, participating in the company's series B funding round in 2011 at a $300-million valuation. He declined to disclose a figure.

His experience in Waymo has made him a convert, pointing to the privacy the robotaxi offers.

"It's a quiet place where you can kind of reflect," he said.

Khushi Suri, an ex-investor at A Star, had already embraced Hartz's Waymo-only directive long before he shared his January mandate.

As of February 20, Suri took 547 rides, traveled 1,680 miles, and spent 10,005 minutes inside a Waymo, she told BI. She roughly estimated spending $10,000 on Waymo rides in the past year.

"I remember the way there, I was enchanted," Suri told BI of her first Waymo ride. "But on the ride back, I forgot. It's just so natural."

Suri said she was a heavy Uber user, but "resented it." She said the privacy of a Waymo allows her to feel comfortable when she and her friends are going out and dressed for clubbing.

"With Waymo, there's no walk of shame," she said. "It's very intimate."

Uber and Lyft had originally pursued an in-house autonomous vehicle program before selling them off in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Both rideshare platforms are pursuing partnerships with other autonomous vehicle companies to offer a robotaxi service, leveraging its existing user base.

Uber plans to deepen its existing partnership with the Alphabet-owned company by managing a Waymo fleet in Austin and Atlanta sometime in 2025. The company already offers Waymos in Phoenix.

"I wasn't very happy that Uber had discontinued their self-driving program," Hartz said. "I'm glad that they're partnering there."

"I was scrolling through my emails, and it said my Twitter account had been flagged for inappropriate … I don't even tweet anymore," Burr said.

Pyongyang will provide more troops to Russia, who will be deployed to the Kursk region, according to South Korea's intelligence agency.

"It's a bit intimidating but they won't actually bite," Australian man Deano told Newsweek.

The release dates for Civilization 7's first two-part expansion have leaked on the eShop.

The visit comes as the U.S. is assisting Australia in acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Rafael Fiziev has agreed to step in to face Justin Gaethje in a rematch on less than two weeks' notice at UFC 313 on March 8.

The two-time Oscar winner and his wife Betsy Arakawa, a former classical pianist, were found dead Wednesday, along with their dog.

After calling for the fight following his win at UFC Seattle, Jean Silva will now face Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami.

Bangladesh and Pakistan will meet in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy on Thursday at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.