Home foreclosures in the U.S. are up 26% from last year as inflation rates and rising costs are catching up with homeowners.

Indiana was hit hardest and logged one foreclosure filing for every 739 housing units in the first quarter of 2026, according to findings from property data firm ATTOM. This is nearly two-thirds higher than the nationwide rate of one in every 1,211 house facing foreclosure in that same period.

The latest data released in April shows that red states are being hit the hardest by the sweeping affordability crisis — and with the 2026 midterm elections approaching, economic woes are at the top of mind for many voters and policymakers.

WHITE HOUSE TEASES MAJOR HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PLAN AS PRICES SQUEEZE AMERICANS

The top three states with the worst foreclosure rates at the start of 2026 all voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. South Carolina came in second behind Indiana with one in every 743 properties with foreclosure filings in the first quarter of the year, and Florida was in third with one in every 750 housing units facing the same fate.

While foreclosure activity is on the rise across the U.S., it remains well below levels seen during the 2008 housing crisis. But that isn't stopping Democrats from pouncing on the issue, and using affordability, inflation and rising housing costs as their candidates' leading messaging ahead of the November elections.

A total of 118,727 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2026, up 6% from the previous quarter and 26% from a year ago.

Foreclosure filings came in for 45,921 properties for March alone, increasing 18% from February and 28% from March of last year.

THE PRICE OF BUILDING A HOME KEEPS CLIMBING — AND UNCERTAINTY ISN’T HELPING

Looking more closely at the data, more homes are entering the foreclosure process, a potential sign of future distress. A total of 82,631 properties started foreclosure processes in the first quarter of 2026, up 20% from the year prior, while lenders repossessed 14,020 properties, marking a 45% annual increase.

Blue states like Delaware and Illinois are also facing high foreclosure rates — showcasing that the issue crosses party lines. Among major metro areas, cities like Cleveland, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Indianapolis, Indiana ranked among the highest for foreclosure rates.

The revelation of spiking foreclosure rates comes as the U.S. grapples with a slew of housing challenges that have helped contribute to today’s crisis. 

Against that backdrop, experts say rising mortgage rates, higher living costs and other homeownership expenses are putting increasing pressure on some homeowners, pushing up monthly payments and making it harder to keep up with housing costs.

THE TOP 3 REASONS HOUSING HAS BECOME SO UNAFFORDABLE IN THE US MARKET

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.37% for the week ending May 7, up from 5.98% in late February.

Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, said that while foreclosure levels remain below those seen during the housing crisis, the recent uptick suggests more homeowners may be coming under financial strain.

Taken together, the data points to a housing market that remains stable overall, even as affordability challenges persist for some homeowners.

A prominent criminal profiler is warning that a suspected budding serial killer in Texas has allegedly started years earlier than expected and fears there may be more victims due to a six-year gap between murder charges.

Luis Benitez-Gonzalez, a 26-year-old previously deported Mexican national, is accused of strangling two women in the area of Austin, Texas, in 2018 and 2024.

Police announced his arrest earlier this week after two more women survived shootings in 2025, including one who fought back and police say swiped her attacker's cellphone.

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"The rub for me...is that he is accused of killing Alba Jenisse Aviles-Marti when he was only about 18 years old," said John Kelly, a criminal profiler who had been following the case since before Austin police and the U.S. Marshals announced an arrest. "We worked hard looking for this guy, because we believed there was a serial killer in this area. Little did we expect a budding serial killer who allegedly started killing at 18."

Historically, most serial killers are older when they evolve into murderers, he said.

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"This is extremely rare, as serial killers usually start killing between 23 to 35 years old," the STALK Inc. founder told Fox News Digital. "We usually never find out who the first victims really were. I just wonder how many this guy has killed with his homicidal anger towards women over the years?"

Investigators working the case are asking the same question.

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"We believe that there is a strong likelihood that Benitez is responsible for further acts of extreme violence," said Chris Anderson, a homicide detective with the Austin Police Department.

He said police are already looking into more cases for potential connections.

He is urging anyone with additional information on Benitez-Gonzalez to contact the Austin Police Homicide unit at 512-974-8477 or Capital Area Crime Stoppers at 512-472-8477.

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The suspect, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who voluntarily self-deported in 2020 before reentering the country at an unknown time, is believed to have ties to Austin, Houston, Dallas and Hidalgo County.

WATCH: Texas authorities say illegal migrant charged in 2 murders, 2 shootings and more victims possible

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WANTED FOR BRUTAL BATHTUB MURDER ARRESTED IN TEXAS AFTER CROSSING SOUTHERN BORDER AGAIN

Authorities announced charges against him Tuesday in connection with the murders of Aviles-Marti and Alyssa Ann Rivera, whose remains were found just three miles away in 2024.

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Anderson said that it's suspicious that there's a six-year gap between the slayings and that evidence shows an alleged "repeated pattern of violence conducted against vulnerable female victims."

"He has a 2018 case, and he has a 2024 case," Anderson said. "People who commit crimes of this nature, with the very distinct MO, they usually don't take a break.

Benitez-Gonzalez is also accused of shooting two more women in Austin in November and December 2025. Both of them survived, which helped authorities catch Benitez-Gonzalez.

He allegedly claimed self-defense in all four cases, but authorities said they don't believe him. He has not yet entered a plea.

A maritime law expert says that federal authorities could bring charges in the Bahamas disappearance of Lynette Hooker even if they never find her body.

Images taken by Fox News Digital on Tuesday show crime tape around portions of Lynette and Brian Hooker's sailboat, Soulmate, as it's docked at the U.S. Coast Guard's station in Fort Pierce, Florida, after a source said it was seized over the weekend.

The source said investigators were processing evidence onboard the sailboat on Tuesday, which appears to have continued on Wednesday.

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Brian Hooker initially told Bahamian officials that his wife fell off a dinghy after leaving shore at Hope Town at around 7:30 p.m. on April 4, saying that Lynette fell off with the ignition key. Local authorities said that he arrived at a marina at Marsh Harbour at around 4 a.m. on April 5 after paddling to shore, roughly eight hours after his wife went overboard. Despite a weekslong search, authorities haven't been able to locate Lynette Hooker.

COAST GUARD SEIZES BRIAN HOOKER'S SAILBOAT AS IT LEAVES BAHAMAS AFTER WIFE’S DISAPPEARANCE: REPORT

Brian Hooker hasn't been charged with a crime. The Coast Guard Investigative Service is probing Lynette Hooker's disappearance.

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Kenneth Engerrand, an adjunct professor of maritime law at the University of Houston Law Center and shareholder in the Brown Sims law firm, told Fox News Digital that even if investigators aren't able to find Lynette Hooker's body, the Coast Guard's investigation could still result in criminal charges.

"They can't file charges without substantial evidence, but that's why they're on the boat. They're looking for evidence. And what will have to happen is the Coast Guard can develop the evidence that's necessary in conjunction with the U.S. attorney in Florida," he said. "Sometimes it takes more effort to develop evidence, and this is the case where that's the situation because you don't have the body."

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"That's a much more difficult process without the body, but it's not impossible to do," Engerrand said.

Engerrand said that Coast Guard investigators didn't need a warrant to search Brian and Lynette Hooker's sailboat since it's American-flagged.

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"They have a specific federal statute for that, and the courts have upheld that, with just a few limitations and so the Coast Guard can conduct a complete investigation with respect to the boat and activity that occurred on the boat under that statute that's valid until they get to the point where they are doing a focused criminal investigation. They don't need a warrant for any of that and once they get to the point of focusing on him, all they need is reasonable suspicion," he said. "They don't even have to have a warrant then to do investigation in connection with activity on a vessel that is an American flagged vessel."

DAUGHTER OF MISSING AMERICAN IN BAHAMAS SAYS BRIAN HOOKER USING MOTHER'S ILLNESS AS 'EXCUSE' TO LEAVE COUNTRY

Brian Hooker was detained for five days by Bahamian police after his wife disappeared, but wasn't charged. His Michigan-based attorney previously asked Americans to give him the benefit of the doubt.

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"I would ask those watching to treat him the way you would want to be treated, to give him the benefit of the doubt, and to consider that not all of us, nor you, considering your own relationships, the way you speak to one another, we all handle things in different ways," Crystal Marie Hauser said.

Brian Hooker left the island for the U.S. to tend to his "very ill" mother, his Bahamian attorney previously said.

After Lynette Hooker went missing, Brian said in a Facebook post that he was "heartbroken."

"I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas," he wrote. "Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus."

President Trump is heading to China this week, and one person watching closely is Claire Lai, the daughter of Jimmy Lai. Her father is a Hong Kong businessman, media mogul and faithful Catholic who has been imprisoned and sentenced to 20 years by the Communist regime for being an outspoken critic of the Chinese government.

More than 100 U.S. lawmakers have sent President Trump a letter urging him to address Lai’s case with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he meets with China’s leader. Claire, on the other hand, has a few words for Xi herself.

"If my father dies behind bars, he will die a martyr. And that is not something that China wants."

That her father may die in prison is a possibility Claire has come to terms with. Her father, the 78-year-old billionaire businessman Jimmy Lai, a faithful Catholic and political prisoner, was sentenced by a Beijing-backed Hong Kong court in February, consigned to spend what will be the rest of his natural life behind bars.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY: RELEASE MY FATHER JIMMY LAI, WHO PUBLISHED WHAT CHINA'S LEADERS DID NOT WANT TO HEAR

He was found guilty in December of sedition and conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces. His sentence is the longest handed down under China's new national security law. It’s a statute many experts believe was created for the sole purpose of silencing Lai, one of the communist country's most ardent critics.

Claire was not able to attend the sentencing. "I was heartbroken," she says. "It was the first time that he had been sentenced where I wasn't in Hong Kong with him. ... It was a hard pill to swallow." But she was strengthened by the letter she received from him, in which "he expressed that he was in our Lord's good hands and regardless of the outcome, that doesn't change."

The court's ruling ignited an outpouring of negative reactions from across the globe from those deeply concerned with religious freedom and freedom of speech. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the sentencing "an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case."

RUBIO BLASTS CHINA OVER 'UNJUST AND TRAGIC' 20-YEAR SENTENCE FOR HONG KONG DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST JIMMY LAI

The United Kingdom's government also condemned the sentence of its British citizen, calling it "a death sentence" for the frail Lai, who suffers from diabetes and a host of other medical conditions as he's kept in solitary confinement.

Canada's foreign affairs minister called the sentencing a "politically motivated prosecution" and demanded Lai's release on humanitarian grounds.

But it is Lai's faith in Jesus Christ, in a God whose power is made perfect in weakness, that keeps his frail body going, says Claire, 29, an attorney and now her father's outspoken advocate, pleading for his release. One of those she is pleading with is President Donald Trump.

MORNING GLORY: WILL XI FREE LAI?

This week, Trump will head to China and meet with Xi. Claire, who was invited by House Speaker Mike Johnson to the State of the Union address in February, is hoping the president will raise her father's plight with Xi. Says Claire, "We're so extremely grateful to President Trump and his administration. ... We do hope that a solution will be a bit closer to a diplomatic solution."

In a subtle yet decisive warning, Claire Lai, speaking on my "Lighthouse Faith" podcast, said, "It is absolutely in China's interest to release my father. I mean, they are at risk of having a martyr behind bars."

What she means is that, by keeping her father in prison until he dies, China may accomplish the exact opposite of what it intends. Instead of silencing critics, Beijing may embolden them through Lai's example of faith in the midst of dire persecution.

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: THE WAR ON CHRISTIANS IS REAL AND THE WORLD CAN NO LONGER STAY SILENT

Christianity has grown exponentially for centuries, founded on the blood of the martyrs. For 2,000 years, those who follow Jesus, the suffering servant who died unjustly at the hands of Roman rulers, have learned to obey God rather than earthly leaders. Their eyes are fixed on eternity and a God who is Lord over history.

Leaders throughout the centuries who thought, like China, that they could stop Christianity's spread by killing its followers have learned the hard way that, as Jesus told the apostle Peter, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against my church."

Jimmy Lai's story is one of amazing success. He escaped China on a fishing boat and arrived in Hong Kong, still under British rule, at the age of 12. He worked his way up to becoming a media mogul and billionaire businessman. When Claire was born, he converted to Catholicism and never wavered in his faith.

JIMMY LAI IS RISKING EVERYTHING FOR DEMOCRACY. WE CAN'T IGNORE WHAT CHINA IS DOING

Says Claire, "At the time of him converting, it was a time when, during the handover, many people in Hong Kong had hearts filled with fear and doubt. I think he learned then that the only thing that could conquer it was God's love."

For more than 150 years, Hong Kong was a British colony. It became a prosperous, cosmopolitan and democratic dynamo, with 7.5 million people living in a little less than 700 square miles. But in 1997, the handover gave Hong Kong back to China. At the time, its leaders vowed that things in the former colony wouldn't change. But they lied.

Things did change. Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China. Freedom of speech, religious expression and democracy were all whittled away. But Jimmy Lai kept speaking out against the communist regime, using his media empire, his Apple Daily newspaper and other outlets to do so. Then, in 2020, the government countered with the national security law, a vague, undefined law used to crack down on anyone deemed to be a dissident and to arrest, charge and convict people like Jimmy Lai and others with similar views.

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Just a few months ago, in March, it was reported that the owner and three employees of one of Hong Kong's last independent bookshops were arrested. Books were seized, including all copies of Jimmy Lai's biography. The bookstore closed. They were arrested, reportedly, for "knowingly selling seditious publications."

Ultimately, Jimmy Lai's fate is in the hands of God, despite the political maneuvers of secular regimes and power brokers. That is why Jimmy Lai prays. He prays for the prison guards, for people who are sick, for those who are imprisoned, for those who are not in prison and for those who are praying for him. And despite his weakened condition, he fasts.

Says Claire, "He fasts every Friday, and fasting is not easy on a man like him. He shivers when he does, and the guards put the food in front of him and ... he just sits. So, he just sits with his hunger, and he looks at the crucifix that he draws, and he tells himself that his shivering and his suffering is nothing compared to what our Savior suffered for us sinners."

China, take note. What power do you really have over a man like that?

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LeBron James said Monday night his future in the NBA remains unclear and he’s yet to decide to return to the floor for what would be his 24th season in the league.

James, 41, talked about his future following the Los Angeles Lakers' playoff exit in a Game 4 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He said he hasn’t ruled out retirement or a return to the Lakers, but said nothing about possibly joining a different team for the 2026-27 season.

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"I don’t know what the future holds for me, obviously, as it stands right now tonight," James said. "I’ve got a lot of time now. I think I said it last year after we lost to Minnesota. I’ll go back and recalibrate with my family and talk with them and spend some time with them, and then obviously when the time comes, you guys will know what I decide to do."

The Thunder dispatched the Lakers in four games with a 115-110 victory. The team had been without Luka Doncic, a key piece to the team’s solid season. He missed the entire playoffs with a hamstring injury.

James led Los Angeles to a first-round upset over the Houston Texans before running into the defending NBA champions in the second round.

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"It’s amazing what he’s doing out there at this age," Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's very impressive. It's hard to put it to words. He's not very old in the grand scheme of life, but for the NBA, he's pretty old, and he doesn't seem like it out there. He was a force. He was the top of the scouting report all series. His size gave us issues at times. He was impressive out there. I'm not sure we'll see anything like that again, his longevity and his greatness."

He said he will discuss his future with his family over a few glasses of wine.

"Nobody has any idea what the future holds, and I don’t either," James said. "I’ll take time to recalibrate and look over the season and see what’s best for my future, and when I get to that point, everyone will know."

James, a 22-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion, is the all-time leader in points scored, games played and field goals attempted.

He averaged 20.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games played this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson spoke out about Victor Wembanyama’s ejection from the team’s Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.

Wembanyama was tossed after he swung his elbow and hit Timberwolves center Naz Reid in the face in the second quarter. It was the first ejection of his career.

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Johnson said he was "glad" that Wembanyama "took matters into his own hands," but added that he was concerned about the level of physicality that Wembanyama gets during games.

"Just the amount of physicality that people play with him, at some level, you have to protect yourself," he continued, via ESPN. "Every single play on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose their physicality on you. He's gotten pushed down in transition, running freely. We don't complain because we're just going to play. We don't really give a s---. But at some stage, he should be protected. If not, he's going to have to protect himself, and unfortunately, stuff like that happens.

"It's starting to get disgusting in terms of when he tries to fight through things, be professional and mature and deal with some of that stuff. I'm glad he took matters into his own hands. Not in terms of hitting Naz Reid, but he's going to have to protect himself if they're not. And I think it's disgusting."

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The incident occurred as Wembanyama was swarmed by Reid and Jaden McDaniels after he grabbed an offensive rebound. Both T’Wolves players tried to jar the ball loose.

McDaniels tugged on Wembanyama’s left arm. The 7-foot-4 phenom then flailed his right arm back and struck Reid in the neck.

Wembanyama was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul, triggering an automatic ejection.

Johnson dismissed any notion that Wembanyama would be suspended for Game 5.

"There was zero intent," he said. "I think it would be ridiculous."

Minnesota’s win tied the series at 2-2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The American Culture Quiz is a weekly test of our unique national traits, trends, history and people — including current events and the sights and sounds of the United States.

This week's quiz highlights party pours, Hollywood hurdles — and a whole lot more.

Can you get all 8 questions right?

Give it a try and see how you do!

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