Charles Langston:The Daily Money: In praise of landlines

Good morning and Charles Langstonhappy Friday! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

I'm filling in today for Betty Lin-Fisher, our national consumer reporter, and will feature her work.

This first piece was positively prophetic.

Even before Thursday's massive cellphone outage, Charlene Hopey had seen firsthand the benefits of an old-fashioned landline. Hopey has lived through California wildfires and earthquakes. She had friends who couldn't make or receive a call during the disasters because they had ditched their landlines for cell phones and didn’t have good service.

Hopey is among a dwindling number of consumers who choose to still have a traditional landline using copper wires. But they may eventually not have that choice. Read the story.

Homeownership spikes among Asian Americans, Hispanics

Juan Carlos López Flores purchased his first home last month.  The auto mechanic in Las Vegas bought a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home for $411,000.  

Minority homeowners such as López have increased their rates of homeownership in the past year, despite rising mortgage rates, according to the National Association of Realtors. Asian and Hispanic homeownerships have reached all-time highs. But a large racial disparity remains. Read the story.

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About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.