DELEITURAS

The mayor of city in Poland died Monday hours after suffering stab wounds to his heart and stomach, CNN reported.

Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz was rushed to a hospital after a man rushed onstage of a charity event with a knife, allegedly stabbing the mayor. The suspect served time in prison for bank robbery. He blamed the mayor’s politics for his conviction.

WATCH:

The attack came in the final moments of the Sunday event while the mayor was thanking everyone who volunteered and donated to raise funds to purchase medical equipment for a children’s hospital. The suspect rushed on stage as the crowd cheered and fireworks erupted from tubes onstage.

The attack came in front of a crowd of hundreds of people and children. The mayor was rushed to a nearby hospital where he underwent five hours of surgery as doctors attempted to save his life. Gdansk residents lined up outside the hospital to donate blood. Despite the coordinated effort to save him, Adamowicz died early Monday, Sky News reported.

Poland Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski called the attack “an act of inexplicable barbarism.” Polish President Andrzej Duda will attend Adamowicz’s funeral in Warsaw Monday night.

Some in Poland are using the mayor’s death to make a statement about toxic rhetoric in Polish politics. Marches and protests took place Monday night over Adamowicz’s death. Adamowicz was a progressive public official often at odds with the country’s right-wing national government, according to CNN.

Major alliances have formed in opposition to H.R. 1, the first legislative effort of the Democratic Congress, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Known as the “For The People Act,” House debate began today for H.R. 1. The bill contains changes to campaign finance, lobbying, ethics and voting regulations. It is expected to go to vote Friday.

The ACLU took issue with several of the bill’s provisions by letter March 1 to the House Rules Committee, citing concerns “with the provisions that unconstitutionally infringe the freedoms of speech and association.” Specifically, officials oppose the bill’s DISCLOSE Act section, which would “mandate disclosure of the names and addresses of donors who gave $10,000 or more to organizations that engage in ‘campaign-related disbursements,’ which includes electioneering communications and independent expenditures.”

Signed by the ACLU’s National Political Director Ronald Newman, the letter argued the disclosure rules “would chill the speech of issue advocacy groups and non-profits such as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, or the NRA that is essential to our public discourse and protected by the First Amendment.”

In addition to the ACLU, Trump and McConnell, the bill has attracted more than 300 groups against its passage, including the Chamber of Commerce, state election boards and various conservative-learning organizations, according to Roll Call.

Republicans in the chamber criticized the measure as a massive overreach, including the ranking member of the Rules Committee, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, who referred to the bill as the “For The Politicians Act, or Welfare For Politicians Act.”

Cole highlighted the GOP’s primary issues with the measure, claiming it “takes taxpayer dollars and uses them to create a special piggy bank for campaigns,” erode state authority by moving election management to the Federal government, and limit freedom of speech by imposing aggressive disclosure requirements.

McConnell has vigorously opposed the measure from its inception, detailing his arguments in a recent Washington Post editorial. He has repeatedly said he will not bring the bill to the Senate floor. As a last resort, the White House has also threatened to veto the measure.

Left-wing activist group Women’s March on Tuesday used last Friday’s terrorist attack on a New Zealand mosque that killed 50 people to solicit donations from supporters.

Women’s March sent out a fundraising email from co-chair Linda Sarsour, who asked supporters to “give the gift of justice” by donating to the activist organization she leads.

Sarsour’s email noted that Tuesday was her 39th birthday, “the age Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was when he was assassinated.”

Sarsour said that “51 of my fellow Muslims were murdered in New Zealand as they prayed, killed for just being who they are,” misstating the number of dead, before going on to ask for donations to combat anti-Muslim sentiment.

“Will you donate $10 this month so that we can continue to stand up boldly against Islamophobia and be ready to show up for our neighbors in times of need?” Sarsour asked in the email.

“The same ideology that inspired the Christchurch shooters inspired the Pittsburgh shooter. They were inspired and radicalized by the xenophobic and hateful rhetoric of Trump and his administration,” Sarsour claimed. “Trump has declined to address whether he recognizes the rise in white nationalism that is clear for the eye to see.”

“We see things differently. I want to forge a new way. We’re building a community out of fierce love for ourselves and each other and rejecting the politics of hate and divisiveness. Our children depend on it. Our country depends on it,” she continued.

Sarsour then asked supporters to “give the gift of justice” by donating to Women’s March.

Women’s March did not return an email seeking comment on the fundraising email.

Want to learn how to cook a steak perfectly each time? Look no further. Youtuber Babish shows just how to do it with skirt steak and ribeyes.

I have used the flank steak method with london broil/flat iron steaks and had amazing results. The bias cut across the grain is critical to achieving a tender result.

For his ribeye, Babish demonstrates a method common in chop houses – the reverse-sear. I haven’t toyed with this yet, but as winter rolls in, I will be giving it a shot soon!

Among the many lies being repeated by the Left in defense of Obama’s plan to further deeply cut America’s nuclear deterrent is the blatant lie that America can safely afford to continue cutting its deterrent indefinitely and could maintain deterrence even with a significantly reduced arsenal. Obama made that blatant lie himself during his infamous June 19th speech in Berlin, and the White House trots out that lie in its pseudo-“fact sheet” about Obama’s plan.

But they’re blatantly lying. America’s nuclear deterrent is already barely adequate (as well as old and in need of modernization). It cannot be cut indefinitely. In fact, it cannot be safely cut any further.

Here’s why.

To provide credible nuclear deterrence, you need to:

1) Be able to threaten the vast majority of all of your adversaries’ military, economic, and other strategic assets with destruction (threatening only some, or half, or 55%, of them is woefully inadequate because the other half or 45% will survive), and to threaten all the assets of Russia or China you need THOUSANDS of warheads; and

2) A small nuclear arsenal would not be survivable – it would be easy for an enemy to destroy in a first strike. The smaller it is, the less survivable and easier to destroy in a first strike it is. A few submarines and a few bomber bases would be far easier to destroy in a surprising first strike than 14 submarines, several bomber bases, and 450 ICBMs in hardened siloes.

These two interrelated factors are extremely important because what determines your deterring ability – or the lack thereof – is how many warheads and delivery systems you have left after a possible enemy first strike. If you have a large number of these left to unleash a devastating second strike on your enemy, he won’t attack in the first place. But it has to be a large number – huge enough to devastate his entire country, economy, and military. This is a numbers game. Here, numbers reign supreme.

—————–

What are the nuclear capabilities of America’s potential adversaries? Who are the adversaries America must deter?

Russia has 2,800 strategic nuclear warheads (including 1,550 deployed) and up to 4,000 tactical warheads – and the means to deliver all 6,800 if need be.

Its 434 ICBMs can collectively deliver 1,684 warheads to the CONUS; its 14 ballistic missile submarines can deliver over 2,200 warheads to the CONUS (while sitting in their ports); and each of its 251 strategic bombers can carry up to 7 warheads (1 freefall bomb and 6 nuclear-tipped cruise missiles). Its Tu-95 bomber fleet alone can deliver over 1,700 warheads to the middle of America.

Russia’s strategic nuclear triad consists of:

• 251 intercontinental bombers (64 Tu-95s, 16 Tu-160s, 171 Tu-22Ms), each capable of carrying 6 nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and one free-fall nuclear bomb;
• 75 SS-18 Satan heavy ICBMs (up to 10 warheads and 38 penetration aids each);
• 136 SS-19 Stilletto ICBMs (up to 6 warheads each);
• 171 SS-25 Sickle single-warhead ICBMs;
• 75 SS-27 Stalin single-warhead ICBMs;
• 18 RS-24 Yars ICBMs (4 warheads each);
• 13 ballistic missile subs capable of carrying 16 SLBMs and one (the Dmitry Donskoi) capable of carrying 20 SLBMs; each sub-launched ballistic missile, in turn, can carry 4, 10, or 12 warheads depending on the type (R-29RMU Sinyeva, RSM-56 Bulava, or R-29RMU2 Liner, respectively). Russia has ordered hundreds of these SLBMs.

In total, Russia’s ICBM fleet alone – to say nothing of its submarine or bomber fleet – can deliver 1,684 warheads to the CONUS. Russia’s bomber fleet could deliver over 1,700.

In recent years, while the US has been steadily cutting its arsenal unilaterally under New START, Russia has been growing its own, as it is allowed to do under the treaty. Also, the document contains no restrictions whatsoever on road- and rail-mobile ICBMs, treats every bomber as if it were carrying a single nuclear warhead, and doesn’t limit Russian ICBMs’ carriage capacity or throw-weight – which are huge loopholes that Russia is only too eager to exploit.

Russia is now developing a rail-mobile ICBM as well as replacements for Russia’s older ICBMs: a heavy ICBM called “Son of Satan” (designed to replace the SS-18 Satan) and a mid-weight ICBM called the Rubezh to replace the SS-19 and SS-25, while continuing RS-24 Yars production. Meanwhile, the US has no plans to develop a road- or rail-mobile ICBM (although the USAF is considering the rail-mobile version), and development of the next-generation ICBM – the replacement for America’s aging Minuteman ICBMs – has been delayed by many years for political reasons.

Moscow is also developing and testing an IRBM, the Yars-M (AKA Rubezh), in violation of the INF treaty – showing that arms control treaties signed with Russia are worthless pieces of paper.

On top of that, Russia has a huge tactical nuclear arsenal – much larger than America’s. Estimates of its size vary, but various sources say it numbers up to 4,000 warheads (all deliverable) – much more than America’s ca. 500. These 4,000 warheads can be delivered by a wide range of systems, from short-range ballistic missiles, to theater strike aircraft, to bombers, to torpedoes and surface ships, to cruise missiles, to artillery pieces, because they come in various forms: nuclear bombs, torpedo warheads, depth charges, artillery shells, cruise missile warheads, etc.

China, like Russia, has a large nuclear arsenal – far larger than the 240 warheads American arms control advocates claim. In fact, China has at least 1,600, and up to 3,000, nuclear warheads, most of them hidden in the 3,000 miles of tunnels it has built for its arsenal. The two estimates come from Gen. Viktor Yesin (Russian ICBM force CoS, ret.), and Professor Philip Karber, the DOD’s chief nuclear strategist during the Cold War. The existence and length of these tunnels is a confirmed fact.

To deliver its warheads, China has:

• 36 DF-5 heavy ICBMs (up to 10 warheads each);
• at least 30, and likely far more, DF-31 ICBMs (3-4 warheads each);
• at least one DF-41 heavy ICBM (10 warheads);
• 20 DF-4 IRBMs (3 warheads each);
• 20 DF-3 single-warhead MRBMs;
• 100 DF-21 MRBMs;
• 500 DH-10, CJ-10, and Hongniao cruise missiles;
• 440 nuclear-capable aircraft (Q-5, JH-7, H-6) each with at least one warhead attributed to them (the H-6K bomber variant can carry several nuclear- or conventional-tipped cruise missiles as well);
• 1 Xia class SSBN with 12 single-warhead JL-1 missiles; and
• 5 Jin class SSBNs with 12-24 4-warhead JL-2 missiles, with a sixth under construction to replace the Xia class boat.

On top of that, China has between 1,100 and 1,600, and possibly more, short-range ballistic missiles, though it isn’t known how many of these are armed with nuclear warheads.

 

China, of course, stubbornly refuses to reveal anything about its nuclear arsenal, while falsely claiming it pursues a “minimum nuclear deterrent” policy, even though it is evident to everyone except the willfully blind it has thousands, not mere hundreds, of warheads.

Over a year ago, this writer, based on very conservative estimates of China’s missile stocks and their warhead carriage capacity, estimated China had 1,274 nuclear warheads. This was calculated as follows:

I started with the 440 aircraft-deliverable nuclear bombs owned by the PLAAF and attributed to its H-6, Q-5, and JH-7 aircraft. Then, I added 10 warheads for each of China’s 36 DF-5 ICBMs, then, one DF-41 ICBM with 10 warheads, then, 40 DF-3 and DF-4 MRBMs, then 100 DF-21 MRBMs, then 90 warheads for China’s 30 DF-31 ICBMs, and finally, 12 warheads for China’s 12 JL-1 SLBMs and 240 warheads for its (at least) 60 JL-2 SLBMs (12 missiles per boat, 4 warheads per missile).

Keep in mind that the 4-warhead JL-2 is just the basic variant of the missile. China is already developing (if it hasn’t already deployed) two new variants of the JL-2:  Jia, capable of carrying 8 warheads over 12,000 kms, and Yi, capable of carrying 12 warheads over a distance of 14,000 kilometers. China is also building a sixth Jin class submarine to replace the sole Xia class boat.

So in the future, China will have even more ballistic missile subs, more SLBMs, and more nuclear warheads than it already has – which means the number of nukes required to deter China will only grow.

And I was so conservative in my estimates that I didn’t count a single Chinese SRBM or cruise missile as being nuclear-armed. If any such missile is armed – and the DOD says 500 such land-based missiles are – China’s nuclear arsenal – and the US arsenal required to deter Beijing – are even greater.

Besides Russia and China – two huge nuclear threats to US and allied security – the US also has to deter North Korea (which already has ICBMs capable of reaching the US) and Iran (which, within a month, may have enough HEU to build a nuclear warhead).

So the US currently has to deter three, soon to be four, hostile nuclear powers, two of whom have large, diverse, and very capable and survivable nuclear arsenals.

On top of that, the US has to provide a nuclear umbrella not only to itself, but also to over 30 allies, many of whom will have no choice but to develop their own nuclear weapons if the US continues to cut its umbrella. 66.5% of South Koreans already want to do this, and Japan has facilities enabling it to produce enough fissile material for 3,600 nuclear warheads if it chose to.

You see, while Russia and China are threats to many but protectors to nobody, the US is a protector of itself and 30 allies.

In addition, Russia is blatantly violating the INF Treaty by developing and testing an IRBM, and also violating the CFE Treaty! How can we trust Russia to comply with New START and reciprocate the newest cuts proposed Obama when Russia is not complying with existing arms reduction treaties? We can’t!

Yet, the advocates of cutting America’s nuclear arsenal want the US not only to slavishly adhere to such treaties (while Russia doesn’t), but even cut its arsenal further deeply and unilaterally.

Then there’s North Korea with its nuclear arsenal (which it has recently announced it will grow its nuclear arsenal) and ICBMs capable of reaching the US, and Iran, which is coming closer to achieving nuclear weapon status everyday. Only nuclear weapons can protect America against these threats. So they are HIGHLY RELEVANT in the 21st century.

Besides deterring nuclear attack, nuclear weapons also protect America’s treaty allies against a large-scale conventional attack – ensuring that it has never happened so far since WW2.

But if the nuclear arsenal is cut further, and America’s already deficient conventional capabilities continue to atrophy under sequestration, a large-scale conventional attack is inevitable.

The military and geopolitical reality is simple. If the US cuts its nuclear arsenal further deeply and unilaterally, a nuclear first strike by Russia or even China is virtually guaranteed – as is the acqusition of nuclear weapons by America’s allies in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific, none of whom can afford to bet their security, and their very existence, on the “less nukes will make us safer” and “a world without nukes” fantasies of Barack Obama and his pacifist friends in Western pro-disarmament organizations.

In the 1960’s Stephen Stills of the folk-rock group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, after appearing in Buffalo Springfield, had a brief romantic affair with folk singer Judy Collins to whom he wrote the famous song “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” for. Now 50 years later they are touring together.

Stephen is now 72 years old and has been married three times and has seven grown children. His current wife is 51. In a 1971 interview in Rolling Stone, the interviewer noted: “so many of your songs seem to be about Judy Collins.” Stills replied, “Well, there are three things men can do with women: love them, suffer for them, or turn them into literature. I’ve had my share of success and failure at all three.”

Judy is now 78 and has been married twice. She divorced her first husband many years ago and in April 1996, she married designer Louis Nelson, whom she had been seeing since 1979 who is now 81. They live in Manhattan in New York City. She had one son who committed suicide from drugs and depression and having suffered from depression and drugs herself mostly alcohol like her father in the past, Judy today is an activist for suicide prevention. She’s been clean since 1978. She’s known for her signature song “Both Sides Now,”  “Someday Soon” ‘Send in the Clowns” and “Chelsea Morning” and has appeared and sung with every major folk singer such as the late Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Arlo Guthrie and the Byrds.

The last time I saw Stephen Stills was about 18 years ago when CSN&Y regrouped for a while. I have seen Judy about seven times over the last 20 years and she’s always a joy to see and listen to with her angelic voice that rings clear as a bell.

Friday night’s concert in Englewood, N.J was a joyous and entertaining one. Judy came out in her usual trademark black sequined pants suit and said, “As you know Stephen and I have known each other for a long, long time. This tour is like couple’s therapy for us” Backed by piano played by her longtime music arranger and drums and guitar they lit into several of their known songs as well as more obscure songs from their albums and Judy and Stephen’s new album together.

The songs ranged from Judy’s crystal clear, haunting melodic songs and voice to Stephan’s versatile rock and roll guitar solos.  Stephen told of once being on tour in Minnesota in the middle of February, “You know you’re a failure when you’re on tour in Minnesota in February,” Stephen said, “It was like the opening scene in the movie  ‘Fargo’. He then recalled seeing a sign for Hibbing, Minn. and knew that’s where Bob Dylan was from. He and Judy then went into a romantic duet version of Dylan’s song, “Girl  From the North Country.”

Stephen said he and Judy had a brief affair in the 60’s and remained good friends ever since. He said the reason they have been in touch so long is because they married other people.

Judy then went into her signature song “Both Sides Now.”  I’ve heard Judy do this every time I’ve seen her and this is one of the best versions I’ve heard her do it. She then told of meeting a woman named Marianne and she said she was Leonard Cohen’s wife who Leonard wrote ‘Suzanne” for. Judy then did “Suzanne” and her voice was so pure and sterling and haunting with just her in a spotlight that it sent shivers through you and you could hear a pin drop.

Judy then told how she met the Clintons in 1991 and they told her they named her daughter after her song “Chelsea Morning.” She thanked them and then said she later learned they told Joni Mitchell the same thing. Mitchell made Chelsea Morning into a hit also. She then did “Chelsea Morning.”

Stephen then roused the crowd up with a really rocking version of his hit from the Buffalo Springfield days “For What it’s Worth” which got everyone singing along.

The concert ended with them doing “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” but just an extended version of the chorus which got everyone up and dancing.

It was a joyous and uplifting concert. Be sure to check them out if they come to a city near you. They are scheduled for Nevada and Calif. from Oct.21 to Nov. 3^rd.

A group of Republican Senators introduced legislation which would permanently prevent the federal government from a shutdown Friday afternoon.

Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced the legislation – the “End Government Shutdowns Act,” which will make it so the federal government can never shutdown.

This comes as the government has been partially shutdown for 21 days. Republican members of congress have lobbied members of Congress to reach an agreement on a bill that would fund the government and protect the borders.

“It’s disappointing that both sides didn’t resolve this matter weeks ago. Shutdowns inevitably costs taxpayers more money once the government reopens. I hope that both parties come together and reach an agreement that brings a resolution to this issue as quickly as possible,” Portman said in a statement.

“Moving forward, we should end government shutdowns for good. This bipartisan legislation will accomplish that goal, providing lawmakers with more time to reach a responsible resolution to budget negotiations, giving federal workers and their families more stability, and ensuring we avoid disruptions that ultimately hurt our economy, taxpayers and working families,” he continued.

Daines, who also sponsored the bill, echoed a very similar message, saying government shutdowns do not work and that this legislation will help hold members of congress accountable of keeping the government open.

“Shutdowns don’t work. Yet we’re seeing them happen time and time again,” Daines said in a statement. “The End Government Shutdowns Act will hold Congress accountable to funding the government and ensure that hardworking folks aren’t paying the price for the partisan, political games being played in DC.”

Daines introduced a bill on the Senate floor Thursday that would withhold the pay of members of Congress during future government shutdowns. The bill, sponsored by Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, comes hours after Daines announced he sent a letter requesting the secretary of the U.S. Senate withhold his pay during the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government.

Trump was on Capitol Hill Wednesday meeting with Republican senators to discuss the shutdown and border wall funding. After the meeting, he said Republicans were “unified.”

The president also warned Democrats he might declare a national emergency if they cannot come to an agreement soon.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Monday allowing Moscow to punish and potentially imprison citizens who spread misinformation on the internet about government officials.

Media publications found guilty of spreading “unreliable socially significant information” could potentially face $23,000 fines, Bloomberg reported. Prosecutors are now legally able to complain to Russia’s communications watchdog about online individuals — the country watchdog group has the ability to block access if outlets don’t remove the offensive content.

People can now be jailed for more than two weeks if they distribute material that contains “disrespect for society, the state, the official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation and bodies exercising state power.”

The announcement comes after a draft law called the Digital Economy National Program — which requires Russian internet service providers (ISPs) to make technical changes as the nation prepares for sanctions — was introduced to Russian parliament in  2018. The outage will take place before April 1, although an official date has yet to be released.

Putin has worked with American companies in the past on efforts to censor content.

Russian state media oversight agency Roskomnadzor reached an agreement in February with Google allowing the agency to send the Silicon Valley company a regularly updated list of banned websites; after reviewing sites on the list, Google will decide which links are to be deleted.

Moscow has come under fire during the past two years after a Russian internet group used various trolling techniques to inject itself into the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Agents allegedly used memes and misinformation to impact that year’s presidential election.

Get “Heaven South” instantly when you pre-order Brad Paisley’s new album, LOVE AND WAR, available 4/21.

Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 676,535 U.S. properties in 2017, down 27 percent from 2016 and down 76 percent from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010 to the lowest level since 2005, according to ATTOM a national property database. The U.S. foreclosure rate in 2017 was 0.51 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing, also a 12-year low.

“Thanks to a housing boom driven primarily by a scarcity of supply, which has helped to limit home purchases to the most highly qualified — and low-risk — borrowers, the U.S. housing market has the luxury of playing a version of foreclosure limbo in which it searches for how low foreclosures can go,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions.

Foreclosure starts at new record low nationwide, increase in DC and five states

Lenders started the foreclosure process on 383,701 U.S. properties in 2017, down 20 percent from 2016 to a new all-time low going back as far as foreclosure start data is available — 2006.

“Across Southern California, while foreclosures have maintained historically low levels during much of 2017, housing affordability has become the concern that has many watching the market for a potential shift in the near future,” said Michael Mahon, president of First Team Real Estate, covering the Southern California market, which also posted an 11-year low in foreclosure starts in 2017. “With wage growth not meeting equity growth across many Southern California markets — coupled with rising interest rates — there are some concerns that foreclosures could be on the rise in 2018.”

Counter to the national trend, the District of Columbia and five states posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts in 2017, including Illinois (up 2 percent); Oklahoma (up 23 percent); Louisiana (up 2 percent); DC (up 54 percent); West Virginia (up 32 percent); and Vermont (up 27 percent).

New York foreclosure auctions at 11-year high, counter to 11-year low nationwide

A total of 318,165 U.S. properties were scheduled for public foreclosure auction (the same as a foreclosure start in some states) in 2017, down 27 percent from 2016 to a new all-time low going back as far as foreclosure auction data is available — 2006.

“The data for the Seattle market tells a very big story, and that is we are not seeing a housing bubble forming,” said Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market, where scheduled foreclosure auctions in 2017 dropped 47 percent to an 11-year low. “With foreclosure rates at less than 0.4 percent of total housing units, the market is remarkably stable.  That said, we are certainly suffering from serious affordability issues, but this is not translating into defaults on loans.”

The District of Columbia and seven states posted a year-over-year increase in scheduled foreclosure auctions in 2017, including New York (up 9 percent to the highest level since 2006); Oklahoma (up 4 percent); Connecticut (up 7 percent); and Maine (up 2 percent).

New Jersey bank repossessions at 11-year high, counter to 11-year low nationwide

Lenders repossessed 291,579 properties through foreclosure (REO) in 2017, down 23 percent from 2016 to the lowest level since 2006 — an 11-year low.

Counter to the national trend, the District of Columbia and seven states posted a year-over-year increase in REOs in 2017, led by New Jersey (19 percent increase to the highest level since 2006); Delaware (up 16 percent); Montana (up 12 percent); DC (up 10 percent); and Wyoming (up 10 percent).

Top foreclosure rates in 2017

States with the highest foreclosure rates in 2017 were New Jersey (1.61 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Delaware (1.13 percent) and Maryland (0.95 percent).

Average time to foreclose jumps above 1,000 days nationwide

U.S. properties foreclosed in the fourth quarter of 2017 had been in the foreclosure process an average of 1,027 days, a 14 percent jump from the previous quarter and a 28 percent increase from a year ago.