In this May 27, 2008 file photo, a sign indicating a reduced price is seen in front of a home for sale in Tacoma, Wash. U.S. home prices tumbled at the fastest rate ever in April, a closely watched index showed Tuesday, June 24, 2008, with all 20 metropolitan areas posting annual declines for the first time. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file) (Ted S. Warren - AP)

NEW YORK -- U.S. home prices tumbled in April at the fastest rate since a widely followed index was begun in 2000 with all 20 metropolitan areas surveyed posting annual declines for the first time.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 cities fell by 15.3 percent in April versus a year ago, according to Tuesday's report. Prices nationwide are at levels not seen since August 2004.

The narrower 10-city index declined 16.3 percent in April, its biggest decline in its more than two-decade history.

Meanwhile, a report from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said U.S. home prices fell 4.6 percent in April from the same month last year, when the index peaked. That marked the biggest decline ever in the agency's monthly index which dates back to January 1991.

The government index is calculated using mortgage loans of $417,000 or less.

While the government report has shown nationwide price declines, the Case-Shiller index has shown far greater drops because it focuses on larger cities where prices rose further during the boom years, and includes riskier loans.

Las Vegas and Miami both continue to post the largest declines, falling 26.8 percent and 26.7 percent, respectively.

However, the annual declines in Denver, Dallas and Cleveland were less severe than in the previous month, but Maureen Maitland, a S&P vice president, is reluctant to peg that as an indication of stabilization.

"We wouldn't call a trend on one-month data," she said.

The report also showed prices in eight metro areas increased in April from March, but the gains could be seasonal blips as the home-buying spring season starts up rather than a sign of a turnaround, Maitland said.

The housing slump, along with higher food and fuel prices and disruptions in the credit markets, has taken its toll on consumer sentiment.

An industry group Tuesday said U.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly sharply in June to the fifth-lowest level ever. The Conference Board's reading of consumers' expectations also hit an all-time low.

In this May 27, 2008 file photo, a sign indicating a reduced price is seen in front of a home for sale in Tacoma, Wash. U.S. home prices tumbled at the fastest rate ever in April, a closely watched index showed Tuesday, June 24, 2008, with all 20 metropolitan areas posting annual declines for the first time. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file) (Ted S. Warren - AP)

NEW YORK -- U.S. home prices tumbled in April at the fastest rate since a widely followed index was begun in 2000 with all 20 metropolitan areas surveyed posting annual declines for the first time.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 cities fell by 15.3 percent in April versus a year ago, according to Tuesday's report. Prices nationwide are at levels not seen since August 2004.

The narrower 10-city index declined 16.3 percent in April, its biggest decline in its more than two-decade history.

Meanwhile, a report from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said U.S. home prices fell 4.6 percent in April from the same month last year, when the index peaked. That marked the biggest decline ever in the agency's monthly index which dates back to January 1991.

The government index is calculated using mortgage loans of $417,000 or less.

While the government report has shown nationwide price declines, the Case-Shiller index has shown far greater drops because it focuses on larger cities where prices rose further during the boom years, and includes riskier loans.

Las Vegas and Miami both continue to post the largest declines, falling 26.8 percent and 26.7 percent, respectively.

However, the annual declines in Denver, Dallas and Cleveland were less severe than in the previous month, but Maureen Maitland, a S&P vice president, is reluctant to peg that as an indication of stabilization.

"We wouldn't call a trend on one-month data," she said.

The report also showed prices in eight metro areas increased in April from March, but the gains could be seasonal blips as the home-buying spring season starts up rather than a sign of a turnaround, Maitland said.

The housing slump, along with higher food and fuel prices and disruptions in the credit markets, has taken its toll on consumer sentiment.

An industry group Tuesday said U.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly sharply in June to the fifth-lowest level ever. The Conference Board's reading of consumers' expectations also hit an all-time low.

The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue the U.S. Naval Academy unless it abolishes its daily lunchtime prayer, saying that some midshipmen have complained that they felt coerced to participate.

In a letter to the academy on behalf of a group of midshipmen who object to the prayers, Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland, said it was "long past time" for the academy to discontinue the tradition. She said the practice violates midshipmen's' freedom to practice religion as their conscience leads them

"The government should not be in the business of compelling religious observance, particularly in military academies, where students can feel coerced by senior students and officials and risk the loss of leadership opportunities for following their conscience," her letter said.

In a statement, the Naval academy rejected the request.

"The academy does not intend to change its practice of offering midshipmen an opportunity for prayer or devotional thought during noon meal announcements." It said some form of prayer has been offered for midshipmen at meals since the Naval Academy 's founding in 1845 and that it is "consistent with other practices throughout the Navy."

In an interview today, a recent graduate of the academy, an agnostic who objected to the prayer, said she felt pressured to take part in it.

"Everybody else is participating with their heads bowed and their arms crossed," she said. "It became very obvious that you aren't participating."

She said she went along with the practice at first because she didn't want to stand out. But she stopped in her third year and, instead of bowing her head and crossing her arms, instead stood in parade rest.

"I'm hoping that the noon meal prayer tradition is abolished," she said. She asked not to be identified because she feared it might affect her naval career. The prayer, she said "is unconstitutional."

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