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☆ Canceling student debt for millions of borrowers 'cheated by for-profit colleges' isn't enough, Biden's Education Department says — it's time for the top executives to pay up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Education Department released new guidance to hold executives of for-profit colleges financially liable for unpaid costs to the government. When a school shuts down or is accused of fraud, taxpayers or students often pay the costs. Last week, the Education Department released new guidance on implementing the Education Secretary's authority to hold executives of private colleges financially liable for the cost of unpaid debts defrauded students took on. "The Biden-Harris Administration is canceling the loans of more than a million borrowers cheated by for-profit colleges. But too often, the owners and executives of these colleges escape liability," Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said in a statement.

☆ Biden says he's 'not confident' his student-loan forgiveness plan will be upheld by the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden said he's "not confident" the Supreme Court will uphold his student-debt relief plan. The Supreme Court will make a final decision on the student-loan forgiveness by June. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court took on the two conservative-backed lawsuits that temporarily paused Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt at the end of August. If the Supreme Court finds the cases do not have standing, the cases will be dismissed — the court would not even have the authority to rule on the other issues of executive overreach after that point. Even with the conservatives in the majority, it's unclear how exactly the Supreme Court will rule.

☆ Sonia Sotomayor pushes back on conservative SCOTUS justices who questioned the fairness of Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan, saying the US is 'not a society of unlimited resources'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Azmi Haroun | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned efforts to gut the Biden student-loan forgiveness plan Tuesday. Sotomayor was among a few justices pushing back on common GOP arguments on the "fairness" of the program. Sotomayor was joined by justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Amy Coney Barrett in scrutinizing the cases' standing to sue. Every law has people who encompass it or people outside it," Sotomayor said, adding that "that's not an issue of fairness. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the liberal justices in challenging the standing of both of the cases, but it would require the vote of an additional conservative justice to uphold Biden's debt relief plan.

☆ Biden's Education Secretary responds to student-loan borrowers with private debt who don't qualify for federal relief: 'We can control our loans. We can't control other loans'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Miguel Cardona pushed back on opponents who say Biden's debt relief is unfair to those with private loans. He said the department "can't control other loans," responding to those with private debt. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments to the federal relief plan on Tuesday. He was asked what he would say to those who do not qualify for the federal relief, like borrowers with private loans. Shortly after Biden's debt relief was announced, the Education Department changed the eligibility requirements due to the rising legal challenges.

☆ Biden's administration made a 'powerful defense' of its student-loan forgiveness plan before the Supreme Court, education secretary says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Supreme Court concluded oral arguments on Biden's student-debt relief on Tuesday. The Supreme Court will make a decision on the legality of Biden's plan by June. In the hours leading up to arguments, advocates, Democratic lawmakers, and borrowers rallied outside the Supreme Court to voice their support for Biden's plan. The Supreme Court needs to apply the letter of the law, and we need to get this done." Now, all eyes turn to the Supreme Court, which is expected to make a final decision on the legality of Biden's plan by June.

☆ Student-loan payments will resume this year — and it could happen with or without debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Miguel Cardona reiterated that student-loan payments will resume this year. It will happen 60 days after June 30, or 60 days after the Supreme Court issues a decision on Biden's debt relief. Oral arguments on Biden's plan to cancel student debt concluded on Tuesday. This means that student-loan payments could resume in September at the latest, and as of now, that could happen even if the Supreme Court strikes down Biden's debt relief plan. Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley told Insider on Tuesday that she will push for payments to remain on pause until borrowers get relief.

☆ Conservative Supreme Court justices target the fairness of Biden's student-loan forgiveness and executive overreach in their first round of questioning
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Oral arguments on Biden's student-loan forgiveness are underway at the Supreme Court. Justice Gorsuch also asked Biden's team to address how the relief is fair to those who already paid off their loans. On Tuesday, the two cases that temporarily paused Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt arrived at the Supreme Court. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing Biden's administration, took the first round of questions from the justices, and she defended Biden's use of the HEROES Act of 2003 to cancel student debt. He said that "modify" typically means "moderate change," and he questioned whether the language can also be used for broad student-loan forgiveness without Congressional approval.

☆ Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan is in jeopardy. Here are 4 major takeaways from the Supreme Court's oral arguments.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Biden's student-debt relief on Tuesday. The nation's highest court heard more than four hours of oral arguments in two high-profile cases that reviewed Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for federal borrowers, which lower courts temporarily paused in November. "We're talking about half a trillion dollars and 43 million Americans," Chief Justice John Roberts said, referring to the estimated costs of Biden's plan and the number of affected borrowers. Justice Elena Kagan raised a hypothetical national emergency of an earthquake and the education secretary responded by deciding to cancel student loans for those harmed. Still, even if Barrett and the court's three liberals find that the states and borrowers lack standing, they would need another conservative vote to uphold Biden's debt relief.

☆ A federal judge just ruled $6 billion in student-debt cancellation can move forward for 200,000 defrauded borrowers, saying the decision will 'allow them to not only to move on, but also to move up, e
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A federal judge ruled that $6 billion in student-debt relief for 200,000 borrowers can move forward. Since the lawsuit wasn't resolved under Trump, President Joe Biden took it on and agreed to a settlement to give borrowers relief. And it gives plaintiffs, who have languished in borrower-defense application limbo, their long-awaited relief," Alsup wrote in his decision. "They have already waited years for the resolution of their borrower defense ('BD') applications, some of which have been pending since 2015," the filing said. Along with automatic relief for 200,000 borrowers, the settlement also allows for a streamlined review of another 64,000 borrower defense applications.

☆ Days before the Supreme Court takes on Biden's student-loan forgiveness, Elizabeth Warren urges it to 'do its job and apply the law as it is written'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged the Supreme Court to uphold Biden's student-debt relief. "The Supreme Court needs to do its job and apply the law as it is written." GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn, for example, wrote on Twitter on Thursday that "canceling student debt is Biden's gift to young left-wing activists. She also led GOP senators in filing an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court urging it to strike down Biden's debt relief. This scale of student-loan forgiveness is unprecedented, so it's hard to determine which way the Supreme Court will rule.

☆ Biden's student-loan forgiveness is about to have its day at the Supreme Court. Here's everything you need to know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Supreme Court will hear two challenges to Biden's student-debt-relief plan on Tuesday. But the Biden administration has defended its legal authority and expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold the plan. Prominent figures in the legal and political worlds have weighed in on the two high-profile Supreme Court cases in dozens of briefs filed to the Supreme Court. More than 170 Republican members of Congress have argued against Biden's relief, along with 17 Republican-led states, the US Chamber of Commerce, and over a dozen conservative-leaning advocacy groups. Millions of student-loan borrowers' financial futures hang in the balance.

☆ An architect of the law Biden is using to cancel student debt reiterates that it 'could hardly be clearer' that the loan forgiveness is legal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He argued that it "could hardly be clearer" that the HEROES Act permits broad loan forgiveness. Miller wrote in a Wednesday opinion piece in The Washington Post that Biden's loan forgiveness falls exactly within what the law permits. "That language could hardly be clearer," Miller wrote. "Sure, Congress could have gone farther by requiring the Education Department to relieve student debt," Miller said. We will continue to defend our legal authority to provide the debt relief working and middle-class families clearly need and deserve."

☆ As Miami high-rises loom over financial district, local resident digs in
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Maria Cardona | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Marco BelloMIAMI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - As developers seek to build up Miami's skyline, long-time resident Ishmael Bermudez is digging in - literally. The artist and amateur archeologist lives in a single-family home in Brickell, a rare property in Miami's financial district. Bermudez, alongside community groups and professional archeologists, is pushing for more preservation in Miami as new developments unearth historical relics. Bermudez's home in Brickell, just south of downtown Miami, is painted with a multicolored seascape of fish and underwater plants. Reporting by Maria Alejandra Cardona in Miami; Editing by Lananh Nguyen and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meet a Navy officer who just got $323,000 in student loans forgiven and said public service was 'the only way' he could have paid off his debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Jared Weegmann, 37, got $323,000 in student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. "I just remember thinking, the only way this is ever gonna get off me is if I immediately start some public service job." Jared Weegmann (left) had $323,000 student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. "We determined you have successfully met the requirements of the PSLF Program and your loans listed below have been forgiven. Thanks to changes we've made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, everyday Americans can reach dreams they put off for far too long.

☆ Five former Memphis officers plead not guilty in beating death of Tyre Nichols
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Maria Alejandra Cardona | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb 17 (Reuters) - Five former Memphis police officers on Friday pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges stemming from last month's beating of Tyre Nichols, a Black man whose death three days later stirred outrage and fresh calls for reform. Police video captured images of the officers beating and kicking Nichols, hitting him with a baton, spraying him with pepper spray and firing a stun gun at him on Jan. 7 following a traffic stop. [1/3] Five former Memphis police officers who have been charged in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols appear during an arraignment hearing at Shelby County courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., February 17, 2023. Two Shelby County sheriff's deputies who responded to the scene were suspended five days without pay. Officers on the video said Nichols had swerved through traffic dangerously, and one said Nichols attempted to grab his gun during the scrum.

☆ Six dead as gunman goes on rampage in small Mississippi town
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Maria Alejandra Cardona | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The bloodshed occurred in Arkabutla, a rural hamlet of fewer than 300 people in Tate County in northern Mississippi, about 40 miles (60 km) south of Memphis, Tennessee. The gunman, identified as Richard Dale Crum, 51, was charged with first-degree murder, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance told reporters. "Jill and I are mourning for the six killed in today's violence in Tate County, Mississippi - as we have for far too many Americans," Biden said in a statement, referring to his wife. [1/4] A man stands next to the vehicle of the victim of a shooting outside a gas station convenience store in Arkabutla, Mississippi, U.S. February 17, 2023. Deputies recovered a shotgun and two handguns from the suspect, Lance said.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop 'war' on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Argentina found the virus in wild birds, while dead swans in Uruguay tested positive. The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said.

☆ Bird flu spreads to new countries, threatens non-stop "war" on poultry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States, Britain, France and Japan are among countries that have suffered record losses of poultry over the past year, leaving some farmers feeling helpless. Poultry in the Northern Hemisphere were previously considered to be most at risk when wild birds are active during spring migration. Some experts suspect climate change may be contributing to the global spread by altering wild birds' habitats and migratory paths. Farmers are trying unusual tactics to protect poultry, with some using machines that make loud noises to scare off wild birds, experts said. Berkowitz said he is bracing for March and April when migration season will pose an even greater risk to poultry.

☆ 69 Republican lawmakers call for Biden's student-loan repayment and forgiveness proposals to be 'rescinded,' blasting them as 'blatantly illegal' and 'a smack in the face of taxpayers'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

69 GOP lawmakers urged Biden to withdraw his student-loan forgiveness and repayment proposals. They said his proposal to reform income-driven repayment plans is "blatantly illegal." This proposal is reckless, fiscally irresponsible, and blatantly illegal and, as such, it should be rescinded." "Under current IDR plans, most borrowers can expect to repay some or all their debt," the analysis said. "This proposal is reckless, illegal, and will saddle hardworking Americans and future generations with unsustainable debt."

☆ It just got easier for defrauded student-loan borrowers to apply for debt cancellation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Education Department launched a new website to help defrauded student-loan borrowers apply for debt relief. While this website may ease the application process, many defrauded borrowers continue to wait for relief. Approval of those claims means the department will discharge any debt the student took out to attend the school in question. It includes information on reasons borrowers apply for borrower defense, what type of misconduct qualifies for debt relief, specific details on information borrowers should include in their claims, and what happens after a borrower applies. A section of Federal Student Aid's new borrower defense website detailing information to include in a claim.

☆ Why Biden's plan to make monthly student-loan payments cheaper could end up sticking borrowers with the same repayment struggles they've had for decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

For years, income-driven repayment plans for student-loan borrowers were not working as intended. That's why Biden introduced a proposal to reform those plans and make monthly payments cheaper. Angel said they were advised by a customer service representative at a student-loan company to stay in school to defer the loan payments. But after so many years of failures with IDR plans, Chingos said he's concerned not much will change. According to NPR, three student-loan companies weren't tracking the payments borrowers were making under the plan, and low-income borrowers who were making $0 monthly payments were hurt the most.

☆ Conservative groups are flooding the Supreme Court with calls to block Biden's student-loan forgiveness, arguing that borrowers are 'contractually bound to repay their loans'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nine conservative groups this week filed amicus briefs to the Supreme Court opposing Biden's student-debt relief. It comes after advocates and scholars filed over a dozen briefs supporting Biden's plan. Conservative groups are making sure the court hears their opinion: that student-loan forgiveness is illegal and should be blocked. Since October, Biden's debt relief plan has been paused due to two conservative-backed lawsuits seeking to permanently block the plan, and the Supreme Court will be taking on both cases on February 28. Still, the fate of student-loan forgiveness rests with the Supreme Court, and it remains to be seen how these briefs will influence its final decision on the legality of canceling student debt.

☆ 200,000 student-loan borrowers will be 'severely harmed' if a judge rules in favor of 3 companies who want to block them from getting $6 billion in debt relief, a new legal filing says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A federal judge signed off on a settlement giving 200,000 student-loan borrowers $6 billion in debt relief last year. In January, three companies requested a stay on the relief, citing reputational harm the settlement brought them. Borrowers in the case recently filed a motion opposing the stay due to the harm postponing the relief would bring. Some of the borrowers who were set to see debt forgiveness attended colleges run by those companies, which were among many named in the November settlement. One hundred and forty-four borrowers have submitted declarations attesting to the harm a stay would cause them."

Video recordings from police body-worn cameras and a camera mounted on a utility pole showed Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, repeatedly calling "Mom!" as officers kicked, punched and struck him with a baton in his mother's neighborhood after a Jan. 7 traffic stop. The release of the clips on Friday sparked protests in Memphis and elsewhere and prompted numerous cities to prepare for additional demonstrations on Saturday. Nichols' family and officials, including President Joe Biden, have expressed outrage and sorrow but have urged protesters to remain peaceful. The initial traffic stop was for reckless driving, though the police chief has said the cause for the stop has not been substantiated.

☆ 'Bellyaching': Democratic unity defending Biden begins to see defections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Peter Nicholas Is Senior White House Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON — A Democratic push to discredit the congressional Republicans who are launching a slew of investigations into President Joe Biden may be fracturing because of an unexpected obstacle: fellow Democrats. And former Vice President Mike Pence revealed this week that he, too, had discovered classified documents in his Indiana home. On Capitol Hill, House Republicans have opened an oversight inquiry into Biden’s handling of the records. (Both the White House and the Secret Service said they don’t keep such records for his personal residence.) The White House counsel’s office now has a communications arm to quickly respond to Republican allegations of presidential wrongdoing.

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