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☆ Campus Protest Investigations Hang Over Schools as New Academic Year Begins
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Zach Montague | More About Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With a new academic year well underway, more than 60 colleges and universities are still under federal investigation over antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents during the campus protests that swept the United States after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, according to the Department of Education. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has opened inquiries into dozens of schools over the past year, checking for violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity or race. Documents released by the department show that around 80 percent of the Oct. 7-related investigations it undertook stemmed from complaints about antisemitism, and that many of those complaints came to the department through conservative and pro-Jewish legal advocacy groups, including several founded by high-ranking former Education Department officials. Under federal scrutiny, which carries the risk of losing federal funding, dozens of schools still facing government inquiries have moved quickly to pre-empt large campus disruptions and enforce stricter limits on certain types of speech and demonstrations.

Organizations: Department of Education, Department’s, Civil Rights, Civil, Department Locations: United States, Israel

☆ Biden Awards $150 Million in Research Grants as Part of Cancer ‘Moonshot’
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Freed from the campaign trail and the grinding pursuit of another term, President Biden traveled to New Orleans on Tuesday to focus on a project close to his heart: the “moonshot” effort to sharply cut cancer deaths in the United States that he carried over from his time as vice president and has become a hallmark of his presidency. Speaking at Tulane University, Mr. Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, announced eight research centers, including one at Tulane, that will collectively receive $150 million in research awards aimed at pioneering new methods of precision cancer surgery. Before addressing a crowd on campus, the president and the first lady met with a team of researchers who demonstrated the technology under development at Tulane. It uses imaging of cells on tumor sites to verify for surgeons that cancer cells have been fully removed and to reduce the need for follow-up surgeries. Standing in front of a sign reading “curing cancer faster,” Mr. Biden described touring cancer centers in Australia and Ireland, and being frustrated by a lack of international collaboration.

Persons: Freed, Biden, Jill Biden, Mr Organizations: Tulane University, Mr, Tulane Locations: New Orleans, United States, Australia, Ireland

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Persons: —, Stephanie Montague, Nia Adams, Krissy Yoder, Erica Wood, Christina Schlegel, you'll, Schlegel Organizations: Service, MMGY Travel Intelligence, Travel, Daybreak Travel, Bluetail Locations: United States

On Today’s Episode:Assange Agrees to Plead Guilty in Exchange for Release, Ending Standoff With U.S., by Glenn Thrush and Megan Specia4 Scenarios for Next Phase in Gaza War, With ‘Intense’ Fighting Set to End, by Patrick KingsleyIsrael’s Supreme Court Rules the Military Must Draft Ultra-Orthodox Jews, by Aaron BoxermanSurgeon General Declares Gun Violence a Public Health Crisis, by Ellen BarryJudges Block Parts of Biden’s Student Loan Repayment Plan, by Tara Siegel Bernard and Zach Montague

Persons: Assange, Glenn Thrush, Megan Specia, Patrick Kingsley Israel’s, Aaron Boxerman, Ellen Barry, Tara Siegel Bernard, Zach Montague Organizations: U.S Locations: Gaza

☆ Judges Block Parts of Biden’s Student Loan Repayment Plan
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri temporarily blocked pieces of the Biden administration’s new student loan repayment plan on Monday in rulings that will have implications for millions of federal borrowers. Borrowers enrolled in the income-driven repayment plan, known as SAVE, are expected to continue to make payments. The separate preliminary injunctions on Monday are tied to lawsuits filed this year by two groups of Republican-led states seeking to upend the SAVE program, a centerpiece of President Biden’s agenda to provide relief to student borrowers. Many of the program’s challengers are the same ones that filed suit against Mr. Biden’s $400 million debt-cancellation plan, which the Supreme Court struck down last June. “It’s a pretty cynical ploy in an election year to stop the current president from being able to lower prices for working and middle-class Americans.”

Persons: Biden’s, “, Biden, ”, Abby Shafroth Organizations: Biden, Republican, National Consumer Law Locations: Kansas, Missouri

☆ Appeals Court Denies Bannon’s Emergency Motion to Remain Free
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Zach Montague | More About Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The three-judge appeals panel that denied Mr. Bannon’s emergency motion on Thursday was split, 2 to 1, with Judge Justin R. Walker dissenting. Judge Walker noted that Mr. Bannon was petitioning the Supreme Court to consider his case and wrote that he should remain free until it decides whether to hear his appeal. Mr. Bannon’s lawyers have argued that his case involves important legal questions surrounding the separation of powers. At trial, they argued that Mr. Bannon was acting on the advice of lawyers who counseled him that he could disregard the subpoena under former President Donald J. Trump’s executive privilege. Mr. Bannon had served briefly as Mr. Trump’s top political adviser in the White House but had left the position long before the attack on the Capitol.

Persons: Stephen K, Bannon’s, Bannon, Trump, Justin R, Walker, Judge Walker, Donald J, Trump’s Organizations: Capitol

☆ Willie Mays, supreme baseball talent among the best to ever play, dies at 93
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( David K. Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

San Francisco Giants great Willie Mays waves his hat as he rides around the track of Oracle Park, Friday, May 7, 2021, in San Francisco,. Focus On Sport | Getty ImagesA 1981 song and ode to America's pastime by Terry Cashman was appropriately titled "Talkin' Baseball: Willie, Mickey & The Duke." "I can't believe that Babe Ruth was a better player than Willie Mays," all-time pitching great Sandy Koufax once said. Willie Mays Hays here: Play like Mays and I run like (Olympic gold medal sprinter Bob) Hayes. Outfielder Willie Mays #24 of the San Francisco Giants rounds second base during a circa early 1970's Major League Baseball game.

Persons: Willie Mays, Santiago Mejia, Barack Obama, of Famer Willie Mays, Chip Somodevilla, Mays, Bobby Thomson, Thomson, Scot, Bobby, — Mays, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Terry Cashman, Willie, Mickey, Willie Howard Mays, steelworker William Howard, Anna Mays, Eddie Montague, Montague, Leo Durocher, Barry Bonds, —, Babe Ruth, Bonds, Sandy Koufax, Ruth, Arnold Palmer, Deron Johnson, Reggie Jackson —, Hall, Hall of famer Willie Mays, Jamie Squire, Yogi Berra, James Hirsch, Joan Payson, Payson, Payson wouldn't, Mantle, Bowie Kuhn, Peter Ueberroth, Ueberroth, Mantle's banishments, Kuhn, Charles Schultz, Charlie Brown, John Fogerty's, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Wesley Snipes, Willie Mays Hayes, Willie Mays Hays, Bob, Hayes, Sisko, Donna Reed Organizations: San Francisco Giants, Oracle, San Francisco Chronicle, Hearst Newspapers, Getty, Baseball, of Famer, National, Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers, National League, New, Armed Forces Radio, Dodgers, Yankees, New York, York City, Apple, New York City, Hall of Fame, New York Mets, Shea, Los Angeles Dodgers, Birmingham Black Barons, Negro League, Barons, Mets, Oakland A's, Hall of famer, Kansas City Royals, Oakland, Thomson, New York Giants, GQ, MLB, Hotel, Claridge, Olympics, Los Angeles Times, Houston Astros, Bettmann, Major League Baseball Locations: San Francisco, Washington ,, New York, U.S, Korea, New, Flushing , New York, Westfield , Alabama, Mays ', York, America, Flushing , Queens, Atlantic City, Southern California, Northern California

☆ Michigan and CUNY Mishandled Discrimination Complaints, Education Dept. Finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The University of Michigan and the City University of New York mishandled complaints of discrimination on campus during widespread protests over the war in Gaza, the Education Department announced on Monday. The department’s Office for Civil Rights has opened dozens of investigations into antisemitism and anti-Arab discrimination as students held rallies and set up encampments in support of Palestinians and called for their schools to divest from Israel. The Michigan and New York cases were only the first to reach a conclusion. More are expected to finish in the coming weeks and months as schools continue to reckon with the limits of free speech in academic settings. Under the terms of the agreements announced on Monday, the schools must step up their reporting of complaints to the Office for Civil Rights and revisit their training of employees, including campus police officers, about their obligations under federal law.

Organizations: University of Michigan, City University of New, Education Department, Civil Rights, Office Locations: City University of New York, Gaza, Israel, The Michigan, New York

☆ Federal Judge Blocks Biden Administration’s Title IX Rules in 4 States
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations that expanded protections for L.G.B.T.Q. students have been temporarily blocked in four states after a federal judge ruled that the Education Department overstepped its authority. The plaintiffs argued that the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX betrayed the law’s original purpose of prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. The new rules, which the Education Department released in April, disallow discrimination or harassment of students based on their gender identity, enshrining stronger protections for transgender students. However, the rules skirted some of the most divisive questions, stopping short of requiring schools to grant transgender students access to single-sex dorms or sports teams.

Persons: Terry A, Doughty, Biden, IX Organizations: Biden, Education Department Locations: Louisiana, Louisiana , Mississippi, Montana, Idaho

A jury in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday found Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, guilty of three felony counts for lying on a federal firearms application, a shattering blow for the Biden family in the middle of an unforgiving presidential election campaign. The verdict brought an end to an extraordinary seven-day trial that made painfully public Mr. Biden’s crack addiction, reckless behavior and ruinous spending — narrated by three former romantic partners, including the widow of his brother, Beau Biden, and by the defendant himself in the pages of his memoir. The charges that Mr. Biden was convicted of stem from the purchase of a Colt pistol in October 2018, and also included illegal possession of a weapon after falsely claiming to be drug-free on the standard background check required in all firearms transactions. Mr. Biden, 54, faces up to 25 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines call for a fraction of that penalty. First-time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit violent crimes typically see little jail time, and prosecutors suggested they would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Biden’s, Biden, Beau Biden, Mr Locations: Wilmington, Del

☆ Will Hunter Biden Go to Jail? Here’s What His Sentence Could Look Like
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the judge presiding over Hunter Biden’s federal gun trial sentences him, she will have to weigh a number of unusual factors specific to his case. Mr. Biden was convicted on Tuesday of three violations that rarely go to trial — all stemming from his failure to disclose his use of illegal drugs when he bought a gun in 2018. The charges included illegally possessing a firearm, giving a false statement in buying it, and providing that false statement to a licensed gun dealer responsible for making sure guns are sold only to properly qualified customers. From 2019 to 2023, just 48 defendants were sentenced in a similar category as Mr. Biden, and 92 percent were sentenced to serve prison time with a median prison term of 15 months, according to the commission’s data. Around 8 percent of people in that category received probation or a fine.

Persons: Hunter, Biden, Biden’s Organizations: United States Sentencing Commission

Hunter Biden’s defense team is expected to wrap up arguments in his federal firearms trial in Delaware on Monday, and the jury could begin deliberating by day’s end barring any dramatic moves — like a last-minute decision by Mr. Biden to testify on his own behalf. Mr. Biden, who is President Biden’s son, was angered by the government’s tough cross-examination of his daughter Naomi Biden Neal on Friday and told people in his orbit that he would consider testifying. But the defense, after a weekend of consultations between Mr. Biden and his lead lawyer, Abbe Lowell, now seems more likely to rest without taking the risky step of putting Mr. Biden on the stand. Prosecutors and Mr. Lowell’s team will meet early on Monday with the presiding judge to consider a request by the defense to dismiss the case. If the judge, Maryellen Noreika, rejects Mr. Lowell’s motions, as expected, each side will present its closing argument and Judge Noreika will issue instructions to the jury.

Persons: Hunter, Mr, Biden, Biden’s, Naomi Biden Neal, Abbe Lowell, Lowell’s, Maryellen Noreika, Noreika Locations: Delaware

Hallie Biden, a former girlfriend of Hunter Biden and widow of his brother, Beau, took the stand on Thursday, telling jurors that she saw him buy, stash and smoke vast amounts of crack cocaine in the fall of 2018 when he claimed to be drug-free on a firearms application. Ms. Biden — speaking in nervous, clipped bursts as she faced Mr. Biden across the fourth-floor courtroom — admitted that he had introduced her to crack. She said she was ashamed and embarrassed by their behavior when the two briefly lived together in a rented house in Annapolis, Md., a time when both were in shock over Beau Biden’s death. Ms. Biden is, by far, the most important witness for the prosecution, offering the most detailed, and intimate, portrait of Mr. Biden’s reckless and self-destructive behavior at the time. Mr. Biden, she said, bought multiple rocks of crack in Washington, where he kept an apartment — some the size of “Ping-Pong balls, or bigger maybe” — and stored them in his “backpack or car.”

Persons: Hallie Biden, Hunter Biden, Beau, Biden, —, Beau Biden’s, Ms Locations: Annapolis, Md, Washington

Two of Hunter Biden’s former romantic partners — his ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend — provided vivid, at times gut-wrenching, testimony on Wednesday about the depths of his drug addiction, grief and unsustainable spending in 2018, when he claimed to be drug-free on a federal firearms form. In his effort to prove that Mr. Biden lied about his drug use, the special counsel in the case, David C. Weiss, called Mr. Biden’s former wife, Kathleen Buhle, who remains locked in a yearslong fight with him over alimony payments after a 24-year marriage that ended in 2017. The prosecutors have set out to use testimony from at least three women to establish that Mr. Biden was a chronic drug abuser when he applied for a handgun in 2018. Almost all the events at issue in the trial happened in 2018, when Joseph R. Biden Jr. was out of office. Ms. Buhle’s testimony laid bare the painful personal toll of Mr. Biden’s addiction.

Persons: Hunter Biden’s, —, Biden, David C, Weiss, Biden’s, Kathleen Buhle, Joseph R, ”

The first day of testimony in Hunter Biden’s trial on gun-related charges kicked off Tuesday with the surreal sound of the defendant’s own voice ringing through the courtroom, narrating his descent into drug addiction, when prosecutors played the audiobook of his memoir. It ended with bitter written words: expletive-laced, panicked texts to Hallie Biden, his brother’s widow and his onetime girlfriend, berating her for disposing of a handgun and warning, presciently, that it might set off a federal investigation. The government’s case against President Biden’s son — for all the drama, media swirl and complex political dynamics — is pretty straightforward legally: proving that Mr. Biden was abusing drugs when he filled out a federal firearms application claiming he was not an “unlawful user” of controlled substances. Prosecutors stressed that point in their 15-minute opening argument before a packed courtroom that included Jill Biden, the first lady. Lying on a federal gun application is illegal and “nobody is allowed to lie, not even Hunter Biden,” said Derek Hines, a top deputy to the special counsel, David C. Weiss.

Persons: Hunter Biden’s, Hallie Biden, Biden’s, —, Biden, Jill Biden, Hunter Biden, ”, Derek Hines, David C, Weiss Organizations: Prosecutors

☆ Justice Alito’s Wife Has Managed to Avoid the Spotlight Until Now
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the 18 years since her family left their home in New Jersey and stepped into some of the most rarefied circles in Washington, Martha-Ann Alito has never sought or cultivated a particularly public identity. As the wife of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., Mrs. Alito has described keeping a largely private life since his confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2006 — one grounded by raising two children and standing in support of her husband through scrutiny and sharp-elbowed politics. On the handful of occasions she has stepped forward to address an audience or converse with reporters, Mrs. Alito has often spoken about herself in terms of her role within a tight-knit nuclear family, holding it together through her husband’s meteoric, and at times trying, rise within the judiciary. “The most amazing part is, why do people care about our life,” she said in a 2006 interview, looking back on Justice Alito’s confirmation hearing, which at one point left her in tears and stirred discussion about the toll partisanship can take on nominees’ relatives.

Persons: Ann Alito, Samuel A, Alito Jr, Alito, ”, Alito’s Locations: New Jersey, Washington, Martha

☆ Obama Is a Surprise Guest Among Allies at Biden’s State Dinner for Kenya
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Katie Rogers | Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

State dinners are best known as bear hugs for overseas allies, and Thursday’s honoree was Kenya. But the sixth state dinner of President Biden’s term was designed to clutch domestic allies — not the least of them Mr. Obama, whose father was Kenyan — even tighter as the president makes the long slog toward November. The list included President William Ruto of Kenya and his wife, Rachel, along with three of his daughters. “We share a strong respect for the history that connects us together,” Mr. Biden said to his guests during a toast. The lineup included elected officials in several battleground states, influential Black political operatives, and powerful philanthropists, like Melinda French Gates.

Persons: Barack Obama, Biden’s, —, Obama, William Ruto, Rachel, James Mwangi, ” Mr, Biden, Jimmy Carter, Melinda French Gates Organizations: White, Equity Group Holdings Locations: Kenya, Kenyan

☆ Lawmakers Dial Up Pressure on Alito to Recuse From Elections Cases
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers called for Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. to recuse himself from cases related to Jan. 6, 2021, and demanded new ethics rules for the Supreme Court after revelations that flags carried by rioters at the Capitol were flown outside his homes. With the Supreme Court just weeks away from issuing decisions on two major cases concerning former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the events of Jan. 6, lawmakers said the symbolism of the flags called into question Justice Alito’s neutrality. In an interview on Thursday, Representative Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Tennessee who has introduced a resolution to censure Justice Alito, said Congress needed to take the firm position that the justice’s actions were a violation of judicial propriety. “He’s not going to resign, he’s not going to recuse himself, and I don’t think Justice Roberts is going to be able to influence him in that regard,” he said, referring to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. “So the best we can do is to kind of put a scarlet letter on him.”

Persons: Samuel A, Alito Jr, Donald J, Steve Cohen, Justice Alito, “ He’s, he’s, Roberts, ”, John G Organizations: Democratic, Capitol Locations: Tennessee

☆ Biden Administration Cancels Another $7.7 Billion in Student Loans
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden announced on Wednesday the cancellation of $7.7 billion in student loans held by 160,000 borrowers, building on his strategy of chipping away at college debt by tweaking existing programs as his administration pursues a larger forgiveness plan. Many borrowers in this round — who qualified through public service loan forgiveness, the president’s SAVE plan or another income-driven repayment plan — have already begun receiving emails notifying them of their approvals, the Education Department said in a statement. The steady drumbeat of loan forgiveness announcements from the White House this year has become a centerpiece of Mr. Biden’s re-election pitch, in which he has consistently described overcoming the cost of education as a primary hurdle for working families. “From Day 1 of my administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” the president said in a statement.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s Organizations: Education Department

☆ Biden Administration Will Release 1 Million Barrels of Gasoline
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it would sell off one million barrels of gasoline over the coming weeks from a strategic reserve in the Northeast, a move it said was designed to keep gasoline prices in check for consumers ahead of the July 4 holiday. The sale of the government-owned stock was mandated by Congress in the spending bill it passed in March, and will culminate in the closure of the reserve, which has facilities in the New York Harbor area and Maine. The gasoline will be allocated in quantities of 100,000 barrels, which will be sold through a competitive bidding process, and was “structured to maximize its impact on gasoline prices” by timing it between Memorial Day and Independence Day, the Energy Department’s announcement said. “The Biden-Harris administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season,” Jennifer M. Granholm, the secretary of energy, said in the statement. In practical terms, the move is unlikely to have a significant impact on gasoline prices, as even one million barrels — or around 42 million gallons — amounts to only a fraction of the total gasoline used in the United States, or even in the Northeast, in a single day.

Persons: “ The, Harris, ” Jennifer M, Granholm Organizations: Biden, Congress, New, Day, Energy, “ The Biden Locations: Northeast, New York Harbor, Maine, United States

☆ White House Says Israel Still Has Provided No Plan to Protect Rafah Civilians
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( David E. Sanger | Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden’s national security adviser said on Monday that while the United States was committed to Israel’s defense, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had still failed to provide the White House with a plan for moving nearly a million Gazans safely out of Rafah before any invasion of the city. In a lengthy presentation to reporters, the adviser, Jake Sullivan, also said Israel had yet to “connect their military operations” to a political plan for the future governance of the Palestinian territory. Mr. Sullivan, who has been at the center of the administration’s response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel and its aftermath, described in detail the administration’s objectives in intervening to achieve a cease-fire and a return of hostages, including Americans, still in the hands of Hamas. But beneath repeated expressions of support for Israel, he made clear Mr. Biden’s frustration in dealings with Mr. Netanyahu, after a series of heated conversations between the two men. Mr. Sullivan insisted that the only weapons Mr. Biden was withholding from the Israelis were 2,000-pound bombs, for fear that the U.S. munitions, which can level whole city blocks, would be employed by Israel in its effort to rout Hamas leaders from their tunnel network, deep under the city.

Persons: Biden’s, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Jake Sullivan, Israel, Sullivan, Netanyahu, Biden Organizations: Israel Locations: United States, Rafah, Israel

☆ Jill Biden Hosts Gala, With Teachers as the Honored Dignitaries
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Zach Montague | More About Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The hallmarks of a state dinner were there: lavish floral displays festooning the White House, the first lady arriving in a floor-length sequined gown, and members of Congress and cabinet secretaries mingling with attendees. But the honored guest was not the president of France or the prime minister of Japan. It was Missy Testerman of Rogersville City School in rural Tennessee. Jill Biden, the first lady, kicked off a new format for delivering the National Teacher of the Year award on Thursday by hosting this year’s winner, Ms. Testerman, and dozens of other teachers from across the country at the White House with a ceremony emulating the pomp normally reserved for foreign dignitaries. “Tonight we celebrate you because teaching isn’t just a job, it’s a calling,” Dr. Biden said, adding, “To answer this call of service is in itself an act of hope.”

Persons: Missy Testerman, Jill Biden, Testerman, Dr . Biden, isn’t, it’s, ” Dr, Biden, ” Organizations: Rogersville City School, White Locations: France, Japan, Tennessee

☆ Biden Cancels $6.1 Billion in Debt for Former Art Institute Students
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Zach Montague | More About Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration on Wednesday canceled more than $6 billion in student debt for 317,000 people who attended the Art Institutes, a now-defunct network of for-profit colleges that President Biden said “knowingly misled” students. After a review of lawsuits brought by state attorneys general against the schools and their parent company, Education Management Corporation, the Education Department found that the Art Institutes falsified job placement figures in advertisements and misled prospective students with inflated salary expectations. In one case the department highlighted, an Art Institute campus in Florida appeared to have included the tennis star Serena Williams’s annual income in its graduate salary projections after she had attended classes there. “This institution falsified data, knowingly misled students and cheated borrowers into taking on mountains of debt without leading to promising career prospects at the end of their studies,” President Biden said in a statement.

Persons: Biden, “, Serena, ” Organizations: Wednesday, Art Institutes, Education Management Corporation, Education Department, Art Institute Locations: Florida

☆ Leader of Federal Student Aid Office Steps Down After College Admissions Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The nation’s top student aid official is stepping down, the Education Department said Friday, after the disastrous rollout of a new financial aid form that upended the college admissions process for millions of students this year. Richard Cordray, who took over as the leader of the Federal Student Aid office in 2021, will hand over his duties in June, Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona said in a statement. Mr. Cordray’s departure coincides with a fraught admissions season. College administrators, students and members of Congress across the political spectrum have rebuked the Education Department for mismanaging a redesign of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, throwing the usual college admissions process into disarray. In his role, Mr. Cordray also oversaw a variety of other programs, including many parts of the Biden administration’s sweeping vision of student debt relief for millions of borrowers through loan forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans.

Persons: Richard Cordray, Miguel A, Cardona, Cordray Organizations: Education Department, Federal, Aid, College, mismanaging, Biden

☆ Biden Will Speak at Morehouse and West Point Graduations
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden will deliver commencement addresses next month at Morehouse College in Georgia and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point at a time when anger over U.S. foreign policy has led to an eruption of student protests at several campuses. In addition to the relatively traditional speech at West Point, which presidents often deliver at least once during their tenure, the stop at Morehouse will give Mr. Biden an opportunity to speak to students at a historically Black college in a key battleground state as he works to shore up support among young voters. The announcement from the White House on Tuesday came during heightened tensions at several universities, including Columbia, New York University and Yale, in which police have been called in to clear crowds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Hundreds of people have been arrested while participating in campus demonstrations in recent days, and the disruptions at Columbia prompted the school to move classes online on Monday. Reports of demonstrators targeting and harassing Jewish students at Columbia over the weekend also drew rebukes from the White House, as Mr. Biden and White House aides warned that some demonstrations had veered into antisemitism or praise for those who have expressed it.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Morehouse College, U.S . Military Academy, West, Morehouse, White, Columbia , New York University and Yale, Columbia Locations: Georgia, West, Columbia ,

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