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☆ Ex-Twitter employee tells AOC the platform changed its content moderation policy to accommodate Trump's racist 'go back' tweets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A former top Twitter official said the social network bent its rules for Trump's 2019 racist tweet. "So much for bias against right-wing on Twitter," Ocasio-Cortez said, concluding the line of questioning. The recommendation had been for Trump's tweets to be labeled but allowed to remain on the platform since he was a public figure. Twitter was repeatedly criticized for allowing Trump's tweets to stand. Following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, the social network banned the president "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated Ayanna Pressley tweet claiming IQ is a measure of whiteness shared online
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Rep. Pressley never tweeted this.”A Twitter advanced search did not reveal any such post published via Pressley’s official Twitter account (archive.is/wip/5bhz5). Archived versions of her Twitter account saved on June 17, 2021, similarly, do not reveal the tweet (here). An archive of Pressley’s deleted tweets saved via ProPublica's Politwoops does not reveal any such deleted post first published on June 15, 2021 (here similar archive of Pressley’s deleted Twitter posts saved via Polititweet does not reveal the post (here). Google advanced search does not reveal any media articles reporting on the purported tweet, and instead, reveals iterations of the image shared via meme sites such as iFunny (archive.is/wip/sHwuX). No such tweet was published by Rep. Pressley.

☆ AOC says chaos in the GOP House shows that the Squad is pretty reasonable in comparison
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed the ongoing chaos in the Republican Party. She said it showed the group of progressives she's a member of is reasonable in comparison. The GOP has failed to elect a House speaker during three days of voting, paralyzing Congress. "The more days that this goes on the more this truly starts to have a corrosive impact on our country," Ocasio-Cortez said. The group have regularly clashed with Democratic Party leadership on issues including the Green New Deal and expanded Medicare provisions.

What credit scores don't captureLenders have always needed a way to determine a borrower's creditworthiness, and credit scores were a faster, easier way to do so. "If you look at credit scores from the perspective of other social actors, like policymakers or consumer advocates, why someone does or does not repay might start to have more bearing on how you make sense of credit scores," says Kiviat. The credit scoring system can also reflect and even worsen existing racial and wealth inequality. However, the credit scoring and reporting systems can function imperfectly, leaving many of the most marginalized without credit scores or with poor credit scores. Furthermore, policymakers have been considering how to make it easier for people to access their credit scores and resolve mistakes on their credit reports.

☆ Biden's student-loan forgiveness might not be doomed if the Supreme Court strikes it down — he could take another legal path
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Some advocates and lawmakers argue the Higher Education Act can be used to cancel student debt. "I believe it probably would have been better for him to use the Higher Education Act of 1965," Weiss said. The Higher Education Act as an alternativeSome Democratic lawmakers and experts argue that the authority to cancel student debt has always existed under the Higher Education Act. Legal experts have also voiced support for the Higher Education Act. The Education Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on whether it is considering pursuing alternative routes to debt relief, including via the Higher Education Act.

☆ Biden extends the student-loan payment pause for another 6 months at most as his debt relief remains blocked in court
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Biden just announced an extension of the student-loan payment pause no later than June 30, 2023. It comes as the debt relief remains blocked in federal courts. Biden's administration recently asked the Supreme Court to revive the debt relief. "Student debt cancellation will change and save lives, and no eligible borrower should have to pay a dime on their student loans until they receive the up to $20,000 in student debt cancellation they were promised by President Biden." At this point, it's unclear whether the Supreme Court will decide to revive the debt relief or dismiss the administration's appeal.

☆ Democratic Rep. who signed withdrawn letter on Ukraine said nobody told them it was getting released: CNN
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A controversial letter went out without those who signed it knowing, per a Rep. who spoke to CNN. 30 progressive Democrats signed a letter urging diplomacy with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Unnamed aides to other members of Congress told CNN the same thing. In withdrawing the letter, Jayapal said it "was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting." The anonymous member who said that Jayapal's office did not check back with signatories before the letter's release told CNN that the "timing is terrible."

☆ Biden's Education Department will test the application for student-loan forgiveness with 'members of the general public' before it officially goes live
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Education Department is testing its student-loan forgiveness application with some members of the general public. It also affirmed it will not cancel any student debt before October 23. This new information comes in a legal filing defending debt relief from GOP-led lawsuits. The Education Department said that while around 8 million borrowers would automatically be eligible for debt relief, the majority would have to apply through an application that was set to become available in early October. The Education Department has affirmed that the process will be "smooth and simple," and borrowers will not need to upload any documents to verify their incomes.

☆ Young Black activists are done waiting their turn for political office. They're taking on the 'John Lewis generation' of elder lawmakers who they say are out of touch.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Elvina Nawaguna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Most members of the Congressional Black Caucus are twice as old as the median Black person living in the US. The Congressional Black Caucus, a powerful voice for Black Americans, is significantly older than those it speaks for. Clay had replaced his father, William Lacy Clay Sr., a civil-rights icon and founding Congressional Black Caucus member who had represented the area since 1969. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesThe Congressional Black Caucus is reckoning with a leftward shift it's struggled to embrace. A spokesperson for the Congressional Black Caucus did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ This map shows how many people in each state could benefit from Biden's student loan forgiveness
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

President Joe Biden's recently announced student debt forgiveness could impact states differently. The estimated share of a state's population that is eligible for student loan forgiveness varies across the US. Insider looked at how many people could be eligible for student loan forgiveness after adjusting by population. As The Columbus Dispatch reported, over 94% of student loan borrowers in Ohio could be eligible for this student loan relief. Even in the states where Republicans have opposed Biden's debt relief, millions of borrowers could benefit.

☆ Meet a government worker who regrets refinancing her student debt because she didn't know it would block her from federal loan forgiveness: 'I never would have done that'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tanya Burnett, a federal government worker, refinanced her student debt into private loans in 2016. She wasn't aware at the time that doing so would block her from Biden's recent federal loan forgiveness. In 2016, Burnett started paperwork to qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after ten years of qualifying payments. It also meant taking her federal loans to a private lender. She's certainly not the only one who refinanced, and now, cannot take advantage of Biden's one-time blanket debt relief.

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday passed a package of police funding and public safety bills, legislation that will help vulnerable Democrats blunt GOP campaign attacks that they want to “defund the police” and are ignoring rising crime. John Minchillo / AP fileThe passage of four policing and safety bills came after some last-minute, intraparty drama earlier in the day. Had they followed through, it would have derailed the entire package and dealt Democrats an embarrassing blow on a major campaign issue before the midterms. The Gottheimer bill, which easily passed 360-64, would provide grants to local police departments with fewer than 125 sworn officers. While there is Senate support for some of the House-passed bills, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has no plans to bring a policing package to the floor before the Nov. 8 midterm election.

☆ Here's how many people will get student loan forgiveness in each state
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The White House released an analysis on Tuesday of how many people in each state stand to benefit from its student loan forgiveness plan, including a count of borrowers who received a Pell Grant. There is no precedent for the sweeping loan relief President Joe Biden announced last month, which may cost up to $1 trillion. More from Personal Finance:How student loan forgiveness will be applied to your debtsKey events on the path to student loan forgivenessHow to calculate your bill for student loan forgivenessMost Pell Grant recipients come from families with incomes of less than $60,000, says higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. The relief is limited to individuals earning no more than $125,000 a year, or households making less than $250,000. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., a longtime advocate for student loan forgiveness, said she became emotional looking at the numbers.

☆ 22 GOP state governors are trying to block Biden's student-loan forgiveness even though millions of their residents could benefit
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

22 GOP state governors urged Biden to withdraw his student-loan forgiveness plan. Millions of borrowers would likely qualify for the debt cancellation in the 22 GOP-led states. In 11 states, over 1 million borrowers are projected to be eligible for the loan forgiveness, per the data, with California leading the list at 3.5 million borrowers. Since Biden announced his relief, Republicans have been pushing back on the policy — some have even expressed intent to block the loan forgiveness in court. "Nearly 20 million borrowers will have their entire balances discharged, others will benefit from lower balances and lower payments."

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