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☆ Donald Trump rape accuser E. Jean Carroll can share his infamous Access Hollywood tape to support her defamation claim, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Ashley Collman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Carroll sued Trump when he loudly denied her claim that he raped her in the mid-1990s. Thus, in order to prevail on her libel claim, Ms. Carroll must prove that Mr. Trump sexually assaulted her," Kaplan wrote in his ruling. "Mr. Trump's alleged sexual assaults on Mss. Indeed that surely is why Mr. Trump seeks to exclude it." Representatives for Trump and Carroll did not immediately return Insider's request for comment on Judge Kaplan's ruling Friday.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

Questions posed by the conservative justices during arguments on Tuesday over Biden's debt relief indicated that the conservative-majority court could strike down the plan as an unlawful overreach of executive power. "If Congress can't or won't step up, and the court won't let presidents do so, what are we left with? Its conservative justices already have invoked it to scuttle a pandemic-era residential eviction moratorium, a COVID-19 vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses and federal limits on carbon emissions from power plants. In some instances, like Biden's unilateral effort to extend the eviction moratorium, he took executive action following congressional inaction. "I'm concerned that we're going to have a problem in terms of the federal government's ability to operate," Jackson said.

☆ Student debt forgiveness heads to the Supreme Court—here's what borrowers need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Activists and students protest in front of the Supreme Court during a rally for student debt cancellation in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2023. The Supreme Court hears oral arguments this week against and for President Joe Biden's student debt forgiveness plan. The Biden administration has appealed both rulings, maintaining the president is within his authority to cancel federal student debt. Who will benefit the most from student debt forgiveness? What happens if the Supreme Court stops debt forgiveness?

☆ Here's how after-tax 401(k) contributions can help with those big retirement savings goals for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Morsa Images | E+ | Getty ImagesThe difference between after-tax and Roth accountsAfter-tax 401(k) contributions are different than Roth 401(k) savings. For 2023, if you're under 50, you can defer up to $22,500 of your salary into your plan's regular pretax or Roth 401(k) account. The percentage of plans offering a Roth 401(k) saving option has surged over the past decade. watch nowHowever, some plans offer additional after-tax contributions to your traditional 401(k), which allows you to save more than the $22,500 cap. In 2021, roughly 21% of company plans offered after-tax 401(k) contributions, compared to about 20% of plans in 2020, the survey found.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about the student loan forgiveness program from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, U.S., October 17, 2022. The program fulfilled Biden's 2020 campaign promise to cancel a portion of the nation's $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt but was criticized by Republicans and others as an overreach of his authority. Biden's administration has said the plan is authorized under a 2003 federal law called the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, or HEROES Act, that allows student loan debt relief during wartime or national emergencies. Beginning in 2020, the administrations of President Donald Trump, a Republican, and Biden, a Democrat, repeatedly paused federal student loan payments and halted interest from accruing, relying upon the HEROES Act. Missouri-based U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey found the states - Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina lacked the legal standing to sue.

☆ U.S. Supreme Court's 'major questions' test may doom Biden student debt plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

She did not realize she was setting off on a path toward another, less-welcome family first - racking up more than $150,000 in student debt. The major questions doctrine is an outgrowth of an approach favored by many conservatives and business groups to curb what they call the excesses of the "administrative state." Beginning in 2020, the administrations of President Donald Trump, a Republican, and Biden, a Democrat, repeatedly paused federal student loan payments and halted interest from accruing. Two lawsuits - one by six conservative-leaning states and the other by two student loan borrowers who opposed the plan's eligibility requirements - prompted lower courts to block it. 'INSUFFICIENT FUNDS'The major questions doctrine gives judges broad discretion to invalidate executive agency actions unless Congress clearly authorized them in legislation.

☆ Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott drops plan to cut Social Security, Medicare
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Let me say one more time: There is no agenda on the part of Senate Republicans to revisit Medicare or Social Security. Scott's move also came a day after Republican former President Donald Trump urged him to support Social Security and Medicare in a posting on his Truth Social media platform. "Be careful, Rick, and most importantly, fight for Social Security and Medicare. It also said: "Note to President Biden, Sen. Schumer, and Sen. McConnell – As you know, this was never intended to apply to Social Security, Medicare, or the US Navy." The White House said the newly revamped Scott plan should not be taken at face value.

☆ Average 401(k) balances dropped 20% in 2022 — but few investors flinched, Vanguard research shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

There's no question 2022 was a rough year for investors. With record-high inflation, economic uncertainty and aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve to combat rising prices, stocks took a beating. The median balance — half were above, half below — was $27,376 at the end of the year, a 23% decrease. At the same time, though, 39% of participants' deferral rate — the portion of their paycheck directed to their 401(k) account — climbed higher, compared with 9% of investors who decreased their contributions. While many initiated the increase on their own, more than half of the boosts came from the plan's yearly automatic escalation.

☆ Bernstein downgrades Tripadvisor, says strategic plan is 'more defensive than offensive'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tripadvisor 's strategic plan, coupled with its recent outperformance, put Bernstein on the sidelines. Analyst Richard Clarke downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform. That price target implies the stock could rise 3.2% over the next year from where it closed Wednesday. Management laid out what Clarke called a "highly sensible" strategic plan for its core business during fourth-quarter earnings. The stock has gained 40.2% since the start of 2023, regaining ground after losing 34% in 2022.

☆ We just learned the names of the 2 people secretly guaranteeing Sam Bankman-Fried's $250 million bond
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Larry Kramer and Andreas Paepcke are the two previously anonymous sponsors of Samuel Bankman-Fried's $250 million bond. A federal judge sided with Insider and other media organizations and made their names public. Larry Kramer, a former dean of Stanford University's law school, contributed $500,000 to the bond, according to court records unsealed Wednesday afternoon. Bankman-Fried's parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who are both professors at Stanford University's law school, have also contributed to the bond. He also said he had no business interest in the $500,000 he contributed towards Bankman-Fried's bond.

☆ Judge rejects Trump offer to provide DNA sample in E. Jean Carroll rape defamation case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A New York federal judge on Wednesday rejected a conditional offer by former President Donald Trump to provide a DNA sample in a lawsuit accusing him of raping a writer in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Trump until recently had refused to provide a DNA sample. The judge noted that Carroll would not be entitled now to get a DNA sample from Trump, because the process of exchanging evidence, known as discovery, is completed. "Her counsel have had plenty of opportunities in both of the two related cases to move to compel Mr. Trump to submit a DNA sample," Kaplan wrote. But Ms. Carroll's counsel never moved to compel Mr. Trump to submit a DNA sample.

[1/2] Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Florence Regional Airport in Florence, South Carolina, U.S., March 12, 2022. Kaplan said Trump's offer would "almost certainly" delay a scheduled April 25 trial and unduly harm Carroll, who has long accused Trump of stalling. Joseph Tacopina, who joined Trump's legal team two weeks ago, and Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan declined to comment. Carroll originally sought Trump's DNA to compare against a dress she said she wore when the alleged rape occurred. The second lawsuit came in November after Trump repeated his denial, using similar language, in a social media post the prior month.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a proposal to modify Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions, despite an agreement between the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder and prosecutors to address potential witness tampering concerns. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan did not provide reasons for the denial, and said a hearing on bail remains scheduled for Feb. 9. Prosecutors had asked last month to tighten bail, citing Bankman-Fried's efforts to contact both the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate and new FTX Chief Executive John Ray, ostensibly to provide assistance. Bankman-Fried would have also withdrawn his objection to a bail condition preventing him from accessing FTX, Alameda or cryptocurrency assets. They cited the cases' substantial overlap, and the risk Bankman-Fried could gather evidence in the civil cases to help his criminal defense.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a proposal to modify Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions, despite an agreement between the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder and prosecutors to address potential witness tampering concerns. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan did not provide reasons for the denial, and said a hearing on Bankman-Fried's bail remains scheduled for Feb. 9. Prosecutors had asked last month to tighten his bail conditions, citing Bankman-Fried's efforts to contact both the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate and new FTX Chief Executive John Ray, ostensibly to provide assistance. The proposed conditions would prevent Bankman-Fried from talking with most employees of FTX or his Alameda Research hedge fund without lawyers present, or using encrypted messaging apps such as Signal. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alignment Healthcare's CEO shared 3 reasons he thinks the upstart will win in health insurance — and why it won't unravel like Bright Health
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Young health insurers that went public in 2021 have bled money. Some health insurers that went public in 2021 at high valuations have struggled since then. Several young insurers have bled money as they've grown quickly. Bright Health, another Medicare Advantage insurer, came close to insolvency and had to shut down its health plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Growing steadily with a narrow focusBefore the recent market slowdown, growing fast had been a common strategy for newly public health insurers and digital health broadly.

☆ The era of health insurance disruptors is over
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Today, they're mostly the poster children of just how challenging it is to break into the insurance industry. Clover Health; Bright Health; Oscar Health; Olivia Reaney/Business InsiderOscar, founded in 2012, and Bright, in 2015, set out to sell health plans to people buying coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Elevance Health, the parent company of Anthem health plans, is No. Health insurance remains overly complex and mind-numbingly frustrating. Established health insurers haven't been able to stem the rise in health costs, which are mostly determined by the prices for medical care.

Review: Is the Chase Aeroplan card the best credit card for you? It's not often an airline credit card makes waves with a strong welcome bonus and completely unique benefits, but the Aeroplan® Credit Card has managed to do just that. As the first Air Canada-branded credit card offered by Chase (and the only Aeroplan card on the US market) the Aeroplan® Credit Card is packed with perks — and it's worth considering, even if you're not a regular Air Canada flyer. However, points transferred to your Aeroplan account from the Aeroplan® Credit Card won't expire as long as your card account is open. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightAeroplan credit card fees and costsThe Aeroplan® Credit Card charges a $95 annual fee, but you won't pay foreign transaction fees, which makes it a good card to use when you're traveling internationally.

☆ A more useful way to measure intelligence, XQ is 'the new EQ,' says USC research scientist
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

There's a new way to predict success: XQ, or experiential intelligence. Rather than book smarts or empathetic abilities, experiential intelligence is a measure of how your life experiences have shaped the way you think, what you know and how you use that knowledge. "[It's] the combination of mindsets, abilities and know-how gained from your past experiences," Soren Kaplan, author of the book "Experiential Intelligence: Harness the Power of Experience for Personal and Business Breakthroughs," tells CNBC Make It. And while you might work to improve your EQ, for example, you don't require training to start applying experiential intelligence to your own life. "Everyone has experiential intelligence," Kaplan says.

☆ Fox News meteorologist beaten on NYC subway train
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Uwa Ede-Osifo | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Fox News weatherman who was on his way home from a bar early Sunday was assaulted by a group of teenagers on a New York City subway, police said. Four teens beat Adam Klotz, 37, after he asked them to stop smoking marijuana and to stop harassing an elderly passenger, New York City police said. After he was first attacked, Klotz said, he tried to evade the group by going to another subway car. Klotz criticized Mayor Eric Adams, saying the city does not adequately address subway violence. "Why is the weather guy on the train trying to stop crime in the middle of the night?"

☆ Don't forget about your old 401(k) if you quit a job or are laid off. What departing workers need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Peopleimages | Istock | Getty ImagesWhether you're leaving your job by choice or not, don't forget about your 401(k) plan. You have three basic choices for an old 401(k)Broadly speaking, you have several options for your old 401(k). Basically, finding old 401(k) accounts can be tricky if you lose track of them. Some large 401(k) plan administrators — Fidelity Investments, Vanguard Group and Alight Solutions — also have teamed up to offer their own lost and found. Be aware that if you have a Roth 401(k), it can only be transferred to another Roth account.

☆ Portugal wants EU green tech package to ensure level playing field
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The European Union's response to the United States' stimulus package for green tech investments should use financing instruments that ensure equality between all members instead of favouring the bloc's most industrialised nations, Portugal's finance minister said on Tuesday. Brussels is concerned that European companies will increasingly move to the United States, which has a $369 billion scheme to subsidise green production. "But it has to be implemented through European mechanisms that ensure equality within the European space," he added. "The smaller European countries cannot lose to the larger countries in an internal competition that would not make sense to open at this moment," he said. Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by David Latona and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Biden administration just made it easier for Trump to keep a key promise on prescription drugs if he wins in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The Biden administration presented a plan on Wednesday to let the government negotiate drug prices. Trump, who once accused Big Pharma of "getting away with murder," could be president when drug prices fall. Gutting the prescription drug provision would come at a cost to the federal government. President Trump signed a series of four executive orders aimed at lowering prices that for prescription drugs in the United States. "There has been no bigger champion of lowering prescription costs and putting Americans first than President Trump," Steven Cheung, Trump's 2024 campaign spokesman, told Insider.

David Slotnick/Business InsiderAmerican Express Membership Rewards points are among the most valuable card rewards you can earn. You'll usually get the most value from Amex points by transferring them to airline and hotel partners. In fact, the Amex Membership Rewards program debuted way back in 1991 with just seven US airline partners. More Information Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. What to know about transferring Amex points to partnersAmerican Express Membership Rewards points are among the most valuable and versatile travel rewards out there.

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