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President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a long-awaited plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, making good on a campaign promise to aid debt-strapped younger Americans even as some Republicans argue the move could worsen inflation.

HOW MUCH WILL BE CANCELED AND FOR WHOM?

The government will cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. Students who received Pell Grants, low-interest federal loans to benefit lower-income college students, will have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled.

Cancelling $10,000 in student loan debt for every borrower would cost the U.S. government $321 billion, the New York Federal Reserve calculated in April, but the income cap means the actual cost will be lower than that.

The New York Fed estimated that forgiving $10,000 per borrower would eliminate student debt for 11.8 million borrowers, or 31% of the total number. The White House said that figure will be 20 million borrowers. Nearly 90% of those borrowers will make under $75,000 a year, the White House said.

Continue reading “How Biden’s student loan forgiveness will impact U.S. consumers”

March 23 – Nearly 2,000 lawyers at more than 100 law firms and companies are preparing to help Ukrainians living in the United States obtain temporary deportation relief and work permits as part of a volunteer effort organized by law firm Kirkland & Ellis and the non-profit Lawyers for Good Government.

Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration earlier this month said Ukrainians in the United States would be able to apply for Temporary Protected Status, a form of immigration relief that would allow them to stay and work in the country.

Continue reading “U.S. lawyers line up to aid Ukrainians with immigration relief”

A federal judge on Friday blocked for now the Biden administration from restoring Obama-era values for calculating the cost of climate change in the government’s permitting, investment and regulatory decisions.

The preliminary ruling by a U.S. District Court judge in Louisiana is a blow to President Joe Biden’s efforts to factor the risks of climate change into federal decision-making.

It is also the latest in a string of court decisions that have both stymied and affirmed Biden’s efforts to fight climate change. Last month, a federal judge invalidated the results of an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico that the administration only held because of a separate federal court order blocking the president’s pause on new auctions.

Continue reading “U.S. judge blocks Biden measure for calculating climate risks”

Federal appeals courts in New Orleans and Chicago have announced new plans to curb public operations in January as COVID-19 infections surge across the country, marking the latest moves in the federal judiciary to minimize exposure threats.

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a statement on Tuesday the court will hear arguments by telephone or video through the end of January. The appeals court also said on-site staffing would be minimized through Jan. 31.

In New Orleans, the 5th Circuit on Wednesday said its courthouse will close to the public beginning on Jan. 3 “due to resurgence of COVID in the New Orleans area.”

The court said oral arguments will continue in person or by video, as directed by panels. The court has not made a decision regarding proceedings later in January, including a scheduled en banc session on Jan. 19.

Continue reading “Federal appeals courts restrict public operations amid COVID surge”

 The United States announced criminal charges on Thursday against two Iranians it accuses of launching a cyber disinformation campaign to meddle in the 2020 U.S. presidential election that targeted voters as well as elected members of Congress and a U.S. media company.

The U.S. Treasury also announced it was imposing sanctions on six Iranians and one Iranian group for trying to influence the 2020 U.S. election.

Continue reading “U.S. charges Iranians for alleged cyber plot to meddle in 2020 presidential election”