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Biden says 'this fight is not over' after Supreme Court kills student debt relief plan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that "this fight is not over” after the Supreme Court killed his plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt. He also blasted Republicans over the issue.Biden said he would have more to say when he speaks to the nation on Friday afternoon. He had proposed a $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of borrowers. The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, said the Biden administration overstepped its authority with the plan, and it leaves borrowers on the hook for repayments that are expected to resume in the fall.Biden was to announce a new set of actions to protect student loan borrowers later Friday, said a White House official. The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of Biden’s expected statement on the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.The court held that the administration needed Congress' endorsement before undertaking so cost...

Minimum wage workers to receive wage bump coming July 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

CHICAGO -- Most minimum wage workers will receive a 40-cent bump per hour. The Cook County Board President was joined by the office of Labor Standards, the Department of Human Rights and Ethics and Arise Chicago to remind workers of the increased wages that goes into effect July 1st.Under the city's minimum wage ordinance, the minimum wage for large employers such as companies with 21 or more employees must now be paid 15 dollars and 80 cents. People who works for employers who have four to 20 employees must be paid $15 an hour and increase of 50 cents per hour. For workers who receive tips, it also rises to eight dollars per hour. If tipped workers don't receive enough tips, their employers must make up the difference to equal the city's minimum wage. Supreme Court strikes down Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan The Cook County Board President says the city's labor laws reflect a commitment to creating economic prosperity for all workers. "Enforcement of the minimum wage is j...

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light didn't support her during backlash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says she felt abandoned by Bud Light after facing “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined” over her partnership with the beer giant.In a video posted Thursday to Instagram and TikTok, she said she "was waiting for the brand to reach out to me. But they never did.” She said she should have spoken out sooner but was afraid and hoped things would get better — but they didn't.“For months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house,” Mulvaney said. “I have been ridiculed in public. I’ve been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.” Bud Light is no longer America’s top beer following anti-LGBTQ+ pushback Anheuser-Busch didn't directly respond to Mulvaney in a statement the company released Friday. But it said it remains "committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community."A deluge of critici...

Ex-Ohio House speaker sentenced to 20 years in bribery scandal: 'Conned the people of Ohio'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

Watch above for a previous report on prosecutors' sentencing recommendationCINCINNATI, Ohio (WCMH) – A federal judge on Thursday sentenced former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder to 20 years in prison for helping orchestrate the largest public corruption scandal in state history.U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black announced Householder’s sentence, three months after the ousted speaker was convicted on federal racketeering charges for accepting a $60 million bribe from Akron-based FirstEnergy in exchange for passing a $1.3 billion ratepayer-funded nuclear power plant bailout and squashing a referendum effort against it. In a scathing speech before the court, Black said Householder "conned the people of Ohio and then tried to con the jury, too.""Those voters deserved a representative who would look out for them, and you took that away," Black told Householder. "And then there's the money. How many scholarships could that have provided? How many small businesses could that have...

Fear of an 'internet apocalypse' is brewing: How likely will upcoming solar storms wreak havoc?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Could a future solar storm knock out the internet and plunge us all into the pre-dial-up days of yore?Sure, it’s possible. But it might not be very likely.In recent weeks, users on social media have been deliberating the possibility of a widespread internet outage caused by a coronal mass injection — one so powerful that it causes a geomagnetic storm that could knock out online communication for months and cause devastation to the worldwide economy.Concerns over such a scenario were partially fueled by a recent NASA article detailing the space agency’s efforts to predict especially powerful solar storms that potentially could have disruptive effects on telecommunications, satellites and power grids.“In addition, the risk of geomagnetic storms and devastating effects on our society is presently increasing as we approach the next ‘solar maximum’ — a peak in the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle — which is expected to arrive sometime in 2025,” wrote Vanessa Thomas, a science wri...

Council member: DPS may focus, in part, on downtown upon return to Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for June 30, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As the Texas Department of Public Safety gears up to resume its patrols in Austin Sunday, some business owners hope troopers can help with downtown crime. "It would be great to see DPS add patrols downtown," Craig Staley, the owner of Royal Blue Grocery, told KXAN last week when someone assaulted one of his employees while trying to steal from the shop. How does DPS traffic stop data differ from APD’s? The Austin Police Department said the DPS deployment will look different this time around. Troopers will still focus on crime hot spot areas and high-traffic roadways - but will also assist in sectors with the lowest APD staff levels.Council Member Mackenzie Kelly also said public safety officials told her there "may be more focus on downtown because of crime in the area."APD uses a data-driven approach to decide where to deploy troopers. KXAN is still waiting to hear back from th...

UT Austin is No. 4 among US public universities, global rankings show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The University of Texas at Austin ranked No. 4 among public universities in the U.S., according to QS World University Rankings. The university also ranked No. 58 in the world.Among both public and private universities in the U.S., UT Austin ranked No. 19 and was named the best in Texas, according to a release from UT.The rankings were based on several factors, which included:Academic reputationFaculty-student ratioCitations per faculty memberSustainabilityEmployabilityInternational research collaboration“The results draw on the analysis of more than 17 million academic papers and the expert opinions of 240,000 academic faculty members and employers,” UT said.UT was not the only Texas university listed among the best. Other Texas universities featured in the rankings included Texas A&M at No. 32, Rice University at No. 34 and The University of Texas at Dallas at No. 86.

Thousands expected on Lady Bird Lake during Austin fireworks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Thousands of paddleboarders and kayakers are expected on Lady Bird Lake ahead of the Fourth of July fireworks show in Austin, Texas. While many locals bring their own boards and equipment, hundreds also rent. Many, if not all, Water Sports Equipment Services are expected to sell out of their rentals at some point during the day on the 4th. While a few don't accept reservations ahead of time, many companies do. What you need to know for the Austin Symphony July 4th Concert Meteorologist Sean Kelly spoke with one popular rental service Texas Rowing Center. Owner Matt Knifton said this was not only the biggest week in rentals that he sees over the course of the entire year, but the Fourth of July Holiday was when they see the most customers. So busy in fact, year after year they sell out of their rented equipment. This year is expected to be no different. Knifton encourages interested customers to reserve their water equipment a few days out in advance to ensure the...

A new pro women’s hockey league is set to launch in January in North America, ending a long standoff

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

By JOHN WAWROW and STEPHEN WHYNO (AP Hockey Writers)Organizers announced plans Friday to launch a new women’s professional hockey league in January that they hope will provide a stable, economically respectable home for the sport’s top players for years to come.The North American league has many unanswered questions — how many teams, where they will play, will the economic model work after earlier leagues fell short — but an initial framework is in place. The effort also has deep pockets behind it: Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter and wife Kimbra, team President Stan Kasten and tennis legend Billie Jean King will help run the league.“Over the past four years, we have worked tirelessly to close the gap on what young girls and boys dream to become in this sport,” said U.S. women’s star Kendall Coyne Schofield, a member of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association. The agreement ends a long standoff between the se...

Missing St. Paul woman’s boyfriend charged after dismembered remains found in Woodbury storage facility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:23:59 GMT

The search for a missing St. Paul woman has ended with her remains found and her boyfriend charged Friday with murder.Manijeh “Mani” Starren was reported missing to police by her father May 1. She last had contact with her family around April 21.Manijeh “Mani” Starren (Courtesy of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension)Starren was killed between April 21 and May 16, and investigators believe Joseph Steven Jorgenson dismembered her, according to the murder charge and criminal complaint against Jorgenson. Starren was 33 and would have have turned 34 on May 23.“Our hearts go out to the victim’s family and friends,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement. “The tireless work of our partners in law enforcement, especially the St. Paul Police Department, made charging this tragic and horrific case possible.”Starren lived in the 1400 block of East Seventh Street and apartment management told police on May 24 they’d found surveillance video ...