WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has allowed the U.S. Education Department to move ahead with a plan to lower monthly payments for millions of student loan borrowers, putting on hold a ruling last week by a lower court.
The ruling from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals puts back on track a central part of President Joe Biden's efforts to address student debt — a rule that lowers from 10% of discretionary income to 5% the amount that some borrowers qualifying for a repayment plan need to pay.
The reduced payment threshold was set to take effect July 1, but federal judges in Kansas and Missouri last week blocked much of the administration’s student loan repayment plan in two separate rulings. The ruling on Sunday means the department can move ahead with the reduced payments already calculated while it pursues an appeal.
The rulings have created a difficult environment for borrowers to navigate, said Persis Yu, deputy executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, which advocates for eliminating student debt. The stay granted by the 10th Circuit is temporary, Yu said, leaving many borrowers in the dark about future financial obligations.
“Borrowers are having to make decisions right now about their financial lives, and they don't know the very basic information that they need in order to make informed decisions,” Yu said.
The Biden administration created the SAVE plan last year to replace other existing income-based repayment plans offered by the federal government. It allowed many to qualify for lower payments, and forgiveness was granted to borrowers who had made payments for at least 10 years and originally borrowed $12,000 or less.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the Biden administrations remains committed "to our work to fix a broken student loan system and make college more affordable for more Americans.”
The appeals court ruling does not impact the injunction issued by a federal judge in Missouri, which prevents the Education Department from forgiving loan balances going forward.
The injunctions are the result of lawsuits from Republican-led states seeking to invalidate the Biden administration's entire loan forgiveness program, which was first available to borrowers in the summer of 2023, and at least 150,000 have had their loans cancelled. The suing states argued that the administration's plan was a workaround after the Supreme Court struck down the original plan for student loan forgiveness earlier that year.
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt relief at Delaware State University, Oct. 21, 2022, in Dover, Del. A federal appeals court has allowed the U.S. Education Department to move ahead with a plan to lower monthly payments for millions of student loans borrowers. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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ANIMALS-NO MATE-BIRTHS; KRAKEN-CAMPBELL; FEDERAL RESERVE-MINUTES; ABORTION REFERENDUMS-EXPLAINER; MENENDEZ-BRIBERY; ELECTION 2024-DEMOCRATS-CLYBURN; ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-DEBATE EXPLANATIONS; ELECTION 2024-WHAT BIDEN MEANT; JULY-4TH-TRAVEL; BIDEN-MEDAL OF HONOR; ITALY-POLICE OFFICER KILLED.
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TOP STORIES
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ELECTION 2024-BIDEN — President Joe Biden vowed to keep running for reelection as he rejected pressure from within his Democratic Party to withdraw after a disastrous debate. But in an ominous sign, one of his top allies publicly suggests a way the party might choose someone else. By Seung Min Kim and Will Weissert. SENT: 1,180 words, photos, video. With ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-DEMOCRATS — Democratic lawmakers grapple with a potential crisis; ELECTION 2024-DEMOCRATS-CLYBURN — Rep. Jim Clyburn outlines a process to replace Biden; ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-HISTORY LESSONS — Incumbents trying to win over their parties often struggle to win again; ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-DEBATE EXPLANATIONS — Evolving reasons for a bad debate; ELECTION 2024-WHAT BIDEN MEANT — White House explains Biden’s “Medicare” misstep (all sent). Also see ELECTION 2024-HARRIS below.
ELECTION 2024-TRUMP — Donald Trump typically likes to be the one in the spotlight. But in the days since Biden’s disastrous debate performance, the presumptive Republican nominee has kept a low profile, leaving the focus on the drama engulfing the Democratic Party. The strategy comes as Trump and his campaign revel in a series of legal and political victories heading into the Republican National convention later this month. By Jill Colvin. SENT: 1,280 words, photos.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS — Israel has approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades, a settlement tracking group said, a move that could further worsen already soaring tensions linked to the ongoing war in Gaza. By Julia Frankel. SENT: 1,100 words, photos, videos, graphic. With MIDEAST-TENSIONS-THE LATEST (sent).
BRITAIN-ELECTION — Rishi Sunak has covered thousands of miles in the past few weeks, but he hasn’t outrun the expectation that his time as Britain’s prime minister is in its final hours. SENT: 1,040 words, photos. By Jill Lawless. With BRITAIN-ELECTION-GLOSSARY — From red wall to King’s Speech, U.K. elections have a vocabulary all their own; BRITAIN-LANDMARK-ELECTIONS-2019 — U.K.’s landmark postwar elections: When Boris Johnson sought and got a mandate to “Get Brexit Done” (both sent).
DAM SAFETY-VULNERABILITIES — Floodwaters in rural Minnesota carved a path around a century old dam early last week, causing severe erosion to a riverbank. Several days later, intense rain damaged a dam in Texas. There are roughly 90,000 significant dams in the U.S. More than 4,000 are in poor or unsatisfactory condition and could either kill people or just harm the environment if they failed, according to data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. By Michael Phillis and John Hanna. SENT: 1,090 words, photos, videos.
TROPICAL-WEATHER — Hurricane Beryl was roaring by Jamaica, bringing fierce winds and heavy rain after the powerful Category 4 storm earlier killed at least six people and caused significant damage in the southeast Caribbean. By John Myers Jr. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, video, audio.
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SPOTLIGHTING VOICES
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AFGHANISTAN-WOMEN — Frozan Ahmadzai is one of 200,000 Afghan women who have the Taliban’s permission to work. Half of Afghanistan’s population now finds itself locked out of the freedom to work at a time when the country’s economy is worse than ever. SENT: 890 words, photos.
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ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
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LEBANON-ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH — An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a senior Hezbollah commander as tensions between the two sides continue to boil, a Hezbollah official told The Associated Press. SENT: 640 words, photos.
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MENENDEZ-BRIBERY — The defense for Sen. Bob Menendez has rested without the New Jersey Democrat testifying at his New York bribery trial. SENT: 550 words, photo.
CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — Firefighters are battling a growing wildfire in northern California that has forced at least 13,000 people to evacuate with another day of extreme heat expected. SENT: 590 words, photos, video.
JULY 4TH-TRAVEL — The July 4th holiday rush is on. TSA expects to screen a record number of travelers this weekend. SENT: 500 words, photos, audio.
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ELECTION 2024-HARRIS — Vice President Kamala Harris has been the White House’s first line of defense after Biden’s faltering performance in last week’s debate. SENT: 1,200 words, photos, video, audio. With ELECTION 2024-BIDEN-HARRIS-FUNDRAISING — How Harris could take over Biden’s campaign cash if he drops out and she runs for president (sent).
TRUMP-SUPREME COURT — The Supreme Court opinion giving broad immunity to Donald Trump could have a major effect on the current presidential race. SENT: 1,050 words, photos. With TRUMP-IMMUNITY-FACT FOCUS — Trump wasn’t exonerated by the immunity ruling, even though he says he was (sent).
GIULIANI-BANKRUTPCY — Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy comes under fire from creditors, including two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against him. SENT: 690 words, photos.
ELECTION 2024-PROJECT 2025 — The leader of a conservative think tank planning for a massive overhaul of the federal government says we are in the midst of “a second American Revolution” that will be bloodless “if the left allows it to be.” SENT: 640 words, photo.
BIDEN-MEDAL OF HONOR — Biden awarded the Medal of Honor for “conspicuous gallantry” to a pair of Union soldiers who stole a locomotive deep in Confederate territory during the Civil War and drove it north for 87 miles as they destroyed railroad tracks and telegraph lines. SENT: 480 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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SHOOTING-JULY 4TH PARADE — Suburban Chicago mom Keely Roberts counts the days, not years, since a deadly shooting at an Independence Day parade in 2022 injured her and left one of her twin boys paralyzed from the waist down. SENT: 610 words, photos, video.
ABORTION-REFERENDUMS — Organizers in Arizona and Nebraska say that they turned in far more signatures than required to get ballot measures on abortion rights before voters in November’s election. SENT: 840 words, photos. With ABORTION-REFERENDUMS-EXPLAINER (sent).
GUN VIOLENCE-SUMMER — Violence and mass shootings often surge in the summer months. SENT: 690 words, photos.
BALDWIN SET SHOOTING-FILM INCENTIVES — Producers of the western movie “Rust” may have to forgo a robust economic incentive as they try to sell the newly completed film to distributors. SENT: 890 words, photos.
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ITALY-POLICE OFFICER KILLED — An Italian appeals court upheld the convictions of two American men in the slaying of an Italian plainclothes police officer during a botched sting operation five years ago but significantly reduced their sentences. SENT: 710 words, photos, audio.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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PREHISTORIC-SALAMANDER — Scientists have revealed fossils of a giant salamanderlike beast with sharp fangs that ruled waters before the first dinosaurs arrived. By Science Writer Adithi Ramakrishnan. SENT: 300 words, photos, video.
ANIMALS-NO-MATE-BIRTHS — Females of species have the ability to reproduce asexually, without sperm from a male. SENT: 390 words, photos.
KILLING-OWLS — To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan to deploy trained shooters into dense West Coast forests to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their cousins. SENT: 940 words, photos, audio.
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BUSINESS
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FEDERAL RESERVE-MINUTES — Federal Reserve officials at their most recent meeting welcomed signs that inflation is slowing and highlighted data suggesting that the job market and the broader economy could be cooling. By Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber. SENT: 680 words, photo.
TIKTOK-TRENDS — In less than six years, TikTok is deeply woven into the fabric of American consumerism, having shortened the shelf life of trends and revamped how people engage with food and fashion. By Business Writers Anne D’Innocenzio, Haleluya Hadero and Dee-Ann Durbin. SENT: 2,090 words, photos. An abridged version of 1,170 is also available. With TIKTOK-TRENDS-WHAT-TO-KNOW.
GENERAL MOTORS-EMISSIONS PENALTY — General Motors will pay nearly $146 million in penalties to the federal government because 5.9 million of its older vehicles don’t comply with emissions and fuel economy standards. SENT: 680 words, photos.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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SHARK WEEK — Imagine stepping into a life-sized whale carcass decoy and steering it into deep water. You’re looking for a group of hungry sharks to spark a feeding frenzy. To attract them, you shoot out hundreds of gallons of synthetic blood and chum. Then watch them lose it. That’s what marine biologist Liv Dixon did for Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week.” By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 910 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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KRAKEN-CAMPBELL — Jessica Campbell will become the first woman to work on the bench of an NHL franchise after the Seattle Kraken hired her as an assistant coach. By Sports Writer Tim Booth. SENT: 870 words, photos, audio.
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