Author: Press Room

CNN  —  The Biden administration has opened the application process for Americans seeking student debt relief in a beta period starting Friday evening, officials told CNN, allowing applicants to begin signing up before the website is formally unveiled later this month. In August, President Joe Biden announced his decision to cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt for individuals making less than $125,000 a year or as much as $20,000 for eligible borrowers who were also Pell Grant recipients. “Tonight, the Department of Education will begin beta testing the student debt relief website. During the beta testing period, borrowers…

Gov. Kathy Hochul treated herself to nearly $1 billion worth of pork-barrel spending in this year’s state budget — allowing her to freely hand out cash as she runs for election against Republican challenger Lee Zeldin. Hochul and her Democratic allies in the Legislature added the $920 million worth of outlays to the $220.5 billion fiscal plan in an 11th-hour move in April that government watchdogs warn is wide open to abuse. “These slush funds are totally unaccountable. It’s not how public dollars should be doled out,” senior policy adviser Rachael Fauss of Reinvent Albany said Friday. Another nonpartisan nonprofit,…

When Xi Jinping came to power a decade ago, China had just overtaken Japan to become the world’s second largest economy. It has grown at a phenomenal pace since then. With an average annual growth rate of 6.7% since 2012, China has seen one of the fastest sustained expansions for a major economy in history. In 2021, its GDP hit nearly $18 trillion, constituting 18.4% of the global economy, according to the World Bank. China’s rapid technological advances have also made it a strategic threat to the United States and its allies. It’s steadily pushing American rivals out of long-held…

Storm, an Alaskan Malamute support dog, has been awarded the Blue Cross Medal after he saved his disabled owner’s life after thieves broke into their home A support dog has won the Blue Cross Medal for saving its owner’s life after burglars broke into their home, and for saving the family cats from a house fire. Storm, a 12-year-old Alaskan Malamute, received the award for his bravery during the two occasions, firstly for saving his owner Karen Crosby’s life in 2019 when thieves broke in. Not only did he chase the burglars from 64-year-old Karen’s house, he forced them to…

A brand-new electric vehicle has been added to the City of Regina‘s fleet of vehicles. The vehicle is meant to introduce a new age for Regina, as the city moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.“Introducing the first electric truck to our fleet is a necessary step in reducing emissions and working towards our goal of becoming a net-zero city by 2050,” said Regina mayor Sandra Masters.“We will continue to look at the various opportunities we have to increase sustainability within city operations as we work towards a Renewable Regina.”The Ford F-150 Lightning will be used in the Roadways Department and…

What appear to be “multiple” human remains were found partially submerged in a river in the small Oklahoma city of Okmulgee Friday, nearly a week after the disappearance of four adult friends, authorities said Friday.It wasn’t clear if the remains were of the four men, Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice told reporters. Authorities were working to document and recover them, he said.“This process will take some time, and currently, we have more questions than answers,” he said.Prentice said he notified the families of the missing men, who were last seen Sunday night leaving a home by bicycle, even though the…

Madison the matchmaker? Madison LeCroy has a few thoughts on who ex-boyfriend Austen Kroll should date following his split from Olivia Flowers. “I mean, honestly, I met Ciara [Miller] this weekend and I am like, after meeting her, she’s such a cool girl and so beautiful,” the 31-year-old reality star exclusively told Us Weekly on Friday, October 13, while attending BravoCon 2022. The Southern Charm star revealed she’s team Ciara, 26, when it comes to picking someone for her former flame. “I was like, ‘Wow, he really messed up.’ Like she’s perfect in my opinion,” Madison said of the Summer…

Four people were injured — one critically — after a car collided with a scooter and slammed into a traffic pole in Brooklyn, according to officials and photos from the scene. The crash happened just after 2 p.m. at the intersection of East 17th Street and Avenue L in Midwood, according to officials. One person was rushed to New York Community Hospital for life-threatening injuries, according to the FDNY. Four people were injured from the crash.Paul Martinka The crash happened at the intersection of East 17th Street and Avenue L.Paul Martinka One person had serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Paul Martinka Three others…

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys says The Everest has had the “most spectacular rise” he’s seen “in any event”.“And it’s only going to keep getting bigger because our audience are under the age of 30, so they’re the audience of the future,” Mr V’landys told Sky News Australia.In partnership with Racing NSW Source: Sky News

CNN  —  One of the closest and most contentious Senate races in the country could have its defining moment Friday night, as Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, the football great turned politician, step on to the debate stage in Savannah. It is the pair’s only scheduled one-on-one – Warnock has pushed for more – and it comes amid a controversy surrounding allegations that Walker, who supports a federal abortion ban without exceptions, paid for the abortion of a woman he was dating in 2009, and then urged her to terminate another pregnancy two years later. Walker has…