The 12-month grace period for student loan borrowers ended on Sept. 30. The “on-ramp” period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score. “The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are not able to make payments,” said Persis Yu, Deputy Executive Director at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Around 43 million Americans have student loan debt, amounting to $1.5 trillion. Around eight million of those borrowers had enrolled in the SAVE plan, the newest income-driven repayment plan that extended the eligibility for borrowers to have affordable monthly student loan payments. However, this plan is currently on hold due to legal challenges. With the on-ramp period and a separate program known as Fresh Start ending and the SAVE plan on hold, student loan borrowers who are struggling to afford their monthly payments have fewer options, added Yu. Student loan borrowers who haven’t been able to afford their monthly payments must consider their options to avoid going into default. If you have student loans, here’s what you need to know. What was the on-ramp period? The Education Department implemented this grace period to ease the borrower’s transition to make payments after a three-year payment pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this year-long period, borrowers were encouraged to keep making payments since interest continued to accumulate. “Normally, loans will default if you fall about nine months behind on making payments, but during this on-ramp period, missed payments would not move people towards defaulting and then being subject to forced collections. However, if you missed payments, you still be falling behind ultimately on repaying your loans,” said Abby Shaforth, director of National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project. Since this grace period has ended, student loan borrowers who don’t make payments will go delinquent or, if their loans are not paid for nine months, go into default. Borrowers who cannot afford to make payments can apply for deferment or forbearance, which pause payments, though interest continues to accrue. What happens if I don’t make my payments? Borrowers who can’t or don’t pay risk delinquency and eventually default. That can badly hurt your credit rating and make you ineligible for additional aid and government benefits. If a borrower missed one month’s payment, they will start receiving email notifications, said Shaforth. Once the loan hasn’t been paid for three months, loan servicers notify to the credit reporting agencies that the loan is delinquent, affecting your credit history. Once the borrower hasn’t paid the loan for nine months, the loan goes into default. If you’re struggling to pay, advisers first encourage you to check if you qualify for an income-driven repayment plan, which determines your payments by looking at your expenses. You can see whether you qualify by visiting the Federal Student Aid website. If you’ve worked for a government agency or a non-profit organization, you could also be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which forgives student debt after 10 years. What happens when a loan goes into default? When you fall behind on a loan by 270 days — roughly 9 months — the loan appears on your credit report as being in default. Once a loan is in […]
Former President Trump cast the blame on Iran’s attack on Israel on President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, saying the administration’s policies have enriched the Islamic Republic. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made Iran rich in a very short period of three and a half years,” Trump told supporters in Waunakee, Wisconsin. “They have $300 billion now. They’re rich. I mean, they pay 6 billion every time they have, if they have somebody that was kidnaped, it’s always $6 billion.” Trump previously criticized the Biden administration for issuing a sanctions waiver in September 2023, which allowed $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds to be transferred from South Korea to Qatar as part of a deal to free five detained Americans in Iran. Biden came under heavy scrutiny for the move following the attacks by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7. “Iran was, on the verge of bankruptcy. They had no money left,” Trump said Tuesday. “They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for Hezbollah.” “The people they’re fighting now, they would have been willing to make any deal,” he added. “You could have made any deal. But Kamala flooded them with American cash and everything. Now, I mean, they’re flooding them with cash. It’s honestly not even believable.”
North Carolina election officials say they will do everything in their power to ensure that voters in the crucial presidential swing state will be able to cast their ballots despite the devastation of Hurricane Helene and the destruction of basic infrastructure only about a month before the November election. Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the state’s election board, said Tuesday that 12 county election offices in the hard-hit western part of the state remain closed after the storm unleashed “unprecedented” damage. Absentee ballots, some of which already have been mailed to voters who requested them, also face obstacles, from U.S. Postal Service delays to road and residential damage that could render them undeliverable. The viability of early and Election Day voting sites remains unknown, she said. She described the storm as causing a “daunting” level of uncertainty, with early in-person voting scheduled to start in just over two weeks on Oct. 17. Still, she said the state is prepared to help voters navigate the emergency. “We’ve battled through hurricanes and tropical storms and still held safe and secure elections, and we will do everything in our power to do so again,” Brinson Bell told reporters during a media call. “Mountain people are strong, and the election people who serve them are resilient and tough, too.” Helene, which battered large swaths of the Southeast late last week with torrential rain and strong winds and massive storm surges along the Gulf Coast, caused devastation “beyond belief” in the popular mountain city of Asheville and other parts of western North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said during a media briefing Tuesday. “This disaster is unlike anything our state has ever experienced,” he said. The level of destruction could have far-reaching implications beyond the immediate damage to the flooded communities, especially if it has any impact on voting. North Carolina is among seven swing states being hotly contested by Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. Trump barely defeated Democrat Joe Biden in the state four years ago, winning by about 74,500 votes out of 5.5 million cast. Asheville is the most populous city in the 25-county region under a disaster declaration and is a Democratic stronghold. The counties surrounding it are largely Republican, so the eventual impact on any statewide race, including a nationally watched contest for governor, is unknown. On Tuesday, emergency workers were still engaged in rescue efforts across the broad swath of the Southeastern U.S. that bore the brunt of the storm. Election officials in Florida, Tennessee and the presidential battleground of Georgia were assessing the damage and the potential impacts to mail balloting, early voting and Election Day operations. Georgia election workers have returned to work even as some offices face power outages, limited internet and infrastructure damage. Absentee ballots are scheduled to go out on Oct. 7 as planned, said Robert Sinners, communications director for Georgia’s secretary of state. In North Carolina, officials said they are considering moving or combining voting locations if some are unusable or inaccessible. More urgently, state officials are offering guidance and some special accommodations for absentee voters, who may not receive their ballots because of evacuations, suspended Postal Service operations or residential mailboxes swept away in the storm. Paul Cox, general counsel for the […]
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Following a situational assessment, it was decided that as of today at 00:00 (Wednesday), changes will be made to the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines. As part of the changes, it was decided to ease restrictions in the areas of Carmel (excluding Daliyat al-Karmel and Isfiya), Wadi Ara (excluding the Megiddo Regional Council and Yokne’am Illit), Menashe, Samaria, Sharon, Dan, Yarkon, Shefala, Jerusalem and Shefla. The rest of the country remains under the guidelines previously issued by the Home Front Command. The instructions published on the official Home Front Command channels must be followed. The full instructions are updated on the National Emergency Portal and the Home Front Command app.
Armed Palestinians celebrate and vow death to Israel in the West Bank city of Jenin tonight, following the epic fail of the Iranian missile attack on Israel.
Palestinian pickup truck seen dragging the remains of an Iranian ballistic missile through the streets of a Palestinian village near Hebron tonight, following the failed missile attack on Israel.
Longtime friends, family and fans of Jimmy Carter milled around his hometown of Plains to celebrate his 100th birthday on Tuesday, the first time an American president has lived a full century and the latest milestone in a life that took the Depression-era farmer’s son to the White House and across the world as a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian and advocate for democracy. Living the last 19 months in home hospice care, the 39th president keeps defying expectations, just as he did through a remarkable rise from his family peanut farming and warehouse business to the world stage. The Democrat served one presidential term from 1977 to 1981 and then for four decades led The Carter Center, which he and his wife Rosalynn co-founded in 1982 to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope.” “Not everybody gets 100 years on this earth, and when somebody does, and when they use that time to do so much good for so many people, it’s worth celebrating,” his grandson Jason Carter, chair of The Carter Center governing board, said in an interview. “These last few months, 19 months, now that he’s been in hospice, it’s been a chance for our family to reflect,” he continued, “and then for the rest of the country and the world to really reflect on him. That’s been a really gratifying time.” James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924 in Plains, where he lives in the same one-story home he and Rosalynn built in the early 1960s, before his first election to the Georgia state Senate. The former first lady, also from Plains, died last November at 96. About 25 family members filled his home Tuesday, enjoying cupcakes on the front lawn while antique World War II planes flew over in his honor. At night, they planned to gather around the TV to watch the vice-presidential debate. Chip Carter said his father’s next goal is to make it to Election Day. “He’s plugged in,” Carter said in an interview. “I asked him two months ago if he was trying to live to be 100, and he said, No, I’m trying to live to vote for Kamala Harris.” Chip Carter sat in the front row of a naturalization ceremony held annually on his father’s birthday for 100 new citizens at Plains High School, which his father attended. The building is now a museum. Jill Stuckey, superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park, recalled that a teacher once told Carter’s class that one of the students would be president someday. She said Carter “took it heart.” “One thing I’ve learned is to never underestimate Jimmy Carter, because if you do, he will prove you wrong,” Stuckey said. President Joe Biden, the first sitting senator to endorse Carter’s 1976 campaign, praised his longtime friend for an “unwavering belief in the power of human goodness.” “You’ve always been a moral force for our nation and the world (and) a beloved friend to Jill and me and our family,” the 81-year-old president said in a tribute video, recorded in front of Carter’s White House portrait. Carter asked Biden to eulogize him at his state funeral when the time comes. But even on Carter’s 100th birthday, Donald Trump could not pass up repeating his longstanding jab at the Georgia Democrat. Trump […]
Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East. The leadership of Iran, which used to be good at chess, made a terrible mistake this evening. We must act *now* to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime. To strike the head of the octopus of terror, that, in its cowardice, sent its tentacles (Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, etc.) to murder us, while the Ayatollahs sat safely in their palaces in Tehran. The octopus’s tentacles are temporarily paralysed – now comes the head. We must remove this terrible threat to our children’s future. We can grant the Iranian people an opportunity to rise up and shake off the regime that tyrannizes its women and daughters. We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralyzed, Iran stands exposed. Over this last terrible year, Iranian tentacles murdered our families. Raped our daughters. Kidnapped our children. Ransacked our towns. Burned our fields. Fired on our ships. Terrorized children in Kiryat Shmona, Kfar Aza, and Sderot. Emptied out whole regions of our land. Humiliated us. Now is the moment. A Nation of Lions has united and proven its strength over the last year. It has yearned for a change, for action, for so very long. There are times when history knocks at our door, and we must open it. This opportunity must not be missed.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, at the start of the Security Cabinet meeting [translated from Hebrew]: “Citizens of Israel, at the start of my remarks, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered in the abhorrent terrorist attack in Jaffa and my best wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded. As in the missile attack, there was also a murderous guiding hand behind this terrorist attack – it came from Tehran. This evening, Iran again attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles. This attack failed. It was thwarted thanks to Israel’s air defense array, which is the most advanced in the world. I commend the IDF for the impressive achievement. It was also thwarted thanks to your alertness and responsibility, citizens of Israel. I also thank the US for its support in our defensive effort. This evening, Iran made a big mistake – and it will pay for it. The regime in Tehran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to exact a price from our enemies. Sinwar and Deif did not understand this; neither did Nasrallah or Mohsen. Apparently, there are those in Tehran who do not understand this either. They will. We will keep to the rule we have determined: Whoever attacks us – we attack them. This is true wherever we fight the axis of evil. It is true in Judea and Samaria. It is true in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria – and it is also true in Iran. We are fighting the axis of evil everywhere, including in southern Lebanon and Gaza, where our heroic soldiers are active. Today, more than ever, the forces of light in the world must unite and work together against the ayatollahs’ dark regime, which is the source of terror and evil in our region. They must stand alongside Israel. The choice has never been more clear, between tyranny and freedom, between the blessing and the curse. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, I say to you, citizens of Israel: Israel has the momentum and the axis of evil is in retreat. We will do whatever needs to be done to continue this trend. To achieve all of our war objectives, especially the return of all of our hostages, and ensure our existence and our future. A good and safe year to you all.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered his most thorough public defense to date since his indictment on federal bribery charges, insisting the case was a “test” that would not distract him from governing as he deflected specific questions about the investigation for more than an hour Tuesday. Yet even as the mayor began to address reporters alone beneath the City Hall rotunda, a potential witness in one of the sprawling investigations was wrapping up his his own news briefing steps away, complaining he had been the victim of a corrupt “shakedown.” The whiplash-inducing morning at City Hall reflected the deepening tumult that has gripped the Democrat’s administration in recent weeks, raising questions about whether Adams can continue managing the nation’s largest city while shuttling between court appearances and contending with an exodus of top deputies. As he stepped to the podium, a smiling Adams began his comments with a favorite quip: “This is going in my book.” But if he was seeking to convey his signature swagger, the mayor also appeared evasive and isolated. Adams typically enters his Tuesday briefings accompanied by triumphant walk-on music and a phalanx of deputies, including his chief legal counsel. But his top lawyer recently resigned. On Monday night, one of his closest advisors also stepped down. Another was served with a federal subpoena on Friday. This time he was alone. While Adams spoke extensively to reporters, he declined to answer questions about the laws he is accused of breaking, whether his security clearance has been downgraded as a result of the criminal case and if he really believes — as he has repeatedly suggested — that the investigation is politically motivated. Instead, the mayor framed himself as a battle-tested executive, confident in his ability to overcome the “obstacles.” “As the case unfolds, some people are going to say, ‘You know what, we have jumped the gun on Eric Adams,’ ” he said. “This is a test for folks who automatically just come with their hearts in one way. The information is going to continue to show that I do not break laws.” Federal prosecutors have accused Adams of soliciting and accepting illegal campaign contributions and more than $100,000 in luxury travel perks from Turkish officials and other foreign nationals seeking to buy his influence. In exchange, they say he performed official favors that benefited Turkey, including pushing through the opening of a consulate building in Manhattan over the objections of fire safety officials who said it was unsafe to occupy. The charges against Adams come as federal investigators conduct multiple probes linked to several top officials in his administration, including the brother of his former police commissioner; a consulting firm run by another brother of his schools chancellor and deputy mayor for public safety; and one of his top advisors and closest confidantes, Tim Pearson. Pearson resigned Monday night, weeks after the police commissioner, Edward Caban, and schools chancellor, David Banks, announced they were stepping down. All have denied wrongdoing. Outside City Hall, the owner of a Brooklyn juice bar and nightspot, Shamel Kelly, held his own news conference Tuesday saying he had been the victim of a corrupt scheme involving a mayoral aide and the police department. Seeking help with a raft of noise complaints, Kelly said he was connected by a […]
“Based on what we know now, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective … Make no mistake, the United States is fully fully fully supportive of Israel.” President Biden addresses Iran’s attack on Israel.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the United States was “fully supportive” of Israel after Iran’s ballistic missile attacks, describing Tehran’s assault as “defeated and ineffective.” “At my direction, the United State military actively supported the defense of Israel, and we’re still assessing the impact,” Biden said. “But, based on what we know, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective. “This is a testament to Israeli military capability and the U.S. military,” he continued. “It’s also a testament to intensive planning between the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against the brazen attack. “Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” Biden added. The president noted that he spent the morning and part of the afternoon in the Situation Room, meeting with his national security team and consulting with Israelis. Kamala Harris takes no questions after saying she and Biden “monitored” the Iranian missile attack on Israel “in real time.” “I am clear-eyed. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel released a video statement vowing to exact reprisals against Iran for the ballistic missile barrage against Israel on Tuesday night. “Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said. “The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and to retaliate against our enemies.”
Following Tuesday’s massive ballistic missile attack, in which not a single Israeli was killed (but 1 Palestinian and reportedly 5 Iranian soldiers were killed, the latter when a missile exploded during launch) Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei took to social media, posting a threatening message alongside an illustration of a large underground weapons cache. “Victory comes from Allah and it is close,” Khamenei wrote. In badly broken Hebrew, Khamenei tweets a message threatening that the “blows of the uprising front will become stronger and more painful on the worn and rotting body of the Zionist regime.” In another post, written in broken Hebrew, Khamenei warned that the “blows of the uprising front will become stronger and more painful on the worn and rotting body of the Zionist regime.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for the missile strikes, saying they had targeted “three military bases” near Tel Aviv. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also praised the missile attacks, calling them a “decisive response” to what he described as Israeli “aggression.” In a post on X , Pezeshkian said, “In accordance with legitimate rights and with the aim of [establishing] peace and security in Iran and the region, a decisive response has been made to the Zionist regime’s aggression.”
Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder revealed Tuesday that Iran’s missile strike on Israel was significantly larger than their previous attack in April. “[I]t’s about twice as large in terms of the number of ballistic missiles that they launched from the last,” Ryder said, emphasizing the seriousness of the assault. He added, “you don’t launch that many missiles at a target without the intent of hitting something,” and stressed, “So absolutely, just like the last time their intent is to cause destruction.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
“Iran launched a large-scale attack of over 180 ballistic missiles directly from Iranian soil at the State of Israel. There were a small number of hits in the center of Israel, and other hits in Southern Israel. The majority of the incoming missiles were intercepted by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States. Iran’s attack is a severe and dangerous escalation. There will be consequences. Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest levels of readiness. Our operational plans are ready. We will respond wherever, whenever, and however we choose, in accordance with the directive of the government of Israel. Iran and its proxies have been attacking Israel since the 7th of October on 7 fronts. Iran and its proxies seek the destruction of Israel. The Israel Defense Forces will continue doing everything necessary to defend the State of Israel and protect the people of Israel.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Cadaver dogs and search crews trudged through knee-deep muck and debris in the mountains of western North Carolina on Tuesday looking for victims of Hurricane Helene, days after the storm carved a deadly and destructive path through the Southeast. With Helene’s death toll nearing 160, searchers fanned out, using helicopters to get past washed-out bridges and hiking through wilderness to reach isolated homes. The storm, which was one of the deadliest in U.S. history, knocked out power and cellular service in some towns and cities, leaving many people frustrated, hot and increasingly worried days into the ordeal. Some cooked food on charcoal grills or hiked to high ground in the hopes of finding a signal to call loved ones. “Communities were wiped off the map,” North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, said at a news conference Tuesday. The devastation was especially bad in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where at least 57 people died in and around Asheville, a tourism haven known for its art galleries, breweries and outdoor activities. In Swannanoa, a small community outside Asheville, receding floodwaters revealed cars stacked on top of others and trailer homes that had floated away during the storm. Roads were caked with mud and debris and pockmarked by sinkholes. Cliff Stewart survived two feet of water that poured into his home, topping the wheels on his wheelchair and sending his medicine bottles floating from room to room. Left without electricity and reliant on food drop-offs from friends, he has refused offers to help him leave. “Where am I going to go?” the Marine Corps veteran said Tuesday. “This is all I’ve got. I just don’t want to give it up, because what am I going to do? Be homeless? I’d rather die right here than live homeless.” Exhausted emergency crews worked around the clock to clear roads, restore power and phone service, and reach those still stranded by the storm, which killed at least 159 people in six states, including many who were hit by falling trees or trapped in flooded cars and homes. Nearly half of the deaths were in North Carolina, while dozens of others were in South Carolina and Georgia. President Joe Biden, who is set to survey the devastation in North and South Carolina Wednesday, estimated the recovery could cost billions. “We have to jump start this recovery process,” he said Tuesday. “People are scared to death. This is urgent.” More than 150,000 households have registered for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and that number is expected to rise rapidly in the coming days, said Frank Matranga, an agency representative. Nearly 2 million ready-to-eat meals and more than a million liters of water have been sent to the hardest-hit areas, he said. Search crews around Asheville first checked on the most vulnerable. “We’ve been going door to door, making sure that we can put eyes on people and see if they’re safe,” said Avril Pinder, the county manager for Buncombe County, which includes Asheville. “We know that there are places that are still hard to access.” How some of the hardest-hit areas are coping The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina, dumping more than an estimated 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain in places. Cooper said Tuesday that more than two dozen water […]
