Big student loan forgiveness plan announced by Biden
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has announced his long-awaited plan to deliver on his campaign promise to provide $10,000 in student debt cancellation for millions of Americans — and up to $10,000 more for those with the greatest financial need. Biden announced in a Wednesday tweet that borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year, or families earning less than $250,000, would be eligible for the $10,000 loan forgiveness. For recipients of Pell Grants, which are reserved for undergraduates with the most significant financial need, the federal government would cancel up to an additional $10,000 in federal loan debt. Biden is also extending a pause on federal student loan payments through the end of 2022.
15 reported killed in Independence Day attack in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president says Russian forces have launched a rocket attack on a train station in central Ukraine on the country’s Independence Day, killing at least 15 people and wounding about 50. The lethal strike Wednesday came after warnings from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in recent days that the Russians might “try to do something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel” this week. Wednesday is a national holiday in Ukraine commemorating the country’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It also marks the six-month point in the war against Russia.
Primary takeaways: Abortion politics, DeSantis flexes muscle
Abortion rights remains a salient political issue for Democrats, as a special election in New York showed on Tuesday. In other top takeaways from primaries in New York and Florida, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is continuing to flex his political muscle, leaning into electoral and cultural divides in the Sunshine State even when he’s running unopposed in his state’s primary. The impact of redistricting was on full display in New York and Florida on Tuesday night, while the battle between centrist Democrats and more progressive party members persisted. And former President Donald Trump’s influence on the GOP remains immeasurable.
Panel: Trump staffers pushed unproven COVID treatment at FDA
WASHINGTON (AP) — A special House panel looking into the government’s coronavirus response says the Trump White House tried to pressure U.S. health experts into reauthorizing the drug hydroxychloroquine that had been discredited as a COVID-19 treatment. The report by the Democratic-led subcommittee provides new evidence of the administration’s efforts to override Food and Drug Administration decisions early in the pandemic. And it sheds light on the role TV personalities such as Fox News’ Laura Ingraham and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon now running for the Senate, played in first bringing hydroxychloroquine to the attention of White House officials. The report focuses on pressure at the FDA, the gatekeeper for the drugs, vaccines and other countermeasures against the virus.
‘Pre-bunking’ shows promise in fight against misinformation
Google and a team of university researchers have hit on what they say could be an effective way to make people more impervious to the harmful impact of online misinformation. In experiments, the researchers showed people videos that explain how things like emotionally charged language or false comparisons can help persuade people to believe false claims. The people who saw the videos were later tested and found to be better able to distinguish false claims from accurate information. It’s an approach called pre-bunking, and university researchers and Google say it holds promise as a relatively easy and effective way to bolster critical thinking and make people more able to resist misinformation.
Psychologist: School shooter didn’t get consistent treatment
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A psychologist who treated Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz when he was 8 years old testified that Cruz was a “peculiar child” who had many behavioral and developmental issues. Frederick Kravitz testified Wednesday that he began treating Cruz in 2007 with his widowed mother telling him her adopted son suffered from anxiety and nervousness and had trouble controlling his temper. But she also said he was friendly and got along fine with his peers, something others have said wasn’t true. Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 murders in 2018 at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The trial will determine if he’s sentenced to death or life without parole.
Oklahoma governor rejects clemency for death row inmate
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has rejected clemency for a man facing execution for the 1997 hammer killing of a man. Stitt’s decision on Wednesday paves the way for 50-year-old James Coddington to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday. Coddington was convicted and sentenced to die for the beating death of 73-year-old Albert Hale inside Hale’s Choctaw home in 1997. During a clemency hearing this month before the state’s five-member Pardon and Parole Board, an emotional Coddington apologized to Hale’s family and said he’s a different man today. The panel voted 3-2 to recommend Coddington for clemency.
Study: Pfizer COVID pill showed no benefit in younger adults
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill appears to provide little or no benefit for younger adults. That’s according to a large study by Israeli researchers. The study of more than 100,000 patients showed the drug significantly reduced hospitalization and death among seniors, similar to past research. But younger adults didn’t show any measurable benefit in the study, which was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The results raise questions about the U.S. government’s use of Paxlovid, which has become the go-to treatment for COVID-19. The Biden administration has spent more than $10 billion purchasing and distributing Pfizer’s drug.
‘Magic mushroom’ psychedelic may help heavy drinkers quit
The compound in psychedelic mushrooms helped heavy drinkers cut back or quit entirely in the most rigorous test of psilocybin for alcoholism. The study was published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. More research is needed to see if the effect lasts. The study involved 93 patients who took either psilocybin or a dummy medicine. They received two such sessions, one month apart. All patients also received 12 sessions of talk therapy and were followed for eight months. The patients taking psilocybin reduced their heavy drinking compared to the other group. And almost half stopped drinking entirely compared to 24% of the control group.
EXPLAINER: NASA tests new moon rocket, 50 years after Apollo
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s new moon rocket makes its debut next week in a high-stakes test flight before astronauts get on top. The 322-foot rocket will attempt to send an empty crew capsule into a far-flung lunar orbit. If all goes well, astronauts could strap in as soon as 2024. Liftoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center is set for Monday morning. The launch comes 50 years after NASA’s famed Apollo moonshots. The price tag for this single mission exceeds $4 billion. The entire program will have set NASA back $93 billion by the time astronauts are back on the moon.