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Student loan repayment pause extended by White House amid legal battles over relief plan
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 22, 2022
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced on Tuesday it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by […]
Congressional Hispanic Caucus welcomes new House members, reflects on Latino vote
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 22, 2022
The campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus welcomed the highest number of Democratic Latino lawmakers elected to Congress, during a Friday event at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. CHC BOLD PAC chair, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, said continuing to reach out to Latino communities and young voters will be key to […]
U.S. Senate Democrats make a last-ditch push for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 16, 2022
WASHINGTON — Democratic U.S. senators have set a December deadline for passing bipartisan legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for more than 600,000 undocumented people who were brought into the country as children — but they don’t yet have enough Senate Republican votes to make it a reality. During a Wednesday press conference […]
Migrant women endured medical mistreatment at Georgia ICE facility, U.S. Senate report finds
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 16, 2022
WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. Senate on an investigation panel on Tuesday grilled federal immigration officials about a bipartisan report that detailed how migrant women at an immigration detention center in Georgia underwent questionable gynecological procedures. The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Permanent Investigations released an 18-month bipartisan report that found migrant women who were […]
FBI confirms a single juvenile suspect behind most bomb threats to dozens of HBCUs
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 16, 2022
WASHINGTON — The FBI has officially announced that a single minor youth is the main suspect in most racially motivated bomb threats to dozens of Historically Black Colleges and Universities earlier this year that terrorized students. The FBI in a statement on Monday did not release any further details — only that the individual is […]
U.S. district court strikes down use of Title 42 to expel migrants
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 16, 2022
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the government from continuing Title 42 — a controversial pandemic-era health policy used by both the Trump and Biden administrations to expel nearly 2 million migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The request to halt the use of Title 42 had been filed by immigrant advocacy groups and […]
Six GOP-led states win national injunction against Biden student debt relief plan
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 15, 2022
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Monday issued a nationwide injunction indefinitely blocking the Biden administration’s student debt relief program in response to a challenge by six GOP-led states. The unanimous ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis came after the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and […]
Biden student debt relief plan thrown out by Texas judge; new applications halted
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 11, 2022
WASHINGTON — Late Thursday a federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, ruling that the program is unlawful, in a blow to 16 million student debt borrowers already approved for relief. The U.S. Department of Education now is no longer accepting applications for the program, according to the student […]
Young Black and Latino voters seen as key in turning back midterm ‘red wave’
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 11, 2022
WASHINGTON — Young Black and Latino voters were critical in holding off the Republican “red wave” in several battleground states for U.S. Senate seats and in tight U.S. House races in the midterm elections, according to analyses by researchers and grassroot organizations. Young, diverse voters between the ages of 18 and 29 had the second-highest […]
Biden says midterm elections turned out to be ‘a good day’ for democracy
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 10, 2022
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that even though midterm election results have yet to determine which party will control Congress, Democrats had a strong night defending their majority in both chambers. Control of both the U.S. Senate and House remained unclear Wednesday as more than 50 House seats have not been called and […]
Georgia fight for U.S. Senate seat will go to a December runoff
By: Ariana Figueroa and Ross Williams - November 10, 2022
WASHINGTON — Control of the U.S. Senate once again might hinge on Georgia, as voters in the Peach State will head back to the polls next month in a runoff election. Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and former professional football player and GOP nominee Herschel Walker are in a dead heat in Georgia, sending that […]
No GOP ‘wave,’ but Republicans could still gain control of U.S. House
By: Jacob Fischler, Ariana Figueroa and Jennifer Shutt - November 9, 2022
WASHINGTON — Republicans fell short of their greatest ambitions for major gains in the U.S. House, with control of the chamber still in doubt early Wednesday. Republicans are still likely to narrowly win control of the U.S. House, based on expert projections. But of 20 races rated by elections forecaster Inside Elections as true toss-ups, […]