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Tag: Higher education

  • Suspect in the Idaho college student killings returned home for the holidays weeks after the crime. Here’s what we know about him | CNN

    Suspect in the Idaho college student killings returned home for the holidays weeks after the crime. Here’s what we know about him | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The man arrested in connection with the November killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death attended a nearby university in Washington state and traveled across the country in December to spend the holidays with his parents.

    Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on Friday on an arrest warrant for first-degree murder charges issued by the Moscow, Idaho, Police Department and the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office, according to the criminal complaint.

    The four slain students – Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20 – were each stabbed multiple times in the early morning hours of November 13 at an off-campus house in the small college town of Moscow.

    Kohberger was apprehended at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania, where Kohberger went several days before Christmas, Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar told CNN. A white Elantra authorities had been looking for in connection with the killings was also at the parents’ house, the attorney added.

    “He was home for the holidays,” LaBar said.

    Kohberger’s father traveled with him from Washington state to Pennsylvania, according to the public defender and a person who claims to have interacted with the father and son earlier in December.

    That person, who asked not to be identified, said they did not know the father and son but engaged in friendly conversation with them at an auto maintenance shop on December 16 in Pennsylvania, while the two were getting their Elantra serviced. (A separate person also confirmed to CNN the father and son did business at the location on December 16.)

    The father told the individual he flew to Washington state and made the cross-country trip with Kohberger, adding his son would be traveling to the west coast alone after the holidays. Police have not indicated the suspect’s father is in any way implicated in the killings. CNN has attempted to contact the father for comment.

    The person described the younger Kohberger as “a little awkward,” but not suspiciously so. The suspect reportedly told the person he wanted to go into the field of behavioral criminal justice and become a professor.

    Kohberger is a graduate student at Washington State University’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, according to a now-removed university graduate directory, which was seen by CNN earlier Friday.

    Kohberger had finished his first semester as a PhD student in the school’s criminal justice program earlier in December, the university said in a Friday statement.

    Earlier that day, university police assisted authorities in executing search warrants at his office and apartment, both located on the school’s Pullman campus.

    Pullman is about a 15-minute drive from Moscow, where the killings took place.

    Kohberger intends to waive his extradition hearing to Idaho, set for January 3, to expedite his transport to the state, LaBar said, adding his client is “eager to be exonerated” of the charges.

    Kohberger was previously an undergraduate and graduate student at DeSales University, according to a statement on the school’s website. DeSales is a Catholic university in Pennsylvania, according to its official Facebook page.

    He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and earlier this year completed his “graduate studies for the Master of Arts in criminal justice program,” according to a university spokesperson.

    Kohberger’s attorney described his client as “very intelligent,” adding “he understands where we are right now.”

    In a post removed from Reddit after the arrest was made public, a student investigator associated with a DeSales University study named Bryan Kohberger sought participation in a research project “to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.”

    The post said, “In particular, this study seeks to understand the story behind your most recent criminal offense, with an emphasis on your thoughts and feelings throughout your experience.”

    CNN reached one of the principal investigators of the study, a professor at DeSales University, but they declined to comment on the matter. The university has not responded to comment.

    A spokesperson for Northampton Community College, also in Pennsylvania, confirmed Kohberger was a student there and graduated with an Associate of Arts and Psychology degree in 2018.

    Earlier in December, authorities asked the public for information about a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra they believed was in the “immediate area” of the crime scenes around the time of the killings.

    After an overwhelming number of tips, investigators narrowed their focus to Kohberger by tracing ownership of the Elantra back to him, according to two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation.

    His DNA also matched DNA recovered at the crime scene, according to the sources, who also explained authorities believed Kohberger left the area and went to Pennsylvania after the crime.

    A surveillance team with the FBI tracked the suspect for several days in the area where he was arrested, the sources added.

    One law enforcement source said Kohberger is believed to have driven across the country to his parents’ house in the Elantra. Authorities had also been surveilling his parents’ house, the source said.

    Authorities kept Kohberger under surveillance while investigators from Moscow’s police department, the Idaho State Police and the FBI worked with prosecutors to develop sufficient probable cause for an arrest warrant.

    The suspect’s family is “very shocked,” LaBar, the attorney, said, adding they are in “awe over everything that’s going on” and believed this was “out of character for Bryan.”

    Authorities still want to hear from people who may be able to shed more light on Kohberger.

    “This is not the end of this investigation, in fact, this is a new beginning,” Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said Friday. “You all now know the name of the person who has been charged with these offenses, please get that information out there, please ask the public, anyone who knows about this individual, to come forward.”

    “Report anything you know about him, to help the investigators, and eventually our office and the court system, understand fully everything there is to know about not only the individual, but what happened and why,” Thompson added.

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  • Authorities tracked the Idaho student killings suspect as he drove cross-country to Pennsylvania, sources say | CNN

    Authorities tracked the Idaho student killings suspect as he drove cross-country to Pennsylvania, sources say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Authorities carefully tracked the man charged in the killings of four Idaho college students as he drove across the country around Christmas and continued surveilling him for several days before finally arresting him Friday, sources tell CNN.

    Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested in his home state of Pennsylvania and charged with four counts of murder in the first degree, as well as felony burglary in connection with the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in November, according to Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson.

    Still, investigators have not publicly confirmed the suspect’s motive or whether he knew the victims. The murder weapon has also not been located, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said Friday.

    In the nearly seven weeks since the students were found stabbed to death in an off-campus home, investigators have conducted more than 300 interviews and scoured approximately 20,000 tips in their search for the suspect. News of the killings – and the long stretch of time without a suspect or significant developments – have rattled the University of Idaho community and the surrounding town of Moscow, which had not seen a murder in seven years.

    Investigators honed in on Kohberger as the suspect through DNA evidence and by confirming his ownership of a white Hyundai Elantra seen near the crime scene, according to two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation.

    Kohberger, who authorities say lived just minutes from the scene of the killings, is a PhD student in Washington State University’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, the school confirmed.

    He drove cross-country in a white Hyundai Elantra and arrived at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania around Christmas, according to a law enforcement source. Authorities were tracking him as he drove and were also surveilling his parents’ house, the source said.

    An FBI surveillance team tracked him for four days before his arrest while law enforcement worked with prosecutors to develop enough probable cause to obtain a warrant, the two law enforcement sources said.

    Genetic genealogy techniques were used to connect Kohberger to unidentified DNA evidence, another source with knowledge of the case tells CNN. The DNA was run through a public database to find potential family member matches, and subsequent investigative work by law enforcement led to him as the suspect, the source said.

    Kohberger was arraigned Friday morning in Pennsylvania and is being held without bail pending his extradition hearing on January 3, records show.

    The suspect has the option to waive extradition and return to Idaho voluntarily. But if he chooses not to, Moscow police will have to initiate extradition proceedings through the governor’s office, which could take some time, Fry said.

    Even with a suspect charged, law enforcement’s work is far from over, prosecutors said.

    Bryan Kohberger

    “This is not the end of this investigation. In fact, this is a new beginning,” Thompson said Friday night.

    Thompson urged people to continue submitting tips, asking anyone with information about the suspect “to come forward, call the tip line, report anything you know about him to help the investigators.”

    Since the killings of the four students – Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20 some community members have grown frustrated as investigators have yet to offer a thorough narrative of how the night unfolded. Authorities have released limited details, including the victims’ activities leading up to the attacks and people they have ruled out as suspects.

    Fry told reporters Friday state law limits what information authorities can release before Kohberger makes an initial appearance in Idaho court. The probable cause affidavit – which details the factual basis of Kohberger’s charges – is sealed until the suspect is physically in Latah County, Idaho and has been served with the Idaho arrest warrant, Thompson said.

    Kohberger is a resident of Pullman, Washington, a city just about nine miles from the site of the killings, authorities said. His apartment and office on the Washington State University’s Pullman campus were searched by law enforcement Friday morning, the university confirmed in a statement.

    In June 2022, he finished graduate studies at DeSales University, where he also was an undergraduate, according to a statement on the school’s website. He also got an associate degree from Northampton Community College in 2018, the college confirmed to CNN.

    In a Reddit post removed after Kohberger’s arrest was announced, a student investigator named Bryan Kohberger who was associated with a DeSales University study sought participation in a research project “to understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision-making when committing a crime.”

    “In particular, this study seeks to understand the story behind your most recent criminal offense, with an emphasis on your thoughts and feelings throughout your experience,” the post said.

    CNN reached one of the principal investigators of the study, a professor at DeSales University, but they declined to comment on the matter. The university has not responded to requests for comment.

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  • Here are some smart moves borrowers should make while the fate of student loan forgiveness is still up in the air

    Here are some smart moves borrowers should make while the fate of student loan forgiveness is still up in the air

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    Creatas | Creatas | Getty Images

    1. Make the most of extra cash

    With headlines warning of a possible recession and layoffs picking up, experts recommend that you try to put away the money you’d usually put toward your student debt each month.

    Certain banks and online savings accounts have been upping their interest rates, and it’s worth looking around for the best deal available. You’ll just want to make sure any account you put your savings in is FDIC insured, meaning up to $250,000 of your deposit is protected from loss.

    And while interest rates on federal student loans are at zero, it’s also a good time to make progress paying down more expensive debt, experts say. The average interest rate on credit cards is currently more than 19%.

    2. Consider making payments anyway

    Boy_anupong | Moment | Getty Images

    If you have a healthy rainy day fund and no credit card debt, it may make sense to continue paying down your student loans even during the break, experts say.

    There’s a big caveat here, however. If you’re enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan or pursuing public service loan forgiveness, you don’t want to continue paying your loans.

    That’s because months during the government’s payment pause still count as qualifying payments for those programs, and since they both result in forgiveness after a certain amount of time, any cash you throw at your loans during this period just reduces the amount you’ll eventually get excused.

    3. Review your options for when payments resume

    Even though there’s some uncertainty around the date that federal student loan bills will pick up again, you want to be prepared for whenever they do.

    You can compare how much your monthly bill would be under different repayment plans using one of the calculators at Studentaid.gov or Freestudentloanadvice.org.

    If you’re unemployed or dealing with another financial hardship, you might want to put in a request for an economic hardship or unemployment deferment. Those are the ideal ways to postpone your federal student loan payments, because interest doesn’t accrue.

    If you don’t qualify for either, though, you can use a forbearance to continue suspending your bills. Just keep in mind that with forbearance, interest will rack up and your balance will be larger — possibly much larger — when you resume paying.

    4. Check if refinancing makes sense now

    Higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz had previously recommended that federal student loan borrowers refrain from refinancing their debt with a private lender while the Biden administration deliberated on how to move forward with forgiveness. Refinanced student loans wouldn’t qualify for the federal relief.

    Now that borrowers know how much in loan cancellation is on the table — if the president’s policy survives the Supreme Court — borrowers may want to consider the option, Kantrowitz said. With the Federal Reserve expected to continue raising interest rates, he added, you’re more likely to pick up a lower rate with a lender today than down the road.

    Still, Kantrowitz added, it’s probably a small pool of borrowers for whom refinancing is wise.

    Your rate doesn’t matter if you lose your job, have sudden medical expenses, can’t afford your payments and find that defaulting is your only option.

    Betsy Mayotte

    president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors

    Those include borrowers who don’t qualify for the Biden administration’s forgiveness — the plan excludes anyone who earns more than $125,000 as an individual or $250,000 as a family — and those who owe more on their student loans than the administration plans to cancel, he said. The latter borrowers may want to look at refinancing the portion of their debt over the relief amounts, he added.

    Still, borrowers should first understand the federal protections they’re giving up by refinancing, warns Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors.

    For example, the U.S. Department of Education allows you to postpone your bills without interest accruing if you can prove economic hardship. The government also offers loan forgiveness programs for teachers and public servants.

    “Your rate doesn’t matter if you lose your job, have sudden medical expenses, can’t afford your payments and find that defaulting is your only option,” said Mayotte in a previous interview about refinancing.

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  • Some universities are now restricting TikTok access on campus | CNN Business

    Some universities are now restricting TikTok access on campus | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    A small but growing number of universities are now blocking access to TikTok on school-owned devices or WiFi networks, in the latest sign of a widening crackdown on the popular short-form video app.

    The University of Oklahoma and Auburn University in Alabama have each said they will restrict student and faculty access to TikTok, in order to comply with recent moves from the governors in their respective states to ban TikTok on government-issued devices. The 26 universities and colleges in the University System of Georgia are also reportedly taking a similar step.

    “In compliance with the Governor’s Executive Order 2022-33, effective immediately, no university employee or student shall access the TikTok application or website on University-owned or operated devices, including OU wired and wireless networks,” the University of Oklahoma said in an email this week.

    According to the email, the school will also require that university-administered TikTok accounts be deleted and “alternate social media platforms utilized in their place.”

    More than a dozen states, including Maryland, South Dakota and Texas, have announced bans in recent weeks of TikTok for state employees on government-issued devices. The bans come as a growing number of lawmakers continue to scrutinize TikTok over possible national security concerns due to its ties to China through its parent company, ByteDance.

    The criticism ramped up earlier this year after a Buzzfeed News report said some US user data has been repeatedly accessed from China, and cited one employee who allegedly said, “Everything is seen in China.” TikTok, for its part, has confirmed US user data can be accessed by some employees in China.

    “We’re disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies that will do nothing to advance cybersecurity in their states and are based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok,” Jamal Brown, a spokesperson for TikTok, said in a statement provided to CNN on Thursday.

    “We’re especially sorry to see the unintended consequences of these rushed policies beginning to impact universities’ ability to share information, recruit students, and build communities around athletic teams, student groups, campus publications, and more,” Brown added.

    Auburn University in Alabama started restricting access to TikTok on school-owned devices or Wi-Fi networks last week, in accordance with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s recent executive order for state-owned networks and devices to block access to and from the TikTok social media application.

    But an Auburn University spokesperson told CNN the decision is “not a ban on campus.” TikTok users will still be able to access the app on personal devices via their own mobile data.

    Last week, a trio of lawmakers led by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill that aims to ban TikTok from operating in the United States. In a statement announcing the proposed legislation, Rubio accused TikTok of collecting data to “manipulate feeds” and blasted the app as a “CCP [Chinese Communist Party]-puppet company.”

    TikTok has been negotiating for years with the US government on a potential deal that addresses national security concerns and lets the app continue serving US customers. It has also taken steps to isolate US user data from other parts of its business.

    In addition, TikTok faces scrutiny over it’s powerful algorithm which may lead users, and especially its youngest users, down concerning rabbit holes, including directing them to potentially harmful subject matter such as content around suicide and eating disorders.

    TikTok has made a number of announcements in recent years in an effort to ease concerns, including publishing tools to help users customize content recommendations, rolling out parental controls to give users more options to restrict what their children can see on the app, and pledging more transparency related to its content moderation systems for researchers.

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  • Former Harvard fencing coach and Maryland businessman are both acquitted of bribery charges | CNN

    Former Harvard fencing coach and Maryland businessman are both acquitted of bribery charges | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A former Harvard fencing coach and a Maryland businessman were both acquitted of conspiring to get the businessman’s two sons admitted to Harvard in exchange for more than $1.5 million in bribes, authorities announced Wednesday.

    Former fencing coach Peter Brand, 67, and businessman Jack Zhao, 61, were acquitted of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and federal programs bribery – more than two years after they were indicted, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.

    Brand’s attorney said the verdict exonerates his client.

    “We are very grateful to the jury for their service and careful consideration of the evidence,” Attorney Douglas Brooks said. “Today’s verdict exonerates Peter Brand who is 100% innocent.”

    Attorney Bill Weinreb, who represents Zhao, told CNN, “We are grateful to the jury for their service and for doing justice in this case.”

    Brand was Harvard’s men’s and women’s fencing coach from 1999 until 2019, when Harvard University fired him, months after he was accused of selling his home to Zhao, whose son was actively looking to apply to the school.

    The sale of the Needham, Massachusetts, home in 2016 particularly drew investigators attention because Zhao bought it for almost twice what a tax document said it was worth.

    The purchase of the home was among $1.5 million in payments scrutinized by prosecutors in the case, including a large payment to Brand’s charitable foundation and college tuition payments for Brand’s son.

    Zhao has two sons who are fencers and were admitted to Harvard. He denied the bribery allegations and his attorney has called his children academic and fencing stars who got into Harvard on their own merit.

    After the two men were acquitted, a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts told CNN in a statement that they fundamentally disagreed with but respected the verdict.

    “This case was prosecuted for the millions of high school seniors and their families who engage in the stressful and humbling exercise of applying to college every year. That process is supposed to be a meritocracy,” the US Attorney’s Office statement read. “The instant case exposed such profound levels of privilege, entitlement and wealth abusing the college admissions process that something had to be done. And I am proud that we did.”

    The case against Brand and Zhao came amid a sprawling college admissions scam, first revealed in March 2019, in which rich parents of college applicants used their wealth to cheat on standardized tests, bribe sports coaches and lie about the payments.

    “Our trial team worked tirelessly and tried an excellent case. Their efforts were not in vain,” US Attorney’s Office said. “This case and all of the college admissions prosecutions have led to significant reforms at colleges and universities across the country aimed at curtailing the ability of those with means and access to flagrantly ignore the rules that apply to everyone else.”

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  • Student loan forgiveness is headed to the Supreme Court. What that means for the payment pause

    Student loan forgiveness is headed to the Supreme Court. What that means for the payment pause

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    West | Istock | Getty Images

    The Biden administration’s most recent announcement that the pause on federal student loan bills would be extended left borrowers with more uncertainty: It didn’t provide a date for when the payments would resume.

    The pandemic-era relief policy suspending federal student loan bills and the accrual of interest has been in effect since March 2020. Turning the $1.7 trillion lending system back on for some 40 million Americans is a massive task that the U.S. Department of Education has been reluctant to undertake.

    The administration had hoped to ease the transition for borrowers by first forgiving a large share of student debt, but its plan to do so, unveiled in August, soon faced a barrage of legal challenges and remains tied up in the courts. That development is why borrowers have gotten even more time without a student loan bill.

    Here’s what you need to know about the latest payment pause extension.

    Student loan bills could resume as soon as May 1

    The Education Department has left things a little open-ended when it comes to the timing of federal student loan payments resuming.

    It has said the bills will be due again only 60 days after the litigation over its student loan forgiveness plan resolves and it’s able to start wiping out the debt.

    If the Biden administration is still defending its policy in the courts by the end of June, or if it’s unable to move forward with forgiving student debt by then, the payments will pick up at the end of August, it said.

    Most recently, the Supreme Court has said it will hear oral arguments around the president’s plan in February.

    That means the earliest that payments could restart would likely be May 1, if the justices reach a quick decision, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

    Borrowers who are behind may get a ‘fresh start’

    The U.S. government has extraordinary collection powers on federal debts and it can seize borrowers’ tax refunds, wages and Social Security checks if they fall behind on their student loans.

    During the extended payment pause, however, the Education Department is also ceasing all collection activity, it said.

    Borrowers in default on their student loans should also look into the recently announced “Fresh Start” initiative, in which they’ll have the opportunity to return to a current status.

    Refinancing may be worth considering

    Kantrowitz had previously recommended that, despite the chance of picking up a lower interest rate, federal student loan borrowers refrain from refinancing their debt with a private lender while the Biden administration deliberated on how to move forward with forgiveness. Refinanced student loans wouldn’t qualify for the federal relief.

    Now that borrowers know how much in loan cancellation is coming — if the president’s policy survives in the courts — borrowers may want to consider the option, Kantrowitz said. With the Federal Reserve expected to continue raising interest rates, he added, you’re more likely to pick up a lower rate with a lender today than down the road.

    Still, Kantrowitz added, it’s probably a small pool of borrowers for whom refinancing is wise.

    It would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for the baseless lawsuits brought by Republican officials and special interests.

    Miguel Cardona

    Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education

    He said those include borrowers who don’t qualify for the Biden administration’s forgiveness — the plan excludes anyone who earns more than $125,000 as an individual or $250,000 as a family — and those who owe more on their student loans than the administration plans to cancel. Those borrowers may want to look at refinancing the portion of their debt over the relief amounts, Kantrowitz said.

    Borrowers need to first understand the federal protections they’re giving up before they refinance, warns Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors.

    For example, the Education Department allows you to postpone your bills without interest accruing if you can prove economic hardship. The government also offers loan forgiveness programs for teachers and public servants.

    “Your rate doesn’t matter if you lose your job, have sudden medical expenses, can’t afford your payments and find that defaulting is your only option,” Mayotte said, in a previous interview about refinancing.

    Make the most of extra cash during the payment pause

    Boy_anupong | Moment | Getty Images

    With headlines warning of a possible recession and layoffs picking up, experts recommend that you try to salt away the money you’d usually put toward your student debt each month.

    Certain banks and online savings accounts have been upping their interest rates, and it’s worth looking around for the best deal available. You’ll just want to make sure any account you put your savings in is FDIC-insured, meaning up to $250,000 of your deposit is protected from loss.

    And while interest rates on federal student loans are at zero, it’s also a good time to make progress paying down more expensive debt, experts say. The average interest rate on credit cards is currently more than 19%.

    Some may want to keep paying during the pause

    If you have a healthy rainy-day fund and no credit card debt, it may make sense to continue paying down your student loans even during the break, experts say.

    There’s a big caveat here, however. If you’re enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan or pursuing public service loan forgiveness, you don’t want to continue paying your loans.

    That’s because months during the government’s payment pause still count as qualifying payments for those programs, and since they both result in forgiveness after a certain amount of time, any cash you throw at your loans during this period just reduces the amount you’ll eventually get excused.

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  • This 529 savings plan myth is making college pricier for families, consultant says: ‘It’s candidly, blatantly not true’

    This 529 savings plan myth is making college pricier for families, consultant says: ‘It’s candidly, blatantly not true’

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    Kevin Dodge | The Image Bank | Getty Images

    SEATTLE — For many families, paying for college is a financial burden, and experts say education funding myths may be adding to the student loan debt crisis.

    “There’s often this perception that somehow people are being penalized for saving for college,” said Cozy Wittman, national education and partnerships speaker with College Inside Track. “It’s candidly, blatantly not true.”

    Parent-owned 529 college savings plans are assessed at 5.64% when filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, she said, speaking at the Financial Planning Association’s annual conference on Tuesday. 

    That means for every $10,000 of 529 plan savings, roughly $564 counts toward the parents’ expected family contribution, potentially reducing financial aid by roughly the same amount, according to the College Savings Plans Network.

    More from Personal Finance:
    3 unexpected financial pitfalls unmarried couples needs to know
    Here’s the inflation breakdown for November 2022 — in one chart
    IRS: Why ‘early filers’ should wait to submit their tax return in 2023

    A 529 plan offers several benefits: The owner keeps control of the funds, there’s tax-free growth for qualified expenses and flexibility to change the beneficiary, Wittman said.

    The average 529 account value was $30,287 in 2021, the College Savings Plans Network reported.

    Grandparent 529 savings won’t count on the FAFSA

    Previously, grandparent-owned 529 plans negatively affected need-based financial aid because distributions counted as student income on the next year’s FAFSA, assessed at up to 50%, Wittman said.  

    However, recent FAFSA changes scrapped that rule, effective for the 2023-2024 school year, meaning “grandparents’ [529 plan] savings has no impact on the student,” she said.

    “This has real-world implications for where people save,” Wittman said.

    While many grandparents like contributing to parent-owned 529 plans rather than opening their own, “it would actually be smarter today to flip that around,” she said.  

    Why to consider colleges with price ‘flexibility’

    There’s also a lack of knowledge around college pricing, Wittman said. “This concept that public schools are cheap and private schools are expensive does not serve the narrative well.”

    “The way to think about college today is not public and private,” she said, noting that it’s better to explore which schools may have flexible versus inflexible pricing.

    Wittman said the easiest way to find schools with merit-based scholarships is by comparing the acceptance rates. Typically, when the acceptance rate is below 20%, “there’s no incentive for them to give away money,” she said.

    However, “colleges are the number one provider of scholarship dollars,” and there’s generally more money to give at private schools, Wittman said.

    Ideally, you’ll want to begin the college search during the student’s sophomore or junior year, she said. “You can’t do a great college search if you start a month before applications are due,” she said. 

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  • FeedbackFruits Wins the Silver Award at the Reimagine Education Awards 2022

    FeedbackFruits Wins the Silver Award at the Reimagine Education Awards 2022

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    FeedbackFruits’ assessment tools win the Reimagine Education Silver Award in the Learning Assessment category

    Press Release
    –

    Dec 13, 2022 15:00 CET


    AMSTERDAM, December 13, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    FeedbackFruits has been selected from over 1,100 submissions as the Reimagine Education Awards 2022 Silver Award winner in the Learning Assessment category for their five tools for diversified assessment. Two other FeedbackFruits projects were also shortlisted, in the Innovation in Business Education and The Power of Partnerships categories.

    The Reimagine Education Awards is the largest global awards program for innovative pedagogies. The awards, organized by the Wharton School and QS Quacquarelli Symonds, celebrate approaches that enhance student learning outcomes and employability, thus fundamentally changing the educational landscape.

    Nunzio Quacquarelli, President, QS and co-founder of Reimagine Education, said: “It is a pleasure and a privilege to offer a global platform to the projects, pedagogies, and solutions that represent the future of educational provision. With over 500 international independent judges participating in the evaluation process, plus a distinguished 25 persons Grand Jury, our winners have received the unequivocal backing of expert educationalists across the world. They should take exceptional pride in their achievement.”

    Since 2012, FeedbackFruits has been co-creating evidence-based pedagogical technology with thought-leading institutions, such as Cornell University, Deakin University, and IE Business School. The winning FeedbackFruits project consists of six teaching tools for holistic and multi-level assessment that help institutions scale and innovate their evaluation practices.

    Ewoud de Kok, CEO of FeedbackFruits, believes that this achievement reflects the emerging need for innovative pedagogical practices: “The importance of promoting more authentic assessment has been increasingly apparent in the sector. FeedbackFruits is proud to be among the many innovators in higher education and edtech who transform the way we evaluate students’ progress and performance.”

    For Joost Verdoorn, Chief Product Officer at FeedbackFruits, the awards were the legitimization of the company’s focus on the lived experience of educators: “Our assessment tools have been developed with higher education institutions from start to finish. It is because of their insights and feedback that we have been able to create effective technology that boosts learning outcomes and saves educators’ time in the process.”

    This achievement has validated FeedbackFruits’ mission of supporting educational institutions to provide a more personalized, engaging, and meaningful learning experience for all students.
     

    About FeedbackFruits

    FeedbackFruits is an EdTech scale-up based in Amsterdam with the mission to help foster a generation of critical and empathic thinkers through pedagogical innovation. The tools encompass a range of learning activities such as self and peer assessment, online discussion, and team-based learning. For further information, visit feedbackfruits.com.

    About Reimagine Education Awards 2022

    Reimagine Education is a global conference and competition, open to educational innovators from all around the world. For further information, visit reimagine-education.com.

    For more information, press only: marketing@feedbackfruits.com

    Source: FeedbackFruits

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  • 71 years after starting college, a 90-year-old woman is graduating | CNN

    71 years after starting college, a 90-year-old woman is graduating | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A 90-year-old woman will finally walk across the stage and receive her diploma, 71 years after she first enrolled in college.

    Joyce DeFauw, then Joyce Viola Kane, started her freshman year at Northern Illinois University in 1951 with a plan to graduate with a degree in home economics.

    But those plans changed when DeFauw met a special man at church who stole her heart, she told CNN Thursday.

    “I went to school for three and a half years, but decided to leave after I met him.” DeFauw said.

    The special man was Don Freeman Sr. The two got married in 1955, and had three children together before Freeman passed away, leaving her widowed for about five years.

    DeFauw eventually got remarried to her late second husband, Roy DeFauw. Together they had six children, including two sets of twins.

    Throughout the years her family grew, and she now has 17 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.

    Flash forward to 2019 when DeFauw showed interest in the college education she left behind.

    “I guess I mentioned I was upset that I didn’t finish school and my children encouraged me to go back,” she said, so she enrolled back at Northern Illinois and began taking classes.

    Jenna Dooley, one of DeFauw’s 17 grandchildren and an alumnus of NIU, told CNN it was more about the ‘why not’ versus the ‘why’, when DeFauw decided to go back.

    Dooley said when she was growing up she’d visit her grandmother in her farmhouse where DeFauw would always be baking or cooking.

    DeFauw used to be a Sunday school teacher as well. “She’s always had that love of teaching and learning,” Dooley said.

    “When we made calls to the school about a previous enrollment, they were shocked to hear we were asking about a student from the 50s,” Dooley said.

    But this time around, things were much different for DeFauw.

    Instead of walking to campus to attend class, she did so behind a computer screen from her retirement home.

    “It was my first computer,” DeFauw said, “My children had to teach me how to use it.”

    Joyce DeFauw's senior photograph from 1955, left, and the when she visited campus in August 2022.

    Dooley added her uncle Don, DeFauw’s oldest son, helped set up the computer, get a camera for the computer and taught her how to navigate her school email.

    When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, she was thankful for the computer, Dooley said. “It worked out really well that she was already set up online,” She added.

    She was on her own during that time and could have no visitors, Dooley said. “At times she’d get frustrated, but I kept reminding her that this was all a part of the process.” She added.

    “At times I wanted to quit, but I didn’t.” DeFauw said. She said she had plenty of encouragement from family, friends and the school.

    Director of Bachelor General Studies, Judy Santacaterina, was a huge help for DeFauw. Dooley said she took on the role of helping her grandmother get her degree and the entire family is grateful for Santacaterina.

    DeFauw took one class each semester, including during the summer. “She’s very organized,” Dooley said, “She has a routine. She wanted to keep taking classes so she wouldn’t fall out of that routine.”

    Now, three years later, she’ll put on the cap and gown and receive a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the university this weekend.

    DeFauw is thankful she had the opportunity to get to go back to school and get her degree. “It’s nice to finish something you started,” she said.

    Her piece of advice to those who may be in a similar situation: “Don’t give up,” she said, “I know it can be difficult, but everything in life has its ups and downs.”

    “She has a gift of learning and teaching, so to be able to celebrate this with joy is the icing on the cake.” Dooley said.

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  • Deion Sanders has decided to stop coaching at a historically Black college. Here’s why people are so upset | CNN

    Deion Sanders has decided to stop coaching at a historically Black college. Here’s why people are so upset | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    College football fans and HBCU alumni are still coming to terms with Deion Sanders announcing his departure from Jackson State University for his new head coaching gig at the University of Colorado.

    The move struck a chord, especially among alumni of the Mississippi college, with some calling Sanders a “sell out” for leaving the historically Black JSU for the predominantly white CU.

    Others are angry about him selling the dream of changing the athletic culture at historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, across the US and leaving after only three years.

    While some were hopeful about everything Sanders said he could accomplish for JSU and other HBCUs, they “failed to realize this history of segregation, the history of integration and the history of the way TV contracts work really put these schools behind the 8-ball, so to speak,” said Louis Moore, a history professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

    It’s complicated, but the anger, confusion and disappointment about Sanders’ move stem from a culture of loyalty and reverence for history that’s unique to HBCUs, experts told CNN. But Coach Prime’s exit also highlights a decades long discussion about equity in collegiate athletics.

    Here’s a look into the conversation that fueled this week’s debate:

    Sanders had been coaching the JSU Tigers the past three seasons, compiling a 26-5 record and most recently winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship over Southern University.

    The school took a chance on Sanders, who had no collegiate coaching experience. He’d previously been the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian School, a private school near Dallas.

    What he did bring was exposure, to both Jackson State and HBCUs overall.

    “I could be an assistant in any college, or a head coach in any college, but at such a time as this, God called me to Jackson State and me to these men,” Sanders said in 2020 when it was announced he’d be the new JSU head coach.

    Sanders also promised to the change the HBCU landscape, in essence becoming a savior of HBCU athletics and putting these schools on the map.

    He did that, sort of. Since his arrival, JSU was featured on ESPN’s “First Take” and ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The school was showcased at the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, and even featured in a Pepsi ad. Sanders also donated half his salary to complete renovations to the school’s football stadium, according to CNN affiliate WLBT-TV.

    All of this in the span of three years gave many hope he was in it for the long run. That, obviously, was not the case.

    “You weren’t going to bring this attention to all these other schools in the time period he was there. If he was really going to accomplish that, that’s a 10-year program, at least,” sports journalist Bomani Jones, a Clark Atlanta University alumnus, told CNN’s Don Lemon this week.

    Additionally, what Sanders didn’t take into consideration was the culture of loyalty at HBCUs.

    “There is an assumption that HBCUs breed this loyalty, definitely among it’s alumni, definitely among athletes and supposedly among coaches and Deion Sanders demystified that,” said Billy Hawkins, a professor at the University of Houston and the author of “The New Plantation: Black Athletes, College Sports, and Predominantly White NCAA Institutions.”

    Two HBCU coaches known for their long tenures include Eddie Robinson, Grambling State University’s head football coach between the 1940s and 1990s, and Jake Gaither who led Florida A&M’s program from 1945 to 1969, according to the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

    But, it’s problematic to expect coaches to stay for such a long time, Hawkins said.

    “When you look at HBCUs, they’re probably the only institutions that had that type of institutional memory in athletic coaching even (predominantly white institutions) have only had maybe a few that have hung around 10, 15, 20 years,” he said.

    Sanders arrival and departure from Jackson State speaks to many issues of history and equity.

    HBCUs were created for Black Americans who were barred from attending predominantly white institutions, or PWIs. Officials at these institutions initially did not even want sports programs because Black athletes rarely went professional in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Hawkins said.

    Despite this, football was introduced at HBCUs in the 1890s, according to the nonprofit African American Registry. It wasn’t until after World War II that the golden age of Black college football began and HBCUs were producing more talent per capita than just about any other school in the country, said Derrick E. White, a history professor at the University of Kentucky and half of “The Black Athlete” podcast.

    “These schools (had) tiny budgets, but because of segregation were able to produce this wealth of talent,” White said.

    Between 1961 and 2002, Jackson State had 94 players drafted into the NFL. The school had 11 players drafted in 1968, breaking a then Mississippi state record, according its website.

    Integration in the late 1960s and early 1970s ended the golden age.

    “HBCUs used to be seen as the mecca of Black intellectual ability, now with the drain that took place or the migration of Blacks to PWIs – both as students and as athletes – there is that perception that they’re less than,” Hawkins said. “Along with this absence of resources, there is also notion and ideology of intellectual inferiority and I think that spills over into athletics as well, thus they don’t necessarily receive the same types of sponsorships and endorsements because there’s this assumption there’s an inferior performance.”

    A 1984 Supreme Court ruling widened the gap between HBCUs and their counterparts even more. The ruling said the NCAA could no longer control whose games aired on television. Conferences – like the SEC, ACC and Big 10 – were now able to negotiate with TV networks directly.

    “All small colleges get shut out of this TV funding model because people on ABC don’t want to see Dartmouth or Grambling,” White said, adding that smaller Division I schools learned to depend on donors who had millions to pour into their college programs.

    And historically, because of a lack of generational wealth among many Black families in the US, HBCUs don’t have that wealthy donor base.

    So, combine a history of segregation, a loss of resources to integration and lack of equity getting multimillion dollar TV deals, and HBCUs get left behind financially and athletically.

    Then comes Sanders, who talked about rebuilding the JSU brand, bringing in recruits and amplifying HBCUs to the mainstream.

    “He sold the big dream. Now if you paid any attention, you knew the dream he was selling wasn’t possible – it was not an achievable one that he had – but he sold it and he got people to believe it, then he chucked the deuce and left,” Jones, the sports journalist, told CNN’s Don Lemon.

    Sanders move out west also highlights another issue in college sports, a lack of Black head coaches in big league schools. His move is definitely progress for Black coaches in college football.

    Sanders is one of three HBCU coaches to go to a PWI, experts say, and the first to go to a Power 5 school. A Black head coach has also never won a Football Bowl Subdivision – the top tier of Division I – national championship.

    “They don’t get a chance,” said Moore, the Grand Valley State professor and other half of “The Black Athlete” podcast.

    Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in HBCUs from the election of Vice President Kamala Harris, a Howard University alumna, to companies increasing recruitment among HBCU students and Ralph Lauren collaborating with Morehouse and Spelman Colleges in Atlanta. The New York Times even reported the current climate has led elite Black students to choose HBCUs over elite PWIs.

    Sanders was part of this resurgence and played his part, bringing even more eyes to these schools.

    “Nobody was talking about HBCUs,” said Shannon Sharpe, a Hall of Famer and HBCU alumnus, on his Fox show “Undisputed.”

    “They’re on television and that’s because of him,” Sharpe said of Sanders. “He gave you the blueprint, now follow the blueprint.”

    Part of that blueprint, experts said, is HBCUs not needing to imitate PWIs, but instead remembering the product that makes them unique to their fan base.

    “At HBCUs, the entire experience is a cultural expression,” Hawkins said, referring to the marching bands and their electrifying halftime shows that make football games a combination of music and sports.

    The schools also offer a space for Black students where they don’t have to represent the entire race, said White, the University of Kentucky professor. Remembering these elements about what makes the experience unique will help Jackson State move forward after Sanders.

    “It’s gonna take a visionary administrator, not just an athletic director, … to wed to the academic mission, the cultural mission and the athletic mission to really propel not just the individual school forward, but all Black schools.”

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  • TTUHSC El Paso and Borderplex Native Juan Nevarez Announce Gift Benefiting Hunt School of Nursing and Foster School of Medicine Students

    TTUHSC El Paso and Borderplex Native Juan Nevarez Announce Gift Benefiting Hunt School of Nursing and Foster School of Medicine Students

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    EL PASO, Texas, December 8, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    In November, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and Borderplex native Juan Nevarez announced a $150,000 gift benefiting first-generation medical and nursing students. 

    Nevarez understands the difficulties of attending college and working full time.

    In the early 1990s, Nevarez, a first-generation college student, worked at a grocery store while studying toward his Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering at Texas Tech University. Working twice as much as others wasn’t new to him.

    When the family’s tortilleria business in his hometown of Ciudad Juárez wasn’t making as much money, Nevarez, still in junior high school, decided to help by working nights in a maquiladora factory. 

    At 15, he came to the U.S. instilled with his family’s strong work ethic. Encouraged by his godmother and a motivation to succeed, he enrolled at Texas Tech University.

    Years later, and after touring the TTUHSC El Paso campus this past spring, he was impressed by the state-of-the-art facilities but floored by students and their work ethic.

    “I talked to first-generation students who told me they were struggling, counting on loans and different programs,” Nevarez said. “I really saw myself in them: They were working hard, they’re Hispanic kids, and they’re trying to get through medical school like when I was trying to get through my petroleum engineering program.”

    Nevarez decided then he wanted to do something to help first-generation students from the Borderplex, a region encompassing Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. During a special luncheon on the TTUHSC El Paso campus, he announced two major gifts in support of student scholarships. 

    Nevarez gifted $50,000 to the Hunt School of Nursing for a scholarship fund named in honor of his late mother, Guadalupe “Lupe” Sanchez De Nevarez. Recipients of this scholarship will be first-generation students from the Borderplex region.

    Nevarez also gifted $75,000 for Foster School of Medicine scholarships. The fund, the Juan J. Nevarez Sanchez Medical Student Scholarship, will also assist first-generation students from the Borderplex with goals of becoming the community’s future physicians.

    Inspired by the afternoon’s events and after hearing about the challenges students faced, Nevarez contributed an additional $25,000 to the Hunt School of Nursing, remembering his mother who passed away from complications due to diabetes and who continues to be an inspiration for the Nevarez family.  

    The gift to first-generation students at TTUHSC El Paso will have a resounding impact, changing their life trajectories. It also will help reduce health inequities locally, ensuring students meet their goals, graduate on time and enter the workforce where they’re needed more than ever. 

    Currently, El Paso faces a 60% shortage of physicians and a 20% shortage of registered nurses when compared to national averages. In particular, the state of Texas is projected to face a shortfall of nearly 16,000 registered nurses by 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

    In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts Hispanics will account for 25% of the U.S. population in 10 years. However, less than 6% of physicians in the U.S. identify as Hispanic. To fill the gap, TTUHSC El Paso is educating future bilingual, Hispanic health care providers, thanks to required medical Spanish courses for medical and dental students. In 2021-2022, 57% of the university’s graduates, including M.D. recipients, identified as Hispanic.

    Nevarez’s gift also carries out a legacy of kindness he attributes to his mother. 

    “This is my way to honor my mother because she was a caring person who thought about everybody else,” Nevarez said. “She always looked out for other people, and that’s what nurses do. They have that giving spirit.”

    Humble Beginnings

    Nevarez lived from age 5 to 15 in Ciudad Juárez’s Pancho Villa Colonia, one of the poorest areas of the city.

    “We were fortunate we had enough to eat,” Nevarez said. “We lived in a two-bedroom house and at one point had six people in the house. You don’t realize you’re poor at that age because you’re surrounded by a close, loving family.”

    Nevarez has dedicated over 25 years working in the oil and gas business, currently serving as senior vice president of Scout Energy Partners. He serves on the Texas Tech Foundation Board of Directors, the Texas Tech University Petroleum Industry Advisory Executive Board and the Texas Tech College of Engineering Dean’s Council.

    Scholarships Crucial in Helping Students

    Community leaders and TTUHSC El Paso donors also in attendance met with scholarship recipients and the region’s future health care professionals.

    Support from the local community is critical in keeping talented students from the Borderplex close to home as they receive their education. In the past 10 years, the region’s donors have assisted students with financial challenges, relieving the burden of taking on multiple jobs outside of school to pay bills and afford necessities.

    In 2021-2022, 44% of students attending TTUHSC El Paso schools received scholarships totaling $2,174,150. For the first time in the Hunt School of Nursing’s 10-year history, gifts from donors have made it possible for the university to award three nursing students with full tuition for unmet financial need. 

    El Pasoan Alexia Campos knows how helpful scholarships can be. Campos is enrolled in the Hunt School of Nursing’s Accelerated B.S.N. program and works at a movie theater to make ends meet. A scholarship from community leaders Bob and Jane Snow has helped lessen financial burdens. 

    “I didn’t want my family to worry about me, and I wanted to provide for myself as much as possible. The scholarship has helped with that,” Campos said. “I continue to work throughout nursing school, but the scholarship has helped to cut down on my hours so I can concentrate on schoolwork.”

    Campos always knew her health care career would begin at the Hunt School of Nursing. But her tenacity didn’t stop there. She enlisted in the U.S. Navy with goals of serving the country as a nurse and an officer. 

    “In my heart, I know that becoming a nurse is my ultimate dream,” Campos said. “I always felt a great calling for helping others. That drive has never wavered and being able to make a difference in someone’s life is possible thanks to community supporters who believe in students like me.”

    About the Hunt School of Nursing

    The Hunt School of Nursing is home to the only accelerated program in the region where students can earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in just 16 months. Since opening in 2011, more than 1,140 nurses have graduated from the Hunt School of Nursing, with 90% staying in the region. 

    The Hunt School of Nursing has partnerships with every hospital in the El Paso community, which includes both clinical rotation opportunities and job placements post-graduation, helping to fill the critical need for nurses. The school’s curriculum also prepares students for leadership positions in hospitals and clinics.

    About the Foster School of Medicine

    Since opening in 2009, nearly 800 graduates of the Foster School of Medicine have become or are on their way to becoming practicing physicians. The school’s faculty trains students in culturally competent care with the goal of keeping future physicians in West Texas to treat patients in metropolitan and rural areas. The school’s graduates have helped reduce local, regional and state-wide physician shortages.

    About TTUHSC El Paso

    TTUHSC El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It’s designated as a Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care leaders, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation college students.

    Source: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso

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  • Idaho authorities continue to investigate whether one of the slain university students had a stalker, police say | CNN

    Idaho authorities continue to investigate whether one of the slain university students had a stalker, police say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Three weeks after four Idaho college students were found stabbed to death in an off-campus house, Moscow police said they are still looking into the possibility that one of the victims had a stalker.

    Police outlined a situation in October when a man appeared to be following Kaylee Goncalves, one of the victims, outside a local business, according to a news release from the department. Police said this was an isolated incident, and the man and an associate were trying to meet women at the business, which police said was corroborated through additional investigation. It was not an ongoing pattern of stalking. There is currently no evidence tying the two men to the killings, the release said.

    Last month, investigators looked “extensively” into hundreds of pieces of information about Goncalves having a stalker, but “have not been able to verify or identify a stalker,” police said.

    Police are still asking for tips from the public on information regarding a possible stalker.

    “Investigators continue looking into information about Kaylee having a stalker. Information about a potential stalker or unusual occurrences should go through the Tip Line,” according to the release.

    Goncalves, 21, along with roommates Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20; as well as Kernodle’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, who did not live in the house, were found dead November 13. Police initially said the slayings took place after 1:45 a.m., but no one called 911 until noon that same day. In the updated release Monday, police said the surviving roommates called friends to the home because they believed one of the victims had passed out and was not waking up. This prompted someone, using one of the surviving roommates’ cell phones, to call 911 for an unconscious person. Police arrived and found all four victims whose cause and manner of death was ruled four days later to be homicide by stabbing, the release said.

    A coroner determined the four victims were each stabbed multiple times and were likely asleep when the attacks began, police have said. Local, state and federal investigators have all been working to find a suspect. They are starting to receive forensic testing results from the crime scene, Moscow police spokesperson Rachael Doniger told CNN last week.

    On Saturday, Moscow police said they’ve received more than 2,000 email tips, phone tips and more than 1,000 submissions to an FBI link. The killings have unnerved the town of Moscow, with its 26,000 residents, because it had not recorded a murder since 2015.

    At this point in the investigation, police have not identified a suspect or found the murder weapon, believed to be a knife. Police have also not released the names of the surviving roommates who were said to have been in the home at the time of the killings. CNN did not report their names until they were publicly identified during a memorial service Sunday when a pastor read letters written by the two roommates – identified as Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke.

    In the letters that were read aloud Sunday, Mortensen and Funke wrote how much they would miss the victims and what they meant to them as both roommates and friends.

    “My life was greatly impacted to have known these four beautiful people,” the pastor read in Mortensen’s letter. “My people who changed my life in so many ways and made me so happy. I know it will be hard to not have the four of them in our lives, but I know Xana, Ethan, Maddie and Kaylee would want us to live life and be happy and they would want us to celebrate their lives.”

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  • Biden to visit Arizona computer chip site, highlight jobs

    Biden to visit Arizona computer chip site, highlight jobs

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    President Joe Biden on Tuesday plans to visit the building site for a new computer chip plant in Arizona, using it as a chance to emphasize how his policies are fostering job growth in what could be a challenge to the incoming Republican House majority.

    Biden has staked his legacy in large part on major investments in technology and infrastructure that were approved by Congress along bipartisan lines. The Democratic president maintains that the factory jobs fostered by $52 billion in semiconductor investments and another $200 billion for scientific research will help to revive the U.S. middle class.

    “This is actually about building an economic strategy that goes beyond semiconductors,” said Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council. “This is a marked departure from the economic philosophy that has governed for much of the last 40 years in this country, which was a sort of trickle-down economic strategy.”

    But there are signs that past moments of bipartisanship on economic matters may be harder to replicate after November’s midterm elections, in which Republicans won a House majority. Biden still pitches the investments as a sign of what happens when lawmakers partner with each other, but Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy, who could be the next speaker, attacked the government investments as a “blank check” and “corporate welfare.”

    Biden is visiting a plant under construction by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. that was announced in 2020 during Donald Trump‘s presidency. TSMC will also announce a second plant in Arizona on Tuesday. Biden administration officials said the two TSMC plants as well as new factories by Intel, Micron, Wolfspeed and others could give a decisive edge to the American military and economy at time when competition with China is heating up.

    The White House has simultaneously launched a video campaign to highlight the array of non-tech jobs associated with the semiconductor industry. Biden has visited four other computer chip sites since September, with the highly paid factory jobs promising spillover hiring for construction, janitorial services and other businesses.

    Featured in the video campaign is Paul Sarzoza, president and CEO of Verde Clean. Sarzoza founded the company in 2019. It won a contract to clean TSMC’s construction site, accounting for a third of its 150 jobs. Sarzoza’s company will clean the semiconductor plant, with workers wearing what’s known as a “bunny suit” to prevent any contamination from hair and skin.

    The government’s investment was key for his company’s growth, and he expects to add 150 to 200 more employees next year.

    “It’s one step at a time,” Sarzoza said. “But it’s a tremendous opportunity for us.”

    Computer chip company Intel has also invested in Arizona, which has become a microcosm of the nation’s broader political divides. The state on Monday certified the results of this year’s elections, a process drawn out by many GOP officials who falsely claim the 2020 election, in which Biden beat Trump, was rigged.

    Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will attend the event, as will his newly elected Democratic successor, Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s current secretary of state.

    Biden uses his visits to chip plants to talk about the jobs he expects will come to those regions, a process that could take a decade or longer to come to full fruition. Companies could face a challenge in finding educated workers for jobs with incomes averaging over $100,000 a year, according to Labor Department figures.

    Ronnie Chatterji, White House coordinator for the chip investments, said these investments will shape entire regions of the country in ways that are overlooked now.

    “Ten years from now we’ll be talking about all the jobs in Arizona,” Chatterji said in an interview. “You won’t be able to talk about that part of Arizona without thinking about the impact of those companies.”

    But Biden might need to thread a needle and preserve a sense of bipartisanship for the long-term investments to succeed, said Keith Krach, a business executive who as an under secretary of state in the Trump administration helped bring TSMC to Arizona.

    He said the investments will rival NASA’s Apollo Program, which didn’t just land men on the moon but also made the U.S. a leader in micro electronics, software, computers and aerospace.

    Krach said that preserving political unity is key and the way to do that is for political leaders to stress how the chip plants can keep the U.S. ahead of China.

    “It’s unifying,” Krach said, because Chinese President Xi Jinping “is terrified of the United States having a Sputnik moment, which I think this really represents, and declaring a moonshot.”

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  • Deion Sanders hired as the next head coach for University of Colorado football | CNN

    Deion Sanders hired as the next head coach for University of Colorado football | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Coach Prime is officially heading to Boulder, Colorado.

    Football legend Deion Sanders has been named the new University of Colorado football head coach, the school announced Saturday.

    Sanders will be leaving Jackson State University, where he coached the Tigers for the past three seasons, compiling a record of 26-5 – including going undefeated this season. The Tigers won the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship earlier Saturday, defeating Southern University 43-24. 

    “There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders,” Colorado athletic director Rick George said in a statement.

    “Not only will Coach Prime energize our fanbase, I’m confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character.”

    Sanders was drafted as a first-rounder in 1989 by the Atlanta Falcons out of Florida State and played in the league for 14 seasons with several franchises. He won two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. 

    Sanders also played for five different Major League Baseball teams in 11 years. He is the first athlete to have competed in a Super Bowl and a World Series. 

    In October, Colorado fired Karl Dorrell after an 0-5 start and an 8-15 overall record in three years as head coach. Interim head coach Mike Sanford went 1-6 as the Buffaloes finished the season with the worst record in the Pac-12 Conference. 

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  • Authorities say they’ve received thousands of tips regarding 4 slain University of Idaho students | CNN

    Authorities say they’ve received thousands of tips regarding 4 slain University of Idaho students | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Authorities investigating the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death last month say they have received thousands of tips from the public.

    In a Saturday update, the Moscow Police Department said it has received more than 2,640 emails to a tip web address, more than 2,770 phone tips and more than 1,000 submissions to an FBI link.

    Investigators have collected more than 110 pieces of physical evidence and roughly 4,000 crime scene photos.

    But the case remains unsolved. Police have not located the murder weapon nor identified a suspect.

    “To assist with the ongoing investigation, any odd or out-of-the-ordinary events that took place should be reported,” Moscow police said Saturday. “Your information, whether you believe it is significant or not, might be the piece of the puzzle that helps investigators solve these murders.”

    Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kernolde’s boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, were likely stabbed multiple times in their sleep just days before Thanksgiving break, police said.

    Their horrific deaths have since rattled Moscow, a college town of some 25,000 people which hasn’t recorded a single murder since 2015, and the nation.

    In an attempt to clear up false information that’s been spreading about the case, Moscow police this week debunked several theories.

    “There is speculation, without factual backing, stoking community fears and spreading false facts,” the Moscow Police Department said in a news release Friday.

    None of the victims in the quadruple homicide were tied and gagged, refuting online reports. A report of a “skinned” dog weeks before the killings is not connected to the case, according to police, and deceased animals left on a resident’s property elsewhere were determined to be wildlife activity.

    Additionally, police noted the students’ killings are not related to two other stabbing incidents in neighboring states Washington and Oregon – in 1999 and 2021, respectively – which may “share similarities,” but “there does not appear to be any evidence to support the cases are related,” according to the release.

    Police also reassured the public that a September incident which involved an argument between a group of people walking on the University of Idaho bike path and a cyclist, who displayed a folding knife, is not connected to the students’ killings.

    “The individual involved turned himself in, and charges were referred to the Moscow City Attorney’s Office,” police said.

    And although police have said they don’t know who carried out the killings, they have released information eliminating some people as suspects, most recently a person listed on the lease of the residence where the killings happened, police said Friday.

    “They have spoken to this individual and confirmed they moved out prior to the start of the school year and was not present at the time of the incident. Detectives do not believe this person has any involvement in the murders,” Moscow police said.

    Police also ruled out the two surviving roommates who were in house at the time of the killings and other people inside the house when the 911 call was made. The person who made the 911 call alerting authorities to the home after the killings has not been identified.

    Goncalves and Mogen, two of the victims, were driven home by someone after the pair purchased food from a truck hours before they were killed – authorities have ruled out the driver as a suspect.

    Additionally, a man seen in surveillance video from a food truck visited by Goncalves and Mogen, and another man the pair called “numerous times” in the hours before their deaths, were also ruled out as suspects by police.

    It remains unclear how close authorities are to releasing information about a potential suspect or suspects. “Only vetted information that does not hinder the investigation will be released to the public,” Moscow police noted Friday.

    But some details released by authorities since the start of the investigation have required further clarification.

    This week, Moscow police noted and backtracked comments from the Latah County prosecutor that said, “the suspect(s) specifically looked at this residence” and “that one or more of the occupants were undoubtedly targeted.”

    Moscow police called that a “miscommunication,” and added: “Detectives do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted.”

    On Thursday, Moscow police attempted to clarify the key conflicting information, once and for all.

    “We remain consistent in our belief that this was a targeted attack, but investigators have not concluded if the target was the residence or if it was the occupants,” police said.

    Authorities have also needed to clarify other information, including initially saying on November 15 that detectives believed the attacks were “isolated” and “targeted” and that the community was not under imminent threat. The following day, Moscow Police Chief James Fry said police were not definitive in concluding the public was not at risk.

    Police tape on November 30 surrounds the residence where four University of Idaho students were killed in Moscow, Idaho.

    Detectives have received testing and analysis of the crime scene evidence from Idaho State Police Forensic Services, and they will continue to receive the results of additional tests, according to police.

    “To protect the investigation’s integrity, specific results will not be released,” police said.

    Detectives also collected the contents of three dumpsters on the street where the house is located and seized five nearby vehicles to be processed for evidence, according to police.

    As for the murder weapon – believed to be a fixed-blade knife – detectives contacted local businesses regarding knife purchases in the days leading up to the killings.

    Multiple agencies and law enforcement personnel are investigating the homicides. More than 30 employees including detectives, patrol officers and support staff from the Moscow Police Department are working on the case, police said Friday in the news release.

    The FBI has devoted 22 investigators in Moscow, 20 agents through the country and two investigators from the agency’s Behavior Analysis Unit, police said.

    Plus, there are 20 Idaho State Police investigators assigned to Moscow, and an additional 15 uniformed troopers are patrolling the community. Forensic services and a mobile crime scene team from the state police are also working the case.

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  • EXPLAINER: Deaths of 4 Idaho students fuel online sleuths

    EXPLAINER: Deaths of 4 Idaho students fuel online sleuths

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    BOISE, Idaho — The deaths of four University of Idaho students nearly three weeks ago have grabbed the attention of thousands of would-be armchair sleuths, many of whom are posting speculation and unfounded rumors about the fatal stabbings online.

    Relatively few details have been released in the horrific case that has left the small town of Moscow stunned and grieving for Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

    The unanswered questions are fueling extensive interest in details about what happened. Here is a look at what is known about the killings, and what remains a mystery:

    IS THERE A SUSPECT?

    The Moscow Police Department has not yet named a suspect or made any arrests. Investigators have also not yet found a weapon, the department wrote in a news release Wednesday. Autopsies determined the four students were stabbed to death, likely with a fixed-blade knife, and investigators checked with local stores to see if any had sold military-style knives recently.

    WHO WERE THE VICTIMS?

    All four were friends and members of the university’s Greek system. Xana Kernodle, 20, was a junior studying marketing. She was from Post Falls, Idaho, and joined the Pi Beta Phi sorority on campus. She lived at the rental home with the other two women who were stabbed, and she was dating Ethan Chapin, who was visiting the night of the killings.

    Chapin, also 20, was from Mount Vernon, Washington and was a triplet. His brother and sister also attend UI, and both Chapin and his brother were members of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

    Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen were both 21 and friends who grew up together in northern Idaho. Mogen worked with Kernodle at a local Greek restaurant in Moscow. She was also a member of Pi Beta Phi.

    Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies, a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and was planning a trip to Europe next year.

    WERE THE VICTIMS TARGETED?

    It’s unclear whether the killer or killers knew the victims. Police and the county prosecutor’s office have released confusing — and at times contradictory — statements about whether the victims were “targeted.”

    On Thursday, the police department issued this statement: “We remain consistent in our belief that this was a targeted attack, but investigators have not concluded if the target was the residence or if it was the occupants.”

    Investigators say nothing appears to have been stolen from the home.

    WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT AND MORNING OF THE ATTACK?

    Goncalves and Mogen went to a local bar, stopped at a food truck and then caught a ride home with a private party around 1:56 a.m., according to a police timeline of the evening.

    Chapin and Kernodle were at the Sigma Chi house — just a short walk away — and returned to Kernodle’s house around 1:45 a.m., police said.

    Two other roommates who live in the home were also out that evening, but returned home by 1 a.m., police said. They didn’t wake up until later that morning.

    After they woke up, they called friends to come to the house because they believed one of the victims found on the second floor had passed out and wasn’t waking up. At 11:58 a.m., someone inside the home called 911, using a roommate’s cell phone. Multiple people talked with the dispatcher before police arrived.

    Police found two of the victims on the second floor of the three-story home, and two on the third floor. A dog was also at the home, unharmed.

    Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. There was no sign of sexual assault, police said.

    HAS ANYONE BEEN CLEARED?

    Police say that neither the two surviving roommates nor anyone who was at the home during the 911 call are believed to be involved with the attack. Police also say some of the people seen out with Goncalves and Mogen, including the person who drove them home, are not believed to be involved.

    A sixth person is also listed on the rental lease for the house, police revealed Thursday, but detectives do not believe that person was at home during the attack.

    ARE OTHER AGENCIES HELPING WITH THE INVESTIGATION?

    A lot of manpower and resources have been focused on the investigation. Idaho Gov. Brad Little has made $1 million in emergency funding available for the investigation.

    The Moscow Police Department has four detectives and dozens of officers on the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has assigned more than 40 agents, with about half stationed in Moscow. The Idaho State Police has roughly 20 investigators assisting, and several troopers patrolling the town.

    IS THERE ANY THREAT TO THE COMMUNITY?

    Police initially said there was no threat to the community, then later walked back that statement. Because the killer (or killers) is unknown, and because whether the attack was “targeted” is hazy, many in the community are fearful.

    The University of Idaho has allowed students to switch to fully remote learning, and Dean of Students Blaine Eckles said Wednesday that less than half of the students left campus in favor of online classes.

    The university has also hired an additional security firm to help with campus safety. Students can request escorts while on campus.

    DID ANY OF THE VICTIMS RAISE SECURITY CONCERNS BEFORE THE ATTACKS?

    Neither the university nor the police department have said whether any of the students reported unusual activity or expressed safety concerns in the months or weeks before the attack.

    The police department has looked into reports that Goncalves may have had a stalker, but despite pursuing hundreds of tips, has been unable to verify that claim, according to a “ Frequently Asked Questions ” document released by the department.

    WHAT ABOUT THAT ONE PERSON? OR SO-AND-SO?

    Rumors, speculation and unfounded theories abound online, many targeting people that police have already said aren’t involved in the crime.

    “There is speculation, without factual backing, stoking community fears and spreading false facts,” the police department wrote in a Facebook post Thursday evening. “We encourage referencing official releases for accurate information and updated progress.”

    Police frequently hold back some information about criminal cases because releasing it could harm the investigation. Sometimes crucial evidence doesn’t become publicly known until after an arrest is made and the case goes to trial.

    Detectives are looking for tips, surveillance videos from the area and other information that could provide context about the killings. They are asking that people call or email the police department with tips and upload any digital media to a special FBI website.

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  • Some University of California striking workers reach deal

    Some University of California striking workers reach deal

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    LOS ANGELES — Postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers on Tuesday reached a tentative labor agreement with the University of California but will remain on strike in solidarity with thousands of graduate student workers at all 10 of the university system’s campuses.

    The union representing the scholars and researchers hailed the deal as a major victory and said it would provide “substantial wage increases that address cost of living.”

    In addition to pay hikes of up to 29%, the agreement would provide increased family leave, childcare subsidies and lengthened appointments to ensure job security, according to a statement from United Auto Workers Local 5810.

    The agreement must be ratified in a vote by members.

    Letitia Silas, executive director of UC’s labor relations, said the university system was pleased to have reached a deal that honors the workers’ contributions.

    “These agreements also uphold our tradition of supporting these employees with compensation and benefits packages that are among the best in the country,” Silas said in a statement.

    The postdoctoral employees and academic researchers make up about 12,000 of the 48,000 union members who walked off the job and onto picket lines three weeks ago. About 36,000 graduate student teaching assistants, tutors and researchers are bargaining separately and remain on strike, calling for increased pay and benefits.

    Union leaders have said the strike could be the largest work stoppage the prestigious public university system has ever faced.

    The academic workers say with their current salaries they can’t afford to live in cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Berkeley, where housing costs are soaring.

    Organizers from the United Auto Workers, which represents the employees involved, have said there is no end date for the strike.

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  • Student loan payments may not resume until August. Here’s what borrowers need to know

    Student loan payments may not resume until August. Here’s what borrowers need to know

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    President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

    The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images

    It’s been almost three years since people with federal student loans have had to make a payment on their debt, and the Biden administration recently announced that borrowers have even more time.

    In March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic first hit the U.S. and crippled the economy, the U.S. Department of Education suspended federal student loan payments and the accrual of any interest, providing borrowers extra breathing room during an especially hard financial period.

    Resuming the bills for more than 40 million Americans has proven to be a massive and tricky task, and the holiday on the payments has now spanned two presidencies and been extended eight times.

    Even before the public health crisis, when the U.S. economy was enjoying one of its healthiest periods in history, problems plagued the federal student loan system, with about 25% — or more than 10 million borrowers — in delinquency or default.

    Experts say hardship rates are likely to only increase with the setbacks of the pandemic, the current sharp rise in prices on everyday goods and the fact that borrowers have gotten used to a budget sans student loans.

    More from Personal Finance:
    Credit card balances jump 15%
    60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck
    These steps can help you tackle stressful credit card debt

    White House officials had hoped to ease the transition back into life with student loan payments by first forgiving a large swath of the debt.

    Yet not long after President Joe Biden announced his plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loans for millions of Americans, a number of conservative groups and Republican-backed states attacked the policy in the courts. Two of these lawsuits have been successful in at least temporarily halting the relief, and the Education Department closed its loan cancellation application portal this month.

    With so much still up in the air, the Biden administration has pushed back the due date on student loan bills again.

    “It would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for the baseless lawsuits brought by Republican officials and special interests,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

    Here’s what borrowers need to know about getting more time.

    So when exactly will payments resume?

    It’s a little complicated.

    With previous extensions of the payment pause, the Education Department provided one date for when student loan bills would resume.

    This time, it left things a little more open-ended, saying that the bills will restart only 60 days after the litigation over its student loan forgiveness plan resolves and it’s able to start wiping out the debt.

    Therefore, the soonest the bills could become due again would be late January, if the legal challenges clear up by the end of November, although that’s unlikely.

    If the Biden administration is still defending its policy in the courts by the end of June or if it’s unable to move forward with forgiving student debt by then, it said, the payments will pick up at the end of August.

    So borrowers have at least two more months without the bills and at most nine.

    What if I was behind on my student loans?

    The U.S. government has extraordinary collection powers on federal debts and it can seize borrowers’ tax refunds, wages and Social Security checks if they fall behind on their student loans.

    During the extended payment pause, however, the Education Department is also ceasing all collection activity, it said.

    Borrowers in default on their student loans should also look into the recently announced “Fresh Start” initiative, in which they’ll have the opportunity to return to a current status.

    Should I still hold off on refinancing?

    Higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz had previously recommended that, despite the chance of picking up a lower interest rate, federal student loan borrowers should refrain from refinancing their debt with a private lender while the Biden administration deliberated on how to move forward with forgiveness. Refinanced student loans wouldn’t qualify for the federal relief.

    Now that borrowers know how much in loan cancellation is coming — assuming the president’s policy survives in the courts — borrowers may want to consider the option now, Kantrowitz said. With the Federal Reserve expected to continue raising interest rates, he added, you’re more likely to pick up a lower rate with a lender now than later.

    Still, Kantrowitz added, it’s probably a small pool of borrowers for whom refinancing is wise.

    It would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for the baseless lawsuits brought by Republican officials and special interests.

    Miguel Cardona

    Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education

    He said those include borrowers who don’t qualify for Biden’s forgiveness — the plan excludes anyone who earns more than $125,000 as an individual or $250,000 as a family — and those who owe more on their student loans than the Biden administration plans to cancel. Those borrowers may want to look at refinancing the portion of their debt over the relief amounts, Kantrowitz said.

    Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, warned borrowers to first understand the federal protections they’re giving up before they refinance.

    For example, the Education Department allows you to postpone your bills without interest accruing if you can prove economic hardship. The government also offers loan forgiveness programs for teachers and public servants.

    “Refinancing can generate a lower interest rate than federal student loan rates,” Mayotte said. “But your rate doesn’t matter if you lose your job, have sudden medical expenses, can’t afford your payments and find that defaulting is your only option.”

    What should I do with the extra cash during the pause?

    Boy_anupong | Moment | Getty Images

    With headlines warning of a possible recession and layoffs picking up, experts recommend that you try to salt away the money you’d usually put toward your student debt each month.

    Certain banks and online savings accounts have been upping their interest rates, and it’s worth looking around for the best deal available. You’ll just want to make sure any account you put your savings in is FDIC-insured, meaning up to $250,000 of your deposit is protected from loss.

    And while interest rates on federal student loans are at zero, it’s also a good time to make progress paying down more expensive debt, experts say. The average interest rate on credit cards is currently more than 19%.

    Could it make sense to still pay my student loans?

    If you have a healthy rainy-day fund and no credit card debt, it may make sense to continue paying down your student loans even during the break.

    With interest temporarily suspended, any payments will go directly toward your debt’s principal, potentially shortening your repayment timeline, said Anna Helhoski, a student loan expert at NerdWallet.com.

    “You could continue making payments each month by contacting your servicer, or save the money and make a lump sum payment on your highest-interest loan before interest accrues again when repayment restarts,” Helhoski said.

    There’s a big caveat here, however. If you’re enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan or pursuing public service loan forgiveness, you don’t want to continue paying your loans.

    That’s because months during the government’s payment pause still count as qualifying payments for those programs, and since they both result in forgiveness after a certain amount of time, any cash you throw at your loans during this period just reduces the amount you’ll eventually get excused.

    One more possibility: If you find yourself in a financially comfortable position and it doesn’t make sense for you to continue paying down your student loans, you may want to donate the extra cash.

    You can make sure an organization is reputable using tools such as the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance or Charity Navigator, Helhoski said. If the charity is registered as a 501(c)(3), you’ll even be eligible for a tax break.

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  • Teachers, lecturers join postal workers in UK strike action

    Teachers, lecturers join postal workers in UK strike action

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    LONDON (AP) — Most schools in Scotland were closed Thursday as thousands of teachers walked off the job, joining scores of postal workers and university lecturers across the U.K. in industrial action to demand better pay and working conditions to cope with the country’s cost-of-living crisis.

    The teachers’ strike in Scotland, which shuttered every school on the Scottish mainland, was the first such one in the region in 40 years. Union members want a 10% pay rise, but Scottish authorities say they couldn’t afford that.

    Elsewhere across the U.K., picket lines were set up outside postal offices and universities in one of the biggest coordinated walkouts this year. In universities, some 70,000 academic staff were striking Thursday and again on Nov. 30 in the biggest action of its kind in higher education. The action will affect an estimated 2.5 million students.

    The University and College Union said lecturers and other academic staff have suffered a decade of below-inflation pay rises, with a 3% increase announced in the summer.

    Meanwhile, workers at the Royal Mail staged a 48-hour walkout Thursday and will do so again on Black Friday and Christmas Eve over a long-running pay dispute.

    Britons have faced days of travel misery and overflowing garbage bins in recent months as unions representing multiple industries launched successive strikes. Lawyers, nurses, postal workers and many others have walked off the job to seek pay rises that match soaring inflation. Domestic energy bills and food costs have skyrocketed this year, driving inflation to a 41-year high of 11.1% in October.

    The latest walkouts come after the Rail, Maritime and Transport union announced Tuesday that more than 40,000 rail workers will stage fresh strikes in December and January, disrupting travel for scores of people during the busy festive season. The union said members will walk out for four days from Dec. 13 and in the first week of January.

    Pubs, bars and other hospitality companies say the latest train strikes will devastate struggling businesses at a crucial time of year, when millions typically go out for Christmas drinks and gatherings.

    “Continued rail strikes have had a huge impact on our hospitality sector; preventing staff from making it into work and disrupting consumers’ plans, meaning a huge drop in sales for venues across the sector,” said Kate Nicholls, chief executive for the UKHospitality trade body.

    “Further strikes during the busiest time of the year for hospitality will be devastating, just as everyone was anticipating an uninterrupted Christmas period for the first time in three years,” she added.

    Rail union chief Mick Lynch said he held “positive” talks with Transport Secretary Mark Harper on Thursday, but said the upcoming strikes will not be called off until the union had a “reasonable offer on the table” to put to its members.

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  • UK lecturers, teachers join postal workers in strikes

    UK lecturers, teachers join postal workers in strikes

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    LONDON — Thousands of postal workers, university lecturers and schoolteachers in the U.K. were going on strike on Thursday to demand better pay and working conditions amid the country’s cost-of-living crisis.

    Picket lines will be set up outside postal offices, universities and schools in one of the biggest co-ordinated walkouts this year.

    Britons have faced travel misery and overflowing garbage bins in recent months as unions representing multiple industries launched successive strikes. Lawyers, nurses, posties and many others have walked out of their jobs to seek pay rises that match soaring inflation. Domestic energy bills and food costs have skyrocketed this year, driving inflation to a 41-year high of 11.1% in October.

    In Scotland, most schools will close Thursday as teachers there take the first large-scale strike action in decades.

    In universities, some 70,000 academic staff will strike on Thursday and again on Nov. 30 in the biggest action of its kind in higher education. The action will affect an estimated 2.5 million students.

    Meanwhile, workers at the Royal Mail will walk out on Thursday and again on Black Friday and Christmas Eve.

    The latest walkouts come after the Rail, Maritime and Transport union announced Tuesday that more than 40,000 rail workers will stage fresh strikes in December and January, disrupting travel for scores of people during the busy festive season. The union said members will walk out for four days from Dec. 13 and in the first week of January.

    Pubs, bars and other hospitality businesses have expressed dismay at the latest train strike announcement.

    “Continued rail strikes have had a huge impact on our hospitality sector; preventing staff from making it into work and disrupting consumers’ plans, meaning a huge drop in sales for venues across the sector,” said Kate Nicholls, chief executive for the UKHospitality trade body.

    “Further strikes during the busiest time of the year for hospitality will be devastating, just as everyone was anticipating an uninterrupted Christmas period for the first time in three years,” she added.

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