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Despite opt-outs by GOP states, debut of kids’ summer food program seen as a success
A U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative to feed hungry kids during the long summer months is mostly winding down, with advocates calling it a success despite some hiccups — and the federal government and many states are already working to bring the program back in 2025. The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program — or Summer […]
5 things to know about the Harris-Trump presidential debate
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take the stage next week in the only planned debate between the respective Democratic and GOP presidential candidates between now and November. It’s the first presidential debate since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race following his own disastrous debate performance in late June […]
Biden’s newest student loan repayment plan temporarily blocked by Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday slashed the Biden administration’s latest efforts to provide student debt relief to millions of borrowers to go forward while the appeals process unfolds. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan provided lower monthly loan payments for borrowers and lessened the time it takes to pay off […]
U.S. Education Department outlines testing period for phased rollout of new FAFSA form
WASHINGTON — With the U.S. Department of Education using a staggered approach in opening up the 2025-26 application period for federal financial student aid, the agency said Tuesday it will partner with a small number of community-based organizations to participate in the first testing period beginning Oct. 1. Earlier in August, the department said it […]
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspends his presidential bid, backs Trump
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday he is suspending his campaign and threw his support behind former President Donald Trump — the GOP presidential nominee. The announcement from the environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist, who has held on to a long-shot presidential bid, comes just a day after Vice President Kamala Harris […]
U.S. House Dems ask OSHA to respond to reports that state agencies tipped off employers
WASHINGTON — Leading Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and its Workforce Protection Subcommittee demanded answers on Tuesday from Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su regarding allegations that certain state Occupational Safety and Health Administration agencies possibly misused federal funds and gave advance notice to employers of workplace safety inspections. The letter […]
Added delays in store for Trump in 2020 election interference case?
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith was granted more time on Friday before having to give an outline on the next steps his office is taking in the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee. The delay pushes the case proceedings further into the thick of the presidential race, […]
Much-attacked final Title IX rule goes into effect while still blocked in 26 states
WASHINGTON — Though the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX extending federal protections for LGBTQ students went into effect nationwide Thursday, a slew of legal challenges has temporarily blocked over half of all states from enforcing the updated regulations. After the Department of Education released the final rule in April, 26 states — all […]
Appeals court blocks Title IX rule protecting LGBTQ kids, reversing Alabama federal judge
Just a day after a federal judge struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, a federal appeals court granted the states’ request for an administrative injunction Wednesday — temporarily blocking the updated regulations from taking effect in those Southern […]
Federal judge in Alabama lets Title IX rule protecting LGBTQ kids go forward in four states
A federal judge has struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, shortly before the final rule takes effect nationwide on Thursday. The administration’s updated regulations — which seek to extend federal discrimination protections for LGBTQ students — have been […]
Trump shooting ‘a failure on multiple levels,’ acting U.S. Secret Service chief says
WASHINGTON — When acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. visited the site of the campaign rally where a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, he went up to the roof, lying flat on his stomach, to evaluate the shooter’s line of sight that mid-July day. “What I saw made me ashamed,” Rowe […]
VP Harris tells teachers union she’s ‘fighting for the future,’ blasts Project 2025
Vice President Kamala Harris — the likely 2024 Democratic presidential nominee — outlined on Thursday some of her “vision of the future” while touting the administration’s education record in her keynote address to the American Federation of Teachers national convention in Houston. Harris has quickly drawn the support of major unions like the AFT in […]