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Burke, Kissel & Fitzhenry: Beware Biden’s ‘Plan B’ on student loan amnesty

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

The Supreme Court has just saved American taxpayers more than half a trillion dollars by holding that President Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona cannot cancel federal student loans under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, the “HEROES Act.”First, the court assessed whether any of the challengers to cancellation had standing to sue. In Department of Education v. Brown, the answer was “no.” A unanimous court held that the borrowers couldn’t demonstrate that their failure to receive debt relief was traceable to the secretary’s decision to proceed under HEROES.The court, however, reached the opposite conclusion in Biden v. Nebraska, filed by a coalition of six states. There the court held 6-3 that at least Missouri would suffer a financial injury directly linked to Biden’s cancellation plan, which gave the state standing to challenge the president’s authority.On the merits, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, rejected the ...

Editorial: Rebellion reflects the rot in Russia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

The short-lived rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the mercenary Wagner Group, did not yet jettison the Kremlin’s military leadership. But it may have had a more profound domestic and geopolitical impact: piercing the aura of invincibility so carefully cultivated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.How this plays out in Moscow with military, political and economic elites, let alone regular Russians, remains to be seen. But it should further steel Kyiv — as well as Washington and Brussels, home to NATO — for maximum support for Ukraine’s counteroffensive.While the opaque nature of Russian politics and the fluidity of the situation leave more questions than answers, “What we do know is this was a demonstrable crack into [Putin’s] strength at home,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told an editorial writer. “This shows that there is weakness in his regime.”In fact, for everyday Russians, “this puts a kind of kernel of a question a...

Didn’t make plans for the 4th? We found great celebrations around Massachusetts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

It’s July 3, and you still haven’t nailed down your Fourth of July plans?Don’t worry, we found some great last-minute choices that are worth celebrating. Consider these.Rooftop party where the July 4 stars stay: The Fairmont Copley Plaza (https://www.fairmont.com/copley-plaza-boston/) is the official hotel of Boston’s Fourth of July stars: The Boston Pops. Book a Gold room for the night of the 4th and you’ll also get star treatment.The hotel will host a rooftop terrace party with those hors d’oeuvres Fairmont Gold is famous for, a signature welcome cocktail and honor bar, and a partial fireworks view from atop the 110-year old historic hotel.The party runs from 8 to 11 p.m., which means you’ve plenty of time to meander over to the Esplanade or just walk around and take in the sights of the city.Gold floor guests also get private check in, a dedicated concierge and access to their lounge where breakfast, snacks and evening appetizers are complimentary.Should you be ...

Dear Abby: Lying husband is ‘sorry, not sorry’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

Dear Abby: My husband lies to me all the time. It could be about spending money or something as small as forgetting to start the dishwasher. He nearly went too far with a woman from work. I finally spoke up after I felt it was an emotional affair. His response? “Well, you and I weren’t getting along, so I didn’t see anything wrong with it.”He doesn’t seem to be sorry for anything he does. He says the word “sorry” a lot, but there is no remorse. He also lies to the people he works with. I know I enable him because I threaten to leave and never follow through. I have asked him to talk with a counselor, but he refuses.I’m not sure why I stay because he doesn’t act like he wants me to be around. He’s obsessed with video games and doesn’t act like he respects me. What should I do? Why do I feel I deserve to be treated like this? — Feeling Like Mrs. StupidDear Feeling Like: You are asking excellent questions. Although...

The aftermath of mass shootings infiltrates every corner of survivors’ lives

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — More than a year after 11-year-old Mayah Zamora was airlifted out of Uvalde, Texas, after being critically injured in the Robb Elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, the family is still reeling.Knocks on the door startle Mayah into a panic. The family is skipping Fourth of July celebrations to avoid booming fireworks. An outing to the Little Mermaid movie requires noise-canceling headphones. Since 2016, thousands of Americans have been wounded in mass shootings, and tens of thousands by gun violence, with that number continuing to grow, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Beyond the colossal medical bills and the weight of trauma and grief, mass shooting survivors and family members contend with scores of other changes that upend their lives.Survivors talked to The Associated Press about the mental and physical wounds that endure in the aftermath of shootings in Uvalde, Las Vegas, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the Chicago suburb of H...

3 Palestinians killed as Israel stages large-scale raid in West Bank stronghold of militants

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military sent a large-scale raid into a stronghold of militants in the occupied West Bank early Monday, and local health officials said at least three Palestinians were killed.Israeli forces raided what the military described as a “unified command center” for militants in the Jenin refugee camp, describing it as “an advanced observation and reconnaissance center” where militants would gather to coordinate and prepare for attacks. Israeli media said the military also conducted airstrikes, reviving a tactic it had largely halted during the past two decades, after a Palestinian uprising against Israel’s open-ended occupation slowly fizzled.The Palestinian Health Ministry said three Palestinians were killed and 13 injured early Monday, three of them critically.In a separate incident, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.The Jenin camp and an adjacent town of the same name have been ...

In workaholic Japan, ‘job leaving agents’ help people escape the awkwardness of quitting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — In Japan, a nation reputed for loyalty to companies and lifetime employment, people who job-hop are often viewed as quitters. And that’s considered shameful. Enter “taishoku daiko,” or “job-leaving agents.” Dozens of such services have sprung up in the last several years to help people who simply want out. “Imagine a messy divorce,” says Yoshihito Hasegawa, who heads Tokyo-based TRK, whose Guardian service last year advised 13,000 people on how to resign from their jobs with minimal hassles. People often stick with jobs even when they’re unhappy, feeling as if they are “kamikaze” sacrificing their lives for the greater good, he said, comparing his clients to pilots sent on suicide missions in the closing days of World War II. “It’s the way things are done, the same way younger people are taught to honor older people,” he said. “Quitting would be a betrayal.” Founded in 2020, Guardian, a taishoku daiko service, has helped various people, mostly in their 20s and 30s...

Deep sea mining permits may be coming soon. What are they and what might happen?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The International Seabed Authority — the United Nations body that regulates the world’s ocean floor — is preparing to resume negotiations that could open the international seabed for mining, including for materials critical for the green energy transition. Years long negotiations are reaching a critical point where the authority will soon need to begin accepting mining permit applications, adding to worries over the potential impacts on sparsely researched marine ecosystems and habitats of the deep sea.Here’s a look at what deep sea mining is, why some companies and countries are applying for permits to carry it out and why environmental activists are raising concerns.WHAT IS DEEP SEA MINING?Deep sea mining involves removing mineral deposits and metals from the ocean’s seabed. There are three types of such mining: taking deposit-rich polymetallic nodules off the ocean floor, mining massive seafloor sulphide deposits and stripping cobalt crusts f...

Playwright Arthur Miller’s old studio is in a Connecticut parking lot, awaiting its next act

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

ROXBURY, Conn. (AP) — After breakfast each morning, renowned playwright Arthur Miller would walk up a grassy slope to his creative sanctuary, a modest 300-square-foot studio with a small deck overlooking a stream and woods on his beloved Connecticut property.From 1958 until his death in 2005 at age 89, it was where the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer crafted and revised numerous plays, social commentary, personal journals, his autobiography and other materials, including screenplays for the films “The Misfits” (1961) and “The Crucible” (1996). Considered one of nation’s greatest playwrights, Miller was known for his dramas with strong moral and personal responsibility that often laid bare the failings of the American dream.Today, the view from the studio is less inspiring. Unbeknownst to many locals, for the last five years, the shingled, one-room structure has been tucked away behind the Roxbury, Connecticut, town hall — next to a rusted dumpster and snow plows in a nondescript...

Quake shakes part of Indonesia’s Papua, no immediate reports of casualties

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:35 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An earthquake shook Indonesia’s easternmost province Monday, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties.The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.4 quake was centered 135 kilometers (83 miles) southwest of Abepura, a subdistrict in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province. It occurred at a depth of 13 kilometers (8 miles).Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of possible aftershocks. It measured a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 for the quake. Variations in early measurements of quakes are common.With a population of just over 1 million, Papua is one of Indonesia’s least populous provinces.In February, another shallow earthquake shook the province, killing four people who were unable to escape when a floating restaurant collapsed into the sea.Indonesia is a seismically active archipelago of 270 million people that is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic e...