Government

Student loan forgiveness gets canceled

Tens of millions of borrowers will resume monthly student loan debt payments after the Supreme Court shut down President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan.

Why it matters: The forgiveness program would have canceled $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.

Details: The conservative majority Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration exceeded its authority with the relief program.

• Loan repayments will begin in October but will start to accrue interest again in September.

• Payments have been on hold since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago.

By the numbers: 26 million people had already applied for relief out of the 43 million who were eligible.

• Analysts estimated that the forgiveness program would have cost $400 billion over 30 years.

Big picture: The ruling is a big blow to the commitment Biden made to borrowers and could affect his ability to get re-elected.

What’s next? Biden said on Friday that his administration will work to forgive student loan debt through the Higher Education Act of 1965, but admitted that the process would take longer this time.

• Biden also said that borrowers who can’t pay when the pause on loan bills ends in October won’t face default or credit damage for one year.

Business & Economy

U.S. stock markets closed higher on Friday (S&P +1.23%, Nasdaq +1.45%, Dow +0.89%) ~ Tech stocks continued to sizzle to help cap off a strong start to the year. The Nasdaq had its best first half since 1983.

Apple’s market valuation hit $3 trillion on Friday, making it the only company to hit the milestone twice. The company’s stock has risen over 45% this year with shares trading as high as $194 per share before market close.

Bausch + Lomb will acquire Novartis for $1.75 billion to boost its eye-care portfolio.

World

More than 24,000 asylum seekers could be forcibly removed to Rwanda by the UK Home Office even though the scheme was found to be unlawful in a court of appeals on Thursday.

Brazil’s Electoral Supreme Court voted to ban ex-president Jair Bolsonaro from running for office for eight years. Mr. Bolsonaro was found guilty of abusing his power and undermining Brazilian democracy by falsely claiming that electronic ballots were vulnerable to hacking and fraud.

A key Finnish minister was forced to resign after saying that Finland should support abortions in Africa to help with the climate crisis. Vilhelm Junnila had only been in office for 10 days.

US News, Politics, & Government

The Supreme Court sided with a Colorado Christian website designer who doesn’t want to design websites for same-sex couples, finding that that the First Amendment stops the state from forcing her to design messages that are against her religious beliefs.

A Florida Sheriff’s deputy was acquitted of felony child neglect and other charges for failing to act during the 2018 Parkland school massacre.

Fox News will pay $12 million to settle multiple lawsuits brought by former producer Abby Grossberg who accused the company of rampant sexism.

Sports & Entertainment

Academy Award and Tony Award-winning actor Alan Arkin has died at the age of 89.

ESPN is laying off around 20 high-profile sports commentators to cut costs. Those axed include Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson, Jeff Van Gundy, Jalen Rose and LaPhonso Ellis.

NBA free agency began Friday and hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts were signed during the first day. Follow free-agent signings here.

Science, Health, & Tech

YouTube is running tests to disable videos for people using ad blockers. The company appears to be pushing its premium paid version by prompting users to subscribe to the service rather than use ad blockers if they want an ad-free experience.

A new study found alarmingly high levels of toxic “forever chemicals” in kale. PFAS were found in 7 of 8 samples bought at U.S. stores, with organic kale containing higher levels of the toxins than non-organic.

The Webb Space Telescope captures Saturn in infrared causing its rings to glow.

Watch: AI has come a long way since 2011.

Watermelon snow in Utah.

Japanese engineers create wearable cyborg arms.

9 tips for helping a dog that’s scared of fireworks.