Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 President Biden Announces More Student Loan Relief Plans
During a speech in Madison, Wisconsin yesterday, President Joe Biden announced new moves he’s making to reduce or eliminate student debt. Biden referenced his original plan to eliminate debt that was blocked by the Supreme Court, then ran down some of the moves he’s already taken to reduce debt for student borrowers. His plan to help five categories of borrowers includes canceling up to $20,000 in interest for those whose loan balance is higher than it was when they originally took out the loan due to what the president called “runaway interest.” Among other steps, Biden’s new plan would cancel loans for two million additional borrowers because they’re eligible for other forgiveness programs but haven’t enrolled in them.
2 Sen. Mitch McConnell Backing House Bill That Could Ban TikTok
With legislators back in session after a break, one leading Republican in the Senate went on the record backing the House’s proposed bill targeting TikTok. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke from the Senate floor yesterday and said that the social media app is a pressing threat against Americans. “This is the matter that deserves Congress’ urgent attention, and I’ll support common sense bipartisan steps to take one of Beijing’s favorite tools of coercion and espionage off the table,” McConnell said. Critics of the bill passed by the House weeks ago, which would force Chinese company ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok or see the app banned in the US, have questioned if the ban would be Constitutional, but McConnell says it is. “Requiring the divestment of Beijing-influenced entities from TikTok would land squarely within established constitutional precedent.”
3 Google Searches For "My Eyes Hurt" Saw A huge Spike After The Eclipse
As it turns out, the eclipse yesterday may have been an IQ test…that a lot of people failed. According to Google Trends, search terms like “my eyes hurt” and “why do my eyes hurt” exploded in activity on Google around the time when the moon passed between the Earth and the sun. The highest search volume for those terms? You guessed it: Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Arkansas, and Texas…the path of totality for yesterday’s eclipse. And everyone was worried about their pets?