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How to manage your student loans if you've been laid off

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

(NerdWallet) - If you recently lost your job and are worried about paying your student loans, you have several options to set your bill to $0.Though the national unemployment rate was just 3.8% in August, up slightly from July, layoffs continue to hit workers in industries like tech, media, entertainment, fashion and consulting. Nearly 1,000 tech companies have collectively laid off some 230,000 workers so far in 2023, according to tech industry layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi.To make matters even more stressful, federal student loan payments are set to resume in October, after more than three years of an interest-free payment pause that began in March 2020.“Don't feel bad if you have to make tough choices and reprioritize,” says Scott Stark, a senior financial planner at Financial Finesse, a workplace financial wellness company.Here’s how you can make your student loans fit into your budget as you get back on your feet.Evaluate your budget and spendingCheck your budget and spending to s...

Texas senators to vote on articles of impeachment in Ken Paxton trial, here's what you need to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Eligible Texas senators are poised to vote on 16 articles of impeachment Saturday morning in the historic trial against suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, presider of the trial, announced in a press release that senators — who act as jurors — will vote on the articles a little after 11:10 a.m. Saturday.The 30 senators began deliberation Friday a little past noon, after closing arguments in the trial finished a little before noon Friday, leaving senators to consider whether they would convict Paxton on 16 different impeachment articles. The suspended attorney general's wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton of McKinney, is barred from voting and was not allowed to participate in deliberation, per the Senate rules.Jurors will vote separately on each article of impeachment. If two-thirds of the senators vote yes on an article, it will be a conviction and result in Paxton being removed as attorney general. If there are not enough senators voting yes ...

Ken Paxton acquitted on all impeachment charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- The Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton on all articles of impeachment he faced during a nearly two-week trial, salvaging a political career admired by conservatives nationwide but mired in years of legal concerns. COMPLETE COVERAGE: Paxton impeachment trial Senators voted to find Paxton not guilty on every charge, mostly on a 14-16 vote.Only two Republicans -- North Texas' Kelly Hancock and Jacksonville's Robert Nichols -- voted to convict Paxton on any of the charges. All other Republicans voted to find Paxton not guilty on every charge.Paxton was not present in the chamber to hear his acquittal. He will be reinstated as Attorney General following the verdict. He pleaded not guilty to all 16 charges at the beginning of trial.Senators only weighed 16 of the 20 original articles of impeachment approved by the House in late May. The Senate decided to hold them in abeyance, meaning they were not considered in this trial. The four articl...

Gophers tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford to play against North Carolina

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Gophers football team has positive injury news going into Saturday’s game against North Carolina. Tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford was not listed on the U’s availability report shared by the Big Ten roughly two hours before kickoff at Kenan Stadium.An important piece to Minnesota’s run and pass games, Spann-Ford took a big hit in the fourth quarter of the 25-6 win over Eastern Michigan last week, went to the injury tent for more than 20 minutes and didn’t return to the game. His issue has not been disclosed.Linebacker Cody Lindenberg has been upgraded from “out” to “questionable” against the Tar Heels. The all-Big Ten caliber player missed the first two games of the season with a leg injury.Receiver Chris Autman-Bell (knee) was listed as questionable for a third straight game. He played one snap in the 13-10 win over Nebraska on Aug. 31 and didn’t take the field against Eastern Michigan.Running back Bryce Williams will miss a second straigh...

Your Money: When investing, consider the how over the what

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

Bruce Helmer and Peg WebbPeople always seem more concerned with where they invest than with how to invest.They get hung up on what stock, what bond, or what mutual fund to own, and worry about whether they need to be in or out of the market. Instead, in the long run, strategies are far more important than specific tools or tactics. Here are five key areas where it can be beneficial to be more strategic rather than investment-focused, and why.Roth IRA and Roth conversionsAlthough more Americans own far more traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) than Roth IRAs, the tax benefits of a Roth IRA are likely to be a far greater influence on wealth accumulation than the investments you choose. That’s because, with a traditional IRA, you can lose almost a third of your withdrawals to federal taxes. With a Roth IRA, you make contributions after paying taxes but enjoy tax-free growth and tax-free qualified withdrawals. Plus, traditional IRAs have required minimum distributions (RMDs...

St. Louis CITY SC could clinch an MLS playoffs spot this weekend - Here's how

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

HOUSTON - Having reached the range of recent MLS playoff cuspers in August, you'd think St. Louis CITY SC would have clinched a playoff spot by now. That's not the case quite yet, but it could happen this weekend, possibly as soon as Saturday. Heading into Saturday, St. Louis leads the Western Conference with a 15-3-10 record and 48 points. While the inaugural squad is still pushing for their first victory of September, they have a comfortable cushion (seven points) for the top seed in the west. SCHEDULE: 2023 Great Forest Park Balloon Race events CITY SC needs one of at least six scenarios to unfold this weekend to clinch a playoff spot in their first season. Each case requires St. Louis to win Saturday's road game against the Houston Dynamo. According to MLSSoccer.com, CITY will clinch a playoff spot this weekend if CITY SC wins and at least one of the following happen...Two additional teams (LA Galaxy and Austin FC) both lose their next matchupsTwo additional teams (FC Da...

Keeler: Urban Meyer on CSU, Jay Norvell, Steve Addazio, and why Rams are a sleeping giant: “(CSU is) the best job in that conference.”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

BOULDER — When Urban Meyer sees this Rocky Mountain Showdown up close, he sees a sleeping giant, snoring a Mile High, just waiting for the right little poke.He also sees the Buffs.“You know, both of my daughters were born in Fort Collins,” Meyer said to me as we walked off Fox Sports’ “Big Noon Kickoff” set at Farrand Field. We huddled just a few blocks away from the 2023 Showdown, a game he coached in twice as a Rams assistant in ’92 and ’95. (Both in Boulder. Both losses.)As much as CU needed a Deion Sanders, CSU sure could use a transformative, what-the-heck, look-at-me, America-can’t-stop-talking-about-you hire like …  I dunno, Urby. Now don’t get me wrong: Jay Norvell could sure as heck be that guy.But we also live in a world of instant gratification, for better or for worse. And Coach Prime had almost as many victories after two games with the Buffs going into Saturday night (two) as Norvell did after his first 13 gam...

Wrong-way driver on I-25 crashes, kills another driver overnight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

A wrong-way driver on Interstate 25 killed another driver overnight in Denver.The crash happened in the northbound lanes of the interstate near 8th Avenue, the Denver Police Department said in a 3 a.m. post on X.UPDATE: 1/3 this incident involved two motorists. Preliminary information indicates this occurred in the NB lanes of I-25. One motorist was traveling against the flow of traffic (South) in the NB lanes and struck the motorist going NB on NB I-25.— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) September 16, 2023The wrong-way driver was traveling south in the north lanes when they hit a car driving north. The driver of the vehicle traveling north died at the scene, police said Saturday morning in a later X post, and their passenger was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.The driver going the wrong way was also taken to a hospital and is being held on an investigation of vehicular homicide, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | High-speed chase thro...

Pakistan showcases rich cultural heritage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

The Embassy of Pakistan in Brussels showcased Pakistan's rich cultural heritage at the Annual Heritage Day event in Belgium today.The Ambassador of Pakistan to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union Amna Baloch, inaugurated the day-long activities at the Embassy premises.The Embassy displayed an array of cultural exhibits such as handicrafts, scenic photographs, traditional costumes, and top export products portraying the country's rich heritage and cultural diversity.Visitors expressed their keen interest in various distinctive aspects of Pakistani culture reflected in documentaries, books, and cultural displays.The traditional Pakistani and Kashmiri food stalls attracted many visitors who liked the unique taste of the Pakistani cuisine.The Heritage Days have been one of Brussels' highly anticipated annual cultural events.

Water main breaks cause multiple different road closures in Santa Monica 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:42 GMT

Public works crews in Santa Monica are having to clean up multiple water main breaks in at least two different locations early Saturday morning.According to a social media post from the City of Santa Monica's official account, Ocean Avenue between Pacific Street and Strand Street is closed, as is Olympic Boulevard east of 11th Street.  Hawaii officials say death toll from Lahaina fire has dropped from 115 to 97: Here’s why Repairs are estimated to take several hours.Additional street closures should also be expected this afternoon, the city said.