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‘Secret shoppers’ to help scrutinize student loan servicers
The Department of Education announced Friday it will send out “secret shoppers” to student loan providers to ensure that borrowers get proper service and hold the companies accountable.
The newly-announced accountability framework also includes increased monitoring of loan servicer interactions with borrowers, including listening in on customer service calls and tracking record keeping.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has made clear that we will not allow borrowers to pay the price for unacceptable servicing failures,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “Today’s announcement should send a clear message to all our contracted student loan servicers that the Department will use the full scope of our oversight and accountability tools to ensure borrowers get the level of service they deserve.”
“As the Biden-Harris team works to fix our country’s broken student loan system, we will continue to put the needs of borrowers first and do whatever it takes to support Americans’ success as they return to repayment,” he continued.
The COVID-era federal student loan moratorium ended earlier this year, forcing millions to resume loan payments for higher education.
More than 45 million people still hold $1.75 trillion in student loans, while college tuition rates continue to increase.
Now, the Education Department will use a combination of data-gathering, borrower complaints and first-hand monitoring in order to better ensure that borrowers get a just experience when handling their loans, the department said.
If investigations find that loan providers aren’t doing their part, the department can withhold payments, force corrective action or even stop the provider from being allocated new borrowers, it said.
“The Department takes very seriously its responsibility to oversee servicers and ensure borrowers have a smooth and successful repayment experience,” the department said in a statement. “The oversight and accountability mechanisms outlined show the Department’s clear commitment to a better student loan system that prioritizes borrower success and a repayment system that puts borrowers first.”
The Biden administration has forgiven billions in student loans, most recently a $9 billion tranche impacting 125,000 people last month.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill
Mississippi AG asks high court to set execution dates for 2 murderers on death row
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has asked the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for two men on death row.
Fitch’s office filed motions Thursday that asked the court to schedule executions for Willie Jerome Manning and Robert Simon Jr.
Manning, now 55, was convicted in 1994 on two counts of capital murder in the December 1992 killings of Mississippi State University students Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller in Oktibbeha County. Simon, 60, and another man were convicted in the 1990 Quitman County slayings of a family of four.
MISSISSIPPI AG’S OFFICE RULES 3 POLICE SHOOTINGS WERE JUSTIFIED
Manning and Simon were close to being executed more than a decade ago, only to have stays issued by the courts.
Krissy Nobile, Manning’s attorney and the director of the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel, said Manning’s defense team petitioned in September for post-conviction relief based on “newly discovered evidence and scientific developments undermining Manning’s conviction.” Attorneys submitted the petition days before the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to have evidence in the case tested at a specialized laboratory.
The state has not responded to that petition or considered the evidence, Nobile said.
“The State instead is steamrolling toward execution even though there is compelling evidence that Manning may, in fact, be innocent,” Nobile said. “Executions are not the place to act first and ask questions later.”
In 2013, shortly before Manning was scheduled to be executed, the U.S. Justice Department said there had been errors in FBI agents’ testimony about ballistics tests and hair analysis in the case. Manning’s attorneys asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to stop the lethal injection, and justices voted 8-1 to delay the execution to allow the testing of evidence.
Manning’s attorneys said they hoped DNA testing would exonerate their client, who has maintained his innocence. In 2014, they sent a rape kit, fingernail scrapings and other items to a laboratory. In 2022, a majority of state Supreme Court justices wrote that Manning received “allegedly inconclusive results” after six years of fingerprint analysis and DNA testing.
Manning’s attorneys asked an Oktibbeha County circuit judge for permission to send items to a more specialized lab. The judge denied that request, and the ruling was upheld by the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Nobile called into question the reliability of hair analysis and firearms identification used at Manning’s trial. She also said witnesses who had been incarcerated admitted their testimony was fabricated in exchange for money and sentence reductions.
Simon was just hours away from execution in May 2011 when a federal appeals court ordered a stay to ruling on a mental disability claim, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported. The claim was later rejected.
An attorney listed for Simon, Johnnie E. Walls Jr., did not immediately respond to a phone message Friday.
Fitch’s separate motions called for the Mississippi Supreme Court to set the execution dates within the next 30 days. The motions say “no legal impediment exists” and since both Manning and Simon have “exhausted all state and federal remedies, this court should set an execution date.”
The motions were still pending before the court on Friday.
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Former Indiana lawmaker to plead guilty in casino corruption scandal
A former Indiana lawmaker has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge alleging that he accepted promises of lucrative employment from a gaming company during his time in public office, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Sean Eberhart, 57, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, according to court documents filed Thursday. The offense is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release following any imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
Eberhart’s attorney declined to comment when reached by phone Friday. A plea hearing had not been scheduled for Eberhart as of Friday afternoon, according to court records.
INDIANA LAWMAKER CHARGED IN DRUNK DRIVING INCIDENT YET TO BE DISCIPLINED BY LEGISLATURE
The former Republican state representative represented central Indiana’s House District 57 for 16 years before leaving office in November 2022.
He is accused of accepting compensation and the promise of future employment in exchange for favorable action in the General Assembly, prosecutors said.
In late 2018, a company called Spectacle Entertainment sought to purchase two casinos and their accompanying state licenses located on Lake Michigan in Gary, Indiana, and relocate them to locations to downtown Gary and in western Indiana’s Vigo County, according to court documents.
The purchases and relocating of casinos requires approval by the Legislature and governor, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a press release. Multiple phone numbers listed online for Spectacle were disconnected as of Friday.
A bill for the relocation was introduced and considered by the House Committee on Public Policy in 2019, which oversaw casinos and gaming in Indiana, and included a proposed “transfer fee.” Eberhart was a member of the House Committee on Public Policy, documents said.
According to authorities, Eberhart used his position to advocate and vote for the successful passage of the bill on terms favorable to Spectacle, including the successful relocation approval, reducing the transfer fee from $100 million to $20 million and enacting tax incentives that would benefit Spectacle.
In exchange, Eberhart accepted the promise of future employment at Spectacle, which included annual compensation of at least $350,000, authorities allege.
Eberhart sent text messages regarding his efforts to secure legislation in favor of the company, saying he would “make it right for” the founder of Spectacle identified only in court documents as “Individual A.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond when asked whether Individual A is also under investigation or will face charges.
Other evidence obtained by investigators included call records, digital images of documents, “covert recordings of conversations with Eberhart,” and audio and video recordings and “other records of statements and actions in the Indiana legislature,” court documents said.
Republican Speaker of the House Todd Huston said in a statement provided to The Associated Press that he is “beyond disappointed and extremely frustrated” in reaction to the news of Eberhart’s alleged actions.
“Any such conduct runs counter to our core values and everything our assembly stands for and strives to protect – a trusted, credible and transparent institution that’s responsible only to Hoosiers,” Huston said.
Spectacle has been embattled by federal investigations before. In 2022, longtime casino executive John Keeler was sentenced along with a former Indiana state senator, Brent Waltz, for their role in the illegal funneling of gambling money into the lawmaker’s unsuccessful 2016 bid for congress.
Keeler, who was a Republican legislator for 16 years in the 1980s and 1990s, was sentenced to two months in federal prison and fined $55,000. Spectacle, which was formed by a group led by Keeler and another longtime casino executive, was forced from ownership from two casino projects by the Indiana Gaming Commission following Keeler and Waltz’s indictments in 2020.
Waltz, a Republican from Greenwood, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for helping route about $40,000 in illegal contributions to his campaign and making false statements to the FBI.
Go to Source: Latest Political News on Fox News
Exclusive: Ramaswamy Eyes Enabling Access to Marijuana, DMT, MDMA for PTSD Treatment in Veterans Policy Plan
Go to Source: Breitbart News
Poll: Voters Trust Donald Trump over Joe Biden on 10 Key Issues
Go to Source: Breitbart News
NC Democrat foregoes re-election over alleged GOP gridlock: ‘worse than a dental appointment’
A North Carolina state House member who won’t seek reelection next year says having to serve in the minority in the chamber has been “worse than a dental appointment.”
Mecklenburg County Democratic Rep. John Autry, who is among the more liberal members in the House, joined the General Assembly in 2017. Republicans have controlled the House and Senate since then, including veto-proof majorities in 2017, 2018 and 2023. Democrats have been unable to uphold any of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s 19 vetoes this year.
Autry, who announced this week he would not run for reelection, has spoken often in the House opposing Republican legislation perceived as harming the environment or restricting LGBTQ+ rights.
DURHAM DISTRICT ATTORNEY DEBERRY’S ENTRY SHAKES UP DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY RACE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
Action at the legislature “doesn’t have anything to do with what is good policy. It’s just too frustrating for me,” Autry, a former Charlotte city council member, told WFAE radio. “You just walk around the building and feel like you get your teeth kicked in every 20 minutes.”
The 100th House District he represents remains heavily Democratic after the General Assembly enacted a new House map last month.
TWO DAYS AFTER AN INDICTMENT, NORTH CAROLINA’S STATE AUDITOR SAYS SHE’LL RESIGN
Autry is the latest incumbent to announce they aren’t running again or are seeking another elected position in 2024.
Recently added to that list is Guilford County Republican Rep. John Faircloth, who has served as a chair of the House budget-writing committee and been heavily involved in law enforcement legislation. Now 84, Faircloth said his age and the demands of the job are driving him to retirement at the end of his seventh two-year term, The High Point Enterprise reported.
A former High Point police chief who later served on the city council, Faircloth was heavily involved with crafting the state law that says police body camera video is not a public record but lays out how it can be released with court approval.
The 62nd House District that Faircloth represents, as redrawn for the 2024 elections, appears to lean slightly Republican, according to statewide election data.
Go to Source: Latest Political News on Fox News
Washington public lands commissioner to run for retiring US Rep. Kilmer’s seat
Washington state Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is dropping her bid for the governor’s office to run for Congress.
Franz, a Democrat who lives in Grays Harbor County, is running to replace retiring Rep. Derek Kilmer, who has served the 6th Congressional District since 2013.
BO HINES LAUNCHES SECOND NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSIONAL BID
In an announcement Friday, Franz said she decided to run for Congress after speaking with voters across Washington and learning of their concerns: rising prices, reproductive freedom and women’s rights, the future of democracy, the support of veterans and military families and the climate crisis.
“The challenges we face extend beyond the borders of Washington, and so must our solutions,” Franz said in a statement Friday. “I am running for Congress to bring my vision for bold, transformative action to our nation’s capital and keep fighting for families across our region.”
Franz has spent the last seven years leading the department responsible for millions of acres of public lands in Washington. She has touted her success in 2021 with securing $500 million from the Washington state Legislature to prevent and fight wildfires.
Franz, 52, served on the Bainbridge Island City Council, Puget Sound Transportation Futures Task Force and other panels before becoming commissioner. She was also the executive director of Futurewise, an environmental advocacy group.
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Biden admin under fire for opening borders to food imports potentially containing devastating disease
The Biden administration was heavily criticized Friday after it moved forward with a plan to allow producers in Paraguay to begin importing fresh beef into America.
On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) finalized regulations to allow Paraguayan beef imports and issued a series of conditions importers must meet to ensure livestock diseases aren’t present in shipped products. Paraguay’s livestock industry has a history of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which spreads quickly among livestock and could severely threaten the U.S. economy.
“USDA based their decision to allow beef imports from Paraguay on a deeply flawed risk assessment that uses old data from site visits that were conducted more than nine years ago,” said Kent Bacus, the executive director of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the largest industry group representing U.S. cattle producers.
“Paraguay has a history of FMD outbreaks, and it is unclear if their inspection system can provide an equivalent level of safety for animal health to prevent a possible FMD outbreak on U.S. soil,” he continued. “Paraguay heavily relies on private sector funding for most of its FMD mitigation measures, and USDA did not consider the risk associated with Paraguay’s economic downturn over the last several years.”
JOHN KERRY TARGETS AGRICULTURE AS PART OF CLIMATE CRUSADE
Bacus added that, while Paraguay has for years made ensuring its nation’s beef producers have access to the U.S. market a top diplomatic priority, the USDA should prioritize safety above other interests. He also argued that dismissing concerns voiced by American cattle producers is “unacceptable.”
“While winning friends and allies in South America may be part of the long-term interests of U.S. diplomacy, it should not be done on the backs of U.S. cattle producers or by putting at risk the health and livelihood of the safest and most efficient cattle and beef production system in the world,” Bacus said.
LOCAL RESIDENTS EXPLODE AT BIDEN OFFICIALS OVER PLAN TO RELEASE GRIZZLY BEARS NEAR THEIR COMMUNITIES
According to a readout of a September meeting between the Paraguayan government and the White House Office of the United States Trade Representative, the two sides discussed the process to authorize the import of raw beef products and Paraguayan officials expressed their desire to resume raw beef product trade “as soon as possible.”
In addition, Paraguayan cattle industry associations and government agencies including the Embassy of Paraguay to the United States submitted comments in May in response to the proposed version of the regulations finalized Thursday. The comments similarly urged the USDA to immediately allow beef imports.
“The exportation of Paraguayan beef to the United States will benefit both Paraguayan and American business and consumers with increased choices for premium beef products,” the Embassy of Paraguay wrote in its filing. “The Government of Paraguay is committed to working closely with U.S. authorities to ensure that all food safety and quality regulations are met, and we are confident that Paraguayan beef will be a big success in the U.S. market.”
However, the same federal rulemaking process garnered substantial negative feedback from the NCBA, regional affiliates of the group, the United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), which all argued the action could lead to a FMD outbreak in the U.S. — which has been free of the disease since 1929 — causing massive economic damage.
BIDEN RIPPED FOR LATEST ‘LAND GRAB’ BLOCKING KEY ENERGY, AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
“Farm Bureau policy opposes the Department’s decision to allow chilled or frozen beef exports from Paraguay into the United States and recommends the Department withdraw this proposed rule until more recent and relevant data can be acquired from the government of Paraguay and other relevant organizations to show there is no risk of an infectious animal disease outbreak in the U.S. domestic animal population,” the AFBF wrote.
The group added that beef exported from Paraguay may be sourced from other South American countries like Brazil, Bolivia or Argentina, where the U.S. has not done a risk assessment.
“The U.S. shouldn’t line the pockets of overseas investors or Brazilian meatpacking monoliths at the risk of our own cattle and beef industry. For all the reasons outlined above, USCA respectfully requests the rescission of this proposed rule,” the USCA added.
“There is no question that Paraguay has much to gain by receiving the coveted USDA stamp of approval. There is no doubt that having a USDA endorsement will likely make it easier for Paraguay to gain access to Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean markets,” the NCBA’s Bacus wrote in a separate letter.
“But where is the benefit for U.S. consumers, and why should the U.S. cattle herd be placed at greater risk of FMD? NCBA is greatly concerned that the conclusions drawn in the proposed rule are based on outdated information that does not adequately calculate the risk to U.S. consumers and the U.S. cattle herd.”
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Biden shrugs off lagging polls after Dem wins in Tuesday’s elections
In the days after Democrats saw a series of wins in statewide elections, Biden aides are drumming home the point that the polls don’t matter and voters love the administration’s agenda.
But nobody in the administration seems more focused on rebutting negative polling these days than President Joe Biden.
At a fundraiser Thursday night in Chicago, Biden told donors that while “the press has been talking about two polls … there are 10 other polls we’re winning,” according to a pool report. He added that the campaign had placed copies of those polls on attendees’ seats.
Speaking to reporters at Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews earlier that day before taking off for Chicago, Biden commented that reporters “don’t read the polls.”
“Ten polls. Eight of them I’m beating him in those states. Eight of them. You guys only do two, CNN and New York Times,” Biden continued, before adding that he didn’t think he was really losing to former President Donald Trump and other potential GOP rivals in key battleground states.
The president’s remarks come after Democrats on Tuesday regained control of the Virginia House of Delegates and held onto the governorship in ruby-red Kentucky, despite Biden’s underwater approval ratings in both states. It also came after Republicans spent $30 million in Kentucky attempting to tie Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to Biden and make the gubernatorial election a referendum on the administration’s performance.
Recent polls from CNN and the New York Times suggest the president is trailing Trump and other Republican hopefuls nationally by four and five points respectively. The Times poll also found that Biden was trailing Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.
Biden aides have taken Tuesday’s elections as an opportunity to defend the administration’s record and emphasize the popularity of Biden’s policies in television appearances and in press gaggles.
Aboard Air Force One on Thursday, White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters “polls don’t matter; elections matter. You know, and now we’ve seen three resounding outcomes — in 2020, in 2022, and in 2023.”
“Voters have repeatedly embraced the president’s policies, which put middle-class Americans first and end generations of trickle-down economics that didn’t deliver for the American people,” Dalton said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre echoed much of the same on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday: “We have said, it’s not about the polls. It’s about the people.”
“The American people spoke loudly and pretty consistently about this,” she said. “They did in 2020 and 2022. They said this past Tuesday that the president’s values and agenda are incredibly popular across the country.”
The message fits into Biden-world’s bigger efforts to quell bed-wetting within the party, the media and its own ranks about the president’s reelection chances and reconcile the discrepancy between the polls and Democrats’ promising electoral results.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Biden’s campaign directed POLITICO to a memo they sent to media outlets earlier this week that highlights eight national polls from the last three weeks showing Biden ahead of Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., or tied with Trump. It also addressed the “‘hair-on-fire’, ‘sky-is-falling’ tone we’ve seen from media coverage over the last few days.”
“There’s no doubt this will be a very close election,” campaign communications director Michael Tyler wrote in the memo. “Joe Biden has been counted out time and time again and proved pollsters and pundits wrong. His campaign is ignoring the noise and building the strong campaign it needs to win — just like in 2020.”
Go to Source: Politico