WASHINGTON: A US appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in college student loans, one day after a judge dismissed a Republican-led lawsuit by six states challenging the debt-forgiveness program.
The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals granted the states’ emergency petition to freeze the loan forgiveness plan until the court rules on their request for a longer-term injunction while Thursday’s decision against the states is being appealed.
The St. Louis-based appeals court also ordered an expedited briefing schedule on the matter.
US District Judge Henry Autrey in St. Louis ruled on Thursday that while the six Republican-led states had raised “important and significant challenges to the debt relief plan,” he threw out their lawsuit on grounds they lacked the necessary legal standing to pursue the case.
Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina said Biden’s plan skirted congressional authority and threatened the states’ future tax revenues and money earned by state entities that invest in or service the student loans.
Their case is one of a number that conservative state attorneys general and legal groups have filed seeking to halt the debt forgiveness plan announced in August by Biden, a Democrat.
Autrey ruled about an hour after US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied without explanation an emergency request to put the debt relief plan on hold in a separate challenge brought by the Wisconsin-based Brown County Taxpayers Association.
In a policy benefiting millions of Americans, Biden said the US government will forgive up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. Borrowers who received Pell Grants to benefit lower-income college students will have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled.
The policy fulfilled a promise that Biden made during the 2020 presidential campaign to help debt-saddled former college students. The Congressional Budget Office in September calculated that the debt forgiveness would cost the government about $400 billion.
Democrats are hoping the policy will boost support for them in the Nov. 8 midterm elections in which control of Congress is at stake.
US appeals court temporarily blocks Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan
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US appeals court temporarily blocks Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan
- Biden's plan would benefit millions of Americans who are unable to pay or have difficulty paying their college student loans
- Republican lawmakers oppose the plan, which is estimated to cost about $400 billion over the next three decades
From round fruits to lucky charms: How Filipinos invite prosperous New Year
- Lights are lit, doors and windows open to allow good spirits in
- Sticky rice dishes are served to keep family sticking together
MANILA: With the dining table set with symbolic foods, a bit of noise and rituals to invite good luck, Filipinos are ready to welcome the New Year, carefully observing every tradition and superstition to bring prosperity.
Media noche or the midnight dinner on New Year’s Eve is central to the celebration. Besides traditional meats, there will be sticky rice dishes to keep the family sticking together, and pancit or long rice noodles to represent long life.
There should also be 13 round fruits prepared specifically for the occasion, with 12 representing each month of the year, and the 13th adding extra luck. Because they are round like coins, they are believed to invite abundance, wealth and prosperity.
“We cook bilo-bilo (sticky rice balls) with coconut milk and palitaw (sweet rice cakes). It’s something we simply grew up with,” said Cel Reyes from Mabini in Batangas province, south of Manila.
“It’s sticky, so it symbolizes togetherness, and it is also round. Anything that’s round is prepared also as a symbol of prosperity.”
In Malabon, a coastal city in the northern part of Metro Manila, Priam Nepomuceno’s 86-year-old mother-in-law sets unhulled rice on the table.
“Because of the gold color, it’s believed to bring luck and abundance,” he said. “Grapes are also hung on the door. They’re not meant to be eaten and are kept hanging for the whole year as a symbol of prosperity.”
Some people also jump when the clock strikes 12, believing it will help them grow taller.
In many households, all lights are lit before midnight, with doors and windows open to allow good spirits to enter, while noise from firecrackers and party horns keeps the bad ones at bay.
“By nature, Filipinos are superstitious. We believe in good luck, deities. We give in to faith and luck, and it’s tied to deep spirituality,” said Juanita Galang-Trinidad, an 80-year-old editor from Bulacan province north of Manila.
“We also put 12 coins in varying amounts in our pockets and wear polka dot clothing. Rice, cereal, and salt containers should be full.”
New Year’s celebrations, like Christmas, bring families together, but with extra traditions for good luck. Beyond the midnight feast and keeping round objects on the table and at hand, Filipinos try to pay off debts to avoid financial trouble in the coming year.
On New Year’s Eve, they also avoid serving chicken, as chickens are believed to scratch backward when they eat, symbolically scratching away good fortune.
“We hold on to our traditions despite these growing changes, modernity, in our environment,” Trinidad said.
“We still hold on to our traditions and customs because they identify us as a people, as Filipinos.”
