Mississippi News
How to apply for student loan forgiveness
Biden’s student loan application officially opened on Monday. Here’s how to apply
The Biden administration’s application for student loan forgiveness is officially open. The deadline to apply is Dec. 31, 2022.ย
Eligible borrowers, among them hundreds of thousands of Mississippians, could see their balances erased within four to six weeks if they apply today, according to the U.S. Department of Education, the federal agency overseeing the plan.ย
Borrowers who want to see their balances reduced before payments resume in January should fill out the form by Nov. 15. Loan repayment has been on pause due to the pandemic since March 2020.
Though the plan is facing a raft of legal challenges, President Joe Biden has said he believes it will prevail in court. The lawsuits have already resulted in the U. S. Department of Education making a number of tweaks to the program, including removing about 800,000 borrowers from eligibility whose loans are backed by the federal government but held by commercial banks.ย
In late September, the Department of Education also announced that borrowers can opt-out ofย loan forgiveness following a lawsuit that claimed the plan would unfairly harm borrowers who live in the six states, including Mississippi, that will tax student debt relief as income.ย
That lawsuit was dismissed, though it’s unclear how Mississippi will carry out its plan to tax student debt relief as income because the federal government has directed servicers to not provide 1099-Cs โ the tax form needed for filing debt cancellation.
READ MORE: Mississippi plans to tax student debt relief. But Paycheck Protection Program loans are tax exempt.
The Department of Education has said it will notify about 8 million borrowers who automatically qualify for relief. Borrowers in this group who’d like to opt out should contact their servicer by Nov. 14, according to the Washington Post.ย
The form, available in Spanish or English, takes less than one minute to complete โ it asks for name, date of birth, phone number, email address, and Social Security Number. The form will ask borrowers to attest that they meet the income limits, up to $125,000 a year.
Some borrowers may need to verify their income after submitting the application, but the Department of Education has said it will let them know. The Washington Post reported that borrowers โwho present a higher likelihood of exceeding the income limit thresholdโ will likely be asked to submit documentation.ย
Relief is capped at $10,000 for many borrowers and at $20,000 for borrowers who received Pell Grants in college. The form notes that income is calculated โbased on your adjusted gross income (AGI), which tends to be lower than your total income.โย
To qualify, borrowers must have taken out student loans before July 2022. Current college students are eligible for relief if their parents make less than $125,000. Borrowers with private loans are not eligible.ย
As many as 40 million Americans qualify for student debt relief, including 439,000 people in Mississippi. For nearly half of those Mississippians, the plan will wipe away student debt, according to an analysis by the Education Data Initiative. The average Mississippi borrower with federal student loans owes about $37,000, one of the highest average debts in the country.ย
The Biden administration has cast the plan as a way to ameliorate the country’s racial wealth gap. In Mississippi, Black borrowers take on higher amounts of undergraduate student debt than those of other races, according to data from a recent National Postsecondary Aid study.ย
Black students in Mississippi borrowed an average of $10,800 in undergraduate student debt during the 2017-18 school year, while borrowers of other races took out an average of $7,400. Black borrowers in Mississippi also took out more loans during the school year than the average Black borrower across the country, while borrowers of other races took on less debt than average.ย
One legal challenge that claimed the Biden Administration violated the Equal Protection Clause because it โintentionally crafted the program to benefit borrowers of colorโ was dismissed two days after it was filed, USA Today reported.ย
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi News
Dollar General vehicle theft leads to two arrests in Tupelo
SUMMARY: In Tupelo, Mississippi, 19-year-old Joshua James and a juvenile face charges related to a police pursuit and the theft of a police car. James is charged with Directing a Felony to Be Committed by a Person Under Seventeen, Grand Larceny, and Felony Fleeing, with a bond set at $100,000. The incident began on November 1 when police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle. After a chase that ended when the stolen truck crashed south of Verona, James was apprehended, while his juvenile passenger fled in a police car, which was later found wrecked. The juvenile’s case will be handled in Youth Court.
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The post Dollar General vehicle theft leads to two arrests in Tupelo appeared first on www.wcbi.com
Mississippi News
Lowndes Co. Supervisors talk storm safety for certain areas
SUMMARY: The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors has secured funding to construct storm shelters in Crawford, Artesia, and Plum Grove, areas lacking local shelter during severe weather. Each community will receive four FEMA-funded shelters, accommodating up to 20 people each, on government property at a total cost of $103,692, with FEMA contributing $93,000. The supervisors anticipate these shelters will significantly enhance safety for residents during storms. Vice President Jeff Smith highlighted their importance, expressing relief for community members who have long awaited a secure refuge. While installation timelines remain unclear, the project is expected to proceed soon.
The post Lowndes Co. Supervisors talk storm safety for certain areas appeared first on www.wcbi.com
Mississippi News
News anchor dropped after social media post telling Trump-haters supporting Harris: ‘Stay home, donโt vote’
SUMMARY: David “Dave” Elliott, a local news anchor for WLOX in Biloxi for nearly 40 years, was fired after expressing political views on social media. He revealed on Facebook that his termination was due to his political opinions, specifically mentioning a video where he advised people not to vote out of hatred for Donald Trump. Elliott characterized his social media posts as satire, distinguishing them from his professional work. He noted that the discussion with his station’s general manager about his dismissal was brief, and the topic of social media was raised. WLOX’s management declined to comment on the matter.
The post News anchor dropped after social media post telling Trump-haters supporting Harris: ‘Stay home, don’t vote’ appeared first on www.foxnews.com
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