Wicked Blue
Wicked Blue's JournalNavient reaches $120 million settlement with CFPB for misleading student loan borrowers
Source: CNBC
Student loan giant Navient has reached a $120 million settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over its practices with student loan borrowers, the company tells CNBC.
The CFPB sued Navient in 2017 for misleading borrowers and providing them with bad information, causing many to pay more than they needed to.
The consumer watchdog agency also accused Navient of steering student loan borrowers into expensive forbearances, causing many to pay steep interest charges.
Additionally, CFPB alleged that Navient miscalculated borrowers’ payments and tarnished the credit reports of disabled borrowers, including severely injured veterans.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/12/navient-reaches-120-million-settlement-with-cfpb-for-misleading-student-loan-borrowers.html
Coconut flakes on Pizza? Isn't pineapple bad enough?
‘Disgusting': Bill DeBlasio draws ire of social media after putting coconut flakes on pizzaNBC New York
Reactions ranged from "criminal" to "amazing" after former New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio posted a video to social media showing the city's former chief executive putting coconut flakes on a slice.
DeBlasio, who left office in 2021, posted the video to X on Wednesday.
In the video, he doesn't say a word. He just sprinkles a bag of sweetened coconut onto a slice of cheese pizza.
...
"This is a crime against humanity," declared one user.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/disgusting-bill-deblasio-draws-ire-of-social-media-after-putting-coconut-flakes-on-pizza/5770091/
New panic alarm system at Georgia H.S. saved lives during shooting, officials say. Advocates want it nationwide.
Sept. 5, 2024, 3:31 PM EDT
By Melissa Chan
A new panic alarm system that was triggered during Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a Georgia high school likely saved countless lives, authorities and advocates for the technology said.
Lockdown warnings flashed on classroom screens at Apalachee High School as gunshots rang out, prompting students and teachers to lock the door, turn off the lights and huddle in the farthest corner from the entrance, witnesses said.
At the same time, alerts automatically went out to law enforcement officers, who responded and ended the shooting rampage within minutes, according to Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith and Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey.
...
Apalachee High School teachers all wear ID badges with their photos and panic buttons that, if repeatedly pressed, will notify authorities about an “active situation” or emergency at the school, Smith said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-panic-alarm-system-georgia-high-school-saved-lives-shooting-offici-rcna169754
Sure, let's spend a fortune on high tech safety devices. Take away funds for textbooks, school libraries, teacher salaries.
It's so much easier and less politically complicated than trying to outlaw mass murder weapons.
The bleeping weapons industry, the NRA and their allies should be forced to pay for these security systems for every school in the U.S.
Rob Menendez backs Andy Kim for U.S. Senate
NJ Globe
Rep. Robert J. Menendez (D-Jersey City) has endorsed fellow Democrat Andy Kim, putting his party’s bid to retain control of the U.S. Senate above a fissure created last September when Kim announced that he would challenge the freshman congressman’s father in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary.
“In Congress, Andy and I have fought to lower costs, restore freedoms, and better the lives of those we represent,” Menendez said. “As we shape the future of New Jersey together, Andy is the right candidate for the moment, and I know he will be an incredible public servant for our state.”
The two are expected to campaign together on Friday during a visit to Newark’s North Ward.
“Rob and I are both driven by wanting to build a better future for our young kids, and we know how much is at stake in this election,” stated Kim. “New Jersey is ready for a new generation of leadership, and I look forward to continuing my work with Rob to deliver a brighter future for New Jersey’s families.”
https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/rob-menendez-backs-andy-kim-for-u-s-senate/
US seizes Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro's airplane in the Dominican Republic, flies it to South Florida
Source: CNN
CNN) — The United States has seized Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s airplane after determining that its acquisition was in violation of US sanctions, among other criminal issues. The US flew the aircraft to Florida on Monday, according to two US officials.
It’s the latest development in what has long been a frosty relationship between the US and Venezuela, and its seizure in the Dominican Republic marks an escalation as the US continues to investigate what it regards as corrupt practices by Venezuela’s government.
The plane has been described by officials as Venezuela’s equivalent to Air Force One and it has been pictured in previous state visits by Maduro around the world.
“This sends a message all the way up to the top,” one of the US officials told CNN. “Seizing the foreign head of state’s plane is unheard-of for criminal matters. We’re sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of US sanctions.”
Read more: https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/us-seizes-venezuela-president-nicolas-maduros-airplane-in-the-dominican-republic-flies-it-to-south-florida/
Exclusive: U.S. researchers find probable launch site of Russia's new nuclear-powered missile
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Two U.S. researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of the 9M370 Burevestnik, a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as "invincible."
Putin has said the weapon - dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO - has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik's strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.
Using images taken on July 26 by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm, the two researchers identified a construction project abutting a nuclear warhead storage facility known by two names - Vologda-20 and Chebsara - as the new missile's potential deployment site. The facility is 295 miles (475 km) north of Moscow.
...
Decker Eveleth, an analyst with the CNA research and analysis organization, found the satellite imagery and identified what he assessed are nine horizontal launch pads under construction. They are located in three groups inside high berms to shield them from attack or to prevent an accidental blast in one from detonating missiles in the others, he said.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-researchers-find-probable-launch-site-russias-new-nuclear-powered-missile-2024-09-02/
FAA orders inspections of Boeing 787s after midair dive injured more than 50
NBC
The Federal Aviation Administration will require inspections of hundreds of Boeing 787 Dreamliners after a LATAM Airlines plane in March took a sudden midair plunge that injured at least 50 people.
According to an FAA statement, the plane dove after a seat in the cockpit jolted forward and disconnected the autopilot system, causing a rapid descent. Since the March incident, the FAA received four additional reports of similar issues, with the latest occurring in June.
The agency identified loose rocker switch caps on the back of cockpit seats as the cause in three of these incidents. The remaining two cases remain under investigation.
s a result, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive, citing the "unsafe condition" of these seats, and required the inspection of 158 U.S.-registered airplanes and 737 airplanes worldwide. These inspections must be completed within 30 days.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/faa-orders-inspections-boeing-787s-air-dive-injured-50-rcna167317
Note: Not posted in LBN because the announcement was made Monday,
FDA authorizes first at-home syphilis test
Source: NBC
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted marketing authorization to the first at-home, over-the-counter test to detect syphilis antibodies in human blood in a move that could help boost screening rates for the sexually transmitted disease.
Developed by privately held NOWDiagnostics, the antibody test helps identify current or past infection and provides a result in about 15 minutes.
However, the regulator added that the results from the test alone are not sufficient for definitive diagnosis, and should be followed by additional testing to confirm a diagnosis.
“Access to home tests may help increase initial screening for syphilis, including in individuals who may be reluctant to see their health care provider about possible sexually transmitted infection exposure,” said Michelle Tarver, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/sexual-health/fda-authorizes-first-home-syphilis-test-rcna166963
Biden to designate the site of 1908 race riot a national monument
Source: CNN
President Joe Biden will sign a proclamation Friday designating the site of a 1908 race massacre in Springfield, Illinois, a national monument.
For two nights in August 1908, a White mob laid siege to Springfield, indiscriminately looting, burning and destroying Black-owned homes and businesses, in a race riot that would become known as the Springfield Massacre.
Two Black men were lynched during the riot and their deaths fueled calls to start a national movement for political and racial justice that ultimately led to the creation of the oldest civil rights organization in the country: the NAACP.
Biden will be joined by civil rights leaders to mark the 116th anniversary of the riots, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing Wednesday.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/16/us/springfield-race-riots-national-monument/index.html
Remote isles may solve mystery of 'Snowball Earth'
BBC
A remote cluster of Scottish islands could help solve one of our planet's greatest mysteries, scientists say.
The Garvellach islands off the west coast of Scotland are the best record of Earth entering its biggest ever ice age around 720 million years ago, researchers have discovered.
The big freeze, which covered nearly all the globe in two phases for 80 million years, is known as "Snowball Earth", after which the first animal life emerged.
Clues hidden in rocks about the freeze have been wiped out everywhere - except in the Garvellachs. Researchers hope the islands will tell us why Earth went into such an extreme icy state for so long and why it was necessary for complex life to emerge.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9l2mrn43jo
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: Maryland
Home country: United States
Member since: Tue Aug 11, 2020, 09:58 PM
Number of posts: 6,448