Ayelet Sheffey

Millions of student-loan borrowers kicked off Biden’s affordable plan are required to restart payments this fall

by with No Comment Xpandfy

The Department of Education to millions of student-loan borrowers: Get off SAVE — and pay up.

The department announced on Friday that it will begin sending notices to the 7 million borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan detailing their next steps for repayment.

Starting on July 1, according to the department, servicers will notify borrowers enrolled in SAVE that they have 90 days to select a new repayment plan and resume making payments. Borrowers who do not select a new repayment plan will be moved to a standard repayment plan, and loan servicers will notify them of their specific enrollment deadline.

“The 90-day period provides borrowers with ample time to explore repayment options that best suit their needs and plan accordingly,” the department said. “A borrower who wishes to transition before their loan servicer communicates a specific 90-day deadline may contact their servicer at any time to enroll in a lawful repayment plan.”

Nicholas Kent, the undersecretary of education, said in a Friday statement that borrowers will receive further guidance “over the next week.”

“For years, borrowers have been caught in a confusing cycle of uncertainty, but the Trump Administration’s policy is simple: if you take out a loan, you must pay it back,” Kent said.

SAVE was created by former President Joe Biden to give borrowers cheaper monthly payments and a shorter timeline to loan forgiveness. The plan had been blocked since the summer of 2024 due to litigation, and borrowers on it have not been required to make monthly payments. A federal judge recently approved a settlement with President Donald Trump and Missouri — one of the states that filed the litigation — to eliminate SAVE altogether.

The settlement allowed the administration to eliminate SAVE and move borrowers to new plans ahead of schedule. Trump’s “big beautiful” spending legislation, which included new repayment plans and borrowing caps, would have eliminated SAVE by 2028. The Department of Education said that SAVE borrowers will have the option to enroll in the new Repayment Assistance Plan, which is less generous than existing plans and allows for relief after 30 years.

Have a story to share about student loans? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.




Source link

Millions-of-student-loan-borrowers-are-kicked-off-of-Bidens-key.jpeg

Millions of student-loan borrowers are kicked off of Biden’s key affordable repayment plan in a surprise court reversal

by with No Comment Xpandfy

The roller coaster ride for borrowers enrolled in a key affordable repayment plan continues.

On Monday, the 8th Circuit directed a district court to approve President Donald Trump’s proposed settlement with the state of Missouri to eliminate the SAVE student-loan repayment plan.

The plan has been embroiled in a legal back-and-forth for years. Most recently, a district court declined to rule on the proposed settlement, which some advocates and lawmakers saw as a win for borrowers and urged the Department of Education to carry out relief under SAVE.

However, the 8th Circuit’s ruling means that, once approved, the department will move forward with the settlement and require enrolled borrowers to transition to a new plan.

“In the coming weeks, the Department will issue clear guidance on next steps for borrowers enrolled in the illegal SAVE Plan, including details regarding how borrowers can move into a legal repayment plan,” Nicholas Kent, the undersecretary of education, told Business Insider in a statement. “The Trump Administration will continue to realign the federal student loan portfolio to better serve students and taxpayers.”

The settlement would give borrowers “a limited time” to select a new repayment plan and begin repaying the loans. Once the settlement is approved, the department will not enroll any new borrowers in SAVE, it will deny pending applications, and move all enrolled borrowers to existing plans.

Advocates criticized the 8th Circuit’s ruling, saying it will push borrowers into unaffordable monthly payments.

“The millions of borrowers who had a right to lower monthly student loan payments and relief through SAVE will now face thousands of dollars in higher bills every year thanks to the right-wing campaign against borrowers,” Winston Berkman-Breen, legal director at advocacy group Protect Borrowers, said in a statement.

SAVE was created by former President Joe Biden in 2023 and intended to give borrowers cheaper monthly payments and a shorter timeline to debt relief. The plan has been blocked since the summer of 2024 due to litigation from GOP-led states, including Missouri, which said that the relief through SAVE was unconstitutional.

This ruling pushes SAVE borrowers off the plan earlier than scheduled. Trump’s “big beautiful” spending legislation called for the plan to be phased out by 2028, giving enrolled borrowers more time to prepare for higher payments on a new plan.

Have a story to share? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.




Source link

Ayelet Sheffey

Trump’s attempt to quickly axe a key affordable student-loan repayment plan gets shut down in court

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Student-loan borrowers might not lose a key affordable repayment plan just yet.

On Friday, a court dismissed a proposed settlement announced by the Department of Education and the state of Missouri in December that would have eliminated the SAVE income-driven repayment plan ahead of schedule.

President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful” spending legislation called for phasing out SAVE by 2028. This latest update means that the department has to stick with that timeline, and it cannot eliminate the plan before 2028 without court approval or a lengthy negotiated rulemaking process.

John Ross, Missouri’s district court judge, wrote in his ruling that the settlement was not presented to the court, and that federal law allows courts to “exercise jurisdiction only over cases or controversies,” which he said does not exist in this case because both the Department of Education and Missouri have agreed on the outcome they’re seeking without debate.

“It appears that there is no longer a live case or controversy sufficient to authorize the Court to enter a judgment on the merits,” Ross wrote.

The SAVE plan was created by former President Joe Biden in 2023, and it intended to give borrowers cheaper monthly payments with a shorter timeline to loan forgiveness. The plan has been halted since 2024 due to lawsuits seeking to block it, and while Trump’s “big beautiful” spending legislation included a provision to eliminate SAVE over the next few years, the settlement would have done so much sooner than anticipated.

Ross also wrote in a footnote that it’s “not lost on the Court that millions of borrowers who enrolled in the SAVE plan have patiently awaited clarity while this litigation has proceeded. However, that clarity must come from the Department of Education, and not from this Court, which is no longer empowered to weigh the merits of a case that is now moot.”

Winston Berkman-Breen, legal director at advocacy group Protect Borrowers, said in a statement that the court’s ruling means the department can now move forward with relief under the SAVE plan.

“As of today, not only is there no legal barrier to delivering those rights through the SAVE plan, but the Secretary has a legal obligation to do so,” Berkman-Breen said. “The U.S. Department of Education must immediately identify borrowers who are eligible to have their loans cancelled under SAVE and instruct their student loan servicers to cancel those loans.”

A Department of Education spokesperson told Business Insider that the department is evaluating the court’s decision.

The department said in December that, should the settlement be approved, it would not enroll any new borrowers in the SAVE plan, it would deny pending applications, and move the 7 million enrolled borrowers to other repayment plans. Those borrowers would have a limited time to prepare to make their payments.

Have a story to share? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.




Source link

author bio headshot for jennifer stavros

How much are Rod Stewart tickets? Affordable seats to see the legendary singer live

by with No Comment Xpandfy

Rod Stewart is a legendary artist from England with over 50 years of performances under his tenure. The British-born artist is one of the last remaining survivors of mid-century musicians still touring. He’s had several big hits over the years that span across generations. Some popular titles include his solo debut “Maggie May,” “You’re in my Heart,” “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright),” “Forever Young,” and many more.

He is finishing the last remaining international big shows he’s set to do before he comes to the US leg of his ongoing tour. That tour continues to grow, too, as Stewart has recently added fifteen more stops to it. We’re going to tell you how you can get seats to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer for the cheapest deals on Stubhub and Vivid Seats.

Rod Stewart’s 2026 tour schedule

Rod Stewart is continuing his final major tour in the US, which is set to start in February. He has only a few shows left internationally, in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Abu Dhabi, before that, all of which cannot be found from resellers. From there, he will travel to 25 different cities in the US and Canada from February to September 2026. He is making one other international stop out of North America to Spain in late June, as well.

It’s going to be a busy year of shows. Will you be going to one of them? Check out the dates and cities to determine which spot works best for you to visit.

North America

International

Follow our Instagram page and WhatsApp channel for more deals and buying guides.

How to buy tickets for Rod Stewart’s 2026 concert tour

Rod Stewart will be touring in twenty-five cities across the US during his visit. You can purchase those tickets directly from Live Nation or through resellers. Whether you can get a deal via a reseller is subjective: some dates and locations will be a lot more expensive on reseller sites. Others may be comparable. Thankfully, we’ve done some of the legwork here, so you can determine which is best for you cost-wise.

How much are tickets?

Despite being a legendary performer, several of Rod Stewart’s shows are actually remarkably accessible in price, depending on the location. His lowest-priced shows are on August 15th in Riverside, MO, and cost only $50 for lawn seats. However, some of his shows are really expensive, even at their lowest price offerings via resellers.

**The February 28 show, for example, is not currently showing on Live Nation or VividSeats, but has been changed to be available on December 2 or has been postponed. It is priced at over a grand for the lowest price available options. It is currently unknown when the show may be rescheduled.

Who is opening for Rod Stewart’s tour?

Earlier this month, Howard Jones and Richard Marx were announced as opening acts for Stewart’s newly announced shows in March and August. Given the current trend, further surprises and additions may be forthcoming.

Will there be international tour dates?

Rod Stewart has publicly said that it’s “the end of large-scale world tours” for him. A majority of these concert dates are performances within the United States, with three exceptions: two shows in Canada and one show in Spain.

How old is Rod Stewart?

Rod Stewart was born on January 20th, 1945, making him eighty years young. Although he has experienced various health issues, especially over the recent years, last year he posted on Instagram that while he “has no desire to retire”. He will probably be “Forever Young” to many.

Jennifer Stavros

Freelance Writer

Jennifer Stavros is a writer and researcher based in Los Angeles. Her writing seeks to unpack culture in its varied nuances, from navigating complex health and science topics to helping people discover ways to unwind in the midst of a constantly buzzing world.Her work has made cameos all over the web. Outside Business Insider, you can find her work in Wired, Playboy, Cheddar, CNET, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, The Independent, and so many other places in print or digital formats. Several of her contributions, including those here on Business Insider, have gone viral.She is currently working on multiple books about necropolitics. When she isn’t writing, you can find her exploring geeky things with artistic or historical twists… often with a classic cocktail or a fancy beer in one hand, wearing vintage or other eye-catching fashions and a giant bow on her head. Follow her day-to-day adventures on Bluesky.


You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here.

Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.




Source link

Rivians-autonomy-chief-says-lidar-is-very-affordable-and-a.jpeg

Rivian’s autonomy chief says lidar is ‘very affordable’ and a ‘no-brainer’ decision

by with No Comment Xpandfy

For Rivian’s chief of autonomy, the decision to put in lidar for the EV company’s coming R2 SUV was obvious.

James Philbin, Rivian’s VP of autonomy and AI, told Business Insider that the price of lidar has decreased significantly enough in recent years to be able to put the sensor inside a personally-owned, mass-production vehicle.

“It’s been on this incredible cost curve, where 10 years ago, it would be just unimaginable that you could put a lidar on a consumer vehicle. And now it’s getting into that price point, kind of in the range of a radar,” Philbin said. Radar, a sensor that uses radio waves, is commonly seen in modern cars that have an advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) or blind spot detection.

Lidar is a sensor that uses laser light to measure depth. While it’s historically been used for topography, the sensor has gained more visibility in the automotive world with the advent of self-driving cars.

Most notably, Waymo’s robotaxis have multiple lidar sensors, including the spinning lidar on the roof of the vehicle. Waymo has said that lidar provides additional safety to the vehicle’s AI driver.

On Thursday, Rivian announced a road map to fully autonomous driving, which includes building an in-house chip and installing a lidar sensor in the company’s coming SUV, the R2.

Philbin, who previously worked at Zoox and Waymo, told Business Insider that lidar makes an autonomous system “more robust” and can help the company get to its self-driving goal “faster.”

“It’s very affordable,” he said. “The performance it gives you for that cost is really amazing. And so to me, it’s kind of a no-brainer that you would want more sensors and more modalities for something that’s so safety critical.”

Using lidar diverges from the strategy of Rivian’s main EV competitor, Tesla, which has taken a strong stance on pursuing self-driving with cameras only.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk once called lidar an expensive “crutch.”

In the late 2000s, during the days of the Google Self-Driving Car Project, a single lidar unit could come with a five-figure price tag. Today, industry leaders say a similar unit could cost a few hundred dollars.

Rivian employees, including Philbin, did not disclose the cost of the lidar unit in the R2 when asked by Business Insider.

R2 will first be launched without the sensor in early 2026. It’s slated to be Rivian’s cheapest car to date, with a starting price of $45,000. The company aims to launch an R2 with lidar in late 2026.

When asked what the cost difference was to put a lidar in the R2, Philbin declined to comment but said that it was “not a significant consideration.”




Source link