The Trump administration released its first official update on student loan income-driven repayment plan application processing on Thursday, outlining how many IDR and PSLF Buyback applications have been processed and how many more are still in the queue. The numbers indicate that the Department of Education has processed only a small fraction of outstanding applications, and a huge backlog remains. The new information comes five days after the department expected IDR processing to fully resume for federal student loan borrowers after an extended pause. The update was filed in an ongoing legal battle over the department’s decision to halt all…

Dalvin Cook was an NFL player for the Minnesota Vikings. An altercation that took place in 2020 resulted in a personal injury lawsuit against Cook by Daniel Cragg and Anne St. Amant on behalf of Gracelyn Trimble (who was apparently injured in the altercation) in the Dakota County District Court in Minnesota. Cook and Trimble settled that action in 2024. Meanwhile, back in 2021, Cook sued Cragg, St. Amant and their law firm, Eckland & Blando, LLP, in Hennepin County, Minnesota, claiming that they defamed him. Cook alleged that the defendants in this defamation suit had provided to the media…

Low-income workers who leave their jobs or reduce their hours to care for frail parents or spouses risk losing their own Medicaid benefits, according to a House committee’s budget plan. At the same time, major cuts in projected federal Medicaid funding threaten the ability of states to continue to provide services to low-income seniors and younger people with disabilities. Older adults and their families could be profoundly affected by two major Medicaid changes in the section of the House budget approved by the Energy and Commerce Committee on May 14. The first would require states to bar Medicaid coverage for…

U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports continue to squeeze supply chains, beauty brands are finding themselves caught in the crossfire. For Black consumers who drive more than $9 billion in beauty product spending annually these tariffs are having a major impact. Many of the beauty brands they shop with rely on affordable packaging, containers, and raw materials from abroad, and these new cost burdens threaten to push smaller players out of the market. The Breakdown You Need To Know: S&P Global reported that tariffs on Chinese goods have come down to 30% from 145%, but can still increase production costs for…

Student Loan Forgiveness Potentially In Jeopardy For Millions A low-profile provision buried in the GOP’s 2025 tax proposal could spark one of U.S. history’s most significant rollbacks in student loan forgiveness and repayment eligibility, specifically targeting the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The bill would allow the Treasury Secretary to unilaterally revoke the nonprofit status of any organization it designates as a terrorist supporting organization. While its language appears aimed at bad actors, the downstream effect could destabilize the PSLF for the more than 12.8 million Americans who work at nonprofits. A Quiet Change In A Tax Bill Could Rock…

I recently streamed “The Beekeeper,” and Adam Clay is right at home with the John Wicks, Robert McCalls, and Bryan Millses of the world. While the movie was entertaining enough, with a few new elements and twists here and there to make it different, I was struck by a particular scene where a character asks: “I’m 28 years old, why would I need an estate plan?” This article is inspired by that question and tries to answer other estate planning FAQs. Estate Planning FAQs What Is An Estate Plan? An estate plan outlines how your assets will be managed or…

Most people never bother to calculate the actual cost of homeownership before they buy, which makes it difficult to know where to set your home buying budget. The list price of a home doesn’t tell you much about how interest rates will impact your mortgage or how expensive it will be to maintain that house over the time you own it. And a lender or bank, the place you’d expect to provide guidance given that they’re the ones offering you a mortgage, is not too much help in understanding what you can truly afford before you buy. While lenders have…

Dire emails from the U.S. Department of Education flooded the inboxes of millions of defaulted federal student loan borrowers during the last week, warning that the government is preparing to seize a portion of their earnings. The notices followed a formal announcement the department made last month indicating that government officials would quickly step up collections efforts against defaulted borrowers. “Collections on defaulted federal student loans are resuming,” reads the email sent to borrowers. “This means that your tax refund or other federal benefits may be withheld. Later this summer, your employer may also be required to withhold a portion…

How Unused PTO Turned A Prison Dentist’s Retirement Into A $1.2 Million Payday When the state of California cut a $1.2 million check to a retiring prison dentist last year, it wasn’t a bonus or lottery prize. It was a payout for his unused PTO; decades of banked vacation days that turned Dr. George Soohoo’s unclaimed time off into a seven-figure windfall. His story, recently chronicled in the Los Angeles Times, illustrates the immense value of unused PTO for employees and, on the flip side, the massive hidden cost that public institutions and businesses quietly carry on their books. From…

Amid the stock market’s rebound, Chime, the largest digital bank in America, has filed publicly with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering, revealing its detailed financials. As we reported earlier this year, Chime’s revenue grew 30% in 2024 to $1.7 billion, and it posted a net loss of $25 million, a big reduction from its 2023 net loss of $203 million. In the first quarter of 2025, revenue grew 32% from the year prior, reaching $519 million, and it turned a profit of $13 million. Chime has previously said that it was profitable in certain quarters…