- 'We will never register': Georgia NGOs vow to defy repressive law
- A-list stars, menstruating superheroes in Cannes VR competition
- France's Godreche says #MeToo allegations should not be theatre
- Brunson and Knicks bounce back to crush Pacers
- Indonesia floods kill 58 as rescuers race to find missing
- Chief of state oil company dismissed in Brazil
- Clark top scores but gives up 10 turnovers in WNBA debut defeat
- Asian markets mixed as focus turns to US inflation report
- Bus accident in Peru leaves at least 16 dead
- OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever announces departure
- Brazil government announces Petrobras chief dismissed
- Five years after 13-0 World Cup mauling, Thai women look to future
- Oleksandr Usyk: looking for heavyweight legacy on the Fury road
- Tyson Fury: the 'Gypsy King' of the ring riddled with contradictions
- Push for new US lithium mine leaves some Americans wary
- 'Sowing peace'? Colombia program for war criminals stokes debate
- US says Boeing can be prosecuted for 737 MAX crashes
- More money pledged for flood-stricken Brazil
- Parts of Canadian city in oil sands region evacuated as wildfire draws near
- New dad Scheffler, divorcing McIlroy add emotion to PGA drama
- Trump defense takes aim at ex-fixer Michael Cohen at trial
- Man City do feel the tension of title race, says Guardiola
- Watches belonging to F1 great Schumacher fetch millions at auction
- Postecoglou 'misread' Spurs' fans desperation to deny Arsenal title
- Nasdaq finishes at record as US stocks shrug off latest inflation data
- No.1 new dad Scheffler enjoying life but strives for more at PGA
- Bellingham, Vinicius shine as champions Madrid smash Alaves
- Man City can 'make history' with fourth consecutive Premier League: Rodri
- Singapore to swear in Lawrence Wong as new prime minister
- Blinken vows US will back Ukraine till security 'guaranteed'
- Ohtani interpreter appears in court over $17 mn fraud
- Haaland double puts Man City on brink of Premier League history
- In major change, Google to use AI-generated answers in search results
- Rahm says he's not slumping despite winless LIV start
- Paris Holocaust memorial hit with red hand graffiti
- Floods unite Brazilians in solidarity despite political rift
- Spieth tries again for career Grand Slam with PGA victory
- Massive manhunt after French prison officers killed, inmate escapes in ambush
- Biden sharply hikes US tariffs on Chinese EVs and chips
- Quarter of Gazans displaced again as fighting rages north to south
- Ex-fixer Cohen grilled by defense at Trump trial
- Alice Munro: short story virtuoso with a touch of 'magic'
- Top-ranked Scheffler paired with major winners at PGA Championship
- Defending champion Medvedev out as Swiatek cruises in Rome Open
- McIlroy files for divorce from wife Erica
- Stubbs gives Delhi IPL play-off hope with win in last league match
- Top French court rejects bid to return Mona Lisa to 'rightful owners'
- Streep honoured at opening of drama-filled Cannes Film Festival
- Grammy-winning sax player David Sanborn dies
- UK law to ban live animal exports clears parliament
'Crushing': Biden unveils student debt plans to woo young voters
US President Joe Biden unveiled fresh plans Monday to reduce student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans, in bid to win over young voters as he seeks reelection in November.
The conservative-dominated US Supreme Court last year struck down the Democrat's earlier proposals to cancel several hundred billion dollars of debt.
But Biden said the court -- which features three judges appointed by his Republican election rival Donald Trump -- would "never stop" his efforts to deal with the issue.
"Today too many Americans, especially young people, are saddled with unsustainable debts in exchange for college degrees," Biden said in a speech in Madison in the election swing state of Wisconsin.
"Too many people feel the strain and stress, wondering if they're going to get married, have their first child, start a family -- because even if they get by they still have this crushing, crushing debt."
The White House said the 81-year-old's plans -- unveiled while much of America was occupied watching the solar eclipse sweeping across North America -- would provide debt relief to over 30 million Americans.
The plans would wipe out accrued interest for 23 million borrowers, cancel all student debt for four million others, and give at least $5,000 in debt relief to over 10 million borrowers.
Biden now faces a race to get the plans finalized -- and past any new legal hurdles -- in time for November's election.
Younger voters helped Biden beat then-president Trump in the 2020 election, and he will need the key demographic on his side to come from behind in the polls this year.
- 'Breathing room' -
But many young and progressive voters are angered by Biden's support for Israel's war in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks, and have concerns about his age.
The White House hopes the student loan plans will help win some over, given how debts of hundreds of thousands of dollars often hang over Americans for decades as they pay for their college educations.
"It means breathing room, it means freedom from feeling like your student loan bills compete with basic needs, like grocery or health care," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told reporters.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added that Biden would "use every tool available" to cancel student debt "no matter how many times Republican elected officials tried to stand in his way."
The new plans were "entirely consistent" with the court decision last year, which the White House had studied carefully, a senior administration official said.
Biden's original plan to cancel more than $400 billion of student debt was struck down by the US Supreme Court in July last year.
The court said Biden had overstepped his powers as president and should have obtained specific authorization from Congress to launch the program. Six Republican-led states had sued over the issue.
The Supreme Court has moved sharply to the right with the three judges appointed by Republican Trump while he was president, notably with the 2022 overturning of the federal right to abortion.
Biden has also made abortion a key campaign plank, accusing Trump on Monday of "scrambling" to find a policy that voters liked after the Republican said he would leave it up to states to decide.
M.Furrer--BTB