Student Loans: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

With over 43 million Americans paying off student loans, John Oliver discusses how so many people have come to take on student loan debt, why it’s so hard to pay off, and what we can do about it, mama. https://youtu.be/zN2_0WC7UfU?feature=shared https://youtu.be/zN2_0WC7UfU?feature=shared -Last Week Tonight; 3/21/2024

Trump wants more tariffs. His earlier trade wars cost Americans $230 billion to date

Americans have paid more than $230 billion to date for tariffs that Trump imposed on imported solar panels, steel and aluminum and Chinese-made goods, according to US Customs and Border Protection. [...] In a 2023 study,the US International Trade Commission said that “U.S. importers bore nearly the full cost of these tariffs.” The independent federal agency, which provides …

Republicans continue effort to erode US child labor rules despite teen deaths

Child labor violations have been soaring in the US, but efforts to render solutions through legislation have received little support, and Republicans at the state level continue pushing bills that would roll back current child labor protections. [...] “Tyson Foods claim to be a family-owned company with strong family values. But where are those values …

This small town in Oregon embraces green energy after fossil fuel disaster

“[The school] had no air conditioning system, and the heating system was basically a 100-year-old relic,” he said. After about 30 minutes, Foster finally walked out of the meeting to find relief. It was at that moment he and a group of parents realized what their kids were going through — high temperatures, no quick …

Biden’s climate law has led to 86,000 new jobs and $132 billion in investment, new report says

More than 270 new clean energy projects have been announced since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with private investments totaling $132 billion, according to the report. These investments are expected to be accompanied by more than 86,000 jobs, including 50,000 jobs related to electric vehicles. The Inflation Reduction Act “is not only …

Made in America is back, leaving US factories scrambling to find workers

The nearly 13 million workers employed in US factories make up the industry’s largest workforce since the Great Recession caused employment in the sector to plunge more than a dozen years ago. Since April, manufacturing employment has been growing at about a 4% annual rate, the fastest sustained pace of growth since 1984, when the …

Payrolls increased 528,000 in July, much better than expected in a sign of strength for jobs market

Nonfarm payrolls rose 528,000 for the month and the unemployment rate was 3.5%, easily topping the Dow Jones estimates of 258,000 and 3.6%, respectively. The unemployment rate is now back to its pre-pandemic level and tied for the lowest since 1969, though the rate for Blacks rose 0.2 percentage point to 6%. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/05/jobs-report-july-2022-528000.html -CNBC; 8/5/2022

In a city full of adjunct faculty members, many struggle to get by

From all these roles, he is making about $16,400 this semester. That reality has recently inspired protests at Howard University and AU, where adjuncts have pushed for higher wages, better benefits and more pathways to permanent employment. It has also shed light on an often overlooked truth of higher education: At the District’s eight major …

Oklahoma middle school teacher says he was fired for Pride flags in classroom

Last Friday, Tyler Rathe, a seventh grade science teacher at Jenks Middle School, lost his job after displaying a number of flags representing his students' identities and countries of origin, according to KWGS. Initially, Rathe was put on administrative leave but was subsequently sacked after rejecting the school's request to take the flags down. [...] …

Secretly recorded call adds to controversy swirling around Cawthorn (R)

A former district staff member for Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) is accusing him of improperly firing her after denying her family and medical leave, allegations the lawmaker and his office have vehemently denied. At one point during the call, Lisa Wiggins, who was a caseworker for the 26-year-old first-term representative in his district office for …