Trump administration agrees to deliver more student loan forgiveness

     The Trump administration has agreed to restart student debt forgiveness. Borrowers will have the option between two income-driven repayment programs that have been previously paused. The two are income-contingent repayment (ICR) and pay-as-you-earn plans (PAYE). The wheels started spinning with this because of a legal agreement between the US Department of Education and the American Federation of Teachers(AFT). AFT sued the Trump administration at the beginning of 2025 for supposedly illegally blocking or pausing student loan forgiveness.  

    Under the agreement, the Education Department will restart loan forgiveness for eligible borrowers in the ICR and PAYE programs, which currently serve over 2.5 million people. Borrowers receiving forgiveness in 2025 won’t owe federal taxes on the canceled debt, though that tax break ends this year. Overall, this is good news for students currently facing this issue, but uncertainties arise after 2028 when this will most likely be phased out. 

Article: Trump administration agrees to deliver more student loan forgiveness

Gold prices rose to a new record high this week, topping $4,300. Here's why.

This CBS news article talks about the rising price of gold. The price of gold has reached a new high at about $4,300 per troy ounce. The rise in price has been driven by broad economic and geopolitical uncertainties. A lot of these uncertainties have stemmed from Trump's trade wars. The increased demand for gold is from investors fleeing to “safe-haven” assets, because investors are seeking stability. Another reason for this surge is because of the weakening U.S. dollar and expectations of lower interest rates. Central banks are also increasing their demand for gold with geopolitical risks, such as the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. The U.S. government shutdown also adds to these anxieties, because key economic data has been delayed. 

This graph is from the article showing the dramatic increase in price per ounce

Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gold-prices-high-whats-driving-surge/