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Ticker: Trump administration to cut student loan interest

Local Business

The Department of Education has announced a reduction in interest rates for federal student loans, describing it as part of a plan to make higher education more affordable. With growing numbers of borrowers in default, the Trump administration pitched the temporary, 1% reduction in student loan interest rates as a salve for those struggling with repayment. Education Undersecretary Nicholas Kent said Thursday that the change is a way of “making student loan repayment easier than ever” and of improving “the overall health of the federal student loan portfolio.” U.S. filings for ...

Grid operators ordered to speed electricity to AI data centers

Local Business

WASHINGTON — Federal regulators on Thursday ordered regional grid operators to help large energy users connect more quickly to the nation’s inefficient and aging electric transmission system, a step they said is needed to accommodate surging demand from power-hungry artificial intelligence data centers. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act in an effort to help the United States better compete with China for superiority in the fast-growing AI sector. Tech companies and data center developers welcomed the chance to connect faster to ...

Stranded ships have begun transiting Strait of Hormuz

International News

Major shipowners have begun moving vessels through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Iran signed an interim agreement to end their war, maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence said Thursday. In a media briefing, Richard Meade, editor in chief of Lloyd’s List, said for the ...

Lake Altoona, Impounding Dam rubber dams in good shape

Local News

A recent inspection of the inflatable rubber dams installed seven years ago atop the spillways for Lake Altoona and the Impounding Dam near Horseshoe Curve showed the rubber dams are in fundamentally good condition and could last another 25 or 30 years, according to authority General Manager Mark Perry. That “good news” assuages authority fears that the rubber dams would need replaced far sooner than would normally be expected, due to recent cracking and leakage of air, as reported at a meeting in May. The cracking of the rubber atop the Impounding Dam, however, is only ...