5 vital stories to know this week [7/21]
From Biden dropping out of the presidential race to an appeals court striking down reduced payments for low-income student loan borrowers, here are five stories to know this week.
Biden drops out of the 2024 presidential race, endorses Kamala Harris
President Joe Biden announced earlier today on X that he will not seek the Democratic presidential nomination and will endorse Kamala Harris to be the nominee, sending shockwaves across the American political landscape. This comes after weeks-long pressure from Democratic leaders over Biden’s mental fitness after his much-criticized debate performance in late June.
“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down," Biden said on X. He added that he plans to address the nation later this week, but made clear that he intends to finish out the last three months of his term in office.
Although Kamala Harris is not officially the Democratic nominee, Biden supporters will most likely back the vice president amid their party’s convention nearing in late August.
"Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump," Biden added. "Let’s do this."
However, others on social media are asking for an open convention, which could give an opportunity to more candidates.
Student loan payments will be paused for 8 million borrowers after appeals court temporarily halts Biden’s repayment plan
This week, the St. Louis-based 8th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked President Biden’s SAVE plan, an initiative that reduced monthly payments for 20 million low-income student loan borrowers, including eliminating monthly payments for 8 million. The Department of Education responded by placing borrowers on the SAVE Plan into administrative forbearance, meaning they won’t have to pay their loans but can’t progress towards paying them either.
“Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan will be placed in an interest-free forbearance while our administration continues to vigorously defend the SAVE Plan in court,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
Palestinians say Microsoft is unfairly closing their accounts
Palestinians around the world have accused Microsoft of closing their email accounts without warning, cutting them off from vital online services and connection to their loved ones, which is especially important for those living in war-torn Gaza. They have also said it has left them unable to access bank accounts and job offers.
"They killed my life online," said Eiad Hametto to BBC, who lives in Saudi Arabia. "They’ve suspended my email account that I’ve had for nearly 20 years - It was connected to all my work.”
The internet is frequently disrupted or switched off in Gaza as the Israeli military controls the broadband of the region. But with a paid Skype subscription, it is possible to make calls in Gaza cheaply, and while the internet is down, making it a lifeline for many Palestinians in Gaza as they deal with one of the worst humanitarian crises in the 21st century.
Airlines, government and businesses rush to get back on track after a global tech disruption
Businesses, transportation providers, and government services had their systems shut off after a worldwide outage. The source of the outage was CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to numerous companies worldwide, who said that the problem originated from a faulty software update to computers running Microsoft Windows. They expressed that a national security threat or cyberattack was not the cause of the outage.
8.5 million devices on Microsoft’s Windows system were affected.
33,000 flights were delayed on Friday.
2,700 flights were canceled on Friday.
ICJ says Israel’s presence in Palestinian territory is unlawful
The International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's presence in occupied Palestinian territories is illegal and should end. The court ruled:
“Israel has no right to sovereignty in the Palestinian territories.
Israel is violating international laws against acquiring territory by force.
Israel is impeding Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
Other nations were obliged not to “render aid or assistance in maintaining” Israel’s presence in the territories.
Israel must end settlement construction immediately and existing settlements must be removed”