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The Department of Education is making it harder for colleges to increase financial aid awards for students whose families lost jobs or income during the coronavirus-fueled economic crisis, NPR reported.

The department has confirmed it is not using guidance issued by the Obama administration during the Great Recession that encouraged colleges to be proactive about adjusting student aid awards. The guidance, issued in April and May of 2009, encouraged financial aid officials to thoughtfully use their professional judgment to address changes in financial and family circumstances that would not be reflected on the students most recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and assured colleges they would not be punished for adjusting aid awards if they maintained appropriate documentation. In short, the 2009 guidance sought to give assurances to college officials who were reluctant to use their professional judgment to adjust awards because the department used the percentage of such professional judgment determinations as a factor in determining which colleges to audit.

The Education Department has characterized the Obama-era guidance as outdated. A department spokesperson told NPR it is "updating the issues presented by the guidance, given the pandemic and resulting economic downturn."

"I think financial aid offices are out there doing their best," Rachelle Feldman, associate provost of scholarships and student aid at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told NPR. "But the fear of audit, the change in guidance -- it's all very real and paralyzing."

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Ed Department Shelved Obama-Era Guidance on Adjusting Aid - Inside Higher Ed

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As concerts will likely not resume until the final phase of reopening in many places, (which could still be a ways off for most), here are some virtual live performances to get excited about and as a bonus, most are for charitable causes:

Michelle Obama will co-host the virtual Roots Picnic on June 27.

Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, Macklemore, Ben Gibbard, Sir Mix-a-Lot and other Seattle musicians are playing a June 24 (starts at 10pm ET) concert to raise money for Covid-19 relief in Washington state.

Deadmau5 and musicians from the Lumineers are collaborating with e-sports stars Halifax and Hambinooo to raise money for No Kid Hungry in a June 24 Twitch livestream that begins at 3pm ET.

Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Quavo, J Balvin, Jennifer Hudson, Chloe X Halle, Shakira, Usher, Chris Rock, David Beckman and others will perform at June 27s Global Goal: United for Our FutureThe Concert, hosted by Dwayne Johnson and organized by Global Citizen and the European Commission to highlight the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on marginalized communities; stream it via NBC and iHeartMedia at 8pm ET.

Michelle Obama, Lil Baby, Lin-Manuel Miranda, SZA, Tom Hanks, Janelle Monae, H.E.R., Roddy Rich, Kerry Washington and others will also play for streamers on June 27 at 8pm ET at the virtual Roots Picnic in partnership with the former First Ladys nonprofit When We All Vote.

Another June 27 event: At 4pm ET Josh Groban is throwing an intimate concert event for attendees who pay $20 (for $55 hell throw in a t-shirt) to hear him croon new ballads and old favorites.

122. Thats how many concerts, festivals and conferences have been canceled or postponed due to coronavirus, according to Vulture.

On March 17, The Rolling Stones postponed their No Filter tour that was scheduled to resume in May. The tourwhich kicked off in 2017has generated upwards of $416 million in revenue. Though the financial impact of this cancellation is unknown, other high-grossing headliners like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift have similarly canceled their summer stadium tours.

Over 83 million people have bought tickets or made plans to attend events canceled by coronavirus, according to Forbes. Some of the biggest of these include Coachella, the Palm Springs, California, music festival that attracted 99,0000 attendees per day in its six-day 2019 run, and Belgium EDM fest Tomorrowlandattended by 400,000 last year.

Coronavirus Cancellation Tracker: More Than 83 Million Affected After Events Cancelled Or Rescheduled (Forbes)

All the Live Events, Movie Releases, and Productions Affected by the Coronavirus (Vulture)

Heres What Happened at Arkansass Socially Distanced Concert (Vulture)

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Justin Bieber, Michelle Obama, Chloe X Halle Live From Your Couch: Virtual Events To Stream This Week - Forbes

A close adviser to former US Vice President Joe Biden has begun forming a team to oversee the transition if the Democratic presidential candidate wins November's election and unseats President Donald Trump, according to a statement on Saturday.

Longtime Biden aide Ted Kaufman has recruited six people, including several former Obama administration officials, to an initial team that will later be expanded, a person familiar with the transition team said.

Major party nominees set up transition teams before a general election to coordinate with the incumbent administration.

In a statement, Kaufman said the work would "ensure continuity of government" in the event that Biden must prepare to take over amid the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic crisis.

"No one will have taken office facing such daunting obstacles since Franklin Delano Roosevelt," said Kaufman, adding that Biden was ready to begin that work "the day he is sworn in as President".

Originally posted here:
Biden gets the old Obama team back together in case he wins the presidency - Newshub

Someone who is not on board is local asshat Ted Nugent, however, who, as usual, doesn't seem to have a clue.

Instead of self-reflecting on his own use of Confederate flag imagery or his own possible racist attitudes, the Motor City Madman is engaging in some deeply misguided whataboutism, writing in a Facebook post that he thinks a statue of Barack Obama and his daughter Malia should be removed.

"This offends me and I'm sure I speak for millions," he wrote on Thursday. "Can we tear this shit down?"

We think the Nuge should think about why the sight of a successful Black man offends him so much. And anyway, the tearing down of racist and problematic monuments isn't about people being offended it's about rethinking what it says about our culture that we continue to glorify these things.

Plus, if merely being perceived as "offensive" was enough of a reason to tear shit down, the Motor City Madman would have no career that's his whole thing.

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Triggered Ted Nugent misses the point by calling for Obama statue to be taken down - Detroit Metro Times

In late 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin prevented former U.S. President Barack Obama's attempt to pass a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution demanding Israel relinquish the West Bank territories and accept a two-state resolution based on 1948 borders, freshly declassified documents appear to show.

The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday that phone conversations between U.S. President Donald Trump's former adviser Michael Flynn and former Russian UN Ambassador Sergey Kislyak confirm that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lobbied both the Kremlin and the incoming Trump administration to curb the initiative he perceived as incompatible with Israel's long-term security needs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-U.S. President Barak Obama during a G20 meeting in 2016

(Photo: EPA)

Israel, it appears, learned of the planned move while working against the Obama administration-coordinated UNSC Resolution 2334, the first resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy. Memorably, the U.S. abstained from voting, enabling the resolution's passage, in one of Obama's last acts as president.

Then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Davos in 2016

(Photo: GPO)

The U.S. has traditionally served as Israel's diplomatic protector, shielding it from resolutions it opposes; the abstention thus came as a shock, drawing harsh reactions from Israeli officials, who described it as an endorsement of "an extreme anti-Israeli resolution behind Israels back which would be a tailwind for terror and boycotts.

Israel Hayom reported earlier this week that Netanyahu contacted Putin after learning about Obama's plan, saying such a development could destabilize the ever-fragile power equilibrium in the Middle East. The two leaders had been in close contact to coordinate military and security issues relating to Russia's presence in Syria.

Former U.S. adviser Michael Flynn

(Photo: AP)

Transcripts of the Kislyak-Flynn conversations cited by the Jerusalem Post quoted the Russian official as saying "we wanted to convey to you and through you to the president-elect that we have significant reservations about the idea of adopting now the principles for the Middle East that our American colleagues are pushing for."

Obama's Secretary of State John Kerry subsequently realized that a Russia veto spelled the end to their hopes of passing the resolution.

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Report: Putin nixed Obama initiative to create Palestinian state within 1948 borders - Ynetnews