Calendar

July 1

Student-Loan Sting

To shrink the budget deficit, Congress cut $12 billion from federal student-loan programs and instituted a new loan formula that will cause interest rates to jump 1.5 to 2 percentage points from their recent historic lows. Financial-aid experts are urging parents to consider loan consolidation as a way to lock in low variable rates before today’s hike goes into effect. After today, the interest rate on Stafford loans will jump from as low as 4.7 percent to a 6.8 percent fixed rate, and on the Parents Loan for Undergraduate Students the rate will go from 6.1 percent to an 8.5 percent fixed rate. Under the new system, a student with a $20,000 Stafford loan will pay about $4,800 more over the life of the loan.

July 1

Abortion Outlawed

A new South Dakota law, ...