‘Not a good bill for higher education’: Students would face changes in federal aid with Senate version

MINNEAPOLIS — Colleges and universities are bracing for change after the massive policy bill passed the U.S. Senate this week, including serious cuts and restrictions to federal student loan programs, expansions to Pell Grants to fund short-term or workforce training and a new accountability system for colleges based on their graduates’ earnings, ending federal loan eligibility if they fail.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” as it’s formally called, also cuts repayment options for student loans, leaving just one income-based option. Loan payments will increase for many borrowers, especially those with lower incomes.

The bill also puts $10.5 billion into the Pell grant program, which has been underfunded for years. Pell is a federal initiative that provides financial aid for thousands of the neediest undergraduate students.

“The increase in Pell will help with the anticipated shortfall in Pell funding, making it possible for our students with higher need to continue pursuing their dreams,” said Susan Rundell Singer, president of St. Olaf College in Northfield.

—Star Tribune

Bryan Kohberger admitted to 4 Idaho murders. Why did prosecutors offer a plea deal?

BOISE, Idaho — The murder trial for the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students was approaching swiftly. Opening statements were scheduled for August.

But on Monday, plans quickly changed after prosecutors reached a plea deal for 30-year-old Bryan Kohberger, the suspect who had previously maintained his innocence.

Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to all four counts of first-degree murder — each carrying a life sentence — as well as a felony charge for burglary. In exchange, the prosecution dropped the possibility of the death penalty, which Kohberger’s team had repeatedly tried and failed to toss out. Kohberger also waived his right to any future appeal of his conviction.

The prosecution’s offer for a plea deal shocked much of the public who had closely followed the evidence anticipated against Kohberger — and who had seen the strong call for the death penalty from one of the victims’ families. Prosecutors appeared to have a case backed by eyewitnesses, surveillance footage and DNA tied to Kohberger. They were eager to move to trial.

—The Idaho Statesman

Who flies the American flag? Poll finds major partisan divide ahead of July 4

Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to own and fly an American flag, according to new polling, which comes ahead of Independence Day.

In the latest YouGov/Economist survey, more than two-thirds of GOP respondents, 68%, said they own an American flag at home, while 37% of Democrats said the same. Among respondents overall, 51% said they owned a U.S. flag.

The poll — which sampled 1,648 adults June 27-30 — then asked those who have a flag how often, if ever, they display it.

More than one-third of Republicans, 38%, said they fly the Stars and Stripes every day, while 11% of Democrats said they do the same. Meanwhile, 62% of Republicans and 30% of Democrats said they display the flag everyday, sometimes or on special occasions, such as holidays, including July 4.

—Miami Herald

Pentagon under scrutiny over decision to halt weapons to Ukraine

Lawmakers, former diplomats and experts questioned the Trump administration’s decision to halt the supply of some air-defense weapons to Ukraine, saying the move risks prolonging the war with Russia and leaving the country more vulnerable to stepped-up missile and drone barrages.

They also challenged the administration’s argument that U.S. stockpiles are running low. While those numbers are classified, the weapons Ukraine needs most aren’t urgently required elsewhere and there was no immediate need to deny the country weapons that were already on their way, they said.

“I understand there are threats in the Indo-Pacific area and in the Middle East and we should be replenishing stockpiles but the solution is to produce more, not withhold it from Ukraine,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said in an interview.

The decision to suspend some deliveries of air-defense missiles and artillery shells caught Ukraine and its allies off guard, especially since it came just days after President Donald Trump suggested he’d be willing to send more Patriot missiles to Ukraine. It was cast as part of a broader review aimed at helping the U.S. achieve its goals in Ukraine while maintaining readiness elsewhere.

—Bloomberg News