STUDENT LOAN

The Obama adminstration's new program gives students like Andy MacCracken some breathing room.

U.S. student loans outstanding recently broke a trillion dollars and is impeding economic activity of recent college grads.

The measure, if it becomes law, caps student loan interest rates at 8.25 percent for undergraduates and 9.5 percent for graduates.

Senators agree to cut interest rates on loans for undergraduates this fall, but student loans could be linked to market rates in future.

Congress will allow interest rates on student loans to double on Monday to 6.8 percent for more than 7 million students.

The president called on Congress to stop federal student loan interest rates from doubling, setting the stage for a showdown with the GOP.

Congress is not acting to fix the trillion-dollar student loan debt problem. A private startup has an idea, which hasn't convinced everybody.

As national elections swing into high gear this fall, one thing is for sure: Politicians from both political parties will be making promises. These promises will be grand in scope, short on specifics, and, unfortunately, likely to produce unintended consequences.

"I want you to know I believe it. With all my heart, I believe it," Clinton said, telling the audience that President Obama is the person who will improve the lives of middle class families.

Michelle Obama struck a cord at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) Tuesday night in Charlotte. The First Lady, or "FLOTUS," stood at the podium and shared a heartwarming story about her family, her husband's past, their shared values, and their dream to build a better country based on those values. The reaction from her convention speech helped DNC explode past the RNC in social spheres like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

A Congressional Budget Office analysis released Wednesday warns the U.S. could be heading for a recession in 2013 if Congress enacts scheduled spending cuts and tax increases.

Even at a time when paying for college has become a lifetime endeavor for the average Americans, having a college degree is still a worthwhile investment. Nearly four out of every five jobs destroyed by the recession were held by workers with a high school diploma or less.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney selected Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his vice presidential running mate Saturday, and while the fresh-faced number-two man can be a divisive figure, he has some positions that conservative Americans, as well as some moderates and liberals, may love.

The recession and housing crash have triggered a sharp decline in the share of American households who own their own home. Homeownership, which is at its lowest point in 15 years, is bound to fall even further, driven by tight credit, lackluster economic growth and more foreclosures.

Student-loan debt levels are rapidly rising and recently topped $1 trillion in the U.S.. And communities in Kansas and New York are using the bait of paying off this debt to lure educated residents who they hope will help improve the economic, cultural, and social conditions of their respective regions.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law a bill offering relief to millions of American college students. The measure will keep the interest rate for subsidized federal loans at 3.4 percent. The law will benefit about 7.4 million college students.

Many high school graduates want to forego university altogether.

Armando Montano had been interning with the Associated Press in Mexico City for less than a month before he was found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

If lawmakers cannot forge an agreement, they will need to fund projects on the nation's roads and bridges with a stopgap measure for the tenth straight time.

The Commonwealth Fund, a private health care reform advocacy group, surveyed more than 1,800 young adults between ages 19 to 29 and estimated that about 13.7 million young adults across the US joined or stayed on their parents' plans in 2011.

Ten private U.S. colleges and state university systems announced plans on Tuesday to be more upfront about the costs of higher education, including detailing the monthly loan payments students would face after graduation.