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Student loans in default to be referred to debt collection, Education Department says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The will begin collection next month on  that are in default, including the garnishing of wages for potentially millions of borrowers, officials said Monday.

Currently, roughly 5.3 million borrowers are in default on their federal student loans.

The  administration ‘s announcement marks an end to a period of leniency that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. No federal student loans have been referred for collection since March 2020, including those in default.

“American taxpayers will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for irresponsible student loan policies,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said.

Beginning May 5, the department will begin involuntary collection through the Treasury Department’s offset program, which withholds payments from the government — including tax refunds, federal salaries and other benefits — from with past-due debts to the government. After a 30-day notice, the department will also begin garnishing wages for borrowers in default.

Already, many borrowers have been bracing for obligations coming due.

In 2020,  paused federal student loan payments and interest accrual as a temporary relief measure for student borrowers. The pause in payments was extended multiple times through 2023, and a final grace period for loan repayments ended in October 2024. That meant tens of millions of Americans had to start making payments again.

Borrowers who don’t make payments for nine months go into default, which is reported on their credit scores and can go to collections.

In addition to the borrowers already in default, around another 4 million are between 91 to 180 days late on their loan payments. Less than 40% of all borrowers are current on their student loans, department officials said.

President Joe oversaw the cancellation of student loans for more than 5 million borrowers. Despite the Supreme Court’s rejection of his signature proposal for broad relief, he waived more than $183.6 billion in student loans through expanded forgiveness programs.

In her statement Monday, McMahon said Biden had gone too far.

“Going forward, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Treasury, will shepherd the student loan program responsibly and according to the , which means helping borrowers return to repayment — both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook,” she said.

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ODU breaks ground on $25M Barry Art Museum expansion

The Barry Museum at in is undergoing a massive $25 million expansion that will double its gallery space.

last week broke ground on the project, which will add a 25,200-square-foot, three-story wing that includes a multiuse event space, a new media video gallery showcasing multimedia artworks, a community gallery dedicated for local artists and community exhibitions, an educational laboratory and expanded art storage. More than 200 gathered outside the museum Wednesday for the groundbreaking ceremony.

The museum, which sits at the intersection of 43rd Street and Boulevard, opened in 2018. It was made possible due to donations from philanthropists Carolyn and Richard Barry that were valued at more than $35 million.

“Never could we have imagined then how our modest vision for an intimate campus art museum would grow into what is now a vibrant cultural and community hub,” said museum co-founder Carolyn Barry in a statement.

-based firm Saunders + Crouse Architects, which designed the existing facility, is designing the new addition. The museum will close on July 31 for and is expected to reopen in early 2027.

“This expansion will further the museum’s ability to serve as a space of connection and inspiration for all who walk through its doors — whether they are students encountering glass art for the first time, or lifelong learners engaging with new ideas,” said ODU Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Lisa Chandler in a statement. “It is a shining example of what’s possible when vision, and partnership come together.”

According to a news release, the impetus for the expansion was a gift from the family of the late Leah and Richard Waitzer of 165 works of 20th-century and contemporary glass sculptures. The Waitzers were prominent philanthropists and art collectors. The added wing will be known as the Waitzer Wing.

Trump renews attack on Federal Reserve Chair Powell

WASHINGTON (AP) — repeated his attacks Monday against the chair of the , demanding that the central bank lower its key interest rate to boost the .

 called Jerome Powell “a major loser” and said that energy and grocery prices are “substantially lower” and “there is virtually No Inflation.” Yet Trump said the economy could slow without rate cuts.

Gas prices have fallen for the past two months, in part because oil costs have dropped on fears of slower growth, but food prices jumped in January and March and overall inflation remains above the ‘s 2% target.

Trump’s comments drove the stock market and the dollar lower as investors in the U.S. and overseas grow increasingly wary about the economic standing of the U.S. On Friday, a top White House adviser said the administration is studying whether it can fire Powell, a move that would undermine the Fed’s independence and likely send shock waves through global financial markets.

The , which fell immediately at the opening bell Monday, tumbled further after Trump’s post, with Dow dropping by more than 1,000 points and the broad S&P 500 stock index falling nearly 3% in mid-day trading. The dollar fell to a three-year low.

The Federal Reserve was established as an independent agency and most economists think central banks that are free of political interference do a better job at keeping inflation in check. Otherwise, it would be harder for the Fed to take unpopular steps to keep prices down, such as raising interest rates.

The interest rate on 10-year Treasuries has been rising as Trump rolled out aggressive tariff policies against trading partners and continues to attack Powell and the Federal Reserve. The interest rate ticked higher again on Monday to 4.37%.

The dollar losing value is unusual when stock prices fall and Treasury yields rise because investors typically buy U.S. government bonds during market turmoil, driving down the yield. Instead, investors appear to be avoiding U.S. markets due to the perception of rising risk.

Trump also criticized Powell for being “too late” to move on interest rates. Powell and other Fed officials have long acknowledged that they waited too long to raise rates when inflation was first ignited in 2021.

But right now, Powell has underscored that the Fed faces a potentially “challenging scenario.” Trump’s could worsen inflation, and the Fed would typically respond to rising prices by keeping its rate elevated, or even raising it. Yet the economy could also slow because of the duties, which the Fed would normally seek to counter with rate cuts.

“Our tool only does one of those two things at the same time,” Powell said last week.

As a result, Powell has underscored that the Fed will stay on the sidelines as it waits to see how the tariff policies play out.

Trump lashed out at Powell on Friday and said he could fire him if he wanted, though it would likely touch off a battle that could go to the Supreme Court. Powell has said the president lacks the authority to fire him and has made clear he won’t step down until his term ends in May 2026.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, when asked Friday whether firing Powell is an option, said that Trump “and his team will continue to study that matter.” Hassett also accused Powell of acting politically.

Trump made a similar claim in his Truth Social post, accusing the Fed chair of cutting rates last year “in order to help Sleepy Joe Biden, later Kamala, get elected.” The Fed reduced its key rate three times in late 2024 as inflation cooled and out of concern that hiring was also slowing, though it later rebounded.

On Sunday, Republican Sen. John Kennedy from Louisiana defended Powell on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and added that, “I don’t think the president, any president, has the right to remove the Federal Reserve chairman.”

“The Federal Reserve ought to be independent,” he said.

Also Sunday, Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve’s Chicago branch, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that undermining the Federal Reserve’s independence could lead to higher inflation, slower economic growth, and less hiring.

And William English, an at the Yale School of Management and a former senior Fed staffer, said Trump’s attacks on the Fed aren’t “going to make the American better off over time.”

“They’ll end up in all likelihood with higher inflation, and that is not something that people want,” he said.

60,000 Americans to lose their rental assistance and risk eviction unless Congress acts

Moments after Daniris Espinal walked into her new apartment in Brooklyn, she prayed. In ensuing nights, she would awaken and touch the walls for reassurance — finding in them a relief that turned to tears over her morning coffee.

Those walls were possible through a federal program that pays rent for some 60,000 families and individuals fleeing homelessness or . Espinal was fleeing both.

But the program, Emergency , is running out of money — and quickly.

Funding is expected to be used up by the end of next year, according to a letter from the and obtained by The Associated Press. That would leave tens of thousands across the country scrambling to pay their rent.

It would be among the largest one-time losses of in the U.S., analysts say, and the ensuing evictions could churn these — after several years of rebuilding their lives — back onto the street or back into abusive relationships.

“To have it stop would completely upend all the progress that they’ve made,” said Sonya Acosta, policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which researches housing assistance.

“And then you multiply that by 59,000 households,” she said.

The program’s future rests with Congress

The program, launched in 2021 by then-President Joe as part of the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan Act, was allocated $5 billion to help pull people out of homelessness, domestic violence and human trafficking.

People from San Francisco to Dallas to Tallahassee, Florida, were enrolled — among them children, seniors and veterans — with the expectation that funding would last until the end of the decade.

But with the ballooning cost of rent, that $5 billion will end far faster.

Last month, sent letters to groups dispersing the money, advising them to “manage your EHV program with the expectation that no additional funding from HUD will be forthcoming.”

The program’s future rests with Congress, which could decide to add money as it crafts the federal budget. But it’s a relatively expensive prospect at a time when Republicans, who control Congress, are dead set on cutting federal spending to afford tax cuts.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, who championed the program four years ago, is pushing for another $8 billion infusion.

But the organizations lobbying Republican and Democratic lawmakers to re-up the funding told the AP they aren’t optimistic. Four GOP lawmakers who oversee the budget negotiations did not respond to AP requests for comment.

“We’ve been told it’s very much going to be an uphill fight,” said Kim Johnson, the public policy manager at the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Recipients face uncertainty after years of stability

Espinal and her two daughters, aged 4 and 19, are living on one of those vouchers in a three-bedroom apartment with an over $3,000 monthly rent — an amount extremely difficult to cover without the voucher.

Four years ago, Espinal fought her way out of a marriage where her husband controlled her decisions, from seeing her family and friends to leaving the apartment to go shopping.

When she spoke up, her husband said she was wrong, or in the wrong or crazy.

Isolated and in the haze of postpartum depression, she didn’t know what to believe. “Every day, little by little, I started to feel not like myself,” she said. “It felt like my mind wasn’t mine.”

When notices arrived in March 2021 seeking about $12,000 in back rent, it was a shock. Espinal had quit her job at her husband’s urging and he had promised to cover family expenses.

Police reports documenting her husband’s bursts of anger were enough for a judge to give her custody of their daughter in 2022, Espinal said.

But her future was precarious: She was alone, owed thousands of dollars in back rent and had no income to pay it or support her newborn and teenage daughters.

Financial aid to prevent evictions during the pandemic kept Espinal afloat, paying her back rent and keeping the family out of shelters. But it had an expiration date.

Around that time, the Emergency Housing Vouchers program was rolled out, targeting people in Espinal’s situation.

A “leading cause of family homelessness is domestic violence” in New York City, said Gina Cappuccitti, director of housing access and stability services at New Destiny Housing, a nonprofit that has connected 700 domestic violence survivors to the voucher program.

Espinal was one of those 700, and moved into her Brooklyn apartment in 2023.

The relief went beyond finding a secure place to live, she said. “I gained my worth, my sense of peace, and I was able to rebuild my identity.”

Now, she said, she’s putting aside money in case of the worst. Because, “that’s my fear, losing control of everything that I’ve worked so hard for.”

Norfolk State breaks ground on $118M science building

Norfolk State University on Friday broke ground on a $118 million building.

The new 131,376-square-foot facility, which is being built on the northwest side of the ‘s main campus, will replace the Roy A. Woods Science Building. Once complete, it will house teaching and research labs, classrooms, a planetarium, a greenhouse and student-centered collaboration spaces.

The new building will house the university’s biology, chemistry and physics departments as well as the Dozoretz National Institute for Mathematics and Applied Sciences. President Javaune Adams-Gaston said in a statement the building will be a place where students can “discover, innovate and be inspired.”

The building is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027. -based is the architect of record, and architectural firm SmithGroup is working with WPA as consultants. -based S.B. Ballard is the builder for the project.

“This project puts scientific research and education on display in an environment that is inclusive, interactive and energizing,” Work Program Architects CEO Mel Price, principal-in-charge of the project, said in a statement. “We’re honored to be part of such a visionary and student-focused effort.”

“This building will showcase science with its transformative architecture, thereby inspiring students to believe and achieve their goals,” said Michael Keeve, the university’s dean of College of Science, Engineering & in a statement. “It will encourage and empower collaborations between faculty, students, and the community to build a brighter future.”

A university spokesperson says a decision has not been made about what will be done with the old science building.

Savills announces new D.C.-region leaders

Amy Kaufman Brendler and Jon Glass have been appointed executive vice presidents and co-leads of commercial brokerage ‘ Washington, , region, which includes the office, the company announced Monday.

Tom Fulcher, who was named mid-Atlantic region lead for Savills in 2021, will be stepping back from his regional role, according to the news release. Fulcher, who joined Savills in 1986, will remain actively involved in brokerage.

Brendler launched her career at Savills, when the firm operated as Studley. She went on to work for 16 years as managing director at the Washington, D.C., office of New York real estate firm Tishman Speyer, where she led leasing strategy across 4 million square feet. She also served as a at CWCapital, a Washington, D.C., real estate and investment management company.

Glass, an economics graduate of Tufts University, joined Savills in 2007 as a financial analyst. He also worked as a senior associate in , for Cresa, a real estate advisory firm with headquarters in Chicago, for four years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“Savills DC has always been one of the firm’s most important and high-performing markets,” David Lipson, CEO of Savills North America, stated in the news release. “We’ve built our success here by nurturing top talent and promoting from within — something that was true of my journey years ago. I’m looking forward to Amy and Jon stepping into these roles and continuing our tradition of excellence, collaboration, and innovation.”

Savills North America is the U.S. subsidiary of Savills, a global commercial real estate brokerage headquartered in London. Savills has more than 40 offices and over 1,000 employees across North America.

Is slight rise in Virginia unemployment ‘calm before storm?’

Virginia’s numbers are on a slight rise, according to data from the state’s Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, also known as Virginia Works.

The state agency reports that Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March rose a tenth of a percentage point to 3.2 % compared to 3.1% in February and 2.8% from a year ago. Household survey data collected in March shows the labor force decreased by 9,752 to 4,586,386 as the number of unemployed residents increased by 5,029 to 145,441.

The largest job loss occurred in professional and business services, which dropped 4,400 from February to 805,300. jobs decreased by 4,100 to 192,000, although state government employment increased by 1,000 to 161,800 and local government employment increased by 700 to 408,900 over the month. Tens of thousands of federal jobs losses have been announced under the current Administration, which has made moves to slash federal spending and federal jobs.

Information and miscellaneous service jobs both declined by 300, with information jobs dropping to 70,200 and miscellaneous services jobs dipping to 204,500. Mining and logging remained unchanged.

“As one might expect, we’re now starting to see the impacts of federal in unemployment data,” said Bob McNab, director of Old Dominion University‘s , said of the newly released data.

McNab also speculated that federal contracts that have either been reduced or terminated outright would land in the “professional and business services” category in terms of providing support to government activities in . He said these employment drops are what has been expected to show up in the data, considering all of the recent news about the federal government workforce reductions.

“We would expect, I think it’s a reasonable expectation, that these losses will continue in coming months, if not accelerate, given what we’ve seen in terms of proposals to reduce the the Health and Human Services budget significantly, to reduce the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s operations significantly,” McNab said. “And so we would expect as those agency cuts filter through, we would expect unemployment from federal government employees to increase, and then among the contractors supporting those employees to increase as well.”

Statewide, the number of employed residents decreased 14,781 to 4,440,945.

Virginia’s nonagricultural employment increased by 5,900 to 4,271,400. This is a 48,300 increase since March 2024. March also saw private sector employment increase by 8,300 to 3,508,700. The largest job gains in March from February were in (up 7,200 to 226,100), education and health services (up 2,200 to 632,400) and trade, transportation and utilities (up 1,600 to 680,400.)

In an April 18 news release, Gov. Glenn Youngkin emphasized the improvements in nonfarm payroll.

“Nonfarm payrolls added nearly 6,000 jobs,” said Youngkin in a statement. “This job growth reflects businesses hiring as Virginians continue to find opportunities. Virginia has jobs, and we’re committed to strengthening the business environment so that everyone can find a path to success right here in the commonwealth.”

While McNab saw the increase in construction jobs as “welcome and a sign of vitality for the Virginia ,” he cautioned equating these increases to the loss of federal jobs.

“I think there’s a note of concern in that we’re gaining jobs that typically pay less than jobs we’re losing on average,” McNab said.

The Virginia labor force participation rate — the proportion of the civilian population ages 16 and older that is employed or actively looking for work — declined 0.2% in March to 65.5.%

Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater said in the governor’s release that “the decline in labor force participation and employment suggests some Virginians may be sitting on the sidelines. Our focus remains on re-engaging jobseekers and connecting them to the training and resources they need to thrive in today’s job market.”

While much of the report was positive, McNab cautioned it was a “calm before the storm.”

“Because the impact of federal government layoffs, contract reductions and the impact of have yet to materialize,” McNab said. “So the soft data is telling us these impacts are coming. We believe the impacts are coming. We’re starting to get the first signs of those impacts, but they have yet to fully come into view.”

Hampton University gets new CFO

Hampton University has tapped Robert Pompey as its new chief financial officer and for business and , University President Darrell K. Williams announced April 16.

As , Pompey will oversee the ‘s financial operations, including budgeting, investments, financial reporting and long-term fiscal strategy. He will also provide oversight over human resources, facilities and public safety.

Before Hampton, Pompey was vice chancellor for business and finance at North Carolina A&T State University for nearly two decades. According to a news release, while Pompey was there, he led initiatives that strengthened the university’s financial position, improved operational efficiencies and supported major capital projects.

“Robert’s track record of delivering transformative change to organizations by leveraging to drive automation, lowering costs, and improving infrastructure will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our commitment to a safe, healthy and thriving campus — one that fosters both living and learning at the highest level,” said Williams in a statement. “His will be instrumental in financing our future, supporting our dedicated faculty and staff, and enhancing the facilities that make the best environment for student success.”

Pompey holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from North Carolina A&T State University and an MBA from Wake Forest University.

“I’m honored to join Hampton University, an institution with a storied legacy of academic excellence and leadership,” said Pompey in a statement. “I look forward to working alongside President Williams, the board of trustees, and the university community to ensure Hampton’s financial strength and continued success.”

In February, Hampton University announced it has obtained Research 2 designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of — making it one of the few to do so. With the new designation, Hampton joins 139 institutions nationwide that meet the requirements of spending at least $5 million in annual research and awarding 20 or more research doctorates yearly.

Founded in 1868, the university today contributes about $530 million annually to the regional and Virginia economies. In the fall of 2024, it had enrolled 3,727 undergraduate students and 498 graduate students.

Google faces off with US government in attempt to break up company in search monopoly case

Google confronts an existential threat Monday as the U.S. government tries to break up the company as punishment for turning its revolutionary search engine into a ruthless .

The drama will unfold in a Washington courtroom during the next three weeks during hearings that will determine how the company should be penalized for operating an illegal monopoly in search. In its opening arguments, federal enforcers also urged the court to impose forward-looking remedies to prevent from using the same strategies to build a monopoly around artificial intelligence.

“This is a moment in time, we’re at an inflection point, will we abandon the search market and surrender them to control of the monopolists or will we let competition prevail and give choice to future generations,” said attorney David Dahlquist.

The U.S. Department of Justice is asking a federal judge to order a radical shake-up that would ban Google from striking the multibillion dollar deals with Apple and other companies that shield its search engine from competition, share its repository of valuable user data with rivals and force a of its popular Chrome browser.

The moment of reckoning comes four-and-half-years after the Justice Department filed a landmark lawsuit alleging Google’s search engine had been abusing its power as the internet’s main gateway to stifle competition and innovation for more than a decade.

“This is a time for the court to tell Google, and all the other monopolists who are out there listening, and they are listening, that there are consequences when you break anti-trust laws,” Dahlquist said.

After the case finally went to trial in 2023, a federal judge last year ruled Google had been making anti-competitive deals to lock in its search engine as the go-to place for digital information on the iPhone, personal computers and other widely used devices, including those running on its own Android software.

That landmark ruling by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sets up a high-stakes drama that will determine the penalties for Google’s misconduct in a search market that it has defined since Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded the company in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998.

Since that austere start, Google has expanded far beyond search to become a powerhouse in email, digital mapping, online video, web browsing, smartphone software and data centers.

Seizing upon its victory in the search case, the Justice Department is now setting out to prove that radical steps must be taken to rein in Google and its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc.

“Google’s illegal conduct has created an economic goliath, one that wreaks havoc over the marketplace to ensure that — no matter what occurs — Google always wins,” the Justice Department argued in documents outlining its proposed penalties. “The American thus are forced to accept the unbridled demands and shifting, ideological preferences of an economic leviathan in return for a search engine the public may enjoy.”

Although the proposed penalties were originally made under President Joe ‘s term, they are still being embraced by the Justice Department under , whose first administration filed the case against Google. Since the change in administrations, the Justice Department has also attempted to cast Google’s immense power as a threat to freedom, too.

“The American dream is about higher values than just cheap goods and ‘free’ online services,” the Justice Department wrote in a March 7 filing with Mehta. “These values include freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom to innovate, and freedom to compete in a market undistorted by the controlling hand of a monopolist.”

Google is arguing the government’s proposed changes are unwarranted under a ruling that its search engine popularity among consumers is one of the main reasons it has become so dominant.

The “unprecedented array of proposed remedies would harm consumers and innovation, as well as future competition in search and search ads in addition to numerous other adjacent markets,” Google lawyers said in a filing leading up to hearings. “They bear little or no relationship to the conduct found anticompetitive, and are contrary to the .”

Google also is sounding alarms about the proposed requirements to share online search data with rivals and the proposed sale of Chrome posing privacy and security risks. “The breadth and depth of the proposed remedies risks doing significant damage to a complex ecosystem. Some of the proposed remedies would imperil browser developers and jeopardize the digital security of millions of consumers.”

The showdown over Google’s fate marks the climax of the biggest antitrust case in the U.S. since the Justice Department sued Microsoft in the late 1990s for leveraging its Windows software for personal computers to crush potential rivals.

The Microsoft battle culminated in a federal judge declaring the company an illegal monopoly and ordering a partial breakup — a remedy that was eventually overturned by an appeals court.

Google intends to file an appeal of Mehta’s ruling from last year that branded its search engine as an illegal monopoly but can’t do so until the remedy hearings are completed. After closing arguments are presented in late May, Mehta intends to make his decision on the remedies before Labor Day.

The search case marked the first in a succession of antitrust cases that have been brought against a litany of tech giants that include Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, which is currently fighting allegations of running an illegal monopoly in social media in another Washington D.C. trial. Other antitrust cases have been brought against both Apple and Amazon, too.

The Justice Department also targeted Google’s digital advertising network in a separate antitrust case that resulted last week in another federal judge’s decision that found the company was abusing its power in that market, too. That ruling means Google will be heading into another remedy hearing that could once again raise the specter of a breakup later this year or early next year.

Spotsylvania industrial portfolio sells for $38M

An entity sharing an address with the Pinkard Group, a Washington, , regional investment and development company, has purchased four light and warehouse buildings in for $38 million, according to .

Located in Four Mile Fork Industrial Park, the county’s largest light industrial park, the Longwood Industrial sits along on 35.67 acres along Industrial Drive and Houser Drive and includes 221,000 square feet of space. The properties are 100% leased to tenants including Flowers Bakery, Midsouth Building Supply, F.H.Furr, Capital Electric, Lennox and Blossman Gas.

An entity named Longwood Owner purchased the portfolio from Longwood Holdings as an investment, according to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. Virgil G. Nelson of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled negotiations on behalf of the seller.