The Scoop: Fri., April 12, 2024 Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

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Black Maternal Health Week

It’s Black Maternal Health Week, and a new list released yesterday from U.S. News & World Report ranks hospitals with high black maternal health outcomes. WMNF’s Chris Young tells us that only one Florida hospital is ranked among 26 across the country.

DeSantis slams loan forgiveness

The Biden administration is canceling student loans for another 200,000 borrowers as part of a new repayment plan that offers a faster route to forgiveness. The Education Department announced the latest round of cancellations today. More people are becoming eligible for student loan cancellation as they hit 10 years of payments. That’s a new finish line for some loans that’s a decade sooner than what borrowers faced in the past. Casting a shadow over the cancellations are two new lawsuits challenging whether the Biden administration has authority to speed up cancellation. Two groups of Republican-led states, including Florida, filed federal suits this month arguing that only Congress has that power. WMNF’s Josh Holton reports, on Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis defended Florida’s decision to oppose federal student loan forgiveness.

Richard Corcoran gets $200k bonus

Richard Corcoran, the President of New College of Florida, will be receiving a $200,000 bonus after the board of trustees signed off on his performance evaluation yesterday. Corcoran has been president of the college for about a year and was named permanent president by the board of trustees back in October.  The former Republican House Speaker and state education commissioner became president after Governor DeSantis revamped the Board of Trustees at the college with all conservative appointees.

Abu Ghraib victims in court

Twenty years ago this month pictures of abused prisoners with U.S. soldiers smiling guarding them in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison were released to the world. Three survivors of the prison will finally get their day in court against the contractor used by the U.S. military to interrogate them. The trial is scheduled to begin in a federal court in Virginia on Monday. This is the first time that the survivors of Abu Ghraib have been able to bring their claims of torture to a U.S. Jury.

Information from Florida Public Media, News Service of Florida, and Associated Press was used in this report.

The Scoop: Tampa Bay & Florida headlines by WMNF

   

The Scoop producer Spenser Tesch

WMNF anchors Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane

WMNF News Director Seán Kinane

WMNF reporters Chris Young, Lisa Marzilli, Josh Holton, Seán Kinane, Colleen Cole, Kerilyn Kwiatkowski, Jimmy Rosilio

Special thanks to Taylor Lovejoy and Corey Beltran.

Theme music, Fresh06, by Stian via archive.org – CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5
https://archive.org/details/jamendo-001084/02.mp3
The Scoop logo by Robin Milcowitz / Greener Pixels / greenerpixels.com / WMNF

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