Month: December 2022

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act o at a White House ceremony, enshrining federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages into federal law for the first time. Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff also attended the signing, along with Democratic and Republican lawmakers and more than 5,000 guests in a ceremony held on the White House South Lawn.

Mr. Biden said: “Today is a good day, a day America takes a vital step toward equality, toward liberty and justice, not just for some, but for everyone … Today, I sign the ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ into law. Deciding whether to marry, who to marry, is one of the most profound decisions a person can make. And as I’ve said before and some of you might remember, on a certain TV show 10 years ago, I got in trouble. Marriage, I mean this with all of my heart, marriage is a simple proposition: Who do you love and will you be loyal to that person you love? It’s not more complicated than that.”

The Respect for Marriage Act overturns the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited the federal government from recognizing marriages that were not between a man and a woman. It also requires states to recognize any valid marriage performed in other states, regardless of sex. The law comes after Democratic leaders expressed concern that the Supreme Court could follow its June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade with a ruling that rescinds the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Singer and longtime advocate for LGBTQ rights, Cyndi Lauper, sang “True Colors,” and Sam Smith performed “Stay With Me.” Lauper told reporters in the White House briefing room ahead of the event: “Americans can now love who they love.”

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The Supreme Court said on Monday it will hear a second challenge to President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, setting oral arguments for late February or early March in a dispute brought by two borrowers with outstanding student loans.  In its order announcing the decision to hear the Texas case, the Supreme Court said the parties will argue two questions:  Whether borrowers Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor have legal standing to challenge the lawfulness of the relief plan, and whether the plan is “statutorily authorized and was adopted in a procedurally proper manner.”

Mr. Biden announced in August he planned to cancel up to $10,000 in federal student debt for Americans earning less than $125,000 per year, and an additional $10,000 for recipients of Pell Grants, which are awarded to students with the greatest financial need. More than 26 million people have already applied for forgiveness, and 16 million applications have been approved, according to the Department of Education.

In both legal fights before the Supreme Court, lower courts blocked implementation of the student loan forgiveness program nationwide; the relief program remains on hold pending oral arguments in the two cases. The president last month extended his pause on federal student loan payment until June 30, giving the high court time to consider the disputes.

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The parents of 22-year-old Ken DeLand Jr., an American college student studying abroad in France, have reported him missing. The family have set up a website in an effort to share information about their son, who they say has been missing since last month. The parents say they last heard from their son, known as Kenny, on Nov. 27 when he was boarding a train to Valence in southeast France, and that they “fear the worst and want him to be located.” DeLand Jr. is roughly 6 ft tall and weighs 190 lbs. He was last seen wearing a red jacket, scarf, grey beanie, blue jeans/slacks, black backpack, and sneakers, according to the website set up by the family.

DeLand Jr. was studying at the University Grenoble Alpes in France through a study abroad program.  Kenny left his host family’s residence and was headed to Valence on Sunday, Nov. 27,  which is a two-hour train ride from Grenoble, according to the family’s website. His family says they last spoke to him via messaging service WhatsApp and have not heard from him since. A surveillance camera captured DeLand Jr. entering a sports store in Montelimar in southeast France on Dec. 3, where he made a purchase for $8.40.  DeLand Jr.’s Facebook page has been inactive since Nov. 19, eight days before his family says they last heard from him.  His study program was supposed to end on Dec. 17 and his visa expires early next year.

Grenoble’s public prosecutor said in a statement that it had opened an investigation following a report on Nov. 29 “by students, of the disturbing disappearance of a 21-year-old American student who had come to Grenoble to study French … The young man reportedly told several people that he had arrived in France insufficiently prepared and that he had difficulty making friends. He appears to have left Grenoble voluntarily … He also mentioned that he wanted to go to Marseille before returning to the United States.”

A university spokesperson said that university officials were in “close contact” with the study abroad agency, American Institute for Foreign Study, which is working with French law enforcement on the search for DeLand Jr., adding that “our campus community remains hopeful that Kenneth will be found safe and return home.” 

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Four Maine Maritime Academy students were killed and three others were injured when their SUV crashed into a tree and burst into flames early Saturday morning in Castine. The driver and two other passengers, also students from the Maritime Academy, survived the fiery crash which authorities say occurred just one day after classes ended for the semester. According to the state medical examiner’s office, the four deceased students have been identified as Brian Kenealy, 20, of York, Maine; Chase Fossett, 21, of Gardiner, Maine; Luke Simpson, 22, of Rockport, Mass. and Riley Ignacio-Cameron, 20, of Aquinnah, Mass.

Police said the 2013 Range Rover was traveling south on Route 166, also known as Shore Road, when it veered off the road and struck a tree. The driver and two passengers were brought to the hospital to be treated for non life-threatening injuries, state police spokesperson Shannon Moss said. The two survivors who were passengers were identified as Noelle Tavares, of North Falmouth, Massachusetts, and Dominick Gecyoa, 20, of Middletown, Massachusetts. Officials said Joshua Goncalves-Radding, 20, of North Babylon, New York, was driving the SUV at the time of the accident. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash.

Jerry Paul, the President of the Maine Maritime Academy, said in a statement: “Our community is grieving for these young lives and for their families. While we have lost beloved members of our student body, tonight there are four families who have lost their children. I ask for continued respect and privacy of our Maine Maritime family. Please hold these young people close to your hearts and in your prayers.”. Paul added that grief counselors will be available to students, faculty and staff members.

Maine Maritime Academy is a public, four-year college of about 950 students with areas of study including engineering, management, science, and transportation.

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After traveling 1.4 million miles through space, including orbiting the moon and collecting data, NASA’s Artemis 1 capsule returned to Earth on Sunday. The 25 1/2-day Artemis I mission slammed into the upper atmosphere at more than 24,000 mph and endured a 5,000-degree re-entry inferno before descending under three huge parachutes and landing gently in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico’s Baja California at 12:40 p.m., NASA reported. The Orion capsule originally was slated to land near San Diego, but NASA officials said Thursday that rain, wind and large waves had moved into that area. The mission’s ending was on the 50th anniversary of the last Apollo moon landing in 1972.

NASA tweeted: “Splashdown. After traveling 1.4 million miles through space, orbiting the Moon, and collecting data that will prepare us to send astronauts on future #Artemis missions, the @NASA_Orion spacecraft is home.”  Mission Control commentator Rob Navias announced: “Splashdown! From Tranquility Base to Taurus-Littrow to the tranquil waters of the Pacific, the latest chapter of NASA’s journey to the moon comes to a close. Orion back on Earth.”  NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said: “I’m overwhelmed. This is an extraordinary day. It’s historic, because we are now going back into deep space with a new generation” 

The 3,000-ton Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft launched at 1:47 a.m. Nov. 16 from pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.  NASA said that Orion stayed in space longer than any spacecraft designed for astronauts has done without docking to a space station, and surpassed the record for distance traveled by a spacecraft designed to carry humans, previously set during Apollo 13.  Orion captured pictures of Earth and images of the lunar surface and a “Earth rise,” and it performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles of the lunar surface.

Orion will return to shore in the United States and return by truck to Kennedy, where the capsule and its heat shield will undergo testing and analysis over several months. The capsule is designed to hold astronauts. NASA is likely planning to send humans to the moon in 2025, and then Mars. The Artemis II mission with four people is scheduled to orbit the moon in 2024.

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