Will they raise the (debt) roof?

Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY
·6 min read
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The standoff over the U.S. debt limit continues. A student loan program is getting a major overhaul. And the world's first malaria vaccine was approved.

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A short-term extension, perhaps?

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered Democrats on Wednesday the opportunity for a short-term extension of the debt limit to avoid the threat of a looming default, but it wasn’t clear whether Democrats would accept. McConnell of Kentucky said Republicans would allow a short-term extension to December so long as Democrats put a precise dollar figure on the amount of the increase, in contrast to an unspecified suspension. The country is projected to exhaust its credit limit by Oct. 18. McConnell said the extension would allow enough time for Democrats to approve longer-term legislation through a budget process called reconciliation, a strategy Democrats have rejected so far. Will they work out a deal? Follow along with the latest updates here.

The U.S. debt ceiling deadline is close and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are struggling to make a deal.
The U.S. debt ceiling deadline is close and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are struggling to make a deal.

Half a million to benefit from student loan overhaul

A messy and much-maligned student loan program is getting a big facelift. The Education Department on Wednesday announced a sweeping overhaul to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that will immediately erase the debt of 22,000 borrowers to the tune of $1.7 billion. The government estimated another 27,000 borrowers could see about $2.8 billion in debts forgiven if they prove they were employed in an eligible job. The redesign of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is President Joe Biden's latest effort to address the nation's growing $1.7 trillion in student loan debt and ease the burden of struggling borrowers. With the changes from the public service program, the federal government will have forgiven roughly $11.5 billion in student loan debt. Do you qualify? Here's how to find out.

New graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
New graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

What everyone's talking about

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Kids account for a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases

Children make up 22% of the U.S. population but account for 27% of coronavirus cases nationwide, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. And the number of children receiving their first COVID-19 vaccines has been trending downward for almost two months, the academy said. Kids make up less than 1% of COVID-19 deaths, but there isn’t much data about the long-term effects of the coronavirus on children. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19, and less than half of eligible children have been fully inoculated.

💉 What about vaccines for kids? Children ages 5 to 11 – making up 14.5% of the U.S. population – are not yet approved to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but recent action by the Food and Drug Administration suggests that may change soon. If both the FDA and a second federal advisory committee authorize vaccines for young children, inoculations could begin before Halloween.

First federal lawsuit filed in California oil spill

A disc jockey filed the first federal lawsuit against the operator of a pipeline that leaked up to 144,000 gallons of oil into waters off Southern California. Amplify Energy – and the Coast Guard – face intense scrutiny for delayed responses that might have aggravated the disaster. DJ Peter Moses Gutierrez claims his company performs events frequently on the beachfront and will lose a "substantial amount of his DJ business" as a result of the spill and resulting closure of the beach. "With this lawsuit, we hope to help them clean up their beaches and force the fossil fuel industry to clean up its act," attorney Greg Coleman said. The company didn't shut down the pipeline for more than three hours after being alerted, officials said. Authorities are still working to determine the cause of the breach, but early reports suggest the failure may have been “caused by an anchor that hooked the pipeline, causing a partial tear."

A worker in a protective suit cleans an inlet to the Talbert Marsh after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Oct. 5.
A worker in a protective suit cleans an inlet to the Talbert Marsh after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Oct. 5.

Real quick

World's first malaria vaccine approved by WHO

The World Health Organization recommended Wednesday that the world's first malaria vaccine should be given to children across Africa, in a move officials hope will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. The malaria vaccine known as Mosquirix was developed by GlaxoSmithKline in 1987. While it's the first to be authorized, it is only about 30% effective, requires up to four doses, and protection fades after just months. Still, given the extremely high burden of malaria in Africa – where the majority of the world's more than 200 million cases a year and 400,000 deaths occur – scientists say the vaccine could still have a major impact.

In this file photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, health officials prepare to vaccine residents of the Malawi village of Tomali, where young children become test subjects for the world's first vaccine against malaria.
In this file photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019, health officials prepare to vaccine residents of the Malawi village of Tomali, where young children become test subjects for the world's first vaccine against malaria.

A break from the news

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Debt ceiling, student loans, COVID-19 in kids, malaria vaccine. It's Wednesday's news.