Senate votes to repeal Biden student loan forgiveness, new Spelling Bee champ: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Senate votes to repeal Biden student loan forgiveness.

The Senate has voted to repeal President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. Plus, USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Tricia Nadolny explains how an online program at an HBCU fell short, new details emerge about Jeffrey Epstein's death, USA TODAY Money & Personal Finance Reporter Medora Lee talks about why new Alzheimer's drugs are out of reach for many, and there's a new Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Friday, the 2nd of June 2023. Today, student loan forgiveness gets another setback. Plus, how an online degree program fell short of its promises, and we look at some of the barriers to access for new Alzheimer's drugs.

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The Senate approved a bill yesterday that would repeal President Joe Biden's student loan debt forgiveness plan. Senators for the most part voted along party lines, though Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema both joined Republicans in supporting the resolution. The White House says it'll veto the bill and it doesn't appear Congress has the votes to override that veto. The move comes as the plan to erase some borrowers' debt was already stalled because of two cases before the Supreme Court. Yesterday's vote is the latest in a series of moves to try and undo President Biden's actions on student loans. The debt ceiling deal that passed the House this week includes a provision ending the pause on student loan payments first put in place by former President Donald Trump at the start of the pandemic.

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A revered Historically Black College and a for-profit education company launched an online degree program, but some students say it didn't live up to its billing. I spoke with USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Tricia Nadolny to learn more. Tricia, thanks for hopping on 5 Things.

Tricia Nadolny:

Sure. Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

What's the gist of what happened here, Tricia?

Tricia Nadolny:

So in 2021, Morehouse College in Atlanta launched Morehouse Online, which is an online degree completion program geared specifically at Black men who have started college but never finished their degrees. To do this, to launch Morehouse Online, the school partnered with 2U, which is an education tech company that helps colleges build online programs. These companies basically take on the upfront cost and work of building an online program, which can be quite expensive, in exchange for often keeping a portion of the revenue.

The mission of this program resonated and the school, at the time, said that they received more than 5,000 inquiries in three days after the announcement. And based on that, they enrolled beyond their initial projections. Our reporting found that Morehouse and 2U have been unable to meet that demand in a number of ways. The school had planned to launch up to six degrees in two years, and were just about at that mark, but they still have just one. They actually at one point advertised a computer science major and students signed up for it, but it never launched. And the one major that the school does have, which is business administration, the school has yet to even develop all of the classes needed for students to graduate from that program. And it's been filling in the gaps by sending students to other schools.

Taylor Wilson:

And Tricia, can you just tell me a bit about some of the students you spoke with and their specific experiences here?

Tricia Nadolny:

Some of the students I spoke to said that they never thought that they would have the opportunity to become a Morehouse Man and join this elite brotherhood at this stage in their lives. I should mention that Morehouse is the nation's only all-male HBCU. Others had started at Morehouse in their teens but didn't finish. And so this online program really is a chance for them to fulfill this dream of graduating from Morehouse.

And I think for those students in particular, the letdown has been very tough. I spoke to a student from Detroit, his name's Paul Carr, who dropped out of Morehouse a few credits shy of his graduation in 1997 when his then girlfriend, his now wife, became pregnant. And he's just always regretted not finishing. And he was thrilled when this opportunity came along. It seemed like a perfect chance for him. But because of all of the frustrations that he's had with Morehouse Online, he's now, again, considering leaving the school. And it's really a heartbreaking decision that he's facing right now given how much he supports the mission of HBCUs and really wants to finally graduate from Morehouse.

Taylor Wilson:

Tricia, you mentioned these online program managers, 2U is an example of one. What's the big deal here? What do critics say about these so-called online program managers?

Tricia Nadolny:

There's a number of concerns that have been raised about online program managers. Critics say that this revenue-sharing model, where the online program manager and the school both keep a portion of the revenue, can incentivize both partners to push for higher enrollment than a university can serve. Online program managers also have less federal oversight than colleges, which education advocates say leaves them free to prioritize profits over student success. And finally, I'd say there's also concerns about transparency. We talked to several Morehouse Online students who said they often didn't know when they were dealing with 2U employees. And some learned from us that advisors that they thought worked for Morehouse actually worked for 2U.

I think it's important to note that not everyone has had a bad experience in this program. Some people I spoke to said that it really has met all of their expectations, and even those who spoke with me about their frustrations really said that they did so because they support Morehouse and they believe in the mission of this program and they really just want to see improvements made for future students.

Taylor Wilson:

And how did Morehouse and 2U respond to some of these criticisms?

Tricia Nadolny:

Officials at Morehouse and 2U both have described Morehouse Online as a really innovative and affordable way for Black men to finish their degrees. And they, in interviews with us, stood behind the program, but they also acknowledge that there have been problems. Morehouse's provost told us that the process of translating these classes into an online venue that would be appropriate for these adult learners who are returning to finish their degrees has basically taken more time than expected. He said that the school apologized to the students who had planned to enroll in the computer science major and also offered them refunds. And recently the school has announced a number of improvements that they're making, including hiring more advisors.

Taylor Wilson:

USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Tricia Nadolny. Thanks so much, Tricia. I appreciate it.

Tricia Nadolny:

Sure. Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

New details have been revealed about Jeffrey Epstein's death and the aftermath in records obtained by the Associated Press. Two weeks before ending his life, Epstein sat in the corner of his Manhattan jail cell with his hands over his ears trying to muffle out the sound of a toilet that wouldn't stop running. Officials said that in his final days, Epstein was generally agitated and unable to sleep. He called himself a coward and complained that he was struggling to adapt to life behind bars following his July 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

Epstein was already under psychological observation at the time for a suicide attempt just days earlier. He insisted he was not suicidal, but on August 10th, 2019, he was dead. The 4,000 pages of documents obtained by the AP as part of the Freedom of Information Act may help dispel some conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein's suicide. The records underscore how fundamental failings at the Bureau of Prisons, including severe staffing shortages, contributed to Epstein's death.

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Alzheimer's disease can be devastating. And despite medical breakthroughs in recent years, new drugs are still out of reach for many. USA TODAY Money and Personal Finance Reporter Medora Lee explains. Welcome back to 5 Things, Medora.

Medora Lee:

Hi. Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So what is this Aduhelm drug for Alzheimer's and what's the controversy behind it?

Medora Lee:

So there was a lot of controversy a couple of years ago because the FDA had approved it, even though their advisory panel recommended not approving the drug. Because the FDA did so anyway, Medicare said that they would cover it, but this drug was so expensive, $56,000 a year originally, that it boosted Medicare Part B premiums by a whopping 14.5% in 2022. The price was cut later in half and Medicare decided ultimately not to give it full coverage. They decide to severely restrict coverage just to patients who are enrolled in a qualifying clinical trial. And that lowered Medicare payments the following year. But there was a lot of discussion about whether this drug was really helpful and safe enough. So that was why Medicare did that.

Taylor Wilson:

Medora, are there other drugs that show similar promise for how they treat Alzheimer's?

Medora Lee:

There are two drugs that look like they could be promising. One has accelerated approval and looks like it could get full approval by July 6. That's Leqembi. And that one, people are really excited about it. I mean, it still has some issues with maybe some side effects and things like that, but it looks like it could win full FDA approval. And the issue now is that we don't know if people will have access to it because Medicare put such stringent restrictions on these types of drugs. All the baby boomers are aging and our population is aging quickly. So a lot of people are really interested in trying these early-stage Alzheimer's drugs.

So we're not really sure what's going to happen. Medicare said that the day that it gets full FDA approval, it will give full coverage to the drug. However, they are still standing by the fact that anyone who is taking this drug will have to be registered because they want to continue collecting data. And that is where the sticking point is. Where do we have registries? No one has really started developing these registries. July 6 is very soon. So even if Medicare says that people can have access to these drugs, probably that will keep a lot of people away from it because the clinicians just won't even be prepared yet.

Taylor Wilson:

Medora, what is the solution here? Is it just a matter of Medicare changing its policies going forward, especially around these three drugs principally?

Medora Lee:

They think that once Medicare gives full coverage, a lot of people will be able to get access to this. A lot of insurance companies that aren't private don't even want to cover it if Medicare doesn't. So that's a really big sticking point, is how the Alzheimer's Association explained it to me. And the other thing is that these drugs are extremely expensive. Even with them cutting the price in half, and Leqembi is $26,500 annually, it's still expensive for Medicare because they have so many people on Medicare, and so many older people who might want this drug. So that could push up Medicare B premiums for people as well. And it's no secret that Medicare's running into a funding issue, too, so they're not technically supposed to care about costs, but I'm sure that this is in some people's minds.

Taylor Wilson:

Medora Lee, thanks so much.

Medora Lee:

Thanks for having me.

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Taylor Wilson:

There's a new Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

Dev Shah:

Psammophile. Psammophile.

Spelling Bee Official:

Psammophile.

Dev Shah:

P-S-A-M-M-O-P-H-I-L-E. Psammophile.

Spelling Bee Official:

That is correct.

Taylor Wilson:

Dev Shah, an eighth grader from Largo, Florida, correctly spelled the word originally from Greek, referring to an organism that thrives in sandy conditions. With time running out on last night's broadcast window, judges could have called for a spell-off, a 90-second window when competitors spell as many words as they can. But instead, they allowed Shah and the runner up, Charlotte Walsh, to duke it out in one final spelling volley. Dev Shah said he made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point, skipping out on other extracurricular activities and even school field trips. He said, "I knew I had to study. It paid off."

And before we go, today is National Donut Day. Head to Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' or your favorite local shop for deals and discounts today.

And thanks for listening to 5 Things. We're produced by Shannon Rae Green and our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Special thanks to Cherie Saunders and Alexis Gustin. I'm Taylor Wilson back tomorrow with another episode of 5 Things.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate repeals student loan debt plan, Spelling Bee champ: 5 Things podcast