Friday, 20 March 2015

Ways To Get Your Student Loans Forgiven


5 little-known ways to get your student loans forgiven



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If you're like most people, your student loans probably feel a bit like a ball and chain that you've been dragging through your life for years. Every month, you dutifully make a payment knowing that you'll be making that same payment next month, the month after that, and so on. But what if you didn't have to? What if there was a way to get your student loans forgiven?
It turns out that there are many ways to get federal student loans forgiven. In fact, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report in 2013 estimating that more than one-quarter of working Americans are eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, but only a small percentage are actually using it.
Programs like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program are relatively well known. However, there are some lesser-known programs that may also help you pay down your loans.
Here are five ways to say goodbye to your student loans that you might not have even known about. If you're not eligible for any of them, there are still other ways to lessen your student loan burden – such as through student loan consolidation, refinancing your loans, or by picking the right federal orprivate student loan repayment plans.
1. Loan Forgiveness Programs for Health Care Professionals
If you're a doctor or a nurse, there is probably somewhere in the country where you could get a significant amount of your student loans forgiven in exchange for your service. From federal programs like the Health Professionals Loan Repayment Program that helps health care professionals serving in the military repay up to $50,000 in loans per year of service, to the Maine Dental Loan Repayment Program which pays up to $20,000 a year for serving an underserved area, there are many ways to get your loans repaid.
2. Perkins Loan Cancellation & Discharge
Did you get Perkins loans to pay for college? Well, then that's good news for you. Borrowers of Perkins loans can have their entire debt forgiven after five years if they fit certain criteria. The professions that qualify for forgiveness are fairly broad and include anything from an attorney to a librarian, to even a speech pathologist. Check it out to see if your job fits the bill.
3. Teacher Loan Forgiveness Programs
Great news if you're a teacher who is willing to work in underserved areas – there are several student loan forgiveness programs tailored to you. Many states offer awards specifically to draw teachers to underserved areas. Not only can you make a difference, but you can pay off your student loans while doing it.
4. Volunteering
SponsorChange.org is a nonprofit organization that helps graduates pay off student loans in return for volunteer work. Donors give money to projects or nonprofits to help them recruit volunteers and those volunteers get great work experience while also lessening their student loan burden.
5. Total and Permanent Disability Discharge
While no one plans to be disabled, it's good to know that if you have a terrible accident that your student loans could be forgiven. If you have a condition that prevents you from working that has lasted for more than 60 months or can be expected to last for more than 60 months, then you may be able to get your student loans discharged.
The Bottom Line
If you're having trouble paying your student loans, it's important to find a workable solution so you don't default on them. For the most part, student loans aren't dischargeable in bankruptcy, and falling behind on your payments can hurt your credit and may even lead to wage garnishment. (If you want to see how your student loans are affecting your credit, you can get a free credit report summary on Credit.com.)
There are many more people eligible for student loan forgiveness programs who don't take advantage of them. One important thing to remember — if you do get your student loans forgiven, you will then owe taxes on the amount forgiven. The IRS counts forgiven student loans as income; so while you might be able to escape your student loans, you definitely can't escape taxes.

Is Kim Kardashian Going Back to Brunette ?

Is Kim Kardashian Going Back to Brunette for an Upcoming Trip to Armenia?


Is Kim Kardashian Going Back to Brunette for an Upcoming Trip to Armenia?
Photo: Getty Images
Maintaining platinum blonde hair requires a lot of work. Since Kim Kardashian debuted her new look just a few weeks ago in Paris, she’s already documented multiple trips to the salon for touch-ups. But it seems that her breakup with peroxide is on the horizon. (And this isn’t in reference to theInstagram picture Kardashian’s makeup artist recently posted of what looks like the celeb wearing a long brown wig.)
When Ken Baker, chief news correspondent of E! News, asked Kardashian how long she’ll be enjoying her new look, the 34-year-old teased that change—inspired by a big trip—is imminent. “I don’t know, I kind of feel like when I go to Armenia I should have dark hair. I don’t know,” she said on the segment that aired Wednesday night. Co-host Giuliana Rancic said a source confirmed that Kardashian is heading on a trip to her ancestors’ country as soon as next month. So, if all goes according to plan, Kardashian will be back to brunette before too long. (She even took to Instagram to share that “Being blonde is a full time job!” hinting that the reversion to her natural shade is to be expected.) 
While the blonde has taken up a lot of Mrs. West’s time, returning her locks to their normal state won’t be as big of a commitment. According to high fashion and celebrity hair stylist Harry Josh, bouncing back to a natural brunette color shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours. But is it painful? And is it even more damaging? “You can go back from light to dark without damaging your hair anymore than you already have. It’s not going to make your hair health worse, in fact, it might make it healthier,” Josh, who’s worked on A-list locks like the Olsen twins, Christy Turlington, and Gwyneth Paltrow, tells Yahoo Style. “The whole procedure can actually be done without using a serious chemical at all.”
Instead of using products with ammonia and peroxide—like bleaches are laden with—Josh suggests using vegetable rinses that work just as well when refilling hair strands with deeper pigments. Color-correcting shampoos could help maintain the new color, too. And while it’s reassuring to know that Kardashian won’t have to resort to a platinum buzz-cut a la Amber Rose, (the resemblance would be uncanny, though!) it takes some serious deep conditioning and TLC to nurse heavily bleached hair back to optimal health. “Coming back does have its drawbacks because the elasticity of the hair is usually gone and it doesn’t have the natural pigments that it used to as the natural strands of hair did,” Josh admits.
More interesting than Kardashian’s impulsive hair color change is the fact that the celebrity feels the need to return to her natural roots when tracing her Armenian roots. For a woman who’s been so bold and brash about her image—unafraid to flash her rear or slip a nip—it’s surprising. Why, now, does she want to fit in, when it seems like her every day in America is spent trying to stand out? Is it that she has more reverence for the provincial culture? Or is she afraid to draw even more attention than she already will? With a trip to Armenia on the docket or not, nothing lasts forever. And that applies to Kim’s platinum ‘do, too. Like she said, “It’s hard out here for a platinum pimp!” For now, let the hair chronicles continue… 

'Hart is a phenomenon', says impressed Messi



'Hart is a phenomenon', says impressed Messi

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart (L) and Barcelona's Luis Suarez during their Champions League round of 16 match at Camp Nou stadium on March 18, 2015
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Barcelona (AFP) - Lionel Messi was in the unusual position of having to laud one of his opponents for once as Joe Hart produced a sensational performance, albeit to no avail, as Barcelona eliminated Manchester City from the Champions League on Wednesday.
Hart made 10 saves on the night to restrict Barca to a 1-0 victory thanks to Ivan Rakitic's solitary strike on the half-hour mark which sealed a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
Messi teed up the Croatian with a wonderful assist, but his quest to move ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as the all-time leading scorer in Champions League history was frustrated by the stunning form of the English international.
"Hart is a phenomenon," said the four-time World Player of the Year.
"He saved everything today. I think we did everything to deserve a lot more, we had a lot of clear chances but the keeper had a brilliant game.
"We can only congratulate him, but the important thing is we achieved our objective to get through."
Despite being held scoreless, Messi is widely regarded to be in one of the hottest streaks of his fantastic career as Barca have won 17 of their last 18 games to make a potential treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League a realistic target.
"I have gone from being a disaster to being in the best form of my career in a very short time," Messi added ironically, referring to Barca's mini-crisis having lost to Real Sociedad at the start of the year.
"I am just enjoying the moment like the rest of the team for the football we are playing and the results we are getting."
Barca boss Luis Enrique repeated his belief that Messi is the greatest player of all time, and urged the club's fans not to take his habitual brilliance for granted.
"He is the best player in the world without any doubt," said Enrique.
"Of this time and even for me in the history of the game. It is obvious and we are enchanted to have him among us.
"We have the luck to have Lionel Messi and shouldn't take for granted having a player of his class. It is a great pleasure and joy for all Barca fans to have him."
City manager Manuel Pellegrini, meanwhile, said the presence of Messi gave Barca an advantage over the remaining sides in Friday's draw for the last eight.
"Barca always have the added bonus of having Messi," he said when asked to compare the Catalans with competition favourites Bayern Munich, who City faced in the group stages.
The English champions also played Bayern before being eliminated at the last 16 stage last season and Pellegrini said City's tough draws over the past two seasons means their inability to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history cannot be considered a failure.
"I don't think it is a failure. It is disappointing," said the Chilean.
"Two years a row we have qualified for the last 16, which we didn't in the previous years. Maybe if we had faced someone other than Barcelona we would be in the quarter-finals."

Petition Seeks To Stop Kanye West

Petition Seeks To Stop Kanye West’s Glastonbury Fest Set


Petition Seeks To Stop Kanye West’s Glastonbury Fest Set
We all know Kanye West has his share of enemies — both domestically and around the world. However, a British music lover has taken his ire with the rapper to a new level: He’s started an online petition to try and halt West’s headlining set at this year’s prestigious Glastonbury Festival in the UK.
So far, nearly 60,000 people have signed the petition Neil Lonsdale posted on change.org, in which he calling West an “egotistical maniacal disgrace” unworthy of top billing.
“Kanye West is an insult to music fans all over the world,” Lonsdale wrote. “We spend hundreds of pounds to attend Glasto, and by doing so, expect a certain level of entertainment. Kanye has been very outspoken on his views on music….he should listen to his own advice and pass his headline slot on to someone deserving! Let’s prevent this musical injustice now!” 
However biting the words may seem, Lonsdale’s primary argument isnot actually that West is controversial, arrogant, or inconsiderate. The main thrust is that he doesn’t play rock music, and Glastonbury has almost always featured rock headliners.
“Two years ago we had the Rolling Stones playing the Saturday night and this year we get Kanye West?” Lonsdale sputters in the petition. “It’s an outrage. Get a rock band!”
Many who signed Lonsdale’s petition were, however, more upset about the rapper’s cocky (and some say discriminatory) comments than the genre of music he played. “I work at Glastonbury festival and would be utterly ashamed to be associated with such a misogynistic, selfish, racist and arrogant being as Kanye West,” wrote Eleanor Head of Otford, Kent, UK. “Glastonbury Festival is about classic bands, not these sorts of hip-hop artists.”
“I’m signing because I think Kanye West headlining Glasto is outrageous,” wrote Liam Bignold of Bognor, Regis, UK. “The man has no morals and has no talent.”
“He believes his career [is] some sort of public service, saying he is like a soldier,” complained Ben Sutton of Sawtry, UK. “As a soldier, that was my last straw. he is egotistical, stupid, unthoughtful and a disastrous musician. He is the scum at top of the ladder.”
Some who posted on the petition site leaped to West’s defense, calling the festival's decision to book a rap act headliner commendable. “I doubt there are any rock bands that are as progressive, innovative, or even popular as he is right now,” wrote Jordan Howes of the University of Kent.
Added Dan Tennessee Ernie Beames: “[Everyone here says], ‘I don’t like him!’ Lots of other people do. No one is forcing you to see him. There are other bands that will cater to your tastes, and I 100 percent guarantee you there will be tens of thousands of people in that field absolutely loving him. Grow up.”
Festival organizer Michael Eavis was recently photographed smiling and holding up a sign featuring the words, “Yeezy does it!”
West is the first rap artist to headline Glastonbury since Jay-Z played the festival in 2008. The festival runs from June 24 through June 28 and actually does feature a rock act: The Foo Fighters, who play the night before West. 

Vernal Equinox

Friday features a total solar eclipse, a supermoon and the spring equinox
Nasa_lunar_transit.2jpgThe moon is about to block our view of the sun. It’s known as a total solar eclipse and on Fridaymillions of people in Europe, Northern Africa and Asia will have a rare opportunity to see, indirectly of course, the sun’s brilliant corona. If you're gearing up to enjoy it, though, there are some things you should know.
Yes, a total solar eclipse is rare, in that it only appears for a short period of time, for a relatively narrow band of terrestrial viewers once every few years (and in the same place once every few hundred years), but eclipses in general are relatively common.
“Essentially you have eclipses, both solar and lunar… partial or full, twice a year, and that's because the moon is orbiting Earth and we're orbiting the sun,” said Summer Ash, director of outreach for Columbia University's Astronomy Department, in an interview. That twice-yearly alignment of the Earth, moon and sun is not always a perfectly straight line, Ash explains, which is why most of the eclipses are partial.
Sun-Moon-Earth-Orbits

This illustration by Gary Osborn shows the orbit of the moon around the earth and how its tilted orbit impacts when and where it passes between the earth sun.
IMAGE: GARY OSBORN
A solar eclipse is basically the result of a very large body –- the moon — moving between you and the sun. Instead of the sun's bright light, you see only the moon's shadow. It gets so dark that the sky looks like dusk. One might assume that the whole world is cast into darkness, but the reality is that solar eclipses only affect part of the Earth, and not all at the same time.
If you're experiencing a total eclipse of the sun, then you are standing in what's known as the moon's umbra, a sort of sharply cast and extremely dark shadow that sits at the center of the moon’s larger shadow. It gets smaller as it heads toward Earth, which means that only a very small section of those experiencing an eclipse will get the full experience.
Friday's solar eclipse, for example, will be visible between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. GMT throughout Europe, northern Africa, northern Asia and Greenland. North and South America as well as Australia will miss it entirely.
There is a larger and more diffuse shadow around the umbra called, naturally, the penumbra. This shadow grows larger on the way to Earth and anyone who sees or experiences it is in apartial solar eclipse.

Eclipse Animation
There is another factor in tomorrow’s eclipse, though, that makes it noteworthy.

Supermoon

A moon that appears unusually large in the night sky is both a real thing and an illusion. When the moon is low on the horizon, it can appear quite large, but it's really just our eyes and brains playing tricks on us.
However, a supermoon is actually that moment when the moon orbits more closely to the Earth and is full. So the moon looks somewhat bigger because it really is closer.
As it happens, a supermoon does correlate to a total solar eclipse.
Since the moon usually orbits further away from the Earth, even when it passes between the Earth and the sun, it doesn’t entirely block the sun’s light and leaves a bright ring around it. A supermoon, Ash says, puts the moon closer to the Earth, allowing it to completely block the sun so only the sun’s corona, or plasma ring, is visible.
Eclipse Sketch

This sketch by Spanish astronomer Jose Joaquin de Ferrer, depicts the solar atmosphere, or corona, during a June 16, 1806, total solar eclipse. Before astronomical photography, observers depended on sketches of eclipses to study the sun's corona.
IMAGE: NASA/JOSE JOAQUIN DE FERRER
In other words, a supermoon is a requirement for a total solar eclipse where the corona is visible. On the other hand, those in the eclipse path won’t actually see the supermoon, at least not how they normally would.
 
Peo
People seeing the supermoon will be seeing the supermoon in shadow,” said Columbia University's Ash.
Sadly, those not seeing the eclipse won't even see the supermoon because, in the U.S., at least, it will be a new moon, which is not                                                            illuminated by the sun at all.  
Ash does have some good news for U.S. sky watchers feeling a little celestially left out. “I’m getting more excited by the [total eclipse] in 2017 that will go straight across the continental U.S. I'm saving my energy for that."
As for Friday's third celestial element, the vernal equinox, that's a bit of a red herring. The vernal, or spring equinox occurs when the sun crosses the plane of the equator and day and night are of roughly equal length. It is not, however, related to the total solar eclipse or the supermoon. “It doesn’t really have an impact,” said Ash.
Even without the vernal equinox’s help, Friday’s total solar eclipse will be a spectacular event for millions of people watching from the ground and those tracking it online.
"It's always cool when you see something go in front of the sun. It's an amazing reminder that we're living on this rock orbiting this big ball of fire and another rock can occasionally block our view," Ash said.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Thursday, 19 March 2015

Pakistan game a 'World Cup final'

Pakistan game a 'World Cup final', says Clarke

Australia's Aaron Finch (L) and Michael Clarke during their Cricket World Cup Pool A match against Scotland in Hobart on March 14, 2015
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Adelaide (Australia) (AFP) - Australia captain Michael Clarke will approach Friday's World Cup quarter-final against Pakistan like a final, saying he expected a "tough challenge" from Misbah-ul-Haq's men in the make-or-break game.

"I think Pakistan have been under-rated for a long time especially in the shorter form of the game," Clarke told reporters at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Pakistan have lost nine of their last 10 one-dayers to Australia on Australian grounds, including all of the last seven, but Clarke refused to take victory for granted.
"They have got a lot of talent. Their attack is very good and they have got a good mix of youth and experience.
"It will be a tough challenge for us and I believe we have to be at our best to beat them. We'll treat this like a World Cup final.
"If you lose, you will be sitting and watching the rest of the tournament, so we are focused on just making sure we can have success in this game."
Four-time champions Australia beat England in their opening match, had a rained-out no-result against Bangladesh and then lost by one wicket to co-hosts New Zealand after being bowled out for 151.
They then won their three remaining matches to live up to their billing as one of the pre-tournament favourites.
However, Clarke said the results of the league matches were irrelevant and the momumtum gained through the tournament will count for little if the team lost a knock-out game.
"When you walk out on the field tomorrow it's a new day. We all start on zero with the bat and zero with the ball as well," he said.
"What happened beforehand is irrelevant. It does not matter how well you have played earlier or what your plans are afterwards.
"It's about being 100 percent focused and as well prepared as you can be; batting as well as you can, bowling as well as you can, and hopefully our fielding continues to be as good as it has been."
Clarke expects the drop-in pitch at the Adelaide Oval, which sported a tinge of green on the eve of the match, to assist the battery of fast bowlers on both sides.
"I think the pitch has certainly gotten quicker over the years," he said. "The groundsman always does a great job here in Adelaide. It's a beautiful ground, and we are going to see another great wicket tomorrow.
"Fast bowling will play a big part in the match especially if they leave that grass on the wicket like there is now. Both teams have good fast bowlers.
"The batters will have to make sure we play really well. I think you'll definitely see a wonderful game tomorrow, hopefully an entertaining game.
"Either way it's going to be a challenge no matter what the scoreboard says."
Australia will field three left-armers, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner, and either Pat Cummins or Josh Hazlewood, in a strong pace attack.
Pakistan, depleted by the absence of the injured Mohammad Irfan, have Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali and Sohail Khan to share the new ball with either leg-spinner Yasir Shah or seamer Ehsan Adil as the fourth frontline bowler.
Australia and Pakistan have won four games each in their eight World Cup meetings so far. Their last Cup encounter four years ago resulted in a four-wicket win for Pakistan in Colombo.