AT&T Nationwide Outage & Student Loan Refunds

Heyo, reader! We hope you’re having a good Friday morning!

2️⃣ This Morning’s Two Reports:

• 📡 AT&T Network Outage Fixed Nationwide: What Happened?

• 💼 Big Refunds for Some Student Loan Borrowers

📊 Market Snapshot

• DOW: 🔼 1.18% (39,069.11)

• S&P 500: 🔼 2.11% (5,087.03)

• NASDAQ: 🔼 2.96% (16,041.62)

• BTC: 🔼 0.08% (51,343.70)

• ETH:  🔼 0.37% (2,980.57)

_{*Stock numbers as of market close, cryptocurrency as of 7:30pm EST yesterday.}

First Report

📡 AT&T Network Outage Fixed Nationwide: What Happened?

AT&T customers experienced a significant service disruption across the United States, starting early Thursday morning. This massive outage prevented users from making calls, sending texts, or accessing the internet, affecting numerous customers nationwide. Reports of the outage began to emerge around 4 am ET, with over 74,000 AT&T customers reporting issues on DownDetector at the peak of the disruption. The company acknowledged the widespread service interruption and recommended the use of Wi-Fi calling as a workaround. By a little after 3 pm ET, AT&T announced that service had been fully restored to all impacted customers, apologizing for the inconvenience. They also stated they are taking measures to prevent such incidents in the future. This outage drew attention from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which confirmed it is investigating the matter. Despite this, other major carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile experienced minimal impact, reporting that their networks were operating normally. 📱🔎

TL;DR ⏳: AT&T has restored service after a day-long nationwide outage, with an FCC investigation underway.

Second Report

💼 Big Refunds for Some Student Loan Borrowers

The Biden administration is making waves in student loan relief, forgiving debts for millions and now issuing refunds to some borrowers. Individuals like Marlon Fox, who saw his $119,500 student debt wiped clean, are also receiving refunds for overpayments. This initiative targets those who've been repaying their federal student loans for a decade or more, with the Education Department identifying eligible borrowers for forgiveness. So far, 3.9 million borrowers have seen $138 billion in debt erased, and up to 300,000 might get refunds. This effort aims to rectify years of confusing rules and mismanagement by loan servicers, ensuring those entitled to forgiveness after 20 or 25 years under income-driven repayment plans receive their due. 🎓💰

TL;DR ⏳: Millions are seeing student loans forgiven, and some also get hefty refunds. The Education Dept. is correcting overpayments for those who qualified for loan forgiveness but kept paying.

📜 The Corner

Alright, so we have some good and bad news. 🫣

Good news: we have a winner in the Coca-Cola vs Pepsi contest.

Bad news: it was a really close vote. 😅 

The results:

Coca-Cola wins with 56% of the vote.

And we were going to ban the loser from our offices, however, after a tidal wave of outrage and a quick legal reality check, we've opted for a more inclusive approach.

Turns out, banishing a soda might not exactly be within legal bounds—who knew? 🤷‍♂️ 

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are both allowed in our offices. 🤝 

If you like our office drama and want to stay up-to-date with the happenings, then definitely drop us a follow on our new X (Twitter) account here →.

⚡ Quick Hits

1. 🔒 Ex-FBI informant facing charges for lying about the Bidens taken into custody again as legal battle ensues

2. ⚖️ Adam Montgomery convicted of the murder of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony

3. 🕊️ Fifth grader Audrii Cunningham mourned, family friend charged with her murder

4. 📉 Judge denies Trump's bid to postpone $355 million civil fraud verdict

5. 🚧 Biden mulls over new executive action to tighten asylum rules at the border, insiders reveal

6. 🎬 'Rust' armorer's manslaughter trial commences in Alec Baldwin shooting case

7. ⚓ Four indicted for transporting suspected Iranian-made arms, operation costs two SEALs their lives

8. 😏 Putin commends Biden's 'crazy SOB' remark with a hint of irony

9. 💻 Leaked files expose Chinese hacking operation targeting dissidents

10. 🇫🇷 Israel's war cabinet decides to send negotiators to Paris for hostage discussion

Games

Fun Fact: Did you know? The Statue of Liberty goes by a fancier title than we all call her? Her full name is "Liberty Enlightening the World." Sounds like she could be the star of her own superhero movie, right? With a torch in one hand and a tablet in the other, she's been lighting up New York Harbor since 1886, serving major enlightenment vibes. 🗽🏗️