Nation and world news at a glance

Small business group files lawsuit over Biden’s student loan plan

A small business advocacy group has filed a new lawsuit to block the Biden administration’s efforts to forgive the student loan debt of tens of millions of Americans. The lawsuit, filed Monday by the Job Creators Network Foundation, argues that the Biden administration violated federal procedures by failing to solicit public input on the program. It also argues that the program is arbitrary, benefiting some borrowers but not others. It’s one of a handful of lawsuits filed by conservative business groups, lawyers and Republican lawmakers in recent weeks as the Biden administration tries to move forward with its plan to write off billions in debt ahead of November’s midterm elections .

Los Angeles Council President resigns after racist remarks

The president of the Los Angeles City Council resigned from her powerful leadership role Monday after a leaked audio recording revealed racist and disparaging comments she made about the black son of a white council colleague and about indigenous immigrants in the city’s Koreatown neighborhood. “I take responsibility for what I said, and there are no excuses for those comments,” Nury Martinez, the board president, said in a statement Monday announcing that she would step down from the leadership role but not the board. “As a mother, I know better and I’m sorry. I’m really embarrassed.”

The GOP is pushing to weaken Democrats’ grip on the Texas border

Texas Democrats are embarking on another October blitz in their quest to flip America’s big red state. But Republicans are making an aggressive move to win races on the heavily Hispanic southern border of Texas in the November midterms. The rare sight of close contests on the Texas border has widened fissures in a key Democratic stronghold after former President Donald Trump’s big gains with Hispanic voters in the 2020 election. Republican Rep. Maya Flores’ victory in a special election this year reflected the changing terrain. He is running against the democratic deputy Vicente González.

28 dead as Julia drenches Central America with rain

Former Hurricane Julia has dissipated, but is flooding Guatemala and El Salvador with rain after resurging in the Pacific. Julia is believed to have directly or indirectly caused the deaths of 28 people. Julia hit Nicaragua’s central Caribbean coast as a hurricane on Sunday and survived a passage through Nicaragua’s mountainous terrain, becoming a tropical storm before dissipating on Monday. Its winds had dropped to 35 miles per hour by Monday morning, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Fourteen people died in Guatemala, four in Honduras, nine in El Salvador and one in Nicaragua.

North Korea says it is building underwater nuclear weapons silos

North Korea on Monday broke its silence on a recent flurry of missile tests, as its state media reported that the country’s leader Kim Jong Un had overseen test launches of short-range ballistic missiles capable of nuclear, including one fired from an underwater silo. The report was the first time North Korea claimed it was building such silos, suggesting it is developing technology that would make its missiles harder to detect and intercept. North Korean media also released photos purporting to show a missile rising from the waters of a reservoir. The North has launched 12 ballistic missiles in seven weapons tests in the past two weeks.

Airbus and Air France go on trial over the 2009 Rio-Paris crash

Airbus and Air France went on trial Monday for their roles in the 2009 crash of a Rio de Janeiro-Paris flight that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 people on board, a hard-won move for to the families of the victims to bring the two aviation giants to court. Prosecutors have charged Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, and Air France, the main French airline, with involuntary manslaughter. But the legal pursuit has been marked by years of repeated denials by the companies that they were criminally responsible. Company representatives expressed their condolences for the crash, which investigators said occurred after the pilots responded inappropriately to airspeed sensors.

Protests in Iran over woman’s death reach key oil industry

Workers at refineries crucial to Iran’s oil and natural gas production have protested the death of a 22-year-old woman. That’s according to online videos posted Monday. The demonstrations in Abadan and Asaluyeh mark the first time unrest surrounding Mahsa Amini’s death has threatened Iran’s oil and gas industry. While it remains unclear whether other workers will follow, the protests come as demonstrations continue in cities, towns and villages across Iran. Early Monday, the sound of apparent gunfire and explosions echoed through the streets of a city in western Iran. Activists say security forces killed a man in a nearby village.

By cable sources