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Billionaire pays off student debt of Morehouse College's entire graduating class

Robert F. Smith. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for RFK Ripple of Hope

Commencement speaker and billionaire Robert F. Smith announced Sunday he will donate an estimated $40 million to pay off the student debt for the 400 students graduating at the historically black, all-male Morehouse College, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Why it matters: Student debt in the United States has reached $1.5 trillion. Studies show student debt causes lower incomes and is the No. 1 stressor of millennials.

Smith, a philanthropist, tech investor and founder of Vista Equity Partners, already donated $1.5 million to the college.

  • “This degree you’ve earned is a social contract to devote your talents and energies to honoring those legends on whose shoulders we stand," Smith said to the class of 2019.
  • “Between doubt and destiny is action. Between our community and the American Dream is leadership."

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Barak Ravid, author of from Tel Aviv
9 mins ago - World

Iran's nuclear dilemma: Ramp up now or wait for Biden

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

The world is waiting to see whether Iran will strike back at Israel or the U.S. over the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the architect of Iran's military nuclear program.

Why it matters: Senior Iranian officials have stressed that Iran will take revenge against the perpetrators, but also respond by continuing Fakhrizadeh’s legacy — the nuclear program. The key question is whether Iran will accelerate that work now, or wait to see what President-elect Biden puts on the table.

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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 1 hour ago - Health

U.K. first nation to clear Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for mass rollout

A health care worker during the phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial by Pfizer and BioNTech in Ankara, Turkey, in October. Photo: Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The United Kingdom's government announced Wednesday it's approved Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, which "will be made available across the U.K. from next week."

Why it matters: The U.K. has beaten the U.S. to become the first Western country to give emergency approval for a vaccine that's found to be 95% effective with no serious side effects against a virus that's killed nearly 1.5 million people globally.

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Axios
3 hours ago - World

NYT: Biden won't immediately remove U.S. tariffs on China

President-elect Joe Biden during an event in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Trump's 25% tariffs imposed on China under the phase one trade deal will remain in place at the start of the new administration, President-elect Biden said in an interview with the New York Times published early Wednesday.

Details: "I'm not going to make any immediate moves, and the same applies to the tariffs," Biden said. He plans to conduct a full review of the current U.S. policy on China and speak with key allies in Asia and Europe to "develop a coherent strategy," he said.

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