College tuition has fallen significantly at many schools

BOSTON (AP) — New research indicates students are paying significantly less to attend public universities than they were a decade ago. And tuition increases at private colleges have finally slowed after years of hefty rises. Figures compiled by the nonprofit College Board indicate the average student attending an in-state public university this year faces a tuition bill of $11,610, down 4% from a decade earlier, when taking inflation into account. But the real savings come in what the average student actually pays after getting grants and financial aid. That’s down 40% over the decade, from $4,140 to $2,480 annually, according to the data.

Federal Reserve officials at Dec. meeting expected slower pace of rate cuts ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials at their meeting Dec. 17-18 expected to dial back the pace of interest rate cuts this year in the face of persistently elevated inflation and the threat of widespread tariffs and other potential policy changes. Minutes from the meeting, released after the typical three-week lag, also showed clear division among the Fed’s 19 policymakers. Some officials expressed support for keeping the central bank’s key rate unchanged, the minutes said. And a majority of the officials said the decision to cut rates was a close call.

Ex-police officer and Proud Boys member gets 14 months in prison

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former police officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol with fellow members of the Proud Boys extremist group has been sentenced to 14 months in prison. The federal judge who sentenced 32-year-old Nathaniel Tuck on Wednesday allowed him to report to prison at a date to be determined. Prosecutors say Tuck and other Proud Boys, including his father, were among the first wave of rioters who entered Capitol grounds during a mob’s riot on Jan. 6, 2021. From 2012 to 2020, Nathaniel Tuck served as a police officer in Florida. He joined the Proud Boys in 2018.

Trump asks the Supreme Court to block sentencing in his hush money case in NY

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to call off Friday’s sentencing in his hush money case in New York. Trump’s lawyers turned to the nation’s highest court Wednesday after New York courts refused to postpone the sentencing by the judge who presided over Trump’s trial and conviction in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump’s attorneys asked for an immediate stay of the scheduled sentencing. The Supreme Court wants a response from New York prosecutors by Thursday morning. The Manhattan district attorney’s office says it will respond in court papers.