Casey Michel is a writer living in New York, and his writing has been published in outlets like Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, and The New Republic, among others. He can be followed on Twitter at @cjcmichel.

Until the election of Donald Trump, no sitting president had ever requested a foreign governments help to discredit a political rival. Coupled with Trumps appeal to Russia during the 2016 campaign that Moscow use its cyber power to uncover Hillary Clintons missing emails, not to mention his eldest sons eagerness to accept anti-Clinton material from Kremlin allies, Trumps willingness to allow foreign governments to influence American elections is historically unprecedented.

Just how unprecedented becomes clear when you look back at the long history of attempts by foreign powers (almost always Russia) to tip an outcome to their advantage. On multiple occasions since the start of the Cold War, Moscow has proffered money, dirt and manpower to undermine a candidate perceived to be harmful to their interests. But in nearly every instance, the interference never came to pass. And this is the starkest difference between Trump and other presidential candidatesand between Trump and every one of his presidential predecessors. Where Trump has welcomed such assistanceand, in the case of his controversial call to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, demanded itother candidates, to a man, rejected the aid.

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What these examples show is that across parties and across decadeswhether or not there were laws in place banning the foreign aidaspirants to the nations highest office recognized the impropriety of the offers. Even as they knew how valuable it might be to them, especially as challengers, they understood that accepting the assistance would compromise them and the underpinnings of American democracy, should they win.

I cant think of any precedent for this kind of prima facie corrupt action on the part of an American president, Brad Simpson, an associate history professor at the University of Connecticut with a focus on U.S. foreign policy, said. I think that [this is] a president whose whole political life has been prone to conspiracy theories, but who now has the apparatus of the executive branch to try and do something about itand thats whats really novel.

Or as Dov Levin, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong and renowned expert on American interference efforts, told me. For a sitting president to do that, if its confirmed, would be something which is new, thats for sure.

We have known for decades that when it comes to foreign interference efforts, campaigns are the front-linethe first targeted, and the first to know. And for decades, the campaigns refusals have stopped interference efforts in their tracks. As we already know, hostile regimes such as Russia successfully injected themselves into the 2016 electionwithout asking permissioncoaxing armed white supremacists onto the street, stealing internal emails and planting fake news stories, and creating some of the most popular social media feeds during the election. And Russia is almost certainly gaming out how to reprise its efforts in 2020. The difference now is that the interference, after decades, has been sanctioned by the president himself.

***

For most of U.S. history, other countries have largely resisted the impulse to meddle in our affairs, both out of indifference and a desire not to get on the wrong side of the other political party. There were a handful of examples in our republics early daysin 1796, in 1812of American officials reaching out to British or French counterparts to try to coax them into interfering in upcoming elections. (The historical record doesnt make it clear exactly which Americans these were, but none, obviously, were sitting presidents.) But those requests for foreign help went nowhere, and for decades afterward, European governments paid little thought to helping, say, Ulysses S. Grant or Grover Cleveland earn a second term in office.

It wasnt until after World War II that these interference efforts, driven by foreign capitals, began in earnest. By then, Americas role on the global stage had never been greater. And its primary adversary, led by a paranoid clique sitting in the Kremlin, began probing for weaknesses in Americas electoral defenses, and began looking for American candidates willing to brook foreign interference.

Henry Wallace, commerce secretary under Harry Truman, was the first candidate Moscow targeted for support, back in 1948. Broadly sympathetic to Soviet designs, Wallace set the tone for his pro-Soviet views early. The first thing we have evidence for is, in Oct. 1945, when he was still the secretary of commerce, Wallace contacted the NKVD [the forerunner to the KGB] station chief in Washington, basically telling him that the people who support him are fighting for Trumans soul, and that other people in the Truman administration are more anti-Soviet, Levin said. He basically asked, Come and help meIll be an agent of influence to make sure there will be better policies. He basically believed that [Joseph] Stalin and the Soviets had benign intentions.

Wallace carried those beliefs into the 1948 election, as the head of the third-party Progressive Party. A clear longshotthink of his run as something closer to Jill Stein, rather than Donald TrumpWallace made rapprochement with the USSR a key plank. A few months before the election, Wallace thundered in New Yorks Madison Square Garden about the need to decrease tensions between Moscow and Washington. And he immediately got a public show of support from the man presiding over the Soviet Unions efforts at ethnic cleansing, totalitarian designs, and destruction of nascent democracies across Eastern Europe: Stalin.

Stalin wrote a letter, published in newspapers across the U.S., that was straightforward. Wallaces call for easing tension was the most important political platform of recent times, the Soviet dictator wrote. As far as the government of the USSR is concerned, we believe that the program of Wallace could be a good and fruitful foundation for such understanding and for the development of international cooperation.The Soviet tyrants praise immediately reverberated. It was a big commotion, Levin said. [Stalins letter] dominated news for a whole month, with some people hoping it would end the Cold War before it started. More pertinently, Wallace wasnt surprised to receive the show of support; thanks to back channels between Wallaces supporters, members of the U.S. Communist Party, and Soviet partners, Stalin had let him know ahead of time that the letter was in the works, Levin added.

The missive didnt do much for Wallaces chances; the former commerce secretarys campaign barely registered during the 1948 election and failed to carry a single state. But to Moscow, that didnt necessarily matter. The seed of interfering in American elections was planteda plan that, over the coming decades, would try to take root time and again, but only succeed once Donald Trump announced his campaign for the presidency.

***

In 1960, with the Cold War in full bloom, the Soviet ambassador, Mikhail Menshikov, arranged a sit-down meeting with perennial Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson. According to Stevensons recollections, Menshikov got right to the point, pulling a slip of paper from his pocket with a message from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

We are concerned with the future, and that America has the right President, Menshikov dictated. All countries are concerned with the American election. It is impossible for us not to be concerned about our future and the American Presidency which is so important to everybody everywhere. The Soviet ambassador continued, unspooling Khrushchevs offer:

Because we know the ideas of Mr. Stevenson, we in our hearts all favor him. And you Ambassador Menshikov must ask him which way we could be of assistance to those forces in the United States which favor friendly relations. We dont know how we can help to make relations better and help those to succeed in political life who wish for better relations and more confidence. Could the Soviet press assist Mr. Stevensons personal success? How? Should the press praise him, and, if so, for what? Should it criticize him, and, if so, for what? (We can always find many things to criticize Mr. Stevenson for because he has said many harsh and critical things about the Soviet Union and Communism!) Mr. Stevenson will know best what would help him.

Stevenson, according to his notes, blanched. Following Menshikovs bid, Stevenson offered his thanks for this expression of Khrushchevs confidence. But the red line Menshikov had crossed was undeniable: [I detailed my] grave misgivings about the propriety or wisdom of any interference, direct or indirect, in the American election, Stevenson said. I said to him that even if I was a candidate I could not accept the assistance proffered. I believe I made it clear to him that I considered the offer of such assistance highly improper, indiscreet and dangerous to all concerned.

Rejected by Stevenson, Moscow turned elsewhere. As Christopher Andrew detailed in The Sword and the Shield, his 700-page run-through of documents smuggled from former KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin, Khrushchev especially feared the election of Republican nominee and Cold War hawk Richard Nixon. (Nixon would leave a trail of ignominy not only for his eventual resignation, but also, in a nod to Trump and Russia in 2016, for his willingness as a candidate to set up back channels with South Vietnamese partners in the run-up to the 1968 election.) The KGB resident in Washington, Alexander Feklisov, received orders from the Kremlin to propose diplomatic or propaganda initiatives, or any other measures, to facilitate [John F.] Kennedys victory. As Feklisov added in his autobiography, his mission centered on providing ideas to Moscow that could help secure a Kennedy victory. The details on Feklisovs and Moscows ideas remain scantyet another casualty of Moscows unwillingness to allow access to archival materialbut we do know that, as part of his mission, Feklisov reached out directly to those surrounding Robert Kennedy, JFKs lead campaign surrogate. But the Kremlin again got nowhere; as Andrew wrote, Feklisov and his teams offers of help were politely rebuffed.

Nixon, of course, lost that 1960 election. But when he stood again eight years laterwith Leonid Brezhnev, the man whose policies of stagnation would eventually erode Soviet power, now overseeing the KremlinMoscow espied another opportunity. As Anatoly Dobrynin, Moscows man in Washington, detailed in his 2001 memoir, the Kremlin cooked up an idea to tilt the election once more in the Democrats favor.

Our leadership [in Moscow] was growing seriously concerned that [Nixon] might win the election, Dobrynin wrote. As a result, the top Soviet leaders took an extraordinary step, unprecedented in the history of Soviet-American relations, by secretly offering [Democratic candidate Hubert] Humphrey any conceivable help in his election campaignincluding financial aid. Dobrynin led the effort, breakfasting during the campaign with Humphrey himself. As the conversation wound toward the state of Humphreys campaigns finances, the candidate quickly discerned what was on offerand immediately put a stop to it. He knew at once what was going on, Dobrynin wrote. He told me it was more than enough for him to have Moscows good wishes which he highly appreciated. The matter was thus settled to our mutual relief, never to be discussed again.

But that wouldnt be the end of the Kremlins offers of aid. With Yuri Andropov as premier in 1983the man whose untimely demise would eventually give rise to Mikhail Gorbachev and to the dissolution of the Soviet Union itselfKGB leadership directed those overseeing American operations to begin planning active measures to ensure [Ronald] Reagans defeat in the [1984] presidential election, writes Andrew. Per the smuggled KGB archival documents, KGB agents were directed to acquire contacts on the staffs of all possible presidential candidates and in both party headquarters. And it wasnt just limited to the U.S.; KGB residencies outside the United States were told to report on the possibility of sending agents to take part in this operation. [KGB leadership] made it clear that any candidate, of either party, would be preferable to Reagan.

With KGB archives from this period remaining effectively inaccessible, the details of these 1983-84 operations remain murky. (KGB residencies around the world were ordered to popularize the slogan Reagan Means War!, Andrew wrote, highlighting one of the few particulars we know about.) However, theres no evidence that any campaigns opposing Reagan ever took the bait. If anything, Andrew added, Reagans landslide victory in the 1984 election was striking evidence of the limitations of Soviet active measures within the United States.

The Soviet Union, weighed down by a crumbling economy and fractured by nationalist movements, didnt last much longer. But Moscows presence in American elections, even during the 1990s, didnt collapse alongside the Soviet implosion. As The New York Times reported this month, a trio of Republican representatives came to President George H.W. Bush in the lead-up to the 1992 election with an idea: reaching out to the Kremlin directly for dirt on Bill Clinton, nipping his opposition campaign in the bud.

But like Stevenson, Kennedy, and Humphrey before him, Bush and his inner circle balked. They wanted us to contact the Russians to seek information on Bill Clintons trip to Moscow, James A. Baker III, Bushs White House chief of staff, wrote in a memo. I said we absolutely could not do that. Baker shut the conversation down, and with it any consideration of reaching out to Russia for help in tilting an American election. Shortly thereafter, Clinton won, resoundingly. And he brought with him a First Lady who, a quarter-century later, would be on the receiving end of unprecedented interference efforts out of that same Kremlinand who would face an opponent in Donald Trump who had no problems accepting Moscows offers of help, and who would become the first sitting president to toss the floodgates open, with all comers, and all interference, now welcome.

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Russia's Long and Mostly Unsuccessful History of Election Interference - POLITICO

Video games were invented for humans, by humans. But that doesn't necessarily mean we're the best when it comes to playing them.

In a new achievement that signifies just how far artificial intelligence (AI) has progressed, scientists have developed a learning algorithm that rose to the very top echelon of the esports powerhouse StarCraft II, reaching Grandmaster level.

According to the researchers who created the AI called AlphaStar the accomplishment of reaching the Grandmaster League means you're in the top 0.2 percent of StarCraft II players.

In other words, AlphaStar competes at a level in this multi-player real-time strategy game that could trounce millions of humans foolhardy enough to take it on.

In recent years, we've seen AI come to dominate games that represent more traditional tests of human skill, mastering the strategies of chess, poker, and Go.

For David Silver, principal research scientist at AI firm DeepMind in the UK, those kinds of milestones many of which DeepMind pioneered are what's led us to this inevitable moment: a game representing even greater problems than the ancient games that have challenged human minds for centuries.

"Ever since computers cracked Go, chess, and poker, StarCraft has emerged by consensus as the next grand challenge," Silver says.

"The game's complexity is much greater than chess, because players control hundreds of units; more complex than Go, because there are 1,026 possible choices for every move; and players have less information about their opponents than in poker."

Add it all together and mastering the complex real-time battles of StarCraft seems almost impossible for a machine, so how did they do it?

In a new paper published this week, the DeepMind team describes how they developed a multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithm, which trained itself up through self-play, including playing against itself, and playing humans, learning to mimic successful strategies, and also effective counter-strategies.

The research team has been working towards this goal for years. An earlier version of the system made headlines back in January when it started to beat human professionals.

"I will never forget the excitement and emotion we all felt when AlphaStar first started playing real competitive matches," says Dario "TLO" Wunsch, one of the top human StarCraft II players beaten by the algorithm.

"The system is very skilled at assessing its strategic position, and knows exactly when to engage or disengage with its opponent."

The latest algorithm takes things even further than that preliminary incarnation, and now effectively plays under artificial constraints designed to most realistically simulate gameplay as experienced by a human (such as observing the game at a distance, through a camera, and feeling the delay of network latency).

With all the imposed limitations of a human, AlphaStar still reached Grandmaster level in real, online competitive play, representing not just a world-first, but perhaps a sunset of these kinds of gaming challenges, given what the achievement now may make possible.

"Like StarCraft, real-world domains such as personal assistants, self-driving cars, or robotics require real-time decisions, over combinatorial or structured action spaces, given imperfectly observed information," the authors write.

"The success of AlphaStar in StarCraft II suggests that general-purpose machine learning algorithms may have a substantial effect on complex real-world problems."

The findings are reported in Nature.

Read more:
StarCraft II Has a New Grandmaster, And It's Not Human - ScienceAlert

Ever wonderhow your monthly student loan payments might stack up next to someone who graduated with a completely different major?

The range can be significant starting at $406 a month in the retail industry all the way up to $685 a month for those working at private hospitals and other companies in the social assistance industry.

The averages are based on data released by Fidelity Investments and give a glimpse how some fields can leave employees burdened with more student loan debt than others.

The figures which are higher than other studies are based on information fromnearly 30,000 users of Fidelity's Student Debt Tool. Those individuals may be more likely to take the time using the tool exactly because they're overburdened by college debt.

The tool is widely available at major companies where Fidelity is a record keeper for the 401(k) plan. The tool is available online to the general public, too. See: http://www.fidelity.com/studentdebt.

The Fidelity data includes those with graduate degrees, as well as undergraduate degrees.

"Here's a snapshot of people looking for help," said Asha Srikantiah, head of the student debt program for Fidelity Investments.

We're moving into the time of the year when many new graduates from the Class of 2019 will start making payments on their student loans as theirsix-month grace period ends.

College grads had an average of $29,200 in college loans a record in the United States based on data for the Class of 2018 for those with bachelor's degrees, according to the latest report by the Institute for College Access & Success. That's up 2% from the 2017 average of $28,650.

Graduating with $35,000 in college debt could amount to a $371 a month payment under a standard 10-year repayment plan, assuming a 5% interest rate. That's just a tad lower than the average car payment for a used car.

Student loan borrowers should fill out the FAFSA as soon as they can to get the most aid. Oct. 1 marks the kick off date for those who will be in college in the fall of 2020.(Photo: BrianAJackson, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Many times, college grads focus on trying to make those monthly payments as low as possible by signing up for various repayment plans. The trade off, though, is that extending your payments often means you're delaying paying off the loans as interest keeps building.

It's not unusual for many people to see student loan debt build over time the longer they're out of college because they've been paying too little on the debt.

You're not alone, for example, if you're looking at $400 or $500 a month for student loan payments, according to the Fidelity data.

The Fidelity report showed:

To be sure, the average monthly payments listed via Fidelity are considerably higher than the overall averages nationwide. The typical student loan payment falls between $200 and $299 a month, according to data from theFederal Reserve Report on the Economic Well-Being on U.S. Households in 2018.

In general, estimates for those with bachelor's degrees shows that grads majoringin education and communications tended to have lower monthly payments (in the low $300 a month range) than those with engineering or physical science degrees (in the $375 to $395 a month range). That's based on a study of monthly payments in 2012 for those who graduated in 2008 done by the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education.

Those earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics may need to borrow more money in some cases.

"The debt of STEM graduates may be higher, but they also have higher income," saidMark Kantrowitz,publisher and vice president of research forSavingforcollege.com.

Millennials have an average student loan balance of $45,548 compared to $55,870 for Generation X and $56,652 for Baby Boomers, according to a Fidelity Investments review of borrowers using its Student Debt Tool.(Photo: Wavebreakmedia, Getty Images/iStockphoto)

According to the Fed's report, 54%of young adults who went to college took on some debt, including student loans, for their education.

Make sure you know the depth of your debt. Add up all of the different student loans that you've taken out over the years and get a clear picture on how much you owe, said Srikantiah at Fidelity.

Then, she said, try to examine what options are out there when it comes to federal repayment plans or possibly refinancing your student loans.

You want to understand the potential trade-offs with any move you make. Paying as much as you can on those loans will reduce your overall cost in the long run but you may need to live on a very tight budget to make that happen.

The Fidelity Student Debt Tool is used by borrowers who want to see all theirstudent loandata in one place and explore the impact of different repayment options.

Fidelity is offering access to a student debt refinancing platform through Credible.com via the student debt tool. Users can compare pre-qualified rates from up to 10 different refinancing lenders without affecting their credit score. In select states, borrowers currently will get a $750 bonus in the "near future" once they close on refinancing a loan.

Refinancing a federal loan into a private loan, though, may mean giving up an opportunity for various repayment options.Fidelity's Student Debt Tool helps borrowers assess the pros and cons of refinancing, including the impact on Federal loan repayment options.

"Repayment of this debt can be challenging," the Fed report stated. "In 2018, two in 10 of those who still owe money are behind on their payments little changed from the prior year."

The Federal Reserve noted in its report that individuals who did not complete their degree or who attended a for-profit institution are more likely to struggle with repayment.

Comparatively speaking, the Fed noted that otherswho completed a degree from a public or private not-for-profit institution, even including those who took on a relatively large amount of debt, had less difficulty.

Typically, a general guideline is that you don't want to owe more than what you can make that first year out of college.

If total debt is less than annual income, you should be able to repay your student loans in 10 years or less, Kantrowitz said.

High monthly payments, of course, cut into one's ability to save money or borrow for something else.

When you're looking at a $450 a month student loan payment, the last thing you want to do is go out and take out a new car loan.

The average new car payment, after all, is about $550 to $595a month, based on data from Experian and Cox Automotive's Dealertrack.

More: Black women bear largest burden in student debt crisis

More: Givling app helps trivia players pay student loans, mortgage debt but it could cost you

More: College grads average $32,158 in debt in Michigan. Here's what some didn't know

More: Struggling to pay student loans? You could be targeted by scammers

One's ability to save for the future or establish roots by buying that first home may also be hindered by a big college debt burden.

Many individuals delaycontributing to their retirement savings plans and many may even take out loans against their 401(k) plans.

Roughly one in five college loan borrowers who used the Fidelity tool reported contributing nothing to their 401(k) plan.

And nearly one out of seven borrowers reported having a loan outstanding against their 401(k), according to the Fidelity research.

What's even more startling: Baby boomers tend to have the largest levels of student loans based on the Fidelity data. Baby boomers had an average monthly payment of $565 for student loans. Their average student loan balance was $56,652.

By contrast, millennials had average monthly payments of $469 on average student loan balances of $45,548.

Over the last decade, the average debt at graduation has increased by 21% for bachelors degree recipients, Kantrowitz noted.

And in the past decade, he said, the average debt at graduation has gone up by 53% for parents.

"Parent debt has increased because students in bachelor's degree programs are running up against the federal student loan limits," Kantrowitz said.

"For a dependent undergraduate student, the aggregate limit for Federal Direct Stafford loans is $31,000 and the sum of the first four years of annual limits is $27,000. As more students hit these limits, it shifts further borrowing to parent and private loans," he said.

Yet parents, too, need to pay careful attention to how much they're willing to borrow to send their children to college.

"My rule of thumb for a parent is 'Don't borrow more than your annual income for all your children,'" Kantrowitz said.

"If your total parent education debt is less than your annual income, you should be able to repay your parent loans in 10 years or less," he said.

If you're an older parent, though, and likely to retire in less than 10 years, you'd want to borrow even less money to send your children to college.

"For example, if retirement is only five years away, borrow half as much," Kantrowitz said.

Contact Susan Tomporat 313-222-8876 or stompor@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @tompor. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.

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Who's dealing with the biggest student loan payments? - Detroit Free Press

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weVENTURE mission is to accelerate sustainable business growth for women entrepreneurs. Left to right: Susan Erickson, Kathy Register and Val Williams with their big W that they take with them for promoting weVENTURE. (Photo: MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)

The businessesweVENTURE helpsput food on the table for local women and their families.Through weVENTURE's guidance,women realize their dream of business ownership and work their way toward financial well-being.

That work has earned weVENTURE a spot as a finalist for Organization of the Year.

weVENTURE started outas the Women's Business Center at Florida Tech in 2007 through a collaborative grant with the U.S.Small Business Administration. Since then, the organization has grown and evolved to provide assistance to small businesses, aspiring entrepreneurs, and growth phase businesses.

Organization of the Year 2018 nominee: Tied Together of the Space Coast

Organization of the Year 2018 nominee: 321 Millennials

Organization of the Year 2018 nominee: Early Learning Coalition

In the 2018-2019program year alone, weVENTURE trained and counseled more than600 clients,helping them gain the confidence to start and grow their business, orempowering them to excel in their chosen profession. weVenture has helped people start more than25 businesses this year. And since its inception, theIGNITE360 business mentoring program has worked with more than100 businesses who cite impressive revenue growth.

"Most rewarding is being able to see our clients achieve their goals," said Val Williams, program director andstrategic business coach. "We've worked with women in businesses all the way from cottage industry to million-dollar-revenue companies. But when they come in, no matter who they are, they have many of the same concerns."

weVENTURE's mission is to accelerate sustainable business growth for women entrepreneurs. Left to right: Val Williams, Kathy Register and Susan Erickson.(Photo: MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)

weVENTUREaddressesthose concerns one-on-one, form beginning points to mapping out success strategy and importantly, how tomeasure success.

"That's why we do what we do," said Williams. "Women do business a little bit differently. They're parents. They're wives. Their priorities may be different from those of their male counterparts, so they have fears of not being enough ... how will this affect my family? How will this compromise my time? Those soft skills are not always addressed in traditional business coaching, and we look at the complete woman, incorporating personal goals."

weVENTURE believes that "mentorship is important, strong businesses mean a stronger economy, strong businesses need strong leaders and women's voices should always be a part of the conversation,"said board member Ann Luke, who works in the financial services industry.

"It's a treasure to be able to refer entrepreneurs to a local, tested and respected organization to get the help they require, wherever the business is in their growth stage," Lukesaid.

Contact Kennerly at 321-242-3692 or bkennerly@floridatoday.com, Twitter @bybrittkennerly or at Facebook.com/bybrittkennerly.

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weVENTURE is 2019 Organization of the Year finalist in FLORIDA TODAY Volunteer Recognition Awards - Florida Today

Yanely Espinal knows what the power of a financial education she came from a low-income home with two parents and nine children, and ended up with credit card and student loan debt even after receiving a full scholarship to college.

The Brooklyn native said she often saw a difference between herself and some of the wealthier students around her. She attended high school near Lincoln Center in Manhattan, where many students wore brand-name clothes and returned from holiday break with the latest gadgets. When she went to Brown University, her friends were often going bowling or eating at Chipotle, CMG, +1.53% activities she couldnt afford on a regular basis.

So she opened her first credit card at 18 years old, with a $1,500 limit. I never had that much money before, she said. She used that credit card and three others she opened during her college years for textbooks and a laptop, as well as trips to the movies and restaurants. By the time she graduated, she had nearly $20,000 in debt $15,000 in credit card debt and $5,000 from a student loan. Her credit card interest rates were around 21%.

See: Financial literacy skills have taken a nose dive since the Great Recession

A $9 book called Women and Money by Suze Orman caught her eye one day while she was buying shampoo at Duane Reade. That book taught me everything I wish I knew before I was 18, she said. She spent the next few years reading up on saving and investing, and listening to podcasts and TED talks about financial topics.

I became obsessed with knowledge I felt I was deprived from, she said. It was social justice and financial empowerment, and that combination helped fuel my curiosity to learn as much as I could. She started her own YouTube channel, MissBeHelpful, to share some of her own lessons about money as well.

After the YouTuber paid off her debts, in less than two years, she opened her first Roth IRA and then allocated whatever debt payments she used to make into savings and investing. Three years after that, in March 2018, she had amassed just shy of $50,000. In the last 18 months, shes doubled her net worth. Part of her inspiration was the goal to eventually have a comfortable retirement.

Espinal, now 30, is the director of educational outreach at Next Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit organization that offers free resources and tools to educators interested in teaching personal finance.

Less than half of U.S. states have a financial literacy requirement for high-school students. Financial illiteracy is a growing problem in the U.S., especially for young adults. Less than one-third of college students (28%) could correctly answer three multiple-choice questions about interest, inflation and risk diversification, according to a 2015-2016 FINRA study, and slightly more than half (53%) could do the same.

Although financial literacy is useful, there is a debate about when and how to dispense these lessons. Presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted in September that, in his experience, teaching financial literacy is difficult to people who dont have money. Some Twitter users criticized him for the statement, saying individuals can make the most of the lessons they learned when they finally do come into money, while others agreed with him that having the funds beforehand allows people to put their financial education to use immediately.

Still, there are steps anyone can take to get started on the path to financial freedom and eventually a nest egg like Espinals. Here are a few:

Dont miss: Money expert Jean Chatzky on how Americans should save for retirement and what youre getting wrong about the FIRE movement

Much of Espinals success can be traced back to her thirst for knowledge, and all the time she spent reading up on financial topics and soaking up information in podcasts and shows about money.

When you dont know about your money and you dont know about money, you are in this helpless place, she said. Learn as much as you can and look at your situation.

There are plenty of benchmarks and metrics online to measure how well an individual is doing compared with her peers. Sometimes these guidelines can be useful, as a way to gauge what is average, but sometimes they can be discouraging. The key, Espinal said, is simply to assess your current financial situation, and see if there are any tweaks that can be made to spending and saving, as well as other personal factors, like the interest rate youre being charged on your loans or the payment schedule thats set up. Espinal said the interest rates were about five times as high as what she would have been charged if shed taken out student loans instead, but she didnt realize that until it was too late.

Every dollar in a paycheck matters to someone who is living paycheck to paycheck. Although it might seem impossible to part with that money to pay down debt as well as save for retirement and other future goals, it is imperative, Espinal said.

Some people may find they are spending on products and services they dont actually care that much about such as one too many happy hour tabs or a superfluous subscription box (it doesnt always have to be a cup of coffee or avocado toast).

Many financial advisers suggest putting aside 10% (or more) of a salary for retirement, but thats not always feasible. For people who cant afford that, Espinal suggests cutting that rate in half. And if that seems impossible, try putting 3%. The goal is to set aside something anything even when money is tight. This is especially true when an employee has access to an employer-match, which is essentially free money. In that case, most financial experts will say put at least the amount to meet the full match.

Also see: This new Broke Millennial book has secrets for young people who dont want to think about retirement

Making financial decisions can be stressful, especially when there isnt that much money in the budget that may lead people to making the less optimal choice. Automating financial decisions, such as saving a set percentage of every paycheck or when to pay off credit card debt, can support good financial habits, said Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance, where Espinal works. Its hard to set aside money for the future when the current situation feels so urgent, he said. Automating it means you dont even have to think about it.

The first savings goal should be an emergency account, which can help pay for an unexpected car repair or a trip to the hospital. Eventually, people can use automation to create and build an investment account, Ranzetta said.

Automatic deposits and automatic escalation of retirement contributions has proven to help Americans for decades. Richard Thaler, who received the Nobel Prize in economics in 2017, is credited with helping Americans put nearly $30 billion in their retirement accounts, because of his and colleagues research on behavioral finance and auto-enrollment and auto-escalation.

Money isnt the easiest thing to talk about, but its important. Parents can teach their children a lot about finances, as can their children eventually teach them when theyre older. Friends and family members should try being more open about these discussions, which can help in many ways, including knowing theyre not alone in a difficult situation or finding useful advice for a problem.

Opening up about your financial situation can also mean finding an accountability partner, said Joe Buhrmann, manager of financial planning support at Country Financial. Friends can become accountability partners, looking for budget-friendly activities and meals, or emotional support systems.

Not everyone has the time or means to create a side income stream or work another job, but its one surefire way to make extra money to put toward debt, and eventually savings. Espinal said she juggled a few jobs to earn more, especially when she was paying down all of her debt. Shed tutor on Saturday mornings, which seemed like a sacrifice when friends were on their way to the beach, but it ensured shed get to a place where was financially comfortable. Get creative coming up with income, she said. Its 2019. There are so many ways to find side gigs and hustles.

Original post:
This woman went from deep debt to retirement riches in a few years by teaching herself financial literacy - MarketWatch

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas There are so many beautiful aspects of Corpus Christi a resident or visitor can point out. One issue that has taken center stage recently that tends to get glossed over is the homelessness issue and its growing population.

A non-profit organization lending a helping hand is Mission 911.

The group was formed in 2001 for the sole purpose of helping displaced people gain back self-sufficiency.

For some, becoming homeless is a choice. For many others it's "unintended circumstances" such as alcohol or drug addictions, making bad choices, losing a job or a mental illness.

KRIS 6 News visited with Mission 911 Executive Director Tony Reyes to get a first-hand look at how Mission 911 works to get those who have fallen on hard times back on their feet again.

According to Reyes, approximately 85 percent of the homeless population that turn to Mission 911 have substance abuse issues, 25 percent of the homeless population has mental health issues, 98 percent of the residents have employments problems and 80 percent of the residents have requested spiritual guidance. As those individuals address the issues that have led them astray, they have a better chance of self-sufficiency and becoming a productive member in society. Sadly, Reyes says, about 40 percent of the population consists of the working poor and it is estimated that 3,500 individuals and families are homeless.

Mission 911 doesn't believe in handouts, but instead offering a helping hand to those in a crisis and wanting positive change. In 2018, they screened applications, conducted personal interviews and background checks, and accepted 530 individuals and families into its many available programs.

Housing is a huge part of what Mission 911 offers. Once accepted into a program, those who are helped technically are no longer homeless.

The organization offers a clean and secure place to sleep, food, clothing, job opportunities and transportation, along with other special-need requests, spiritual guidance and activities.

There are rules for staying at the facility. There are expectations for personal cleanliness, orderly housekeeping with weekly assignments, paying a nominal monthly rent, a curfew and a no-tolerance rule for any use of alcohol, drugs, profanity or aggressive behavior. Once an individual proves they can live in a joint, bunk-like setting, they become eligible for a more private living arrangement.

Making a good first impression is important when it comes to finding a job and taking that first step to positive change.

Another way Mission 911 helps is through its dentistry program. Based at 911 Park St., Project Lucia provides dental services for residents. The goal is to help the indigent, working poor and homeless families in need of dental work. The dental services offered are provided by Dr. Bill Whiteside, who volunteers his time and much of the dental equipment, such as dental tools, an x-ray machine and a dental chair.

Mission 911 also has a room it calls 'The Closet,' which consists of hundreds of clothing items of all types. It not only provides clothing needed, but also storage for the clothing residents already have.

Another source of help is the Alpha Program, which consists of a series of talks addressing key issues related to the Christian faith. The Alpha course consists of an hour dedicated for a meal, 45 minutes of talking and an hour of coffee and small group discussion.

Mission 911 is committed to helping to provide a better life and future for those who come through its doors.

In 2018, Reyes said it had a 22.6 percent success rate and helped 120 individuals and families make the positive changes necessary to become productive citizens in the community.

While the numbers may seem small to some, it's making a difference to many.

For those who make it through its 15-week Project Bridges Program, the success rate is 85 percent.

And with every success, Tony Reyes and his team are sure every person who walks through their doors has a chance to change and turn their lives around for the better.

It's the hope of Mission 911.

For more information about Mission 911, click here.

Originally posted here:
MISSION 911: Helping the displaced back into society - KRIS Corpus Christi News

LANSING A judge on Monday ordered former Michigan State University President Lou Ann Simon to stand trial on charges that she lied to police about her knowledge of a sexual misconduct complaint against now-imprisoned sports doctor Larry Nassar.

The ruling came the same day the school revealed that trustee Nancy Schlichting resigned Saturday over the governing board's decision last month to drop an independent review of Nassar's assaults, despite having unanimously voted for the investigation in June.

Schlichting, in a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, said it became clear to her that four trustees do not share the commitment by Schlichting and three other trustees to an independent review, including the release of documents protected by attorney-client privilege.

"I deeply regret that my board service has been so short, but hope that the next appointed trustee will be able to make a greater impact than I have," she wrote.

Eaton County District Judge Julie Reincke, meanwhile, found probable cause to send Simon to trial on two felony and two misdemeanor charges of giving false statements to law enforcement agents who accused her of impeding their investigation into one of Nassar's sexual assaults and whether she or other university officials committed misconduct in office.

"We are disappointed by the district court's ruling in light of the complete lack of evidence to support the charges against Lou Anna Simon. We plan to vigorously defend Dr. Simon and will be appealing the decision of the district court," said Lee Silver, one of her lawyers. "We remain confident that we will ultimately prevail and that Lou Anna Simon will be fully acquitted of these charges."

She is the third former school official to be ordered to trial.

Authorities have said Simon knew in 2014 that Nassar had been accused of molesting a patient at a campus clinic, and that she knew of the nature of the complaint. But Simon told police she knew only that a complaint had been filed against a sports doctor and did not become aware of the substance of the review that sparked the school's Title IX investigation or the complaint's nature until 2016.

The judge said the evidence suggests that Simon discussed Amanda Thomashow's sexual abuse allegations against Nassar with a senior adviser, Paulette Granberry Russell.

"It is not credible to believe that Simon would have heard even the outline of Thomashow's story and forgotten it," Reincke wrote.

Simon resigned in January 2018 after calls for her to step down had risen to a deafening crescendo over days of painful and emotional testimony from Nassar's victims, most of whom were gymnasts the former MSU physician pleaded guilty to abusing under the guise of medical treatment. Many of the victims accused the university of mishandling past complaints about Nassar.

Nassar has been sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting athletes, mostly female gymnasts, at MSU and a Lansing-area gymnastics club. Former Olympians said he also molested them in Texas and overseas while he worked for USA Gymnastics.

In September, a day before MSU Board of Trustees Chairwoman Dianne Byrum announced that the outside review was being scrapped, the federal government ordered the school to make sweeping changes and pay a $4.5 million fine for failing to adequately respond to complaints against Nassar.

Byrum said then that the board was split over "defining the scope of work" that was to be done by Chicago-based law firm McDermott Will & Emery to investigate and release a public report. A previous internal review led by New York-based firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom had come under criticism because the firm was also assisting the university in anticipation of civil lawsuits and facilitating cooperation with law enforcement following Nassar's 2016 arrest. No report was made public.

Three Nassar victims who worked with the board to initiate the investigation Rachael Denhollander, Sarah Klein and Sterling Riethman have accused Byrum and three other trustees of a "betrayal." They have called on new MSU President Samuel Stanley Jr. to use his executive authority to launch an internal investigation, which they say is needed because the state attorney general's criminal investigation and the U.S. Department of Education's investigations cover "a small portion of what went wrong."

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office is prosecuting Simon, has called for the school to waive its attorney-client privilege and release nearly 6,000 documents. Stanley has said it is up to the trustees, who have deadlocked.

"I'm sorry that she is stepping down, but I wish her much personal success and happiness with her other projects," he said in a statement. "We valued her insight and contributions while she was with us."

Schlichting was appointed in December by then-Gov. Rick Snyder to fill a vacancy. Whitmer will name someone to serve the rest of the term through 2022, when the seat will be up for election.

"She is committed to appointing someone who will work together with President Stanley and the remaining board members to build a campus culture that respects diversity, listens to survivors, and makes a college education more affordable and accessible for Michigan families," Whitmer spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said.

Read more from the original source:
Former MSU president to stand trial in Nassar case - Crain's Detroit Business

Steve Jobs may be one of the smartest, most aspirational business leaders in the modern world, but his home life was less than ideal. Its true that he found enormous success with Apple and leading the technology revolution. But his personal life was an absolute mess. He even had a daughter who he claimed wasnt his own, even though she clearly was.

What was it that made Steve Jobs claim he wasntthe father of Lisa Brennan-Jobs? Its complicated.

Jobs was adopted at a young age but even that process didntgo smoothly. Originally, he was placed with a Catholic, well-educated couplebut they changed their minds and decided they wanted a daughter instead. Whenhe was placed with another couple, neither of whom were educated, Jobs birthmother Joanne Scheible refusedto sign the papers.

But being placed with this family turned out to be a blessing. Steve Jobs adoptive father built him a workbench in the garage where he could tinker with projects. And Steve Jobs loved his family even if they didnt have fancy credentials. Later, Jobs referred to his birth parents as, my sperm and egg bank but maintained that his home life with the Jobs family was very special.

Steve Jobs met Chrisann Brennan at Homestead High School in Cupertino, California. The two dated on and off for five years before Brennan got pregnant in 1977. From the very first moments, Jobs denied that he was the father of the child. Perhaps uncoincidentally, Lisa Brennan was conceived the same year that Steve Jobs founded Apple. All of his efforts were focused on making his new company succeed and he didnt have time for fatherhood.

Lisa Nicole Brennan was born on May 17, 1978, at a commune outside of Portland, Oregon. Her father Steve Jobs was not present for the birth.

Only Steve Jobs himself could say for sure why he refused tobelieve reality that Lisa Brennan-Jobs was his real, biological daughter. Hispaternity denial led to a legal battle where a DNA test proved he was indeedthe father, though he refuted paternity even after that, claiming that 28% of the male population of the United Statescould be the father.

Despite his refusal to accept her, Jobs did name an early Apple computer Lisa. At the time, he claimed Lisa was simply an acronym for Local Integrated Systems Architecture. But later he admitted that it was obviously named after the daughter he refused to acknowledge.

Many years later, Steve Jobsrelented to the idea that he could be Lisas father. But by that point, thedamage to their relationship was so extreme that it took a long time to repairit.

All I wanted was closeness andsweetness and for him to relieve me. To let me be the star, probably. To belike, Well, how was your day? And to listen. And at such a young age, and soused to the spotlight, and to everybody fawning on him he didnt know how tobe with me, Brennan-Jobs said of their relationship.

Instead, Lisa and her father hadplenty of turmoil, angst, and uncertainty. But things got better before hepassed away from pancreatic cancer in 2011. The two spent years repairing theirrelationship and eventually, though he had been stingy with sharing his fortuneall along, Jobs left his daughter Lisa several million dollars as part of an inheritance.

Families are complicated, and no one is sure why Steve Jobs denied his daughter at first. But at least he made amends with her in the end. Lisa Brennan-Jobs published a memoir chronicling the long journey to forgiveness, Small Fry, in 2018.

More here:
The Real Reason Steve Jobs Denied He Was Lisa Brennan's Real Father - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

CAMP receives national award nomination for Latino organization

Freshman Tanya Rivera, member of the College Assistant Migrant Program, talks about the program and the impact it has on the children of migrant workers pursuing a college education.

ROLAND HUIE

Freshman Tanya Rivera, member of the College Assistant Migrant Program, talks about the program and the impact it has on the children of migrant workers pursuing a college education.

ROLAND HUIE

ROLAND HUIE

Freshman Tanya Rivera, member of the College Assistant Migrant Program, talks about the program and the impact it has on the children of migrant workers pursuing a college education.

LOREN NEGRON, Evergreen reporterOctober 28, 2019

The WSU College Assistant Migrant Program was recognized as a finalist for a national award given by the Latino education organization Excelencia in Education.

CAMP Director Michael Heim said this was the first time CAMP received a nomination for the award.

Heim said the Examples of Excelencia award recognizes programs that have track records of helping Latinx students succeed in higher education. About 170 programs were nominated nationwide. There were 12 finalists honored at the Celebracin de Excelencia event on Friday in Washington, D.C.

I think that one of the main points that was highlighted for our program is that we do a good job at all of the work that would support students toward succeeding in their first year at the university, he said. We also had very high retention rates.

Established at WSU in 2006, CAMP works with first-generation students who have a personal or familial background in migrant or seasonal agricultural work. It focuses on student academic success, personal growth and student retention.

Most of our students are coming from families that have only done farm work, Heim said. When you have a student come to the university, it could be a cultural shock for students coming to a new setting.

Heim said the program empowers students to bridge academic success with personal success, helping them find balance in college and take advantage of opportunities and resources.

Being a first-gen and coming from an underrepresented community and also low-income and changing your environment and moving away from home, theres connections that CAMP is able to provide for our students, he said.

Tanya Rivera, freshman speech pathology major, said the program helped her find a community of mentors and students who support her. Arriving a day before classes started due to a family emergency, CAMP members helped her move in and took the time to get to know her.

When youre a first year here and you feel alone, youre far away from home, I think everybody really supports each other, especially the mentors, she said. They want to see what youre about, what your background is, where youre coming from.

She said CAMP staff made an effort to get her to meet other CAMP student.

They really took the time to put themselves out there and help me before they helped themselves, Rivera said.

Rafael Pruneda, CAMP academic coordinator and retention specialist, said CAMP accepts a minimum of 50 first-year students each academic year. Students or their parents had to work in an agricultural job for at least 75 days within the past two years to qualify for the program. They must also be first-generation students.

Pruneda said CAMP students receive a wide variety of services, including free one-on-one tutoring, counseling and advising. They also participate in annual team building and leadership retreats. A $1,000 stipend is given to each student.

From the get-go, they are a part of our family, he said. We really stress that and let them know we are here and that they are not alone and that we are going to be able to provide that mentorship, that guidance, and also the academic piece of knowing that were checking up.

Heim said retention is a strong focus of the program. From 2013 to 2018, CAMP had a 98 percent retention rate.

Pruneda said retention has been high due to the mentorship aspect of CAMP. He said CAMP builds trust and community for staff members to understand students backgrounds.

I think so many times our students come in resilient, but theyre broken down sometimes, feeling overwhelmed from not having the home, culture and their families around. We really offer that mentorship, Pruneda said.

While in the program, students attend a University 101 and University 104 class, he said. The classes are designed to help students navigate through college and prepare for their careers. Students are also required to visit their professors at least eight times per semester.

We really mentor a family of scholars. We strive to help them, Pruneda said. The expectations set for them is at a high level. We want them to succeed and be high-performing.

Yissel Zazueta, CAMP tutor lead and senior human development and Spanish double major, said CAMP students have access to tutors from from 4-7 p.m., Monday through Thursday. They are required to attend at least two hours of tutoring. Some of the tutors and mentors are past CAMP students.

[CAMP] really impacts the first-generation students here at WSU. It includes them in a different way and make them feel like they have a home, she said.

Read this article:
WSU program recognized for first-generation efforts - The Daily Evergreen

What more could be asked of the man who has done just about everything?

Before he throws a pitch in Game 6 of the fall classic Tuesday night, Justin Verlanderpossesses a rsum fit for a Hall of Famer. The 36-year-old is the second player in major league history to earn an MVP, Rookie of the Year and Cy Young an award in which hes finished in the top-5 seven times, with another looming for 2019.

Over his 15-year career, Verlander has amassed more than 3,000 strikeouts and has made eight All-Star Games. He finally got a World Series ring on his third try when the Houston Astros claimed their first championship two years ago.

There isnt much left on his MLB bingo card. He even got his first major league hit with the Detroit Tigers in 2014 after going 0-for-26 to start his career. He still doesnt have a home run or an extra-base hit, though thats probably not keeping him up at night.

But on Tuesday night in Game 6 of the World Series against the Washington Nationals, Verlander can accomplish something thats eluded him for more than a decade. In six World Series starts, he is 0-5 with a 5.73 ERA, and his team has won just one of those games.

The Astros have an opportunity to clinch their second championship in three years in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park, and Verlander can get a World Series-sized monkey off his back in the process.

Those are the moments that you dream about, he told reporters before the Astros 7-1 victory in Game 5, which gave them a 3-2 series lead. It's just having the opportunity to be out there and be on the mound hopefully in a scenario where we can close it out, that's everything I've dreamed of.

In the Astros 12-3 loss in Game 2, an Anthony Rendon double put Verlander in a two-run hole before he could record an out. Kurt Suzuki led off the seventh with a tie-breaking homer, and a walk to the following batter, Victor Robles, ended Verlanders night.

He was charged with four runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings. Afterward, he noted the Nationals preparedness and ability to make adjustments to different pitchers, especially when altering their approach with two strikes.

In today's game you don't see it that often, he said. Honestly, it's kind of refreshing to see a couple of teams that don't swing and miss a ton, and change their approach based on the pitcher that's pitching against them.

Justin Verlander has never won a World Series game, but he's looking to change that in Game 6 for the Astros. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Tuesday night will be the 12th time in his career that Verlander will pitch twice in a postseason series. So far, hes 6-5 in the second game of the series, with losses in his past four starts in that scenario. He mentioned that theres more pressure on a pitcher to execute in those types of situations.

I think those opposing guys, once they've seen you three, four at-bats, it's a little bit easier for them to make adjustments, and having seen your off-speed stuff and tracked it, he said.

Compared to his stellar regular season, a different version of Verlander has shown up in October which, even for a future Hall of Famer, isnt uncommon. Hell likely finish second in the Cy Young voting to teammate Gerrit Cole after putting together the second 20-win season of his career while reaching the 300-strikeout plateau for the first time.

But hes accumulated a 4.15 ERA this postseason, highlighted by a 3.2-inning start in the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays in which he yielded four runs. Hes given up six homers in 30.1 innings, which was also a problem in the regular season granted with a ball that many believe is physically different where he gave up 36 long balls, the third-most among qualified pitchers.

Hes also averaging 3.26 walks per nine innings this postseason after posting a 1.70 BB/9 in the regular season. Those are the type of things that need to be corrected for Verlander, who owns a 3.15 ERA in potential series-clinching games, to get over this World Series hump.

Story continues

Verlander will be going up against Stephen Strasburg on Tuesday night. Strasburgs postseason problems were contrasting to Verlanders until this year. Hes been at the front of a Nationals staff that couldnt win a postseason series despite his 0.47 ERA in October entering this season.

But a victory in the wild-card game jump-started a change for the Nationals, and all the while Strasburg has held up his end of the bargain, retaining a 1.34 postseason ERA.

Strasburgs success is a mix of the personal and team accomplishments that Verlander should hope will line up for him Tuesday. In terms of personal accolades, there isnt much that Verlander hasnt accomplished, and the Astros success over the past few seasons speaks for itself.

Verlander will likely have more opportunities to capture that elusive World Series victory beyond Tuesday night. Hes under contract for two more seasons with the Astros, who are expected to remain contenders even if Cole bolts in free agency. Recently, he was asked if he feels he can win 75 more games to get to 300 for his career.

I think I can get pretty darn close, he said. I think the changes I've made the last few years to my body and how I pay attention to things is going to allow me to pitch deeper than I would have otherwise.

It's definitely a goal of mine.

His Hall of Fame credentials were likely validated this season, and he can put one more conversation to rest with a victory when it matters most Tuesday night.

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Justin Verlander is chasing the one thing that eludes him in World Series Game 6 - Yahoo Sports