How student loan relief changed lives
 THE BIG STORY
How America is remembering George Floyd a year after he was killed
One year ago this week, cellphone footage of the murder of George Floyd shocked America and the world. The 46-year-old Black man was killed by a former Minneapolis police officer outside the store where he bought his last pack of cigarettes. Before his last breath, Floyd cried out for his mother, and said he can't breathe.
Floyd's ignited massive protests for police reform and racial justice amid a pandemic. A movement of dissent, rage, and grief over the numerous killings of Black people by law enforcement officers has sought to fundamentally reshape policing in the US and address structural racism.
Now, a year after Floyd's killing, his family was in Washington to urge Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would ban chokeholds, limit no-knock warrants, and offer a path toward holding police officers accountable in court.
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👉 In a powerful post, Darnella Frazier, the teen who filmed George Floyd's murder, opened up about the experience and said, "it changed how I viewed life. It made me realize how dangerous it is to be Black in America.
👉 On the anniversary of Floyd's murder, people gathered around the country to advocate and pay their respects. We collected some powerful photos of the marches and protests.  People carry a coffin art piece by Visual Black Justice during a rally and march commemorating the first anniversary of George Floyd's death, May 23, 2021, in Minneapolis. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images STAYING ON TOP OF THIS
WhatsApp is suing the Indian government to protect people's privacy
Since 2016, messages and files sent through WhatsApp have been encrypted, which means that nobody except the sender and the receiver can see their contents.
In that time, governments around the world — including the US, the UK and Canada — have been pressuring apps like WhatsApp to break that encryption, saying that not being able to track who sent what poses a challenge for law enforcement.
India's recently enacted IT rules require messaging platforms like WhatsApp to trace content back to senders. They also grant India's government power to ask platforms that take down content that goes against "decency or morality" and threatens "national security" and "public order."
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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has further stoked anti-Muslim bias all the way in India. In the world's largest democracy, anti-Muslim hate has steadily become mainstream, both online and offline.
Almost 150 people were arrested at a huge party in California after it went viral on TikTok. Police said an estimated 2,500 people descended upon downtown Huntington Beach for "Adrian's Kickback." It all started when a guy named Adrian posted about his birthday and the hashtag went viral, with some people posting about traveling from out of state to attend.
Samuel E. Wright, the voice behind the beloved Little Mermaid character Sebastian, has died. The actor was also nominated for two Tony awards for his performances in The Tap Dance Kid and The Lion King. Wright's daughter Dee said he died peacefully in his home. He was 74. MONEY WEEK 2021
Student loan relief has changed the lives of millions of Americans. It ends in September.
For 43 million Americans with federal student loan debt, the pandemic pause on student loan payments has been extraordinary. Starting March of 2020, they were not required to make payments on their student loans.
The reprieve from making hundreds of dollars in monthly payments has not only afforded them small luxuries — it has helped some people get closer to milestones that otherwise wouldn't have been possible for years: paying off credit card and medical debt, saving for a down payment on a home, or starting a family.
That pause in payments is set to expire in September, though there is talk of an extension. Borrowers are now anxiously looking to President Joe Biden and Congress to see how long their debt-free existence will last — and to plan for what happens next.
We talked to people about how the reprieve changed their lives, and about how they're feeling about going back to repaying their loans.  TRUST ISSUES Lil Nas X wore a skirt for an interview and had the perfect response when asked why
If you watched Lil Nas X on Saturday Night Live, you may have noticed the moment that the artist ripped his pants at the crotch live on TV. Or not — to be honest, Lil Nas X was an expert at hiding that it had just happened.
But when Lil Nas turned up on The Tonight Show with a skirt and boots and people asked him why, he was ready with an answer: "stop asking me why i'm wearing a skirt, i will never trust pants again!" Whatever you need most today, I hope it comes easy, Elamin 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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