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By Eliza Haverstock, NerdWallet

Grad school can boost your career, but it comes at a price. Those who completed a graduate-level degree in 2020 left school with about $88,220 in student debt, on average, according to the latest data from the National Center of Education Statistics.

Even grad school loans offered by the government can be tough to repay. Federal grad PLUS loans, available to graduate and professional students for education expenses not covered by other financial aid, have a 9.08% interest rate in 2024-25, compared to 6.53% for direct loans for undergraduates.

Bills can quickly become unmanageable. A hypothetical borrower who has $88,220 in grad school debt with a 9.08% interest rate would owe more than $1,100 each month on the standard 10-year repayment plan.

Luckily, you still have loan relief and forgiveness options, especially if you work in certain professions. And with interest rates poised to fall, refinancing with a private lender may help you pay off your debt faster or lower monthly payments. If you’re struggling to pay your monthly grad school loan bill, consider these five key strategies. read more

By Tom Murphy, Associated Press

A health care spending surge looms in the new year, and Business Group on Health is helping employers understand it.

The nonprofit found in a recent survey that large employers expect the cost to treat patients will jump nearly 8% next year before they make coverage changes to address it. That’s the highest growth rate in a decade.

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Business Writer

Dozens of people rallied outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co. Tuesday, demanding that the company remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals in the U.S.

Kellogg, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, announced nearly a decade ago that it would remove artificial colors and ingredients from its products by 2018.

The company has done that in other countries. In Canada, for example, Froot Loops are colored with concentrated carrot juice, watermelon juice and blueberry juice. But in the U.S., the cereal still contains artificial colors and BHT, a chemical preservative.

On Tuesday, activists said they were delivering petitions with more than 400,000 signatures asking WK Kellogg to remove artificial dyes and BHT from their cereals. Protesters said there was evidence that artificial dyes can contribute to behavioral issues in children.

“I’m here for all the mothers who struggle to feed their kids healthy food without added chemicals,” said Vani Hari, a food activist who previously pressured Kraft Heinz to remove artificial dyes from its macaroni and cheese. read more

By ALEXANDRA OLSON and CLAIRE SAVAGE, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — Just how much of a setback was the COVID-19 pandemic for U.S. working women?

Although women who lost or left their jobs at the height of the crisis have largely returned to the workforce, a recent finding points to the price many paid for stepping back: In 2023, the gender wage gap between men and women working full-time widened year-over-year for the first time in 20 years, according to an annual report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Women working full time earned 83 cents on the dollar compared to men in 2023, down from a historic high of 84 cents in 2022. The Census Bureau called it the first statistically significant widening of the ratio since 2003.

Economists trying to make sense of the data say it captures a complicated moment during the disjointed post-pandemic labor market recovery when many women finally returned to work full-time, especially in hard-hit low-wage industries where they are overrepresented like hospitality, social work and caretaking. read more

Walt Disney World has revealed the list of celebrity narrators for Candlelight Processional, part of the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, which begins Nov. 29.

Among the readers are three newbies: Nico Santos (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Superstore,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”), Tituss Burgess (Sebastian in Broadway’s “The Little Mermaid,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) and Ralph Macchio (“The Karate Kid” movies, Netflix’s “Cobra Kai”).

Among the familiar returning voices and faces are Neil Patrick Harris, Edward James Olmos, Josh Gad, Gloria Estefan and Jodi Benson.

Candlelight Processional features a mass choir, live orchestra and narrator of the Christmas story, performed three times nightly at the theme park’s American Adventure Theater.  Show times this year have been moved up 15 minutes from previous seasons. Candlelight will begin at 5 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.

The full list of narrators, subject to change, includes:

• Nov. 29-30: Josh Gad read more