Texas

New law defers troops’ student loan payments

President Bush on Monday signed legislation from his Crawford ranch that gave military personnel a reprieve from student loan payments while they were on active duty.

The measure gives the Education Department authority to waive rules on repaying loans to ensure that those affected by wars, military operations or national emergencies are not put in a worse financial situation. Reservists could be relieved from making loan payments while they are on active duty and away from their jobs.

The legislation also asks colleges to provide a full refund of tuition and fees to students whose schooling is interrupted by military service and to make it easier for those students to reapply for admission when they return from military duty.

Washington, D.C.

Poll: Majority favors law against gay marriage

More than half of Americans favor a law barring gay marriage and specifying wedlock be between a man and a woman, an Associated Press poll found.

The survey also found presidential candidates could face a backlash if they supported gay marriage or civil unions.

The poll, conducted for the AP by ICR-International Communications Research of Media, Pa., found 52 percent favored a law banning gay marriages, while 41 percent opposed it.

About four in 10 — 41 percent — support allowing civil unions, roughly the same level found in an AP poll three years ago. But 53 percent now say they oppose civil unions, up from 46 percent in the earlier survey.

The poll of 1,028 adults from every state but Alaska and Hawaii was conducted from Aug. 8-12 and has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.