. But many fear the worst.

An email to Madonna’s publicist was not immediately returned.NEW YORK (AP) — The 12-month grace period for

borrowers ended on Sept. 30. The “on-ramp” period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score.“The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are not able to make payments,” said Persis Yu, Deputy Executive Director at the Student Borrower Protection Center.Around 43 million Americans have student loan debt, amounting to $1.5 trillion. Around eight million of those borrowers had enrolled in the SAVE plan, the newest income-driven repayment plan that extended the eligibility for borrowers to have affordable monthly student loan payments. However, this plan is currently on hold due to legal challenges.

With the on-ramp period and a separate program known as Fresh Start ending and the SAVE plan on hold, student loan borrowers who are struggling to afford their monthly payments have fewer options, added Yu. Student loan borrowers who haven’t been able to afford their monthly payments must consider their options to avoid going into default.If you have student loans, here’s what you need to know.

The Education Department implemented this grace period to ease the borrower’s transition to make payments after a three-year payment pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this year-long period, borrowers were encouraged to keep making payments since interest continued to accumulate.

“Normally, loans will default if you fall about nine months behind on making payments, but during this on-ramp period, missed payments would not move people towards defaulting and then being subject to forced collections. However, if you missed payments, you still be falling behind ultimately on repaying your loans,” said Abby Shaforth, director of National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project.that would target more ships in the

that Russia has deployed to evade a price cap of $60 per barrel imposed on Russian oil by the Group of 7 democracies.They could also freeze the assets of the Nord Stream II gas pipeline consortium. The pipeline is not in use, but the EU believes the move could help to discourage investment. The sanctions could enter force as soon as Thursday.

“If we can lower oil prices and gas revenues and put tighter sanctions on what they can import, that’s great,” Becker said. He said U.S. President Donald Trump should press “China and India about what they are paying for and what they’re exporting to Russia.”Russia found new markets for its oil in India and China after the EU imposed a near-total ban and continues to earn a substantial part of government revenues from exports of oil and gas.