Free USC tuition to students with $80K or less family income

The University of Southern California will phase in free tuition for students from families with an annual income of $80,000 or less, USC President Carol L. Folt announced Thursday.

As part of the initiative, ownership of a home will not be counted in determining a student’s financial need to attend the expensive Los Angeles private college.

“We’re opening the door wider to make a USC education possible for talented students from all walks of life,” Folt said in a statement.

The changes will be phased in beginning with first-year students entering USC in the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021, USC said.

The university also said it will increase undergraduate aid by more than $30 million annually. When fully implemented, the expansion will allow USC to provide stronger financial assistance to more than 4,000 students every year.

Folt, the former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, became USC’s president last year as the university dealt with a series of major scandals, including the college admissions bribery case.

That scandal followed allegations that the school ignored complaints of widespread sexual misconduct by a longtime campus gynecologist and an investigation into a medical school dean accused of smoking methamphetamine with a woman who overdosed.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — From Paris to Dubai to Sydney, crowds began ringing in the new year with exuberant celebrations filled with thunderous fireworks or jet skis, while others took a more subdued approach.

A countdown to midnight was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and Russians celebrated in snowy Moscow. In Japan, temple bells rang and some climbed mountains to see the year's first sunrise and a light show with somersaulting jet skis twinkled in Dubai.

Other events were more subdued. Hong Kong held limited celebrations following a recent fire at an apartment complex that killed 161 people. Australia saluted the new year with defiance less than a month after its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

A heavy police presence monitored crowds watching fireworks in Sydney. Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the event, after two gunmen targeted a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, killing 15.

An hour before midnight, victims were commemorated with a minute of silence, and the crowd was invited to show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns had urged residents not to stay away from festivities, saying extremists would interpret smaller crowds as a victory: “We have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime."

Indonesia scaled back festivities in solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides in parts of Sumatra a month ago that killed over 1,100. Fireworks on the tourist island of Bali were replaced with traditional dances.

Hong Kong rang in 2026 without fireworks over Victoria Harbor after the massive fire in November. Facades of landmarks were turned into countdown clocks and a light show at midnight.

And in Gaza, Palestinians said they hope the new year brings an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. “The war humiliated us,” said Mirvat Abed Al-Aal, displaced from the southern city of Rafah.

Pope Leo XIV closed out the year with a plea for the city of Rome to welcome foreigners and the fragile. Fireworks erupted over European landmarks, from the Colosseum in Rome to the London Eye.

In Paris, revelers converged around the glittering Champs-Élysées avenue. Taissiya Girda, a 27-year-old tourist from Kazakhstan, expressed hope for a calmer 2026.

“I would like to see happy people around me, no war anywhere,” she said. “Russia, Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, I want everybody to be happy and in peace."

In Scotland, where New Year’s is known as Hogmanay, First Minister John Swinney urged Scots to follow the message of “Auld Lang Syne” by national poet Robert Burns and show small acts of kindness.

Greece and Cyprus turned down the volume, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics in capitals. Officials said the change is intended to make celebrations more welcoming for children and pets.

Police in New York City planned additional anti-terrorism measures at the Times Square ball drop, with “mobile screening teams.” It was not in response to a specific threat, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

After the ball drops it will rise again, sparkling in red, white and blue, to mark the country’s upcoming 250th birthday. And Zohran Mamdani was taking office as mayor following a private ceremonial event around midnight in an old subway station.

Saaliq reported from New Delhi, India. Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.