Debt-addled college students can breathe a sigh of relief: Thanks to a rare moment of congressional compromise, the interest rate on their student loans won’t double on Sunday—instead, they will freeze at 3.4 percent for the next year. The measure was tucked into a larger bill which included bridge and road funding that sailed through the House and Senate earlier today, and it will save more than 7 million students an estimated $1,000 in loan fees over the next year. “This legislation proves that when Republicans decide to work with Democrats, we can do a lot to move our economy forward,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The German parliament passed the euro zone's bailout and new budget rules with a two-thirds majority that included opposition partnerships. "Today Germany, with the approval of the fiscal pact and the ESM by all parties in both houses of parliament, will send an important signal ... that we are overcoming the European debt crisis in a sustainable way," said Chancellor Angela Merkel. The legislation won't be signed into law by President Joachim Guack until the country's Constitutional Court approves them. The bailout plan could come into effect July 9, but needs approval from countries composing of 90 percent of its capital base and can't pass without German backing.

That was a close one. Attorney General Eric Holder won't be prosecuted for contempt of Congress after the Justice Department declared he had not committed a crime. Holder had refused to share documents about a gun-tracking operation nicknamed "Fast and Furious." Yesterday, the House voted 255-67 to hold him in contempt of Congress, which was the first time in U.S. history a current attorney general has been held in contempt.

Syrian opposition forces have reported the bloodiest 24-hour period since a popular uprising against dictator Bashar al-Assad began more than 15 months ago. Friday’s bloodshed highlights how difficult it is to even count casualties in the embattled country: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 125 civilian deaths, while another activist group tallied 139. Despite the fighting, the opposition scored a victory by capturing two generals, later releasing a video showing the two men. Kofi Annan, the special envoy for the United Nations whose efforts at peace unraveled in recent months, prepared for a Saturday meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council in Geneva, where he has said he hopes to get derailed peace talks back on track.

It was near the top of everyone’s list of likely reasons for the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes breakup, and now it’s been confirmed, claims TMZ: the Church of Scientology is to blame. Holmes, who has always been lukewarm about the religion, wasn’t happy with the Top Gun star’s extremely close ties to it, the celebrity gossip website reports. And since the couple’s daughter, Suri, has reached an age where her involvement with the church will soon grow greatly, Holmes has decided to file for divorce from Cruise and to seek sole custody of their child. It is safe to say that this news will not have Cruise jumping up and down on a couch.

Egyptian President-elect Mohamed Morsi addressed thousands of supporters in Tahrir Square on Friday, telling the throngs, “The revolution must continue until all its objectives are met.” Morsi is due to be sworn in on Saturday, and the rally Friday was an opportunity to thumb his nose at the military council that has governed the country since a popular uprising overthrew ruler Hosni Mubarak last year. After calling the Egyptian people “the source of all authority and legitimacy,” Morsi—the country’s first democratically elected leader—promised that he would work to free Omar Abdel-Rahman, the "blind sheik" jailed in the United States for his role in planning the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has filed charges against cyclist Lance Armstrong, alleging that he had used performance enhancing drugs. If found to be true, the seven-time Tour de France winner could lose some or all of his titles and face a lifetime ban from the race. USADA says that it has blood-test results and teammate testimonies to prove their case. Armstrong will have 10 days to contest the charges, which his attorney calls “wrong” and “baseless.”

President Obama visited fire-ravaged Colorado on Friday, after officials estimated that 346 homes had been destroyed and the Colorado Springs fire claimed its first life. Police said they found a body in a home in Colorado Springs. NPR reported that rescuers have been kept from looking for missing persons in the flame-swept regions “because it’s been too dangerous for crews to be in the area.” Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey told reporters that fewer than 10 people remain missing in the town hit by fire on Tuesday.

Wonder if Ann Curry’s seat was still warm? Savannah Guthrie co-hosted the Today show Friday morning, stepping in after Curry tearfully said goodbye on Thursday. NBC announced Friday that Guthrie will replace Curry, who co-hosted the show with Matt Lauer for the past year and has worked on the program for 15 years. The show did not address Curry’s absence or Guthrie’s presence on Friday, and she stayed on to host the 9 a.m. hour of the show, her normal hosting hour.

Looks like the rumors are true: Singer Adele is expecting her first child with her fiancé, Simon Konecki, she announced Friday on her blog. “I wanted you to hear the news directly from me, obviously we’re over the moon and very excited but respect our privacy at this precious time,” Adele wrote. Adele announced in May that she and Konecki would be getting married.

Washington Redskins fans have more to worry about than their shaky team and crazy owner: Their starting tight end is embroiled in a bizarre lawsuit—and despite his total lack of legal training, he’s representing himself. Fred Davis is now 18 months into fighting claims filed against him by 33-year-old Makini R. Chaka, who alleges Davis dumped juice on her, assaulted her, and threatened to kill her. Chaka is seeking both a permanent restraining order and monetary damages. One of Davis’s bodyguards has claimed in court documents that Chaka is a “a ‘madam/pimpette’ who provides escorts to high-profile athletes and entertainers.” Hopefully for ‘Skins fans, Davis, who missed a chunk of last season due to a failed drug test, will prove as deft at civil legal proceedings as he is at catching passes.

The summer’s biggest release has arrived, as The Amazing Spider-Man premiered at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday night. On-screen lovers Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are rumored to be a real-life couple, but the two walked the red carpet separately. Director Marc Webb says this version of Spider-Man has a “distrust of authority.”

In another blow to Research in Motion, the company that makes the BlackBerry, its latest launch is being delayed until 2013. Research on the BlackBerry 10, its next generation of devices, turned out to be more time-consuming than the company had anticipated. RIM’s stock price tumbled 14 percent after the news was announced. This follows on the heels of a quarterly operating loss and steep job cuts.

Egypt’s president-elect is expected to speak Friday to thousands of people who have gathered or are heading to Cairo’s Tahrir Square to protest the military’s hold on power. Mohamed Morsi won the first election since former dictator Hosni Mubarak was forced out, and just days later the ruling military council took measures to reduce his powers. His speech in Tahrir Square is widely seen as his acknowledgment of the revolutionary movement that brought down Mubarak.

It looks like French President François Hollande is the real thing, after he led a revolt against Germany’s austerity doctrine while the European Union agreed Friday to a closer union—and to fight the financial crisis—at the 19th European summit in Brussels. Hollande, elected on a mandate to fight austerity, fought German Chancellor Angela Merkel and pushed through concessions for Spain and Italy, winning easier requirements for them to take bailouts and reshaping the balance of power in Europe. Stocks in Asia and Europe surged on the new agreements, the scale of which were unexpected.

With the euro zone rolling toward the crack of doom, leaders from the 17-nation common currency said they reached a “breakthrough” on Friday to aid ailing European banks. “We agreed on something new … that the banks can be recapitalized directly in certain circumstances,” European Council President Herman van Rompuy said on Friday. The deal, which is expected to go into effect by July 9, would lead to the creation of a single supervisory body to oversee the allocation of rescue funds to member nations.

Just when you almost forgot that Ron Paul is still technically running for president, the Texas congressman announces he’ll be leading a rally of supporters the day before the Republican National Convention in Tampa. The libertarian’s campaign sent out an email inviting thousands of Paulistas to join Ron at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome the Sunday before the convention. Paul is walking a fine line between energizing his many fans for the convention while making sure they don’t get out of control.

Germany said Friday it won’t undergo a major overhaul after losing yet again to Italy in the semifinals of the Euro 2012 soccer tournament. The Italians beat the young team—which had been a favorite after winning 15 straight games—hours before Italy and Spain won a major victory against Germany in the European Union economic talks in Brussels. Not sure about the subtext there—will Angela Merkel also refuse to change her austerity-first approach?

One soldier is dead at Fort Bragg after another opened fire during a safety briefing around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The gunman then tried to kill himself but failed, and he was taken into custody. A third soldier was wounded by a ricocheting bullet. Investigators aren’t sure yet what the motive was.

Haven’t we gone through this before? Kofi Annan, special envoy to Syria for the United Nations and the Arab Leauge, said Friday that he was “optimistic” that crisis talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Saturday would produce “an acceptable result.” Russia is once again blocking a plan by proposing amendments refusing to support the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the U.S., Britain, and France rejected the changes. Assad said Thursday that Syria will not accept any foreign interventions that seek to end the 16-month-old uprising against him.

A legal battle looms if the GOP would like to see documents in an investigation into the Fast and Furious gun-trafficking controversy that’s hit the Justice Department. House Republicans won a historic political fight Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, but they are likely a long way from obtaining the documents. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is conducting the investigation, will consult with the House counsel’s office about a legal challenge to Holder’s decision not to hand over the documents.

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled to uphold the Affordable Care Act, states are shifting their focus to meet the law’s rapidly approaching deadlines. On Jan. 1, 2013, states must demonstrate to the Department of Health and Human Services that new state exchanges—through which individuals will buy insurance coverage—will be operational the next year. But a number of Republican-led states like Florida, Texas, and Wisconsin that were gambling on the SCOTUS decision and stalling on Obamacare must now scramble.

Chances are if you bought a brand-new car in May, you’re the only one on the block who did. May was the weakest month for consumer spending in six months, with virtually no gains in spending, said the Commerce Department on Friday. There was only a 0.1 percent rise in consumer spending—a disappointment after initial reports had claimed a 0.3 percent increase. The news sets a gloomy start to summer, since consumer spending drives two thirds of the U.S. economy. Analysts blamed stalled sales of motor vehicles, but they said that weak inflation pressure could help free more money for summer spending.

Bernie Madoff’s younger brother Peter pled guilty on Friday to conspiracy in Berine’s massive conspiracy theory. Peter admitted Friday that he lied to investors and falsified documents while he was chief compliance officer of his brother’s hedge fund. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Peter faces 10 years in prison and his $143 million fortune must be paid in criminal forfeiture. The court-appointed trustee said Peter pocketed $61 million for himself.

On the heels of his landmark vote to uphold President Obama’s health-care law, conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is remaining mum on the decision. The mood was relatively light at a conference Friday at a resort in southwestern Pennsylvania where Roberts answered questions from a handful of roughly 300 other judges during a short meeting. When one D.C. circuit court judge asked if he was “going to Disney World” now that the court is adjourned for the summer, Roberts said that he was in fact heading to Malta, joking that teaching classes for two weeks at “an impregnable island fortress” seemed like the perfect way to spend his break. Roberts declined to answer the one question directly referencing yesterday’s decision, only allowing that the justices “did our job according to the Constitution.”

Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his long-suffering wife Anne Sinclair have separated after twenty years of marriage, a source close to the couple told Reuters. The rift between the disgraced former French finance minister and Sinclair, an editor for the Huffington Post, was first reported by the magazine Closer. “He’s in a bad way. It’s very sad,” a source told Reuters. “He’s mostly just at home on his own while Anne is out and about with her new job. He’s shunned by everybody.” Strauss-Kahn’s legal troubles continue to mount as he fights against allegations that he participated in a prostitution ring.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are divorcing, and she reportedly is suing for sole custody of their daughter, Suri. Cruise’s rep. said the actor was “deeply saddened” by the split, and would be “focusing on his three children.” Holmes reportedly filed for divorce in New York on Thursday, and asked for sole legal custody of Suri, 6. She is also asking for a "suitable amount" in child support. The two were married in November 2006. This was Holmes’s first marriage and Cruise’s third.

In the latest attack ad released by Mitt Romney’s campaign, President Obama comes under harsh attack from ... Hillary Clinton? The Romney campaign has released a new ad incorporating a clip from the 2008 Democratic primary campaign in which she said, “Shame on you, Barack Obama” in response to Obama’s attacks on her. Romney's ad accuses Obama of launching unfair attacks against the Republican candidate. “He also attacked Hillary Clinton with vicious lies,” the narrator intones, before the Clinton clip plays. The move is sure to prompt a harsh response from someone in the secretary of state’s circle and will rekindle memories of the often-nasty Obama-Clinton primary battle four years ago.

George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the February shooting death of Trayvon Martin, will remain in jail while a decision on his bail is still pending, ruled a judge on Friday. Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. said he needed more time to evaluate the case before determining whether Zimmerman can be released on bail. Zimmerman had his bail revoked on June 1, when Lester ruled that Zimmerman and his wife had lied about their financial assets. In Friday’s hearing, Zimmerman’s defense team brought to the stand a forensic accountant who blamed odd cash transfers on PayPal’s policies rather than deception on the part of the Zimmermans, and also played a video of Zimmerman reenacting the shooting—and describing the injuries he allegedly sustained during it—as authorities walked him through the crime scene.