Aston Villa’s disallowed goal would have counted in England – Unai EmeryRobert F. Kennedy Jr.'s defection to Donald Trump and the Republicans comes after years of criticism the former Democrat laid at Trump's feet. Kennedy, whom Trump has nominated to be the next U.S. health secretary, has previously called the president-elect a "bully" and a "terrible president" and described his early political rise as "scary." In a video that was widely shared online this week, amid widespread discussion of Trump's cabinet picks, commentators claimed that Kennedy had disparaged Trump's supporters too, saying he called them "belligerent idiots," "outright Nazis," and "bootlickers." The Claim A post on X, formerly Twitter , by user Republicans against Trump, posted on November 21, 2024, viewed 3.9 million times, said: "[siren emoji] CNN has uncovered an audio in which RFK Jr scorched Trump and his supporters, calling them "belligerent idiots," "outright Nazis," "cowards," and "bootlickers." The post included audio in which Kennedy said: "One of the things that you write so beautifully, and your stuff is so fun to read, but you write about Trump, quote, 'The way that you build a truly vicious nationalist movement is to wed a relatively small core of belligerent idiots to a much larger group of opportunists and spineless fellow travelers whose primary function is to turn a blind eye to things.'" The Facts CNN did not report that Kennedy said those words about Trump supporters himself, and Kennedy did not do so either. CNN reported earlier this week that the recording was taken from a March 2016 episode of the Ring of Fire radio show, during which Kennedy praisingly repeated the words of journalist Matt Taibbi. "'We may not have that many outright Nazis in America, but we have plenty of cowards and bootlickers, and once those fleshy dominoes start tumbling into the Trump camp, the game is up,'" Kennedy quoted. As was said in the clip, Kennedy doesn't resist or challenge Taibbi's words, calling them "beautifully" written and "fun to read." The passage itself doesn't outright call Trump supporters "belligerent idiots" but strongly connects them to that insult. Importantly, these weren't Kennedy's words, although his praise of the passage suggests he, at the very least, sympathized with its sentiment. "Like many Americans, I allowed myself to believe the mainstream media's distorted, dystopian portrait of President Trump," Kennedy said in a statement sent to Newsweek by the Trump-Vance transition team. "I no longer hold this belief and now regret having made those statements. President Trump has a tremendous vision for our country that will not only make our country healthy again but will lower the cost of living for all Americans, stop endless wars, protect free speech, secure our Southern border, and make our country great again. "I am proud to serve in President Trump's administration." As reported in October 2024 by The New York Times, Kennedy has ridiculed Trump for many years, including during his run as a candidate in the 2024 race, calling him a "terrible president" who would not be "capable of meeting the expectations and fulfilling the promises that he raises with his rhetoric." In a Newsweek op-ed from 2018 , Kennedy, who was a Democrat at the time, said that Trump's "presidency has not just discredited our nation, but the entire American experiment in self government." Trump was not kind to Kennedy prior to his dropping out of the 2024 race, either. Kennedy ran against Trump as a Democrat, then an independent, before ending his campaign in August and endorsing the president-elect. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social in late May, Trump called Kennedy "one of the most Liberal Lunatics ever to run for office," adding that he is "a Phony Radical Left fool whose poll numbers are TERRIBLE, and getting worse." The Ruling Needs Context. According to a CNN report, the audio recording of RFK Jr. is from 2016 and was of Kennedy reading a passage written by journalist Matt Taibbi. While these weren't his words, Kennedy repeated them in praise. FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check teamLEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — Leo Colimerio had 15 points in Queens' 81-78 win against VMI on Saturday. Colimerio had seven rebounds and five assists for the Royals (4-5). Jaxon Pollard scored 13 points while finishing 6 of 8 from the floor and added eight rebounds. Yoav Berman had 12 points and shot 4 of 7 from the field, including 3 for 6 from 3-point range, and went 1 for 4 from the line. A 3-pointer by TJ Johnson got VMI within 77-76 with 8 seconds remaining, but Nasir Mann's layup gave Queens an important three-point lead with 6 seconds left. Rickey Bradley, Jr. led the way for the Keydets (5-6) with 19 points and four steals. TJ Johnson added 17 points, six rebounds and three steals for VMI. Augustinas Kiudulas also put up 15 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Ares Management ARES has outperformed the market over the past 5 years by 26.55% on an annualized basis producing an average annual return of 40.14%. Currently, Ares Management has a market capitalization of $36.89 billion. Buying $1000 In ARES: If an investor had bought $1000 of ARES stock 5 years ago, it would be worth $5,424.16 today based on a price of $182.74 for ARES at the time of writing. Ares Management's Performance Over Last 5 Years Finally -- what's the point of all this? The key insight to take from this article is to note how much of a difference compounded returns can make in your cash growth over a period of time. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — AJ Clayton scored 16 points as Ohio beat Robert Morris 84-68 on Saturday. Clayton had seven rebounds for the Bobcats (3-5). Victor Searls scored 14 points and added seven rebounds. Jackson Paveletzke and Aidan Hadaway both scored 11 points. The Colonials (6-3) were led by Josh Omojafo, who recorded 15 points. Antallah Sandlin’El added 14 points for Robert Morris. Alvaro Folgueiras finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Colonials. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .More employment options for ex-offenders, but acceptance by society remains an issue
Black Friday is officially over, and we've rounded up the best deals you can still find! Many deals at retailers like Target , Best Buy , Amazon , and Walmart are already sold out, but you can still find some great deals on tech, video games, and more. Here are our picks for the best Black Friday deals still available for Saturday, November 30: Meta Quest 3S VR Headset with Batman: Arkham Shadow Bonus $75 Amazon Credit Amazon has the Meta Quest 3S VR Headset with Batman: Arkham Shadow for $299 today. You'll even get a bonus $75 Amazon credit with your purchase! This headset is perfect if you're just entering the VR space, and it's equipped with everything you need to experience all the latest games out there. In our 9/10 review , we stated, "Raw processing power, full-color passthrough, and snappy Touch Plus controllers make the Quest 3S a fantastic standalone VR headset that also brings entry-level mixed-reality gaming to the masses for – arguably – the very first time." The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for $30 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is only $30 today at Walmart. This Switch deal still hasn't sold out, and it's easily one of the best still available. The secrets of the Zonai tribe are revealed, and you'll discover new areas to explore in the skies above and depths below. If there's one game you should pick up this weekend, Tears of the Kingdom is it. Astro Bot for $49.99 Astro Bot is on sale for the first time since launch, and there has never been a better time to pick up one of the PlayStation 5's best games . Building off Astro's Playroom, Astro Bot features many new abilities and bosses to fight, with over 300 bots to rescue across the galaxy. You'll find planets modeled after beloved PlayStation games like Ape Escape and Uncharted, and even surprise third-party bots like Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil 2 . Apple AirPods Pro 2 for $154 The best Black Friday AirPods deal is still available. This second generation of Apple AirPods packs in a few new features, with a major one being the switch from Lightning to USB-C. Additionally, you'll find a speaker on the case to help you locate it if needed. While the AirPods 4 have ANC features, the AirPods 2 are the best wireless earbuds you can buy from Apple. If you just recently picked up a new iPhone, this is the perfect accessory for you. Alan Wake II Deluxe Edition for $49.99 Alan Wake II didn't get a physical release at launch last year, but Remedy has fixed that as of last month with the Alan Wake II Deluxe Edition. Today, you can save $30 off the Deluxe Edition physical copy, which bundles in Alan Wake II and its two expansions, Night Springs and The Lake House. If you're a fan of survival horror, this is one of the best games available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. PlayStation Console Deals Are Now Live There are plenty of PS5 console bundles on sale today, making this the best time of the year to pick up a new console. You can purchase a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition for $374.99, saving $25 and scoring a free game at no extra cost. Or, you can opt for the PlayStation 5 Disc Console, which is priced at $424.99. Sony also has the PlayStation VR 2 on sale today, with the Horizon Call of the Mountain Bundle priced at $349.99 at Best Buy. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for $39.99 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was one of 2024's biggest games, continuing the story from 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII begin their journey outside Midgar, meeting characters like Yuffie, Vincent, and Cid alongside the way. This experience offers well over 100 hours of content, with 36 sidequests and a main story over 40 hours long. Plus, there are dozens of minigames to discover. This is by far one of the best games you can get for under $40. Stellar Blade for $49.99 This Black Friday, Stellar Blade is on sale for the first time since launch. This action game from Shift Up has been one of the most popular games of the year. Just a few weeks ago, new Nier: Automata DLC was released, which included new outfits inspired by A2, 2B, and Emil. In our 7/10 review , we stated "Stellar Blade stands out as a gorgeous and well-crafted action game with very impressive strengths and very clear weaknesses." Metaphor: ReFantazio for $49.99 Metaphor: ReFantazio is the latest game from Persona 3, 4, and 5 Director Katsura Hashino and the team at Atlus' Studio Zero. For the first time since launch, you can score the game at a discount , saving $20 post Black Friday. In our 9/10 review , we stated, "Refining the Atlus RPG formula of weaving tough turn-based combat into compelling social sim mechanics, Metaphor: ReFantazio doesn’t just send a powerful message across its political drama, it becomes a beautiful expression of the real impact storytelling can have on all of us." Star Wars Outlaws for $39.99 Star Wars Outlaws released in late August, and it's already $30 off for Black Friday. Protagonist Kay Vass stars in a journey across the galaxy where she must take down a crime boss and unite thieves and criminals alike. While there were some issues at launch, Ubisoft has remedied those for the most part with the recent 1.40 update. This is the lowest price we've seen yet for the game, and it's one of our favorite deals still live after Black Friday. iPad (10th Generation) for $249.99 The iPad can be an incredibly useful device if you're needing something bigger than a phone, and this is our pick from this year's iPad discounts . Powered by the A14 Bionic, you can sketch, create presentations, and watch content all day long, with up to 10 hours of battery life supported. The 10th Generation iPad includes support for Touch ID, Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard Folio, and more. Final Fantasy XVI for $24.99 One of the biggest 2023 games has hit a new all-time low price! Final Fantasy XVI follows Clive Rosfield on his journey to avenge his brother. For the first time in the Final Fantasy series, you can become a summon, known as Eikons in this world. With spectacular boss battles and an engaging story, Final Fantasy XVI is an excellent time, especially for $24.99. Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.Shares of Autodesk, Inc. ADSK are trading lower on Wednesday but they may have found support. The company posted earnings that were slightly better than estimates but investors are concerned about decreasing margins. Our team of traders and technical analysts has made it our Stock of the Day . Operating margin is the percent of profit a company has on a dollar of sales after all costs are considered. In Q3 of last year, Autodesk had an operating margin of 24%. This means that for every dollar of sales, the company kept 24 cents. But this year, the margin has dropped to 22%. This means they are now only keeping 22 cents. This may not sound like a significant drop, but it shows that the company is becoming less efficient. This may be a bearish sign for the longer-term and some investors are selling. It isn't a coincidence that the shares found support around the $293 level. Read Also: Fed’s Favorite Inflation Gauge Heats Up As Predicted, Personal Incomes Soar As you can see on the chart, this level was resistance in October. Many of the investors and traders who sold at this resistance thought they made a good decision when the price dropped soon after. But in early November the resistance broke and the stock gapped higher. When this happened, some of those who sold came to regret their decision to do so. A number of them decided to buy their shares back. But they would only do so if they could buy them at the same price they were sold for. As a result, now that the stock has dropped back to their selling prices they are placing buy orders. The large concentration of these orders has formed support at the price that had been resistance. Sometimes stocks rally after they drop to resistance. This happens because some of the buyers become nervous. They know that the sellers are going to go to whoever is willing to pay the highest price. They are afraid that they will be outbid by other buyers. So, they increase their bid prices. Other nervous buyers see this and do the same thing. It could result in a snowball effect or bidding war that pushes the price up. Levels that had been resistance can become support. Stocks tend to rally after reaching support. Shares of Autodesk may be about to move higher. Price Action : Autodesk closed Wednesday at $290.64 per share, down 8.6%. Read Next: Anthony Scaramucci: Trump Win Is ‘The Greatest Political Comeback In US History,’ Crypto Surge Following It Was 3 Years Overdue © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — Leo Colimerio had 15 points in Queens' 81-78 win against VMI on Saturday. Colimerio had seven rebounds and five assists for the Royals (4-5). Jaxon Pollard scored 13 points while finishing 6 of 8 from the floor and added eight rebounds. Yoav Berman had 12 points and shot 4 of 7 from the field, including 3 for 6 from 3-point range, and went 1 for 4 from the line. A 3-pointer by TJ Johnson got VMI within 77-76 with 8 seconds remaining, but Nasir Mann's layup gave Queens an important three-point lead with 6 seconds left. Rickey Bradley, Jr. led the way for the Keydets (5-6) with 19 points and four steals. TJ Johnson added 17 points, six rebounds and three steals for VMI. Augustinas Kiudulas also put up 15 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .TEANECK, N.J. (AP) — Dylan Jones had 22 points in Fairleigh Dickinson's 98-54 victory over Lehman on Saturday. Jones shot 6 for 10 (6 for 9 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Knights (4-7). Terrence Brown added 19 points while shooting 7 for 12 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line and also had six rebounds, five assists, and six steals. Cameron Tweedy had 11 points and shot 4 of 5 from the field and 3 for 5 from the line. The Lightning were led in scoring by Kai Parris, who finished with 12 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Have you ever wondered why there’s no targeted medication for menstrual cramps and women are instead given generic painkillers? Why are conditions like endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome frequently diagnosed later? And why are women told that their joint pain, body aches and urinary problems are just part of going through menopause ? After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, you may have noticed changes to your periods: More intense cramps, a shorter cycle, and heavier bleeding. Doctors said it was all in our minds and that the disruption to our menstrual cycles would go away eventually – only for some women, it didn’t. The Singapore Heart Foundation, in its Women’s Heart Health Survey this year, said heart disease claims the lives of about one in three women annually. Yet, more than 80 per cent of women are unaware of its severity or its symptoms – which often present very differently in females compared with males. There’s a common thread to all these anecdotes. Associate Professor Sophia Archuleta calls it the gender gap in healthcare and health research. The head of the National University Hospital’s (NUH) infectious diseases division said the gap refers to insufficient research on women’s health, barriers to women having access to care, and poorer health outcomes for women compared with men. WHAT THE HEALTHCARE GENDER GAP IN SINGAPORE LOOKS LIKE The healthcare gender gap affects women everywhere, said Assoc Prof Archuleta. On a day-to-day level, it often means that women’s health concerns are dismissed or minimised. It makes visiting a doctor a nerve-wracking experience for many women, Assoc Prof Archuleta said. Doctor appointments are marked by anxiety about having their concerns dismissed or being uncertain about the outcome of their consultation. Professor Yan Li, from the Department of Information Systems at ESSEC Business School and an expert in femtech, products that use technology to improve women's health , said the dismissal is wide-ranging. “It took considerable advocacy before large-scale studies were initiated to investigate the effects of COVID-19 vaccinations on women,” she said. “Conditions like postpartum depression are often viewed as ingratitude after having children or weakness, leading to long-term harm for both mother and child.” Prof Li added: “Similarly, women with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia or endometriosis are frequently told their pain is ‘all in their heads’, causing significant delays in diagnosis and treatment.” In Singapore, Prof Li said the gender gap manifests in late diagnosis, medical research with a “lack of focus” on women, and “insufficient public awareness campaigns targeting women for early screening”. As a result, women in Singapore are diagnosed with diseases such as cancer later , as early symptoms go unchecked and the disease becomes apparent only after it has progressed. Mental health disorders are also worse in women because they go unaddressed. The numbers are staggering. A report by McKinsey Health Institute estimates that the women’s health gap in Singapore collectively amounts to roughly 40,000 Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). DALYs measure the years we spend living in poor health or losing to early death – on an individual level, this translates to each woman losing about three and a half days of her life to inadequate healthcare. If a woman is unable to work, care for her family, or enjoy her usual activities for a year due to chronic pain from, say, untreated endometriosis, she loses one DALY. And if another woman dies from a preventable condition 10 years earlier than expected, those 10 years are 10 DALYs. Megan Ann Greenfield, a partner at McKinsey and co-leader of McKinsey’s women’s health programme, said there is also a significant economic impact. “Over two-thirds of the health gap occurs during women’s prime working years,” she said, highlighting that when women are not healthy enough to work, there is substantial economic loss for the country. She added that addressing the top 10 health conditions in women – which include gynaecological conditions , heart disease , mental health disorders, breast cancer and migraines – could boost Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) by approximately US$3 billion (S$4.05 billion). However, since these conditions are not given enough attention, Greenfield said that Singapore foregoes this economic gain instead. So why does the gap exist? Here are three factors, as well as what’s being done – and needs to be done – to tackle them: MEN’S BODIES ARE THE DEFAULT IN HEALTH RESEARCH Much of our understanding of the human body is based on male physiology, despite women experiencing many health issues differently, Prof Li said. McKinsey’s Greenfield added: “Questions around sex-based differences were rarely investigated or recorded. It was falsely assumed that men’s and women’s organs and systems functioned similarly, except for reproductive organs. “Women have also been underrepresented in clinical trials, making their experiences less researched and understood. A study published this year by the Singapore medical journal The Annals revealed a significant gender disparity in local clinical trials. The study found that females were significantly underrepresented, making up only 40 per cent of participants in nearly two-thirds of trials focused on infectious diseases, cardiology, endocrinology and psychiatry. The scarcity of studies on women’s health and their historical exclusion from research cannot be overlooked, said Assoc Prof Archuleta . She highlighted the impact of this disparity: For instance, while COVID-19 vaccines affect women’s periods, little research exists due to the lack of focus on women and infectious diseases. Similarly, despite women’s higher risk for dementia , studies on the condition are relatively recent, likely due to underrepresentation. In this regard, Prof Li advocates for policymakers in Singapore and worldwide to mandate the inclusion of women in clinical trials and research projects. More resources should also be allocated to women’s health research to address gender disparity. The Association of American Medical Colleges reported that it was only in the 1990s – barely three decades ago – that the United States Food and Drug Administration mandated the inclusion of women in research unless there is a justification for exclusion (for example, if the disease only affects men). However, the report found that even as of 2019, despite strides in medical research, women were still significantly underrepresented in clinical trials for leading diseases. It’s why experts need to continue pushing for better representation to close the gap that widened due to the late start, Assoc Prof Archuleta said. In Singapore, the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine was established in 2023 to advance women’s health. Its goals include increasing women’s representation in local clinical research, addressing common women’s health issues and turning research into practical steps for earlier prediction, prevention, and treatment of various health conditions. “While institutions and organisations work to bridge the gap, everyday women – and men – can still take charge of their health and care for the women around them, knowing the gap exists,” Assoc Prof Archuleta said. 1. Educate ourselves It’s not just about knowing all the health issues out there, said Greenfield, but about understanding your own health needs and being aware of potential risks and preventive measures. “This includes understanding our family health history and briefly knowing the common health issues that affect women, such as reproductive health, breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health,” she said. 2. Go for regular checkups Make regular check-ups and screenings for common health conditions a priority, said Prof Li. These improve the early detection of medical issues, allowing prompt treatment and preventing the condition from worsening. 3. Find the right healthcare professionals It’s important to find the right healthcare professionals – they are the people you can comfortably approach when you’re unsure about anything related to your body. Said Assoc Prof Archuleta : “The same way you would want a special hairdresser who knows you, your quirks and your habits to style and cut your hair, you should find a general practitioner whom you can trust for healthcare advice.” 4. Find support Support is key to allowing women to be candid about their medical experiences and increasing their chances of discovering any abnormality early, said Assoc Prof Archuleta. She added: “Joining support groups or online communities allows women to share experiences and receive emotional support and assistance when needed.” TABOOS SURROUNDING WOMEN’S HEALTH Prof Li noted that topics surrounding women’s health have traditionally been seen as taboo. “In Southeast Asia, including Singapore, it remains culturally taboo to openly discuss women’s sexual well-being and infertility issues,” she said. “There’s also a stigma associated with vaginal diseases and breast issues due to deeply rooted social norms regarding women’s bodies.” When women feel that talking about their health and well-being is embarrassing or inappropriate, they may keep concerns to themselves when they experience something amiss, leading to delayed diagnosis. Assoc Prof Archuleta said to battle cultural issues, public education plays a crucial role. “Mainstream media should publish more health news from credible and reputable sources to help everyday women better understand their bodies and the symptoms they go through for different health conditions,” she said. “That way, issues like stigma and taboo can be addressed, too.” UNDERREPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN SENIOR HEALTHCARE ROLES Having fewer women in senior roles in healthcare and health research leads to a diminished focus on women’s health issues, said Prof Li. “The underrepresentation directly impacts the attention given to advancing women’s health, as it affects policies and research priorities,” Assoc Prof Archuleta added. Assoc Prof Archuleta added that underrepresentation is partly driven by intense work cultures in healthcare and academia that don’t accommodate women’s needs, particularly for those balancing roles like caregiving. “It becomes difficult for them to meet the rigorous demands of medical and research fields, despite their capability to do so,” she said. “And when fewer women are involved in the top roles of healthcare and academia, the effects will be adverse downstream. “Fewer journal topics on women’s health will be approved, less priority is given to secure the fair representation of women in research projects, and policies in the workplace and when treating patients may not consider women’s needs.” Efforts to close the gap include policy changes to improve the representation of women in health and research. At NUH, for example, there is an emphasis on having diverse representation in decision-making bodies. Assoc Prof Archuleta stressed that it’s not enough to have just one token woman in committees; these bodies must include women who are literate in women’s health issues. Another key aspect that Assoc Prof Archuleta noted is the need to build a culture of male allies in the workplace and at home. For many women, balancing a career with caregiving responsibilities – what Assoc Prof Archuleta called the “second shift” – can be overwhelming, especially for academic physicians juggling clinical work, teaching, research, and studies. In 2019, the Equal Opportunities & Career Development was set up at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. It aims to make the medical workplace more inclusive for women, including setting up comfortable nursing rooms for working mums in hospitals and clinics, and pushing for more flexible hours for women with other caregiving duties. “Providing more support for women in these fields is essential to help them navigate the demands of both work and life,” Assoc Prof Archuleta said. “When women feel more comfortable at work in hospitals, they will be better represented, leading to better health outcomes for women.” CNA Women is a section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg .
David Hilzenrath, Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group | (TNS) KFF Health News In March, newly installed Social Security chief Martin O’Malley criticized agency “injustices” that “shock our shared sense of equity and good conscience as Americans.” He promised to overhaul the Social Security Administration’s often heavy-handed efforts to claw back money that millions of recipients — including people who are living in poverty, are elderly, or have disabilities — were allegedly overpaid, as described by a KFF Health News and Cox Media Group investigation last year. “Innocent people can be badly hurt,” O’Malley said at the time. Nearly eight months since he appeared before Congress and announced a series of policy changes, and with two months left in his term, O’Malley’s effort to fix the system has made inroads but remains a work in progress. For instance, one change, moving away from withholding 100% of people’s monthly Social Security benefits to recover alleged overpayments, has been a major improvement, say advocates for beneficiaries. “It is a tremendous change,” said Kate Lang of Justice in Aging, who called it “life-changing for many people.” The number of people from whom the Social Security Administration was withholding full monthly benefits to recoup money declined sharply — from about 46,000 in January to about 7,000 in September, the agency said. Asked to clarify whether those numbers and others provided for this article covered all programs administered by the agency, the SSA press office did not respond. Another potentially significant change — relieving beneficiaries of having to prove that an overpayment was not their fault — has not been implemented. The agency said it is working on that. Meanwhile, the agency seems to be looking to Congress to take the lead on a change some observers see as crucial: limiting how far back the government can reach to recover an alleged overpayment. Barbara Hubbell of Watkins Glen, New York, called the absence of a statute of limitations “despicable.” Hubbell said her mother was held liable for $43,000 because of an SSA error going back 19 years. “In what universe is that even legal?” Hubbell said. Paying down the overpayment balance left her mother “essentially penniless,” she added. In response to questions for this article, Social Security spokesperson Mark Hinkle said legislation is “the best and fastest way” to set a time limit. Establishing a statute of limitations was not among the policy changes O’Malley announced in his March congressional testimony. In an interview at the time, he said he expected an announcement on it “within the next couple few months.” It could probably be done by regulation, without an act of Congress, he said. Speaking generally, Hinkle said the agency has “made substantial progress on overpayments,” reducing the hardship they cause, and “continues to work diligently” to update policies. The agency is underfunded, he added, is at a near 50-year low in staffing, and could do better with more employees. The SSA did not respond to requests for an interview with O’Malley. O’Malley announced the policy changes after KFF Health News and Cox Media Group jointly published and broadcast investigative reporting on the damage overpayments and clawbacks have done to millions of beneficiaries. When O’Malley, a former Democratic governor of Maryland, presented his plans to three congressional committees in March, lawmakers greeted him with rare bipartisan praise. But the past several months have shown how hard it can be to turn around a federal bureaucracy that is massive, complex, deeply dysfunctional, and, as it says, understaffed. Now O’Malley’s time may be running out. Lang of Justice in Aging, among the advocacy groups that have been meeting with O’Malley and other Social Security officials, said she appreciates how much the commissioner has achieved in a short time. But she added that O’Malley has “not been interested in hearing about our feelings that things have fallen short.” One long-standing policy O’Malley set out to change involves the burden of proof. When the Social Security Administration alleges someone has been overpaid and demands the money back, the burden is on the beneficiary to prove they were not at fault. Cecilia Malone, 24, a beneficiary in Lithonia, Georgia, said she and her parents spent hundreds of hours trying to get errors corrected. “Why is the burden on us to ‘prove’ we weren’t overpaid?” Malone said. It can be exceedingly difficult for beneficiaries to appeal a decision. The alleged overpayments, which can reach tens of thousands of dollars or more, often span years. And people struggling just to survive may have extra difficulty producing financial records from long ago. What’s more, in letters demanding repayment, the government does not typically spell out its case against the beneficiary — making it hard to mount a defense. Testifying before House and Senate committees in March, O’Malley promised to shift the burden of proof. “That should be on the agency,” he said. The agency expects to finalize “guidance” on the subject “in the coming months,” Hinkle said. The agency points to reduced wait times and other improvements in a phone system known to leave beneficiaries on hold. “In September, we answered calls to our national 800 number in an average of 11 minutes — a tremendous improvement from 42 minutes one year ago,” Hinkle said. Still, in response to a nonrepresentative survey by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group focused on overpayments, about half of respondents who said they contacted the agency by phone since April rated that experience as “poor,” and few rated it “good” or “excellent.” The survey was sent to about 600 people who had contacted KFF Health News to share their overpayment stories since September 2023. Almost 200 people answered the survey in September and October of this year. Most of those who said they contacted the agency by mail since April rated their experience as “poor.” Jennifer Campbell, 60, a beneficiary in Nelsonville, Ohio, said in late October that she was still waiting for someone at the agency to follow up as described during a phone call in May. “VERY POOR customer service!!!!!” Campbell wrote. “Nearly impossible to get a hold of someone,” wrote Kathryn Duff of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who has been helping a disabled family member. Letters from SSA have left Duff mystified. One was postmarked July 9, 2024, but dated more than two years earlier. Another, dated Aug. 18, 2024, said her family member was overpaid $31,635.80 in benefits from the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides money to people with little or no income or other resources who are disabled, blind, or at least 65. But Duff said her relative never received SSI benefits. What’s more, for the dates in question, payments listed in the letter to back up the agency’s math didn’t come close to $31,635.80; they totaled about a quarter of that amount. Regarding the 100% clawbacks, O’Malley in March said it’s “unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment.” He said that, starting March 25, if a beneficiary doesn’t respond to a new overpayment notice, the agency would default to withholding 10%. The agency warned of “a short transition period.” That change wasn’t automated until June 25, Hinkle said. The number of people newly placed in full withholding plummeted from 6,771 in February to 51 in September, according to data the agency provided. SSA said it would notify recipients they could request reduced withholding if it was already clawing back more than 10% of their monthly checks. Nonetheless, dozens of beneficiaries or their family members told KFF Health News and Cox Media Group they hadn’t heard they could request reduced withholding. Among those who did ask, roughly half said their requests were approved. According to the SSA, there has been almost a 20% decline in the number of people facing clawbacks of more than 10% but less than 100% of their monthly checks — from 141,316 as of March 8 to 114,950 as of Oct. 25, agency spokesperson Nicole Tiggemann said. Meanwhile, the number of people from whom the agency was withholding exactly 10% soared more than fortyfold — from just over 5,000 to well over 200,000. And the number of beneficiaries having any partial benefits withheld to recover an overpayment increased from almost 600,000 to almost 785,000, according to data Tiggemann provided. Lorraine Anne Davis, 72, of Houston, said she hasn’t received her monthly Social Security payment since June due to an alleged overpayment. Her Medicare premium was being deducted from her monthly benefit, so she’s been left to pay that out-of-pocket. Davis said she’s going to need a kidney transplant and had been trying to save money for when she’d be unable to work. A letter from the SSA dated April 8, 2024, two weeks after the new 10% withholding policy was slated to take effect, said it had overpaid her $13,538 and demanded she pay it back within 30 days. Apparently, the SSA hadn’t accounted for a pension Davis receives from overseas; Davis said she disclosed it when she filed for benefits. In a letter to her dated June 29, the agency said that, under its new policy, it would change the withholding to only 10% if she asked. Davis said she asked by phone repeatedly, and to no avail. “Nobody seems to know what’s going on” and “no one seems to be able to help you,” Davis said. “You’re just held captive.” In October, the agency said she’d receive a payment — in March 2025. Marley Presiado, a research assistant on the Public Opinion and Survey Research team at KFF, contributed to this report. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Disneyland announces closure date for Red Car Trolley attraction
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ education board voted Friday to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools under optional new curriculum that could test boundaries between religion and public classrooms in the U.S. The material adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, passed in a 8-7 final vote over criticism that the lessons would proselytize to young learners and alienate students of faiths other than Christianity. Supporters argued the Bible is a core feature of American history and that teaching it will enrich lessons. The vote allows schools in Texas, which has more than 5 million public school students, to begin using the material in kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms as early as next year. Republican lawmakers celebrated the vote, including Texas' powerful lieutenant governor, who has pledged to pass legislation next year that would follow Louisiana in trying to require schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Texas' approval “is an important step to boosting student outcomes statewide,” Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick posted on social media. Schools are not required to use the material, but those that do would receive extra funding from the state. In the newly approved kindergarten materials, one lesson on helping one’s neighbor instructs teachers to talk about the Golden Rule using lessons from the Bible. It also instructs the teachers to explain that the Bible is “a collection of ancient texts” and that its different parts are “the core books of the Jewish and Christian religions.” In a third-grade lesson about the first Thanksgiving, the material directs teachers to discuss how the governor of Plymouth said a prayer and gave a speech that included references to “several passages from the Christian Bible in the book of Psalms.” Teachers are then instructed to tell students the book of Psalms is a collection of songs, poems and hymns “that are used in both Jewish and Christian worship.” With the new curriculum, Texas would be the first state to introduce Bible lessons in schools in this manner, according to Matthew Patrick Shaw, an assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University. Whether the lesson plans will be considered constitutional is up in the air, he said. The Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education for more than 5 million students statewide, created its own instruction materials after a law passed in 2023 by the GOP-controlled Legislature required the agency to do so. The lesson plans were publicly released this spring. “This curriculum is not age-appropriate or subject matter appropriate in the way that it presents these Bible stories,” said Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Children who would read the material, she said, “are simply too young to tell the difference between what is a faith claim and what is a matter of fact.” Mary Castle, director of government relations for Texas Values, a right-leaning advocacy group, said there are “close to 300 common-day phrases that actually come from the Bible” and that students “will benefit from being able to understand a lot of these references.” More than 100 people testified at a board meeting this week that rung with emotion from parents, teachers and advocates. One Democrat on the board, Rebecca Bell-Metereau, said the inclusion of religions in addition to Christianity in the materials was not an “adequate attempt to change that bias.” “It seems to me like it is trying to place a Band-Aid on a gaping wound,” she said. One of the board members, Leslie Recine, is a Republican who was appointed to the board just weeks ago by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to temporarily fill a vacant seat. She voted in favor of the curriculum. Days after her appointment, a Democrat who ran unopposed was elected to fill that same board seat starting next year. Texas' plans to implement Biblical teachings in public school lesson plans is the latest effort by Republican-controlled states to bring religion into the classroom. In Louisiana, a law to place the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms was blocked by a federal judge earlier this month. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill into law in June, prompting a group of Louisiana public school parents of different faiths to sue. In Oklahoma, the state's top education official has tried to incorporate the Bible into lesson plans for children in fifth through 12th grades. A group of teachers and parents recently filed a lawsuit to stop the Republican state superintendent's plan and his efforts to spend $3 million to purchase Bibles for public schools. Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. LaFleur reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.The appeals court that upheld a law that could ban TikTok in the United States said the government offered no evidence that China is manipulating content on the platform in the United States. However, the panel of judges wrote in their opinion that evidence that China has compelled TikTok to manipulate content elsewhere was enough for it to uphold a federal law signed by President Joe Biden that would force TikTok's sale in the United States to an American company or ban it from app stores. The US District Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia found on Friday in a majority opinion that the federal law is constitutional. The law, which was passed in April, requires TikTok's Chinese parent company, Bytedance, to divest from the company by January 19 or face a ban in the United States. US officials across political lines have worried that TikTok poses a national security risk because of its Chinese ownership. Some members of Congress have said they fear that TikTok could be used as a propaganda tool to push narratives favorable to China's Communist Party. In statements supporting the bill, Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss called TikTok "a tool of censorship and propaganda" for the Chinese Communist Party, and Republican Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood said the app has "been used as a tool of propaganda in our country." Still, the federal appeals court wrote in its majority opinion that the government did not present any evidence that China has tried to manipulate content on TikTok in the United States. "The Government acknowledges that it lacks specific intelligence that shows the PRC has in the past or is now coercing TikTok into manipulating content in the United States," the opinion says, referring to the People's Republic of China. However, the government argued in court that ByteDance and TikTok have censored content at China's request in other countries. The appeals court wrote that TikTok "never squarely denies" that it has ever manipulated content on its platform at China's request, which it says is "striking" given the intelligence community's concerns. The court concluded that Bytedance and TikTok have "a demonstrated history" of manipulating content in other countries, sometimes at the request of China. "That conclusion rests on more than mere speculation," the judges wrote in the court opinion. "It is the Government's 'informed judgment' to which we give great weight in this context, even in the absence of 'concrete evidence' on the likelihood of PRC-directed censorship of TikTok in the United States." TikTok argued in court that its "recommendation engine," or algorithm, is not based in China because it is . The court said that while this is correct, ByteDance still controls the source code for TikTok, including the recommendation engine. "TikTok is therefore correct to say the recommendation engine 'is stored in the Oracle cloud,' but gains nothing by flyspecking the Government's characterization of the recommendation engine still being in China," the document says. A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider that the TikTok ban "was conceived and pushed through based on inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people." "The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok said in the statement. Like many social media networks, TikTok has faced intense scrutiny for how the app is used to influence elections. The company this week announced that it removed three "influence networks" on the app that attempted to after a probe by the country's defense council. The company said it removed at least 40 similar influence campaigns this year. Read the original article onSan Joaquin General Hospital gets groundbreaking new surgical 'robot' toolHighlights The HHS-OIG released a favorable opinion regarding a customer loyalty program in which members earn redeemable points for future product purchases and tiered benefits by purchasing company products The “discount” safe harbor to the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) does not apply to the proposed arrangement’s loyalty program The proposed arrangement includes factors, the agency said, that limit risk under the AKS and the civil monetary penalty laws (CMP) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) recently released Advisory Opinion No. 24-10 , a favorable opinion regarding the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and civil monetary penalty laws (CMP) against beneficiary inducements as applied to a customer loyalty program. The program, which involves redeemable points and tiered benefits based on product purchases, was offered by a distributor that provides dental and laboratory supplies, equipment and technology, repair services and business support services to office-based dental practitioners. The distributor operates a customer loyalty program in which members earn points on dental supply purchases, which can then be redeemed on future purchases. Redeeming points reduces the price of those future purchases. The membership is divided into tier levels. The tiers are designated based on members’ annual spending levels, and each tier provides additional offerings and promotions. According to the opinion, the proposed arrangement expands the existing customer loyalty program beyond the company’s dental division. Members can earn points on purchases from the company’s dental division and some of its other subsidiaries. The subsidiaries offer specialty dental services and provide general business software and financial services. The members can earn points on items and services that are both reimbursable and non-reimbursable by federal health care programs. The proposal still includes the tiered membership levels, with benefits and discounts increasing with each tier level. HHS-OIG’s Analysis The HHS-OIG concluded both parts of the proposed arrangement implicated the AKS and that neither the points program nor the tier benefits are protected by the “discount” safe harbor to the AKS. However, because the proposed program has safeguards designed to mitigate the risk of fraud and abuse, the HHS-OIG would not impose sanctions against the distributor of dental supplies. The HHS-OIG analyzed the redeemable points and tier benefits separately. The agency found the points implicated the AKS, but determined they created little risk of fraud and abuse because of the following factors: Each point awarded to members is of a low dollar value ($0.005). As a result, there is minimal risk of unfairly steering members to the company. The program includes features that prevent influencing members to purchase particular items or services. All qualifying purchases earn points in the same way, so there is no incentive for members to purchase any certain product. The program prevents members from using their points to cover more than 50 percent of the purchase price. This safeguard prevents against the provision of free items in exchange for purchases of federally reimbursable items. There are protections in place that ensure members use their points only for the purchase of redeemable products. Members cannot redeem points for cash, points have no value if they are not redeemed, and points are not transferable to other members or non-member customers. With respect to the tiered benefits, the HHS-OIG similarly found that the benefits implicated the AKS, but that they posed little risk of fraud and abuse due to the following factors: The types of benefits offered limit the risk of unfair competition and improper steering of customers to the company. The benefits relate to the company’s customer service offerings, such as priority service and extended labor warranties, instead of unrelated rewards like concert and sport tickets. The benefits are structured so that they are unlikely to cause overutilization or corrupt medical decision making. When members spend more on company products, they earn more benefits, which are comprised of support services for those products. The benefits design limits the risk that certain members or types of purchases would be selectively rewarded. The tiered benefits are based on objective criteria set in advance and shared with members. The HHS-OIG determined the proposed arrangement presented a low risk of fraud and abuse because of the safeguards that mitigate the risk of steering customers to the company and improperly influencing medical decision-making. Key Takeaways This advisory opinion, while highly fact-specific, highlights an example of a customer loyalty program that implicates the AKS and CMP, but does not warrant sanctions due to sufficient safeguards that mitigate risk of fraud and abuse. Suppliers, wholesalers, and distributors may wish to revisit their customer loyalty awards program to ensure compliance with the advisory opinion.
David Hilzenrath, Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group | (TNS) KFF Health News In March, newly installed Social Security chief Martin O’Malley criticized agency “injustices” that “shock our shared sense of equity and good conscience as Americans.” He promised to overhaul the Social Security Administration’s often heavy-handed efforts to claw back money that millions of recipients — including people who are living in poverty, are elderly, or have disabilities — were allegedly overpaid, as described by a KFF Health News and Cox Media Group investigation last year. “Innocent people can be badly hurt,” O’Malley said at the time. Nearly eight months since he appeared before Congress and announced a series of policy changes, and with two months left in his term, O’Malley’s effort to fix the system has made inroads but remains a work in progress. For instance, one change, moving away from withholding 100% of people’s monthly Social Security benefits to recover alleged overpayments, has been a major improvement, say advocates for beneficiaries. “It is a tremendous change,” said Kate Lang of Justice in Aging, who called it “life-changing for many people.” The number of people from whom the Social Security Administration was withholding full monthly benefits to recoup money declined sharply — from about 46,000 in January to about 7,000 in September, the agency said. Asked to clarify whether those numbers and others provided for this article covered all programs administered by the agency, the SSA press office did not respond. Another potentially significant change — relieving beneficiaries of having to prove that an overpayment was not their fault — has not been implemented. The agency said it is working on that. Meanwhile, the agency seems to be looking to Congress to take the lead on a change some observers see as crucial: limiting how far back the government can reach to recover an alleged overpayment. Barbara Hubbell of Watkins Glen, New York, called the absence of a statute of limitations “despicable.” Hubbell said her mother was held liable for $43,000 because of an SSA error going back 19 years. “In what universe is that even legal?” Hubbell said. Paying down the overpayment balance left her mother “essentially penniless,” she added. In response to questions for this article, Social Security spokesperson Mark Hinkle said legislation is “the best and fastest way” to set a time limit. Establishing a statute of limitations was not among the policy changes O’Malley announced in his March congressional testimony. In an interview at the time, he said he expected an announcement on it “within the next couple few months.” It could probably be done by regulation, without an act of Congress, he said. Speaking generally, Hinkle said the agency has “made substantial progress on overpayments,” reducing the hardship they cause, and “continues to work diligently” to update policies. The agency is underfunded, he added, is at a near 50-year low in staffing, and could do better with more employees. The SSA did not respond to requests for an interview with O’Malley. O’Malley announced the policy changes after KFF Health News and Cox Media Group jointly published and broadcast investigative reporting on the damage overpayments and clawbacks have done to millions of beneficiaries. When O’Malley, a former Democratic governor of Maryland, presented his plans to three congressional committees in March, lawmakers greeted him with rare bipartisan praise. But the past several months have shown how hard it can be to turn around a federal bureaucracy that is massive, complex, deeply dysfunctional, and, as it says, understaffed. Now O’Malley’s time may be running out. Lang of Justice in Aging, among the advocacy groups that have been meeting with O’Malley and other Social Security officials, said she appreciates how much the commissioner has achieved in a short time. But she added that O’Malley has “not been interested in hearing about our feelings that things have fallen short.” One long-standing policy O’Malley set out to change involves the burden of proof. When the Social Security Administration alleges someone has been overpaid and demands the money back, the burden is on the beneficiary to prove they were not at fault. Cecilia Malone, 24, a beneficiary in Lithonia, Georgia, said she and her parents spent hundreds of hours trying to get errors corrected. “Why is the burden on us to ‘prove’ we weren’t overpaid?” Malone said. It can be exceedingly difficult for beneficiaries to appeal a decision. The alleged overpayments, which can reach tens of thousands of dollars or more, often span years. And people struggling just to survive may have extra difficulty producing financial records from long ago. What’s more, in letters demanding repayment, the government does not typically spell out its case against the beneficiary — making it hard to mount a defense. Testifying before House and Senate committees in March, O’Malley promised to shift the burden of proof. “That should be on the agency,” he said. The agency expects to finalize “guidance” on the subject “in the coming months,” Hinkle said. The agency points to reduced wait times and other improvements in a phone system known to leave beneficiaries on hold. “In September, we answered calls to our national 800 number in an average of 11 minutes — a tremendous improvement from 42 minutes one year ago,” Hinkle said. Still, in response to a nonrepresentative survey by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group focused on overpayments, about half of respondents who said they contacted the agency by phone since April rated that experience as “poor,” and few rated it “good” or “excellent.” The survey was sent to about 600 people who had contacted KFF Health News to share their overpayment stories since September 2023. Almost 200 people answered the survey in September and October of this year. Most of those who said they contacted the agency by mail since April rated their experience as “poor.” Jennifer Campbell, 60, a beneficiary in Nelsonville, Ohio, said in late October that she was still waiting for someone at the agency to follow up as described during a phone call in May. “VERY POOR customer service!!!!!” Campbell wrote. “Nearly impossible to get a hold of someone,” wrote Kathryn Duff of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who has been helping a disabled family member. Letters from SSA have left Duff mystified. One was postmarked July 9, 2024, but dated more than two years earlier. Another, dated Aug. 18, 2024, said her family member was overpaid $31,635.80 in benefits from the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides money to people with little or no income or other resources who are disabled, blind, or at least 65. But Duff said her relative never received SSI benefits. What’s more, for the dates in question, payments listed in the letter to back up the agency’s math didn’t come close to $31,635.80; they totaled about a quarter of that amount. Regarding the 100% clawbacks, O’Malley in March said it’s “unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment.” He said that, starting March 25, if a beneficiary doesn’t respond to a new overpayment notice, the agency would default to withholding 10%. The agency warned of “a short transition period.” That change wasn’t automated until June 25, Hinkle said. The number of people newly placed in full withholding plummeted from 6,771 in February to 51 in September, according to data the agency provided. SSA said it would notify recipients they could request reduced withholding if it was already clawing back more than 10% of their monthly checks. Nonetheless, dozens of beneficiaries or their family members told KFF Health News and Cox Media Group they hadn’t heard they could request reduced withholding. Among those who did ask, roughly half said their requests were approved. According to the SSA, there has been almost a 20% decline in the number of people facing clawbacks of more than 10% but less than 100% of their monthly checks — from 141,316 as of March 8 to 114,950 as of Oct. 25, agency spokesperson Nicole Tiggemann said. Meanwhile, the number of people from whom the agency was withholding exactly 10% soared more than fortyfold — from just over 5,000 to well over 200,000. And the number of beneficiaries having any partial benefits withheld to recover an overpayment increased from almost 600,000 to almost 785,000, according to data Tiggemann provided. Lorraine Anne Davis, 72, of Houston, said she hasn’t received her monthly Social Security payment since June due to an alleged overpayment. Her Medicare premium was being deducted from her monthly benefit, so she’s been left to pay that out-of-pocket. Davis said she’s going to need a kidney transplant and had been trying to save money for when she’d be unable to work. A letter from the SSA dated April 8, 2024, two weeks after the new 10% withholding policy was slated to take effect, said it had overpaid her $13,538 and demanded she pay it back within 30 days. Apparently, the SSA hadn’t accounted for a pension Davis receives from overseas; Davis said she disclosed it when she filed for benefits. In a letter to her dated June 29, the agency said that, under its new policy, it would change the withholding to only 10% if she asked. Davis said she asked by phone repeatedly, and to no avail. “Nobody seems to know what’s going on” and “no one seems to be able to help you,” Davis said. “You’re just held captive.” In October, the agency said she’d receive a payment — in March 2025. Marley Presiado, a research assistant on the Public Opinion and Survey Research team at KFF, contributed to this report. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Percentages: FG .379, FT .895. 3-Point Goals: 7-24, .292 (Tomley 6-7, Vartiainen 1-3, Burris 0-1, Hennig 0-1, Vucinic 0-1, Threatt 0-3, Koehler 0-8). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 1 (Hennig). Turnovers: 12 (Tomley 3, Koehler 2, Tew 2, Threatt 2, Moore, Vartiainen, Vucinic). Steals: 10 (Tew 2, Threatt 2, Vartiainen 2, Burris, Hennig, Koehler, Tomley). Technical Fouls: None. Percentages: FG .327, FT .625. 3-Point Goals: 4-14, .286 (Bethea 3-6, Todorovic 1-4, Odum 0-4). Team Rebounds: 2. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 5 (Coulibaly 2, Dozic, Faure, Mager). Turnovers: 14 (Todorovic 5, Odum 3, Mager 2, Bethea, Dozic, Faure, Olvera). Steals: 7 (Bethea 2, Butka, Coulibaly, Dozic, Odum, Olvera). Technical Fouls: Waves, 14:00 second; Bethea, 13:18 second. A_924 (5,000).
Are you sitting on $1,000 and aren't sure what to do with it? Well, you could look at turning it into something more substantial by investing it into a top Australian stock. But which ASX stocks could be good options for a $1,000 investment in December? Two that analysts believe could generate big returns for investors over the next 12 months are listed below. Here's what they are saying about these buy-rated stocks: ( ) The team at Bell Potter believes that this counterdrone company could be a great option for your money right now. Especially given recent share price weakness which has dragged the Australian stock down materially from its highs. It feels this has created an attractive entry point for investors in a company expected to grow strongly in 2025. The broker said: Whilst DroneShield's revenue YTD has been disappointing, we view this as an opportunity to reset market expectations, which were overly optimistic for CY24. However, DRO remains a high-quality technology company, operating in a rapidly growing market and is well capitalised to maintain its market leading position. We believe the current SP provides an attractive entry point considering DRO's strong runway into CY25 ($18m contracted rev.), robust market demand and appealing long-term growth outlook. The broker has a buy rating and $1.20 price target on this its shares. This implies a potential upside of 54% for investors. ( ) Another Australian stock that has been dragged notably lower from its highs is mining and mining services company Mineral Resources. Bell Potter also believes that this has created a compelling buying opportunity for investors. It commented: MIN continues to make good progress on its critical tasks of commissioning the Onslow Iron Project and deleveraging its balance sheet. We forecast that Onslow will become a foundational earnings driver for MIN from FY26. MIN still has numerous options to enhance its balance sheet, and we think more transactions are likely, going forward, eliminating market leverage concerns. [...] Looking forward 12-months, we think that process will be complete, MIN will continue to be a sector leader in agile operations and business development, and accordingly we maintain our buy recommendation. The broker has a buy rating and $61.00 price target on its shares. Based on its current share price of $33.63, this implies potential upside of just over 80% for investors over the next 12 months.
Exco Technologies Limited Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and Year Ended September 30, 2024