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(BPT) - The new year is a good time to reset. From a fresh start on lifestyle choices, hobbies or pursuits, to the less exciting — but no less important — aspects of life, like memberships, contracts and even health insurance. Health insurance deductibles reset in the new year, so it's a good idea to keep that in mind as you plan for healthcare expenses. Any changes made to your health insurance plan during open enrollment go into effect as well. "Even if you spent hours researching your health plan before making a selection, there's always a possibility for the occasional surprise once coverage kicks in, which is why it's important to assess your healthcare coverage and address any gaps before January 1," said Doug Armstrong, Vice President of Health Products and Services at AARP Services, Inc. "AARP members can take advantage of benefits available to them to help find the coverage and savings information they seek." 1. Examine your vision coverage Eye health is important to quality of life, both in terms of moving around safely and appreciating your surroundings. Regular eye exams with an ophthalmologist or optometrist can help make sure your vision is sharp while also monitoring for any issues. However, many health insurance plans don't include vision coverage. If you do see a gap in your coverage, AARP members have access to information on vision insurance options that offer individual and family plans, featuring a large doctor network, savings on frames, lens enhancements, progressives and more. 2. Plan for prescriptions While several health plans offer coverage for prescription drugs, discounts can vary, especially when it comes to different types of medication. AARP ® Prescription Discounts Provided by Optum RX ® can help with savings. This program offers a free prescription discount card that can be used at over 66,000 pharmacies nationwide for savings on FDA-approved medications. Additional benefits for AARP members include home delivery, deeper discounts on medications, coverage for dependents and more. 3. Confirm your primary care With a new health insurance plan, you might find that your primary care physician is no longer in-network or that they no longer accept your insurance. Perhaps you have relocated and are in the market for a new doctor. Whatever the case, there's no time like the present to search for a new primary care physician who meets your needs. If you're on Medicare, Oak Street Health can be a great resource. The only primary care provider to carry the AARP name, Oak Street Health provides primary care for adults on Medicare and focuses on prevention with personalized care to help keep you healthy — physically, mentally and socially. Benefits include same-day/next-day appointments where available, convenient locations, a dedicated care team and a 24/7 patient support line. AARP membership is not required to visit an Oak Street Health location. 4. Protect your smile Optimal dental care includes daily brushing and flossing and a visit to the dentist every six months. During your visit, the dentist can monitor for and treat any issues, such as cavities or gum disease. However, not all plans include dental insurance, which means you might end up paying out of pocket for your cleaning and other procedures. To avoid that, take a look at your coverage. If needed, explore information on dental insurance options that offer individual or family coverage for the most common dental procedures. Dental insurance generally pays for regular check-ups, so many people who purchase protection will benefit from it immediately. 5. Clarify your hearing coverage Hearing loss is a common age-related ailment. According to the National Institute on Aging , one-third of older adults have hearing loss, and the chance of developing hearing loss increases with age. Hearing aids can be an enormous help, improving socialization, boosting confidence and even helping to increase balance. However, many insurance plans do not include coverage for hearing aids. AARP ® Hearing SolutionsTM provided by UnitedHealthcare ® Hearing provides savings on hearing aids and hearing care . Members can save an average of $2,000 per pair on prescription hearing aids and 15% on accessories — no insurance needed. Plus receive a hearing exam and consultation at no cost and personalized support through a large nationwide network of hearing providers. 6. Consider physical therapy Often, the only times that people consider whether their health insurance covers physical therapy is if they already participate in it or after the doctor has prescribed it. As we age, though, physical therapy can be a useful tool in improving balance or recovering from an injury or procedure to help you remain active. Fortunately, the question of coverage or finding an in-network location doesn't have to derail you. AARP ® Physical Therapy At HomeTM by Luna accepts most insurances and Medicare and is available to members and non-members alike. Plus, Luna's experts come to you, so you can receive quality care from the comfort of your home. If you're creating an end-of-year to-do list, consider adding an assessment of your healthcare coverage. After all, the best time to realize you have a gap in coverage is before you need it. To learn more about AARP member benefits, visit aarp.org/benefits . AARP and its affiliates are not insurers, agents, brokers or producers. AARP member benefits are provided by third parties, not by AARP or its affiliates. Providers pay a royalty fee to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. Some provider offers are subject to change and may have restrictions. Please contact the provider directly for details.
Me Campaigning for UTM, Over My Dead Body – Fumes KaliatiAsia’s middle distillates markets staged a rebound week on week, as traders sought to clear their paper positions before the year-end amid some pockets of firm demand expectations for next month, while January sales activity turned upbeat. Refiner sale negotiations for January cargoes were underway since late week, though markets were unclear if volumes offered will be similar from a month ago. Both GS Caltex and SK Energy offered first-half January cargoes. Meantime, jet fuel markets were seeing mixed messages as some buyers said they have covered their December requirements and were only looking at January for now but spot premiums remained high. Supplies of the aviation fuel were readily available from China, with at least two 60,000-metric ton cargoes under discussion for export from Zhoushan and Dalian loading in the next two weeks. Markets were still looking towards China for a clearer direction on next year’s overall fuel export volumes, though thin volumes for December and January have currently been factored in by the traders. Looking ahead, analysts stayed bullish on their diesel outlooks for 2025, given a curtailment in supplies in the west from refinery closures and slightly improving demand fundamentals. Refining margins GO10SGCKMc1 climbed for the first week in four back to around $16 a barrel, recouping some losses earlier, though some traders expect that the uptrend could remain arduous in the near-term. Paper markets received a boost since early week as traders rushed to clear their positions for the year for the month’s remainder, supporting prices further. Cash differentials GO10-SIN-DIF closed the trading session at a premium of 53 cents a barrel, clawing back past two weeks’ of losses. Offers remained scant for a second straight trading session for January spot cargoes on the trading window. Regrade JETREG10SGMc1 narrowed to a discount of 17 cents a barrel, reversing earlier sessions’ of weakness, but levels were still weaker than a week ago. – No deals – Gasoil stocks independently held in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub, which include diesel and heating, fell by 0.3% on the week to 2.12 million tons as demand waned in the region. – Oil prices nudged upwards on Friday, heading for their first weekly rise since the end of November, as additional sanctions on Iran and Russia ratcheted up supply worries, while a surplus outlook weighed on markets. – Three of Canada’s biggest oil producers, Suncor Energy SU.TO, Cenovus Energy CVE.TO and Imperial Oil IMO.TO, on Thursday projected higher production in 2025, betting on resilient demand for Canadian crude in U.S. and international markets. – Deliveries of low-sulphur gasoil LGOc1 for December fellto 225 lots or 22,500 tonnesat expiry, down from 854 lots in November, InterContinental Exchange (ICE) data showed on Thursday. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)High limits in unsecured lending a worry, says RBI
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Kendrick Lamar surprises with new album 'GNX'India's former prime minister Manmohan Singh, widely regarded as the architect of India's economic reform program and a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, has died. He was 92. Singh was admitted to New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences late Thursday after his health deteriorated due to a "sudden loss of consciousness at home," the hospital said in a statement. "Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to the Medical Emergency" at 8:06 p.m., the hospital said, but "despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 p.m." Singh was being treated for "age-related medical conditions," the statement said. A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh became one of India's longest-serving prime ministers for 10 years and leader of the Congress Party in the Parliament's Upper House, earning a reputation as a man of great personal integrity. He was chosen to fill the role in 2004 by Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. But his sterling image was tainted by allegations of corruption against his ministers. Singh was reelected in 2009, but his second term as prime minister was clouded by financial scandals and corruption charges over the organization of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This led to the Congress Party's crushing defeat in the 2014 national election by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party under the leadership of Narendra Modi. Singh adopted a low profile after relinquishing the post of prime minister. Prime Minister Modi, who succeeded Singh in 2014, called him one of India's "most distinguished leaders" who rose from humble origins and left "a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years." "As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people's lives," Modi said in a post on the social platform X. He called Singh's interventions in Parliament as a lawmaker "insightful" and said "his wisdom and humility were always visible." Rahul Gandhi, from the same party as Singh and the opposition leader in the lower house of the Indian Parliament, said Singh's "deep understanding of economics inspired the nation" and that he "led India with immense wisdom and integrity." "I have lost a mentor and guide. Millions of us who admired him will remember him with the utmost pride," Gandhi wrote on X. Born on Sept. 26, 1932, in a village in the Punjab province of undivided India, Singh's brilliant academic career took him to Cambridge University in Britain, where he earned a degree in economics in 1957. He then got his doctorate in economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962. Singh taught at Panjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics before joining the Indian government in 1971 as economic adviser in the Commerce Ministry. In 1982, he became chief economic adviser to the Finance Ministry. He also served as deputy chair of the Planning Commission and governor of the Reserve Bank of India. As finance minister, Singh in 1991 instituted reforms that opened up the economy and moved India away from a socialist-patterned economy and toward a capitalist model in the face of a huge balance of payments deficit, skirting a potential economic crisis. His accolades include the 1987 Padma Vibhushan Award, India's second-highest civilian honor; the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress in 1995; and the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year in 1993 and 1994. Singh was a member of India's Upper House of Parliament and was leader of the opposition from 1998 to 2004 before he was named prime minister. He was the first Sikh to hold the country's top post and made a public apology in Parliament for the 1984 Sikh Massacre in which some 3,000 Sikhs were killed after then-prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh bodyguards. Under Singh, India adopted a Right to Information Act in 2005 to promote accountability and transparency from government officials and bureaucrats. He was also instrumental in implementing a welfare scheme that guaranteed at least 100 paid workdays for Indian rural citizens. The coalition government he headed for a decade brought together politicians and parties with differing ideologies that were rivals in the country's various states. In a move hailed as one of his biggest achievements apart from economic reforms, Singh ended India's nuclear isolation by signing a deal with the U.S. that gave India access to American nuclear technology. But the deal hit his government adversely, with Communist allies withdrawing support and criticism of the agreement growing within India in 2008 when it was finalized. Singh adopted a pragmatic foreign policy approach, pursuing a peace process with nuclear rival and neighbour Pakistan. But his efforts suffered a major setback after Pakistani militants carried out a massive gun and bomb attack in Mumbai in November 2008. He also tried to end the border dispute with China, brokering a deal to reopen the Nathu La pass into Tibet, which had been closed for more than 40 years. His 1965 book, "India's Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth," dealt with India's inward-oriented trade policy. Singh is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters. -------- Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.Have you heard the one about the Colorado School of Mines mechanical engineer who’s going to play football at mighty Alabama? Standby. It’s a good one. “I mean, it didn’t feel real at first,” Blake Doud is telling me of his commitment to play for the Crimson Tide. “It kind of still doesn’t feel real.” Oh, it’s real alright. Really wild. Really cool. See, Doud last week became the first Mines player to enter the NCAA transfer portal in the portal era — and the first Oredigger to make the leap to a Power 4 program. Even that part is wild; it was Mines coaches, specifically punting guru Scott Groner, who encouraged him to go. “Blake would be the first to admit he didn’t want to leave Mines,” Groner tells me. It’s true. He didn’t. Mines football players don’t leave Mines football. They love Mines football. “Coming to school here was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Doud says. But that’s the thing about Mines. You opt into long study hours and brutal exam weeks to jump start your life — whether that’s building rockets or bridges as an engineer... or chasing an NFL dream with your lead foot. “At the end of the day it’s our duty to send these guys off and better their lives,” Groner says. “If he can play in front of those SEC crowds and get three meals a day and work with an SEC strength program, I truly felt that could be the edge that would allow him an NFL opportunity.” Friggin’ Alabama was never a thought in Doud’s mind. Shoot, punting wasn’t much of one, either. Mines was the only program to recruit Doud as a punter instead of a wide receiver, where he excelled at Legend High in Parker. So he chose Mines to punt balls and “hopefully build some stuff, because I’ve always liked building stuff,” he says. “It’s not easy here (at Mines),” says Doud, who will dual-enroll at Mines and Alabama next semester to complete his engineering degree. “But this place has truly shaped who I am.” Doud redshirted his first year at the Division II powerhouse. He didn’t appear in a single game in his second season. He exploded in 2023 and 2024, winning RMAC Special Teams Player of the Year and first-team All-American honors. He led Division II last season at 46.1 yards per punt. “I saw it straight away,” says Groner, a former All-American punter, who spent eight years working with the Kansas City Chiefs and now works part-time with the Broncos equipment team. “I saw his 6-foot-5 frame. Being 6-foot-5 as a punter is kind of a cheat code — long levers, powering through the football, good hang time. Then his coach-ability took over.” It’s rare a single punt turns heads in college ball. But in Week 1 this season Doud launched an 80-yard boomer that went viral with over 2 million views on social media. A couple Power 4 assistants even asked me if he would consider transferring to play Division I ball for a year. Doubt it, I said. Mines football players don’t leave Mines. They love Mines. “Blake kind of came out of nowhere a little bit. He was this scrawny 6-foot-5 kid,” Groner says. “But he’s extremely coachable, which most Mines kids are. Everything I’d say, he would’t question it. He’d try it, then come back at me if something didn’t feel right. Those are the best kinds of kids to work with. And I can tell he’s really invested and driven and wants to be great. That makes it fun as a coach.” Then came the transfer portal. “I know the portal is frowned upon in college football,” Groner says. “But this is different. This is potentially life-changing.” Groner’s first call went to Dustin Colquitt, a close friend from their time with the Chiefs, who works with specialists at the University of Tennessee. The Vols didn’t need a punter. The University of Texas-El Paso was Doud’s first scholarship offer in the portal. Then the University of Missouri. Once Missouri offered, Alabama special teams analyst Jay Nunez called Doud with a scholarship offer. Roll Tide. He’s moving to Tuscaloosa in early January. “Alabama, they were always No. 1 when I was growing up,” he says. “Always in big games.” “Building stuff” is still on the table. But career plans have changed. Doud studies Los Angeles Rams punter Ethan Evans, who played at Wingate University, another Division II program. A man named Lloyd Madden was the last Mines player to play in a regular-season NFL game, the school said. That was in the 1940s. I asked Groner, who knows NFL punters: Is Blake one? “He is,” Groner says. “He has the body and he’s only getting stronger. If he doesn’t have the NFL leg now, he will. The hard work is there. The desire is there. And he’s a gamer. He is.” Before he left the Mines campus, the Orediggers had one request for their All-American punter. “When you’re playing on Monday Night Football,” Groner says, “you have to say, ‘Blake Doud, Colorado School of Mines.’” Roll Mines.
MARIST 54, NEW HAMPSHIRE 49