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Stock market today: Dow rides rotation into cyclicals to close at record highFROM childcare costs to buying extra food in the weekly shop, kids sure aren’t cheap. But parents claiming Universal Credit and other benefits can get extra support through a whole range of freebies and perks. 7 Four ways for parents on benefits to get extra support for the kids Credit: Getty Here’s what is available . . . PREGNANCY PERK: You could qualify for the Sure Start Maternity Grant if you are claiming benefits and expecting your first child. You can also qualify if you already have children and are expecting twins or triplets. It’s a one-off payment worth £500 to help with the cost of having a child. READ MORE MONEY SAVING TIPS SUN SAVERS Four ways to save money and the planet when getting your kid a Halloween costume SUN SAVERS Three savvy ways to save big before Christmas with carefully timed purchases New parents can claim the grant within 11 weeks of the baby’s due date or up to six months after the baby is born. You will need to print out and fill in the Sure Start Maternity Grant form. HEALTHY HELP: New or expectant parents can get up to £442 worth of free food a year through the NHS Healthy Start scheme. Anyone receiving benefits and more than ten weeks pregnant or with a child under four can apply online or via email. Most read in Money LEAVING TOWN High street giant to shut branch as mystery surrounds shopping centre future CHOC FULL Shoppers rush to buy Cadbury selection boxes at major supermarket for just £1 CASH FLOODS Hardy shoppers defy Storm Darragh to queue for a new Poundland ANN-OTHER ONE Major high street retailer to close store for good and 'all stock must go' Scheme members are sent a card which can be used in supermarkets and retailers. You can also apply to join if you are under 18 and not on benefits. I spend my child benefit on Christmas presents, I fork out around £100 every month on gifts, how else would I spend it- CHILDCARE BOOST: You can get 85 per cent of your childcare costs paid each month, up to a maximum of £1,014 for one child or £1,739 for two or more. To get the help you need to make a claim via your Universal Credit online account. You and your partner, if you live with them, need to be working or to have a job offer. MEAL DEAL: In England, children in reception, year one or year two at a state school are entitled to free school meals. And if you are claiming certain benefits, you can get free school meals for older children as well. To find out who to contact and how to apply, type your postcode into the Government’s website at gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals. All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability Deal of the day 7 Save £29.99 on this mink faux fur coat from New Look Credit: Supplied PUT the mink faux fur coat from New Look on your Santa list. It’s down to £40, from £69.99. SAVE: £29.99 Cheap treat 7 Save £3 on a three-piece eye brush set at Superdrug Credit: Supplied GET a three-piece eye brush set at Superdrug, down from £6 to £3. SAVE: £3 What's new? SWAP an unused toy for a festive cocktail at the Be At One bar chain. Bring your toy – to be donated to a child in need – to any of its 40 locations either tomorrow, Tuesday or Wednesday to pick up a free tipple. Top swap 7 Get the look of love in this heart-shaped wicker mirror for £50 at Dunelm (in store only) Credit: Supplied 7 Or head to Matalan for a similar version for just £20 Credit: Supplied GET the look of love in this heart-shaped wicker mirror, £50, Dunelm (in store only) or head to Matalan for a similar version, £20. SAVE: £30 Little helper USE the coupon from your Asda Rewards app wallet to get a £60, 7ft pre-lit Christmas tree for £30, saving £30.The offer ends today. Shop & save 7 Save up to £13.75 a bottle at Sainsbury's with a Nectar card Credit: Supplied USE a Nectar card to get Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs champagne for £15, down from £25. Save a further 25 per cent when you buy six bottles, taking the price to £11.25 each. SAVE: Up to £13.75 a bottle Hot right now GOT a Morrisons More card? Get a litre of Baileys in store for £8.50 when you spend £45, until Thursday. PLAY NOW TO WIN £200 7 Join thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle. Every month we’re giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers - whether you’re saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered. Read more on the Scottish Sun FERRY WINDY Ferry stranded amid Storm Darragh as passengers stuck on ship for 12 hours HORROR BLAZE Huge fire erupts at Scots industrial estate as emergency crews race to scene Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket. The more codes you enter, the more tickets you'll earn and the more chance you will have of winning!Five players Arsenal could sign in January to kickstart title charge including ex-Premier League journeyman
An ex-detective accused of abusing women died in an apparent suicide as his trial was startingScheifele notches hat trick as Jets top Maple Leafs 5-2
NoneStrictly results have been leaked online. Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas Special has been spoiled weeks before the show's Day broadcast. The lineup includes Formula 3's Billy Monger, ' Tamzin Outhwaite, Gladiators' Nitro, comedian Josh Widdicombe, presenter Vogue Williams and RuPaul's Drag Race UK's Tayce. Although the special won't air until December 25, the winner's identity has been revealed by the Spoiler website, which frequently discloses the main show's weekly results. The site teased the reveal, stating, "Because my stocking is full to the brim of spoilers, here are the results," before announcing the glitterball trophy winner. Daily Star has decided not to reveal the champion of the 2024 Christmas special. Strcitly fans have flocked to social media to react to the news: "I'M SO HAPPY! They're the couple I wanted to win! I hope to see XXX on the main show next year." However, some fans' reactions were mixed with one viewer chiming in: "Wanted XXX to win ... but congratulations to XXX and XXX," reports . Another fan offered warm wishes: "Congratulations to XXX. Would have liked XXX to win." Another person added, "I am glad to see who won it. It should be a good show. I really like the Christmas special." Ahead of the main series' final episode, Sarah Hadland spoke exclusively to Daily Star about her co-star Chris McCausland. She said: "I will be happy if Chris wins. What he’s doing week on week is jaw-dropping. When you’re lucky enough to see it up close, it’s extraordinary." “What Chris has done for the blind community is just wonderful. People like him are being represented on the show and it’s not like people are saying, ‘He’s doing well considering he’s blind’. He’s doing incredibly well, full stop. Those lifts he’s done are amazing.” “Chris is hilarious and a lovely bloke. He’s a great laugh. We have lovely chats. He’s a lovely human being and so deserving, so I would be delighted for him if he won.” The Daily Star is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join us! Through the app, we'll send you the sassiest showbiz stories, some naught headline and a seismic smattering of aliens...along with the latest breaking news of course. To join our community, all you have to do to join is , select 'Join Chat' and you're in! No one will be able to see who has sign up and no one can send messages except for the Daily Star team. We also treat our community members to competitions, special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you’re curious, you can read our .Thomas uses big drives and putts to hold lead in BahamasNEW YORK , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating the following companies for potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties to shareholders relating to: Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTR)'s sale to Siemens for $113.00 per share in cash. If you are an Altair shareholder, click here to learn more about your legal rights and options . Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ: SASR)'s sale to Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation for 0.900 shares of Atlantic Union common stock for each share of Sandy Spring . If you are a Sandy Spring shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE: AUB)'s merger with Sandy Spring Bancorp. If you are an Atlantic shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTH)'s merger with Rafael Holdings, Inc. If you are a Cyclo shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Halper Sadeh LLC may seek increased consideration for shareholders, additional disclosures and information concerning the proposed transaction, or other relief and benefits on behalf of shareholders. We would handle the action on a contingent fee basis, whereby you would not be responsible for out-of-pocket payment of our legal fees or expenses. Shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm free of charge to discuss their legal rights and options. Please call Daniel Sadeh or Zachary Halper at (212) 763-0060 or email sadeh@halpersadeh.com or zhalper@halpersadeh.com . Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Halper Sadeh LLC Daniel Sadeh, Esq. Zachary Halper, Esq. (212) 763-0060 sadeh@halpersadeh.com zhalper@halpersadeh.com https://www.halpersadeh.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-investigation-halper-sadeh-llc-investigates-altr-sasr-aub-cyth-on-behalf-of-shareholders-302338489.html SOURCE Halper Sadeh LLP
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Graeme Shinnie reckons he is in good company with England captain Harry Kane – leading from the front and silencing critics who say their legs have gone. The captain has been back to his best for the on-form Dons this season and a big figure in Jimmy Thelin’s side making an 11-game unbeaten start to their Premiership campaign. That impressive run has seen them go head-to-head with champions Celtic on 31 points and some nine points ahead of the rest of the chasing pack. Shinnie has been a big part of that and he looks transformed from the player and silenced the doubters by proving that at 33 he still remains one of Aberdeen ’s most influential players. It is a far cry from last season as he and Aberdeen were written off as a spent force. The Reds skipper said: “My mate was telling me that a lot of people were saying that about me on social media. At my age if I have a couple of bad games it’s natural people think that. After all even Harry Kane’s getting that a bit now giving the stage he’s at in his career. “But it’s definitely not that my legs have gone as I feel fit and strong and my form has been good. If I hadn’t been in such good form but I was still as fit as I am they would still be saying it.” Shinnie is his own biggest critic. He accepts that his form, like Aberdeen’s, was far inconsistent. There were times where he played well and other times when he didn’t. There wasn’t too much in between. Shinnie refuses to use the excuse of the burden of European group stage football but admitted it didn’t impact his control of his Crohn’s Disease. He said: “I felt in the first half of last season that my form was up and down which put pressure on myself. In case you haven't heard, we've launched a new Hotline Live show, airing at 6pm every day, with the exception of Fridays and Saturdays. Join our panel for a laugh, a moan and a look at all things Scottish football, as well as having your say on the biggest issues in the game. Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss a single episode. Alternatively, you can watch on Facebook or Twitter. Need to get something off your chest? Have your say on what's happening in the world of Scottish football by contacting us at hotline@dailyrecord.co.uk. You can find out more about the show here and also catch up on previous episodes with our full Hotline Live playlist on YouTube. “It’s maybe been the most inconsistent spell I’ve had in my entire career as some games were good and others horrendous. Football’s mad, your form can go up and down and dealing with the European trips last term was tough. “What with the Crohn’s disease and coping with the change in food and water, atmosphere and climate was different for me. I hadn’t experienced a lot of that as I had played European football before but not too that extreme. But my form just wasn’t good enough, especially in the league games which I was disappointed with.” Aberdeen’s resurgence under Thelin has proved to be night and day. The Dons look a major force but Shinnie knows the importance of not getting too high now either. He said: “In football you can’t get too high as we haven’t achieved anything yet but you can’t get too low when it’s going badly. There are always players who get really high when they’re winning and really low when losing as that’s life. I’ve got friends away from football who are like that if things are going well with a job or maybe not so well with a partner.”Terry Bradshaw and Michael Strahan in FOX NFL Sunday disagreement over Patrick Mahomes heroics
Universal Corporation Receives NYSE Notice Regarding Filing of Form 10-Q for the Fiscal Quarter Ended September 30, 2024AI’s Fresh Star. Meet the New Contender in the Chip Industry
In this article AAPL META Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT In October 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent his trillion-dollar social media company into a new direction. Facebook changed its name to Meta and Zuckerberg set his sights on a new horizon, the metaverse. "There was genuinely a need and a desire at the time for Facebook, the company, to rebrand into something else," said Leo Gebbie, principal analyst and director at CCS Insight. "The company Facebook wanted to make clear that it was more than just that one social website." While the term metaverse predates Facebook, Zuckerberg's metaverse ambitions have existed inside Meta since 2014, when Facebook bought virtual reality headset developer Oculus and launched Reality Labs . Seven years and a global pandemic later, global video game industry revenue topped $193 billion . Meta — and Wall Street — saw an opportunity to capitalize on an increasing online population, riding in on a virtual reality headset wave. "There was a bit of a sense in 2020 and into 2021 that this was a technology that was ready, that it was finally going to hit the big time," says Gebbie. "We've had a lot of false dawns in virtual reality in the past." In December 2021, Horizon Worlds launched in the U.S. and marked Meta's entrance into the open world virtual reality platform space. Meta had a short-term goal of 500,000 monthly active users in Horizon Worlds by the end of the year. But its long-term goals were more ambitious. In June 2022, Zuckerberg told CNBC's Jim Cramer that he expected one billion users by the end of the decade, doing "hundreds of dollars of e-commerce each." The company has a very long way to go. An insider report published by the Wall Street Journal in 2022 found Horizon Worlds was only seeing around 200,000 monthly active users less than a year after launch. And now, three years later, the term metaverse has largely disappeared from the public conversation, with Google Trends noting a sharp fall in searches for the term after 2022. To make matters worse, Reality Labs is hemorrhaging cash, racking up $58 billion on operating losses since 2020. It's found some success in augmented reality, however, through it's AR glasses partnership with Ray-Ban . Meta didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment. What happened to the metaverse? What exactly is the metaverse? And where is Meta today? Watch the video to learn more. — CNBC's Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report.NoneAI’s Fresh Star. Meet the New Contender in the Chip IndustryIsan heritage takes centre stage in Khon Kaen
Feds suspend ACA marketplace access to companies accused of falsely promising ‘cash cards’
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurates East Side Entry of Cuttack Railway StationWhat to know about a Wisconsin man who faked his own death and fled to Eastern Europe
cult hero Nicklas Bendtner was caught up in a stabbing while holidaying in New York. Bendtner, 36, had been visiting some friends in the Big Apple when he was strolling along a pavement in Manhattan's posh Upper West Side. CCTV captured a bearded man running towards the group, before fleeing the scene. A Danish man, 55, was treated for face and ear injuries after the incident at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. after being asked if it was him in the video: "Yes, I can confirm that. Come and join The Daily Star on , the social media site set up by ex-Twitter boss Jack Dorsey. It's now the new go-to place for content after a mass exodus of the Elon Musk-owned Twitter/X. Fear not, we're not leaving , but we are jumping on the bandwagon. So come find our new account on , and see us social better than the rest. You can also learn more about The Daily Star team in what Bluesky calls a . So what are you waiting for?! Let's "I have no comment on that," he added when asked how he was. "But I can confirm that it is me in the video. It's hard to run away from." The friend, a 55-year-old former professional footballer, suffered facial injuries and received treatment at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. Joshua Zinberg, 25, who lives on the Upper West Side, was charged with attempted murder and assault the following day (Thursday, November 21). Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Football email newsletter! From the latest transfer news to breaking stories, get it all in your email inbox. It only takes a matter of seconds. Simply , then provide your email address and that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top football stories. You can also sign up for our sport email, Off the Ball, for all the latest darts, boxing, snooker, F1 stories and more, Zinberg had been taken into police custody at around 2am on Thursday morning when officers spotted his car - Police added Zinberg's mother came forward after recognising his photo on the news. Bendtner spent nine seasons with , scoring 45 goals in 171 games - but he had gone down as something of a cult hero in north London. The Danish star also turned out for Birmingham, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland as well as Juventus and Wolfsburg. He walked away from the game in June 2021, following a brief stint with Danish fourth-division side Tarnby FF. In recent years, Bendtner has shocked fans with his new ripped physique after hitting the gym in his retirement.Newsom says California could offer electric vehicle rebates if Trump eliminates federal tax credit
As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans continues through Jan. 15, you’re likely seeing fewer social media ads promising monthly cash cards worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that you can use for groceries, medical bills, rent and other expenses. But don’t worry. You haven’t missed out on any windfalls. Clicking on one of those ads would not have provided you with a cash card — at least not worth hundreds or thousands. But you might have found yourself switched to a health insurance plan you did not authorize, unable to afford treatment for an unforeseen medical emergency, and owing thousands of dollars to the IRS, according to an ongoing lawsuit against companies and individuals who plaintiffs say masterminded the ads and alleged scams committed against millions of people who responded to them. The absence of those once-ubiquitous ads are likely a result of the federal government suspending access to the ACA marketplace for two companies that market health insurance out of South Florida offices, amid accusations they used “fraudulent” ads to lure customers and then switched their insurance plans and agents without their knowledge. In its suspension letter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cited “credible allegations of misconduct” in the agency’s decision to suspend the abilities of two companies — TrueCoverage (doing business as Inshura) and BenefitAlign — to transact information with the marketplace. CMS licenses and monitors agencies that use their own websites and information technology platforms to enroll health insurance customers in ACA plans offered in the federal marketplace. Suit names long list of defendants The alleged scheme affected millions of consumers, according to a lawsuit winding its way through U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale that seeks class-action status. An amended version of the suit, filed in August, increased the number of defendants from six to 12: — TrueCoverage LLC, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based health insurance agency with large offices in Miami, Miramar and Deerfield Beach. TrueCoverage is a sub-tenant of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a building leased by the newspaper in Deerfield Beach. — Enhance Health LLC, a Sunrise-based health insurance agency that the lawsuit says was founded by Matthew Herman, also named as a defendant, with a $150 million investment from hedge fund Bain Capital’s insurance division. Bain Capital Insurance Fund LP is also a defendant. — Speridian Technologies LLC, accused in the lawsuit of establishing two direct enrollment platforms that provided TrueCoverage and other agencies access to the ACA marketplace. — Benefitalign LLC, identified in the suit as one of the direct enrollment platforms created by Speridian. Like Speridian and TrueCoverage, the company is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. — Number One Prospecting LLC, doing business as Minerva Marketing, based in Fort Lauderdale, and its founder, Brandon Bowsky, accused of developing the social media ads that drove customers — or “leads” — to the health insurance agencies. — Digital Media Solutions LLC, doing business as Protect Health, a Miami-based agency that the suit says bought Minerva’s “fraudulent” ads. In September, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in United States Bankruptcy Court in Texas, which automatically suspended claims filed against the company. — Net Health Affiliates Inc., an Aventura-based agency the lawsuit says was associated with Enhance Health and like it, bought leads from Minerva. — Garish Panicker, identified in the lawsuit as half-owner of Speridian Global Holdings and day-to-day controller of companies under its umbrella, including TrueCoverage, Benefitalign and Speridian Technologies. — Matthew Goldfuss, accused by the suit of overseeing and directing TrueCoverage’s ACA enrollment efforts. All of the defendants have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit. The motions deny the allegations and argue that the plaintiffs failed to properly state their claims and lack the standing to file the complaints. Defendants respond to requests for comment The Sun Sentinel sent requests for comment and lists of questions about the cases to four separate law firms representing separate groups of defendants. Three of the law firms — one representing Brandon Bowsky and Number One Prospecting LLC d/b/a Minerva Marketing, and two others representing Net Health Affiliates Inc. and Bain Capital Insurance Fund — did not respond to the requests. A representative of Enhance Health LLC and Matthew Herman, Olga M. Vieira of the Miami-based firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, responded with a short message saying she was glad the newspaper knew a motion to dismiss the charges had been filed by the defendants. She also said that, “Enhance has denied all the allegations as reported previously in the media.” Catherine Riedel, a communications specialist representing TrueCoverage LLC, Benefitalign LLC, Speridian Technologies LLC, Girish Panicker and Matthew Goldfuss, issued the following statement: “TrueCoverage takes these allegations very seriously and is responding appropriately. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we strongly believe that the allegations are baseless and without merit. “Compliance is our business. The TrueCoverage team records and reviews every call with a customer, including during Open Enrollment when roughly 500 agents handle nearly 30,000 calls a day. No customer is enrolled into any policy without a formal verbal consent given by the customer. If any customer calls in as a result of misleading content presented by third-party marketing vendors, agents are trained to correct such misinformation and action is taken against such third-party vendors.” Through Riedel, the defendants declined to answer follow-up questions, including whether the company remains in business, whether it continues to enroll Affordable Care Act clients, and whether it is still operating its New Mexico call center using another affiliated technology platform. Lawsuit: COVID relief package made ‘scheme’ possible The suspension notification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services letter cites several factors, including the histories of noncompliance and previous suspensions. The letter noted suspicion that TrueCoverage and Benefitalign were storing consumers’ personally identifiable information in databases located in India and possibly other overseas locations in violation of the centers’ rules. The letter also notes allegations against the companies in the pending lawsuit that “they engaged in a variety of illegal practices, including violations of the (Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act), misuse of consumer (personal identifiable information) and insurance fraud.” The amended lawsuit filed in August names as plaintiffs five individuals who say their insurance plans were changed and two agencies who say they lost money when they were replaced as agents. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of 55 counts of wrongdoing, ranging from running ads offering thousands of dollars in cash that they knew would never be provided directly to consumers, switching millions of consumers into different insurance policies without their authorization, misstating their household incomes to make them eligible for $0 premium coverage, and “stealing” commissions by switching the agents listed in their accounts. TrueCoverage, Enhance Health, Protect Health, and some of their associates “engaged in hundreds of thousands of agent-of-record swaps to steal other agents’ commissions,” the suit states. “Using the Benefitalign and Inshura platforms, they created large spreadsheet lists of consumer names, dates of birth and zip codes.” They provided those spreadsheets to agents, it says, and instructed them to access platforms linked to the ACA marketplace and change the customers’ agents of record “without telling the client or providing informed consent.” “In doing so, they immediately captured the monthly commissions of agents ... who had originally worked with the consumers directly to sign them up,” the lawsuit asserts. TrueCoverage employees who complained about dealing with prospects who called looking for cash cards were routinely chided by supervisors who told them to be vague and keep making money, the suit says. When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began contacting the company in January about customer complaints, the suit says TrueCoverage enrollment supervisor Matthew Goldfuss sent an email instructing agents “do not respond.” How it started The lawsuit states the “scheme” was made possible in 2021 when Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The act made it possible for Americans with household incomes between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level to pay zero in premiums and it enabled those consumers to enroll in ACA plans all year round, instead of during the three-month open enrollment period from November to January. Experienced health insurance brokers recognized the opportunity presented by the changes, the lawsuit says. More than 40 million Americans live within 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level, while only 15 million had ACA insurance at the time. The defendants developed or benefited from online ads, the lawsuit says, which falsely promised “hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars per month in cash benefits such as subsidy cards to pay for common expenses like rent, groceries, and gas.” Consumers who clicked on the ads were brought to a landing page that asked a few qualifying questions, and if their answers suggested that they might qualify for a low-cost or no-cost plan, they were provided a phone number to a health insurance agency. There was a major problem with the plan, according to the lawsuit. “Customers believe they are being routed to someone who will send them a free cash card, not enroll them in health insurance.” By law, the federal government sends subsidies for ACA plans to insurance companies, and not to individual consumers. Scripts were developed requiring agents not to mention a cash card, and if a customer mentions a cash card, “be vague” and tell the caller that only the insurance carrier can provide that information, the lawsuit alleges. In September, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims. In addition to denying the charges, they argued that the class plaintiffs lacked the standing to make the accusations and failed to demonstrate that they suffered harm. The motion also argued that the lawsuit’s accusations failed to meet requirements necessary to claim civil violations of the RICO Act. Miami-based attorney Jason Kellogg, representing the plaintiffs, said he doesn’t expect a ruling on the motion to dismiss the case for several months. The complaint also lists nearly 50 companies, not named as defendants, that it says fed business to TrueCoverage and Enhance Health. Known in the industry as “downlines,” most operate in office parks throughout South Florida, the lawsuit says. Complaints from former employees and clients The lawsuit quotes former TrueCoverage employees complaining about having to work with customers lured by false cash promises in the online ads. A former employee who worked in the company’s Deerfield Beach office was quoted in the lawsuit as saying that senior TrueCoverage and Speridian executives “knew that consumers were calling in response to the false advertisements promising cash cards and they pressured agents to use them to enroll consumers into ACA plans.” A former human resources manager for TrueCoverage said sales agents frequently complained “that they did not feel comfortable having to mislead consumers,” the lawsuit said. Over two dozen agents “came to me with these complaints and showed me the false advertisements that consumers who called in were showing them,” the lawsuit quoted the former manager as saying. For much of the time the companies operated, the ACA marketplace enabled agents to easily access customer accounts using their names and Social Security numbers, change their insurance plans and switch their agents of record without their knowledge or authorization, the lawsuit says. This resulted in customers’ original agents losing their commissions and many of the policyholders finding out they suddenly owed far more for health care services than their original plans had required, the suit states. It says that one of the co-plaintiffs’ health plans was changed at least 22 times without her consent. She first discovered that she had lost her original plan when she sought to renew a prescription for her heart condition and her doctor told her she did not have health insurance, the suit states. Another co-plaintiff’s policy was switched after her husband responded to one of the cash card advertisements, the lawsuit says. That couple’s insurance plan was switched multiple times after a TrueCoverage agent excluded the wife’s income from an application so the couple would qualify. Later, they received bills from the IRS for $4,300 to cover tax credits issued to pay for the plans. CMS barred TrueCoverage and BenefitAlign from accessing the ACA marketplace. It said it received more than 90,000 complaints about unauthorized plan switches and more than 183,500 complaints about unauthorized enrollments, but the agency did not attribute all of the complaints to activities by the two companies. In addition, CMS restricted all agents’ abilities to alter policyholders’ enrollment information, the lawsuit says. Now access is allowed only for agents that already represent policyholders or if the policyholder participates in a three-way call with an agent and a marketplace employee. Between June and October, the agency barred 850 agents and brokers from accessing the marketplace “for reasonable suspicion of fraudulent or abusive conduct related to unauthorized enrollments or unauthorized plan switches,” according to an October CMS news release . The changes resulted in a “dramatic and sustained drop” in unauthorized activity, including a nearly 70% decrease in plan changes associated with an agent or broker and a nearly 90% decrease in changes to agent or broker commission information, the release said. It added that while consumers were often unaware of such changes, the opportunity to make them provided “significant financial incentive for non-compliant agents and brokers.” But CMS’ restrictions might be having unintended consequences for law-abiding agents and brokers. A story published by Insurance News Net on Nov. 11 quoted the president of the Health Agents for America (HAFA) trade group as saying agents are being suspended by CMS after being flagged by a mysterious algorithm that no one can figure out. The story quotes HAFA president Ronnell Nolan as surmising, “maybe they wrote too many policies on the same day for people who have the same income or they’re writing too many policies on people of a certain occupation.” Nolan continued, “We have members who have thousands of ACA clients. They can’t update or renew their clients. So those consumers have lost access to their professional agent, which is simply unfair.” Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.The Canadian Western Bank’s first Eastern branch in Mississauga, is photographed on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021. Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail Canadian Western Bank said that it postponed the release of its fourth-quarter earnings Friday due to a recent legal claim against one of its subsidiaries that required “prudent investigation.” The bank’s shares tumbled 5.4 per cent in Toronto on Friday after the lender abruptly postponed its earnings release without explanation. The sudden nature of the change prompted widespread speculation among investors that it was related to National Bank of Canada’s deal to acquired CWB. “The decision to reschedule is unrelated to CWB’s potential acquisition by National Bank of Canada,” CWB said in a press release Saturday. “We continue to expect forward progress of the transaction and expect it to close as planned and within previously announced timelines.” The Edmonton-based bank said that a legal claim against CWB Maxium Financial Ltd. (Maxium), a subsidiary of CWB, was received late into the process of approving and disclosing its annual financial results. The claimant is seeking $18-million in damages, as well as general and punitive damages and costs related to the provision of certain loans to corporations affiliated with the claimant, and the resolution of the loans. The claim includes “allegations of unethical conduct by a named individual.” CWB said that it has launched a full investigation, and has thus far confirmed that the named individual is a sales agent of Maxium with no lending approval authority. The loans were approved through the lender’s credit approval process, which includes a thorough review of each loan by its risk management team, the bank said. CWB said that it does not expect the outcome of the claim to impact its future financial results. Montreal-based National Bank of Canada is nearing the final stages of approval to take over CWB. During a conference call Wednesday discussing fourth-quarter earnings , National Bank chief executive officer Laurent Ferreira said Canada’s banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, is currently reviewing the proposal. The final step will be for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to green-light the deal. Ferreira added that he expects the deal to close in early 2025. “Our proposed acquisition of Canadian Western Bank will be a key pillar in our domestic growth in 2025 and for the years to come,” Mr. Ferreira said during the call. “We look forward to bringing together two strong teams and highly complementary platforms to accelerate our growth. The approval process is progressing well.” In recent quarters, CWB has grappled with higher-than-expected provisions for loans that could default. In third-quarter earnings released at the end of August, the bank said that the increase in provisions was driven by two specific client accounts, and that it did not expect further issues. In June, National Bank announced its intention to buy CWB. The deal extends the reach of the country’s sixth-largest lender into Alberta and British Columbia. National Bank struck a stock-swap deal that values Canadian Western Bank at $5-billion. At the time, National Bank said its takeover of CWB expands its business by $37-billion in loans across 65,000 customers and 39 branches in Western Canada and Ontario. The deal would increase the bank’s Canadian lending portfolio outside of Quebec by 37 per cent. National Bank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Scott Frost expected back to UCF: Former Knights coach nears return to team he led to 13-0 record in 2017SALT LAKE CITY — Evgeni Dadonov and Jamie Benn each scored to help the Dallas Stars beat the Utah Hockey Club 2-1 on Monday night for their third straight win. Casey DeSmith stopped 34 shots for Dallas, which has won eight of its last 11 games. Nick Schmaltz scored and Karel Vejmelka finished with 19 saves for Utah, which fell to 3-2-1 in its last six. Dadonov scored on the power play at 7:07 of the second period and Benn made it 2-0 in the final minute of the period. Schmaltz got Utah on the scoreboard at 6:57 of the third. Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev played his 500th career game on Monday. Takeaways Utah Hockey Club: Utah continues it’s up-and-down play, not having won consecutive games since winning its first three to start the season. Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Utah Hockey Club during the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, in Salt Lake City. Credit: AP/Rick Bowmer Stars: The win brought Dallas to 32 points, strengthening its hold on third place in the Central Division and moving four points behind Minnesota and Winnipeg atop the division. Key moment Early in the first period, with a loose puck floating toward him, DeSmith flicked it away with his shoulder pad. That play set the tone for his evening. Key stat Utah is now just 2-8-1 when allowing the first goal this season, while Dallas is now 12-2-0 when scoring first. Up Next Stars visit Los Angeles on Wednesday, while Utah visits Buffalo on Saturday.NASSAU, Bahamas — Justin Thomas was long off the tee and made a few long putts on the back nine to overtake Scottie Scheffler with a 6-under 66 and build a one-shot lead Saturday over golf's best player going into the final round of the Hero World Challenge. Thomas is trying out a 46-inch driver — a little more than an inch longer than normal — that he previously used for practice at home to gain speed and length. He blasted a 361-yard drive to 8 feet on the par-4 seventh hole and led the field in driving distance. But it was a few long putts that put him ahead of Scheffler, who had a 69. Thomas was on the verge of falling two shots behind when he made an 18-foot par putt on the par-3 12th hole. On the reachable par-4 14th, he was in a nasty spot in a sandy area and could only splash it out to nearly 50 feet. He made that one for a most unlikely birdie, while behind him Scheffler muffed a chip on the 13th hole and made his lone bogey of a windy day. Scheffler never caught up to him, missing birdie chances on the reachable 14th and the par-5 15th. Thomas hit his approach to 3 feet for birdie on the 16th after a 343-yard drive. Scheffler made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th to close within one. Scheffler missed birdie chances on the last two holes from the 10-foot and 15-foot range, while Thomas missed an 8-foot birdie attempt at the last. "I had a stretch at 13, 14, 15 where I felt like I lost a shot or two there, but outside of that I did a lot of really good things today," Scheffler said. Thomas hasn't won since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, and a victory at Albany Golf Club wouldn't count as an official win. But the two-time major champion has made steady progress toward getting his game back in order. "I'm driving it great. I've had a lot of confidence with it," Thomas said of his longer driver. "I feel like I've been able to put myself in some pretty good spots going into the green. I'm still not taking advantage of some of them as much as I would like, but that's golf and we're always going to say that." Thomas was at 17-under 199 and will be in the final group Sunday with Scheffler, who is trying to end his spectacular season with a ninth title. Tom Kim put himself in the mix, which he might not have imagined Thursday when he was 3 over through six holes of the holiday tournament. Kim got back in the game with a 65 on Friday, and then followed with 12 birdies for a 62. He had a shot at the course record — Rickie Fowler shot 61 in the final round when he won at Albany in 2017 — until Kim found a bunker and took two shots to reach the green in making a double bogey on the par-3 17th. Even so, he was only two shots behind. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68) was four back. "Feel like I've been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that's all I can do," Thomas said. "I can't control everybody else or what's going on, I've just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it's enough come Sunday." Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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Lions fan who taunted Packers and coach Matt LaFleur during pregame was asked to leave at halftimeThomas uses big drives and putts to hold lead in Bahamas
Thomas Moore is all around us, but you possibly never noticed. His birthplace is on the site of J Smyth’s, the legendary old live music bar on Dublin’s Aungier Street (now trading as the Thomas Moore Inn). There are busts and statues of him in cities around the globe, including Belfast, Dublin and New York. Listen carefully to the opening bars of Dexys Midnight Runners’ track 'Come On Eileen' and you’ll hear a sample of Moore’s song 'Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms'. Moore was a titan in Irish life in the nineteenth century. As the century drew to a close, Irish households kept a copy of Moore’s Melodies alongside the Bible, and made sure if sons or daughters were emigrating that the collection was packed off with them on their boat journey abroad. Moore’s story is full of colourful adventures and friends in the highest echelons of British and Irish society. It's a mystery as to why he has largely disappeared from our consciousness, which makes TG4’s documentary about him over Christmas timely. “I had read about Thomas Moore. A lot of people in my office had heard about him, but they didn't know anything about the man himself,” says Suzanne McNally, director of Thomas Moore – Bard na hÉireann. “Or else people would say they’d never heard of him, but when you mentioned The Last Rose of Summer or The Minstrel Boy, they’d know the songs. He had a fascinating life. "He was friends of Robert Emmet and Lord Byron. He lived in Bermuda. He was so famous in his lifetime. We wanted to know if he should be forgotten in Ireland today. That set us off on a journey.” McNally and her production team have made Moore’s music a big part of that story. It was an inspired – if perhaps an obvious – decision to make. The documentary is peppered with eight soaring studio performances of Moore’s melodies from artists such as Duke Special, Steve Cooney, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha and a breathtaking rendition of Oh! Breathe Not His Name by the soul artist Manukahunney and her band. The live recordings, a mix of traditional with modern interpretations, provide “chapter points,” says McNally, as Moore’s life story unfolds. Moore was born in 1779, the son of a Dublin grocer. His mother was ambitious for him. He was one of the first Catholics to study at Trinity College. His Irish Catholic identity – at a time when Catholics were second class citizens in Ireland, unable, for example, to sit in parliament – was the defining feature of his identity. It was at Trinity that Moore befriended Robert Emmet. Moore was less radical than Emmet, but they shared an Enlightenment worldview and the dream of an independent, pluralist Irish nation. Emmet’s execution – in which he was hung, drawn and quartered – was deeply disturbing for Moore, who penned the ballad Oh! Breathe Not His Name in his memory, picking up on Emmet’s famous dying wish that only when Ireland was free could his epitaph be written. Moore could walk on both sides of the street. At a time when England thought the Irish were barbarous and ignorant, he was a darling of the English aristocracy, invited, for instance, to the Prince Regent’s inauguration fête. King George VI – and the salons of fashionable, bohemian London – delighted in his wit and when he’d play the piano, performing his melodies. As Theo Dorgan, one of the contributors in the documentary, remarks about Moore’s ambiguous position in Anglo-Irish society – Moore wasn’t the only Irish person to be famous in London. He was a man for all seasons. “It's interesting,” says McNally, “Kevin Whelan, a history professor at Notre Dame University, said in the documentary that at the time, people said of him ‘Tommy dearly loved a lord.’ It's true. "When you see all his friends, it's the likes of Lord Moira and Lord Byron. When he got into trouble in Bermuda, it was his friends [e.g. Lord Lansdowne] who got him out of that debt. “As Theo Dorgan said, Moore was still very political. He was Irish. He was proud of that. He walked that thin line between both worlds. He did it well. Doing the research, time and again, people would say, ‘He would go to ‘big houses’ in England and he'd sing for his supper. "He would enjoy the big feast and then he would perform. A lot of the ladies liked him apparently. He must have been very charismatic. He was a popular man.” Tellingly, it was when Ireland achieved (limited) independence in the 1920s that Moore started to disappear from view. His reputation took a pounding during the Celtic Revival at the turn of the twentieth century. Joyce often sang his songs. “Moore’s maladies,” Joyce called them. He loved the songs, but he didn’t love the man. WB Yeats despised Moore’s “incarnate social ambition”, but perhaps Yeats’ hatred sprung from jealousy – there was only room for one person to be Ireland’s national poet. Moore’s music, which was always prone to melancholy, was reflected in his own life. He lived to a good age, dying in Wiltshire, England, in 1852, outliving cohorts like Daniel O’Connell. He was happily married to “Bessy”, a young Irish actress, and sister of the famous contemporary actress, Mary Dyke. But tragedy marred their family life – all five of their children died before them. “It seemed a sad, lonely ending for him, losing all five children before him,” says McNally. “A lot of his friends had all died too. We filmed in Wiltshire. It was sad to see the grave with the names of his family there. But it was a really interesting experience to delve into his life.” Thomas Moore and the tale of Lord Byron’s explosive memoirs Thomas Moore and Lord Byron, the most famous poet of his era, not least for his scandalous lifestyle, were firm friends. Byron reckoned there was no one to rival Moore’s talent for adapting words to music. In 1824, when word filtered back to London that Byron had drowned in western Greece, Moore was, legally, in possession of the Englishman’s memoirs. Unfortunately, Moore left the manuscript with Byron’s publisher, John Murray, two years beforehand as a security, placing himself in debt to Murray to the tune of 2,000 guineas. Immediately after news of Byron’s death, a bitter dispute broke out amongst Moore, Murray, Byron’s family and John Cam Hobhouse, Byron’s friend and executor. Hobhouse, in particular, was worried about the red-hot material in the memoirs, chiefly references about Byron’s homosexual encounters. After a fraught weekend of negotiation, full of nasty personal charges, Moore finally acquiesced at an infamous Monday morning summit meeting involving six interested parties (and a seventh, if you include Murray’s 16-year-old son) to Hobhouse’s demands that the manuscript be burnt. Although morose leaving the meeting, Moore still had the energy to leave the group with a parting shot, a story about an Irishman who had just been condemned to death. Asked if he had anything to add. “Oh nothing,” he replied, “except that by Jesus you’ve settled it all very nicely amongst you!”