Colorado stars Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders take Big 12 player of year honorsBy DEVNA BOSE One of the country’s largest health insurers reversed a change in policy Thursday after widespread outcry, saying it would not tie payments in some states to the length of time a patient went under anesthesia. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said in a statement that its decision to backpedal resulted from “significant widespread misinformation” about the policy. “To be clear, it never was and never will be the policy of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to not pay for medically necessary anesthesia services,” the statement said. “The proposed update to the policy was only designed to clarify the appropriateness of anesthesia consistent with well-established clinical guidelines.” Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield would have used “physician work time values,” which is published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as the metric for anesthesia limits; maternity patients and patients under the age of 22 were exempt. But Dr. Jonathan Gal, economics committee chair of the American Society for Anesthesiologists, said it’s unclear how CMS derives those values. In mid-November, the American Society for Anesthesiologists called on Anthem to “reverse the proposal immediately,” saying in a news release that the policy would have taken effect in February in New York, Connecticut and Missouri. It’s not clear how many states in total would have been affected, as notices also were posted in Virginia and Colorado . Related Articles National News | The next census will gather more racial, ethnic information National News | As data centers proliferate, conflict with local communities follows National News | NASA’s stuck astronauts hit 6 months in space. Just 2 more to go National News | Imprisoned Proud Boys leader balks at answering a prosecutor’s questions about Capitol attack National News | National Weather Service cancels tsunami warning for the West Coast after 7.0 earthquake People across the country registered their concerns and complaints on social media, and encouraged people in affected states to call their legislators. Some people noted that the policy could prevent patients from getting overcharged. Gal said the policy change would have been unprecedented, ignored the “nuanced, unpredictable human element” of surgery and was a clear “money grab.” “It’s incomprehensible how a health insurance company could so blatantly continue to prioritize their profits over safe patient care,” he said. “If Anthem is, in fact, rescinding the policy, we’re delighted that they came to their senses.” Prior to Anthem’s announcement Thursday, Connecticut comptroller Sean Scanlon said the “concerning” policy wouldn’t affect the state after conversations with the insurance company. And New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in an emailed statement Thursday that her office had also successfully intervened. The insurance giant’s policy change came one day after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare , another major insurance company, was shot and killed in New York City.9 pa 。

NoneHow to Watch Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Games – Tuesday, November 26

Manchester City’s crisis deepened as they surrendered a three-goal lead late in the game to draw 3-3 against Feyenoord in the Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s side at least avoided the indignity of a sixth successive defeat in all competitions but alarm bells continue to ring at the Etihad Stadium after a dramatic late capitulation. A double from Erling Haaland – the first from the penalty spot – and a deflected effort from Ilkay Gundogan, all in the space of nine minutes either side of the break, looked to have ensured a return to winning ways. Yet Guardiola was left with his head in hands as Feyenoord roared back in the last 15 minutes with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Sergio Gimenez and David Hancko, two of them after Josko Gvardiol errors. City almost snatched a late winner when Jack Grealish hit the woodwork but there was no masking another dispiriting result. It was hardly the preparation City wanted for Sunday’s crunch trip to Liverpool, and the Feyenoord fans took great delight in rubbing that fact in. They sung the club anthem they share with Liverpool, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and chanted the name of their former manager Arne Slot, the current Reds boss. Guardiola arrived at the ground with a cut on the bridge of his nose and, once again, his side have been struck a nasty blow. Despite not being at their best, they had dominated early on against what seemed limited Dutch opposition. They threatened when a Gundogan shot was deflected wide and Haaland then went close to opening the scoring when he turned a header onto the post. Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther gifted City another chance when he passed straight to Bernardo Silva but Grealish’s fierce volley struck team-mate Phil Foden. Foden forced a save from Wellenreuther but City had a moment of alarm when Igor Paixao got behind the defence only to shoot tamely at Ederson. Nathan Ake missed the target with a header but some luck finally went City’s way just before the break when Quinten Timber, brother of Arsenal’s Jurrien, was harshly adjudged to have fouled Haaland. The Norwegian rammed home the resulting spot-kick and City returned re-energised for the second period. They won a corner when a Matheus Nunes shot was turned behind and Gundogan fired the hosts’ second – albeit with aid of a deflection – with a firm volley from the edge of the box. City turned up the heat and claimed their third soon after as Gundogan released Nunes with a long ball and his low cross was turned into the net by a sliding Haaland. 44' ⚽️ Man City 1-0 Feyenoord50' ⚽️ Man City 2-0 Feyenoord53' ⚽️ Man City 3-0 Feyenoord75' ⚽️ Man City 3-1 Feyenoord82' ⚽️ Man City 3-2 Feyenoord89' ⚽️ Man City 3-3 Feyenoord 🤯🤯🤯 #UCL — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 26, 2024 It seemed City were heading for a morale-lifting victory but a couple of Gvardiol errors changed the script. The Croatian, who had a torrid time in Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham, first horribly misplaced a backpass and allowed Moussa to nip in and round Ederson. Ordinarily that 75th-minute reply would have been a mere consolation and City would close out the game, but Gvardiol had another moment to forget eight minutes from time. Again he gave the ball away and Feyenoord pounced. The ball was lofted into the box and Jordan Lotomba fired a shot that glanced the post and deflected across goal, where Gimenez chested in. Ederson then blundered as he raced out of his area and was beaten by Paixao, who crossed for Hancko to head into an empty net. Amid some moments of unrest in the crowd, when objects were thrown, City tried to rally in stoppage time. Grealish had an effort deflected onto the bar but the hosts had to settle for a draw.

Stock market today: Wall Street gains ground as it notches a winning week and another Dow record Stocks closed higher on Wall Street, giving the market its fifth gain in a row and notching another record high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday. The Dow added 1%, and the Nasdaq composite tacked on 0.2%. Damian J. Troise And Alex Veiga, The Associated Press Nov 22, 2024 1:09 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) Stocks closed higher on Wall Street, giving the market its fifth gain in a row and notching another record high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday. The Dow added 1%, and the Nasdaq composite tacked on 0.2%. Retailers had some of the biggest gains. Gap soared after reporting quarterly results that easily beat analysts’ estimates. EchoStar fell after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company’s Dish Network unit. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Crude oil prices gained ground. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Stocks rose on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday, keeping the market on track for its fifth straight gain. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% and was solidly on track for a weekly gain that will erase most of last week's loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 333 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite was essentially flat with a gain of less than 0.1% as of 3:07 p.m. Eastern. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 10.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 1.5% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 2.4% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 were gaining ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.3%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.6%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.8% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, Bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December. Damian J. Troise And Alex Veiga, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More The Mix Sean 'Diddy' Combs' third bid to be released on bail won't be decided until next week Nov 22, 2024 1:51 PM Alice Brock, who helped inspire Arlo Guthrie's classic 'Alice's Restaurant,' dies at 83 Nov 22, 2024 1:48 PM S&P/TSX composite up Friday, U.S. stock markets also rise Nov 22, 2024 1:42 PM Featured Flyer

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry celebrated a political win Thursday as he signed into law sweeping tax measures passed by lawmakers that include reducing the individual income tax to 3%, cutting corporate taxes and raising the state sales tax. He also approved an array of proposed constitutional changes to go before voters in March. “Y’all have instituted generational change,” Landry said of a bipartisan group of lawmakers standing beside him at the Capitol in Baton Rouge. “They opened the door for a new era here in Louisiana, an era where every working citizen in this state gets to keep more of their hard-earned money.” Landry, a Republican, said the measures will provide $1.3 billion in income tax cuts for Louisiana residents as well as nearly triple the standard individual deduction and double deductions for seniors. The income tax rate was 4.25% for people earning $50,000 or more. Republicans said the measures will help stanch outward migration from the state. To pay for the bulk of the tax cuts, Landry approved increasing the state sales tax to 5% for the next five years, after which it will drop to 4.75%. It previously stood at 4% with a temporary 0.45% increase set to expire next year. Landry also agreed to redirect $280 million in vehicle sales tax funds earmarked for several major infrastructure projects to help pay for the tax cuts over the next two years. Landry said other changes would make the state more competitive for businesses. Large corporations will have their income tax rate reduced from 7.5% to 5.5%. Louisiana also eliminated the 0.275% corporate franchise tax. Republicans had long decried the levy on businesses operating in the state worth more than $500 million in annual revenue as hindering economic growth. “Our complicated business tax policy has been finally moved more towards fairness and put us in a place to be more competitive with our surrounding states,” said Republican Rep. Julie Emerson, who sponsored several major bills signed by Landry. Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois said the corporate tax cuts sends business a message: “We are here to compete, we do compete, and we want you." Landry and his allies in the GOP-controlled legislature had championed the tax reform package in an intense three-week special session in November, the third such session since he took office in January. While Democratic lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the tax package in the Senate, some Democrats in the House of Representatives warned the tax cuts would mostly benefit the wealthiest residents and corporate shareholders. READ: Critics pointed out that increasing the state sales tax disproportionately affects lower-income households. Louisiana has the highest combined state and average local sales tax in the country, according to the Tax Policy Foundation. The tax measures included an array of proposed constitutional changes intended to streamline a complicated section of the state's constitution. The changes include liquidating several education trust funds to pay off approximately $2 billion in school district debt and using the savings to make permanent a $2,000 pay raise for teachers. Another constitutional change would include a growth cap designed to limit the amount of additional funding the state could earmark for recurring expenses each year. Landry also signed other proposed constitutional amendments unrelated to taxes. One would make it easier for lawmakers to expand the number of crimes for which minors can be tried and sentenced in adult courts by removing constitutional restrictions. Republican lawmakers and prosecutors say the change will increase public safety by paving the way for longer prison sentences for teenagers who commit violent crimes. Democrats and criminal justice reform advocacy groups have warned it would undermine rehabilitative efforts and fails to address the root causes of juvenile crime. "If you care about kids, you want to vote yes” on the amendment, Landry said. Another proposed amendment would allow the legislature to create specialty courts. Republican lawmakers said the bill would give more flexibility to the justice system, such as by enabling the creation of regional drug courts to serve rural parishes that could not afford their own. Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern that the broad language of the amendment could allow for Republicans to exercise more control over the criminal justice system in Democrat-dominated jurisdictions such as New Orleans. The constitutional amendments are scheduled to go before voters on March 29. ___ Brook 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. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96 Copyright 2024 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Man City blows 3-goal lead and gets booed by fans in draw with Feyenoord in Champions League