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Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Quintrevion Wisner ran for a career-high 186 yards and Quinn Ewers threw a touchdown pass to lead No. 3 Texas to a 17-7 win over 20th-ranked archrival Texas A&M on Saturday night, sending the Longhorns to the Southeastern Conference championship game. Texas (11-1, 7-1 SEC, No. 3 CFP) will face No. 6 Georgia next Saturday in Atlanta for the SEC title, with the winner getting a first-round bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff. The highly anticipated return of this rivalry, which dates to the 1890s, had all the hype of a heavyweight title bout. It looked to be headed for a blowout after Texas raced to a 17-0 halftime lead. But Ewers turned the ball over in the red zone on consecutive possessions to keep the Aggies in the game, the first giveaway an interception that Will Lee III returned 93 yards for a touchdown. Texas A&M (8-4, 5-3, No. 20 CFP) had a shot to cut the lead to three with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining, but Ethan Burke dropped Amari Daniels for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the 1. The Longhorns stopped the Aggies on three fourth downs on the night. Backup quarterback Arch Manning ran for a score early to help Texas get its 11th straight win on an opponent’s home field and its fifth consecutive victory overall since a 30-15 home loss to Georgia. The Longhorns get a rematch next week. The crowd of 109,028 included Texas superfan Matthew McConaughey, A&M Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, former Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner (26) is tackled by Texas A&M defensive back Will Lee III (26) after a catch and run during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in College Station, Texas. Credit: AP/Sam Craft DJ Hicks tipped the pass that Lee intercepted and returned 93 yards for the touchdown to cut the lead to 17-7 with about six minutes left in the third quarter. The Aggies' defense came up big again on the next possession when Cashius Howell stripped the ball from Ewers and it was recovered by Taurean York at the A&M 11 near the end of the third. Texas A&M failed to cash in on that error and punted. The Aggies blocked a punt by the Longhorns on their next drive to get the ball back in the red zone. But the Longhorns’ defense secured the win after Texas failed to score after halftime. The Longhorns made it 7-0 when a video review confirmed that Manning scored on a 15-yard run on fourth-and-2 with about three minutes left in the first quarter. It capped a 93-yard drive that started after Michael Taaffe intercepted Reed to give Texas at least one takeaway in 20 straight games. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, center left, reacts as his team recovers a fumble late in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in College Station, Texas. Credit: AP/Sam Craft Ewers connected with Jaydon Blue on a 7-yard TD pass that pushed the lead to 14-0 with about eight minutes left in the second. It was initially ruled an incomplete pass, but a review showed he had a foot in bounds for the score. Matthew Golden had a 44-yard reception on that drive. The scene around Kyle Field before the game was almost as entertaining as the game itself. Former A&M coach R.C. Slocum used a miniature chainsaw to saw the horns off a longhorn that tailgaters were cooking across from the stadium. The university police said a man riding a horse and another riding a longhorn while holding a dog and wearing a 10-gallon hat were asked to leave campus hours before the game. Police also said two men “wearing reflective vests and hard hats entered the stadium with fake construction credentials” and were arrested for criminal trespass. The takeaway Texas will need to clean up its mistakes be more consistent on offense as it heads into the conference title game and likely the playoff. Up next Texas moves on to face the Bulldogs. The Aggies wait to see which bowl game they’ll play in to wrap up another disappointing season.
Former US president Jimmy Carter dies aged 100FIANNA Fail were tonight licking their wounds as Grainne Seoige was a huge flop with voters. The former TV star, 51, will fail to win a seat in Galway West despite a high-profile campaign. Seoige — who denied claims she was a celeb candidate — was aiming to retain the seat of seasoned TD Eamon O Cuiv in her political debut. Responding to the result, FF leader Micheal Martin said: “Well firstly I do not like that term, celebrity candidate. “Grainne is a substantive person. I think she ran a very spirited campaign.” But Mr Martin said FF was happy “on one level” as running mate John Connolly could still bag a seat in the constituency. Asked what went wrong for Grainne , outgoing TD O Cuiv said: “She hadn’t had the opportunity to do the leg work on the ground, particularly in Connemara. “I knew from my own work just how much hard work was involved, the detailed knowledge of policy you have to have. “I think that lack of that particular level of expertise didn’t stand to her in this election.” But Independent hopeful Catherine Connolly said it was “an insult to people on the ground” putting her forward, adding: “I will leave FF to do their own post-mortem.” Connolly branded the decision to run the TV star as a "daft strategy". The Leas-Cheann Comhairle told media that a "celebrity candidate" is unlikely to take a seat. Speaking to Virgin Media News on Saturday, she said: "I don’t like commenting personally on a candidate. “However, from day one I thought it was a daft strategy really, I think it was an insult to people that work on the ground, but I’ll leave Fianna Fáil to do their own post-mortem”. A GENERAL election is held in Ireland at least every five years in order to vote for who will represent the Irish public in Dail Eireann. As Ireland is a parliamentary democracy, voting must be held in order for the public to collectively choose who will represent people in Government and what parties will form the Government. In a General Election, the public votes for members of Dail Eireann who go on to become Teachta Dala - TDs. According to the Irish Constitution - a General Election must be held every five years and cannot go on for longer than five years. However, the Dail can be 'dissolved' at any time to call an early or snap election. The President is responsible for dissolving the Dail and this process usually takes place on the advice of the Taoiseach. The President can only refuse to dissolve the Dail if the government does not have a majority of TDs in the Dail. A General Election can also be called if the Taoiseach or Government lose a vote of no confidence. Or in the instance where a coalition party - the smaller party that joins with larger parties to form a government - withdraws its support for those in government. This is called a dissolution and a general election must take place within 30 days of the dissolution of the Dail. Once the Dail is dissolved a polling day must be set by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government - the roll currently held by Fianna Fail TD Darragh O'Brien . Meanwhile, all three leaders of the biggest parties have regained their seats. Fine Gael leader Simon Harris won on the first count in Wicklow while Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin won in Cork South Central, again on the first count. Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald won in Dublin Central on the third count.
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OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government on Monday survived a third vote of no confidence in as many months, brought by his main Tory rival. The minority Liberal government got the support of the New Democratic Party (NDP), a small leftist faction once aligned with the ruling Liberals, to defeat the motion 180-152. The text of the proposition echoed NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s own past criticisms of Trudeau since breaking off their partnership in late August, calling him “too weak, too selfish”. Neither Singh nor Trudeau were present for the vote. The House of Commons has been deadlocked most of this fall session by an unprecedented two-month filibuster by the Conservatives. But Speaker Greg Fergus, in a rare move, ordered a short break in the deadlock to allow for this and other possible confidence votes, and for lawmakers to vote on a key spending measure. MPs are scheduled to vote Tuesday on the spending package, which includes funds for social services, disaster relief and support for Ukraine. With a 20-point lead in polls, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has been itching for an election call since the NDP tore up its coalition agreement with the Liberals. But the NDP and other opposition parties, whose support is needed to bring down the Liberals, have so far refused to side with the Conservatives. Two no-confidence votes brought by the Tories in September and October failed when the NDP and the separatist Bloc Quebecois backed the Liberals. In Canada’s Westminster parliamentary system, a ruling party must hold the confidence of the House of Commons, which means maintaining support from a majority of members. The Liberals currently have 153 seats, versus 119 for the Conservatives, 33 for the Bloc Quebecois, and the NDP’s 25. Trudeau swept to power in 2015 and has managed to hold on through two elections in 2019 and 2021.Renuka Rayasam | (TNS) KFF Health News In April, just 12 weeks into her pregnancy, Kathleen Clark was standing at the receptionist window of her OB-GYN’s office when she was asked to pay $960, the total the office estimated she would owe after she delivered. Clark, 39, was shocked that she was asked to pay that amount during this second prenatal visit. Normally, patients receive the bill after insurance has paid its part, and for pregnant women that’s usually only when the pregnancy ends. It would be months before the office filed the claim with her health insurer. Clark said she felt stuck. The Cleveland, Tennessee, obstetrics practice was affiliated with a birthing center where she wanted to deliver. Plus, she and her husband had been wanting to have a baby for a long time. And Clark was emotional, because just weeks earlier her mother had died. “You’re standing there at the window, and there’s people all around, and you’re trying to be really nice,” recalled Clark, through tears. “So, I paid it.” On online baby message boards and other social media forums , pregnant women say they are being asked by their providers to pay out-of-pocket fees earlier than expected. The practice is legal, but patient advocacy groups call it unethical. Medical providers argue that asking for payment up front ensures they get compensated for their services. How frequently this happens is hard to track because it is considered a private transaction between the provider and the patient. Therefore, the payments are not recorded in insurance claims data and are not studied by researchers. Patients, medical billing experts, and patient advocates say the billing practice causes unexpected anxiety at a time of already heightened stress and financial pressure. Estimates can sometimes be higher than what a patient might ultimately owe and force people to fight for refunds if they miscarry or the amount paid was higher than the final bill. Up-front payments also create hurdles for women who may want to switch providers if they are unhappy with their care. In some cases, they may cause women to forgo prenatal care altogether, especially in places where few other maternity care options exist. It’s “holding their treatment hostage,” said Caitlin Donovan, a senior director at the Patient Advocate Foundation . Medical billing and women’s health experts believe OB-GYN offices adopted the practice to manage the high cost of maternity care and the way it is billed for in the U.S. When a pregnancy ends, OB-GYNs typically file a single insurance claim for routine prenatal care, labor, delivery, and, often, postpartum care. That practice of bundling all maternity care into one billing code began three decades ago, said Lisa Satterfield, senior director of health and payment policy at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . But such bundled billing has become outdated, she said. Previously, pregnant patients had been subject to copayments for each prenatal visit, which might lead them to skip crucial appointments to save money. But the Affordable Care Act now requires all commercial insurers to fully cover certain prenatal services. Plus, it’s become more common for pregnant women to switch providers, or have different providers handle prenatal care, labor, and delivery — especially in rural areas where patient transfers are common. Some providers say prepayments allow them to spread out one-time payments over the course of the pregnancy to ensure that they are compensated for the care they do provide, even if they don’t ultimately deliver the baby. “You have people who, unfortunately, are not getting paid for the work that they do,” said Pamela Boatner, who works as a midwife in a Georgia hospital. While she believes women should receive pregnancy care regardless of their ability to pay, she also understands that some providers want to make sure their bill isn’t ignored after the baby is delivered. New parents might be overloaded with hospital bills and the costs of caring for a new child, and they may lack income if a parent isn’t working, Boatner said. In the U.S., having a baby can be expensive. People who obtain health insurance through large employers pay an average of nearly $3,000 out-of-pocket for pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker . In addition, many people are opting for high-deductible health insurance plans, leaving them to shoulder a larger share of the costs. Of the 100 million U.S. people with health care debt, 12% attribute at least some of it to maternity care, according to a 2022 KFF poll . Families need time to save money for the high costs of pregnancy, childbirth, and child care, especially if they lack paid maternity leave, said Joy Burkhard , CEO of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, a Los Angeles-based policy think tank. Asking them to prepay “is another gut punch,” she said. “What if you don’t have the money? Do you put it on credit cards and hope your credit card goes through?” Calculating the final costs of childbirth depends on multiple factors, such as the timing of the pregnancy , plan benefits, and health complications, said Erin Duffy , a health policy researcher at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. The final bill for the patient is unclear until a health plan decides how much of the claim it will cover, she said. But sometimes the option to wait for the insurer is taken away. During Jamie Daw’s first pregnancy in 2020, her OB-GYN accepted her refusal to pay in advance because Daw wanted to see the final bill. But in 2023, during her second pregnancy, a private midwifery practice in New York told her that since she had a high-deductible plan, it was mandatory to pay $2,000 spread out with monthly payments. Daw, a health policy researcher at Columbia University, delivered in September 2023 and got a refund check that November for $640 to cover the difference between the estimate and the final bill. “I study health insurance,” she said. “But, as most of us know, it’s so complicated when you’re really living it.” While the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover some prenatal services, it doesn’t prohibit providers from sending their final bill to patients early. It would be a challenge politically and practically for state and federal governments to attempt to regulate the timing of the payment request, said Sabrina Corlette , a co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University. Medical lobbying groups are powerful and contracts between insurers and medical providers are proprietary. Because of the legal gray area, Lacy Marshall , an insurance broker at Rapha Health and Life in Texas, advises clients to ask their insurer if they can refuse to prepay their deductible. Some insurance plans prohibit providers in their network from requiring payment up front. If the insurer says they can refuse to pay up front, Marshall said, she tells clients to get established with a practice before declining to pay, so that the provider can’t refuse treatment. Related Articles Health | Which health insurance plan may be right for you? Health | California case is the first confirmed bird flu infection in a US child Health | Your cool black kitchenware could be slowly poisoning you, study says. Here’s what to do Health | Does fluoride cause cancer, IQ loss, and more? Fact-checking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claims Health | US towns plunge into debates about fluoride in water Clark said she met her insurance deductible after paying for genetic testing, extra ultrasounds, and other services out of her health care flexible spending account. Then she called her OB-GYN’s office and asked for a refund. “I got my spine back,” said Clark, who had previously worked at a health insurer and a medical office. She got an initial check for about half the $960 she originally paid. In August, Clark was sent to the hospital after her blood pressure spiked. A high-risk pregnancy specialist — not her original OB-GYN practice — delivered her son, Peter, prematurely via emergency cesarean section at 30 weeks. It was only after she resolved most of the bills from the delivery that she received the rest of her refund from the other OB-GYN practice. This final check came in October, just days after Clark brought Peter home from the hospital, and after multiple calls to the office. She said it all added stress to an already stressful period. “Why am I having to pay the price as a patient?” she said. “I’m just trying to have a baby.” ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
B.C. court cases capturing the attention of British Columbians in 2024 usually involved murders but several civil cases, one about a fake nurse and another alleging passing documents to China, also caught people’s attention. Ibrahim Ali gets life in teen's killing Easily the most high-profile case of the year was the tumultuous trial of the man convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a teen girl in Burnaby’s Central Park. Ibrahim Ali was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years in June after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the girl’s death. The girl’s partially naked body was found in the bush beside a trail in Central Park on July 18, 2017. "Mr. Ali, you have been found guilty of first-degree murder, and you have heard the profound harm and grief you have caused for raping and murdering 13-year-old (name redacted) in Central Park on July 18, 2017," B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lance Bernard said. Not criminally responsible B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Crossin ruled Dec. 11 that Jian Wei Wang, 52, was not criminally responsible for the murder of his wife Jian Ying “Angela” Du's May 2022 death due to a mental disorder. Du, 51, suffered 27 stab wounds and seven slash wounds, Crossin said. “His mental disorder rendered him incapable of knowing his action was wrong,” Crossin said. Sister Lucy Du told Glacier Media the decision was sad and disappointing, “morally unfair” and “unjust.” Double homicide Wade William Cudmore was convicted in the deaths of two Kamloops brothers in a drug deal case. On Nov. 19, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Brenda Brown sentenced Cudmore to life in prison without parole eligibility for 18 years for the “savage” Naramata drug-related killings. Cudmore was convicted in October of second-degree murder by a jury in the May 10, 2021 deaths of Erick and Carlo Fryer. “Two victims were killed in a brutal, gratuitous fashion,” Brown said Nov. 19, as Cudmore attended by video from prison. “I had nothing to do with the murders,” Cudmore told the court before sentencing. “My story’s not going to change.” Fake nurse Brigitte Cleroux pleaded guilty to multiple charges of assault, fraud, impersonating a nurse and forgery in connection with cases at BC Women's Hospital, a dentist’s office in Surrey and a Vancouver Island clinic. Her December sentencing hearing in B.C. Supreme Court heard Cleroux had used the identity and credentials of a real nurse to get employment. She will spend a total of seven years in prison . She was brought to Vancouver for the case from an Ontario prison where she is serving a sentence for similar offences. Defence lawyer Guillaume Garih argued her offences across Canada were a spree and should be treated as such in the sentencing process. Alleged China documents passing The case of a former RCMP officer charged with allegedly working with the People's Republic of China to harm Canadian interests is a matter of national security, a B.C. judge heard Sept. 13. William Robert Majcher is charged with retaining or gaining access to information and preparation for the commission of an offence. The charges are laid under the federal Security of Information Act. A Prosecution Service of Canada 2023 report said the case of R. v. William Robert Majcher is about a former RCMP inspector alleged to have been obtaining, with the help of others, information for the purpose of helping China to damage Canadian interests. Stock market fraud A B.C. Supreme Court judge in August froze assets of Fred Sharp , a former Vancouver lawyer found liable in the United States for being the mastermind of a $1-billion stock market fraud scheme. Justice Amy Francis issued a Mareva injunction against Sharp on June 26, according to a written decision issued Aug. 12. A Mareva injunction freezes assets to prevent a defendant from hiding them when faced with forfeiture proceedings. In this case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sought the injunction, plus a list of Sharp’s assets, after Sharp was found liable in civil proceedings on May 12, 2022, for orchestrating a network of pump-and-dump arrangements via offshore shell companies. Ripudman Singh Malik Two men pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in New Westminster Supreme Court to the killing of former Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Singh Malik. Malik , 75, was gunned down on July 14, 2022, near his Newton office on Surrey’s 128 Street and died at the scene. Police called it a targeted killing. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said those responsible fled in a white Honda CR-V . It was later found on fire at 122 Street and 82 Avenue. Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez were charged with first-degree murder in July 2022. With files from Graeme Wood and Cornelia Naylor