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Watch Boston Celtics vs. Washington Wizards: NBA Cup free live streamNear Kibbutz Be’eri, a new border crossing, dubbed Terminal 3 after the main terminal at Ben-Gurion International Airport, has recently been opened. Land has been cleared for a makeshift parking area where hundreds of buses, trucks and private vehicles are parked alongside military ones. This is currently the main thoroughfare into the Gaza Strip and the Netzarim Corridor . Efforts by the IDF to rename it the Be’eri Corridor have so far failed. 3 View gallery IDF structures in the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza ( Photo: Yuval Sade ) The Netzarim Corridor is a swath of land running east to west across the Gaza Strip, from the Israeli border to the sea. It spans about seven kilometers (4.3 miles) in length, with an additional three kilometers (1.8 miles) of cleared land on either side, creating a nearly sterile rectangle of over 40 square kilometers (15.5 square miles) in central Gaza. To the north lies Gaza City; to the south are the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps. Two roads cross the Netzarim Corridor from north to south, intended to allow residents in northern Gaza to move en masse to the south. The military anticipated this would occur once the offensive on Jabaliya —the third since the war began—got underway. However, only 300 Gazans used the roads, while the estimated hundreds of thousands in northern areas remained in Gaza City, avoiding the corridor altogether. This left the IDF’s interrogation areas and facial recognition technology largely idle. 3 View gallery IDF structures in the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza ( Photo: Yuval Sade ) If the government indeed intended to facilitate a transfer of Palestinians from northern Gaza to the south, as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed during a National Religious Party Knesset faction meeting, that effort appears to have failed. Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play : https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store : https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv The IDF maintains that all infrastructure constructed in the area can be dismantled and returned to Israel within 48 hours, including buildings and antennas. These facilities were built to provide reasonable accommodations for troops operating in Gaza and to support the ongoing offensive. If a cease-fire and hostage release deal are reached, the military plans to remove the infrastructure. The IDF also asserts that it can defend the border without remaining on the ground in Netzarim or the Philadelphi Corridor further south. This stance contrasts with the government’s more ambiguous approach. The military claims that a kilometer-wide buffer zone along the border would suffice to prevent Gazans from reaching the border fence. Observation posts on elevated dirt mounds would ensure adequate surveillance into Gaza. IDF roadworks at Netzarim ( Video: Yoav Zitun ) This position is a direct response to accusations that Israel intends to maintain an occupying presence in Gaza and establish settlements there. Failing to withdraw from these areas, the IDF argues, would bolster claims that Israel is committing ethnic cleansing in the enclave. According to information obtained by Calcalist, the IDF’s construction efforts in Netzarim have already cost hundreds of millions of shekels, with the actual figure likely higher. Beyond Netzarim, the IDF has paved new roads and established infrastructure in the Philadelphi Corridor and along the border. Additional logistical efforts are underway between Jabaliya and Gaza City. In all areas under IDF control, drilling is being carried out with civilian equipment to locate underground tunnels. 3 View gallery Civilian drilling equipment searches for tunnels in Gaza ( Photo: Yoav Zitun ) Visitors to Gaza will observe an abundance of civilian machinery—trucks, engineering vehicles and roadworks equipment—conscripted into military service or rented from private contractors. On my way out of Gaza at Terminal 3, I spoke with a reservist who suggested that, even if the IDF withdraws, the financial investment in Gaza has economic benefits by creating activity, citing the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes. While that view is debatable, my tour of Gaza revealed the significant economic activity generated by the war for Israel’s economy—whether through contractors, reservists or logistical supplies. If the war were to end, this economic activity would stop abruptly, along with the financial benefits provided to reservists. Only then would the local market face the reality of operating without government intervention, potentially leaving the economy in serious trouble. The reservist remarked that there is often an economic boom after a war. I hope he is right, and that we avoid the economic stagnation that followed the 1973 Yom Kippur War. >
Here's the average Social Security benefit for married couples in 2025White supremacist Nick Fuentes is facing battery charges for allegedly macing a woman who confronted him on Nov. 10. In a report obtained Friday by multiple media outlets, Berwyn, Illinois police wrote that a passerby described seeing “a male push a female down the stairs, spray her with mace” and break her phone. Officers responding to the scene identified said male as Fuentes. They said the woman had been provoked by a viral social media post on Election Day, in which Fuentes celebrated an expected rollback of abortion rights by writing: “Your body, my choice. Forever.” “Nicholas then grabbed her phone and momentarily went inside his house before coming back out,” per the police report. “They both then waited for police to arrive. Marla related she did not want to sign complaints at this time.” The incident report, which was first obtained by The Smoking Gun, said Fuentes had been searched, fingerprinted and booked Nov. 27 on a misdemeanor battery charge. He was released but is set to appear in Cook County court on Dec. 19. Fuentes, a 26-year-old far-right influencer who has previously espoused his “love” for Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler, encouraged people to storm the U.S. Capitol in 2021 and dined with President-elect Donald Trump in 2022, is now selling “mugshot merch” on his website. Fuentes appeared to acknowledge the arrest on Friday on X , formerly Twitter, writing: “Free me n***a.” Fuentes’ address was leaked online after his anti-abortion post on the eve of Trump’s election, which eventually garnered more than 50,000 likes. He defended the post to police by arguing he simply “posted a political joke online,” per the report. Rose told Vice last month that she initially only intended to ask Fuentes if he had been harassed or received deliveries of diapers, since Rose said his critics on social media said they’d send him some. She said she only rang his doorbell when an onlooker encouraged her to. “I didn’t expect him to answer,” she told the outlet . “And then as I was saying hi, the spray immediately started. I was going to ask him, ‘Why do you feel comfortable saying the things that you say?’ And it was obvious he’s very scared, probably extremely paranoid.” “I’m 5-foot-1,” explained Rose. “He’s not a big man himself, but I’m 57, he’s 26.” Vice’s report also included a brief video clip of the scuffle. Fuentes told police he has been receiving death threats following his post on Election Day, and that he was in “fear for his life” when Rose appeared at his doorstep. Rose is reportedly planning to file a civil lawsuit against Fuentes over the incident. The “your body, my choice” line has taken on a life of its own. Many of Fuentes’ followers have seized on the phrase by using it to reply to women’s posts on various social media platforms, parents on TikTok have been sharing instances of boys harassing other children with it in real life. Related From Our Partner
Donna T. from Bismarck, North Dakota, writes: “When the variety of fresh veggies is limited, I buy frozen. I do, however, like to keep store-purchased canned veggies in my pantry and use them in tight squeezes. I am confused by statements that canned veggies are highly nutritious and comparable to frozen. Comparing nutrition labels does not seem to support this statement. I would so appreciate your input.” Fresh veggies certainly are best if available — and if they don’t lose precious nutrients by overcooking or languishing too long in the fridge. But don’t feel bad about using frozen and canned varieties, too. They are picked at the peak of ripeness and generally processed right away, which helps maintain nutrients. In fact, the current 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage us to eat a variety of vegetables including “fresh, frozen and canned.” While frozen and canned veggies both have their place, some facts about canned goods may surprise you. For one, they may literally save your life in an emergency when refrigerated food is not available. What about sodium? According to the Canned Food Alliance (mealtime.org), salt or sodium is not used to preserve canned food. That’s done with heat and cooling. So it’s OK to look for lower-sodium versions if needed. Or you can simply drain and rinse beans and other canned vegetables to get rid of 40% or more of the added sodium. Interestingly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the major sources of sodium in our food are pizza, cold cuts, cured meat, bread, rolls, burgers and sandwiches. Canned food is not even in the top 10. What about nutrients and other beneficial substances? Some, such as lycopene (the healthful red pigment in tomatoes) and beta carotene (which converts to vitamin A in the body), are actually enhanced in heat-processed canned vegetables. Vitamin C is another story. It is the least stable of all vitamins and is easily destroyed by heat and exposure to air. However, according to a 2021 review in the journal Antioxidants, new technologies can now preserve the vitamin C content in many canned foods. I have a can of 100% vegetable juice in my cupboard, and it contains more vitamin C than a medium orange. “The general conclusion of this review,” say these authors, “was that while canned foods are often perceived as less nutritious than fresh or frozen products, the research reveals that this is not always true.” Susan C. from Lynchburg, Virginia, responded to a recent column about feeding picky grandkids: “You said you always want to throw in a vegetable and that you saw a tomato on your counter. I was always told that a tomato is really a fruit. Isn’t that true?” It is true. Tomatoes are biologically fruits but nutritionally vegetables. In fact, tomatoes were officially classified as vegetables by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1893. It’s a great trivia question for grandkids. Barbara Intermill is a registered dietitian. Email her at barbara@quinnessentialnutrition.com . Get local news delivered to your inbox!Picking the top-performing artificial intelligence (AI) stock a year out isn't easy. In 2023, it ended up being Nvidia . In 2024, all signs are pointing toward Palantir Technologies . This shift from AI hardware to AI application software was predictable because it has to be deployed and become useful at some time for all of the investment dollars in hardware to pay off. As a result, I think we'll see another AI software company rise to the top in 2025. My prediction is that it will be SoundHound AI ( SOUN 12.60% ) , even though it has already had an incredibly strong 2024, rising over 300%. So, how can a company that has already risen so much be a top pick for 2025? SoundHound's reach has widened in 2024 SoundHound AI's platform is centered around taking a voice input and turning it into a prompt for an AI platform. This has multiple uses, including automaking, restaurants, financial services, insurance, and healthcare. The company already has products serving those industries, and automakers and restaurants are some of its largest clients. Still, the company has become quite diversified in 2024. During last year's third quarter, 72% of revenue came from one client, and 90% of total revenue came from the automotive sector. Now, the largest client contributed only 12% of revenue, and the largest sector made up 25% of revenue. That diversification is a key part of SoundHound becoming more relevant in all industries and turning into a more stable company. If that single client left in late 2023, it might have caused the business to go belly up. If its largest client leaves now, it will still hurt, but not as much as it would have before. While SoundHound still has risks associated with it, this plays a huge part in lowering that risk level. In the third quarter, revenue grew 89% year over year to $25.1 million. This makes it a small-cap stock, as its revenue in the past 12 months totals $67 million. For other, more established software companies, that would be a fairly small percentage of overall revenue, but the company isn't expected to stay there for long. Management projects 2025 revenue will come in between $155 million and $175 million, which is nearly double the revenue it projects for 2024. Clearly, SoundHound expects its business to maintain its boom for 2025. This also highlights a key investment point: How high is the limit if its products become the industry standard in audio recognition? Think of all the ways we use voice to control what we do; now, imagine that being associated with the power of AI. SoundHound could become a huge winner in this space, even after it has run up so much. A lot of success is built into its stock price Perhaps the biggest risk with SoundHound is its valuation. Investors need to be aware of the success that's already baked into the stock's price. Its valuation tips the scales at around 40 times sales , which historically is very expensive. SOUN PS ratio, data by YCharts; PS = price to sales. However, we also know that SoundHound's current trailing-12-month revenue is set to triple by the time 2025 ends (if management's projections come true), which would price the stock in a more reasonable valuation range -- somewhere around 20 times sales. The problem is that the stock must stay at the same price. If the company's business continues to boom, its stock isn't going to stay put. Although I'm excited about 2025, it's clear that all of that year's financial growth is already assumed in the stock price. As a result, if the business stumbles, the stock will take a nosedive. Still, I think there are hefty tailwinds blowing in SoundHound's favor, and I wouldn't be surprised if management ends up beating 2025 expectations, since it has raised its guidance multiple times in 2024 (that year's revenue was originally projected to be between $63 million and $77 million; current guidance is for $82 million to $85 million). If SoundHound AI forecasts that it will continue doubling its revenue in 2026, I think that would keep the hype going in the stock, and be enough to propel it to become the best-performing AI stock in 2025.Nebraska looks to stretch its season-long winning streak to five games when it hosts Southern on Monday night in Lincoln. The streak began after Michigan State crushed the Cornhuskers 89-52 in Nebraska's Big Ten opener on Dec. 7. Nebraska started the winning streak with an 85-68 home victory over Indiana to even its conference record at 1-1. Then the Cornhuskers (10-2) swept their way through the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, beating Murray State, host Hawaii and lastly Oregon State on Christmas Day to win the tournament championship. Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg was pleased with the three double-digit victories in Hawaii, including the 78-66 win over the Beavers to earn the title. "The importance of winning three games against three quality teams, that's going to be help us down the road," Hoiberg said. Brice Williams scored 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting against Oregon State to cap a run that ended with earning tournament MVP. Williams tallied 32 points in the semifinal victory over Hawaii. He averaged 22 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals in the tournament. Williams controlled the pace in the finale. "I was aggressive and wanted to let my defense lead my offense," Williams said. "I came out pretty hot and my team took it from there." Williams leads the Cornhuskers with a 19.7 scoring average. Juwan Gary (11.9 ppg) and Connor Essegian (11.8) are also scoring in double digits. Southern (5-7) is in the midst of a tough portion of its schedule and has been outscored by an average of 20 points during a three-game losing streak. The Jaguars started the skid by falling 74-61 at then-No. 17 Ole Miss on Dec. 17, then lost 89-73 at Loyola Marymount three days later. Southern was then mauled 82-51 at Southern California on Dec. 22. The Jaguars shot just 32.7 percent from the field against the Trojans and were a measly 2 of 19 from 3-point range. Southern coach Kevin Johnson said prior to the season that this stretch will help the team when it gets into SWAC play. "I feel we put together another strong schedule, that will challenge our team and give us some strong competition," Johnson said. "... We feel that this schedule will help us compete at the highest level going into SWAC play." Michael Jacobs is averaging a team-best 10.6 points, just ahead of Jordan Johnson's 10.4. Nebraska is 4-0 all-time against the Jaguars, including an 82-59 home win on Nov. 21, 2021, in the most recent meeting. --Field Level Media
Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen have targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment on Thursday took place just “meters away” as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa. He says a crew member was hurt. The strikes followed several days of Houthi attacks and launches setting off sirens in Israel. Israel's military says it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa, power stations and ports. The Israeli military hasn't responded to questions about the WHO chief's statement. The US says it pushed retraction of a famine warning for north Gaza. Aid groups express concern. WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say they asked for — and got — the retraction of an independent monitor's warning of imminent famine in north Gaza. The internationally Famine Early Warning System Network issued the warning this week. The new report had warned that starvation deaths in north Gaza could reach famine levels as soon as next month. It cited what it called Israel's “near-total blockade” of food and water. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, criticized the finding as inaccurate and irresponsible. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the famine-monitoring group, told the AP it had asked for and gotten the report's retraction. USAID officials tell The Associated Press that it had asked the group for greater review of discrepancies in some of the data. Trump has pressed for voting changes. GOP majorities in Congress will try to make that happen ATLANTA (AP) — Republicans in Congress plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing an opportunity with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. They want to push through long-sought changes such as voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements. They say the measures are needed to restore public confidence in elections. That's after an erosion of trust that Democrats note has been fueled by false claims from Donald Trump and his allies of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Democrats say they are willing to work with the GOP but want any changes to make it easier, not harder, to vote. Americans are exhausted by political news. TV ratings and a new AP-NORC poll show they're tuning out NEW YORK (AP) — A lot of Americans, after an intense presidential election campaign, are looking for a break in political news. That's evident in cable television news ratings and a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll found nearly two-thirds of Americans saying they've found the need recently to cut down on their consumption of political and government news. That's particularly true among Democrats following President-elect Donald Trump's victory, although a significant number of Republicans and independents feel the same way. Cable networks MSNBC and CNN are really seeing a slump. That's also happened in years past for networks that particularly appeal to supporters of one candidate. Aviation experts say Russia's air defense fire likely caused Azerbaijan plane crash as nation mourns Aviation experts say that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured. Azerbaijan is observing a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday for the victims of the crash. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons yet unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball. India's former prime minister Manmohan Singh, architect of economic reforms, dies aged 92 NEW DELHI (AP) — 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. The hospital said Singh was admitted to New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences late Thursday after his health deteriorated due to “sudden loss of consciousness at home." He was “being treated for age-related medical conditions,” the statement added. A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh became one of India’s longest-serving prime ministers for 10 years and earned a reputation as a man of great personal integrity. But his sterling image was tainted by allegations of corruption against his ministers. Ukraine's military intelligence says North Korean troops are suffering heavy battlefield losses KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's military intelligence says North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in Russia's Kursk region and face logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks. The intelligence agency said Thursday that Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean units. Ukraine's president said earlier this week that 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed and wounded in the fighting in the Kursk region. It marked the first significant estimate by Ukraine of North Korean casualties several weeks after Kyiv announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost 3-year war. How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing. But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin and gold surged and “Roaring Kitty” reappeared to briefly reignite the meme stock craze. Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices New data shows holiday sales rose this year even as Americans wrestled with still high prices in many grocery necessities and other financial worries. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8%, a faster pace than the 3.1% increase from a year earlier. The measure tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. This year, retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there were five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mastercard SpendingPulse says the last five days of the season accounted for 10% of the spending. Sales of clothing, electronics and Jewelry rose. Why this Mexican American woman played a vital role in the US sacramental peyote trade MIRANDO CITY, Texas (AP) — Amada Cardenas, a Mexican American woman who lived in the tiny border town of Mirando City in South Texas, played an important role in the history of the peyote trade. She and her husband were the first federally licensed peyote dealers who harvested and sold the sacramental plant to followers of the Native American Church in the 1930s. After her husband's death in 1967, Cardenas continued to welcome generations of Native American Church members to her home until her death in 2005, just before her 101st birthday.RICHMOND — With Donald Trump’s return to the White House and Republicans taking full control of Congress in 2025, the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion is back on the chopping block. More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage should the GOP reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that’s enabled states to widen eligibility, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. That’s because the states have trigger laws that would swiftly end their Medicaid expansions if federal funding falls. The states are Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. The 2010 Affordable Care Act encouraged states to expand Medicaid programs to cover more low-income Americans who didn’t get health insurance through their jobs. Forty states and the District of Columbia agreed, extending health insurance since 2014 to an estimated 21 million people and helping drive the U.S. uninsured rate to record lows. In exchange, the federal government pays 90% of the cost to cover the expanded population. That’s far higher than the federal match for other Medicaid beneficiaries, which averages about 57% nationwide. Conservative policy groups, which generally have opposed the ACA, say the program costs too much and covers too many people. Democrats say the Medicaid expansion has saved lives and helped communities by widening coverage to people who could not afford private insurance. If Congress cuts federal funding, Medicaid expansion would be at risk in all states that have opted into it — even those without trigger laws — because state legislatures would be forced to make up the difference, said Renuka Tipirneni, an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. Decisions to keep or roll back the expansion “would depend on the politics at the state level,” Tipirneni said. For instance, Michigan approved a trigger as part of its Medicaid expansion in 2013, when it was controlled by a Republican governor and legislature. Last year, with the government controlled by Democrats, the state eliminated its funding trigger. Six of the nine states with trigger laws — Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, and Utah — went for Trump in the 2024 election. Most of the nine states’ triggers kick in if federal funding falls below the 90% threshold. Arizona’s trigger would eliminate its expansion if funding falls below 80%. Montana’s law rolls back expansion below 90% funding but allows it to continue if lawmakers identify additional funding. Under state law, Montana lawmakers must reauthorize its Medicaid expansion in 2025 or the expansion will end. Across the states with triggers, between 3.1 million and 3.7 million people would swiftly lose their coverage, researchers at KFF and the Georgetown center estimate. The difference depends on how states treat people who were added to Medicaid before the ACA expansion; they may continue to qualify even if the expansion ends. Three other states — Iowa, Idaho, and New Mexico— have laws that require their governments to mitigate the financial impact of losing federal Medicaid expansion funding but would not automatically end expansions. With those three states included, about 4.3 million Medicaid expansion enrollees would be at risk of losing coverage, according to KFF. The ACA allowed Medicaid expansions to adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $20,783 for an individual in 2024. Nearly a quarter of the 81 million people enrolled in Medicaid nationally are in the program due to expansions. “With a reduction in the expansion match rate, it is likely that all states would need to evaluate whether to continue expansion coverage because it would require a significant increase in state spending,” said Robin Rudowitz, vice president and director of the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured at KFF. “If states drop coverage, it is likely that there would be an increase in the number of uninsured, and that would limit access to care across red and blue states that have adopted expansion.” States rarely cut eligibility for social programs such as Medicaid once it’s been granted. The triggers make it politically easier for state lawmakers to end Medicaid expansion because they would not have to take any new action to cut coverage, said Edwin Park, a research professor at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. To see the impact of trigger laws, consider what happened after the Supreme Court in 2022 struck down Roe v. Wade and, with it, the constitutional right to an abortion. Conservative lawmakers in 13 states had crafted trigger laws that would automatically implement bans in the event a national right to abortion were struck down. Those state laws resulted in restrictions taking effect immediately after the court ruling, or shortly thereafter. States adopted triggers as part of Medicaid expansion to win over lawmakers skeptical of putting state dollars on the hook for a federal program unpopular with most Republicans. It’s unclear what Trump and congressional Republicans will do with Medicaid after he takes office in January, but one indicator could be a recent recommendation from the Paragon Health Institute, a leading conservative policy organization led by former Trump health adviser Brian Blase. Paragon has proposed that starting in 2026 the federal government would phase down the 90% federal match for expansion until 2034, when it would reach parity with each state’s federal match for its traditional enrollees. Under that plan, states could still get ACA Medicaid expansion funding but restrict coverage to enrollees with incomes up to the federal poverty level. Currently, to receive expansion funding, states must offer coverage to everyone up to 138% of the poverty level. Daniel Derksen, director of the Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona, said it’s unlikely Arizona would move to eliminate its trigger and make up for lost federal funds. “It would be a tough sell right now as it would put a big strain on the budget,” he said. Medicaid has been in the crosshairs of Republicans in Washington before. Republican congressional leaders in 2017 proposed legislation to cut federal expansion funding, a move that would have shifted billions in costs to states. That plan, part of a strategy to repeal Obamacare, ultimately failed.2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company's jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday's incident from the company’s earlier safety problems. Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines who is now a consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. In January this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane. The Boeing 737-800 that crash-landed in Korea, Price noted, is “a very proven airplane. "It’s different from the Max ...It’s a very safe airplane.’’ For decades, Boeing has maintained a role as one of the giants of American manufacturing. But the the past year's repeated troubles have been damaging. The company's stock price is down more than 30% in 2024. The company's reputation for safety was especially tarnished by the 737 Max crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 and left a combined 346 people dead. In the five years since then, Boeing has lost more than $23 billion. And it has fallen behind its European rival, Airbus, in selling and delivering new planes. Last fall, 33,000 Boeing machinists went on strike, crippling the production of the 737 Max, the company's bestseller, the 777 airliner and 767 cargo plane. The walkout lasted seven weeks, until members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to an offer that included 38% pay raises over four years. In January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. Federal regulators responded by imposing limits on Boeing aircraft production that they said would remain in place until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max. Acting on Boeing’s incomplete disclosures, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training instead of more intensive training in flight simulators. Simulator training would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the Max and might have pushed some to buy planes from Airbus instead. (Prosecutors said they lacked evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception had played a role in the crashes.) But the plea deal was rejected this month by a federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Connor , who decided that diversity, inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in choosing an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. Boeing has sought to change its culture. Under intense pressure over safety issues, David Calhoun departed as CEO in August. Since January, 70,000 Boeing employees have participated in meetings to discuss ways to improve safety.
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