888 jili
“The tragic news of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has opened a lot of discussion about the very nasty subject of health care costs and quality of service,” Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial, said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times. The Federal Reserve has attributed elevated price pressures to services inflation, particularly in the housing sector, which accounts for a significant portion of the CPI report. “Do you know what other services inflation consistently runs hot, well above the 2% guideline? Health care,” Siebert said. The report forecasts that medical costs will increase by 8 percent from last year for the group market and 7.5 percent for the individual market. If accurate, health care cost growth will be the highest in 13 years. The research shows that private health insurance premiums have risen cumulatively by 15 percent since 2022, and they are becoming more expensive in 42 states. “In the health care sector, both rising employment levels and wage increases fueled by economy-wide inflation during the past few years are pushing health care costs higher,” Debbie Ashford, North America chief actuary for Health Solutions at Aon, said in a statement. “To keep pace with these pressures, the health care industry negotiates higher prices, which in turn emerge as higher medical trends.” National health care spending has garnered attention recently, with billionaire Elon Musk shining a spotlight on the exorbitant costs amid the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. Musk reposted a Peter G. Peterson Foundation chart shared by the popular social media X account “The Rabbit Hole.” The data highlighted administrative costs per capita of $1,055, the highest among OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. The fiscal think tank estimated that U.S. health care spending reached $4.5 trillion in 2022, averaging $13,493 per person and accounting for 17 percent of GDP. Experts say the triple-digit percentage increase in health care costs is due to a combination of hospital consolidations, growing prescription drug prices, and an aging population. “When the population is aging and getting sicker, it adds more strain to the health care system and just an overall shortage of healthcare workers,” Divya Sangameshwar, an insurance expert and spokesperson at LendingTree, told The Epoch Times. “And this isn’t a new problem. Health care costs have been rising since the year 2000, and these costs are just ultimately getting caught down to policyholders in the form of higher premiums.” As a result of an increasing number of seniors, Medicare enrollment is expected to surge in the coming years, adding to the ballooning costs of the federal program. This past spring, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that Medicare spending would play a sizable role in the significant increase in federal spending over the next 30 years. Medicare spending, the report concluded, will double over the next 30 years and reach 5.5 percent of GDP. While this is not a new trend, it has accelerated in recent years, with nearly 1,900 hospital mergers between 1998 and 2021, according to the American Hospital Association. Various assessments suggest this has adversely affected the health care system, including the number of hospitals, experts say. “There are also indications that consolidation will reduce access to health care for the most vulnerable populations through hospital closures and higher prices in highly consolidated markets. “Adding to that is the fact that private equity has entered the market amid predictions that the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate the pace of consolidation.” The newest trend is that corporate giants such as Amazon, CVS, UnitedHealth, and private equity companies are acquiring many physician practices. The U.S. government is beginning to take notice. “Hospital consolidations often lead to worse outcomes for nurses and doctors, result in higher prices, and can have life and death consequences for patients,” said Henry Liu, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, adding that this deal could lead to higher out-of-pocket costs for essential health care services. Though the numbers vary, data show that administrative costs represent a sizable share of total expenses incurred in delivering healthcare to patients. Vivek Ramaswamy, the co-head of DOGE, blames regulations and bureaucracy for high administrative costs. “Most regulations ultimately hurt the very people they are supposed to ‘help,’” Ramaswamy wrote on X on Dec. 6. “Many hospitals and health systems are forced to dedicate staff and clinical resources to appeal and overturn inappropriate denials, which alone can cost billions of dollars every year,” the report reads. John Bright, the founder and CEO of Med Claims Compliance Corporation, says costs associated with administrative errors can also add to the final tally. Medicare maintains an improper payment rate—or claims overpaid in errors—that costs as much as $32 billion per year. According to Bright, this could be due to administrators not knowing the proper billing codes. The elevated improper payment rate, says Bright, can also be attributed to theft, fraud, waste, and abuse. “Health and Human Services has to factor in the improper payment rate,” Bright told The Epoch Times. “It’s kind of like if you own a grocery store, and you have to allocate the cost of what’s called shrinkage theft. You have to factor it into your cost of operation.” The incoming administration, particularly Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wants to work with the American Medical Association to remedy this situation. The organization devises the billing codes and generates millions of revenues from royalties. RFK Jr. aims to update the system to bolster primary care and enhance health outcomes.The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Devin Askew had 28 points in Long Beach State’s 76-68 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night. Askew also had six rebounds, seven assists, and seven steals for the Beach (3-8, 2-0 Big West Conference). Austin Johnson scored 14 points and added 10 rebounds. TJ Wainwright went 5 of 9 from the field (2 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 14 points. The Rainbow Warriors (5-3, 0-1) were led in scoring by Marcus Greene, who finished with 17 points. Gytis Nemeiksa added 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals for Hawaii. Akira Jacobs also had 11 points. Long Beach State takes on San Diego on the road on Tuesday, and Hawaii hosts Texas A&M-CC on Sunday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Sanctuary AI , a company on a mission to create the world's first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots, has achieved a technological milestone on its path to mission success. The company's 21 degrees of freedom (DOF) dexterous robotic hands can perform in-hand manipulation , which opens up a wide range of industrial fine manipulation tasks. Sanctuary's approach in making dexterous robotic hands is enabled by their unique miniaturized hydraulic valves. This method of hydraulic actuation offers an order of magnitude higher power density than cable and electromechanical-based systems, providing unmatched dexterous capability as it relates to speed, strength, controllability, cycle life, impact resistance and heat management. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get the latest need-to-know information delivered to your inbox as it happens. Our flagship newsletter. Get our front page stories each morning as well as the latest updates each afternoon during the week + more in-depth weekend editions on Saturdays & Sundays.
Trump’s ‘power move’ fizzles as China’s Xi blows off inaugurationHundreds of people descended on Sweida's main square, singing and clapping in jubilation, just days after Islamist-led rebels took the capital Damascus, sending Assad fleeing. The Druze-majority city in Syria's south has been a focal point of renewed anti-government demonstrations over the past year and a half. On Friday, residents waved Syria's pre-Assad flag of white, green and black with three stars, and raised olive branches in a sign of peace. Some of them have lost family members during the anti-government uprising that began in 2011 and spiralled into civil war. Others, like Hinnawi, had languished in prison under the Assad family's five-decade rule. "It was a dream," said 77-year-old Hinnawi of Assad's ouster. Decades ago, a few years after Hafez al-Assad seized power -- which he later handed over to his son Bashar -- a 23-year-old Hinnawi was jailed. He was released 17 years later. The grey-haired man said he had "dreamed that one day the regime would fall", but did not believe that he would live to see the day. "It's a wonderful sight. Nobody could have imagined that this could happen", he said. But his joy was incomplete, remembering the many who have died in jail. "I wish that those who died when I was imprisoned in Mazzeh or Saydnaya could see this scene," said Hinnawi. Since Assad's fall, rebel forces and residents have broken into both detention centres, freeing political prisoners and searching for long-missing loved ones. Activists and rights groups say the Assad government tortured and abused inmates at both facilities. "I got out when I was 40, I missed out of my whole life," said Hinnawi, who served in the Syrian army before being jailed. Recalling torture behind bars, he said that "no oppressor in history has done what they did to us." Since Sunday, the ousted government's security forces were nowhere to be seen in Sweida, and the office of Assad's Baath party has been abandoned, as have army checkpoints on the road to Damascus. Local armed men are present, but not the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which spearheaded the rebel offensive against Assad. Siham Zein al-Din, who lost her son in 2014 after he defected from the national army to join rebel fighters, said he had "sacrificed his life... for freedom, for dignity". The family was still searching for Khaldun's remains, said his 60-year-old mother. Like her son, some members of the Druze community took up arms against Assad's forces during the war. The Druze, who also live in Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, make up about three percent of Syria's population, around 700,000 people. Beyond defending themselves from attacks in the areas where they live, Syria's Druze largely stayed on the sidelines of the civil war. Many managed to avoid compulsory conscription since 2011. Residents of Sweida have long complained of discrimination and the lack of basic services. Many buildings in the city are constructed from black volcanic stone that can be found in the area, and its roads have fallen into disrepair. Sheikh Marwan Hussein Rizk, a religious leader, said that "Sweida province has been marginalised" for decades, with most of its residents living in poverty. But, surrounded by the joyful protesters, Rizk said better days may be coming. "Today, we look to the future and ask for a helping hand... Our hand is extended to all Syrians." Next to him, resident Hussein Bondok held up a poster of his brother Nasser, a journalist and opposition activist who was last heard from in 2014 when he was arrested. Bondok, 54, said he believes his brother was likely killed under torture in one of Damascus's prisons. Nasser struggled for freedom, Bondok said. "I want to congratulate him now, because the seeds he had planted with his brothers-in-arms has become a tree." lk/ami/it
Gordon Bell High School in Winnipeg demonstrates leadership with federally supported retrofit
One of the 39 people pardoned by President Joe Biden’s administration is a Utah woman who has turned her life around after struggling with substance abuse. Stevoni Doyle of Santaquin is a wife, mother and grandmother who also fosters animals and volunteers. "I'm a therapist with Wasatch Behavioral Health, with the jail transition program,” said Doyle. "If you would have asked me 20 years ago if I would be here today, I never would have imagined that,” said Doyle. She has come a long way. "In 2000, I was introduced to meth, and I instantly become addicted,” explained Doyle. “It was the one thing that I felt like just completed me. Within a year, I lost custody of my 4 kids to DCFS and I had racked up a bunch of charges." Doyle served time at the Utah State Prison and then at a federal prison in Arizona. There, she decided to make some changes. "I started to take accountability for my actions and realized that I didn’t want to live this lifestyle," she said. RELATED STORY | Biden commutes 1,500 sentences in largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history Doyle started helping people who were struggling with substance abuse and even went back to school to study social work. "I never thought I would graduate college, let alone get a master’s degree,” Doyle said. On Wednesday, she got a special phone call and was pardoned by President Biden. "I was like, no way, I can’t believe this is happening.” She said. "I won’t have to explain myself all the time. Even though I don’t have a problem sharing it, it’s part of my story, it’s part of who I am, it’s still nice to not have to do that." RELATED STORY | January 6 defendant tells Scripps News he may not accept a potential pardon from Trump This story was originally published by Mythili Gubbi at Scripps News Salt Lake City .We are less than two weeks away from the start of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. The playoff field was finalized on Sunday and the first game will kick off on Friday, Dec. 20. This matchup features the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers (11-1) against the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1). With the teams now determined, analysts and fans are eager to predict which one will take home the trophy at the end of the season. The Oregon Ducks (13-0) are the No. 1 overall seed and the only undefeated team this year. However, gives them the fifth-best odds to win the championship at 9.9%. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.
BEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents' stunning march across Syria gained speed on Saturday with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and with the government forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The rebels' moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad's government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army. For the first time in the country's long-running civil war, the government now has control of only four of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Homs, Latakia and Tartus. The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad's chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people.” In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria's border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.” It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution. Syria’s state media denied social media rumors that Assad left the country, saying he is performing his duties in Damascus. He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia, is busy with its war in Ukraine . Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad's forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation a U.N. resolution, adopted in 2015, and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to discuss the situation in Syria. No details were immediately available. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. Syria’s military, meanwhile, sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as insurgents approached its outskirts. The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama , the country’s fourth largest city. Opposition activists said Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra including the main Baath City, activists said. Syrian Observatory said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces and are sending reinforcements to Homs, where a battle loomed. If the insurgents capture Homs, they would cut the link between Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal region where the president enjoys wide support. The Syrian army said in a statement that it carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists." The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar's top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there is a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. Karam reported from London. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
It turns out the best way to touch the nerves of a member of Congress isn’t to ask about a contentious issue such as abortion, deep-state corruption, or transgender-bathroom policy. Instead, just mention their stock portfolio. At least that seems to be true of Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican representative from Texas who’s about to enter his fourth term in the House. During a Nov. 27 interview with the independent outlet The Free Press, Rep. Crenshaw mounted a conspicuously passionate defense when questioned about whether he would support a law banning members of Congress from trading stocks. “This is number 1,000 on my priority list of things to care about,” he said. “This is one of those stupid things that I’ve been dragged through the mud on. Do you know how much (expletive) money I’ve ever had in the stock market? About $20,000, yet I’ve been dragged through the mud on this as if there’s some insider trading.” Rep. Crenshaw referenced a January 2024 segment by Fox News host Jesse Watters, who named him among several members of Congress who significantly outperformed the S&P 500 in 2023. While the market was up 24%, Mr. Watters noted, “(Politicians’) performance smoked – and I mean smoked – professional money managers who do this all day for a living.” Mr. Watters went on to note, “Our lawmakers made over a billion dollars in financial transactions this year, a lot of them investing in companies that they had inside information on.” Rep. Crenshaw argued that Mr. Watters misled his audience to believe the congressman was raking in a fortune on stocks despite his relatively modest portfolio. And when you compare his performance to those of other legislators, especially Congress’ many multimillionaires, he does have a point. Mr. Watters lumped Rep. Crenshaw in with now-former Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., who was up an almost unbelievable 239% in 2023; Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., who was up 122.2%; and infamous stock-trading genius Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who was up 65.5%. Also on the list was Connecticut’s own Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who was up 68% last year. Congressional stock trading has been controversial for many years – with good reason. Infamously, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., made some “wise” decisions just before the 2008 financial crisis hit. The senator “sold off $42,696 in mutual-fund shares, and quickly sold off another $73,000 during the rest of September. The stock market collapsed after that,” The Washington Times editorial board noted, adding that his sales came just one day after “the (Federal Reserve) chairman and Treasury secretary briefed Mr. Durbin and other congressional leaders on the financial crisis and efforts to help financially troubled banks.” Rep. Crenshaw has argued that members of Congress need avenues to supplement their $174,000 annual income. Although that income puts members of Congress solidly in America’s upper class, Rep. Crenshaw’s claim isn’t entirely without merit. Many members of Congress have homes in Capitol Hill, one of the most exorbitantly priced areas in the country, in addition to their homes in their congressional districts. The much more frugal choice to stay overnight in one’s congressional office has come under fire in recent years, with Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., invoking the “MeToo” movement during a 2020 interview with NPR when she was attempting to ban the practice, arguing that it made some congressional staffers uncomfortable. Rep. Crenshaw isn’t wrong when he argues that needing to own or rent two homes will dampen incentives for non-wealthy people to run for Congress. Still, public servants who are privy to confidential information regarding the market, and whose legislation can seriously impact the market, have no business trading individual stocks. With Congress out of session more than half the year anyway, it’s not unreasonable to expect legislators to consider hitting the pavement and looking for second jobs.
To the Editor: Mehmet Oz, a board-certified heart surgeon turned talk show host and lifestyle guru, is President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal health care agency that covers more than a third of Americans. Although he made his reputation as a surgeon, he made his fortune as a salesman. He is perhaps best known for his TV show, Dr. Oz, on which he portrayed himself as a trusted doctor and dispensed nutritional and lifestyle advice, conveniently failing to make clear to his audience just how closely he worked with the companies he pitched. He repeatedly promoted products of questionable medical value and was named in lawsuits that alleged he made misleading claims on the show. Several of the companies he has promoted are structured as multilevel marketing businesses whose practices have repeatedly drawn the attention of federal regulators. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oz appeared on Fox News more than 25 times to promote hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine — an antimalarial drug also used for treating lupus — as a cure for COVID, despite lacking evidence that it was safe or effective. CNBC recently reported that Oz owns at least $630,000 in stock in pharmaceutical companies that distribute hydroxychloroquine. On top of the unverified drug claims, Oz was criticized for comments he made on Sean Hannity’s show. “I just saw a nice piece in The Lancet arguing that the opening of schools may only cost us two or three percent in terms of total mortality,” Oz said, suggesting that putting children back in school — even as cases skyrocketed — was a “very appetizing opportunity.” Oz was, and probably still is, involved in marketing partnerships with Novo Nordisk. As head of CMS, he’d be in charge of making decisions that could be very lucrative for pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Oz also has investments in CVS and UnitedHealth, companies that could reap major financial gains based on Oz’s decisions. His ongoing financial ties to Big Pharma and health care companies are a conflict of interest. What incentive does he have to do the job the American people need done by the person in this position? Furthermore, in addition to these conflicts of interest, Oz is a proponent of Medicare privatization, which would destroy Medicare as we know it and enrich the insurance corporations he’s invested in. In recent years, Oz has dived into far-right politics, dropping the veil of neutrality he stood behind for most of his career. Since his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate, Oz routinely faces criticism for his motives, beliefs and questionable medical record — including a recently resurfaced scandal involving the cruel treatment of animals by Columbia University research teams that he oversaw. Dr. Oz, he gained fame for promoting questionable “supplements” and quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain. Mehmet Oz is an inappropriate choice to run CMS. His history of promoting questionable “supplements” and quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain, and the conflicts of interest created by his continued involvement and financial ties to pharmaceutical and health care companies make him unfit for that position. I urge Senators Moran and Marshall to block the nomination of Mehmet Oz as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Sharon McGinness Larned
Nederland Middle/Senior’s parent-teacher association is trying crowdfunding this year to help the small school restore library services for its students. Along with money for the school library, the fundraiser could help cover the cost of scholarships for students to travel to competitions, for teacher grants for projects and for school events that include Homecoming, Harvest Feast and a Valentine’s Day ice cream social. “The library is the big need,” Nederland parent and PTA secretary Stacie Beaber said. Nederland Middle/Senior Principal Gavan Goodrich said the school, which has close to 100 students in the middle school and close to 115 in the high school, has focused on other areas for its allotted teaching positions instead of the library. Those areas include an outdoor leadership career and technical education program, as well as advanced placement classes. With teaching staff allocated based on enrollment, he said, it can be challenging to provide all the classes students want — and need to take to meet district graduation requirements. “Every school has to make priorities,” he said. “We have a lot of different needs we need to cover. We have to make some hard decisions.” He said many of the library books were redistributed to language arts teachers. For research, students have the option to use digital resources. Without a staff member to supervise, he said, students generally can only use the library as part of a class when a teacher uses the library as a classroom space. “We don’t have a functioning, traditional library,” he said. Hearing the desire from the school community for more library services, he said, he would like to work with the PTA to potentially hire a part-time paraeducator to run the library and potentially coordinate parent volunteers who could assist with checking out books. Other ideas for the money include updating the library’s collections. “I do think we can fund some creative solutions to make it a library kids can use,” he said. So far, the school has raised $6,500 toward its $10,000 goal. The fundraiser ends Dec. 13. For more information or to donate, go to app.givebacks.gives/nmshspta . Beaber said Nederland’s students deserve the same library services as the district’s other middle and high schools, adding it’s challenging to operate as a rural school in an urban school district. The school draws from a large area that’s generally sparsely populated, while open enrollment from outside the mountain area is limited by distance and the challenges of driving up Boulder Canyon in the winter. The school’s enrollment declines, coupled with Boulder Valley’s need to “right size” school staffing numbers because of a tighter budget, meant the school lost close to two full-time teacher positions last school year. Plus, Beaber said, raising money can be a challenge itself. For the current fundraiser, the PTA set up a competition between the middle schoolers and the high schoolers to encourage donations. The PTA treasurer, who works for Southwest Airlines, also was able to donate two roundtrip tickets as a prize. Business sponsors include Boulder Therapeutics, Nokian Tyres, Waldron Custom Coatings and Tadasana Mountain Yoga. While local businesses are generous in supporting the school, Beaber said, there are fewer businesses to appeal to than in other areas of the school district. The school also is competing with many nonprofit organizations in need of support. “They all work really hard to support us, but we’ll be lucky to get to the $10,000,” she said.
Waves of joy flood Damascus. But an undercurrent of distrust lingers.Arizona sues to stop Saudi company's pumping under 'nuisance' lawsFREIBURG, Germany (AP) — Freiburg survived a late comeback to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 and move into fifth place in the Bundesliga on Friday. The sides started the day equal on points and Wolfsburg had won its last five games in the league and cup. But Lukas Kübler scored an opportunist opener three minutes before the break and added a second with his head six minutes into the second half to put Freiburg in the driving seat. Michael Gregoritsch added the third in the 62nd. Jonas Wind came off the bench to score his third goal in two games and Mattias Svanberg cut the deficit seven minutes from time as Wolfsburg desperately looked for a way into the game. But it was too late, and Freiburg moved above Wolfsburg to fifth place on the table and equal on points with Leipzig, which has a game in hand. The match was an important one for two teams vying for a Champions League place next year. Although Bayern Munich have a six-point advantage over second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, only eight points separate the next nine clubs. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
“We’re aware of the civil allegations and Jay-Z’s really strong response to that,” NFL (National Football League) commissioner Roger Goodell said on Wednesday after the conclusion of the league’s winter meetings. “We know the litigation is happening now. From our standpoint, our relationship is not changing with them, including our preparations for the next Super Bowl.” A woman who previously sued musician Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 when she was 13 years old, amended the lawsuit on Sunday to include a new allegation that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault. Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, said the rape allegation made against him is part of an extortion attempt. The 24-time Grammy Award winner called the allegations “idiotic” and “heinous in nature” in a statement released by Roc Nation. The NFL teamed up with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2019 for events and social activism. The league and the entertainment company extended their partnership a few months ago. Kendrick Lamar will perform the Super Bowl halftime show at The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9. Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show. Beyonce, who is married to Jay-Z, will perform at halftime of the Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans game at Christmas. “I think they’re getting incredibly comfortable not just with the Super Bowl but other events they’ve advised us on and helped us with,” Mr Goodell said. “They’ve been a big help in the social justice area to us on many occasions. They’ve been great partners.”Jordan Ivy-Curry, UCF aim to topple Tulsa
Former Blue Jays win multi-million-dollar tax battle against Canadian government
Syrian insurgents reach the capital's suburbs. Worried residents flee and stock up on supplies
Paveletzke's 23 lead Ohio past Morehead State 88-76TC Energy Corp. stock rises Wednesday, still underperforms market
