afro sport betting

jili 188

The Aaron Rodgers era has not gone as planned for the New York Jets. On Sunday, at the Union Grounds sports bar in Cobble Hill, the mood among Jets fans was resigned, even relaxed, as the team lost yet another game, this time to the Los Angeles Rams. Many said they had accepted their team’s fate weeks ago. Sunday’s loss meant the Jets' record is 4-11; they have been eliminated from the playoffs for the 14th straight year. For Rodgers, it has been one of the worst statistical seasons of his career. Fans sporting Jets gear had plenty to say about their star quarterback over spiked hot chocolate, the go-to drink on a frigid Sunday afternoon. “I might as well continue watching Aaron Rodgers,” said Sam Catalano, 30, a Jets fan from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “It’s better than going through another painful rebuilding process.” While most fans said they have been disappointed with the Jets’ season, they had mixed feelings about Rodgers’ future with the team. “He brings a little drama to the game,” said Will Perry of Carroll Gardens, in a Jets winter cap and jacket. “I think that’s kind of why we watch the game to begin with, especially when your team sucks for so long. I do enjoy it. I hope he is our quarterback next year.” Sunday’s game also coincided with the start of the Netflix docuseries, “Enigma,” released last week, which centers on Rodgers’ career and his challenges on and off the field, ranging from his Achilles injury to his politics. Rodgers is arguably the most polarizing pro athlete in America, and has become notorious for speaking publicly about his controversial positions, which have included advocating for the hallucinogenic drug Ayahuasca , and his skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines. While none of the fans interviewed by Gothamist had seen "Enigma" yet, they said they felt like they had a pretty good sense of Rodgers already. “We knew who he was when he got to New York,” Joe Martinez said over a hot chocolate and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. “We already knew about his tendencies and we accepted it because we want to win.” Martinez said he wants to give Rodgers another year. Jets fans had high hopes for their team when Aaron Rodgers was signed in 2023 for a three-year, $112.5 million dollar contract. Finally, the franchise had a star quarterback, which the Jets had been missing for years – and the one essential ingredient that every team needs to have any hope of winning the sport’s ultimate prize, the Super Bowl. The Jets’ 2023 season was almost immediately derailed when Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon on the fourth play of the year, ending his season. Rodgers’ future beyond this season is murky. He’s expensive, hasn’t performed his best and he’s also 41 and has said he's contemplating whether or not he still wants to play football. And do fans even want their controversial quarterback to return? “Absolutely not,” said Seth Sherman, 66, from Flushing, citing Rodger’s subpar play and his controversial views. “He’s a far-right nut, and I don’t go for those people.” “If you look at his season and compared with other Jets quarterbacks, it's one of the better ones in franchise history,” said Catalano, about Rodgers’ year. And as for the drama off the field? Catalano said he just wanted to see Rodgers on “the back of the [New York] Post with really good puns and really good headlines.”In Pictures: Politics frames the debate as Ireland holds five ballots in 2024

Volleyball Indoor Tournament heading to finals6,000 inmates escape from a high-security prison as post-election violence roils Mozambique

By Noam N. Levey, KFF Health News Worried that President-elect Donald Trump will curtail federal efforts to take on the nation’s medical debt problem, patient and consumer advocates are looking to states to help people who can’t afford their medical bills or pay down their debts. “The election simply shifts our focus,” said Eva Stahl, who oversees public policy at Undue Medical Debt, a nonprofit that has worked closely with the Biden administration and state leaders on medical debt. “States are going to be the epicenter of policy change to mitigate the harms of medical debt.” New state initiatives may not be enough to protect Americans from medical debt if the incoming Trump administration and congressional Republicans move forward with plans to scale back federal aid that has helped millions gain health insurance or reduce the cost of their plans in recent years. Comprehensive health coverage that limits patients’ out-of-pocket costs remains the best defense against medical debt. But in the face of federal retrenchment, advocates are eyeing new initiatives in state legislatures to keep medical bills off people’s credit reports, a consumer protection that can boost credit scores and make it easier to buy a car, rent an apartment, or even get a job. Several states are looking to strengthen oversight of medical credit cards and other financial products that can leave patients paying high interest rates on top of their medical debt. Some states are also exploring new ways to compel hospitals to bolster financial aid programs to help their patients avoid sinking into debt. “There’s an enormous amount that states can do,” said Elisabeth Benjamin, who leads health care initiatives at the nonprofit Community Service Society of New York. “Look at what’s happened here.” New York state has enacted several laws in recent years to rein in hospital debt collections and to expand financial aid for patients, often with support from both Democrats and Republicans in the legislature. “It doesn’t matter the party. No one likes medical debt,” Benjamin said. Other states that have enacted protections in recent years include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. Many measures picked up bipartisan support. President Joe Biden’s administration has proved to be an ally in state efforts to control health care debt. Such debt burdens 100 million people in the United States, a KFF Health News investigation found . Led by Biden appointee Rohit Chopra, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made medical debt a priority , going after aggressive collectors and exposing problematic practices across the medical debt industry. Earlier this year, the agency proposed landmark regulations to remove medical bills from consumer credit scores. The White House also championed legislation to boost access to government-subsidized health insurance and to cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, both key bulwarks against medical debt. Trump hasn’t indicated whether his administration will move ahead with the CFPB credit reporting rule, which was slated to be finalized early next year. Congressional Republicans, who will control the House and Senate next year, have blasted the proposal as regulatory overreach that will compromise the value of credit reports. And Elon Musk, the billionaire whom Trump has tapped to lead his initiative to shrink government, last week called for the elimination of the watchdog agency . “Delete CFPB,” Musk posted on X. If the CFPB withdraws the proposed regulation, states could enact their own rules, following the lead of Colorado, New York, and other states that have passed credit reporting bans since 2023. Advocates in Massachusetts are pushing the legislature there to take up a ban when it reconvenes in January. “There are a lot of different levers that states have to take on medical debt,” said April Kuehnhoff, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, which has helped lead national efforts to expand debt protections for patients. Kuehnhoff said she expects more states to crack down on medical credit card providers and other companies that lend money to patients to pay off medical bills, sometimes at double-digit interest rates. Under the Biden administration, the CFPB has been investigating patient financing companies amid warnings that many people may not understand that signing up for a medical credit card such as CareCredit or enrolling in a payment plan through a financial services company can pile on more debt. If the CFPB efforts stall under Trump, states could follow the lead of California, New York, and Illinois, which have all tightened rules governing patient lending in recent years. Consumer advocates say states are also likely to continue expanding efforts to get hospitals to provide more financial assistance to reduce or eliminate bills for low- and middle-income patients, a key protection that can keep people from slipping into debt. Hospitals historically have not made this aid readily available, prompting states such as California, Colorado, and Washington to set stronger standards to ensure more patients get help with bills they can’t afford. This year, North Carolina also won approval from the Biden administration to withhold federal funding from hospitals in the state unless they agreed to expand financial assistance. In Georgia, where state government is entirely in Republican control, officials have been discussing new measures to get hospitals to provide more assistance to patients. “When we talk about hospitals putting profits over patients, we get lots of nodding in the legislature from Democrats and Republicans,” said Liz Coyle, executive director of Georgia Watch, a consumer advocacy nonprofit. Many advocates caution, however, that state efforts to bolster patient protections will be critically undermined if the Trump administration cuts federal funding for health insurance programs such as Medicaid and the insurance marketplaces established through the Affordable Care Act. Trump and congressional Republicans have signaled their intent to roll back federal subsidies passed under Biden that make health plans purchased on ACA marketplaces more affordable. That could hike annual premiums by hundreds or even thousands of dollars for many enrollees, according to estimates by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank. And during Trump’s first term, he backed efforts in Republican-led states to restrict enrollment in their Medicaid safety net programs through rules that would require people to work in order to receive benefits. GOP state leaders in Idaho, Louisiana, and other states have expressed a desire to renew such efforts. “That’s all a recipe for more medical debt,” said Stahl, of Undue Medical Debt. Jessica Altman, who heads the Covered California insurance marketplace, warned that federal cuts will imperil initiatives in her state that have limited copays and deductibles and curtailed debt for many state residents. “States like California that have invested in critical affordable programs for our residents will face tough decisions,” she said. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.With Trump on the way, advocates look to states to pick up medical debt fight

Richard Parsons, prominent Black executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76

Julia Bradbury said she has become more focused on her health than she has ever been after “death looked her in the eyes”. The 54-year-old TV presenter revealed in 2021 that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and later underwent a mastectomy during which her breast plus two lymph glands were removed before reconstruction took place. Bradbury has since stopped drinking alcohol and has changed the priorities in her life, but revealed she has received some pushback on social media from sharing her approach. She told The Times Weekend magazine: “I wasn’t close to death, but death looked me in the eyes. So I am more focused on my health than I ever have been. “I don’t drink, I eat a healthy diet and exercise every day. “When I came home from my mastectomy, I promised I would spend time outside every day, and that is my mantra, however poor it might be in this shitty winter.” Bradbury, who has since been given the all-clear, said a doctor recently helped her reframe how she utilises her energy. She recalled: “He said, ‘This drive that you have – you’re running on a credit card. You can push through all sorts of things. But is that the best thing for you?’. “I realised you don’t have to win every race. You don’t have to overcome everything. I don’t want to max out the credit card.” The presenter previously discussed her experience in an ITV documentary, Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer And Me, which followed her as she came to terms with her diagnosis and prepared to undergo her single mastectomy. She also regularly shares her wellness and fitness tips with her more than 270,000 Instagram followers. However, she revealed she has had pushback from people saying, “I was healthy, I go to the gym, I got cancer, and now its metastasised and I’ve got secondary cancer. So are you blaming me for my illness?”. A post shared by JULIA BRADBURY (@juliabradbury) Responding to the accusations, she added: “No. All I’m saying is, this is what I went through. It was a wake-up call, and it made me look at life differently. “It made me prioritise my sleep, emotional health, and give more time to my loved ones. “If I drink more than four units of alcohol a week, my risk of reoccurrence goes up by 28%. But people find me giving up drinking infuriating.” Bradbury, who has a 13-year-old son Zephyr, and nine-year-old twins Xanthe and Zena, said having children later in life has caused her to not be as “patient” as she feels she should be at times after becoming more set in her own ways. “People think that after you’ve got a cancer diagnosis, you become this beautiful angel with a halo, and a super mum and do everything right”, she added. “But no, you make the same mistakes. I lose my temper, and I can hear myself saying things that I can’t believe I’m saying. “None of us know what we’re doing, really. We’re just doing our best. I know they do have lots of love. They are told that they’re loved every day.” We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.