Thursday, October 29, 2020
Tennessee D.A. shares family's thanks after husband murdered in front of pregnant wife - WZTV
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Tennessee D.A. shares family's thanks after husband murdered in front of pregnant wife WZTV"front" - Google News
October 30, 2020 at 12:31AM
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Tennessee D.A. shares family's thanks after husband murdered in front of pregnant wife - WZTV
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JetBlue CEO says airline will block middle seats into 2021, cites importance of 'customer perception' - Fox Business
With the current flu season and the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, frequent flyers may be feeling especially nervous about getting sick during their travels. Here's how you can take matters into your own hands by thoroughly disinfecting your airplane seat.
Robin Hayes, the CEO of JetBlue Airways, says the carrier will continue blocking middle seats at least until the first quarter of next year, citing the importance of “customer perception” amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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Hayes’ comments come amid recent reports of carriers ditching their middle-seat blocking policies, Southwest being the most recent major airline to announce its end to the practice.
“Our view is that over the course of time the seat caps will go, but right now it’s a very important issue for customer perception,” said Hayes in an interview with Reuters, adding that blocking its middle seats will be “incredibly expensive” for the airline.
The CEO of JetBlue told Reuters that the carrier would continue to block middle seats into the first quarter of 2021. (iStock)
In extending the policy into 2021, JetBlue joins other carriers such as Alaska Airlines and Delta, both of whom have announced plans to extend their ban on booking middle seats to Jan. 6.
AIRLINES PREPARE FOR PROLONGED TRAVEL DROUGHT
In an interview with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo earlier this month, Delta CEO Ed Bastian further claimed that the carrier would block middle seats "well into next year," although he did not provide a specific date.
Delta Air Lines took it even further on Twitter, appearing to troll other airlines for not extending their own middle seat policies through the holidays.
The gibe came following a Southwest Airlines announcement from Oct. 22, confirming that the carrier would once again start booking middle seats on flights as of Dec. 1, after previously capping passenger cabin capacity in May to enhance distance in the fight against COVID-19.
At the time, Southwest cited reports from “trusted medical and aviation organizations” for reinstating the bookings, perhaps in reference to a Department of Defense study released the previous week. The study maintains that the risk of exposure to the coronavirus on flights is minimal.
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Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines isn’t alone in announcing an end to its middle seat ban. Major carriers American Airlines and United Airlines have also put an end to their initial ban on the booking of middle seats.
Fox News’ Janine Puhak and Jeanette Settembre contributed to this report.
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October 29, 2020 at 11:07PM
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JetBlue CEO says airline will block middle seats into 2021, cites importance of 'customer perception' - Fox Business
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Trump rule says health plans must disclose costs up front - TribLIVE
WASHINGTON — Trying to pull back the veil on health care costs to encourage competition, the Trump administration on Thursday finalized a requirement for insurers to tell consumers up front the actual prices for common tests and procedures.
A major health insurance industry group said the regulation would have the opposite effect, raising premiums.
The late-innings policy play ahead of Election Day comes as President Donald Trump has been hammered on health care by Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its unrelenting efforts to overturn “Obamacare,” the 2010 law providing coverage to more than 20 million people.
A related Trump administration price disclosure requirement applying to hospitals is facing a federal lawsuit from the industry, alleging coercion and interference with business practices.
The idea behind the new regulations on insurers is to empower patients to become better consumers of health care, thereby helping to drive down costs.
But the requirements would take effect gradually over a four-year period, and patients face a considerable learning curve to make cost-versus-quality decisions about procedures like knee replacements or hernia repairs. Add to that political uncertainty about the policy’s survival if Trump doesn’t get reelected, and the whole effort is running into skepticism.
Administration officials are adamant the changes will stand, arguing the goal of price transparency transcends political partisanship.
“It will be impossible to walk backwards on this,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. “How do you fight transparency on prices? How do you actually articulate the argument that you should conceal what something costs from the person trying to purchase it?”
Insurance companies contend that the rules will boomerang economically, by undercutting their ability to bargain with hospitals, drug companies, doctors and other industry players. Providers now accepting discounted rates will press to get paid more once they see what their upper-end competitors are getting.
“The final rule will work to reduce competition and push health care prices higher — not lower — for American families, patients, and taxpayers,” Matt Eyles, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, said in a statement. “This is precisely the opposite of what Americans want in their health care.”
The new rules are being issued jointly by HHS, the Labor Department and the Treasury, which share jurisdiction over health insurance plans. They would:
— Starting in 2022, require insurers to make available data files on the costs of various procedures, allowing technology companies to design apps that let patients see costs not only under their own plan but other insurers’ plans as well.
— Starting in 2023, require insurers to make available to their policyholders cost-sharing details on 500 specific services, medical equipment and other items, as called for by the government.
— Starting in 2024, require insurers to make cost-sharing information available on all the services and goods they cover.
Patients would use an online shopping tool from their plan to see the negotiated rate between their doctor and the insurer, as well as an out-of-pocket cost estimate for procedures, drugs, durable medical equipment and any other item or service they may need.
The information would be available ahead of time, enabling an informed decision. Currently, most patients find out what they owe after they get back from the hospital and receive their “explanation of benefits” statement.
“We need to keep pricing on the front end, not the back end,” said Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “We have seen in every single industry that when this information is provided to consumers, it creates a new era of consumerism.”
Verma said administration officials have been working to foster price disclosure since 2017, soon after Trump, a Republican, came into office.
If the Trump rules withstand legal review, it’s unclear to what degree patients and their families will become a force reshaping the market. Patients usually follow the recommendations of their doctors. And people pick doctors by reputation, by word of mouth or from the lists of physicians who contract with their insurers.
The issue of health care price transparency started attracting more attention under the Obama administration, as then-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius oversaw the disclosure of list prices charged by hospitals. The Trump administration’s initiative drills down more deeply to try to get at the prices actually paid by insurers.
Many policy experts believe that high prices are a major driver of the nation’s chronic affordability problems with health care, which accounts for about 18% of the total economy, significantly burdening families, taxpayers and businesses.
“Transparency is here to stay, even in a Biden administration,” said Kavita Patel, a former Obama White House health policy adviser. However, she said she believes Biden would seek to reshape the Trump rules to focus more on quality, helping patients find high-value providers and services.
Categories: Health | News | Politics Election
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October 30, 2020 at 12:10AM
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Trump rule says health plans must disclose costs up front - TribLIVE
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Middle-Market Public Policy Roundup - Middle Market Growth
The 2020 presidential election is less than a week away, and in this edition of the roundup, we look at the Senate, which failed in its last attempt to pass a stimulus package before Nov.3. We also summarize some of the final analysis ahead of the elections, and this week’s Supreme Court appointment.
With No Deal in Senate, Lawmakers Continue Talks with White House
- A Republican-controlled Senate could not meet the 60-vote threshold to pass a targeted relief package through the chamber last week, making a federal relief package before election day unlikely.
- The bill’s $500 billion price tag was far less than the roughly $1.8 trillion package the White House offered and the $2.2 trillion package Democrats backed. The two parties have spent months attempting to find a bipartisan agreement for one last batch of coronavirus relief before the election. [USA Today, Christal Hayes and Nicholas Wu]
- Hope still remains for negotiations between the Trump administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
- Pelosi said she hopes Wednesday’s selloff in U.S. stocks will prompt Trump to agree to Democratic demands. Trump increased his offer in the talks to $1.9 trillion from $1 trillion over the course of October, closer to Pelosi’s demand of $2.4 trillion. [Yahoo! Finance, Erik Wasson]
- The Dow industrials dropped 3.4%, the fourth losing session in a row and the worst day since June 11. Other public indexes also suffered, with the S&P 500 falling 3.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 3.7%. [The Wall Street Journal, Will Horner and Juliet Chung]
- Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., urged the White House not to abandon talks with Pelosi. [Middle Market Growth, Benjamin Glick]
Analysts Warn of Misleading Results on Election Night
- Federal elections are now less than a week away. Poll aggregators continue to place former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of President Donald Trump, but other models indicate Trump could still pull out a victory.
- Coronavirus has prompted a wide adoption of early voting and mail-in ballots in this campaign, many of which may not be counted on election night. Analysts have warned that voters who cast their ballot in person may give the initial impression that one candidate has decisively won on Nov. 3, but that victory may become less certain as votes are counted.
- These red or blue “mirages” could prove critical when electors meet on Dec. 14 to formally select the victor.
- In this case, the Biden and Trump campaigns could contest the results of the election, ordering recounts as Al Gore and George W. Bush did in 2000.
- When recounts continued weeks after the presidential election in 2000, the Supreme Court ultimately ordered counting in the pivotal state of Florida to stop. The court didn’t select the winner, but Gore eventually conceded.
- Regardless of the winner, the election could have a significant impact on M&A in 2021 and beyond, with implications for taxes and trade. [Middle Market Growth, Benjamin Glick]
Barrett Appointed to Supreme Court
- The Senate voted along party lines Monday night to confirm Judge Amy Barrett to the Supreme Court.
- The 52-48 vote, which came around 8 p.m. on Oct. 26 ended a speedy approval process that began in September following the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
- Barrett’s appointment is Trump’s third Supreme Court pick.
- In a speech delivered after the Senate vote, Barrett stressed the independence of the Supreme Court and pledged that political parties and personal preference would not interfere in her future decision making.
- Associate Justice Clarence Thomas swore in Barrett Monday night, and Chief Justice John Roberts administered the official judicial oath to Barrett in a private ceremony on Tuesday. [Middle Market Growth, Benjamin Glick]
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October 29, 2020 at 11:28PM
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Police: Boston man arrested for performing lewd act in front of 2 women on train - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
BOSTON (WHDH) - Transit police arrested a Boston man after he allegedly performed a lewd act in front of two women on a train on Wednesday morning.
Officers responding to the MBTA’s Stony Brook Station met with witnesses who said they had been traveling on a southbound train when a man, later identified as Shavor Pickering, 30, fully exposed himself and committed a lewd act while standing in the aisle directly across from two seated women, according to transit police.
The witnesses reportedly pointed out Pickering who was still onboard the train.
Officers approached Pickering, who began uttering incriminating statements and derogatory comments toward toward the female witnesses, police said.
Pickering was placed into custody and transported to transit police headquarters for booking.
(Copyright (c) 2020 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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October 29, 2020 at 10:04PM
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Police: Boston man arrested for performing lewd act in front of 2 women on train - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
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Passion for middle grades teaching leads to national award for Holly Pinter - Western Carolina University News
Holly Pinter was recently recognized for her work at WCU and with the Catamount School.
As secretary of the Association for Middle Level Education, Holly Pinter found herself furiously taking minutes and listening during a recent meeting when all of a sudden, something sounded all too familiar.
“I was like, ‘I think they’re talking about me,’“ Pinter said.
They were. They were describing this year’s winner of the organization’s National Middle Level Professor of the Year, which Pinter, an associate professor in Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions, recently received.
Pinter, also a math teacher at the university’s laboratory school, the Catamount School, is the third professor from WCU to win the prestigious award. She joins CEAP’s dean, Kim Winter, and Dave Strahan, CEAP professor emeritus and former Taft B. Botner Distinguished Professor of Elementary and Middle Grades Education.
“I was incredibly humbled and honored to be recognized by colleagues that I really respect across the entire nation,” Pinter said. “I just have so much respect for the people that are in this organization. I really think my work with the Catamount School is probably what inspired the nomination. But for the last four years, that’s pretty much been all-consuming in my world. I’ve been sharing my research with this group for many years. I think they acknowledge and recognize the time commitment and the investment that that’s been on my part, and that feels really good because it really has been a huge part of my life.”
As an educator, Pinter helps prepare the next generation of middle level teachers with hands-on experience through her work at the Catamount School as a math teacher. This year, most of that work has come virtually because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
She has been involved with the Catamount School since its inception four years ago, serving twice as a fulltime math teacher.
“It’s the most magical thing I’ve ever done in my career,” Pinter said. “It’s been so powerful for my practice, both as a middle level teacher and a middle level pre-service educator. I think giving authentic experiences for our pre-service teachers to engage with kids early is a really unique opportunity for me.
“My colleagues in this organization have often called me crazy and brave because I’m in a really vulnerable position. I’m opening up to say, ‘Watch me teach and let’s critique it.’ I think it allows me model being a reflective practitioner. I think the pre-service teachers really appreciate that. I think our college students trust me more because they know I’m not just telling them is how it should be. They see me do it.”
The passion of teaching came honestly for Pinter, who received her bachelor’s degree from WCU in 2005 and her master’s degree in 2009, both in middle grades math education. One could say it’s in her blood. Her father, Bruce Henderson, retired from WCU last spring as a psychology professor after serving 42 years as a faculty member. Her sister, Heidi Buchanan, is a professor and research instruction librarian at Hunter Library.
“I didn’t deny it from an early age,” Pinter said. “I’m sure my family would’ve supported anything I wanted to do, but being a teacher was a natural fit for me from the beginning.
“Having a psychology professor as a dad, as an adult sometimes I think back and wonder how he was really addressing issues as a kid. Was I being psychoanalyzed a little bit? But it was great. Thanksgiving conversations are a lot of education talk. We have a great time thinking about education together. It’s fun.”
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October 29, 2020 at 11:24PM
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Passion for middle grades teaching leads to national award for Holly Pinter - Western Carolina University News
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JERUSALEM — West Bank settlement construction surged during the first year of the Trump presidency, an Israeli monitoring group said Sund...
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