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fred done betfred net worth Columbus Blue Jackets (10-9-3, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (8-13-2, in the Central Division) Chicago; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Blackhawks host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Ryan Donato's two-goal game against the Minnesota Wild in the Blackhawks' 3-2 loss. Chicago has an 8-13-2 record overall and a 4-5-0 record on its home ice. The Blackhawks have a -11 scoring differential, with 57 total goals scored and 68 conceded. Columbus has gone 2-6-2 on the road and 10-9-3 overall. The Blue Jackets have a 1-2-3 record in games decided by a goal. Sunday's game is the first meeting between these teams this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Connor Bedard has scored four goals with 13 assists for the Blackhawks. Tyler Bertuzzi has one goal and five assists over the past 10 games. Kirill Marchenko has nine goals and 14 assists for the Blue Jackets. Zachary Werenski has scored five goals and added 10 assists over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Blackhawks: 3-6-1, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.1 assists, 2.7 penalties and 5.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game. Blue Jackets: 5-4-1, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.1 assists, 4.3 penalties and 10.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game. INJURIES: Blackhawks: None listed. Blue Jackets: None listed. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Smiles fuel Tony Lau. And in his many lines of work, he sees a whole lot of them. “That energy will fulfill you,” Lau told The Examiner. Lau’s radiant and selfless aura is evident to anybody who spends time with him. “He seems to be someone with endless energy,” Chinese Chamber of Commerce President Donald Lu said. “Whenever I have things that I asked him to do, he would always deliver ... he gives it all to this world.” Lau’s head fits an assortment of hats. He has been a volunteer and employee for the Chinese New Year Parade for the last 30 years, is a board member for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and co-runs K-Elements, a Korean barbecue restaurant in the Richmond. All that doesn’t even account for his full-time job as a contract engineer in The City. And last year he added another prominent title to his crowded business card: director of the San Francisco Chinese New Year parade, the biggest such event in the world outside of Asia. Next February’s Year of the Snake parade will be the first procession under his leadership. On top of it all, he and his wife are raising three school-age children in the Richmond. It all makes for a nonstop life of controlled chaos for Lau, who says he works seven days a week and often only sleeps three hours a night. But Lau doesn’t seem to mind. To him, more jobs mean more opportunities to see people being joyful. “My dad taught me the code,” Lau said. “The value of a person is not money. It really depends on how many people's lives you’ve touched.” “If you love something, you always have time to do it,” he said. When he and his brother-in-law opened K-Elements at a vacant corner of Clement Street in 2017, Lau said he had two stipulations. One, the restaurant's ventilation needed to be designed so that customers don’t leave smelling like smoke the rest of the day. But second, and more importantly, the restaurant needed to give back to the community in some way. The owners settled on hosting an annual free Thanksgiving lunch that anybody can attend. The event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, has drawn as many as 400 people to the eatery across multiple generations, chowing down on barbecue chicken, japchae, bulgogi and kimchi. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the restaurant was closed for in-person service, K-Elemens’ owners kept the holiday tradition alive by passing out bowls of food to single-room-occupancy residents in Chinatown . “He is a rare gem,” said San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, who represents the Richmond district and worked with Lau to get his Thanksgiving lunch off the ground. “We need more Tonys in our community in San Francisco.” Lau says at every Thanksgiving, Chinese New Year Parade or community event he hosts, he always makes it a point to stop and look at the smiling attendees. He says it warms his heart to see elders hold the “tiny hands” of their grandchildren. “It's the happiest thing ever,” he said. “You forget about yourself. It’s pretty beautiful ... it makes it all worth it.” Lau, a civil engineer by trade, also repairs residents’ homes, fixing everything from water leaks, electrical power issues and other structural damages. Lau considers himself “fortunate” to be a contractor, even if manual labor is unappealing to others. “Everybody's most valuable asset in their life is their home,” Lau said. “In order for me to be a good contractor, I do a lot of relationship-building. There’s a trust relationship there. They treat me like family. That’s how you build community.” Lau said his devotion to serving others is grounded in his San Francisco upbringing. Lau grew up in a working-class family in Chinatown, moving from Hong Kong when he was 10. Like many people in his generation, his life revolved around the neighborhood, which advocates have likened to a small town because of how tight-knit the residents are. At 16, he volunteered for a street fair at the Chinese New Year parade, mainly, he said, because he wanted to do something more valuable than spending most of his time playing “Super Mario” video games on the Nintendo 64. The elders in his life, he said, instilled a philanthropic mentality which motivated him to be as active as possible. “Just appreciate what you have, because there's a lot of people out there who aren’t as lucky as we are,” he said. “My grandfather always taught me that if you can help someone, it's actually your fortune, not someone else’s.” For the last seven years, Lau has organized the nearly two-dozen floats serving as the centerpieces of the Chinese New Year Parade. Longtime parade director and neighborhood leader Harlan Wong said when he decided to retire, Lau was the only person he considered to succeed him. “He was the perfect fit,” Wong said. “He is committed to the task, he is always very careful. No matter how challenging the situation may be, he always comes through for me.” Lau admitted the new role can be overwhelming. But he said he took the job without hesitation because of Wong, who he calls his “Sifu,” a Cantonese term of respect which means teacher or mentor. Two years ago, Lau said Wong’s wife approached him. She said Wong was getting older, and she was concerned about his workload. She said that ever since Wong took on such a significant role in the parade, the couple had not been able to travel as much or see other Chinese New Year celebrations around the globe. Lau said after that conversation, he knew he had to take over. In his new role, Lau has still leaned on Wong for guidance, with the former parade director serving as a consultant for the event. “He’s handled everything exceptionally well,” Wong said. “Foundationally, he has everything that needs to be successful,” said Lu, who is also heavily involved in the parade. “Being with Harlan for so long over the years helped a lot. On top of that, it’s his work ethic, and his love for the community and for Chinatown.” People in Lau’s orbit maintain that for all the responsibilities he takes on, they never once have heard him moan and groan about everything on his plate. “He doesn’t complain,” Chan said. “If he sees a problem, he rolls up his sleeves, and just does it, and he invites other people to help problem-solve.” Wong and others claim they’ve never seen Lau tired, but Lau swears he does. It just doesn’t slow him down for long. “The thing is that after you find out what's going on. What do you need to do? You get fueled up again,” he said. “You keep on going. Like those ‘Energizer Bunnies."NFL PICKS | WEEK 12

Trump picks Kellogg to be special envoy to handle Ukraine-Russia war

Vice President-elect JD Vance, who is an alumnus of the Ohio State University, reacted to the Ohio State Buckeyes' defeat to Michigan Wolverines in 'The Game' on Saturday. However, JD Vance was trolled by Wolverines fans for a post about the game he made on X. "I know it sucks to lose four to Michigan, but for your entire college career you guys have conducted yourselves like champions," Vance said in a message addressed to the Ohio State seniors who lost the game. "I speak for nearly all of us fans when I say: we’re proud of you!" Michigan Wolverines fans were quick to react to the post and flooded the comment section trolling the upcoming Vice President of the United States. "A MAGA guy and J6 apologist is talking about losing gracefully? LMAO!" one user said. Another wrote: "To the OSU seniors: Losing to Michigan four times hurts, but your resilience and sportsmanship are commendable. Just like Trump, who faced constant opposition yet never wavered, you've shown true leadership. We're proud of you!" Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News, World and around the world.As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans continues through Jan. 15, you’re likely seeing fewer social media ads promising monthly cash cards worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that you can use for groceries, medical bills, rent and other expenses. But don’t worry. You haven’t missed out on any windfalls. Clicking on one of those ads would not have provided you with a cash card — at least not worth hundreds or thousands. But you might have found yourself switched to a health insurance plan you did not authorize, unable to afford treatment for an unforeseen medical emergency, and owing thousands of dollars to the IRS, according to an ongoing lawsuit against companies and individuals who plaintiffs say masterminded the ads and alleged scams committed against millions of people who responded to them. The absence of those once-ubiquitous ads are likely a result of the federal government suspending access to the ACA marketplace for two companies that market health insurance out of South Florida offices, amid accusations they used “fraudulent” ads to lure customers and then switched their insurance plans and agents without their knowledge. In its suspension letter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cited “credible allegations of misconduct” in the agency’s decision to suspend the abilities of two companies — TrueCoverage (doing business as Inshura) and BenefitAlign — to transact information with the marketplace. CMS licenses and monitors agencies that use their own websites and information technology platforms to enroll health insurance customers in ACA plans offered in the federal marketplace. The alleged scheme affected millions of consumers, according to a lawsuit winding its way through U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale that seeks class-action status. An amended version of the suit, filed in August, increased the number of defendants from six to 12: — TrueCoverage LLC, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based health insurance agency with large offices in Miami, Miramar and Deerfield Beach. TrueCoverage is a sub-tenant of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a building leased by the newspaper in Deerfield Beach. — Enhance Health LLC, a Sunrise-based health insurance agency that the lawsuit says was founded by Matthew Herman, also named as a defendant, with a $150 million investment from hedge fund Bain Capital’s insurance division. Bain Capital Insurance Fund LP is also a defendant. — Speridian Technologies LLC, accused in the lawsuit of establishing two direct enrollment platforms that provided TrueCoverage and other agencies access to the ACA marketplace. — Benefitalign LLC, identified in the suit as one of the direct enrollment platforms created by Speridian. Like Speridian and TrueCoverage, the company is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. — Number One Prospecting LLC, doing business as Minerva Marketing, based in Fort Lauderdale, and its founder, Brandon Bowsky, accused of developing the social media ads that drove customers — or “leads” — to the health insurance agencies. — Digital Media Solutions LLC, doing business as Protect Health, a Miami-based agency that the suit says bought Minerva’s “fraudulent” ads. In September, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in United States Bankruptcy Court in Texas, which automatically suspended claims filed against the company. — Net Health Affiliates Inc., an Aventura-based agency the lawsuit says was associated with Enhance Health and like it, bought leads from Minerva. — Garish Panicker, identified in the lawsuit as half-owner of Speridian Global Holdings and day-to-day controller of companies under its umbrella, including TrueCoverage, Benefitalign and Speridian Technologies. — Matthew Goldfuss, accused by the suit of overseeing and directing TrueCoverage’s ACA enrollment efforts. All of the defendants have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit. The motions deny the allegations and argue that the plaintiffs failed to properly state their claims and lack the standing to file the complaints. The Sun Sentinel sent requests for comment and lists of questions about the cases to four separate law firms representing separate groups of defendants. Three of the law firms — one representing Brandon Bowsky and Number One Prospecting LLC d/b/a Minerva Marketing, and two others representing Net Health Affiliates Inc. and Bain Capital Insurance Fund — did not respond to the requests. A representative of Enhance Health LLC and Matthew Herman, Olga M. Vieira of the Miami-based firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, responded with a short message saying she was glad the newspaper knew a motion to dismiss the charges had been filed by the defendants. She also said that, “Enhance has denied all the allegations as reported previously in the media.” Catherine Riedel, a communications specialist representing TrueCoverage LLC, Benefitalign LLC, Speridian Technologies LLC, Girish Panicker and Matthew Goldfuss, issued the following statement: “TrueCoverage takes these allegations very seriously and is responding appropriately. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we strongly believe that the allegations are baseless and without merit. “Compliance is our business. The TrueCoverage team records and reviews every call with a customer, including during Open Enrollment when roughly 500 agents handle nearly 30,000 calls a day. No customer is enrolled into any policy without a formal verbal consent given by the customer. If any customer calls in as a result of misleading content presented by third-party marketing vendors, agents are trained to correct such misinformation and action is taken against such third-party vendors.” Through Riedel, the defendants declined to answer follow-up questions, including whether the company remains in business, whether it continues to enroll Affordable Care Act clients, and whether it is still operating its New Mexico call center using another affiliated technology platform. The suspension notification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services letter cites several factors, including the histories of noncompliance and previous suspensions. The letter noted suspicion that TrueCoverage and Benefitalign were storing consumers’ personally identifiable information in databases located in India and possibly other overseas locations in violation of the centers’ rules. The letter also notes allegations against the companies in the pending lawsuit that “they engaged in a variety of illegal practices, including violations of the (Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act), misuse of consumer (personal identifiable information) and insurance fraud.” The amended lawsuit filed in August names as plaintiffs five individuals who say their insurance plans were changed and two agencies who say they lost money when they were replaced as agents. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of 55 counts of wrongdoing, ranging from running ads offering thousands of dollars in cash that they knew would never be provided directly to consumers, switching millions of consumers into different insurance policies without their authorization, misstating their household incomes to make them eligible for $0 premium coverage, and “stealing” commissions by switching the agents listed in their accounts. TrueCoverage, Enhance Health, Protect Health, and some of their associates “engaged in hundreds of thousands of agent-of-record swaps to steal other agents’ commissions,” the suit states. “Using the Benefitalign and Inshura platforms, they created large spreadsheet lists of consumer names, dates of birth and zip codes.” They provided those spreadsheets to agents, it says, and instructed them to access platforms linked to the ACA marketplace and change the customers’ agents of record “without telling the client or providing informed consent.” “In doing so, they immediately captured the monthly commissions of agents ... who had originally worked with the consumers directly to sign them up,” the lawsuit asserts. TrueCoverage employees who complained about dealing with prospects who called looking for cash cards were routinely chided by supervisors who told them to be vague and keep making money, the suit says. When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began contacting the company in January about customer complaints, the suit says TrueCoverage enrollment supervisor Matthew Goldfuss sent an email instructing agents “do not respond.” The lawsuit states the “scheme” was made possible in 2021 when Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The act made it possible for Americans with household incomes between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level to pay zero in premiums and it enabled those consumers to enroll in ACA plans all year round, instead of during the three-month open enrollment period from November to January. Experienced health insurance brokers recognized the opportunity presented by the changes, the lawsuit says. More than 40 million Americans live within 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level, while only 15 million had ACA insurance at the time. The defendants developed or benefited from online ads, the lawsuit says, which falsely promised “hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars per month in cash benefits such as subsidy cards to pay for common expenses like rent, groceries, and gas.” Consumers who clicked on the ads were brought to a landing page that asked a few qualifying questions, and if their answers suggested that they might qualify for a low-cost or no-cost plan, they were provided a phone number to a health insurance agency. There was a major problem with the plan, according to the lawsuit. “Customers believe they are being routed to someone who will send them a free cash card, not enroll them in health insurance.” By law, the federal government sends subsidies for ACA plans to insurance companies, and not to individual consumers. Scripts were developed requiring agents not to mention a cash card, and if a customer mentions a cash card, “be vague” and tell the caller that only the insurance carrier can provide that information, the lawsuit alleges. In September, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims. In addition to denying the charges, they argued that the class plaintiffs lacked the standing to make the accusations and failed to demonstrate that they suffered harm. The motion also argued that the lawsuit’s accusations failed to meet requirements necessary to claim civil violations of the RICO Act. Miami-based attorney Jason Kellogg, representing the plaintiffs, said he doesn’t expect a ruling on the motion to dismiss the case for several months. The complaint also lists nearly 50 companies, not named as defendants, that it says fed business to TrueCoverage and Enhance Health. Known in the industry as “downlines,” most operate in office parks throughout South Florida, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit quotes former TrueCoverage employees complaining about having to work with customers lured by false cash promises in the online ads. A former employee who worked in the company’s Deerfield Beach office was quoted in the lawsuit as saying that senior TrueCoverage and Speridian executives “knew that consumers were calling in response to the false advertisements promising cash cards and they pressured agents to use them to enroll consumers into ACA plans.” A former human resources manager for TrueCoverage said sales agents frequently complained “that they did not feel comfortable having to mislead consumers,” the lawsuit said. Over two dozen agents “came to me with these complaints and showed me the false advertisements that consumers who called in were showing them,” the lawsuit quoted the former manager as saying. For much of the time the companies operated, the ACA marketplace enabled agents to easily access customer accounts using their names and Social Security numbers, change their insurance plans and switch their agents of record without their knowledge or authorization, the lawsuit says. This resulted in customers’ original agents losing their commissions and many of the policyholders finding out they suddenly owed far more for health care services than their original plans had required, the suit states. It says that one of the co-plaintiffs’ health plans was changed at least 22 times without her consent. She first discovered that she had lost her original plan when she sought to renew a prescription for her heart condition and her doctor told her she did not have health insurance, the suit states. Another co-plaintiff’s policy was switched after her husband responded to one of the cash card advertisements, the lawsuit says. That couple’s insurance plan was switched multiple times after a TrueCoverage agent excluded the wife’s income from an application so the couple would qualify. Later, they received bills from the IRS for $4,300 to cover tax credits issued to pay for the plans. CMS barred TrueCoverage and BenefitAlign from accessing the ACA marketplace. It said it received more than 90,000 complaints about unauthorized plan switches and more than 183,500 complaints about unauthorized enrollments, but the agency did not attribute all of the complaints to activities by the two companies. In addition, CMS restricted all agents’ abilities to alter policyholders’ enrollment information, the lawsuit says. Now access is allowed only for agents that already represent policyholders or if the policyholder participates in a three-way call with an agent and a marketplace employee. Between June and October, the agency barred 850 agents and brokers from accessing the marketplace “for reasonable suspicion of fraudulent or abusive conduct related to unauthorized enrollments or unauthorized plan switches,” according to an . The changes resulted in a “dramatic and sustained drop” in unauthorized activity, including a nearly 70% decrease in plan changes associated with an agent or broker and a nearly 90% decrease in changes to agent or broker commission information, the release said. It added that while consumers were often unaware of such changes, the opportunity to make them provided “significant financial incentive for non-compliant agents and brokers.” But CMS’ restrictions might be having unintended consequences for law-abiding agents and brokers. A story on Nov. 11 quoted the president of the Health Agents for America (HAFA) trade group as saying agents are being suspended by CMS after being flagged by a mysterious algorithm that no one can figure out. The story quotes HAFA president Ronnell Nolan as surmising, “maybe they wrote too many policies on the same day for people who have the same income or they’re writing too many policies on people of a certain occupation.” Nolan continued, “We have members who have thousands of ACA clients. They can’t update or renew their clients. So those consumers have lost access to their professional agent, which is simply unfair.”

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. ( NASDAQ:FFIN – Free Report ) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,701,180 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 62,538 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bankshares were worth $62,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FFIN. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 3,632.9% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,992,894 shares of the bank’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 2,912,718 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,556,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,482,000 after acquiring an additional 130,361 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,375,856 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,629,000 after acquiring an additional 15,473 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 37.5% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 613,381 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,701,000 after purchasing an additional 167,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 43.2% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 393,902 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,578,000 after purchasing an additional 118,830 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company’s stock. Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total value of $287,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 101,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,156,615.20. This trade represents a 6.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock. Analyst Ratings Changes Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on FFIN First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance FFIN stock opened at $41.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.92. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $25.99 and a one year high of $44.66. First Financial Bankshares ( NASDAQ:FFIN – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.39. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The business had revenue of $142.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.25 million. On average, research analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year. First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. First Financial Bankshares’s payout ratio is 49.66%. First Financial Bankshares Profile ( Free Report ) First Financial Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FFIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Financial Bankshares, Inc. ( NASDAQ:FFIN – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for First Financial Bankshares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for First Financial Bankshares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Columbus Blue Jackets (10-9-3, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (8-13-2, in the Central Division) Chicago; Sunday, 3 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Blackhawks host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Ryan Donato's two-goal game against the Minnesota Wild in the Blackhawks' 3-2 loss. Chicago has an 8-13-2 record overall and a 4-5-0 record on its home ice. The Blackhawks have a -11 scoring differential, with 57 total goals scored and 68 conceded. Columbus has gone 2-6-2 on the road and 10-9-3 overall. The Blue Jackets have a 1-2-3 record in games decided by a goal. Sunday's game is the first meeting between these teams this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Connor Bedard has scored four goals with 13 assists for the Blackhawks. Tyler Bertuzzi has one goal and five assists over the past 10 games. Kirill Marchenko has nine goals and 14 assists for the Blue Jackets. Zachary Werenski has scored five goals and added 10 assists over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Blackhawks: 3-6-1, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.1 assists, 2.7 penalties and 5.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game. Blue Jackets: 5-4-1, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.1 assists, 4.3 penalties and 10.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game. INJURIES: Blackhawks: None listed. Blue Jackets: None listed. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

Washington Commanders release 2023 first-round pick Emmanuel ForbesTry these inventive uses for dryer sheetsAlberta pitches new rules for auto insurance, including rate hikes, no-fault claims

Nothing's guaranteed, but Bucs need to win out to give themselves best shot to make the playoffs

Looking for Wednesday’s Connections hints and answers instead? You can find them here: Happy Thursday, and happy Macy’s parade day! No matter where you are in the world and whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you’re spending time with loved ones. One thing I’m personally very thankful for is, well, you. Putting this column together is a highlight of my day. Having so many of you read it has changed my life in ways I can’t begin to describe. I’ll never get tired of people telling me how much they enjoy it or (especially!) saying that they stop by after playing each day’s game themselves, just to see how I got on. And I definitely appreciate when anyone lets me know that I made an error. So, thank you. I’m very happy we’re starting to build a small community around Connections and this column over on Discord. It’s always fun to find out how other people solved (or didn’t!) each grid. I’ll start including a link to the Discord here in the near future, but I’m intentionally keeping it small to begin with. If you’d like early access, shoot me an email ! Today’s NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, November 28, are coming right up. How To Play Connections Connections is a free, popular New York Times daily word game. You get a new puzzle at midnight every day. You can play on the NYT website or Games app. You’re presented with a grid of 16 words. Your task is to arrange them into four groups of four by figuring out the links between them. The groups could be things like items you can click, names for research study participants or words preceded by a body part. There’s only one solution for each puzzle, and you’ll need to be careful when it comes to words that might fit into more than one category. You can shuffle the words to perhaps help you see links between them. Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to figure out, blue and green fall in the middle, and the purple group is usually the most difficult one. The purple group often involves wordplay. Select four words you think go together and press Submit. If you make a guess and you’re incorrect, you’ll lose a life. If you’re close to having a correct group, you might see a message telling you that you’re one word away from getting it right, but you’ll still need to figure out which one to swap. If you make four mistakes, it’s game over. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen with the help of some hints, and, if you’re really struggling, today’s Connections answers. As with Wordle and other similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends on social media and group chats. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the publication’s Connections archive. This includes every previous game of Connections , so you can go back and play any of those that you have missed. Aside from the first 60 games or so, you should be able to find my hints for each grid via Google if you need them! Just click here and add the date of the game for which you need clues or the answers to the search query. What Are Today’s Connections Hints? Scroll slowly! Just after the hints for each of today’s Connections groups, I’ll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them. Today’s 16 words are... And the hints for today’s Connections groups are: What Are Today’s Connections Groups? Need some extra help? Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory. Today’s Connections groups are... What Are Today’s Connections Answers? Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers. This is your final warning! Today’s Connections answers are... I'm pleased to get back to winning ways with a perfect game. Here's how I fared: 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 I always enjoy when there's a timely theme to Connections (the emoji grid on April 1 remains a personal favorite). So I got a kick out of seeing THANKS and GIVING on the top row. After a few tougher games (even though yesterday's should have been easier for me), I was very glad to have a straightforward grid today. The combo of THANKS and CREDIT made the yellows clear, as did CHEAT and CON for the greens. There was really only one possible meaning for GOBBLE, but I figured that the other group would be the purples. Sure enough, I deduced that connection and completed that group first. That left the blues for a smooth win. That’s all there is to it for today’s Connections clues and answers. Be sure to check my blog for hints and the solution for Friday’s game if you need them. P.S. One of my favorite songs of the year is Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us." It feels apt to share it following this week's news about Drake accusing UMG (the record label for both artists) and Spotify of artificially inflating the popularity of the track. Just take the L, man. The song was a mega hit. “Not Like Us” is an utter demolition of Drake that, following some back and forth, decisively crowned Lamar as the winner of a feud between the pair. I've never heard a catchier diss track nor a more stunningly efficient ethering (even though I needed to look up the meaning of some lyrics) of someone. For the sake of keeping things somewhat family friendly, I've included a clean version of the track below, but the unrestricted music video is on YouTube for your enjoyment: If you’re so inclined, please do follow my blog for more coverage of Connections and other word games and even some video game news, insights and analysis. It helps me out a lot! Also, follow me on Bluesky ! It’s fun there.Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to murder and weapons charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO's death

Canucks visit the Red Wings after shootout win

Google is ramping up its push into smart glasses and augmented reality headgear, taking on rivals Apple and Meta with help from its sophisticated Gemini artificial intelligence. The internet titan on Thursday unveiled an Android XR operating system created in a collaboration with Samsung, which will use it in a device being built in what is called internally "Project Moohan," according to Google. The software is designed to power augmented and virtual reality experiences enhanced with artificial intelligence, XR vice president Shahram Izadi said in a blog post. "With headsets, you can effortlessly switch between being fully immersed in a virtual environment and staying present in the real world," Izadi said. "You can fill the space around you with apps and content, and with Gemini, our AI assistant, you can even have conversations about what you're seeing or control your device." Google this week announced the launch of Gemini 2.0, its most advanced artificial intelligence model to date, as the world's tech giants race to take the lead in the fast-developing technology. CEO Sundar Pichai said the new model would mark what the company calls "a new agentic era" in AI development, with AI models designed to understand and make decisions about the world around you. Android XR infused with Gemini promises to put digital assistants into eyewear, tapping into what users are seeing and hearing. An AI "agent," the latest Silicon Valley trend, is a digital helper that is supposed to sense surroundings, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals. "Gemini can understand your intent, helping you plan, research topics and guide you through tasks," Izadi said. "Android XR will first launch on headsets that transform how you watch, work and explore." The Android XR release was a preview for developers so they can start building games and other apps for headgear, ideally fun or useful enough to get people to buy the hardware. This is not Google's first foray into smart eyewear. Its first offering, Google Glass, debuted in 2013 only to be treated as an unflattering tech status symbol and met with privacy concerns due to camera capabilities. The market has evolved since then, with Meta investing heavily in a Quest virtual reality headgear line priced for mainstream adoption and Apple hitting the market with pricey Vision Pro "spacial reality" gear. Google plans to soon begin testing prototype Android XR-powered glasses with a small group of users. Google will also adapt popular apps such as YouTube, Photos, Maps, and Google TV for immersive experiences using Android XR, according to Izadi. Gemini AI in glasses will enable tasks like directions and language translations, he added. "It's all within your line of sight, or directly in your ear," Izadi said. gc/dwDigital transformation is no longer just about implementing new technologies — it’s about ensuring that people remain at the heart of innovation, psychologist, researcher and author Dr Patrizia Ariane Ecker has said. In an interview with Gulf Times, she explained that success today is defined by the ability to address real human needs, encourage adaptability and foster lifelong learning. “This can be achieved by moving away from a technology-centric approach to a human-centric one focusing on how technology can enhance creativity, decision making and collaboration,” she said. With over 15 years of experience, Dr Ecker has founded a boutique consultancy specialising in digital transformation, AI, and cognitive biases. Her upcoming book, The Digital Reinforcement of Bias and Belief, explores the cognitive and social implications of web-based information processing. Her focus is on human-centric digital transformation, which means moving away from viewing technology as the centrepiece and instead emphasising its role as an enabler for people. “The future of AI and digital tools lies in complementing human creativity, critical thinking, and decision making, rather than mimicking or replacing them. For instance, fostering lifelong learning and adaptability is crucial. Students, professionals, and governments must align to cultivate a workforce capable of navigating rapid technological shifts, ensuring inclusivity and equity. "Digital transformation and AI have vast potential to drive global development by improving access to education and achieving healthcare advancements, economic growth and sustainable development." As a psychologist she believes that AI has the potential to transform society positively, but only if approached thoughtfully. “AI has the potential to greatly benefit humanity, but its development and use must be guided by thoughtful principles. AI should complement human abilities rather than replace them. By working alongside humans, AI can enhance our natural skills, fostering collaboration and innovation without supplanting the value of human input. "Lifelong learning and critical thinking, among other human-centred skills, must remain a priority. There is a need to establish frameworks that emphasise adaptability and interdisciplinary collaboration in education and workforce development and encourage active participation, especially among younger generations, to reduce decision making aversion and increase societal agency. "Governments can significantly enhance their services and impact by adopting a collaborative and human-centric approach to digital transformation through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and by redefining the future workforce, leveraging technology for inclusivity and building a human-centric ecosystem." Dr Ecker said that AI creates new opportunities even though it can reduce some traditional job roles. “Reskilling and upskilling must be prioritised with a strong emphasis on education and training to help individuals adapt to new and emerging roles in the workforce. "Many jobs will evolve rather than disappear, with AI augmenting human capabilities rather than replacing them entirely. This collaboration between humans and technology can lead to more efficient and innovative ways of working. Furthermore, digital tools significantly lower barriers for startups, fostering entrepreneurship and innovation." Dr Ecker noted that Qatar offers a dynamic environment for digital innovation. She has plans to advise organisations by supporting digital transformation initiatives with a strong emphasis on a human centred approach. “The GCC, particularly Qatar, is making significant strides with investments in AI, smart cities, and education. The country’s vision for innovation and sustainability positions it as a leader in the region. With initiatives like the National AI Strategy, Qatar is setting benchmarks in integrating technology with societal goals,” she said. Dr Ecker suggested Qatar should focus on several key areas while strengthening public private collaboration is essential; partnerships between the government, private sector and academia can help design interdisciplinary programmes that define and cultivate the skills needed for the workforce of tomorrow. “Additionally, investing in human-centric initiatives is critical. Innovations that prioritise societal well being such as AI tools for education, healthcare and sustainability, should be encouraged. Qatar could also take a leading role in the region by driving ethical AI standards,” she added. Related Story Qatar establishes WEF's Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution Justice ministry inaugurates digital legal services

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As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans continues through Jan. 15, you’re likely seeing fewer social media ads promising monthly cash cards worth hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that you can use for groceries, medical bills, rent and other expenses. But don’t worry. You haven’t missed out on any windfalls. Clicking on one of those ads would not have provided you with a cash card — at least not worth hundreds or thousands. But you might have found yourself switched to a health insurance plan you did not authorize, unable to afford treatment for an unforeseen medical emergency, and owing thousands of dollars to the IRS, according to an ongoing lawsuit against companies and individuals who plaintiffs say masterminded the ads and alleged scams committed against millions of people who responded to them. The absence of those once-ubiquitous ads are likely a result of the federal government suspending access to the ACA marketplace for two companies that market health insurance out of South Florida offices, amid accusations they used “fraudulent” ads to lure customers and then switched their insurance plans and agents without their knowledge. In its suspension letter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cited “credible allegations of misconduct” in the agency’s decision to suspend the abilities of two companies — TrueCoverage (doing business as Inshura) and BenefitAlign — to transact information with the marketplace. CMS licenses and monitors agencies that use their own websites and information technology platforms to enroll health insurance customers in ACA plans offered in the federal marketplace. The alleged scheme affected millions of consumers, according to a lawsuit winding its way through U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale that seeks class-action status. An amended version of the suit, filed in August, increased the number of defendants from six to 12: — TrueCoverage LLC, an Albuquerque, New Mexico-based health insurance agency with large offices in Miami, Miramar and Deerfield Beach. TrueCoverage is a sub-tenant of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a building leased by the newspaper in Deerfield Beach. — Enhance Health LLC, a Sunrise-based health insurance agency that the lawsuit says was founded by Matthew Herman, also named as a defendant, with a $150 million investment from hedge fund Bain Capital’s insurance division. Bain Capital Insurance Fund LP is also a defendant. — Speridian Technologies LLC, accused in the lawsuit of establishing two direct enrollment platforms that provided TrueCoverage and other agencies access to the ACA marketplace. — Benefitalign LLC, identified in the suit as one of the direct enrollment platforms created by Speridian. Like Speridian and TrueCoverage, the company is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. — Number One Prospecting LLC, doing business as Minerva Marketing, based in Fort Lauderdale, and its founder, Brandon Bowsky, accused of developing the social media ads that drove customers — or “leads” — to the health insurance agencies. — Digital Media Solutions LLC, doing business as Protect Health, a Miami-based agency that the suit says bought Minerva’s “fraudulent” ads. In September, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in United States Bankruptcy Court in Texas, which automatically suspended claims filed against the company. — Net Health Affiliates Inc., an Aventura-based agency the lawsuit says was associated with Enhance Health and like it, bought leads from Minerva. — Garish Panicker, identified in the lawsuit as half-owner of Speridian Global Holdings and day-to-day controller of companies under its umbrella, including TrueCoverage, Benefitalign and Speridian Technologies. — Matthew Goldfuss, accused by the suit of overseeing and directing TrueCoverage’s ACA enrollment efforts. All of the defendants have filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit. The motions deny the allegations and argue that the plaintiffs failed to properly state their claims and lack the standing to file the complaints. The Sun Sentinel sent requests for comment and lists of questions about the cases to four separate law firms representing separate groups of defendants. Three of the law firms — one representing Brandon Bowsky and Number One Prospecting LLC d/b/a Minerva Marketing, and two others representing Net Health Affiliates Inc. and Bain Capital Insurance Fund — did not respond to the requests. A representative of Enhance Health LLC and Matthew Herman, Olga M. Vieira of the Miami-based firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, responded with a short message saying she was glad the newspaper knew a motion to dismiss the charges had been filed by the defendants. She also said that, “Enhance has denied all the allegations as reported previously in the media.” Catherine Riedel, a communications specialist representing TrueCoverage LLC, Benefitalign LLC, Speridian Technologies LLC, Girish Panicker and Matthew Goldfuss, issued the following statement: “TrueCoverage takes these allegations very seriously and is responding appropriately. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we strongly believe that the allegations are baseless and without merit. “Compliance is our business. The TrueCoverage team records and reviews every call with a customer, including during Open Enrollment when roughly 500 agents handle nearly 30,000 calls a day. No customer is enrolled into any policy without a formal verbal consent given by the customer. If any customer calls in as a result of misleading content presented by third-party marketing vendors, agents are trained to correct such misinformation and action is taken against such third-party vendors.” Through Riedel, the defendants declined to answer follow-up questions, including whether the company remains in business, whether it continues to enroll Affordable Care Act clients, and whether it is still operating its New Mexico call center using another affiliated technology platform. The suspension notification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services letter cites several factors, including the histories of noncompliance and previous suspensions. The letter noted suspicion that TrueCoverage and Benefitalign were storing consumers’ personally identifiable information in databases located in India and possibly other overseas locations in violation of the centers’ rules. The letter also notes allegations against the companies in the pending lawsuit that “they engaged in a variety of illegal practices, including violations of the (Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act), misuse of consumer (personal identifiable information) and insurance fraud.” The amended lawsuit filed in August names as plaintiffs five individuals who say their insurance plans were changed and two agencies who say they lost money when they were replaced as agents. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of 55 counts of wrongdoing, ranging from running ads offering thousands of dollars in cash that they knew would never be provided directly to consumers, switching millions of consumers into different insurance policies without their authorization, misstating their household incomes to make them eligible for $0 premium coverage, and “stealing” commissions by switching the agents listed in their accounts. TrueCoverage, Enhance Health, Protect Health, and some of their associates “engaged in hundreds of thousands of agent-of-record swaps to steal other agents’ commissions,” the suit states. “Using the Benefitalign and Inshura platforms, they created large spreadsheet lists of consumer names, dates of birth and zip codes.” They provided those spreadsheets to agents, it says, and instructed them to access platforms linked to the ACA marketplace and change the customers’ agents of record “without telling the client or providing informed consent.” “In doing so, they immediately captured the monthly commissions of agents ... who had originally worked with the consumers directly to sign them up,” the lawsuit asserts. TrueCoverage employees who complained about dealing with prospects who called looking for cash cards were routinely chided by supervisors who told them to be vague and keep making money, the suit says. When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began contacting the company in January about customer complaints, the suit says TrueCoverage enrollment supervisor Matthew Goldfuss sent an email instructing agents “do not respond.” The lawsuit states the “scheme” was made possible in 2021 when Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in the wake of the COVID pandemic. The act made it possible for Americans with household incomes between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level to pay zero in premiums and it enabled those consumers to enroll in ACA plans all year round, instead of during the three-month open enrollment period from November to January. Experienced health insurance brokers recognized the opportunity presented by the changes, the lawsuit says. More than 40 million Americans live within 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level, while only 15 million had ACA insurance at the time. The defendants developed or benefited from online ads, the lawsuit says, which falsely promised “hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars per month in cash benefits such as subsidy cards to pay for common expenses like rent, groceries, and gas.” Consumers who clicked on the ads were brought to a landing page that asked a few qualifying questions, and if their answers suggested that they might qualify for a low-cost or no-cost plan, they were provided a phone number to a health insurance agency. There was a major problem with the plan, according to the lawsuit. “Customers believe they are being routed to someone who will send them a free cash card, not enroll them in health insurance.” By law, the federal government sends subsidies for ACA plans to insurance companies, and not to individual consumers. Scripts were developed requiring agents not to mention a cash card, and if a customer mentions a cash card, “be vague” and tell the caller that only the insurance carrier can provide that information, the lawsuit alleges. In September, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims. In addition to denying the charges, they argued that the class plaintiffs lacked the standing to make the accusations and failed to demonstrate that they suffered harm. The motion also argued that the lawsuit’s accusations failed to meet requirements necessary to claim civil violations of the RICO Act. Miami-based attorney Jason Kellogg, representing the plaintiffs, said he doesn’t expect a ruling on the motion to dismiss the case for several months. The complaint also lists nearly 50 companies, not named as defendants, that it says fed business to TrueCoverage and Enhance Health. Known in the industry as “downlines,” most operate in office parks throughout South Florida, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit quotes former TrueCoverage employees complaining about having to work with customers lured by false cash promises in the online ads. A former employee who worked in the company’s Deerfield Beach office was quoted in the lawsuit as saying that senior TrueCoverage and Speridian executives “knew that consumers were calling in response to the false advertisements promising cash cards and they pressured agents to use them to enroll consumers into ACA plans.” A former human resources manager for TrueCoverage said sales agents frequently complained “that they did not feel comfortable having to mislead consumers,” the lawsuit said. Over two dozen agents “came to me with these complaints and showed me the false advertisements that consumers who called in were showing them,” the lawsuit quoted the former manager as saying. For much of the time the companies operated, the ACA marketplace enabled agents to easily access customer accounts using their names and Social Security numbers, change their insurance plans and switch their agents of record without their knowledge or authorization, the lawsuit says. This resulted in customers’ original agents losing their commissions and many of the policyholders finding out they suddenly owed far more for health care services than their original plans had required, the suit states. It says that one of the co-plaintiffs’ health plans was changed at least 22 times without her consent. She first discovered that she had lost her original plan when she sought to renew a prescription for her heart condition and her doctor told her she did not have health insurance, the suit states. Another co-plaintiff’s policy was switched after her husband responded to one of the cash card advertisements, the lawsuit says. That couple’s insurance plan was switched multiple times after a TrueCoverage agent excluded the wife’s income from an application so the couple would qualify. Later, they received bills from the IRS for $4,300 to cover tax credits issued to pay for the plans. CMS barred TrueCoverage and BenefitAlign from accessing the ACA marketplace. It said it received more than 90,000 complaints about unauthorized plan switches and more than 183,500 complaints about unauthorized enrollments, but the agency did not attribute all of the complaints to activities by the two companies. In addition, CMS restricted all agents’ abilities to alter policyholders’ enrollment information, the lawsuit says. Now access is allowed only for agents that already represent policyholders or if the policyholder participates in a three-way call with an agent and a marketplace employee. Between June and October, the agency barred 850 agents and brokers from accessing the marketplace “for reasonable suspicion of fraudulent or abusive conduct related to unauthorized enrollments or unauthorized plan switches,” according to an October CMS news release . The changes resulted in a “dramatic and sustained drop” in unauthorized activity, including a nearly 70% decrease in plan changes associated with an agent or broker and a nearly 90% decrease in changes to agent or broker commission information, the release said. It added that while consumers were often unaware of such changes, the opportunity to make them provided “significant financial incentive for non-compliant agents and brokers.” But CMS’ restrictions might be having unintended consequences for law-abiding agents and brokers. A story published by Insurance News Net on Nov. 11 quoted the president of the Health Agents for America (HAFA) trade group as saying agents are being suspended by CMS after being flagged by a mysterious algorithm that no one can figure out. The story quotes HAFA president Ronnell Nolan as surmising, “maybe they wrote too many policies on the same day for people who have the same income or they’re writing too many policies on people of a certain occupation.” Nolan continued, “We have members who have thousands of ACA clients. They can’t update or renew their clients. So those consumers have lost access to their professional agent, which is simply unfair.” Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.