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Cigna is paying over $172 million to settle claims over Medicare Advantage reimbursement

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

Health insurance provider The Cigna Group will pay more than $172 million over claims it gave the federal government inaccurate Medicare Advantage diagnoses codes in order to inflate reimbursement.The case centered around allegations that Cigna violated the False Claims Act by submitting and not withdrawing “inaccurate and untruthful” codes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.The department said in a statement Saturday that Cigna falsely certified in writing that its data was truthful.Cigna said that the settlement with the government resolved a long-running legal case and “avoided the uncertainty and further expense” of a drawn-out legal battle.Medicare Advantage plans are privately run versions of the federal government’s Medicare program mainly for people 65 and older.Cigna also said it will enter a corporate-integrity agreement for five years with the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general office. That deal is designed to promote compliance with feder...

Review: Coldplay brings empathy — and Selena Gomez — to the band’s 2023 North American tour finale

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — In 2023, a Coldplay concert opens like a triumphant finale — LED wristbands flashing, confetti canons on overdrive, a singalong of 68,000 voices repeating “You’ve got a higher power,” to match frontman Chris Martin’s energy. Flags representing attendees from Argentina, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, South Korea and Brazil were raised; children and the elderly sang along to familiar radio hits. Live music isn’t church, but for two hours on Sunday night, the British band got close.A short film on the conservation efforts of Coldplay’s global stadium tour for their 2021 album “Music of the Spheres” previewed the band’s North American tour closer at the Rose Bowl, just outside of Los Angeles. Then: an explosion of rainbow lighting effects, tie-dye orbs, and wholesome bits — for “Paradise,” Martin asked the audience to engage in the “quietest singalong ever,” chanting the title in a whisper.In one moment, he partic...

North Dakota state Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife and 2 kids were killed in a plane crash in Utah, Senate leadership says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota state Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife and 2 kids were killed in a plane crash in Utah, Senate leadership says.Source

Miami man arrested in Miami Springs road rage incident involving machete attack

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

A 61-year-old Miami man was arrested following a road rage incident in Miami Springs where he wielded a machete and attacked another man, according to Miami Springs Police.On Friday, September 29, Luis Ruiz Herrera and the victim found themselves on NW 42nd Avenue, just south of NW 36th Street in Miami Springs. It was there that Ruiz Herrera exited his vehicle, brandishing a machete, and swung it at the victim, who was seated on his scooter. Video footage captured Ruiz Herrera striking the victim on the cheek, resulting in a laceration. Following the assault, Ruiz Herrera returned to his vehicle and fled east on NW 36th Street.Courtesy Miami Springs PoliceDetectives conducted a thorough investigation, identifying Ruiz Herrera as the suspect through his license plate number. Additionally, the victim positively identified him from a photo lineup.Detectives subsequently located Ruiz Herrera at his residence, where he, during questioning, expressed remorse and admitted to the crime. He ...

Here’s where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

Former President Donald Trump was in court on Monday for the start of his civil fraud trial in New York, a case in which he and his company are accused of deceiving banks, insurers and others by misstating his wealth for years in financial statements.The judge overseeing the case, Arthur Engoron, resolved the lawsuit’s top claim before the trial even began, ruling that Trump routinely deceived banks, insurers and others by exaggerating the value of assets on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans. Engoron will decide on six remaining claims in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, including allegations of conspiracy, falsifying business records and insurance fraud.It’s just one of many legal problems that have ensnared the former president as he runs for a return to the White House in 2024.Here’s a look at some of the other top probes against Trump:CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASESpecial counsel Jack Smith has been leading two federal probes...

Police searching for car involved in hit-and-run in Manchester, NH

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

An investigation got underway over the weekend after a 48-year-old man was seriously injured in a hit-and-run crash in Manchester, New Hampshire, police said. Manchester police said officers responded to the area of Elm Street and Hayward Street around 5:15 a.m. Saturday after receiving a report of a hit-and-run incident involving a pedestrian. Once on scene, police said, officers found the pedestrian suffering from “serious but non-life threatening injuries.” Police said the man, a Manchester resident, was taken to a local hospital. Manchester police said investigators found surveillance video that showed the crash at 4:45 a.m., roughly 30 minutes before police were called to the scene. Police said a suspect vehicle turned onto Hayward Street from Elm Street before the crash and subsequently hit the man in the crosswalk as he attempted to cross Hayward Street. Manchester police described the car involved in this incident as a small silver or gray SUV. Polic...

Worcester police arrest security guard after he tried boxing in alleged reckless driver, shot at vehicle

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

The Worcester Police Department says it arrested a security guard on firearms charges after he allegedly shot at a driver he tried to confront.Authorities said William Trotta, 78, was arrested after police responded to reports of shots being fired near a McDonald’s on Mill Street on Thursday, Sept. 30.The arrest came after arriving officers first met with Trotta around 8:10 p.m. and learned the security guard tried confronting a driver who he said drove recklessly through the area.Trotta informed police he was a security guard who had been working at a plaza nearby on 638 Chandler St. According to the guard, the driver of a Chevy Silverado had driven through the plaza in “an extremely aggressive and reckless manner” the week before and had returned that night.The 78 year old said the truck had driven through the plaza “in a dangerous manner again,” and into the neighboring McDonald’s, where Trotta decided to pull his own vehicle behind it, blockin...

‘Brooks Robinson is Baltimore’: With tears and laughs at Camden Yards, family members and team legends honor ‘Mr. Oriole’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

The first cheer from those gathered Monday morning at Camden Yards for Brooks Robinsons’s public memorial came when, during a replaying of the legendary third baseman’s Hall of Fame speech, he thanked the city of Baltimore.Robinson once said that the greatest highlight of his career was not any of his individual accolades — of which there were plenty, including his famed 16 straight Gold Glove awards — but having played for one team, Baltimore, each year of his career.“I played 23 years with the Orioles,” Robinson once said, “and believe me, it has come back tenfold to me.”Robinson loved Baltimore and, with a celebration of life that began at 10 a.m. Monday on the field at Oriole Park, the city got a chance to show its love for him once more with laughs, cheers and tears. Robinson died Tuesday. He was 86 years old.Many fans — though, as Robinson once said, he preferred to call them “friends” — wore h...

The top 10 spookiest spots in the U.S.

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

Paranormal adventures aren’t just a Hollywood thing. Some travelers are obsessed with them too, eager to spot the unsettled spirits of the not-quite-departed-enough and hear haunting tales of, well, hauntings.To slake that thirst, Travel and Leisure, the travel magazine and website, is offering up its own take on the 20 most haunted cities in the U.S. We’re not talking single-ghost destinations like Lizzie Borden’s house in Fall River, Massachusetts. These are entire cities brimming with spooky sightings.San Francisco, for example, makes the list in the No. 15 spot thanks to its abundance of ghosts on Alcatraz Island, the magazine notes, as well as at China Camp State Park (ahem, not SF — it’s in San Rafael)  the Mare Island Shipyard (again, not SF — Vallejo ) and aboard the USS Hornet, which is in Alameda. There have been so many ghost sightings on the latter ship, Cal Tech has an entire web page devoted to the stories.The legendary city of New Orleans tops the list with its vampir...

Microsoft CEO says unfair practices by Google led to its dominance as a search engine

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:52:19 GMT

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Monday that unfair tactics used by Google led to its dominance as a search engine, tactics that in turn have thwarted his company’s rival program, Bing.Nadella testified in packed Washington, D.C., courtroom as part of the government’s landmark antitrust trial against Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The Justice Department alleges Google has abused the dominance of its ubiquitous search engine to throttle competition and innovation at the expense of consumers, allegations that echo a similar case brought against Microsoft in the late 1990s.Nadella said Google’s dominance was due to agreements that made it the default browser on smartphones and computers. He downplayed the idea that artificial intelligence or more niche search engines like Amazon or social media sites have meaningfully changed the market in which Microsoft competes with Google.Nadella said users f...