Insurance coverage firms deny most cancers therapy claims and Trump’s ‘border czar’on household detention facilities: Morning Rundown
NBC Information investigates medical health insurance firms denying most cancers sufferers protection for doubtlessly life-saving remedies. South Korea’s interim president is impeached simply two weeks after the ouster of the nation’s former chief. And a small Tennessee city continues to be in restoration mode after Hurricane Helene.
Right here’s what to know immediately.
When insurance coverage firms deny most cancers care to sufferers
When Tracy Pike discovered he had Stage 4 abdomen most cancers, his physician suggested a routinely practiced therapy combining surgical procedure and intensive chemotherapy – however the night time earlier than his first process, he was informed insurance coverage declined to cowl the roughly $40,000 therapy after ruling it “not medically crucial.”
His spouse, Angie, mentioned the final straw got here when she discovered that one of many insurer’s physicians who had rejected the therapy was not a most cancers physician in any respect. He was an obstetrician-gynecologist. In January 2024, Tracy Pike died, forsaking his spouse of twenty-two years and their three youngsters.
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An NBC Information investigation discovered {that a} most cancers prognosis, already a crushing blow to sufferers, is usually compounded by insurance coverage firm denials of remedies and screenings really useful by a affected person’s doctor — and it’s solely getting worse, in accordance with the top of the American Medical Affiliation.
Insurance coverage firms say requiring medical doctors to justify their really useful therapy saves cash. Nevertheless, physicians argue that business practices delay or outright stop affected person care, and households are left spending what might develop into their relative’s closing days navigating pink tape and interesting denials.
Learn the total story right here.
South Korean interim president impeached simply 2 weeks after former chief ousted
South Korea’s parliament impeached performing President Han Duck-soo immediately, plunging the nation deeper into political chaos two weeks after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached over his declaration of martial regulation on December 3.
The movement led by opposition events handed with 192 of the 300 votes with rowdy scenes by ruling Folks Energy Social gathering members who surrounded the speaker’s podium chanting the vote was invalid and parliament had dedicated “tyranny.”
“The one approach to normalize the nation is to swiftly root out all of the rebellion forces,” opposition chief Lee Jae-myung mentioned in a fiery speech, including the occasion was performing on the general public order to eradicate those that have put the nation in danger.
Learn extra right here.
A Tennessee city struggles to recuperate after Helene
Mud and particles nonetheless cake components of Plastiexports, one in all a number of industrial companies destroyed or broken when floodwaters from Hurricane Helene ravaged Erwin, Tennessee, three months in the past. The small city of about 6,000 was flung into survival mode when the swollen Nolichucky River swept away lives and livelihoods. In its wake, the torrent of water left destroyed roads, devastated farms, unemployed residents and tons of mud and particles that has made the cleanup sluggish and daunting.
Lee Brown, Erwin Utilities CEO and Unicoi County financial growth chairman, mentioned unemployment spiked after the storm. “It’s arduous to essentially have an incredible quantity of pleasure in your conversations whenever you consider all of the group misplaced and people individuals who misplaced every part,” Brown mentioned.
Suzanne Gamboa studies on efforts and obstacles to rebuilding the world’s houses and financial system, one shovel of heavy sand and dirt at a time.
The following governor’s races that might convey huge adjustments to state energy
Over the following two years, 38 governor’s elections can be on the poll — races that can form a protracted checklist of contested coverage points and provides a glimpse into voters’ response to Donald Trump’s second time period.
Subsequent yr there can be two huge races in blue states the place Trump made appreciable positive factors — New Jersey and Virginia. Virginia’s street to interchange Gov. Glenn Youngkin is predicted to return all the way down to a feminine candidate from every events, that means the state will seemingly be electing its first feminine governor. In New Jersey, greater than six high-profile Democrats and greater than 4 Republican candidates are vying to interchange Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in 2025.
The aggressive races will proceed in 2026 with three dozen races for governor, together with six in battleground states. Whereas many of those races is not going to be aggressive within the common election, the primaries will provide revealing home windows into the futures of each events.
Right here’s what else to know in regards to the upcoming races to look at.
Trump’s ‘border czar’ on the function of household detention facilities in future deportations
President-elect Donald Trump’s decide to assist lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement hasn’t written off the usage of household detention facilities for migrants, doubtlessly reversing a Biden administration follow. “It’s one thing we’re contemplating,” Tom Homan mentioned in an interview. ICE stopped detaining households who entered the nation illegally with their youngsters shortly after President Biden took workplace. Homan says the detention services wouldn’t be jails however “open-air campuses” designed for households.
At the moment, the Flores Settlement Settlement limits the time migrant youngsters might be held in detention to twenty days, however Homan hinted at combating the federal courtroom ruling: “I believe the Flores Settlement Settlement is one thing that was the mistaken determination,” he mentioned. “Proper now, we all know what the principles say. And that is one thing that we’ll work inside till we get one other determination or a greater determination from the courts.”
Sam Brock studies on the showdown that could possibly be coming between federal and state authorities over household separations.
Learn All About It
- Tradwives, Barstool conservatives and Zyn pouches are all hallmarks of a right-wing sensibility that dominated social media this yr.
- President-elect Trump is surrounding himself with a bunch of rich, right-wing tech leaders whose concepts might outline his second time period.
- Authorities are trying to find particulars about the reason for an Azerbaijan Airways crash that killed 38 folks after aviation consultants speculated a Russian anti-missile battery might have introduced down the aircraft.
- 65 million viewers tuned into the pair of Christmas NFL video games — and Beyoncé’s halftime efficiency — breaking data for the most streamed NFL video games in historical past.
- American TikTok creators are trying to find an alternate platform because the Jan. 19 deadline for a possible ban approaches.
12 months in Evaluate: Hip-hop’s greatest moments: Diss tracks, high-profile instances and damaged limitations
The yr has been stuffed with rap beef, viral moments, triumphs and let downs. Who might neglect the back-and-forth feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, which culminated in Lamar’s victory-clinching hit “Not Like Us”? Shaboozey’s hit “A Bar Tune (Tipsy)” was the No. 1 track within the nation (and was caught in our heads) for months. However different, extra sobering moments, like Jay-Z calling out discrimination on the Grammys and the arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs can’t be ignored. Have a look again at hip-hop’s standout moments in 2024. — Kaylah Jackson, platforms editor
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