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Be aware: Someone could steal your medical records and bill you for their care

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

Michelle Andrews | (TNS) KFF Health NewsAfter HCA Healthcare announced this month that the personal identification data of roughly 11 million HCA patients in 20 states had been exposed in a breach, people may be justifiably concerned that their own medical data and identities could be stolen.Consumers should realize that such “medical identity” fraud can happen in several ways, from a large-scale breach to individual theft of someone’s data.Just ask Evelyn Miller. The first sign something was amiss was a text Miller received from an Emory University Hospital emergency department informing her that her wait time to be seen was 30 minutes to 1 hour. That’s weird, she thought. She no longer lives in Atlanta and hadn’t used that hospital system in years. Then she got a second text, similar to the first. Must be spam, she thought.When she got a call the next day from an Emory staffer named Michael to discuss the diagnostic results from her ER visit, she knew something was definitely wron...

U.S. tourist killed in boat crash off Amalfi Coast, Italian media say

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

ROME (AP) — An American woman was killed off the Amalfi Coast after the motorboat she and her family were traveling on crashed into a tourist sailboat, Italian state TV said Friday.The crash occurred Thursday off the popular stretch of coastline near Naples in southern Italy.According to Italian media reports, the motorboat, rented through a skipper, slammed into the sailboat, which was carrying dozens of U.S. and German tourists, including some celebrating a wedding.The impact of the crash knocked the woman into the water, where she was struck repeatedly by the motorboat’s propeller, the reports said.Italian state TV said the woman was pulled out of the water and brought to a dock, but she had died by the time a helicopter ambulance arrived.The Italian Coast Guard office in Amalfi was investigating the crash. A call to its office wasn’t answered, nor was there a response to an emailed request for details, including confirmation of the victim’s name and age.T...

VIDEO: Man pets dog before stealing bike in Pacific Beach: police

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Police on Friday released a video of a man they say stole a bike from a garage in the Pacific Beach neighborhood, but what he did before leaving turned out to be a surprisingly sweet moment. The incident occurred on July 15 around 10:40 p.m. when the suspect entered a garage and took a 2019 black Electra three-speed bicycle, the San Diego Police Department said in a Facebook post on Thursday.The bike, which costs around $1,300, featured "8-ball" caps on the tire valves, an "8-ball" logo on the frame and a rear wheel frame marked with a checkered black and white pattern, according to police. High tides cause coastal flooding issues As the man was about to take off with the bike, the video shows the household dog enter the garage and approach the suspect. The suspect then parks the bike in the garage and begins to pet and play with the dog."You're the coolest dog I've ever known, I love you too," the suspect is heard on the video saying to the dog.The man then asks the ...

New Jersey house explosion leaves 3 dead, 1 missing, 2 children injured

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

BUENA, N.J. (AP) — An explosion destroyed a New Jersey house, killing three people, seriously injuring two children and leaving another person missing.The cause of Thursday morning’s explosion in Buena, about 40 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia, is being investigated. It damaged several nearby homes, but no other injuries were reported.Two men, ages 52 and 73, and four children — a 2-year-old boy and three girls ages 1, 3 and 16 — were likely in the home at the time.Two bodies were found Thursday in the rubble, and a third was found Friday, but authorities have not been able to determine their age or sex. The year-old infant and the 16-year-old girl were flown to a hospital in Philadelphia, where the infant was in critical condition and the teen was stable.Authorities have not released the victims’ names or said whether they are related.The Associated Press

A Southern California judge has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife in the couple’s home

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California judge has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife in the couple’s home, authorities said Friday.Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested late Thursday after police received reports of a shooting at the home and found the judge’s wife, Sheryl Ferguson, shot inside, said Anaheim police Sgt. Jon McClintock.She was pronounced dead at the scene in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills. The 72-year-old judge was arrested and taken to jail. He is being held on $1 million bail and is expected to appear in court in Santa Ana, California, on Monday. He has not yet been formally charged.McClintock said one other person was at the home at the time but declined to say who the person was or whether they were among the callers who notified police of the shooting. Telephone and email messages seeking comment were left for Ferguson’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer.Ferguson was elected as a judge in 2014 and took o...

How six Mississippi officers tried to cover up their torture of 2 Black men

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Men who had sworn an oath to protect and serve were huddled on the back porch of a Mississippi home as Michael Corey Jenkins lay on the floor, blood gushing from his mutilated tongue where one of the police officers shoved a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.As Jenkins writhed in pain, the six white officers devised a scheme to cover up dozens of stunning acts of brutality that they had just carried out during a 90-minute period of terror against Jenkins and a second Black victim. The officers planted drugs. They stole surveillance footage from the house. They tried to dispose of other evidence. They agreed on a set of lies that would further upend their victims’ lives.And that was just the cover-up.Careful to avoid security cameras at the house, they burst in without a warrant, starting the torture session of physical, sexual and psychological abuse. They handcuffed Jenkins and his friend Eddie Terrell Parker and poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup ...

North Dakota regulators deny siting permit for Summit carbon dioxide pipeline; company will reapply

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators denied a siting permit Friday for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would cross five states.The North Dakota Public Service Commission denied the permit for the Summit Carbon Solutions Midwest Carbon Express pipeline, which planned a 320-mile (515-kilometer) route through North Dakota. Summit proposed the $4.5 billion, 2,000-mile (3,219 kilometer) pipeline network to capture carbon dioxide from more than 30 ethanol plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, and to store it deep underground in North Dakota.In a statement, Summit said it “respects the decision by the North Dakota Public Service Commission, and we will revisit our proposal and reapply for our permit. We’re committed to understanding and incorporating the considerations outlined in the decision. We are confident that our project supports state policies designed to boost key economic sectors: agriculture, ethanol, and energy.”The project raised ...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts following mixed reports on US job market, Big Tech earnings

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting Friday following mixed reports about the U.S. job market and profits at two of Wall Street’s most influential stocks.The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in afternoon trading after giving up slight gains from earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 32 points, or 0.1%, at 35,178, as of 2:24 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.Taking some pressure off stocks were falling Treasury yields in the bond market. They dipped after a highly anticipated U.S. jobs report said hiring was a touch weaker last month than economists expected, though wages for workers rose more than forecast.The job market is in a precarious place, where investors want a reading that’s neither too hot nor too cold. On one hand, investors want it to remain strong enough to keep the economy out of a long-predicted recession. On the other, they don’t want wage growth in particular to be so strong that the Federal Reserve sees it putting upward pre...

Power at the gas pump: Oregon lets drivers fuel their own cars, lifting decades-old self-serve ban

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — For the first time in 72 years, Oregon motorists can grab a fuel nozzle and pump gas into their cars without an attendant, since a decades-old ban on self-serve gas stations has been revoked.Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill on Friday allowing people across the state to choose between having an attendant pump gas or doing it themselves. The law takes immediate effect. That leaves New Jersey as the only state that prohibits motorists from pumping their own gas. A few countries also ban it, including South Africa, where attendants offer to check fluid levels and clean the windshield, with tipping expected.“It’s about time. It’s long overdue,” said Karen Cooper, who lives in Salem, said shortly before the bill was signed.“I’ve spent a lot of time in California,” Cooper said. “I know how to pump my own. Everybody should know how to pump their own gas.”At the same gas station, T.J. Rogers climbed into his pickup truck after squeegeeing his windshield. He expressed a differ...

What you need to know about checking for and identifying melanoma

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:29:28 GMT

A lifelong sunscreen user, London, Ont., resident Maureen Meehan was always aware of the dangers of sun exposure and says she was diligent about protecting her skin — her fair complexion means she’s prone to burning easily.“I’ve always worn a sunscreen or a sunblock. I stayed out of the sun during peak times. I never laid outside and worked on my tan,” she says. “So I think I always had a little bit of that consciousness in the back of my mind.”When a mole on her right arm became raised and began to itch, she knew it wasn’t something to ignore.“So I went to my GP and initially she wasn’t as concerned as I was. I went back to her a few weeks later and I said, ‘you know, I really am concerned about this mole.’ And she said okay and she referred me to a tissue specialist,” she says.Two days after a punch biopsy, she received a call that she describes as “life-altering.”“[He said] You have a ...