NBC News investigates medical insurance corporations 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.
Here’s what to know at the moment.
When insurance coverage corporations deny most cancers care to sufferers
When Tracy Pike realized 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 instructed insurance coverage declined to cowl the roughly $40,000 therapy after ruling it “not medically essential.”
His spouse, Angie, mentioned the final straw got here when she realized 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 kids.
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An NBC News investigation discovered {that a} most cancers analysis, already a crushing blow to sufferers, is usually compounded by insurance coverage firm denials of remedies and screenings beneficial by a affected person’s doctor — and it’s solely getting worse, in response to the top of the American Medical Association.
Insurance corporations say requiring medical doctors to justify their beneficial therapy saves cash. However, physicians argue that trade practices delay or outright forestall affected person care, and households are left spending what might turn into their relative’s last days navigating purple tape and interesting denials.
South Korean interim president impeached simply 2 weeks after former chief ousted
South Korea’s parliament impeached performing President Han Duck-soo at the moment, plunging the nation deeper into political chaos two weeks after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached over his declaration of martial legislation on December 3.
The movement led by opposition events handed with 192 of the 300 votes with rowdy scenes by ruling People Power Party members who surrounded the speaker’s podium chanting the vote was invalid and parliament had dedicated “tyranny.”
“The solely strategy to normalize the nation is to swiftly root out all of the revolt 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.
A Tennessee city struggles to recuperate after Helene
Mud and particles nonetheless cake components of Plastiexports, one in every of 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 laborious to actually have an incredible quantity of pleasure in your conversations if you consider all of the neighborhood misplaced and people individuals who misplaced every part,” Brown mentioned.
Suzanne Gamboa stories on efforts and obstacles to rebuilding the area’s homes and economy, one shovel of heavy sand and dirt at a time.
The subsequent governor’s races that might convey massive modifications to state energy
Over the following two years, 38 governor’s elections will probably be on the poll — races that can form a protracted record of contested coverage points and provides a glimpse into voters’ response to Donald Trump’s second time period.
Next yr there will probably be two massive races in blue states the place Trump made appreciable beneficial properties — New Jersey and Virginia. Virginia’s highway to exchange Gov. Glenn Youngkin is anticipated to come back right 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 exchange 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. While many of those races won’t be aggressive within the normal election, the primaries will supply revealing home windows into the futures of each events.
Here’s what else to know about the upcoming races to watch.
Trump’s ‘border czar’ on the function of household detention facilities in future deportations
President-elect Donald Trump’s choose 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 kids shortly after President Biden took workplace. Homan says the detention amenities wouldn’t be jails however “open-air campuses” designed for households.
Currently, the Flores Settlement Agreement limits the time migrant kids might be held in detention to twenty days, however Homan hinted at preventing the federal courtroom ruling: “I believe the Flores Settlement Agreement is one thing that was the fallacious choice,” he mentioned. “Right now, we all know what the foundations say. And that is one thing that we’ll work inside till we get one other choice or a greater choice from the courts.”
Sam Brock stories on the showdown that could be coming between federal and state authorities over household separations.
Read 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 gaggle of wealthy, right-wing tech leaders whose ideas could define his second term.
- Authorities are looking for particulars about the reason for an Azerbaijan Airlines crash that killed 38 people after aviation specialists speculated a Russian anti-missile battery could have introduced down the airplane.
- 65 million viewers tuned into the pair of Christmas NFL video games — and Beyoncé’s halftime efficiency — breaking information for the most streamed NFL games in history.
- American TikTok creators are searching for an alternative platform because the Jan. 19 deadline for a possible ban approaches.
Year in Review: Hip-hop’s greatest moments: Diss tracks, high-profile instances and damaged boundaries
The yr has been filled with rap beef, viral moments, triumphs and let downs. Who might overlook 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 Song (Tipsy)” was the No. 1 tune within the nation (and was caught in our heads) for months. But different, extra sobering moments, like Jay-Z calling out discrimination on the Grammys and the arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs can’t be ignored. Take a look back at hip-hop’s standout moments in 2024. — Kaylah Jackson, platforms editor
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