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By Bernadette Joy, Bankrate.com Even though I have enough saved for early retirement, I still worry. As someone with lifelong chronic conditions, I know all too well how healthcare costs can creep up, even when everything else seems under control. Medical debt is one of the sneakiest ways financial stress shows up in people’s lives. According to Kaiser Family Foundation’s (KFF) analysis of government data, Americans owe at least US $220 billion in medical debt. Approximately 14 million adults owe more than $1,000, and another three million carry medical debt over $10,000. And the stress around money, and especially healthcare,…

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and TIM REYNOLDS, Associated Press Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups have been arrested in connection with a federal investigation into sports betting, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. FILE – Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups speaks during an NBA basketball press conference, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File) The exact charge or charges they face were not immediately known. Two people spoke to the AP about Rozier on condition of anonymity because they couldn’t discuss details…

By RENATA BRITO and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized Thursday Israel’s parliament vote on West Bank annexation, saying it amounted to an “insult.” Vance’s scathing remark came as his visit wrapped up Thursday and after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would now be traveling to Israel. Vance’s words and the intense diplomacy indicate that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was intent on keeping up the momentum on the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv’s international airport before departing Israel, Vance…

SALT LAKE CITY — With a retooled roster and aspirations to be among the better teams in the Western Conference, the Clippers started their 2025-26 season with a thud. Outscored by 24 points in the first quarter, they never recovered in a 129-108 loss to the Utah Jazz in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday night at the Delta Center. The Clippers struggled to slow the Jazz in the second quarter as well and trailed by 31 points at halftime (78-47). A young Jazz team that is building toward what it hopes is a bright future pounced on…

LOS ANGELES — The entire USC football team has been doing tackling drills this week. Not just the defense. It’s everybody. “We’re doing a couple things on the field as a whole team,” defensive end Braylan Shelby told reporters after practice on Wednesday. “We’re just doing it on the bags and things like that, but it’s just getting back to being in those positions because you never know when you’re going to end up on offense doing something like that. It’s good to have everybody do that and just be better collectively as a team.” USC (5-2 overall, 3-1 Big…

TORONTO — With four aces, the Dodgers are playing a very different hand in this year’s postseason. “We’ve talked about this a lot,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said as the team celebrated its National League Championship Series victory and became the first defending champ to make it back to the World Series since the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008-09. “There’s just a lot of different ways to win a World Series. Last year we did it in a very different way than we have so far this year. We had a dominant bullpen. Our starters weren’t as accomplished…

By ALEXA ST. JOHN and JENNIFER McDERMOTT Artificial intelligence has caused concern for its tremendous consumption of water and power. But scientists are also experimenting with ways that AI can help people and businesses use energy more efficiently and pollute less. Data centers needed to fuel AI accounted for about 1.5% of the world’s electricity consumption last year, and those facilities’ energy consumption is predicted to more than double by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. That increase could lead to burning more fossil fuels such as coal and gas, which release greenhouse gases that contribute to warming temperatures,…

By GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Republican legislative leaders completed their remapping of the state’s U.S. House districts on Wednesday, intent on picking up one more seat for President Donald Trump’s push to retain GOP control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. The boundaries approved by the state House aim to thwart the reelection of Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis, an African American who currently represents more than 20 northeastern counties in what’s been the state’s only swing seat. The state Senate already approved the plan in a similar party-line vote Tuesday. Republicans hold…

MILAN (AP) — The Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic organizing committee on Wednesday unveiled two official posters for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games — bold graphic depictions that officials said were meant to represent “the character of the destinations.” Posters have been commissioned for the Olympics since the early 20th century, becoming a piece of Olympic history. This year’s designs are the work of Italian artists Olimpia Zagnoli and Carolina Altavilla. Artist Olimpia Zagnoli unveils the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics iconic poster during a press conference at Milan’s Triennale permanent exhibition in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)…

By DEE-ANN DURBIN Beyond Meat’s shares briefly sizzled Wednesday before heading back down again. The plant-based meat company’s shares more than doubled early Wednesday before closing at $3.58 per share, which was down 1%. Still, it was a surprising comeback for a stock that was trading at an all-time low of 50 cents per share late last week. Investors cheered Beyond Meat’s announcement Tuesday that it’s increasing the availability of some of its products at U.S. Walmart stores. Beyond Meat said that its chicken pieces, Korean BBQ-style steak and burger six-packs will now be easier to find in more than…