Latest news with #Langston
CNBC
19-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
TD Cowen downgrades UnitedHealth on changes to Medicare Advantage
TD Cowen is moving to the sidelines on UnitedHealth . The firm downgraded the health insurance giant to hold from buy and trimmed its price target $308 per share from $520. TD Cowen's new forecast implies about 6% upside from Friday's close. Analyst Ryan Langston said changes to the V28 Medicare Advantage model could serve as a lingering headwind over UnitedHealth. "We believe v28 risk model changes are disproportionally impacting UNH given outsized RAF [risk adjustment factor] scores vs industry and 2026 is further effected with the year 3 phase-in," Langston said. "Accelerating MA cost trend with potential increases in commercial/Medicaid as well as recent regulatory scrutiny further complicate the story." Langston's call comes during a rough period for UnitedHealth. The company announced last week that CEO Andrew Witty stepped down for "personal reasons" and suspended its 2025 guidance . On top of that, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company was the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation . Shares have plummeted more than 42% in 2025. Last week alone, it dropped over 23%. UNH YTD mountain UnitedHealth stock. "UNH correctly foreshadowed accelerating cost trend in mid-2023. If this accelerating activity were to materialize in Commercial and/or Medicaid (to be clear, UNH says that is not currently the case), we see further potential downside risk to consensus estimates," the analyst added. Despite the downgrade, shares were up more than 4% in the premarket. .
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Indiana crackdown on ‘predatory' towing to take effect in July
Revamped towing regulations tripped Indiana lawmakers up for nearly four months but survived a chaotic legislative session. Indiana is getting tougher on 'predatory' vehicle towing. Revamped regulations tripped Indiana lawmakers up for nearly four months but emerged from a chaotic legislative session within House Enrolled Act 1390, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles' (BMV) annual package. They're set to take effect next month after a zig-zagging path through the Statehouse. 'Indiana is the No. 1 predatory towing state in the nation,' author Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, said in a statement to the Capital Chronicle. '… Our towing practices exploit and harm trucking companies in their time of need.' Surveyed commercial carriers logged the most 'predatory' towing incidents relative to mileage in Indiana between 2021 and 2023, according to a report by the American Transportation Research Institute. The state also had few of the personal vehicle owner towing protections identified in a 2021 report from the Public Interest Research Group's Consumer Watchdog team. 'House Enrolled Act 1390 holds towing providers accountable, requiring transparency, capping fees and ensuring access to personal belongings, while penalizing bad actors who are taking advantage of a bad situation,' Pressel said. That research sparked a Hoosier campaign for reform. 'The great majority of the towers … are responsible businesspeople and are not the problem, but there's a small percentage that have taken advantage of the industry, and those are the ones that we're focused on,' Indiana Motor Truck Association President and CEO Gary Langston said. After learning of the commercial tow findings, Langston began asking around — and was 'bombarded with invoices' from in-state and out-of-state carriers. Indiana law already mandates itemized receipts, but that doesn't mean all charges are legitimate. Langston recalled one invoice for an 18-mile tow that featured a fuel surcharge of more than $7,000. He also described seeing overstated hourly labor costs and various 'hidden' fees in the miscellaneous and administrative columns on the invoices. Commercial vehicle interests additionally sought greater recourse for recovering vehicles and the client loads inside while disputing such charges. In committee hearings, Indiana Towing & Wrecker Association President Karrie Driscol expressed openness to additional regulations but similarly blamed the complaints on a handful of bad actors. Her organization declined comment to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. Several chunks of incoming Indiana code tackle what Langston dubbed 'egregious' overcharging. Towing companies on the Indiana State Police (ISP) rotation will only be able to charge the rates they've already filed when ISP calls them for emergency tows. When their services are requested by local law enforcement agencies, the restrictions shift. If there are set rates, that's what'll get charged. If not, a company could charge its ISP rates. If the company isn't on the ISP rotation, it will charge, at most, what's in the ISP district's agreements. The legislation also requires law enforcement agencies to include a lengthy list of provisions in written policies or contracts entered into, amended or renewed after June 30: contract lengths, service and storage rates, allowable administrative fees, a prohibition on charging unlisted fees, a provision allowing the agencies to suspend or remove violator companies, and more. When private property owners request tows, companies will charge whatever rates are in the agreements they already have with the owners, according to the legislation. If there's no preexisting agreement, a company must charge a rate applicable under the legislation's local law enforcement agency provisions. The state's itemized invoice requirement also got tweaks. Come July 1, invoices must include the number of miles the vehicle was towed, a 'good faith estimate' of where and how long invoiced items were used, and an attestation that all invoiced items were 'used and necessary in the ordinary course of business.' Fees must also be accompanied by 'full' descriptions of the services provided. Towing companies and storage facilities are barred from charging inspection fees but could charge for retrieval. Another piece of the legislation lets commercial carriers file complaints with the Indiana Attorney General's Office if they believe the charges are 'unreasonable.' A towing company or storage facility will have to release the impounded vehicle and its cargo within 24 hours of receiving payment for 75% of the invoice, proof of a bond for the remaining 25%, and a copy of the complaint. Legislators also cracked down on towing company compensation offers for referrals. They're banned unless there is a prior contract in play. Towing changes encountered hefty opposition throughout several rounds of changes. House lawmakers briefly considered giving the Secretary of State's Office oversight and requiring that towing companies obtain licenses from the office, but the language ultimately wasn't added to House Enrolled Act 1382 before it left the chamber. Also in the session's first half, procedural deadlines felled two towing-focused proposals. Pressel's committee didn't put one on its hearing agenda; the other advanced to the House floor but languished on the chamber's agenda for eight straight session meetings and died. One Senate committee resurrected that language during its turn to consider the annual BMV agency bill — the same place it was re-inserted more than two weeks later. In between, another panel removed the provisions, prompting Pressel to cram them into a utility trailers sales bill. At the time, Driscol pressed lawmakers for a 'pause' this session. 'May 1, are you available?' she quipped, in a March 31 committee hearing. '… I think that even if this does go, and passes, Chairman Pressel and I will be talking over the summer, because there are still tons of issues that need to be resolved.' She's not alone. Rep. Bob Morris, R-Fort Wayne, was a vocal opponent. He told the Capital Chronicle that he's looking forward to continued work with Pressel and others on the topic. He wants to make sure good towing companies don't get caught up in the new regulatory structure. 'I think it's workable, but it actually kind of contradicts itself as well,' Rep. Bob Morris, R-Fort Wayne, said of the final version. 'There were so many different versions done on the language, trying to get it right.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Men's basketball: Gophers add veteran point guard via transfer portal
The Gophers men's basketball program has added to its backcourt in consecutive days. Western Michigan point guard Chansey Willis committed to the U on Monday, following combo guard Langston Reynolds from Northern Colorado on Sunday. Advertisement 'Chansey is a great playmaker who makes others around him better,' U head coach Niko Medved said in a statement. 'He is a dynamic scorer who can use his speed to his advantage. In addition, he's a great two-way player and we're excited to have him on our team.' Willis, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, averaged 16.8 points and 5.8 assists in 24 games last season. He shot 43% from the field, 28% from 3-point range and 72% from the free-throw line. Willis might have two years of eligibility remaining for Minnesota, following the start of his college career at Saginaw Valley State (Division II) as a freshman and Henry Ford College (a junior college) as a sophomore. Within the last year, current college players have not had years spent at junior college count against their NCAA eligibility. Willis, a Detroit native, was the state of Michigan's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022. Advertisement The program officially announced Reynolds' addition on Monday. 'We're excited to add Langston to our team,' Medved said in a release. 'Langston is a physical, athletic guard who plays well in transition, can get downhill and has good rebounding ability. He also has a great personality and we're thrilled to have him in the Maroon and Gold.' The Gophers now have four scholarship spots still available for next season. Related Articles
BBC News
25-04-2025
- BBC News
Indian restaurant in Clevedon shut after illegal workers found
An Indian restaurant was temporarily shut down after three men were found to be working there Rose, in Clevedon, has been handed a six-month court order following a visit by the Home Office's Immigration Enforcement team on 12 found three men from Bangladesh, who had no right to work in the UK, were being employed. Despite attempting to evade officers by running out of the back of the restaurant, they were detained and arrested, the enforcement team Magistrates' Court heard on 16 April how officers had visited the premises twice before and it had previously been issued with a £30,000 fine for hiring illegal workers. The six-month compliance order means officers will closely monitor the business, including through monthly visits, to ensure it is complying with immigration rules. It also requires the business owner to provide immigration officers with employment documentation when Langston, chief immigration officer at the West of England Immigration and Customs Enforcement Team, said: "I hope this compliance order sends a clear message that we will continue to pursue businesses suspected of breaking immigration rules."It is a legal requirement to carry out right to work checks on employees and those who disregard the law and the integrity of our immigration system will face the full consequences."Immigration enforcement teams have carried out 6,784 illegal working visits to premises and made 4,779 arrests since July 2024 – an increase of 40% and 42% respectively - compared to the same period 12 months ago.
USA Today
16-04-2025
- USA Today
Shoes on, laptop out? Why TSA rules change from airport to airport
Shoes on, laptop out? Why TSA rules change from airport to airport | Cruising Altitude Show Caption Hide Caption What you need to know about airport security rules and checkpoints Here are TSA rules that you need to know and what to expect at each airport checkpoint. TSA airport security procedures vary, sometimes even within the same airport. Variability in procedures is part of a risk-based security approach. Passengers should heed TSA officer instructions for efficient and speedy screening. It can be frustrating to go through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint and find that the routine has changed. Even as a very frequent traveler with TSA Precheck, I'm sometimes caught off-guard by what the agents tell me to do. In Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, for example, I can leave my shoes on and my laptop in my bag. But at Terminal 1, I need to take my laptop out before my luggage goes through the X-ray machine. It turns out, this is partly by design. 'One thing that is a pretty frequent moniker here, 'when you've seen one airport, you've seen one airport.' They're all so very different,' Carter Langston, Press Secretary for Strategic Communications and Public Affairs at the TSA told me. 'When you talk about airport security screening at the checkpoint, TSA really does have a risk-based intelligence-driven, multiple layers of security, both seen and unseen.' As confusing as it can be, the variability at different airports is part of the security apparatus. Shoes: on or off? The shoe thing can be especially frustrating because finding a place on the far side of the security to sit down with all your stuff and re-tie your shoes isn't always easy. TSA touts the ability to leave your shoes on as a major perk of PreCheck, but most travelers still have to go through the screening in their (hopefully) stocking feet, and even the Trusted Travelers among us occasionally get caught out by procedure changes. Still, Langston said, sometimes everyone at a checkpoint gets lucky. 'We have K-9s, and they're able to detect explosives. Sometimes K-9s will be used to screen passengers,' he said. 'People being able to keep the shoes on in standard screening lanes, a lot of times that was because there was a K-9 doing a sweep of the line and didn't flag on anything that was detected ... There was a degree of risk tolerance there to say that the standard screening passengers can go through with shoes on to get through faster.' Decisions about when and how to deploy assets like sniffer dogs and what their presence means for security procedures are often left up to local TSA leadership, known as Federal Security Directors, at each airport, according to Langston. Laptop and liquids: in or out? It's not quite as difficult as re-tying my shoes with a line of people breathing down my neck for a spot on the bench, but it is also kind of frustrating having to take stuff out of my bag and then repack it on the rolling belt at the end of the X-ray machine. TSA has been working on introducing new technology to make it easier for all travelers to leave liquids and electronics in their bags. For now, that privilege is often still relegated to TSA PreCheck members, and even then, it doesn't always apply. Last week's Cruising Altitude: $9 for water and pretzels? Why airport prices are ridiculous. The latest generation of TSA screening machines uses a technology called computed tomography that gives agents a more comprehensive look at what's inside the bag, without requiring unpacking. 'The computed tomography units really do allow us to change the way, if you will, things are left in the bags.' Langston said. 'In those instances where computed tomography hasn't made it yet, we'll have to have passengers take things out.' How to prepare for TSA If you're unsure of what to expect at a TSA checkpoint, the agency has a webpage dedicated to the basics of its security screening process. It's good to double check your boarding pass to make sure your PreCheck shows up if you're eligible, and to familiarize yourself with what you are and are not allowed to bring with you through a TSA checkpoint in general. Still, the agency acknowledges that it regularly adapts its procedures based on the specific airport and the overall global security environment, so the exact requirements may vary by airport and terminal, and sometimes day-to-day. Langston said the best advice is to listen up. 'It's so important that passengers really do take time and listen to the instructions the officers are trying to give, because a lot of time what the officers are doing is to try and get everyone through the checkpoint with the greatest amount of efficiency and speed,' he said. Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@
