The Capitals also traded for forward Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary Flames), defenseman Jakob Chychrun (Ottawa Senators) and goalie Logan Thompson (Vegas Golden Knights), and added defenseman Matt Roy (six years, $34.5 million; AAV of $5.75 million AAV) and forwards Brandon Duhaime (two years, $3.7 million; AAV of $1.85 million) and Taylor Raddysh (one year, $1 million) in free agency.

Where everyone fits will be determined during training camp along with whether forward T.J. Oshie will play after being hampered by a back injury the past two seasons.

Regardless, Washington expects to have a deeper lineup than last season, when it finished 40-31-11 and surprised many by qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. If the Capitals exceeded expectations in Carbery’s first season, he warned it will be more difficult this season.

“Whatever the outside world has us pegged at percentage-wise of making the playoffs — and I’m not shy to say we don’t have many believers again this year — it’s important that we know two things,” Carbery said. “One is we are not going to catch anybody off guard. Teams are going to know, ‘OK, this is a team that caught some teams maybe off guard last year. They were a playoff team. We need to be ready to go tonight.’

“And two is we need to get better in a bunch of areas, especially offensively.”

Washington was 28th in the NHL in scoring 2.63 goals per game last season. Acquiring Dubois, Mangiapane and Chychrun could help. Mangiapane scored 14 goals in 75 games last season, but the 28-year-old had an NHL career-high 35 goals in 82 games with the Flames in 2021-22.

Chychrun will add another element to the Capitals defensemen, who were 31st in the NHL with 20 goals scored at the position last season, ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks (19). The 26-year-old had 14 goals in 82 games with the Senators last season.

WASHINGTON – FOX 5’s Joe Clair is returning to radio in Washington, D.C. 

On Friday’s episode of the “DMV Zone,” Clair said that he is bringing a new show with local flavor to Howard University-owned radio station WHUR-FM’s afternoon lineup.

“They’ve asked me to bring out more of me that the people may not get to see between here and comedy. So, all that stuff that we do when the mic, when the cameras aren’t on,” he said. 

Starting Tuesday, Sep, 3rd at 3 p.m., listeners can tune in to “The Nina Brown and Joe Clair Afternoon Show,” featuring the Prince George’s County-bred comedian alongside radio personality and television actress Nina Brown.

“This show represents the next chapter in WHUR’s commitment to serving the DMV community,” said WHUR Senior Director of Programming Al Payne. “Joe Clair, a cultural icon known from his days on BET’s ‘Rap City’ to his stand-up comedy and his show on Fox5, teams up with Nina Brown’s broadcasting talent, charisma, and passion. Together, they bring the perfect mix for radio success.”

The show is designed to enliven the afternoons of listeners with a unique blend of entertainment and community-oriented programming. 

With their combined expertise and energetic presence, Joe and Nina aim to create what Payne calls “the happiest hours in DMV radio,” offering a go-to staple for those seeking both information and fun in their daily routine.

The launch of “The Nina Brown and Joe Clair Afternoon Show” rounds out WHUR’s weekday lineup, which begins with the “Steve Harvey Morning Show” at 6 a.m., followed by “Sunni and the City” at 10 a.m., “The Daily Drum with Harold Fisher” at 7 p.m., and the “Original Quiet Storm” at 7:30 p.m.

Undue Medical Debt was directed by Washington to negotiate with hospitals in the district in buying the medical debts belonging to 62,000 residents. 

This is not a program residents can apply for. Instead, their debt is automatically canceled if they qualify. Residents who were eligible for the debt cancellation program either earned up to four times the federal poverty level or their medical debt was at least 5% of their income, city officials said. The city found that 60% of total debt cancellation will assist residents making $25,000 or less and that 80% of residents live in Washington ZIP codes that are predominantly black or Latino. 

“We know that in D.C. and across the country, medical debt has become a burden that follows too many families around and holds people back from ever getting their fair shot — especially people of color,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday in a statement. “Erasing medical debt just makes sense — this is a way for us to get life-changing financial help to a large number of people, in the most efficient way possible.”

The only hospitals that agreed to sell the debt were MedStar’s Washington Hospital Center, Northwest D.C. rehabilitation hospital, and Georgetown hospital, according to the Washington Post. Because the federal government reimburses hospitals for 65% of outstanding bills, D.C. Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage said it made sense that more hospitals didn’t participate in the program.

“Hospitals have this very difficult job of taking care of often very sick people,” Turnage said. “And their margins are not what they used to be. So if they elect to chase the 65% reimbursement … I fully understand the business calculation.”

A KFF poll found that 41% of adults have medical debt. 

Washington announced in March 2023 that it plans to eliminate $90 million in residents’ medical debt, allocating $900,000 to the initiative.

Washington is not the only area looking to eliminate the medical debt burden of its residents. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Undue Medical Debt has been contracted by New Jersey, Connecticut, Arizona, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans to relieve residents of medical debt. 

On Thursday, Cincinnati announced it would cancel $134 million in debt for 34,000 residents.