New Medicaid work rules go into effect no later than Jan. 1, 2027. Federal guidance outlines exemptions.

CMS announced exemption guidance for Medicaid's 
new work requirements.

As the "One Big Beautiful Bill" continues to remake American safety net programs, guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, released earlier this week, outlines "how states should carry out the work rules, including who would be exempt," reports Berkeley Lovelace Jr. of NBC News.

While the federal government will require states to roll out the new Medicaid work rules no later than Jan. 1, 2027, until now, states didn't know who could be considered for exemptions. Lovelace explains, "Pregnant women, parents of young children, veterans with disabilities and several other groups will be exempt from Medicaid’s new work requirements," according to CMS rules. "States will have discretion to determine which medical conditions qualify for exemptions."

The work rules do not require recipients to work full-time; instead, most adult Medicaid recipients must "work, attend school or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month to keep their coverage," Lovelace reports.

CMS will also allow exemptions for individuals who are considered too "medically frail" to work. The guidance also allows exemptions for people with "conditions that significantly limit their ability to work, such as cancer or substance use disorder," NBC reports. "The guidance doesn’t include an exemption for people who are homeless."

Before this week's announcement, Medicaid supporters worried that enrollees would lose their coverage while trying to prove their eligibility for an exemption; however, the guidance allows for that possibility. Lovelace reports, "During the first year, people will be allowed to attest — on their Medicaid applications or renewal forms — that they qualify for one of the exemptions rather than provide documentation."

The main thrust behind the work rules is to get more Americans to work. The National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonpartisan research group, found that Americans are working fewer hours than they did in previous decades, NBC reports. "The officials argued that government benefits reduce incentives to seek employment."

Texas lawmakers juggle angry voters, data center developers, Trump's AI push and a tech-first governor

65% of Americans don't want a data center built
in their community. (Photo by G. Moffet, Unsplash)

With its sprawling land and business-friendly politics, data center developers decided Texas was an ideal place to build AI infrastructure. They began having their proposals quietly approved, and construction started, with little input from communities near their builds.

Fast forward to today. As data center projects proliferate throughout the state, many Texas communities are pushing back on AI and calling on their political representatives to put up guardrails, reports Liz Carey for The Daily Yonder. But when it comes to putting limits on AI development, Texas lawmakers face competing interests.

"Data center construction is unpopular among locals, and a majority of the facilities are being proposed in red, rural counties," Carey explains. Republican state lawmakers now find themselves "caught between a zealous president, a governor bent on Texas becoming the next global data center hub, and outraged constituents."

According to a Texas Tribune analysis, at least "82 data centers, or nearly 60% of those that are either planned or under construction, are in state House districts that voted for President Donald Trump and elected a Republican state representative in 2024," Carey reports. "A March Quinnipiac poll found that 65% of Americans oppose the building of an AI data center in their community."

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate, have made data center development a priority. The Yonder reports, "Both directed their chambers to balance the economic development benefits of the facilities with their potential impact on Texas communities and their water and power infrastructure."

Meanwhile, Texas county officials, who have no power over where AI centers end up, spend their days trying to manage angry, frustrated residents. Republican county executive Matt Sebesta told Carey, "When folks look at me and say, ‘We don’t want this,’ I point them to our state reps and say, ‘Go talk to your state rep. Go talk to your senator,’ because they don’t trust us to make those decisions."

State legislators have even started to divide along rural-urban lines, with "rural lawmakers tending to raise more concerns about data centers while those from urban areas have generally been more supportive — or at least quieter," Carey adds.

In response, AI companies have begun running ad campaigns across the Lone Star State that "tout the benefits of the facilities," Carey explains. "Meanwhile, the tech industry is already lavishing donations across the capitol."

Gas prices are high, and inflation has continued to climb. How do Trump voters feel about his performance so far?

Many Americans say that gas prices may impact their
midterm election choices. (Photo by GG, Unsplash)

Campaigning for his second term in the White House, President Donald Trump pledged "no new wars" while he worked to "make America affordable again." A year and a half into his presidency, U.S. consumers face high inflation, hefty tariffs on imported food and goods, and bloated gas prices due to the war with Iran.

So how do those voters feel now? Tim Balk, Rachel Richardson and Sam Easter of The New York Times asked some Trump voters how they feel about their vote now and how their opinion of his leadership so far might influence their midterm election choices. Some edited selections of their opinions are shared below.

Adele Wilson, 30, of Ada Township, Mich., population 14,400
When asked about gas prices, Wilson told the Times, "Last time I filled up I was like, ‘Oh, this hurts.’" Wilson, a dental assistant, believes "Trump’s second term has been unsuccessful," the Times reports. "She called the war a 'horrible idea.' She was unsure how she would vote in the midterms, she said, but she had already ruled out voting for JD Vance or Marco Rubio in the 2028 presidential race."

Matt Yerkes, 74, of New Richmond, Ohio, population 2,730
Yerkes, who is retired, told the Times he thinks Americans' current economic strain is "temporary and needed.” Overall, he agrees with the war with Iran. The Times reports, "He said he disliked the president’s personality, but added, 'I agree with essentially everything he does from a policy standpoint.'"

Luke Stanley, 28, of Hermon, Maine, population 6,500
"Stanley, who owns a metal fabrication company, said he did not 'necessarily' support the war, and suggested he would like the president to change his approach," the Times reports. "But he said that business had been good for him overall during the president’s second term." He told the Times that continued high gas prices might sway his choice in the midterm elections.

Many farmers have a second job, and some have cashed in by sharing farm life across social media channels

                 Zoe Kent posts her farm life films on medial platforms like Instagram and YouTube.

As farm income has dipped over the last two decades, some farmers have built a second income by posting about their "life and times" on the farm, reports Amira McKee of The Wall Street Journal.

When the Welker family from Montana was facing some lean years, Nick Welker, his brother Scott, and their father, Bob, decided to share their ag adventures through short films and reels posted to social media. 

The three men started their online careers with "viral videos in the mid-2010s, followed by the restoration of a Big Bud tractor — a hulking machine with a cult following among tractor enthusiasts," McKee writes. The three Welkers have joined "a growing class of 'aginfluencers' monetizing farm life."

For the Welker family, their "social-media business now provides a six-figure annual income stream, generating about $5 for every $1 invested in equipment, cameras, and a video editor," McKee writes.

“It blows my mind how much they eat it up," Nick Welker told the Journal. "They just really like seeing us work.”

The group has amassed over a million social media followers, and their YouTube channel produces ad revenue, as does their equipment sponsorships. McKee adds, "Tractor brands like Case IH pay handsomely to have their machinery featured on the Welkers’ channel."

Zoe Kent is another successful aginfluencer. After she took over her family's farm in 2021, she began posting online about her life as an Ohio soy and corn farmer. McKee adds, "Last year, her social-media income was five times higher than her farm profits."

The Journal reports, "Eighty-six percent of family farms earned a majority of their household income from off-farm sources in 2024, according to the most recent U.S. Agriculture Department data."

Quick hits: Tick app; Northeast rice crops; health benefits of dancing; moon farms; meteorologists get to Hollywood

As spring turns into summer, more ticks are hitching rides on socks, shoes, pant legs and hairdos. The tiny vectors bite thousands of people each year and spread diseases such as alpha-gal syndrome, Lyme disease, babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. But there is hope. Researchers are asking people to share their tick bites and discoveries on The Tick App so that their habits can be better understood and more effective preventive practices can be developed. The Tick App also gives tips for identifying and removing ticks.

The Northeast isn't known as a rice-growing mecca, but as the region's climate changes, some farmers are giving the crop a try. "Around New York and beyond, weather has shifted to become more extreme, bringing intense rainfall and hailstorms that could damage crops," reports Alice Sun for Offrange. Rice paddies are flood-resistant, able to withstand extreme weather, and the crop fetches a good price. Researchers at Cornell University, along with some "pioneering farmers are working to make it a more common crop in the Northeast, as a buffer for farmers to adapt to increasingly unpredictable weather."

Maria isn't sure about Elmo's reasoning. (Sesame Street photo)

Fans of "Sesame Street," past or present, may want to watch the new documentary tracing the life and career of actress Sonia Manzan, better known as the character "Maria." As Maria, Manzan became the first Latina to appear on a regular TV series, reports Greg Toppo of The74. The film travels back to Manzan's difficult upbringing in the South Bronx during the 1950s, follows her big break with the musical Godspell, and includes her adventures with Oscar the Grouch and Elmo on Sesame Street. The film is currently touring at film festivals throughout the spring and summer.

Even dancing from a sitting position is considered
healthy movement. (Photo by E. Marritz,Dance for PD)

What activity can be done while sitting or standing, creates joy and is healthy? If you thought dancing, you're correct. "Modern research is now catching up to the fact that dance is medicine, a deeply effective intervention for physical, cognitive and emotional health," reports Michaela Haas for Reasons to be Cheerful. "In a longitudinal study, seniors who took part in regular dance training fell less often and were 'physically better off and mentally fitter' than those in the control group."

It's not going to be science fiction for much longer: NASA is learning how to farm on the moon. "As we get ready to feed astronauts on the Moon and Mars, NASA scientists are figuring out how to build soil from scratch," reports Lela Nargi for Offrange. "Ralph Fritsch, a NASA retiree and lead subject matter expert for the Mars to Table challenge, which seeks to identify plausible 'surface habitat food systems,' believes space ag will probably start with hydroponics. . . . Although Fritsch believes dirt-based space greenhouses are years from fruition, there’s still been heavy investment in research."

Everyone asks about, talks about and complains about the weather -- it's a shared human experience. With the exception of farmers, who are also weather obsessed, few people might glamorize meteorologists. Until now. "Meteorologists are rarely the heroes of major Hollywood movies. Never say never," writes Rebecca Hersher of NPR. "The new film 'Pressure' is a lightly fictionalized version of the actual lead-up to the D-Day invasion of France by Allied troops during World War II, and the crucial role of meteorologists in deciding when that battle would happen." 

Cash-strapped Montana will be the second state to implement new federal Medicaid work rules

Montana will be the second state to implement Medicaid
work rules. (Photo by John Kakuk, Unsplash)

Despite depleted coffers, Montana is moving forward with its rollout of Medicaid's new work rules beginning on July 1. 

The state will be the second, after Nebraska, to require its residents to "prove they’re working to keep their coverage," reports Katheryn Houghton of KFF Health News. "That’s six months ahead of the federal deadline for states to implement Medicaid work rules for millions of enrollees."

The new work requirements are part of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Congress passed in 2025, but the onus of implementation falls on state health departments. Houghton explains, "The federal spending law requires states to check every six months whether millions of Medicaid enrollees work, go to school, or volunteer at least 80 hours a month, or qualify for an exemption."

Adding new staff and technology infrastructure to prepare for and execute work checks "takes time and money," Houghton writes. "Health policy analysts say that Montana’s budget crunch is a hint of the challenges to come nationwide."

The OBBBA also cut federal Medicaid dollars flowing to states by around $1 trillion over 10 years. The lopped-off funds represent the "largest pool of federal funding for states," Houghton explains. Joan Alker, a researcher focused on health coverage, told KFF, "States are the ones that are gonna have to do the dirty work of implementing cuts."

To address its shortfall, Montana plans to "stall rate increases for healthcare providers that were due July 1," KFF reports. However, clinicians say they need the rate bump to address staffing shortages and growing patient waitlists, which they attribute to already low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Montana residents currently face long wait times to "access public assistance," Houghton adds. "And many can lose coverage at renewal time because of paperwork issues. … All these problems reflect a national challenge to connect people to care through strained public assistance programs."

Trump plan takes second shot at ending rural schools program Congress created to address resource gaps

Classroom at Velva Public Schools, which educates 
roughly 450 students. (Velva Public Schools photo)

The Trump administration is pushing to end the Rural Education Achievement Program by rolling the money into a $2 billion block grant. But rural schools rely on REAP to fill the funding gaps for "tutoring, afterschool and technology needs," reports Linda Jacobson for The74. Smaller school district leaders say the funding "is vital."

REAP was created by Congress to help rural schools meet the same educational standards that bigger public schools must adhere to, even though rural areas have fewer services and resources for helping students reach those strict benchmarks.

Monty Mayer, the superintendent of the Velva Public Schools in North Dakota, which serves nearly 450 students across two schools, told The74, "Money rolled into a block grant would be swallowed up by the bigger schools as their needs are much greater than ours. [That would leave] “small rural schools looking to find answers in different places without a clear picture as to where those resources would come from.”

When Education Secretary Linda McMahon gave her testimony to the Senate appropriations committee in late April, she "faced several questions from both Democrats and Republicans about the future of the program. She suggested that REAP was underutilized," Jacobson writes. McMahon testified that rural schools don't apply for REAP dollars because they lack grant writers and grant writing expertise.

Rural education experts don't agree with McMahon. They claim Congress designed REAP to be flexible because rural schools lack grant writing staff and expertise. "States or districts don’t write grant proposals for the funding, said Steven Johnson, superintendent of the Fort Ransom Public School District, which operates one elementary school in southeast North Dakota," Jacobson reports. "Districts eligible for the funds, based on size and location, receive an invitation to apply. And most do, Johnson said."

During her testimony, McMahon also said that REAP funds weren't "giving the returns that we hope to see for rural schools." McMahon did not cite the evidence or measurement standards that informed her statement.

This is the second time the administration has pitched the block grant proposal. Last year, "Congress ultimately rejected it." Jacobson reports. "With the appropriations process likely to drag out for months, it’s unclear whether lawmakers will be more receptive this year."

Rural law enforcement officers often receive little or no support for frequent on-the-job mental trauma

Police answer calls to tragic events such as school shootings, family annihilation, severe child abuse cases and domestic violence crimes. During those calls, victim care is a primary focus but little attention is given to the psychological trauma law enforcement officers may experience as they manage crime scenes, reports Susan Szuch for the Springfield News-Leader, which covers Ozark news.

It's often hard for police to ask for help, particularly in rural communities where suicide rates are higher, but reaching out for care is stigmatized, according to Szuch. If officers ask for mental support or have psychological struggles, they can be deemed unfit for duty.

Michael Mason

The experiences of Michael Mason, a rural police officer and later Police Chief in Humansville, Missouri, a town with roughly 900 residents, serve as an example. Mason had a hard time processing many of the difficult scenes he had to work. In 2023, he attempted suicide. Afterward, he was "given a choice to get help but be fired and lose his Peace Officer Standards and Training certification, or to resign and keep his credentials," Szuch writes. "Mason chose to resign."

Although Mason moved on from his job loss and landed the police chief position in Humansville, he faced similar challenges and had learned not to ask for help. "He took his own life on Dec. 14, 2025," Szuch reports. "He was one of at least 27 law enforcement officers who died by suicide last year."

While laws and attitudes toward psychological care for law enforcement officers have been slow to shift, some changes have been made. "In 2020, the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act established a data collection program to 'help agencies understand and prevent suicides,'" Szuch explains. "In 2022, the federal Public Safety Officer Support Act changed its definition for line-of-duty deaths to include suicide, which can affect not only the way the death is discussed but how honors are conferred and what benefits survivors receive."

For officers who want someone to talk to, law enforcement leaders stress the "importance of talking to someone who understands a law enforcement officer’s unique situation and experiences," Szuch reports. "CopLine, a hotline for law enforcement officers run by retired law enforcement officers, offers a free, confidential way for them to talk with someone who understands the trauma and pressures of the job." The phone number for CopLine is 1-800-267-5463 (1-800-COPLINE).

What's up with tomato prices? The U.S. has collected $4.6 million in tomato tariffs — a 'staggering' 27,879% increase

The price of tomatoes is up 40% over
last year. (Photo by E. Akyurt, Unsplash)

For many Americans, tomatoes are a grocery staple, so heading into a store only to see the price of red sauce or salsa skyrocket serves as a reminder that the country is facing ongoing affordability challenges.

"Prices for those red orbs have soared more than any other food product over the past year to cement a spot as one of the consumer headaches du jour," reports Matt Sedensky of The Associated Press.

In the case of tomatoes, their "prices are up about 40% over a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index," Sedensky explains. In comparison, coffee prices are up 18.5%, beef roasts are up 17.8%, and frozen fish and seafood are up 12%.

The war with Iran and tariffs are the two primary reasons tomatoes are pricier. "The war spiked gas prices and increased shipping costs," Sedensky explains. "Meantime, the U.S. withdrew from a deal allowing duty-free imports of tomatoes from Mexico, which grows most of America’s supply."

While American tomato farmers cheered to see their competition get slapped with a 17% tomato tariff,  Sedensky writes, soaring tomato prices have been another inflation shock for many U.S. consumers and restaurant operators.

Federal data says it best: "U.S. tariffs collected on tomatoes ballooned from just $16,424 in 2024 to nearly $4.6 million," AP reports. "A staggering 27,879% increase."

Some consumers have rushed to plant gardens, but for restaurants that collectively use thousands of tomatoes a day, the cost increase is hard to absorb.

Wayne Humphrey, chief operating officer of Snarf’s Sandwiches, where sliced tomatoes top most sandwiches, told AP, "That single ingredient now costs us more than $1.7 million in additional spend annually. The math is getting harder to ignore.”

Democrats who want rural voters to switch sides need to 'show up' and fight for rural communities

Democrats need to fight harder than Republicans on
issues that impact rural Americans. (Rural Strategies photo)

Building trust with rural Americans by fighting hard for the issues rural voters care about is what Democrats need to do now, reports Mara Liasson of NPR.

While Democrats losing rural voters is not news, what Democrats should do about it is. Liasson explains, "Pollster Celinda Lake, originally from rural Montana, says she's watched as the Republican advantage with rural voters grew from a relatively narrow five-point advantage in 2000 to a whopping 25-point edge for Trump with rural voters in 2024."

Lake recently "conducted a poll of 600 likely general election voters from rural areas in battleground states," Liasson reports. "And what these voters had to say about Democrats is damning."

One polled voter said Democrats were "out of touch with middle America," according to Liasson. Another said Democrats were "lost in space. All they want to do is spend money and give stuff away."

Lake told Liasson, "The Democratic brand is in terrible shape in rural America." Lake pointed out that while most rural voters skew Republican, they are currently very dissatisfied with the economy, and that offers Democrats a window of opportunity.

"Her takeaway from the poll is that Democrats should be running to keep rural hospitals open and insulin prices down," Liasson reports. "In other words, Democrats don't have to change their positions to win rural voters. They just have to fight harder for what they already believe in."

Dee Davis, the president of the Center for Rural Strategies, the group that commissioned the poll, said that Democrats that go all in on rural issues can fight for the same concerns that more urban populations worry about. Liasson adds, "After all, college-educated urban voters also care about healthcare, gas prices and jobs. The strategy Davis thinks Democrats should adopt is not rocket science."

Davis told Liasson, "You got to show up. You got to talk to people. You might not win the first time out, but you got to be there and compete."