Trump administration wants to rescind 'Roadless Rule'; changes could threaten millions of acres of protected land

Kootenai National Forest in Montana is used as a conservation site for grizzly bears. Certain parts of the forest are designated growing areas for bear foods such as salmonberries and thimbleberries. Up in Alaska breathes “the northern lung of the planet,” or the Tongass National Forest, the biggest in the United States.

Both of these forests are protected under what's known as the Roadless Rule, a 2001 ruling protecting land, often without roads, from further development, reports Ilana Newman for The Daily Yonder. In August, the Trump Administration filed a proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement to rescind the Roadless Rule. Many people in rural communities say the Roadless Rule protects their economy and way of life. 

The ruling applies to 59 million acres of public land, spanning the Western U.S. and Alaska to New England and Appalachia. The Roadless Rule protects lands without roads, but “there are plenty of primitive roads in what is known as inventoried roadless areas, or the land that is protected by the Roadless Rule,” Newman writes. “What the Roadless Rule does is prevent any additional development, road building, or logging in those areas.”

As of Aug. 18, the filing of the proposed rule opened a 30-day public comment period. Rescinding the ruling would allow local hands to better manage forests for wildfire risk, according to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

Many rural commenters from Alaska, Appalachia, Montana, New Mexico and Washington disagree. Forests such as the Kootenai and Tongass are threatened by logging and loss of conservation land. Locals in Washington cite concerns of fires igniting adjacent to roads; and in parts of Appalachia, drinking water could be contaminated by roads built on inventoried land. In New Mexico, rescinding the rule raises fear of opportunities for exploitative mining.

Coal is still declining despite the Trump Administration's efforts to save it

The coal industry remains in decline despite the Trump Administration's efforts to rescue it. Curtis Tate reports for WEKU (republished by Kentucky Lantern) that electric generation from coal is expected to decline 8% in 2026 and another 6% in 2027, according to the U.S. Energy and Information Administration. 

The Trump Administration has rolled back Biden-era environmental protections, canceled tax credits for wind and solar, and removed regulations on power plants to try and boost the industry, but Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis analyst Seth Feaster told Tate those efforts have "fallen flat." Coal just can't compete in today's energy landscape, Feaster said. 

"One, it’s not competitive,” Feaster said. “Two, there’s a lot of other stuff being built right now, particularly solar, and still some wind, but solar all over the country.” Renewable energy, plus natural gas, "are expected to meet the growing electricity demand the government forecasts this year and next year. Solar generation surpassed coal for the first time in May."

Tate reports that Kentucky lost more than 300 coal jobs in the first six months of 2026, leaving less than 3,000 coal miners in the state — a 14% drop from the first quarter of 2025. 

Proposed EPA rule could eliminate restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants

The Trump Administration is proposing new Environmental Protection Agency rules that would "no longer limit the planet-warming pollution that power plants pump into the air while burning coal and gas," Maxine Joselow and Lisa Friedman report for The New York Times. 

If implemented, the rule would also prevent future administrations from regulating emissions from power plants.

Industrial power plants are the second largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States, which raises temperatures and exponentially increases the risk of climate disasters. Joselow and Friedman report that scientists have said that "industrialized nations must sharply cut emissions to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change."

Many experts have opposed the move, noting that "if the U.S. power sector were its own country, it would be the fifth-largest climate polluter in the world after China, the entire United States, India and Russia."

Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, told reporters that the proposed change would be "another nail in the coffin for this administration’s commitment to protecting people and tackling the climate crisis." He said the EPA "is ending its legal and moral responsibility to end climate pollution."

Supreme Court blocks Trump Administration's newly proposed vote-by-mail restrictions

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the Trump Administration's newly proposed vote-by-mail restrictions in a ruling on Monday, reports Hansi Lo Wang for NPR. Such restrictions would have hit rural voters hard because they rely on early voting and vote by mail, according to a report from the nonpartisan policy group Secure Democracy USA.

The proposed rules would have required states to "turn over lists of voters' names and addresses and have certain specific barcodes on ballot envelopes in order to have them delivered" by the USPS. 

The measure had been blocked already by two federal judges, and now "a majority of the Supreme Court decided to keep that injunction in place," ruling that "the Trump administration was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge," Wang reports. "Several Republican state election officials," also "signed on to a Supreme Court brief, warning that any attempt to carry out the USPS plan now 'will almost certainly lead to mistakes, delays, and confusion for both voters and election officials.'"

"Voting by mail has already begun in states including Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin, with more soon to follow — including Western states such as Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, where elections are held primarily or fully with mail ballots," Wang reports. The USPS plan is paused for the midterms, but  Wang writes that "the legal fight will likely continue over how the agency may try to implement it for future federal elections."

Trump deems Digital Equity Act illegal on basis of racially designated grants; new applications will be required

“Rural residents live sicker and die younger on average than people in the rest of the country when they live in counties lacking high-speed internet access and healthcare,” reports Sarah Jane Tribble for KFF Health News. “While 81% of white adults surveyed said they subscribed to broadband at home, only 71% of Black adults and 68% of Hispanic adults said the same.”

Congress allocated $2.75 billion for the Digital Equity Act under the Biden administration in 2021. The money was for skill development under the broader “Internet for All” infrastructure initiative. “The Digital Equity Act lists exactly whom the money should benefit, including low-income households, older people, some incarcerated people, rural Americans, veterans, and members of racial or ethnic minority groups,” Tribble reports.

A few months into Trump’s second term, he called the DEA program “illegal.” This came in the wake of two executive orders dismantling DEI and the 2023 Supreme Court decision invalidating affirmative action.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates sided with the administration in an opinion, stating “that it was unconstitutional for the government to use race or ethnicity as the basis to award money under a program created to expand internet skills and access.”

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration halted DEA grant programs after the decision, heavily impacting the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. The NDIA serves rural and marginalized communities, providing programs where community workers teach internet and technology skills.

With Bates’ decision, federal attorneys said the government would reinstate NDIA competitive grants without racial classifications. A new grant application is expected for release in December, and the NDIA must reapply for the grants they once had.

Walmart to pay $50 million for its role in bolstering the opioid crisis

The Justice Department announced this week that Walmart must pay $50 million to resolve claims “that its pharmacies filled hundreds of thousands of suspicious prescriptions for opioids,” reports Ishani Desai for The New York Times. 

In 2020, government lawyers alleged that Walmart, the biggest retailer in the country and a mainstay in many rural communities, failed to detect and report ‘shady’ orders, thus fueling the opioid crisis — a crisis that disproportionately impacts rural communities. 

“Over an approximately four-year period, a time during which Walmart shipped an estimated 37.5 million controlled-substance orders to its pharmacies, it reported only 204 suspicious orders to D.E.A. — in other words, almost none,” Desai reports. 

The federal suit cited an instance in which an employee admitted to filling illegitimate and lethal doses of an opioid, and another in Florida of a doctor for whom Walmart filled over 3,500 controlled prescriptions. Workers who flagged such practices “were ignored in part to drive sales.” 

The settlement was announced as a government effort “to hold companies accountable for what it says were their roles in the opioid epidemic.” A Walmart spokesperson said the company was pleased to resolve the case. 

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."

Opinion: Rural America needs Congress to require data center developers and the federal government to disclose plans

Nondisclosure agreements leave community members in the dark.
(Photo by Daniel Bernard, Unsplash)

When urban and suburban Americans don't want to live near an institution or business designed to address a larger societal problem, they send it to rural America. Prisons, power plants and landfills are a few examples, writes Rotimi Adeoye in his opinion for The New York Times. "These days, two more intrusions have been added to the list: immigrant detention centers and data centers. … Congress should address this problem."

While it may seem logical to assume the federal government would be required to share information with smaller townships before purchasing large buildings or tracts of land in town, that isn't the case.

In Tremont, Pa., a tiny town with roughly 300 people, the federal government purchased "a 1.3-million-square-foot warehouse that had been a Big Lots distribution center" to repurpose into an immigration center designed to hold 7,500 detainees, Adeoye writes. By the time the township's supervisor learned of the sale, the deed had already been signed.

In other instances, small-town residents learn that a hyperscale data center is being planned in their community only when rezoning paperwork is filed. Nondisclosure agreements between data center developers, landowners and town officials enable companies to keep area residents in the dark.

In both cases, transactions are "intended to be finished long before the people who would have to live with the consequences could ask questions about what was being planned," Adeyoe adds.

To help rural Americans know and have some agency in deciding what gets built in their communities, Adeyoe suggests that Congress "require companies planning large-scale facilities to publicly disclose who they are and what they intend to build before they seek to change how the land is used, and to notify local governments before acquiring property in their communities. … The same principle applies to federal agencies."

Requiring public disclosure does not mean that a detention or data center facility won't eventually be constructed in a rural community, but it "would stop it from being built in secret," Adeyoe adds. "Rural communities are often fighting both kinds of facilities simultaneously, often without knowing who they are fighting or why, because neither the federal government nor private developers are currently required to tell them anything before the decisions are made."

Trump administration announces sharp increase in biodiesel fuel requirements, giving corn and soybean farmers a lift

The Trump administration announced biodiesel quota increases last week, which will give a much-needed financial lift to some corn and soybean farmers. "The new rule increases biomass-based diesel — which is partly derived from soybeans — blending by more than 60%," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "It raises the biofuel requirement for all fuels by a lower percentage."

Federal biofuel requirements from 2025-2027. (Graph via Farm Progress)

The quota announcement, which tells refineries "how much biofuel made from crops must be blended into the gasoline and diesel supply" ... "is closely watched by corn and soybean farmers," Thomas explains. The percentage also impacts companies such as Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill, which "buy crops from farmers and process grains and oilseeds into fuel, food ingredients and other products."

Trump announced the quota requirements at a White House event "surrounded by farmers, ranchers and a gold-colored tractor," Thomas explains. Trump outlined how the increased renewable fuel requirements "would help bolster the U.S. fuel supply, while generating $10 billion for rural economies."

Trump also told the crowd that "he was seeking congressional action to allow gas containing 15% of ethanol year-round and new loan guarantees for farmers," Thomas reports. Farmers have been pushing for year-round sales of E-15 gasoline, commonly known as "Unleaded 88" for its higher octane rating. Ninety-seven percent of U.S. ethanol is made from corn, so continuous E-15 sales would primarily benefit American corn farmers.

The farmer loan guarantees Trump referenced are aimed at lowering grocery prices. Trump said the loans, which will flow through the Small Business Administration, will "open up 'massive new loan guarantees' for farmers and food producers," reports Joshua Baethge of Farm Progress. 

Pennsylvania's state farm bill could serve as a blueprint for other states

Streams flow through farmland on their way to the Susquehanna River, in Union County, Pennsylvania. 
(Photo by Will Parson, Chesapeake Bay Program)

Pennsylvania hasn't been waiting for Washington lawmakers to move the stalled federal farm bill forward. In 2019, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a state farm bill that "provides farm-to-school grants, business development for farms looking to produce higher-value products, and farm workforce development," reports Lisa Held of Civil Eats. "It has been continually funded with bipartisan support — and it could serve as a model for other states."

Instead of passing a new farm bill in 2023, U.S. lawmakers have only reached agreement on repeated extensions of the expired 2018 Farm Bill; then punting, delaying, or otherwise putting the more contentious parts of a new Farm Bill on hold.

Additionally, under the Trump administration, the Department of Agriculture "has also proven willing to cancel contracts with farmers enrolled in programs funded by the federal bill," Held explains. In some cases, farmers enrolled in USDA programs were left on the hook to pay for improvements or farming changes that the USDA committed to covering through grants.

Because of its independent farm bill, Pennsylvania "is building stronger agricultural economies and communities, the kind of work a federal farm bill was designed for," Held reports. "Several other states are considering similar packages or are investing in agriculture one small bill at a time."

Even when a new federal Farm Bill is passed, it may not be what many farmers need. Pennsylvania is a state with highly diversified crops that are often left out of the national farm bill. Pennsylvania's farm bill goes further to address the unique needs of its farming communities.

“Pennsylvania has been trying really hard to create policies that broaden the reach of ag policy and include producers that have traditionally been ignored or left out," Lindsey Shapiro, a vegetable farmer and federal policy organizer for a sustainable farming company, told Held.

Many Pennsylvanians "attribute a good portion of that focus to the state’s secretary of Agriculture, Russell Redding, who has had the job for 13 (non-contiguous) years under three different governors," Held reports. "In Redding’s mind, states should start to think about their own laws as the central tool for agricultural policies, with complementary federal laws— not the other way around." 

Quick hits: Defining rural; WD-40 secret society; electric vehicle stations keep growing; a mental health hotline for teens, staffed by teens

What is rural? A recently recorded webinar addresses that question and adds context. "In 2025, many agencies across the federal government released new data allowing users to understand how rural populations and areas are changing. This webinar will provide a brief history of rural population over time and review how the term 'rural' is defined," reports the Rural Health Information Hub. "Changes to rural areas, as identified by Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), with their most recent September 2025 data release, will be highlighted." Find session handouts here, and the audio version here. The recorded YouTube discussion is shared above. 

Carmel-by-the-Sea coastline (Wikipedia photo)

Whimsical or fantastic, home addresses in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, had a breezy flair, free of physical address numbers, but that's about to change. "For 109 years, residents have used directional descriptors. . . . such as Sea Castle, Nut House and A Turn of Fraise," reports Hailey Branson-Potts of the Los Angeles Times. "This spring, every government building, business and house in the town of 3,200 people will be assigned a number." Many residents have long resisted the move, but "complaints about missed packages and mail-order medications, as well as trouble setting up banking accounts and utilities, kept piling up."

WD-40 can remove chewing gum
from all kinds of surfaces.

Freemasons and the Knights Templar aren't the only ones with secret societies: WD-40, the world's most famous lubricant, has one, too. The company's current CEO, Steve Brass, was at the helm for nearly 30 years before he was allowed to join the ultra-secret club, which gave him access to the "undisclosed Bank of America location" where the WD-40's handwritten formula is kept, reports Jennifer Williams of The Wall Street Journal. The formula has "only left a bank vault three times in the past 30 years." WD-40 is 70 years old and has been used "for everything from loosening bolts to coaxing a boa constrictor out of a car engine compartment and removing gum from turtle shells."

Zoom. Zoom. Zoom. It could be the sound of a Mazda, or the sound of EV charging stations popping up across the U.S., despite recent efforts to depress EV sales. "The U.S. added a record number of public electric-vehicle fast chargers last year, keeping up with demand from growing number of EV owners," reports Jeff St. John of Canary Media. "The Trump administration pushed Republicans in Congress to cancel Biden-era EV tax credits and revoke states’ rights to set clean-car mandates" but that hasn't put the brakes on charging station builds and consumer use. Data analytics firm Paren found that "new chargers are working more reliably and being used more heavily than ever — a sign the country is matching charging supply to demand." 

Approximately 100 teen volunteers log more than 10,000 contacts a year from youth around the world. (Teen Line photo via Reasons to be Cheerful)

When teens need someone to talk to about life problems, sometimes the best listener is another teen. Since 1980, the Center for the Study of Young People in Groups in California has supported a free teen hotline that connects trained teens with peers for nonjudgmental listening. Michaela Haas for Reasons to be Cheerful reports, "Approximately 40% of U.S. high-school students report persistent sadness or hopelessness, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24. . . .For the teens who undergo rigorous training to become hotline volunteers, the experience can be "transformative." Read about the full project and its impact here. 

Pew Research graph, from survey of U.S. adults 
conducted Nov. 17-30, 202

The good, the bad and the ugly: That's what the majority of Americans say we need to be sharing about U.S. history, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. Andy Cerda of the Pew Research Center reports, "Majorities in both parties say it’s important to talk about both America’s successes and its failures. . . .66% of U.S. adults say it is extremely or very important to publicly discuss the country’s historical successes and strengths and 66% say the same about discussing the country’s historical failures and flaws."

Partial SNAP benefits will be paid to participants in November, but their delivery could be significantly delayed

USDA officials claim other funds cannot be used to pay November 
SNAP benefits in full. (USDA photo)

As the federal government shutdown drags into its sixth week, the Trump administration announced it would make partial payments this month to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants; however, it wouldn't predict when the reduced benefits would reach U.S. households, reports Zach Schonfeld of The Hill. 

On Friday, two federal judges "ruled the Trump administration must empty a multi-billion dollar emergency fund before cutting off SNAP," Schonfeld reports. "The judges indicated the USDA could use dollars from another funding source to fill the remaining gap for November."

The administration indicated it will not access other Department of Agriculture funds beyond the USDA's contingency fund, meaning that the November SNAP benefit will be reduced. "The administration says the fund has $4.65 billion available for households," Schonfeld explains. "It is not enough to cover the full November benefits, which are expected to cost upwards of $9 billion."

The Trump administration flatly rejected the judges' suggestion to redirect USDA money to fully fund November SNAP payments. Patrick Penn, who oversees the SNAP program at the USDA, wrote in a sworn declaration, "Section 32 Child Nutrition Program funds are not a contingency fund for SNAP. Using billions of dollars from Child Nutrition for SNAP would leave an unprecedented gap in Child Nutrition funding." 

Although Penn said the USDA will begin providing states with details, he warned November payments could take "weeks or months" to reach beneficiaries.

The USDA 'lapse in funding' plan for SNAP is no longer on its website. Agency claims funds can't be used for SNAP.

Rural communities are often more dependent on SNAP to meet basic food needs.
(The Daily Yonder graph, from 2015 U.S. census data)

The Department of Agriculture had a contingency plan to continue Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the federal shutdown, but the 55-page 'lapse in funding' document recently disappeared from the USDA's website, reports Raymond Fernández of NOTUS. Rural counties are particularly vulnerable for any SNAP pause because their populations are more dependent on the program.

Despite the 'lapse in funding' plan, the USDA now claims its emergency fund can't be legally used to pay for SNAP during the shutdown. States working to cover a federal SNAP benefits pause with their own funds were warned by the USDA that the federal government will not reimburse them for any SNAP-pause spending.

In response to the USDA's refusal to access the contingency funds, a bipartisan group of two dozen states filed a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts, hoping the judge will compel the USDA to use the contingency funds to provide November SNAP benefits, report Tony Romm and Maya Shwayder of The New York Times. 

Proceedings in the states' lawsuit began Thursday, with the Trump administration "staunchly defending its decision to stop paying food stamps during the government shutdown, telling a federal court that it could not tap a tranche of available funds to provide aid to millions of poor Americans in November," Romm and Shwayder explain. "The arguments at times appeared to frustrate and confound a federal judge, who promised to rule soon."

USDA will release $3 billion and reopen Farm Service Agency core services

Despite some bumper crops, American farmers have
had a tumultuous season. (Photo by Jed Owen, Unspash)

U.S. farmers are harvesting big crops, but many are reaping little or no profit. To address some of their economic strife, the Department of Agriculture is "planning to release more than $3 billion in aid to U.S. farmers that had been frozen as a result of the government shutdown," report Natalie Andrews and Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal.

Bumper crops should be a boon for American farmers, but instead they are "fueling a glut that is driving down prices. Rising costs for fertilizer and farm equipment are also squeezing their balance sheets," Andrews and Thomas explain.

In addition to cash assistance, the USDA will "resume Farm Service Agency core operations, which have been closed for three weeks during the government shutdown," Andrews and Thomas write. "This will allow farmers to access aid, including some safety-net programs." 

President Donald Trump considered using tariff revenue to fund a bailout package for farmers earlier this year; however, the $3 billion comes from the Commodity Credit Corp., the same fund Trump tapped to help farmers weather his first-term tariffs. 

Before the government closed, the Trump administration was considering another $10 billion for farmers "struggling because of Trump’s trade war, but that new relief is on hold while the government is shut down," the Journal reports.

President Trump will be in Asia next week, where he "plans to push Chinese leader Xi Jinping to buy U.S. soybeans to help struggling American farmers," Andrews adds. "The two leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of a summit in South Korea."

Government shutdown causes ‘financial heartburn’ for farmers

The government shutdown has left some farmers in a 
lurch. (Photo by Gozha Net, Unsplash)

Farmers are experiencing “financial heartburn” due to a combination of tariffs, high input costs, absence of financial assistance and the lack of agricultural data and other resources due to the government shutdown, Rachel Shin reported for Politico.

“Every day that the government isn’t open, there’s slightly more anxiety in farm country, especially as growers are harvesting and having to pay bills and having to pay off their bank,” Texas farmer Russell Williams told Shin. “There’s serious risks of farm bankruptcies this year.”

Farmers like Andy Jobman are unable to access USDA agricultural data that allows him to run his business or track market changes. Meanwhile, other farmers are unable to access USDA payments for land and farm loans, according to Iowa Corn Growers Association Chair Stu Swanson.

Though the Trump administration has considered rolling out aid to farmers, no action has been taken due to the government shutdown.

Some Republican lawmakers are worried about the situation and are trying to push for aid to farmers.

Tired of waiting for the Trump administration to enforce silica limits, coal miners protest

Silica dust in coal mines causes black lung disease.
(Adobe Stock photo)

In response to the Trump administration's refusal to enforce federal limits on silica dust, dozens of miners and their families will protest today "arguing the Trump administration has failed to protect them from black lung disease, an incurable illness caused by inhaling coal and silica dust," reports Lisa Friedman of The New York Times.

"Labor unions, Democrats and a growing number of miners accuse the Trump administration of ignoring workers while using hundreds of millions of dollars in federal subsidies to bolster the companies that operate coal plants and mining operations," Friedman writes.

The ceiling on silica exposure was "supposed to take effect in April. But the National Sand Stone and Gravel Association, the National Mining Association and other industry groups asked a federal appeals court to block the rule, citing the cost to mine operators," Friedman reports.

The Trump administration could have moved forward with applying the silica rule, but instead opted to "pause" enforcement while the court case plays out.

Gary Hairston, a retired West Virginia coal miner, who is the president of the National Black Lung Association, told Friedman, "The companies might be getting a handout, but the miners ain’t getting none."

While miners wait, the black lung disease continues to spike, with doctors diagnosing the disease in younger coal workers. Friedman writes, "Once considered a disease of older miners, black lung is now being diagnosed in workers in their 30s and 40s."

Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement that "President Trump cares deeply about unleashing America’s energy potential, as well as standing up for those who fuel our country' like coal miners," Friedman reports.

More recently, the Trump administration "petitioned the court to prevent labor unions and a lung health association from intervening in the case," Friedman writes. "This month it asked for another court delay, citing the government shutdown."

Rural hospitals in Arkansas find different ways to stay open and still serve their communities

Rural hospitals, represented by green dots, stretch across mid- to southern Arkansas counties. 

Rural hospitals in Arkansas continue to explore the best ways to serve their communities despite severe financial struggles. Some medical centers have found success by ending inpatient care in exchange for more Medicare dollars, while others keep their doors open by opting for other designations to continue providing vital care, such as inpatient stays, reports Tess Vrbin of The Arkansas Advocate. According to a 2023 University of Arkansas review, roughly 41% of Arkansas residents live in rural areas.

Two years ago, DeWitt Hospital and Nursing Home was in financial straits and CEO Brian Miller chose to convert it into a "rural emergency hospital, which draws more federal funds to rural hospitals if they reduce or eliminate inpatient services and focus on emergency and outpatient treatment," Vrbin writes.

Beyond higher Medicare payments, the switch helped DeWitt lower costs while adding income from outpatient services, such as cardiology and wound care. The hospital is one of five Arkansas hospitals to sign up for the emergency rural designation.

But converting to an emergency triage-type care model doesn't work for every rural community. The Southwest Arkansas Regional Medical Center in Hope will not apply for rural emergency status because inpatient stays are needed for residents in surrounding counties. Its chief administrative officer, Shelby Brown, told Vrbin, "We want to be able to, if we need to admit someone, to put them in our hospital so they can stay home locally."

Instead of opting to convert to a rural emergency hospital, Southwest Arkansas Regional applied for and received approval to become "a critical access hospital, a federal designation for facilities located no fewer than 35 miles from other hospitals and maintaining no more than 25 beds," Vrbin explains. "Medicare subsidizes critical access hospitals for inpatient treatment of Medicare recipients."

For many rural hospitals in Arkansas, the choice between ending certain types of patient care or possible closure is difficult. Brown told the Advocate, "The big scheme of rural health in the state of Arkansas is in a crisis mode. . . . I would always think it’s better to have a rural emergency hospital versus no hospital.”

Trump administration cancels household food security report

Photo by Austin Kehmeier, Unsplash

The annual report on household food security produced by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be discontinued, Dan Frosch, Patrick Thomas and Andrea Petersen of The Wall Street Journal reported.

The 2024 report is set to be released on Oct. 22 and will be the last of a series of reports that started in 1990 as a result of a 10-year comprehensive plan that was developed in accordance with the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act (NNMRR).

A press release from the USDA stated that the reports were “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous,” and “subjective, liberal fodder.”

Despite concerns from researchers, policy analysts, academics and others across the nation, the USDA states that it has other “timely and accurate data sets available.”

You can read more about how the USDA defines food insecurity and the survey questions they use here.

Fund with $50 billion for rural hospitals got off to a rough start; experts predict the money won't be enough

Delays, last-minute changes and a poor rollout have already plagued the newly created $50 billion rural hospital fund GOP lawmakers put together to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But analysts predict the "money to be spent over five years is less than the estimated $137 billion in cuts to rural health systems over 10 years," reports Aneeta Mathur-Ashton of U.S. News & World Report.

The Rural Health Transformation Program was designed to help rural hospitals weather Medicaid cuts included in the GOP's package and support longer-term cybersecurity and infrastructure improvements hospitals need to stay afloat; however, fund critics say the program is a short-term solution for a long-term problem.

States that receive RHTP grants must use the funds for at least three purposes outlined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), including "promoting care interventions, paying for health care services and expanding the workforce," Mathur-Ashton explains.

As rural hospitals receive funds, they will need to apply them carefully. Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the National Rural Health Association, "praised the fund as a 'fabulous program that hopefully, if done correctly, can transform rural health going ahead, to a sustainable model,'" Mathur-Ashton writes.

Some Democrats consider the $50 billion to be a slush fund with unclear guidelines that can't undo the harm planned cuts will cause. "The bill gives [CMS] the authority to determine which applications to approve and deny, but does not spell out the criteria it should be using to do so," Mathur-Ashton reports. 

Rural health advocates say they want states to apply for RHTP, but many are pushing to have the $150 billion in Medicaid cuts rescinded. Morgan told U.S. News, "Congress either later this year or next year, is going to have to repeal those cuts for rural hospitals, or you're just going to see hundreds of rural hospitals close. It's non-workable.”

IRS union objects to closing in-person taxpayer assistance offices in six states

Closed TAC offices could create filing obstacles for
some taxpayers. (Adobe Stock photo)

As the IRS moves to close nine taxpayer assistance center (TAC) offices in six states, rural and underserved areas may find it harder to file and pay their taxes. The National Treasury Employees Union asked the IRS to reconsider the closures, reports Sean Michael Newhouse of Government Executive. The IRS planned the closures to cut overhead costs.

While the agency promised its closures won't result in job losses, closing in-person tax offices will make it harder for some U.S. residents to handle their taxes. Doreen Greenwald, NTEU's president, issued a statement saying, "These communities will have to drive longer distances, possibly 100 miles or more to meet with the IRS and get their questions answered.”

TAC offices slated for closure on Nov. 30 are: Altoona and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Elmira and West Nyack, New York; Owensboro and Paducah, Kentucky; Walnut Creek, California; and Wheeling, West Virginia.

The IRS also promised TAC closures won't reduce taxpayer services, which Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents West Nyack, N.Y., questioned in a letter to Scott Bessent, the acting IRS commissioner: "Closing this office without providing a suitable replacement will impose an undue burden on my constituents. . . .Forcing them to travel farther distances — often without reliable access to transportation — adds unnecessary barriers to fulfilling their obligations as taxpayers.”

The planned closures are a reversal of IRS outreach efforts. Newhouse writes, "The IRS had used funding from President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to open or reopen 54 centers, bringing the total number to more than 360."

Particularly for rural populations, which often have few tax service options nearby or can lack reliable broadband for online communication, TAC offices serve as a way for rural folks to file correctly and on time. Greenwald said, “Reducing the number of customer service centers reverses the progress that the IRS has made when it comes to being accessible and helpful to the American people."