A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky.
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Georgetown University graph, from 2022-2023 American Community Survey data
President Donald Trump has a big agenda that needs big funding. To pay for Trump's plan, GOP members are considering axing chunks of federal Medicaid spending, which could "put the residents of small towns and rural communities and their health care systems at serious risk," report Georgetown University researchers.
Rural Americans who are non-elderly adults and children "are more likely to rely on Medicaid/CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) for their health insurance," researchers explain. Medicaid reductions could be especially harmful for:
Children in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, California, Minnesota, Georgia, South Dakota and Alaska.
Adults in Arizona, New York, Washington, Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, Louisiana, Oregon, South Carolina and Montana.
Medicaid reductions would be particularly harmful for rural children in 10 states. (Georgetown University graph, from 2022-2023 American Community Survey data)
Part of the reason many rural residents rely on Medicaid is because their incomes tend to be lower and they lack "access to employer-sponsored health insurance, meaning that public coverage such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program fill an even more critical role in these areas than in other areas of the country," according to the Georgetown University report. "While uninsured rates have come down significantly since passage of the Affordable Care Act, they remain higher in small towns and rural areas."
Siphoning millions in Medicaid funding to pay for other priorities "poses a very severe threat to rural communities," researchers add. "Hospitals and other providers in rural communities are already operating on tighter margins and disproportionately rely on Medicaid for their patient revenues. . . . Large cuts will have dire consequences for communities that are already struggling."
Developing an effective and repeatable treatment for addiction sufferers has proven elusive -- until now. A rural jail in Maine has a solution that could save thousands of lives.
Addiction medicine specialist Alane O’Connor is leading a pilot program that "offers a monthly injection of the drug Sublocade to addicted inmates," reports Kristina Samulewski of The New York Times. The drug works through a time-release mechanism that curbs opioid cravings for a month. O'Connor presents her case for jails as drug recovery centers on the Times' podcast, "The Opinions." An edited synopsis of her discussion is shared below.
The state of Maine is overwhelmingly rural. It also has "one of the highest rates of opioid use disorder in the nation. And people who are incarcerated have an even higher rate, because often times the two go in tandem," O'Connor explains. "Jails are an incredible opportunity to help people enter recovery. It’s a time where motivation is often very high, but I think we don’t do a very good job, really, across the country in giving people access to the treatment that they need."
In response to the opioid epidemic's extreme reach in Maine, O'Connor suggested that Somerset County Jail try a different approach for treating inmates with opioid addictions. "I proposed an alternative medication, which I had been using in my community practice since 2017," O'Connor adds. "It’s not a pill. It’s actually an injection into the abdomen, and it’s called Sublocade."
Sublocade is gradually and continuously released into a recovering addict's system. Other opioid drug treatments can include daily methadone and/or Suboxone pills, which people can opt not to take. Sublocade does not offer a choice.
"If I have a patient that I’m prescribing Suboxone to and they don’t have that medication tomorrow or the next day, they are going to get very sick," O'Connor explains. "Sublocade slowly dissolves out of the system, and so patients will start to feel some symptoms after five or six weeks. But there isn’t this cliff that ends where people get very, very sick."
O'Connor says, "I’ve never, ever met anyone who said, I want to grow up and be addicted to drugs and end up in jail. It’s just not a reasonable thing to even think. And yet, I think society believes that patients can just make the choice to stop using tomorrow. And if they don’t have the appropriate medical treatment, that’s just a totally unreasonable expectation."
When Somerset County Jail's Sublocade treatment results were compared with another rural Maine jail where inmates received a daily pill of Suboxone, the results were striking. O'Connor notes, "We found that people treated with Sublocade were almost three times as likely to continue treatment when they leave the jail, relative to folks who were treated with the daily medication. . . . The most important finding was that we had no deaths in the people that were treated in the Sublocade pilot . . . In the comparison jail, unfortunately, there were four deaths."
Researchers analyzed three myths that often put rural education at a disadvantage. (Getty Images photo via The Conversation)
A lack of attention paired with stereotyped ideas about what rural communities are like can harm rural education systems. "Rural education often can seem like an afterthought to policymakers and scholars. . . even though 20% of the nation’s students are educated in rural schools," write Sheneka Williams, Darren Dubose and Kimberly Clarida for The Conversation. "As scholarswho studyrural education, we compiled a list of three facts about rural education accompanied by the myths that would help policymakers better design programs to support rural students. "
The second myth centers on the idea that rural communities "lack the knowledge or resources to educate their youth," they write. "Policymakers often fail to include rural communities’ cultural capital when they develop textbooks, teacher training plans and education policies. By cultural capital, we mean the knowledge, skills, education and advantages that people inherit and use to achieve success in society."
When rural cultural capital is ignored, smaller schools can suffer. In fact, the current system often penalizes rural schools for being smaller.
The third myth: The majority of rural students are underachievers. They write, "Students in rural areas meet the same measures of success as in urban ones – especially in the early years. . . . Graduation rates among rural students are higher than those of non-rural students. . . . Their academic success is too often overlooked by researchers and educators. . . . Policymakers fail these students, who have college-going rates that are lower than in urban areas."
Rural schools and communities need to be recognized for their advantages and rich resources. They add, "We believe debunking myths and recognizing the diverse strengths of rural communities would help ensure that all students across the nation, including those in rural areas, can attain long-term educational and economic success."
This little monkey let herself out the door and headed to the highway. (Jefferson County Sheriff Office photo via AP)
Every job has its challenges, but most employees aren't tasked with apprehending a tutu-clad spider monkey. "The spider monkey was spotted at the intersection of two highways near the small town of Otto, Missouri," reports Heather Hollingsworth of The Associated Press. "The monkey had been staying at a nearby home when it managed to open a door and get outside. . . . The local sheriff's office said the capture was ‘bananas.'"
U.S. health professionals often experience on-the-job mental stress, which can cause high rates of depression, anxiety, stress, suicidal ideation and burnout. In response, some employers hired furry "stress-reliever" employees to buoy their staff and cheer their patients, reports John Daley of Colorado Public Radio. "A pair of dogs, tails wagging, had come by a nearby nursing station, causing about a dozen medical professionals to melt into a collective puddle of affection. A yellow Lab named Peppi showered nuzzles and kisses."
Some horse lovers spend years hoping to one day own their very own horse. The federal government has a plan to help make their dreams come true. "Adopting a wild horse or burro can be intimidating — how do you tame them? But a new $25 million BLM grant aims to help with gentling and finding long-term homes," reports Lena Beck of Ambrook Research. "The goal of this funding is to help whittle away at the bottleneck of horses and burros that live at BLM holding facilities — over 60,000 animals — stuck in limbo. . . .The BLM estimates this award can help place an additional 11,000 horses and burros."
A Monstera plant basks in the limelight. (Lancaster Farming photo)
The Monstera plant has always been an overachiever, and this year its
self-promotion has paid off. "Each year, the National Garden Bureau
selects a 'Year of the Plant' in each of six categories — annuals,
edibles, perennials, bulbs, shrubs, and houseplants," reports
Susan Marquesen for Lancaster Farming. "For houseplants, the bureau
deemed 2025 the 'Year of the Monstera. . . . Monstera is commonly known
as split-leaf philodendron, cut-leaf philodendron, and Swiss cheese
plant, due to the structure of its leaves."
When it comes to extreme pepper experts, there's really only one place to go -- New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute. "It's the only research institution in the world solely dedicated to chiles," reports Anne Ewbank for Atlas Obscura. "The center’s roots go back to the school’s first horticulturist, Fabian Garcia, whose influence on spicy, pepper-bearing foods and products was seminal." Garcia created the New Mexican chile pepper." Caliente! She's so cute! One of us at The Rural Blog can't stop watching her video. Meet Poppy the pygmy hippo. Poppy was "named by 116,000 fans worldwide. . . . a tribute to her mom, Iris," reports CNN. Iris and Poppy live at the Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia where they spend their days exploring, swimming and entertaining their doting fans. Poppy was born on Dec. 9 to parents Iris and Corwin.
Sarah Campbell Kier, from Valdosta, Ga., relies on home delivery. (Photo by Nada
Hassanein, Stateline)
Independent pharmacies have long served as a vital resource for rural and underserved communities. Despite their contribution to regional health, many are facing financial stress or have closed.
Barnes Drug Store, an independent pharmacy in Valdosta, Georgia, is an example. Barnes has "been serving the community for a century," reports Nada Hassanein of Stateline. "The family-run business used to have six pharmacies. It now has just one. . . . Independent drugstores are closing at an alarming rate — about one a day in 2023 — squeezed by the huge companies that reimburse pharmacies for costly medications."
A 2023 National Institutes of Health study "found that the estimated 15.1 million Americans who rely on independently owned pharmacies are more likely to have lower incomes, live in rural areas, and to be at least 65 years old," Hassanein explains. "Their health is more complicated, and they’re more likely to need one-on-one counseling to juggle multiple medications."
When a small-town pharmacy closes, residents lose "more than another place where they can buy medicine," Hassanein explains. "Experts say independent drugstores are more likely to know their patrons, offer health and medication counseling, and, crucially, serve communities in need."
Rural pharmacies often lose money because of poor drug reimbursement rates. Hassanein adds, "At Springfield Pharmacy in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, owner Chichi Ilonzo Momah estimates that up to 30% of medications she fills are reimbursed for less than what they cost." Larger drugstore chains such as CVS and Walgreens generally receive higher reimbursements.
Some independent pharmacies lobbied for equal reimbursements, but even with bipartisan support, many efforts failed. "Last year, Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed a bill that would have required the state’s health insurance program for teachers and state workers to reimburse independent pharmacies at the same rate as chain pharmacies," Hassanein reports. "The bill had received bipartisan, almost unanimous support in the General Assembly."
Planting and harvesting are times when farmers need repairs made quickly. (Adobe Stock photo)
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed suit recently against farm equipment maker Deere & Co. "alleging it illegally drives up repair costs by forcing farmers to rely on its authorized dealer network," report Leah Douglas and Jonathan Stempel of Reuters. "The lawsuit argues Deere has unlawfully boosted profits by requiring farmers to use its network of authorized dealers for repairs, making it difficult for farmers to use independent mechanics or do repairs themselves."
Over the past two decades, American farmers have invested in advanced-technology farm machinery that has increased their "reliance on high-tech machinery such as GPS-guided combines and tractors," reports P.J. Huffstutter of Reuters.
The suit is part of the outgoing Biden administration's efforts to address "anti-competitive practices in agriculture, ranging from improving the treatment of chicken farmers . . . to increasing competition in the seed sector," Douglas and Stempel explain. "It has also targeted the right-to-repair issue, which cuts across various industries, including smartphones and computers."
Particularly when farmers are planting or harvesting in seasonal windows, waiting for a Deere technician to repair equipment can result in steep financial losses. Reuters reports, "FTC Chair Lina Khan said, 'Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income.'"
"Currently, Deere farm equipment software is solely owned by the company and repairs can only be made through its dealer network," Douglas and Stempel add. The FTC said in a statement, that Deere's repair process has ensured the company "has maintained a 100% market share, allowing it to hike prices."
Given the complaint, it appears last year's signed memorandum of understanding between the American Farm Bureau Federation and Deere & Co. did not live up to its expectations. Reuters reports, "The company said it was expanding self-repair options for farmers in a pilot program."
Trump has made continuous threats against U.S. media leaving reporters apprehensive about his upcoming term. (Adobe Stock Images)
News organizations and journalists are experiencing unease as President Donald Trump reenters the White House, and what that means for them.
During a speech after being named TIME magazine's Person of the Year, Trump referenced the media and "threatened to use the power of his incoming administration to stifle free speech... [and] has made it clear that he will use the apparatus of government to go after his critics," wrote Rob Tornoe for E&P Magazine.
“The media is tamed down a little bit. They like us much better now, I think… If they don’t, then we’ll just have to take them on again, and we don’t want to do that,” said Trump at the New York Stock Exchange.
Writers are aware that their words carry weight, but now there is increasing concern that strong opinions will drive away readers or lead to backlash. Tornoe wrote, “The impact has been felt especially hard by the nation’s editorial cartoonists, who continue to dwindle,” including Mike Luckovich, who has drawn political cartoons for three decades and is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist.
Besides Trump's threats, the news industry is also struggling with decreasing digital advertising rates, notable algorithm changes at Google, increasing impacts from artificial intelligence (AI) on journalism, and a lack of trust in institutions like news organizations, according to Tornoe.
E&P wrote that in an interview, Luckovich said that while visiting the Pentagon over 20 years ago multiple generals told him that besides whether or not they liked his cartoons they would defend his right to make his point. Luckovich told Tornoe, “To me, that is what America was all about — and I hope it still is.”
Federal funding aims to accelerate bird flu vaccine development. (A.S)
Despite the limited threat bird flu poses to humans, American pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant Modena received a $590 million federal package to continue its development of a bird influenza vaccine, reports Sabela Ojea of The Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department funding aims to accelerate the company's vaccine research as worries increase about a human bird flu pandemic.
Modena began a "study to generate safety and immunogenicity data of the bird influenza shot in healthy adults ages 18 and older" in 2023, Ojea writes. "The trial included vaccine candidates against two avian influenza viruses, H5 and H7."
Avian bird flu, also known as H5N1, has decimated some global wild bird populations and killed at least 20 million egg-laying chickens in the U.S. during the last quarter of 2024, reports Alexander Tin of CBS News. In March 2024, bird flu infections were detected in U.S. dairy cattle. Since that time, there have been 66 confirmed human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S., including one death from the infection.
Carter was raised on his family's farm in Plains, Ga. (Adobe Stock photo)
Given all the memorial writings about Jimmy Carter, it seems his life as a farmer has faded into the background. But as a president and humanitarian, Carter never forgot his country upbringing, writes Charles Hayslettin his opinion for The Daily Yonder. "Carter’s rural roots ran deep. Born and raised in Plains, Georgia, he understood the challenges facing America’s heartland on a very personal level. This background informed his approach to governance."
As governor of Georgia, Carter "recognized early on that economic growth and environmental protection could coexist when grounded in faithful stewardship of the land," Hayslettin writes. "Upon reaching the White House, Carter elevated rural issues to national prominence. In 1979, he unveiled a comprehensive Small Community and Rural Development Policy, a first of its kind."
As president, Carter worked to address rural health care disparities by supporting the Rural Health Clinic Services Act of 1977. Hayslettin explains, "This landmark legislation increased Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates for rural health centers and allowed payment for nurse practitioners and physician assistants in these facilities."
Carter used his uniquely personal understanding of rural life to extend his rural advocacy beyond health care. Hayslettin writes, "He established the Department of Energy and championed renewable energy and conservation as moral imperatives – a focus that had particular relevance for rural energy consumption."
Carter’s rural legacy is marked by an ironic political change that began during his term. Hayslettin adds, "The 1980 presidential election, which Carter lost to Ronald Reagan, marked the beginning of a tidal wave shift in rural voters away from the Democratic Party and toward the Republicans."
Carter was defeated by Reagan in "one of the worst defeats ever inflicted on an incumbent president," Hayslettin writes. "He later described his own presidency as 'mediocre.' But time and history have a way of correcting and perfecting records, as they have done for Carter’s international work and post-presidential work. The same should certainly be true for his efforts to improve the lives of rural Americans."
In one of his first acts as president, Donald Trump declared a national "energy emergency." But the order and its implementation is "a presidential first, and it's unclear what exactly it would entail," reports Camila Domonoske of NPR. Below is a brief synopsis of what Domonoske knows about the "unprecedented action."
A national emergency gives the president "additional powers," Domonoske explains. "A Trump administration official speaking on condition of anonymity said the 'national energy emergency will unlock a variety of different authorities that will enable our nation to quickly build again, to produce coal and natural resources, to create jobs, to create prosperity, and to strengthen our nation's national security.'"
According to the Brennan Center, "which has researched emergency powers, statutes grant the president the authority to suspend some environmental regulations or impose restrictions on crude oil exports," Domonoske writes. "No president has ever declared a national energy emergency.'"
The U.S. has plenty of fossil fuels available and a glut of global supply could depress energy prices. Domonoske reports, "The U.S. is a net exporter of fossil fuels, producing more oil and gas than any other country in the world. . . . Many analysts currently project that the world as a whole is facing a near-term oversupply of oil and natural gas."
However, the pressure on the U.S. electrical grid is a worry. "Trump dd not specifically focus on this concern in his speech, but he could use emergency authorities to try to keep open power plants that are slated to close for economic or environmental reasons," Domonoske adds. "He has historically expressed support for coal plants in particular."
During his inaugural speech, Trump said, "'We will bring prices down," Domonoske reports. "On the campaign trail he repeatedly promised to lower energy prices by 50%. . . . That's an improbable target, analysts say. . . . Policy changes can influence prices at the pump and electricity prices, and a smaller decrease in costs is certainly in the realm of possibility. But it's not simple."
Grocery prices have increased 23% since 2019. (Unsplash photo)
Two hundred dollars on groceries used to mean you could eat very well. Now, going to the grocery store seems to come with a punch to your bank account at the checkout counter.
Over the past six years, NPR’s Alina Selyukh has been tracking Walmart’s prices to analyze just how much the cost os groceries has increased.
“Compared to 2019, prices on my list, on average, rose 25%... And that's not far from federal inflation data: Cumulatively, U.S. prices are up 23% since 2019,” according to Selyukh, who attributed the majority of price increases to issues related to COVID. “The pandemic shifts were seismic.”
While a Walmart representative wrote in a statement to NPR that the company is “committed to providing an Every Day Low Price experience both in stores and online," it has had to keep up with increases in shipping and manufacturing costs leading to a higher total at the checkout counter, wrote Selyukh and NPR's Juweek Adolphe.
Shipping cost increases led to more expensive fertilizer and paper for packaging, for example. Also, “U.S. companies are paying higher import fees — and passing some of that cost on to shoppers,” Selyukh and Apolphe wrote.
Not only are the items in the shopping cart growing more expensive, but Selyukh and Apolphe have noticed reductions in the quantity of some items. “Tide liquid laundry detergent now comes in a smaller container — 84 ounces instead of 100 ounces — but costs $1 more,” they wrote.
Wetlands and cow stomachs have similar environments. (Adobe Stock photo)
In 2020, Earth's methane levels started to climb the charts at an inexplicable rate, putting the planet on a crash course with greenhouse gases that could eventually heat oceans and land to life-threatening temperatures, reports Shannon Osaka of The Washington Post. Researchers have been baffled by the cause -- until now. Scientists say a study released last month reveals why methane levels are spiking.
"The culprits, scientists believe, are microbes — the tiny organisms that live in cows’ stomachs, agricultural fields and wetlands," Osaka writes. "That could mean a dangerous feedback loop — in which these emissions cause warming that releases even more greenhouse gases — is already underway."
Sylvia Michel, lead author of the paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, told Osaka, "The changes that we saw in the last couple of years — and even since 2007 — are microbial." Oska adds. "The new paper points to microbes as the biggest source of the methane spike."
In clarifying the source of rising methane levels, the study ruled out fossil fuels and geological causes. Stanford University professor Rob Jackson, who is part of the Global Methane Budget, explained how cow stomachs and swampy places are alike. He told Osaka, "Methane forms biologically in warm, wet, low-oxygen environments. The wetlands of a rice paddy and the gut of the cow are all similar.”
Microbe methane output may be a chemical reaction to a warming planet. Osaka reports, "Michel says it’s too early to say whether this is the beginning of a vicious cycle. 'Are these coming from human-caused changes in freshwater systems, or are they a kind of scary climate feedback?' she said. 'I want to be careful about what we can and cannot say with this data.'"
The 'nutritional info box' would focus on saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
Warning labels for grocery items with salt, added sugar or saturated fat may become the federal government's newest tool aimed at educating U.S. consumers about their grocery choices. "Under a new rule proposed by the Food and Drug Administration, food manufacturers would be required to put new labels on the front of packages flagging key nutrition information," reports Jesse Newman of The Wall Street Journal. The current administration believes bold labeling could help Americans make healthier food choices.
Most packaged foods sold in the U.S. already have nutritional information on the back or side of the box. "The new labels, dubbed a 'nutrition info box,' would go on the front of packages," Newman explains. The box would flag foods as "high, medium or low in salt, added sugar and saturated fat, which the FDA has warned can lead to chronic diseases when consumed in excess."
Most food companies oppose labeling foods with warnings, "The Consumer Brands Association, which represents big food manufacturers, said the rule doesn’t reflect the latest research," Newman reports. "The group said studies show the most effective labels include calories and nutrients to encourage, along with nutrients to limit."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the incoming Trump administration's prospective next head of U.S. health policy, "has been outspoken about his view that U.S. food companies are partly to blame for sickening Americans," Newman writes. "Consumer advocacy groups and public health organizations cheered the rule." Some groups hope the Trump administration will support more specific labeling, which is used in Chile and Mexico.
The FDA is accepting public comments on its proposal until May 16. Newman adds, "If the rule is finalized after that, food manufacturers would be required to add the new labels to most packaged food products three to four years after it takes effect."
Food industry groups warned they could sue to overturn labeling mandates. Newman adds, "Such labels, they said, could threaten First Amendment rights — because companies could consider them a form of forced speech — and only Congress has the authority to require them."
Wildland firefighters often deal with tremendous heat, extremeweather and treacherous terrain. (Adobe Stock photo)
Federal firefighters work in heat, wind, fire, smoke and unpredictable weather. Despite their dedication to public safety, most wildland firefighters face deep pay cuts unless Congress intervenes, writes Robin Verble for The Conversation. "Continued uncertainty regarding federal pay and benefits, coupled with mental health risks and seasonal financial strain, make this a precarious time for wildland firefighters."
Roughly four years ago, Congress approved a "temporary retention bonus of $20,000 a year or 50% of the firefighter’s base pay, whichever amount was smaller," Verble explains. "However, wildland firefighters are still waiting for that raise to be codified." If Congress allows the pay raise to expire, "many firefighters will lose large percentages of their income. . . .These aren’t high-paying jobs. The starting pay is as low as $15 per hour."
The pay policies embedded in the "federal wildland fire system also incentivize overworking," Verble writes. "With starting pay so low, many wildland firefighters end up working an average of over 600 hours of overtime annually to pay their bills. . . . Many federal firefighters are temporary seasonal employees, so they need to reapply for positions every year."
When asked about federal firefighters' low pay, Tania Daffron, assistant fire chief for Bloomington, Ind., told The Rural Blog, "Fighting for decent wages is ridiculous, regardless of jurisdiction. Federal departments should be leading the way. No wonder personnel transfer or leave this 'ultra-hazardous' profession."
The U.S. Forest Service isgrappling with constant employee turnover. "Over the past three years, 45% of the USFS wildland firefighting workforce has quit," Verble adds. "Retaining experienced firefighters amid longer and worsening fire seasons will require policymakers to improve health care, pay and the organizational structure itself, including how firefighters are hired and retained. Yet, the federal government continues to delay taking action."
Once upon a time, fast food burgers were budget- friendly. (Adobe Stock photo)
Fast food: reliable, tasty, cheap and right around the corner... or so you thought. While fast food is readily available, your bank account might not be prepared for the ever-increasing prices for the simplest of meals. "Late last year, customers labeled several popular restaurants as "overpriced," "expensive," and a "rip-off" in a national survey," said Megan Schaltegger for Delish. With the most expensive fast food basic burger ringing in at $12.89, the idea of cheap may have gone out the drive-through window.
U.S. farmers have the stinky and expensive job of managing "the hundreds of billions of pounds of waste produced by America’s dairy cows," reports Kenny Torrella of Vox. "Biodigesters," also known as "biogas," are the so-called panacea some farmers are using to turn cow poop into energy profits. However, "biodigester critics say that, at best, the process is a costly and inefficient use of America’s precious climate funding."
E-BRIDGE will help last- mile projects. (A.S. photo)
Attract new business, support what already exists, and broaden the economic scope for communities. These are what are to come with increased broadband access in rural areas that was recently signed into law. “The E-BRIDGE Act removes hurdles for broadband projects under Economic Development Administration grants, including difficult last-mile efforts that often delay rural broadband deployment,” wrote Justin Harclerode in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s press release. Luckily the Act has been gaining support since its introduction on March 23, 2023. “In some cases, just completing that ‘last mile’ is what stands in the way of connecting people to a job they need. The E-BRIDGE Act will help spur projects that attract jobs and businesses to expand economic development and opportunity in rural and poor communities,” said Chairman Sam Graves.
Siberia is vast and frigid. (Wikipedia photo)
A blast from "the coldest place on earth is set to blanket much of the U.S. . . temperatures could fall even lower than the previous round of cold," reports Tyne Morgan of Farm Journal. "We’re bracing for what’s called the 'Siberian Express.' What exactly is the Siberian Express? It’s when arctic air spills into the U.S., and it can have multiple sources, including Arctic Canada, Alaska, and in this case, Russia’s Siberia region, which is home to the coldest place on earth.
During his presidential term, Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House roof. He wanted the country to embrace a national energy plan based on conservation. While his vision did not come to pass -- Ronald Reagan had the panels removed in 1986 -- the life of the solar panels continued, reports Austyn Gaffney of The New York Times. "They were picked up at a bargain price by a small college in Maine, where they continued to generate power for years, and eventually ended up scattered around the United States and China. . ."
It may look like a giant trumpet, but NASA's SPHEREx will create a colorful and dynamic map of the universe. (NASA photo via The Conversation)
Space exploration fans around the globe will be treated to "a slate of exciting space missions in 2025," reports Zhenbo Wang for The Conversation. "NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative aims to deliver science and technology payloads to the Moon using commercial landers. . . . .NASA has several CLPS missions planned, including deliveries by companies Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace. In February 2025, NASA plans to launch SPHEREx. . . . [It] will create a comprehensive map of the universe by surveying and collecting data on more than 450 million galaxies along with over 100 million stars in the Milky Way."
Maybe raw milk offers something unique. (Photo by E. Aceron, Unsplash)
Despite raw milk's popularity with some consumers, many dairy experts warn against consuming raw milk products because of bacteria and disease risks. Raw milk proponents believe the benefits of raw milk products outweigh the concerns, reports Moises Velasquez-Manoff of The New York Times. "Should we take them more seriously?"
The U.S. raw milk movement began decades ago in "small, independent health-food stores," Velasquez-Manoff explains. The pandemic heightened interest in raw milk's benefits. "Mark McAfee, who heads Raw Farm in California, told me during the pandemic, people felt abandoned by medical professionals and began researching ways to care for their own immune systems. Many turned to raw milk, which he calls 'the first food of life.'"
Twenty-five years ago, when McAfee started selling raw milk, his customers were mostly "hippie 'nut-and-berry moms' and natural foodies, as he puts it. . . But as his sales have grown — about 30-fold since then, he estimates — his customers have diversified," Velasquez-Manoff explains. Today’s raw milk consumers come from vastly different backgrounds, with reasons for buying raw milk that range from political freedom to nutritional miracles.
American scientists and food nutrition experts have continually warned against drinking unpasteurized dairy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "unpasteurized dairy products are 840 times as likely as their pasteurized counterparts to lead to infection and illness," Velasquez-Manoff reports. The CDC's list of possible adverse health outcomes includes: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter.
But raw milk research isn't all about potential diseases humans could contract. In fact, recent studies suggest some positive preventative health benefits raw milk consumption might offer. Velasquez-Manoff writes, "There is also a wealth of epidemiological research, most of it from Europe, that suggests that drinking raw milk early in life can protect against the development of asthma and allergies later. . . . The basic notion animating the raw-milk movement — that something good and healthful is lost during processing — may have some validity to it."
While the health risks involved in raw milk consumption lead many dairy experts to adamantly push against drinking it, European studies might point the way toward resolving "what is often called the allergy epidemic," Velasquez-Manoff adds. "Scientists think that if they can identify what’s special about raw milk, and preserve it through treatment that makes it safe, maybe they can turn a widely consumed foodstuff into a powerful tool of preventive medicine."
President-elect Donald Trump promised mass deportations of illegal immigrants would begin during his first 30 days in office. For many residents in the small town of Seymour, Indiana, the expulsions "can't start soon enough," reports Arian Campo-Flores of The Wall Street Journal. "Seymour is one of many cities across the U.S. feeling the effects of a historic wave of immigration, where residents seeking to integrate migrants are clashing with others calling for them to be rooted out and sent home."
Historically, most immigrants who came to Seymour settled peacefully until a proposal for an immigrant welcome center circulated in the spring of 2024. The plan incensed residents who feared the center would bring even more immigrants. "Such residents have complained for years that a flood of unauthorized migrants. . . strained schools, hospitals and housing," Campo-Flores explains. "With President-elect Donald Trump promising to conduct mass deportations . . . . They are organizing opposition to illegal immigration."
Location of Seymour, Ind. (Wikipedia photo)
Seymour has a population of roughly 22,000 people, many of who have voted Republican for decades. Unemployment is low and jobs are plentiful, making it attractive to migrants who "began arriving in significant numbers in the 1990s," Campo-Flores writes. "For most of the period since, the flow of arrivals was manageable and generated few flashpoints, residents say."
But at the March city council meeting the welcome center proposal "proved to be the spark that ignited simmering frustration over illegal immigration," Campo-Flores adds. "At the meeting, speakers fumed about migrants allegedly failing to assimilate, committing crimes and crowding multiple families into small homes. . . . Republican state Rep. Jim Lucas, who is from Seymour, said at the meeting that the city welcomed immigrants who arrive legally and are properly vetted."
Seymour resident Tim Smallwood supports Trump's planned deportations. Campo-Flores writes, "He thinks the Trump administration should first target unauthorized migrants with criminal records and then pressure other migrants to 'self-deport.' He told Campo-Flores, "It’s the only way they’ll solve this problem. You’ve got to make it hard enough on them that they don’t want to come here in the first place.”
During many decades in U.S. history, rich men smoked and heavy alcohol consumption was 'the norm.' (Adobe Stock photo)
The American diet was once dominated by vegetables and dried fruits, but also salted pork and heavy alcohol consumption. Lifestyle practices in the United States have never been particularly healthy. Any models that promote "making America healthy again" aren't taking the country's health history into account, reports Gina Kolata of The New York Times. "The word 'again' presumes a time in the country’s past when Americans were in better health. Was there ever really a time when America was healthier?"
Medicine historians have "a short answer," Kolata writes. "'No,' said Nancy Tomes, a historian at Stony Brook University. . . . John Harley Warner, a historian at Yale, said, 'It’s hard for me to think of a time when America, with all the real health disparities that characterize our system, was healthier.'"
Going back in time, the vision of a more vibrant and healthy America evaporates. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, "rich men smoked cigarettes and cigars, the poor chewed tobacco. Heavy drinking was the norm," Kolata adds. "Fresh fruits and vegetables were in short supply because they were difficult to ship and because growing seasons were so short. As for protein, Americans were relying on salted pork."
Even when beef became part of the U.S. diet, Americans did not get healthier. Many people were underweight and their health suffered because of it. "The start of the 20th century saw public health improvements (cleaner water, for example, and posters advising parents not to give their babies beer), but the disease was rampant," Kolata reports. "When the 1918 flu struck the nation, no one knew the cause — the flu virus had not been discovered."
During the 1950s and 1960s, the "American pharmaceutical industry pumped out new medical advances: antibiotics, antipsychotics, drugs for high blood pressure and vaccines for tetanus, diphtheria, measles and polio," Kolata writes. "Despite that progress, those years were terrible for health," Dr. Jeremy Greene, a historian at Johns Hopkins University, said, "with 'a tremendous amount of heart attacks and strokes.'. . . In part, that was because nearly everyone smoked."
When it comes to optimum health, the United States is nowhere near the promised land, but the number of smokers has steeply declined while treatments for diseases have multiplied. "Researchers are quick to acknowledge that Americans’ health is not as good as it can be. And they bemoan the huge disparities in health care in this country," Kolata adds. "But, historians say, the past was actually much worse."
Getting the facts right may sound like Journalism 110 class, but gathering and verifying a story can be like walking on shifting sands, writes Fergus McIntosh of The New Yorker. "Journalists put more stress on accuracy than ever before. The problem is, accuracy is a slippery idea."
Like many professions, journalism has a before and after social media story. Before Americans became absorbed in Facebook, Twitch, TikTok and podcasts, they listened to and read mainstream media. But once social media siphoned huge audiences, "people stopped paying attention to the news, or decided that they didn’t believe it anymore," McIntosh adds. "This story is not unsupported. Trust in many institutions has fallen over the years, but in journalism, it has plummeted."
Examining how little journalists are trusted, makes "fake news"and the harm it does to the news-consumer trust equation that much more worrisome. "'Many Americans now register displeasure with inaccurate or unverified information on social media, and a majority now think that somebody . . .should do something about it," McIntosh explains. "Despite endemic skepticism and distraction, there is an enduring thirst for reliable information. The question is, where can it be found, and how can its purveyors make themselves heard amid the noise?"
CBS and BBC have branded themselves as singular "purveyors" of the facts using an "'only we can provide accuracy' model," McIntosh writes. "For the first Presidential debate of 2024, The New York Times tasked 29 staffers with combing through the candidates’ statements in real time." Even with aggressive fact-checking, "the provision of facts does not, in itself, engender trust. . . . What is more certain is that, from time to time, every journalist, no matter how well-meaning, gets something wrong, or misses the point."
"Because The New Yorker, like many publications, trades on its reputation for accuracy, readers can easily feel cheated, even betrayed, when an error slips in," McIntosh explains. "In such circumstances, it becomes difficult to know what is true, and, consequently, to make decisions. Good journalism offers a way through, but only if readers are willing to follow. . . . Gaining and holding that trust is hard. But failure is not inevitable. . . . Any solution must acknowledge the messiness of truth, the requirements of attention, the way we squint to see more clearly. It must tell you to say what you mean, and know that you mean it."
