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Rural News Clips, July 31, 2025 Study confirms doctors left Idaho after abortion ban; Hospital failures following private equity payouts leave patients, taxpayers in lurch; USDA reorganization to cut agricultural and forest research

Top headlines from our Rural News Clips—subscribe free!
—Study shows doctors left Idaho after abortion ban.
—Hospital failures after private equity payouts leave patients, taxpayers in lurch.
—USDA reorganization to cut agricultural and forest research. open.substack.com/pu...

Federal cuts to AmeriCorps could make it harder for recent graduates to find jobs AmeriCorps, once a promising pathway to jobs for young adults, is under threat as the Trump administration calls for shuttering the agency.

Federal funding cuts are threatening the future of AmeriCorps, which helps rural students get good-paying jobs without college debt. These programs are a lifeline in small towns, and now they’re on the chopping block. hechingerreport.org/...

Social Security is making it harder for seniors to do routine tasks by phone in latest anti-fraud effort | CNN Politics Senior citizens soon won’t be able to simply call the Social Security Administration to change their address or check the status of their benefit claim. Instead, they will have to first verify their identity online or go to a field office if they are unable to do so.

Social Security is making it harder for seniors to access their accounts by phone. But many can't go online because they don't have internet, and can't go to an office because of transportation barriers. It's currently a 35-day wait to get an appointment.

www.cnn.com/2025/07/...

Hurricane Forecasters Keep Access to Threatened Defense Department Satellite Data Microwave satellite data that are key to capturing changes in a hurricane’s strength will not be taken from meteorologists as originally planned

The GOP tried to cut off weather forecasters' access to a satellite that helps predict hurricanes, but they got a last-minute reprieve after public pressure. This is what happens when science is treated like the enemy: Rural lives are at risk.

www.scientificameric...

Rural News Clips, July 30, 2025 Bipartisan lawmakers join to protect and improve rural postal services; Federal cuts threaten a major career path for rural young adults; Trump cuts legal services in rural America

Top headlines from the latest Rural News Clips — subscribe free!

—Bipartisan lawmakers join to protect and improve rural postal services.
—Federal cuts threaten a major career path for rural young adults.
—Trump cuts legal services in rural America.

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Rural News Clips, July 29, 2025 Federal cuts put school mental health resources at risk; North Carolina Democratic Party on a listening tour to organize rural voters; GOP SNAP cuts spark internal rift that could derail farm bill

Top headlines from today's Rural News Clips — subscribe for free!

—Federal cuts put school mental health resources at risk
—N.C. Democratic Party on a listening tour to organize rural voters
—GOP SNAP cuts spark internal rift that could derail farm bill

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USDA’s reorg rollout Rollins said USDA may fill vacant positions with people based in the areas of Salt Lake City; Fort Collins, Colorado; Indianapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Republicans are pushing a USDA shake-up that could hollow out the agency by forcing staff out of D.C. and into the private sector, risking a brain drain just when farmers need expertise the most.

www.politico.com/new...

North Carolina Democratic Party is trying to educate and organize rural voters The party is hosting listening sessions in rural North Carolina counties in an effort to rally voters ahead of the 2026 midterm election.

Rural voices are being heard in North Carolina. The state Democratic Party is hitting the road, listening to communities, and helping local voters organize for the future. Small towns deserve a seat at the table. borderbelt.org/nc-de...

Rural News Clips, July 29, 2025 Student loan caps might worsen rural doctor shortage; $50B rural health ‘slush fund’ faces questions, skepticism; In a legacy steel town, energy is now king — just don’t call it ‘green’

Here's the top headlines from our Rural News Clips — subscribe free!
—Student loan caps might worsen rural doctor shortage
—$50B rural health ‘slush fund’ faces questions, skepticism
—In a legacy steel town, energy is now king — just don’t call it ‘green’
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Feeding America’s ‘Map the Meal Gap’ reveals stark disparities in rural child hunger. Up to half of children in some rural counties don't know where their next meal is coming from. And more than 80% of counties with the hungriest children are rural. nielseniq.com/global...

RuralProgress analysis: New federal budget creates 'unprecedented' threats to economic stability and public services in rural America. Learn more: ruralorganizing.subs...

Rural News Clips, July 23, 2025 Analysis: Federal budget creates 'unprecedented' threats to rural America; DNC's new billboards outside rural hospitals spotlight GOP budget cuts; Why do foreign investors buy American farmland?

Headlines from the latest Rural News Clips — subscribe free!
—Analysis: Federal budget creates 'unprecedented' threats to rural America
—DNC's new billboards outside rural hospitals spotlight GOP budget cuts
—Why do foreign investors buy American farmland? open.substack.com/pu...

Rural News Clips, July 22, 2025 As US wildfires rage, firefighters clean toilets after Trump staff cuts; Texas flood protest goes to Washington; Democratic governor Andy Beshear has won (and won again) in Trump country. What’s next?

Headlines from the latest Rural News Clips — subscribe free!
—As wildfires rage, firefighters clean toilets after Trump staff cuts.
—Texas flood protesters go to DC.
—Democratic governor Andy Beshear has won (and won again) in Trump country. What’s next?

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During our Weekly Rural Live Substack, John Ray of YouGov Blue reminds us that, despite what right-wing politicians say, NPR and local public media cuts are massively unpopular. But the real issue? They’re being done without accountability.

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There's something powerful happening. People are showing up. In small towns across the country. When Trump and Stephen Miller come after our immigrant neighbors, communities fight back. When public institutions are under attack, people unite. ruralorganizing.subs...

How Trump’s anti-immigrant policies could collapse the US food industry – visualized The president is threatening to deport essential farm workers, grocery clerks and food delivery drivers. But without them, shelves could go empty and prices could soar

Trump’s immigration raids threaten rural farms and meatpacking plants where immigrant workers fill up to 25 percent of roles; potential deportations could derail harvests, strain local economies and jeopardize food security in small towns. www.theguardian.com/...

Rural America braces for a 75% spike in ACA premiums in 2026, threatening access to care where provider options are scarce and long drives are already the norm. Middle‑income families in small towns will feel the squeeze. www.npr.org/sections...

AI data centers are using more power. Regular customers are footing the bill. • Kentucky Lantern Regular energy consumers, not corporations, will bear increased costs of an AI boom fueling growth in data centers and power demand.

Rural communities are paying the price for the AI boom as data centers drive up electricity costs, adding monthly surcharges that hit small towns hardest. Local ratepayers bear the burden while tech giants expand. kentuckylantern.com/...

The USDA Wouldn’t Let Her Give Up Her House When She Couldn’t Pay Her Mortgage. Instead, It Crushed Her With Debt. The USDA failed to follow its own guidance for a rural mortgage program, taking years to foreclose on delinquent loans. As a result, 55 Maine borrowers racked up, on average, $110,000 in additional debt before the agency moved to take the homes.

USDA’s delayed foreclosures in Maine saddled rural homeowners with massive fees and garnishments, deepening debt and leaving communities with abandoned homes and eroded homeownership dreams. www.propublica.org/a...

Rural News Clips, July 18, 2025 Local election officials worry about federal cuts to security; ACA insurance will cost the average person 75% more next year; How Trump’s anti-immigrant policies could collapse the US food industry

Headlines from our latest Rural News Clips — subscribe free!
—Local election officials worry about federal election security cuts
—ACA insurance will cost average of 75% more next year
—Trump’s anti-immigrant policies could collapse the US food industry open.substack.com/pu...

Rural News Clips, July 17, 2025 OSHA just reduced the value of a worker’s life; Some bright spots in expanding news deserts; 20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against natural disasters

Headlines from the latest Rural News Clips. Subscribe for free!
—OSHA just reduced the value of a worker’s life
—Some bright spots in expanding news deserts
—20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against natural disasters

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Remembering the Rural Legacy of John Lewis’ Good Trouble Good Trouble Rallies Across the Country Present an Important Opportunity to Reflect on the Long History of Rural Organizing in the United States

When Lewis passed away on July 17, 2020, tributes poured in from across the globe. But in rural towns across the South, people rang church bells, held vigils, and remembered him not just as a national hero, but as one of their own.

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USDA Shuts Down Regional Food Business Centers Created Under Biden Administration Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday announced USDA would terminate the Regional Food Business Centers created under the Biden administration. USDA said the Biden administration created programs without a way to fund them, though the funding for the programs came out of the American Rescue Plan.

MAGA policies at the USDA are shutting down regional food business centers, putting rural communities and farmers at risk. www.dtnpf.com/agricu...

Rural News Clips, July 16, 2025 Trump team withholds $140 million budgeted for fentanyl fight; Federal court rules against Wisconsin town banning voting machines; Hawley introduces bill to reverse Medicaid cuts he voted for

Headlines from our Rural News Clips. Subscribe for free!

—Trump team withholds $140 million budgeted for fentanyl fight
—Federal court rules against Wisconsin town banning voting machines
—Hawley introduces bill to reverse Medicaid cuts he voted for

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Rural News Clips, July 15, 2025 Farm bankruptcies this year already top 2024 levels; Before tragedy, Texas repeatedly rejected pleas for flood alarm funding; Experts predict more "Alligator Alcatraz" prisons to be built

Headlines from the latest Rural News Clips — subscribe for free!
—2025 farm bankruptcies already top 2024 levels
—Before tragedy, Texas repeatedly rejected pleas for flood alarm funding
—Experts predict more "Alligator Alcatraz" prisons to be built open.substack.com/pu...

A Trump-appointed federal judge struck down a rule that would have wiped $49 billion in medical debt from credit reports, leaving rural Americans (who already have higher healthcare costs and fewer local financial services) at more risk of damaged credit. thehill.com/homenews...

Meta Built a Data Center Next Door. The Neighbors’ Water Taps Went Dry. In the race to develop artificial intelligence, tech giants are building data centers that guzzle up water. That has led to problems for people who live nearby.

Republican efforts to prevent or gut regulations around AI data centers are hurting rural areas. Besides the noise pollution and strain on the power grid, they're also draining local wells dry. Read more: www.nytimes.com/2025...

Rural News Clips, July 14, 2025 They tried made in the USA it was too expensive for their customers; Why billions in disaster aid go unspent; A rural clinic blames its closing on Trump’s Medicaid cuts but many patients don’t buy it

Headlines from our latest Rural News Clips newsletter:
—They tried made in the USA it was too expensive for their customers
—Why billions in disaster aid go unspent
—A rural clinic blames its closing on Trump’s Medicaid cuts but many patients don’t buy it

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Rural News Clips, July 11, 2025 Researchers identify emerging rural suicide ‘belt’; Trump's D.E.I. cuts hurting rural, white Americans, too; The rapid rise of killings by police in rural America

Top headlines from our daily Rural News Clips newsletter:
—Researchers identify emerging rural suicide ‘belt’
—Trump's D.E.I. cuts hurting rural, white Americans, too
—The rapid rise of killings by police in rural America

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Many of the deaths in the Texas flood would have been preventable if the same storm hadn't hit such rural, remote areas. Wealthier, more populated regions typically have well-developed emergency systems.


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