Medicaid cuts put 300+ rural hospitals at risk of closure: AHA

The law includes roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, which are also estimated to increase rural hospital uncompensated care costs by nearly $20 billion.

Becker’s Hospital Review

Ken Paxton Says He’s Tough on Crime. His Trust Invested $600,000 in a Convicted Fraudster’s Company.

The blind trust’s investment in Wildcatter offers a new, unreported look at the attorney general’s financial ties with the very type of business executives whose prosecutions he typically celebrates.

ProPublica

Virginia man charged after sledgehammer attack on Iwo Jima statue

The statue was inspired by Associated Press photographer Joseph Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of Marines raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in February 1945.

Stars and Stripes

Musk says he was behind Starlink speed restriction in Ukraine

Announcement comes as Kyiv says satellite speeds restored after days of issues

CBC

Column: What’s up, Bud? Selig lobbies for a salary cap while we’re just trying to enjoy this World Series.

And whether you believe a salary cap is necessary, chances are you’d still like to enjoy this intriguing World Series matchup without thinking about the endless squabble between owners and players. A moratorium on discussing the labor dispute would seem like an easy ask for owners, players and former commissioners.

Chicago Tribune

‘Invasive and extreme’: doctors fight anti-trans measure requiring genital exams for student athletes

“I tell my kids and patients that my No 1 job is to keep them safe,” said Gellner, who is also a board member of the Washington State Nurses Association. “I can say with confidence that girls do not want to have an unnecessary exam that creates an unsafe barrier.”

The Guardian

New Study Finds EPA May Be Vastly Underreporting PFAS Levels in Drinking Water

The researchers found the Environmental Protection Agency’s minimum reporting levels masked widespread contamination.

Truthout

Why Aren’t Texas Democrats Talking About Abortion?

Once seen as a crucial issue after the fall of “Roe,” candidates here are now largely ignoring it altogether.

Texas Observer

Hegseth Built a New Pentagon Office for Religion. Military Religious Leaders Wish He Hadn’t.

“What do I tell a soldier who believes an action is immoral, but also believes that God commanded it?” one Army chaplain told The Intercept.

The Intercept

Republicans May Be Neglecting Their Most Reliable Voters

Evangelical Christians say they feel overlooked as Trump and his allies reach out to other groups, leading some to worry turnout could be a problem.

The Washington Sun

El-Sayed’s campaign test: Can he win over Black and Jewish voters?

El-Sayed’s identity as a Muslim and an Arab American is a factor among key constituents in the Democratic Party: Black and Jewish voters.

Religion News Service

The Entire Journalism Industry Is on a Collision Course With AI

News publishers either fight tech oligarchs or we lose the Fourth Estate.

Truthout

Soldiers guard center of Milan as thousands of protesters march in cities across Europe

Thousands of young people marched Saturday through the streets of several Italian cities, including Milan, Rome and Turin, as authorities deployed large numbers of police and soldiers in a largely successful bid to stave off a repeat of the violent clashes and looting that marred similar protests last week.

NPR

Queer mediums of the cult of María Lionza are redefining the gender binary in Venezuela’s sacred mountain

These dates offer an opportunity for ethnographic and cultural observation, specifically how oral histories and our ethnic origins are reclaimed; including those of Indigenous peoples, some of them warriors who fought against Spanish colonization, and African populations — enslaved people and maroons [AN: this will need context] — as we can understand through the figure of the Three Powers: Queen María Lionza as the central figure of the cult, the leader, accompanied by El Indio Guaicaipuro and El Negro Felipe.

Global Voices

Indian Gen Z ‘cockroach’ protesters aim to upend assumptions about democracy – and populism – in Modi’s India

The protests challenge the government’s view of who “the people” are, what democracy means, and who speaks for youth, women and the politically marginalized.

Religion News Service

How is the US-Israeli war on Iran causing havoc in Europe?

Rising energy costs and protests are sharpening European opposition to renewed US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

AlJazeera

Israel presses ahead with West Bank operation as election approaches

The operation, focused on the city of Hebron, the site of Friday’s attack, came as Israel enters the final days before a tense election, which is largely seen as a referendum on current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership and security policies during the past three years of war.

AP News

Eby Resigns as Conservatives Sweep BC Election

The Conservatives swept to a major victory, capturing 64 seats and 48 per cent of the vote. The NDP trailed with 27 seats and 37 per cent of the vote and the Greens won two seats with 11 per cent.

The Tyee

What telecoms leave behind when they exit a country

As gatekeepers of internet access and digital information, telcos control sensitive user data, including location records and device logs. They also serve as key intermediaries for interception systems and have the technical capacity to cut off network access. In a sale, the company hands over not just infrastructure and commercial assets, but also systems and data that can expose the movements and footprints of millions of users.

Global Voices

Brazil votes in a tense Lula vs. Bolsonaro runoff with U.S. influence over Latin America at stake

Brazilians were voting in Sunday’s polarizing presidential runoff between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, a contest that will determine whether the U.S. will significantly expand its growing influence in Latin America.

PBS

We cannot accept the dehumanization of our Haitian neighbors

Perhaps it’s unreasonable to expect everyone in the U.S. to push through relentless negative headlines and develop a nuanced view of a complex reality in Haiti. Most Americans have never traveled there. It is reasonable, however, to expect our country, and our government in particular, to view Haitian people as human beings worthy of respect and dignity.

WBUR

Israel Launches Major Ethnic Cleansing Escalation in West Bank, Targeting Hebron

The operation follows a Palestinian resistance attack on an illegal West Bank military checkpoint.

Truthout

Venezuela faces a deepening energy crisis as protests grow

In August, residents of various cities, including Turmero and Valencia, took to the streets at night to protest the worsening situation. Their demonstrations came as authorities expanded electricity rationing in response to growing pressure on the country’s fragile power grid.

Global Voices

Israelis have changed. Will they change their leadership?

It is Israel’s first vote after these years of battle and bloodshed. Israelis are so concerned about their country’s future that tens of thousands of expats are expected to fly back to cast ballots, since Israel does not allow absentee voting.

NPR

Netanyahu’s pitch: Can Israel use crypto to evade economic sanctions?

PM Netanyahu mulls cryptocurrency as the answer to economic sanctions and Israel’s growing international isolation. But there are few buyers.

AlJazeera