MORNING LINEUP
A baby crawls on the carpet at the Alabama Birth Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In 14 states, the closure of the closest rural hospital or its obstetric unit would force Medicaid patients to drive an hour or more to get to another hospital that provides inpatient maternity care, a new study says. (Photo by Eric Schultz for the Alabama Reflector)
By Shalina Chatlani
In 14 states, the closure of the closest rural hospital or its obstetric unit would force many Medicaid patients to drive an hour or more to get to another hospital that provides inpatient maternity care, according to an analysis released this week.
Nationwide, the median drive time between hospitals providing inpatient maternity care to Medicaid enrollees and the closest in-state alternative is 43 minutes for rural hospitals compared with 13 minutes for urban hospitals, the analysis found.
Demonstrators gathered at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, marking the 63rd anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where the late civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
By Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Just over two months from midterm elections and four months removed from a U.S. Supreme Court decision that gutted Voting Rights Act protections for majority Black U.S. House districts, and 63 years after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech there, thousands gathered again at the Lincoln Memorial Friday.
Organizers focused the anniversary march around a “Defend the Vote” message.
COMMENTARY
By Phoebe Zerwick
One of the biggest stories of President Trump’s second term is his often violent crackdown on immigration. According to CBS News, enforcement surged this summer, with an average of 1,500 people taken into custody daily in July, including at routine check-ins at immigration offices, airports and traffic stops. And more than half of those detained last month had no criminal history, which means no pending charges or past convictions, Austin Kocher, a researcher at Syracuse University, reported this week.
By Shuaneen Miranda
WASHINGTON — With less than 70 days until midterm elections, Democrats remain favored to regain the majority in the U.S. House.
President Donald Trump’s anemic approval ratings amid the war in Iran, concerns over the economy and a coalitional shift within the party mark some of the largest headwinds facing Republicans heading into November, according to election analysts and political scientists interviewed by States Newsroom.
MORE NEWSLINE
MORE HEADLINES
NEWS
US Treasury blocks certain journalists from G20 meeting in Asheville |APnews.com
Trump still teases third run, but he’s talking more about life after 2028|
APnews.comDespite unexplained donations, NC election board kills complaint about GOP fundraiser |Raleigh News & Observer
G20 meeting brings economic boost — and protests — to North Carolina |
Raleigh News & ObserverGathering offered ‘intimate’ dinner with utilities regulators. Who from NC went. |Raleigh News & Observer
How Triangle cities differ on license plate reader cameras|Axios Raleigh
Cooper, Whatley on immigration: A fight over how to focus enforcement |
WRAL.comPossible measles exposure at Holiday Inn Express in Asheville |WRAL.com
NC labor officials looking into safety questions over Poe Hall demolition|
WRAL.comRep. Chuck Edwards urges colleagues to vote against censure over sexual harassment findings|
WUNC.orgAmazon’s Richmond County data center gets green light on air quality permits |WUNC.org
COMMENTARY
Wiley Nickel: Wake’s jail is dangerously overcrowded. Here’s what has to change.|Raleigh News & Observer
NC Rep: My growing community can’t get a hospital. It’s a dangerous racket|
Raleigh News & Observer
4 big wins that come with housing affordability |TheHill.com
AI could become conscious. What if it wants us dead? |TheHill.com
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