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Saturday, October 18, 2025

Trump regime plans to use artificial intelligence to deny Medicare treatments

AI Will Soon Have a Say in Approving or Denying Medicare Treatments

Taking a page from the private insurance industry’s playbook, the Trump administration will launch a program next year to find out how much money an artificial intelligence algorithm could save the federal government by denying care to Medicare patients.

The pilot program, designed to weed out wasteful, “low-value” services, amounts to a federal expansion of an unpopular process called prior authorization, which requires patients or someone on their medical team to seek insurance approval before proceeding with certain procedures, tests, and prescriptions. 

It will affect Medicare patients, and the doctors and hospitals who care for them, in Arizona, Ohio, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington, starting Jan. 1 and running through 2031.

The move has raised eyebrows among politicians and policy experts. The traditional version of Medicare, which covers adults 65 and older and some people with disabilities, has mostly eschewed prior authorization. Still, it is widely used by private insurers, especially in the Medicare Advantage market.

And the timing was surprising: The pilot was announced in late June, just days after the Trump administration unveiled a voluntary effort by private health insurers to revamp and reduce their own use of prior authorization, which causes care to be “significantly delayed,” said Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“It erodes public trust in the health care system,” Oz told the media. “It’s something that we can’t tolerate in this administration.”

But some critics, like Vinay Rathi, an Ohio State University doctor and policy researcher, have accused the Trump administration of sending mixed messages.

On one hand, the federal government wants to borrow cost-cutting measures used by private insurance, he said. “On the other, it slaps them on the wrist.”

Administration officials are “talking out of both sides of their mouth,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, a Washington Democrat. “It’s hugely concerning.”

Patients, doctors, and other lawmakers have also been critical of what they see as delay-or-deny tactics, which can slow down or block access to care, causing irreparable harm and even death.

You won't believe it

 

Yeah, priorities

How to identify animal tracks, burrows and other signs of wildlife in your neighborhood

What's in your backyard?

Steven Sullivan, Miami University

A gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinenensis), nose down in a small hole that it's excavating in the dirt.
Tree squirrels can excavate small holes all over a yard to hide seeds
and nuts or when searching for them. Ground squirrels also create burrows.
 
Snowmanradio/Wikimedia CommonsCC BY

Your neighborhood is home to all sorts of amazing animals, from racoons, squirrels and skunks to birds, bugs and snails. Even if you don’t see them, most of these creatures are leaving evidence of their activities all around you.

Paw prints in different shapes and sizes are clues to the visitors who pass through. The shapes of tunnels and mounds in your yard carry the mark of their builders.

Even the stuff animals leave behind, whether poop or skeletons, tells you something about the wilder side of the neighborhood.

I’m a zoologist and director of the Hefner Museum of Natural History at Miami University of Ohio, where we work with all kinds of wildlife specimens. With a little practice, you’ll soon notice a lot more evidence of your neighborhood friends when you step outside.

What makes those animal tracks?

You can learn a lot from a nice, crisp paw print.

The dog family, including coyotes and foxes, can be differentiated from the cat family by the shape of their palm pads — triangular for dogs, two lobes at the peak for cats.

Images of footprints of canid and felid.
Canid tracks, left, are roughly rectangular, with the tips of the middle two toes aligned. They often, but don’t always, show claw marks. The pad has an indentation on the back and a projection on the front, with the space between the pad and the toes forming an X. Felid tracks, right, are roughly circular, with the tip of one toe extending slightly farther than all other toes. They seldom show claw marks. The pad has three lobes on the back and an indentation on the front, with the space between the pad and toes forming a curve. Steven SullivanCC BY-NC-ND

Both opossums and raccoons leave prints that look like those of a tiny human, but the opossum thumb is held at nearly right angles to the rest of the fingers.

Illustrations of two tracks. The opposable thumb is evident with the oppossum track.
Opossum, left, and raccoon tracks. Like humans, opossums have opposable thumbs. Steven Sullivan

Not all prints are so clear, however.

Invasive rats and native squirrels have prints that often look pretty similar to each other. Water erosion of a skunk print left in mud might connect the toe tips to the palm, making it look more like a raccoon. And prints left in winter slush by the smallest dog in the neighborhood can grow through freezing and thawing to proportions that make people wonder whether wolves have returned to their former haunts.

There are good reference books where you can learn more about track analysis, and it can be fun to go down the rabbit hole of collecting and studying prints.

Illustrations of animal tracks by typical size, pairs and track pattern.
Examples of many types of animal tracks found in the Northeast and other parts of North America. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

Wiping out cervical cancer is within reach

Recent study showed zero cases of cervical cancer after HPV vaccine 

Major obstacle: Trump's Medicaid cuts and RKF Jr.'s anti-vax bias

It had been a decade since Jess Deis’ last women’s wellness exam when Kentucky expanded Medicaid and she finally qualified for the state insurance program.

Physicians recommend a cervical cancer screening — also referred to as a Pap smear, which is a swab of the cervix — as part of a wellness exam once every three to five years for women between the ages of 21 and 65. Deis, 43, was in her last semester of nursing school in 2014 when the test came back with abnormal results. Her doctor ordered additional testing.

“Then I got a call on a Sunday evening from a physician letting me know I had cervical cancer and I needed to see a specialist,” Deis said.

Cervical cancer is one of few cancers that has a known path of prevention after the approval of the first HPV vaccine in 2006. But that also means it falls at the intersection of three cultural issues that are facing strong political opposition — broad access to low-cost or free reproductive health care, access to vaccines for children, and sex education.

Kentucky had the highest cervical cancer incidence rate in the country between 2015 and 2019, according to medical research, and a mortality rate twice as high as the rest of the country. The state tied with West Virginia for the second-highest rate of 9.7 cases per 100,000 residents between 2017 and 2021. Oklahoma topped the list for that five-year period with 10.2 cases per 100,000, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Deis delayed the surgery to remove her uterus until after graduation, and later became a certified nurse practitioner. Now she provides Pap smears to patients multiple times a day at Planned Parenthood clinics in Kentucky and Indiana and other care via telehealth. She recently helped a patient who hadn’t been seen for a screening in 15 years discover she had advanced cervical cancer.

She is troubled by what could happen in the wake of the new Medicaid rule passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in July that barred nearly all Planned Parenthood affiliates from receiving Medicaid reimbursements because some clinics in the nonprofit network provide abortions. Kentucky and Indiana both have abortion bans, but still have Planned Parenthood clinics to provide other reproductive health care.

Goldman Sachs reports tariffs are paid by consumers as Trump is piling up even more

Exposes Trump’s lie that “foreigners” are paying

Brad Reed for Common Dreams

New research from investment bank Goldman Sachs affirms, as progressive advocates and economists warned, that US consumers are bearing the brunt of President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, economists at Goldman released an analysis this week estimating that US consumers are shouldering up to 55% of the costs stemming from Trump’s tariffs, even though the president has repeatedly made false claims that the tariffs on imports exclusively tax foreigners.

Goldman’s research also found that US businesses will pay 22% of the cost of the tariffs, while foreign exporters will pay just 18% of the cost. Additionally, Goldman economists estimate that Trump’s tariffs “have raised core personal consumption expenditure prices by 0.44% so far this year, and will push up the closely watched inflation reading to 3% by December,” according to Bloomberg.

Despite all evidence that US consumers are shouldering the costs of the tariffs, the Trump administration has continued to insist that they are exclusively being paid by foreign countries.

During a segment on NBC‘s “Meet the Press” last month, host Kristen Welker cited an earlier Goldman estimate that 86% of the president’s tariffs were being paid by US businesses and consumers, and then asked US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if he accepted that the tariffs were taxes on Americans.

“No, I don’t,” Bessent replied.

Friday, October 17, 2025

Thanks to Charlestown Citizens Alliance leader Ruth Platner, Charlestown housing is still unaffordable

Renters face housing crunch in latest HousingWorks RI report

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

Since taking control of the Charlestown Planning Commission, CCA founder and de facto leader Ruth Platner has made it almost impossible to build family housing

Last year marked the first time no community in Rhode Island was affordable to a household earning under $100,000 a year. And now this year is the first time the median renter cannot afford an average two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the state.

That’s one of the many bleak takeaways of the latest housing factbook released Friday by HousingWorks RI, the housing policy research group based at Roger Williams University. This year’s report determined that the lowest income to affordably rent the average-priced two-bedroom apartment, including utilities, is $60,320.

The average renter in Rhode Island earned an annual income of $48,434 in 2024, according to the 84-page report.

Simply put, “Rhode Islanders continued to face a challenging housing market,” the factbook says.

Among the many major factors leading to the smallest state’s affordability crisis: There just aren’t enough places for people to live. 

A healthy rental market typically has a vacancy rate of 5 to 8%, according to the factbook. Data from the Federal Reserve notes a statewide rental vacancy rate of 2.6% in 2024. 

Can't imagine why

Trump's "You, not me" tactic

If you plan to go to the No Kings! rally in Westerly, here are some important logistics

Be loud but non-violent

South County Rising Leadership Team

Here are some final reminders and details for the NO KINGS protest on Saturday, Oct. 18, 12 Noon - 2PM.  We hope to see you there!

We will be posted up along both sides of Rt 1/Franklin St in Westerly - a high traffic area.  Please spread out up and down Franklin Street.

 Be Safe!

Stay on the sidewalks and do not block driveways to businesses.  Wear yellow if you can, or bright colors.  Safety is #1!

There may be counter protesters emboldened by recent rhetoric from the administration, although we have had no direct threats. or indications.  It is important to remain calm and DO NOT ENGAGE.

Remember that they are expressing their freedom of speech, as are we.  However, if you witness someone being hassled or singled out, please find one of us in an orange vest or a police officer to assist. Take video and protect your own safety.

Look for Food Donation Signs

A member of our leadership team will be collecting nonperishable food items at the entrance to the Franklin Shopping Plaza (Aldi Store) and at the entrance to Mill Pond Plaza (McQuade’s Ace Hardware), where most of you will park. Food will be donated to the local food banks that are struggling under the weight of demand of increased food insecurity from federal cuts and the government shutdown.

Record History  

If you are able to take video and photos, please use the HASHTAG #NOKINGSWESTERLY when you post.  If you aren't on social media, you can send photos and video to SouthCountyRising@gmail.com We will compile all the photos and footage after the event! We will also take a headcount and report our numbers to a nationwide database.

Please patronize businesses and restaurants at Mill Pond Plaza and Franklin Shopping Plaza on Saturday and in the future as a thank you for free parking!

Together we will stand up and resist autocracy and reform democracy! NO KINGS IN AMERICA!

In solidarity,

24 Waterways to be Stocked with Trout

Go Fish!

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is stocking brook and rainbow trout in selected areas throughout RI starting Friday, Oct. 17, through Thursday, Oct. 23. Some previously stocked ponds and lakes cannot be stocked due to cyanobacteria alerts.

The following areas will be stocked:

  • Alton Pond, Richmond
  • Barber Pond, South Kingstown
  • Blackstone River, Lincoln
  • Bradford Fishing Area, Westerly
  • Browning Mill Pond, Exeter
  • Carbuncle Pond, Coventry
  • Carolina Trout Pond, Richmond
  • Cronan Landing, Richmond
  • Eight Rod Farm Pond, Tiverton
  • Grantville to Rt. 95, Hopkinton
  • Hope Valley Fishing Area, Hopkinton
  • Kings Factory Bridge, Charlestown
  • Lower Shannock, Charlestown
  • Meadow Brook Pond, Richmond
  • Wood River from Rt. 165 to Barberville, Exeter, Hopkinton
  • Round Top Ponds, Burrillville
  • Shippee Sawmill Pond, Foster
  • Silver Spring Lake, North Kingstown
  • Spring Grove Pond, Glocester
  • Stafford Pond, Tiverton
  • Upper Pawtuxet, (Hope), Scituate
  • Upper Melville (Thurston Gray Pond)
  • Willet Pond, East Providence
  • Woodville, Richmond, Hopkinton

As Trump blows off green energy, some states are leading the way

But will Trump get out of the way?

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

This hasn’t been a kind year for developers looking to break ground on renewable energy projects.

On Donald Trump’s first day in office, he issued a memorandum halting approvals, permits, leases and loans for both offshore and onshore wind projects.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed in July with exclusively Republican support, accelerated the phaseout of tax credits promised under the Inflation Reduction Act for wind and solar projects. Subsequent guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department further constrained eligibility rules.

And as bipartisan permitting reform takes center stage in Congress, critics have expressed doubt over whether a technology-neutral bill would still benefit renewable energy development under the current administration.

During a House committee hearing for the SPEED Act on Sept. 10, multiple Democrats expressed concern about their ability to engage in good-faith negotiations with Republicans to accelerate permitting amid the GOP’s attacks on wind and solar. Environmental groups, too, have cautioned that federal efforts to reform permitting could offer little benefit for renewables.

According to a report from the think tank Clean Tomorrow, the battle over renewable development has spread beyond Congress and the Trump administration—with siting policy at the state level now serving as one of the primary battlegrounds for those seeking to curtail the deployment of new clean energy projects.

“It’s clear that states are taking some of their cues from the federal government,” said Nelson Falkenburg, siting policy manager at Clean Tomorrow and one of the report’s authors.

Thursday, October 16, 2025

A Call to Arms About the Threat of Anti-Science

Anti-science kills

By Dan Falk

BOOK REVIEW — “Science Under Siege: How to Fight
the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World,’’
by Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez
(PublicAffairs, 368 pages).

In the 1995 book "The Demon Haunted World," the astronomer Carl Sagan warned that the United States was turning its back on science, and that the consequences would be dire. 

Near the start of their new book, “Science Under Siege: How To Fight The Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World,” Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez cite Sagan’s vision of science as a “candle in the dark,” and argue that what the astronomer feared is now coming to pass. In fact, readers may get the impression that the situation is already much worse than what Sagan envisioned.

While Sagan was primarily concerned with the rise of pseudoscience, Mann and Hotez fear that we’re now in the midst of an anti-science boom, led by people, corporations, and governments who intentionally spread false or misleading information. 

“Anti-science has already caused serious illness and mass casualties in the near term,” they write. “Unmitigated, it will in the long term take millions more lives, produce misguided national policies, and have long-lasting catastrophic consequences, including potentially, the destabilization of our civilization.”

Mann and Hotez are not merely observers, but scientists who have found themselves on the front lines of the ongoing attacks on science. Mann is a climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, and director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media. Hotez is a pediatrician and vaccine scientist at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also the co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development. In 2022, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on a patent-free Covid-19 vaccine.

While attacks on science have taken many forms, the authors highlight the current pushback against vaccines and skepticism over climate science as two of the most urgent issues. Mann and Hotez describe the resistance to climate science and vaccines as a one-two punch, but add that there is a third punch as well, in the form of mis- and disinformation. 

The authors point to the devastating consequences of resistance to public health measures, especially vaccines, which came to the fore during the Covid-19 pandemic, the death toll from which currently stands at 1.2 million Americans, according to the World Health Organization.

Many of those deaths, they suggest, could have been prevented had people been vaccinated and followed social distancing and mask guidelines. And they’re not shy about saying who’s to blame: “The deaths occurred mostly along a political partisan divide,” they write, “with those living in Republican-majority (‘red’) states disproportionately suffering most of the deaths and disabilities as a consequence of being targeted by propaganda and misinformation from elected leaders, extremist media, and the modern political Right.”

Tough it out, says Donny Bonespurs

Fight the King