Latest news with #AmandaNguyen
Newsweek
16-07-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
80% of US Counties Contain 'Health Care Deserts': Report
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A growing number of Americans find themselves living in "health care deserts," areas lacking in the specific infrastructure and services needed to ensure timely access to medicine and care, new data suggests. According to new research from health care and prescription price-comparison website GoodRx, 81 percent of U.S. counties—home to more than 120 million Americans—fall under this definition in some way. This includes those which lack proper access to either pharmacies, primary care, hospital beds, trauma centers or community health centers. Why It Matters As a result of large-scale drugstore closures this year, 2025 has already been marked by a rise in so-called "pharmacy deserts," with more Americans having to travel further from where they live to access essential medications. The broader term used by GoodRx denotes a more pervasive issue, one which it says threatens not only the availability of medicine but also vital services needed in times of emergency. Covenant Children's Hospital on February 28, 205 in Lubbock, Texas. Covenant Children's Hospital on February 28, 205 in Lubbock, issues with physically accessing health care are in addition to those associated with cost, as health care continues to prove prohibitively expensive for a significant number of Americans. What To Know According to the GoodRx data, as well as the 81 percent of counties experiencing a health care desert of some kind, a majority of people in 60 percent of counties lack adequate access to more than one form of critical health service. Certain states, the research suggests, are more exposed to these issues, with 87 percent of those in Wyoming, 74 percent of those in Vermont and 70 percent of Montanans living in a health care desert county. Amanda Nguyen, Senior Health Economist at GoodRx, told Newsweek the prevalence of health care deserts was driven "by structural gaps and shifting policies." Nguyen said certain areas had lost their federal shortage designations—which agencies use to help direct federal funding and other forms of assistance—despite the fact that health care access has not improved. She added that health care deserts were particularly common in rural and lower-income communities with high uninsured rates. This, she said, "creates a negative cycle—as more people struggle to pay for care, hospitals and pharmacies are more likely to close, further eroding access." A woman browses through what items remain on empty shelves at a Rite Aid store in Alhambra, California, on October 18, 2023. A woman browses through what items remain on empty shelves at a Rite Aid store in Alhambra, California, on October 18, 2023. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images Since its previous research into the topic, GoodRx said pharmacy deserts had seen the largest increase, with 48 million people now living in such areas, up from 41 million in 2021. In the U.S. today, 45 percent of counties can be classified as pharmacy deserts, GoodRx added, noting this was especially concerning given nationwide medication shortages. Emergency medical care also remains out of reach a significant number of Americans, the study suggests. GoodRx found that more than 28 million people live half an hour from the nearest hospital, nearly 50 million live over an hour from a facility able to handle major injuries, and 79 million are in areas with fewer than two hospital beds per 1,000 people. What People Are Saying Amanda Nguyen, Senior Health Economist at GoodRx, told Newsweek: "When care is far away or hard to afford, people may delay or skip care altogether. And that can have serious consequences. Our research found that nearly 1 in 5 Americans had to visit multiple pharmacies just to get their medication — and that's in areas with some access. Now imagine that same challenge in a county with no nearby pharmacy, hospital, or primary care provider. These delays and gaps add up, especially for people managing chronic conditions or without insurance." Tori Marsh, Senior Director of Research at GoodRx, discussing the issue of pharmacy closures and deserts with Newsweek previously, said: "Many of the counties hardest hit by pharmacy closures already had limited access. Now, they're losing their last remaining pharmacies, creating health care deserts with no immediate solutions in place." What Happens Next? Pharmacy closures are set to continue through 2025, as major chains such as CVS and Rite Aid scale down their nationwide footprint.
The Sun
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Orlando Bloom ‘did NOT approve' of Katy Perry's space trip & was ‘disappointed' by decision amid relationship trouble
ORLANDO Bloom did not privately approve of his fiancee Katy Perry's decision to take part in the controversial Blue Origin flight, The U.S. Sun has exclusively learned. Though Katy, 40, gushed Orlando, 48, was "all about the journey" in a radio interview, a source claimed the actor "did not think going on the mission was a good idea." 8 Katy Perry held up a daisy seemingly in honor of her young daughter during the space flight Credit: The Mega Agency 8 The pop star kissed the ground upon her return to earth Credit: The Mega Agency 8 Katy joined Aisha Bowe, Lauren Sanchez, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen on the flight Credit: The Mega Agency 8 Orlando Bloom arrived without Katy to the Deep Cover premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival on June 10 in New York City Credit: Getty The source insisted Orlando "knew she would get backlash" from the mission, and was "frustrated" and "disappointed" with her decision to take part in it. "From day one, Orlando didn't think going on the Blue Origin mission was a good idea, and knew she would face backlash," the source explained of the actor, who has been engaged to the pop star since 2019. "He always thought it was a stupid idea and she wouldn't get anything positive out of it." Reps for Katy and Orlando did not respond to The U.S. Sun's request for comment. Read More Katy Perry WIDE AWAKE Katy Perry 'regrets behavior' on Blue Origin as star faces conspiracy theories Katy famously joined the April 15 all-female flight despite her fiance's alleged thoughts. Orlando and the pair's 4-year-old daughter Daisy watched from the crowd near Blue Origin's Texas facilities, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Katy was ridiculed by the public after her return. Some slammed her holding up a daisy and her tour setlist while aboard, and then dramatically kissing the ground upon landing. Other celebrities including Emily Ratajkowski and Olivia Munn ripped the flight as a whole. 'That space mission this morning. That's end time s**t. This is beyond parody," Emily fumed. 'Saying that you care about Mother Earth and it's about Mother Earth and you're going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that's single handedly destroying the planet? 'Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what? What was the marketing there?" 'What's the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it's a bit gluttonous,' Olivia said on the Today show. 'Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?' 8 Katy has been ridiculed for her decision to go to space Credit: The Mega Agency 8 Katy greeted Daisy and Orlando before takeoff Credit: The Mega Agency ORLANDO NEEDS SPACE The disagreement between the couple made Orlando believe Katy "doesn't take him seriously." "He has been frustrated that his opinion is not being taken seriously or even heard," the source continued. "He feels she is a different person lately." The source confirmed rumors that the two have hit a "rough patch" and are leading separate lives. According to reports this week, the couple is spending more and more time apart. People reported that Orlando and Katy faced "tension" after she felt frustrated with her latest album 143 and world tour's bad reviews. As The U.S. Sun reported in February, the Lifetimes tour has suffered from poor ticket sales. After the tour kicked off, fans ripped her dance moves and costumes. Orlando and Katy have not publicly responded to the rumors their relationship is in trouble. 8 Katy and Orlando looked happier at the LA Premiere Of Amazon's Carnival Row at TCL Chinese Theatre on August 21, 2019 in Hollywood Credit: Getty
Sydney Morning Herald
30-04-2025
- Science
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ever notice the colour of the flags at a Vietnamese restaurant? Well, we're tired of binaries
When the spacecraft carrying scientist and rights activist Amanda Nguyen pierced through the Earth's atmosphere last month, the Vietnamese diaspora held its collective breath. In Houston, political refugees who had fled postwar Vietnam clutched their chests as the rocket ascended. In Hanoi, government officials applauded their nation's first woman in space. And in Melbourne, I – a peacetime migrant from Vietnam – found myself unexpectedly weeping at the sight of that rocket trail: a perfect diagonal stitch across the sky, sewing together what history had torn apart. Nguyen – a civil rights advocate, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and daughter of Vietnamese refugees – made history as the first Southeast Asian and first Vietnamese woman to travel into space. Her scientific experiment, carried aboard a Blue Origin mission, was conducted in collaboration with Vietnam's National Space Centre. As her capsule orbited, an extraordinary diplomatic choreography unfolded. In Hanoi, the US ambassador hosted Vietnam's first cosmonaut Phạm Tuân to watch Amanda's launch. In Texas, Vietnam's ambassador greeted her return, bearing a congratulatory letter from Vietnam's president. The same government her parents fled now celebrated her achievement. Fifty years ago, Amanda's parents were among the thousands who scrambled onto overcrowded boats, fleeing a country reshaped by political transition. Each year on April 30, while Vietnam celebrates Liberation Day – the reunification of North and South – diaspora communities gather under yellow flags to mourn what many call Black April or National Resentment Day – the fall of Saigon. This duality lives in our bones: in the way elders still hoard plastic bags like wartime rations, in the hesitation when hearing a Northern accent. Many raised their children with warnings about returning to Vietnam, creating what sociologists call 'inherited disconnection' – where second-generation kids know more about their parents' trauma than their ancestral homeland itself. I've seen this play out in Footscray nail salons and Springvale phở shops, where young Vietnamese-Australians speak of a homeland frozen in 1975. A friend once confessed her non-Vietnamese colleague had been to Vietnam more often than she had. 'How do you mourn a place you've never known?' she asked. Then came Amanda's Instagram post after landing: 'How do you find belonging when the foundation of your identity is rooted in a legacy of conflict?' Her answer – người Mỹ gốc Việt (an American with Vietnamese roots) – echoed inside me, the way I explain to Aussie friends. We, who grew up after the war, live in this liminal space. Like Amanda, we code-switch between worlds: explaining bánh mì to Aussie friends while fielding our refugee relatives' warnings about 'communist influence'. We're tired of the binaries – of being asked to choose between celebration and mourning, between the red flag and the yellow.
The Age
30-04-2025
- Science
- The Age
Ever notice the colour of the flags at a Vietnamese restaurant? Well, we're tired of binaries
When the spacecraft carrying scientist and rights activist Amanda Nguyen pierced through the Earth's atmosphere last month, the Vietnamese diaspora held its collective breath. In Houston, political refugees who had fled postwar Vietnam clutched their chests as the rocket ascended. In Hanoi, government officials applauded their nation's first woman in space. And in Melbourne, I – a peacetime migrant from Vietnam – found myself unexpectedly weeping at the sight of that rocket trail: a perfect diagonal stitch across the sky, sewing together what history had torn apart. Nguyen – a civil rights advocate, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and daughter of Vietnamese refugees – made history as the first Southeast Asian and first Vietnamese woman to travel into space. Her scientific experiment, carried aboard a Blue Origin mission, was conducted in collaboration with Vietnam's National Space Centre. As her capsule orbited, an extraordinary diplomatic choreography unfolded. In Hanoi, the US ambassador hosted Vietnam's first cosmonaut Phạm Tuân to watch Amanda's launch. In Texas, Vietnam's ambassador greeted her return, bearing a congratulatory letter from Vietnam's president. The same government her parents fled now celebrated her achievement. Fifty years ago, Amanda's parents were among the thousands who scrambled onto overcrowded boats, fleeing a country reshaped by political transition. Each year on April 30, while Vietnam celebrates Liberation Day – the reunification of North and South – diaspora communities gather under yellow flags to mourn what many call Black April or National Resentment Day – the fall of Saigon. This duality lives in our bones: in the way elders still hoard plastic bags like wartime rations, in the hesitation when hearing a Northern accent. Many raised their children with warnings about returning to Vietnam, creating what sociologists call 'inherited disconnection' – where second-generation kids know more about their parents' trauma than their ancestral homeland itself. I've seen this play out in Footscray nail salons and Springvale phở shops, where young Vietnamese-Australians speak of a homeland frozen in 1975. A friend once confessed her non-Vietnamese colleague had been to Vietnam more often than she had. 'How do you mourn a place you've never known?' she asked. Then came Amanda's Instagram post after landing: 'How do you find belonging when the foundation of your identity is rooted in a legacy of conflict?' Her answer – người Mỹ gốc Việt (an American with Vietnamese roots) – echoed inside me, the way I explain to Aussie friends. We, who grew up after the war, live in this liminal space. Like Amanda, we code-switch between worlds: explaining bánh mì to Aussie friends while fielding our refugee relatives' warnings about 'communist influence'. We're tired of the binaries – of being asked to choose between celebration and mourning, between the red flag and the yellow.
New Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Empowerment? Or just a hollow word?
When Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova spent three days in space, way back in 1963, all alone up there on a solo mission, she was the first woman in space. Since then, over a hundred women have been on such voyages, but the first all-woman space flight since Tereshkova's took place only this month. On April 14, founder Jeff Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin launched six women beyond the Kármán line, in a New Shepard rocket. They flew for eleven minutes in a historical event that was more stunt than space flight. All were public figures: activist Amanda Nguyen, popstar Katy Perry, producer Kerianne Flynn, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe and journalists Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez (who happens to be Bezos' fiancée). The launch was hyped as being about women's empowerment — a claim that has been laughed down by many. Thankfully, 'giant leaps for womankind', to paraphrase Neil Armstrong, have occurred since Tereshkova's sojourn, and we aren't impressed. Perry has taken the most flak for her participation in this event, and has since said that she regrets some of her performativeness around it. On the other hand, Amanda Nguyen's presence isn't highlighted at all. Nguyen's remarkable story involves having put her astronaut dreams on hold years ago in order to devote herself to working for the rights of sexual assault survivors. For her, the experience is not a bored-billionaire-bucket-list one; it's a deferred dream come true. That said, the thing with a reductive stunt like this is that it makes commentators also make reductive observations. The truth is that the vast majority of human beings are probably medically or otherwise unfit to be launched into space, and we are going to behave in silly ways if we get the chance to — even if a suborbital joyride is all we'll take. Astronauts including Buzz Aldrin had long predicted the rise of space tourism, and it's happening now. It is, of course, restricted to the uber-wealthy. Whether or not space tourism should become accessible to everyone isn't the concern. As for the women's empowerment façade: it's mildly surprising that this tokenistic Blue Origin trip wasn't timed for International Women's Day alongside unveilings of pink-branded ventures, pink dress codes, pink record-setting floral displays, and pink debit cards to use on pink discounts galore. No: the most egregious thing about this event is the carbon footprint and to an arguably lesser extent, the financial cost. That the money involved in this undertaking could have gone to philanthropical causes is obvious to all who have righteous judgment about hyper-privileged expenditure. It's the timing of it — that it happened during a genocide-induced famine in Gaza and a clampdown on civil rights in America — that feels especially distasteful. The timing of it also includes ongoing climate apocalypse. We — all living beings of Earth — cannot escape this burning planet, not even for 11 broadcast minutes. Blue Origin claims that its New Shepard rockets have zero carbon emissions. Even if that's true, they definitely emit nitrogen oxide and water vapour. The environmental cost of space exploration for science can be ethically justified, but shooting celebrities into space for fun and profit simply cannot be.
