Latest news with #SouthernUSA
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The GOP's new bill is structural racism at its deadliest
Let's call the Republicans' so-called 'big beautiful bill' what it is: a legislative double-barreled shotgun aimed at the bodies of women, especially Southern women and women who are Black, brown and low-income. One barrel blasts Medicaid access. The other guts Planned Parenthood. The result? A deliberate attempt to kill reproductive freedom, strip women of their basic dignity and destroy what progress this region has made in maternal health outcomes. This isn't just policy. It's punishment. Cutting Medicaid while attacking Planned Parenthood isn't fiscal responsibility. It's a targeted cruelty that hurts women nationwide. But particularly for women in the South — where health systems are already under-resourced, rural clinics are vanishing and maternal mortality rates are similar to those in developing nations — it's nothing short of a death sentence for them and their babies. Let's talk facts. In 2023 in Mississippi, 57% of births were covered by Medicaid. In Louisiana, it was 64%. These aren't just statistics. These are lives — sisters, daughters, mothers and aunties — trying to survive a system designed to abandon them. In many rural ZIP codes, Planned Parenthood is the only accessible provider of cancer screenings, contraception, prenatal maternal care and postpartum care. Gutting its funding while simultaneously choking Medicaid is like setting fire to the only lifeboat in a flood. Let's be even more real: If you are a woman living in rural Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas or Alabama, this bill doesn't just inconvenience your access to care. It incinerates it. In rural Southern counties, hospitals have shut down their labor and delivery units in droves. Some counties don't have a single practicing OB-GYN. That's not a policy failure — that's an egregious policy choice being carried out with surgical precision. Imagine being six months pregnant, with no car and no public transit and with the closest provider two hours away — if it's even taking Medicaid patients. That's not health care. That's sanctioned neglect. Rural women — especially Black, Indigenous and Latina women — have been treated like afterthoughts for generations. But now, they're being treated like collateral damage in a culture war they didn't ask to be in. This is structural racism at is deadliest. If you're a lawmaker who's gutting access to women's reproductive while smiling for photo ops at church on Sunday, understand this: Every rural woman who dies from a preventable complication, every baby born undernourished because its mother couldn't access prenatal care, every ZIP code that loses a clinic because of these budget cuts is your fault. These attacks aren't incidental. They are ideological. They are part of a long game to control women's bodies while criminalizing their autonomy — especially in Black and brown communities. It's no coincidence that the same states eager to shred Medicaid expansion are the ones leading the charge against abortion rights, denying gender-affirming care to trans youths and standing opposed to the very notion of care as a public good. That's exactly why we released 'Shift the South,' groundbreaking report rooted in the lived realities and leadership of women and girls of color across the American South. It maps the merciless, maniacal movement to suppress autonomy, erase reproductive justice and underfund communities into silence. But it also lifts up the blueprint for transformation — investing in Southern women as agents of change, not casualties of policy. It's more than data — it's our declaration. And in the face of cruelty disguised as governance, we offer clarity, courage and counterstrategy. What's left when the clinic closes, the OB-GYN relocates and the Medicaid card is worthless? Silence. Suffering. Stillbirths. We've been here before. But we refuse to die quietly this time. At the Women's Foundation of the South, we refuse to act as if women are disposable. We know that maternal health, reproductive access and community wellness aren't luxuries — they are basic rights. This bill? It's not just bad policy. It's a betrayal. We will fight it — not just with data and dollars, but with the righteous rage of every grandmother who buried a daughter too soon, every mother who had to drive 200 miles for care and every young girl growing up in a state that sees her more as a womb than a whole human being. Republicans Thursday passed their bill that cuts Medicaid and defunds Planned Parenthood, and Friday, President Trump signed it into law. They should all be aware, though, of the rage they've unleashed in women — in the South and across the country — who don't plan to sit around silently and die. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BRT Apartments Shares Available at a Bargain Price After Shareholder Meeting and Insider Purchase
BRT Apartments Corp. (NYSE:BRT) is one of the 10 dividend bargains trading below insiders' prices. Following shareholders' approval for various proposals, the company saw a positive change in its insider transactions. Aerial view of a residential apartment complex, representing the company's REIT portfolio. New York-based company, BRT Apartments Corp. (NYSE:BRT) is an internally managed REIT. The company owns and operates 29 garden-style and mid‑rise multifamily properties across 11 Southern and Texas states, totaling approximately 7,950 residential units. Founded in 1972, the company strategically invests in areas with growth indicators, such as strong job markets and proximity to universities or other key amenities. It also invests in joint ventures that own and operate these properties. On June 4, 2025, the company held an annual meeting for its shareholders. In the meeting, it managed to obtain the approval of the shareholders for multiple proposals, including the election of directors and the ratification of Ernst & Young LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm for 2025. After the meeting, there were considerable upward movements in insider transactions. The most recent being the purchase of 1,842 shares, made by Matthew J. Gould, the company's Senior Vice President, amounting to an investment of $29,099, on June 16, 2025. As of June 25, 2025, BRT Apartments Corp. (NYSE:BRT) is trading at $15.54, which is 1.6% lower than the $15.80 purchase price paid by Matthew J. Gould, offering a discounted entry for investors to the company's dividend yield of 6.44%. While we acknowledge the potential of BRT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Low Risk Dividend Paying Stocks for June 2025 and 10 Best Dividend Stocks According to Jim Cramer Disclosure. None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New roundabout coming to busy Fairhope intersection, how it could impact your drive
FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WKRG) — A major road in Fairhope is shut down to build a new roundabout, and these road closures could impact your commute for the next few weeks. Dead pelicans on Stuart Drive spark cleanup efforts — what we know The new roundabout will be near the city's iconic flower clock where Triangle Drive, Veterans Drive, Main Street and North Section Street intersect. It's all part of the city's plan to improve traffic flow and safety. 'Anybody who has traveled through that intersection knows that it's troublesome,' Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan said. 'It's a three-way intersection, and it is really confusing to people. We have had multiple accidents there.' Construction on this roundabout began in March, closing Veteran's Drive to traffic. With this next phase of the project underway, Triangle Drive is now closed from Section Street to Washington Drive. 'We're putting in the curbing and putting in another segment of the roundabout, we expect that to be about a three-week closure,' Sullivan said. The city has set up detours along Gayfer Avenue, Volanta Avenue and Highway 98. North Section Street and Main Street will also remain open to traffic and can be used as a detour. 'We know these road improvements sometimes can be inconvenient to people. We ask for you to be patient with us,' Sullivan said. 'We are doing this not only for the here and now, but for the future of Fairhope. It's going to make that intersection so much better.' UPDATE: 2 Prichard police officers on administrative leave following bat incident Crews will keep working through the summer on the project. The city expects the entire roundabout to be finished as soon as October or early November before the holiday season begins. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Yahoo
Former Loxley pastor sentenced for child porn possession
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — A former Baptist church pastor will spend six months in jail after pleading guilty to child pornography possession, has learned. Why is the Alabama child abuse registry easy to get on but hard to get off of? Allan Kyle Jones, 50, was on multiple charges after explicit images of minors were found on his phone, according to officials. Baldwin County Sheriff's Office deputies received a cyber tip from a company that monitors illegal online activity, prompting the investigation. None of the children in the images seemed to be from the area, officials said at the time. Jones pleaded guilty to one of the charges and received a 10-year sentence, split to serve six months in jail and three years of probation, plus various fines and court costs. Jones was the pastor of Lifeway Community Church on Thompson Road. Florida woman with dementia in jail after allegedly attacking her husband with a hammer He had served there since 2015. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Summerdale bicyclist dies days after expressing concern over traffic safety
BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — A Summerdale bicyclist has died after he was hit by a truck Friday night in Baldwin County, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Body found in Baldwin County An ALEA news release said 51-year-old Leslie Lovell Perdue was riding his bike on Baldwin County 28 when the truck hit him. Just two days before, Perdue spoke with about his concerns over traffic at the intersection of County Road 65 and Airport Road in Foley — roughly 3 miles from where he was killed. Family members said he will be remembered as a 'big-hearted person who would give you the shirt off his back.' They tell us that he leaves behind a son. 'We're gonna miss him,' they said in a statement. Burglary at Foley jewelry store leaves 2 businesses closed, police say ALEA officials said they are continuing to investigate the crash. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
