‘US maternal mortality is way too high’
Kavelle Christie at The Hill
America “rightly celebrates and invests in medical breakthroughs like cancer therapies and artificial intelligence diagnostics,” but “research and development in reproductive and maternal health still struggles to gain the same vital support,” says Kavelle Christie. Despite “access to promising technologies, maternal deaths in America are still rising, especially in regions facing provider shortages.” To “improve America’s maternal health crisis, Congress and federal agencies must make research and development for mothers a top priority.”
‘This is what happens when money dies’
Hani Qarmoot at Al Jazeera
The “disintegration of banknotes is not the only problem we have in Gaza,” says Hani Qarmoot. Money “is stuck. Trapped behind closed systems and political barriers.” There “are no banks to offer such withdrawals or oversee transfers.” In “Gaza today, money you can’t touch is equivalent to no money at all.” People “don’t just suffer — they shrink.” But “Gaza’s economy did not collapse due to bad policy or internal mismanagement. It was broken on purpose.”
‘Cannabis helped me after my NFL career. It can help more people if Trump reclassifies it.’
Ricky Williams at USA Today
“Veterans, cancer patients, parents of sick children and everyday Americans are turning to cannabis as a safer, plant-based alternative,” says Ricky Williams. They “aren’t looking to get high — they’re looking to get well,” but “right now, federal law is standing in their way.” Rescheduling “cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III isn’t about politics — it’s about freedom. It’s about giving people safe, legal access to medicine that works.” This “reform is smart, strategic and long overdue.”
‘Central Texas flooding caused too many preventable deaths’
The Dallas Morning News editorial board
Texas lawmakers have “introduced dozens of disaster and flood safety bills during this summer’s special legislative sessions,” but “it’s shocking these measures weren’t part of standard operating procedures, especially in an area as prone to fires and floods as Central Texas,” says The Dallas Morning News editorial board. The bills “won’t solve the challenge of untrained people appearing on scene; additional state assistance with on-site volunteer coordination might be more effective.” Volunteers are “often untrained and unaware of procedures.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
