When it comes to closing the health-care gap in America, it seems like everybody's got a plan. Or at least a PowerPoint. It's not all politicians and (often empty) promises, though. Some corporations see a business opportunity and are actually taking action. Walmart, operator of 4,756 stores across the U.S., is testing in-store clinics to provide affordable care. This is the retailer that introduced $4 prescriptions to Americans 15 years ago, so we're talking really affordable: $30 medical checkups, $25 dental cleanings, even therapy for just $1 a minute. No insurance required. As the new coronavirus continues to spread, the cost of U.S. health care could become an acute problem: The Trump administration told Congress Wednesday that if a vaccine were developed, it might not be affordable for all Americans. —Philip Gray Did you see this? Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul, was convicted of rape in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, vindicating the broader #MeToo movement. He faces as many as 25 years in prison. Huge detention centers for people who can't prove their citizenship are part of the Hindu majority's campaign to reassert their vision of what it means to be Indian. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new law, which has triggered deadly riots, has been widely condemned as anti-Muslim. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case about whether a Catholic nonprofit that discriminates against same-sex couples can legally be excluded from Philadelphia's foster-care system. Twenty-four of the 25 largest companies to go public last year did so with at least one female director. Hong Kong is reeling from protests and backlash followed by pandemic and panic. The government is hoping residents will forgive and forget (and spend) if they each receive a check for $1,284. Katherine Johnson, a mathematician and one of the black women whose underappreciated work on early American space flight was chronicled in the 2016 film "Hidden Figures," died Monday at the age of 101. She once explained her role: "You tell me when and where you want it to come down, and I will tell you where and when and how to launch it." We love charts It would take 53 weeks for the typical U.S. man to earn enough money to afford a middle-class life. A U.S. woman would have to work 66 weeks. In other words, for many the American dream has become just that: a dream. Where abortion is legal but scarce The latest strategies by anti-abortion forces appear to be working, especially in parts of the U.S. most hostile to the procedure. Activists have pushed for regulations that target providers and sought to raise operating costs in an effort to push specific clinics out of business. As a result, the number of independent clinics (which provide most abortions) has fallen by one-third since 2012. Though the procedure has been legal since 1973, U.S. providers are struggling in much of the nation to make it available. |
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