No October Surprises... Yet
Let's keep it that way.
Dear Reader,
Happy Hump Day! Here are this week’s top stories on the world’s most pressing health and environmental disparities:
Best regards,
Alex Ip
Publisher and Editor
🏆 ICYMI: The Xylom's Nepal Gen-Z Protests Reporting Wins South Asian Journalists Association Award
The South Asian Journalists Association has named The Xylom contributor tanka dhakal the winner of a 2026 SAJA Award, which honors excellence in U.S. and Canadian journalists of South Asian backgrounds, as well as coverage of issues related to South Asia worldwide. "Nepal's Air Got More Toxic During Gen-Z Protests" won the Outstanding Student Journalism Award.
Congrats to tanka, as well as freelance photographer Bersha Shah and Laasya, who edited the story! Thank you also for your support that made this story possible. Read more about the award and judges’ comments here.
🍑 A SOUTHERN FLAIR
TEXAS — Texas Pediatricians Face Paxton Investigations for Vaccinating Children (Christina Jewett, The New York Times)
“I think aligning himself with Kennedy helped him get an endorsement from President Trump, which then allowed him to win the Senate primary here in Texas,” said Dr. Heidi Russell, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Health Policy at Rice University in Houston.
WALTERBORO, S.C. — Settlement protects sensitive ACE Basin from data center development in Colleton County (Lydia Larsen, The Post and Courier)
For [plaintiff Jennifer] Singleton, who set out to prevent a 859-acre data center near her home, the added protections across broader swaths of the county are a big win.
[…]
“I think that this is a model that could probably be replicated elsewhere,” Singleton said.
Georgia scraps window-shopping period for 2027 ACA plans (Tamar Hallerman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Scrapping the window-shopping period is an unusual development, said Laura Colbert, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future. She said it has been a standard part of the calendar since the Obamacare marketplace was launched more than a decade ago.
“I think given the premium volatility, it’s definitely not helpful for consumers to not have the extra time,” said Colbert, though she noted that many people tend to wait until closer to the open enrollment deadline before settling on their plans.
🟠 TRACKING TRUMP
Trump temporarily expands access to tax-free red-dyed diesel. Will it lower costs? (Mary Cunningham, CBS News)
"It might lead to savings for some, but there are a lot of details that will prevent this from having widespread relief," Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, told CBS News.
PORTLAND, Maine — Trump tried to make allies of fishermen. Some are turning on him (Patrick Whittle, Associated Press)
A trade war with such a key partner could have negative consequences for the fishing industry, said Steve Train, a lobster fisherman from Long Island, Maine, who described himself as a “right-leaning centrist” who has voted Republican more than Democrat.
“I get the standing up to a bully concept, but too many people will be caught in the middle of this,” Train said. “Both sides need to reconsider these tariffs, and they need to reconsider soon.”
Supreme Court to consider whether suit may go forward seeking to hold energy companies liable for climate change (Amy Howe, SCOTUSBlog)
LOCHIEL, Ariz. — Final “grandmother” cottonwood toppled, protesters arrested in Lochiel (Stephanie Casanova, Arizona Luminaria)
Republicans tried to punt health care cuts until after the midterms. It didn’t work. (Alice Miranda Ollstein, POLITICO)
These 6 charts show how NIH research funding has been reshaped under Trump (Joseph Kim, NPR)
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🗺️ WHAT ELSE WE'RE READING
VATICAN CITY — American money is flowing back to the Vatican. But at a price (Iacopo Scaramuzzi, la Repubblica)
As for private funding, [American theologian] Dawn Eden Goldstein is succinct: “Given how small the Vatican’s operating budget is, American donors could, if they wanted to, finance a considerable part of it”.
But at what price? “I think they hope the Pope will talk more about these so-called pelvic issues and less about the preferential option for the poor,” Goldstein says wryly. In other words: more denunciations of homosexuality and abortion, less on climate change and immigration.
WARSAW — Polish activists launch abortion pill locker to bypass near-total ban (Ashifa Kassam, The Guardian)
“And why not?” said Kinga Jelinska, the director of the Women Help Women foundation and co-founder of the Abortion Dream Team […]
“You can order underwear, cosmetics, mascara, whatever and receive it practically the same or next day,” she said. “Why not abortion pills, where in some cases there might be more urgency?”
Where did all the vegan restaurants go? (Marina Bolotnikova, Vox)
But perhaps my favorite explanation was articulated by Financial Times journalist Henry Mance last year: “The decline in idealism,” reflected in the reelection of Donald Trump — the triumph of our collective id.
Viral anti-vax posts weaponise Philippine inoculation fears (Ara Eugenio and Purple Romero, AFP)
"They get scared because the vlog said vaccines are fatal," said Wenna Mae Belen, a rural health worker in Sorsogon province.
Conversations with some parents have also become hostile, Belen added.
"They tell me if something bad happens, they'll make me suck the vaccines out of their kids' bodies."
Royal College of Nursing cuts ties with Israeli drug company (Dennis Campbell, The Guardian)
Fifty Billion Seedlings: Can Ethiopia Replant Its Ravaged Forests? (Samuel Abate and Freddie Clayton, Yale E360)
Where Did All of Your City’s Public Bathrooms Go? (Maylin Tu, Next City)
HONG KONG — Greenpeace catches Hong Kong geopark ‘golden week’ visitors damaging marine life (Theodora Yu, South China Morning Post)
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