Dec 9, 2019

Maternity care is really bad in Texas

A report from ProPublica, the Texas Tribune and Vox sheds some light on the terrible state of maternity care in Texas.

The big picture: The state "prioritize[s] babies over mothers, thwarts women at every turn, frustrates doctors and midwives, and incentivizes substandard care," the report states, citing gross medical errors, racial disparities and structural deficiencies.

  • The application process for Medicaid in Texas has been found to be incredibly difficult, causing women in the state to have the latest entry to prenatal care in the country.
  • Late-postpartum deaths in Texas are about 40%, and African American women have the greatest risk.

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Sara Fischer
9 mins ago - Economy & Business

Exclusive: Facebook cracks down on political content disguised as local news

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Facebook is rolling out a new policy that will prevent U.S. news publishers with "direct, meaningful ties" to political groups from claiming the news exemption within its political ads authorization process, executives tell Axios.

Why it matters: Since the 2016 election, reporters and researchers have uncovered over 1,200 instances in which political groups use websites disguised as local news outlets to push their point of view to Americans.

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Ina Fried
11 mins ago - Technology

Nationalism and authoritarianism threaten the internet's universality

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Governments around the world, prompted by nationalism, authoritarianism and other forces, are threatening the notion of a single, universal computer network — long the defining characteristic of the internet.

The big picture: Most countries want the internet and the economic and cultural benefits that come with it. Increasingly, though, they want to add their own rules — the internet with an asterisk, if you will. The question is just how many local rules you can make before the network's universality disappears.

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Ben Geman
32 mins ago - Energy & Environment

The Democratic fight to shape Biden's climate policy

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Left-wing climate activists don't want Joe Biden getting advice from people with credentials they don't like — and they're increasingly going public with their campaign.

Why it matters: Nobody is confusing Biden with President Trump, and his climate platform goes much further than anything contemplated in the Obama years.

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