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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Rebecca Falconer, Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath

Updated 46 mins ago - Science

Deadly Hurricane Zeta pummels Alabama after Louisiana landfall

A satellite image of Hurricane Zeta. Photo: National Hurricane Center/NOAA

Hurricane Zeta has killed at least one person after a downed power line electrocuted a 55-year-old in Louisiana as the storm moved into Alabama overnight.

What's happening: After "battering southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi," it began lashing Alabama late Wednesday, per the National Hurricane Center.

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Rebecca Falconer

1 hour ago - World

Taiwan reaches a record 200 days with no local coronavirus cases

Catholics go through containment protocols including body-temperature measurement and hands-sanitisation before entering the Saint Christopher Parish Church, Taipei City, Taiwan, in July. Photo: Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Taiwan on Thursday marked no locally transmitted coronavirus cases for 200 days, as the island of 23 million people's total number of infections reported stands at 550 and the COVID-19 death toll at seven.

Why it matters: Nowhere else in the world has reached such a milestone. While COVID-19 cases surge across the U.S. and Europe, Taiwan's last locally transmitted case was on April 12. Experts credit tightly regulated travel, early border closure, "rigorous contact tracing, technology-enforced quarantine and universal mask wearing," along with the island state's previous experience with the SARS virus, per Bloomberg.

Go deeper: As Taiwan's profile rises, so does risk of conflict with China