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“In Atlanta, journalist Brian Goldstone introduces us to the intersection of Memorial Drive and Candler Road – the threshold of two neighborhoods. On one side: a liberal arts college and cafés. “And you cross over, and it’s dialysis centers, it’s liquor stores, it’s payday lenders,” he said. “Other areas of Atlanta are booming, but this area sort of stayed stuck in this period of decline. … The poor are out here on these peripheral areas.”

“SAN FRANCISCO — It takes Tazo Stuart-Riascos 28,000 steps per day to make ends meet in one of America’s most unaffordable places.

“In early 2023, Rebecca Smith was two months sober and looking for help. Her addiction to methamphetamines had cost her custody of her children, and she’d moved back home to Graham County, North Carolina, to rebuild her life. High cholesterol and heart problems ran in her family, and during her struggle with addiction she had been diagnosed with diabetes. She knew that staying sober would require taking better care of herself.

“COLUMBUS, Ohio — State senators advanced a bill that would require students in grades 6-12 to learn a three-pronged theory that states that people who complete at least a high school education, work full time and marry before having children are less likely to live in poverty in adulthood.

“Wealth has long been tied to longevity in the U.S. and other countries, but a new analysis helps quantify the gap between how long low-income older Americans and their more affluent peers tend to live.

“The Trump administration is preparing a plan that would make it harder for older Americans to qualify for Social Security disability payments, part of an overhaul of the federal safety net for poor, older and disabled people that could result in hundreds of thousands of people losing benefits, according to people familiar with the plans.

“Funding for a program that helps millions of women and children with neonatal care and nutrition could soon run out as the federal government plunges deeper into a shutdown, according to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.

“A federal watchdog reported last week that Georgia’s program requiring able-bodied adults to document low-paying work to get Medicaid has spent much more on administrative costs than on providing health care.

“In pushing deep Medicaid cuts through Congress this year, President Trump and his Republican allies did not just squeeze a program that pays doctors and hospitals to provide poor people health care.

Devon Price, a 15-year-old boy with autism, has attended the largest school district in North Carolina for 10 years, but he cannot read or write. His twin sister, Danielle, who is also autistic, was bullied by classmates and became suicidal.