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Black lung has surged in Appalachia in recent years. Research has tied the epidemic to silica dust, which can burrow deep into miners’ lungs.
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The political shift in recent decades has been dramatic across the Ohio Valley, which was once defined by union power and labor issues, but now is dominated by social issues like abortion, racial justice and gay marriage.
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Brown went into the mine at 10:00 p.m. that night. But he never came out.
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At the end of March, the average price for a gallon of gas in Kentucky was just below $4 dollars. Prices are above $4 a gallon in and around the state’s largest city, Louisville. Although gas is slightly cheaper in some rural areas by about 10 to 20 cents, that’s not the case in Owsley County and surrounding areas. It isn’t near any major interstates and also has one of the highest poverty rates in Kentucky.
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The permitless carry law comes on the heels of the two deadliest years for gun violence in Ohio. According to the Ohio Department of Health, there were 1,762 gun-related deaths in 2021 and 1,764 deaths in 2020.
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School nutrition directors are faced with the daunting possibility of canceling her summer meal program, which is especially crucial for some kids because school isn’t in session to provide regular meals.
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Though they’re about 5,000 miles apart, Appalachia has a lot in common with Ukraine, especially the rugged Carpathian Mountains in the western side of the country.
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For many people in rural parts of the Ohio Valley, wading through a sea of anti-abortion protesters is a jarring experience that can only take place after hours of driving, sometimes across state lines.
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More than two months after the tornado outbreak tore through western Kentucky communities, hundreds of those displaced by the natural disaster are still living in hotels, state lodges or homes still in need of repairs. Some survivors like Galbreath see hope on the horizon and are willing to wait in a hotel for the near future. But others are facing the uncertain reality of a housing shortage that existed before the storm, and it could mean the difference between whether someone chooses to stay or leave their community.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider intimate partner violence, or IPV, a “serious public health problem.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, IPV deaths have increased both in West Virginia and Ohio. Data isn’t available yet for Kentucky.
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A child care desert is any census tract that contains more than 50 children under age five where no child care providers are available, or where there are more than three-times as many children as licensed child care slots.
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In West Virginia, the year culminated in a series of tumultuous events, from strikes to union drives, across Huntington, Charleston and the southern coalfields.