Rural

Oregon scientists have unlocked some of the mysteries of the Zika virus, tracking how it invades the body. The research by a team at Oregon Health & Science University is likely to help develop a vaccine against the virus, which has caused outbreaks in South America and Southeast Asia and also has turned up in Florida and Texas. The study was conducted on male and female rhesus macaque monkeys last year at OHSU's primate center in Beaverton. Scientists followed the virus as it spread from the bloodstream to other tissues. [node:read-more:link]

Another year, another pile of dead dogs and cats for the crematorium, courtesy of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Late Tuesday night—almost literally at the last minute—PETA filed its 2016 animal custody information with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) admitting it had killed nearly 72% of the cats and dogs that came through the “animal shelter” at its headquarters. That’s 1,411 dead dogs and cats at the hands of PETA last year alone. [node:read-more:link]

The House Republican leadership’s legislation to partially repeal and replace the 2010 health care law would reduce the deficit by $337 billion over a decade while increasing the number of uninsured by 24 million people in 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Monday. [node:read-more:link]

For 2016, the IHS estimates there was $31.3 trillion in total sales activity in the United States across all sectors; of that total, IHS estimates that $416.2 billion in sales was supported by the o -highway equipment and ancillary products industry’s economic activity. This occurred through approximately $266.5 billion in direct industry sales activity, such as the sales of equipment like skid steers and combines, which generated additional economic activity as dollars fl owed through the equipment manufacturing supply chain. [node:read-more:link]

One in four Ohio hospitals could close if an Affordable Care Act replacement rescinds Medicaid expansion without a new revenue source, Ohio Hospital Association CEO Mike Abrams said, one of a growing chorus of Ohioans speaking up about the GOP health-care proposal. [node:read-more:link]

As the new Administration gets going, understanding certain segments of the economy will gain importance. One area that many don't consider is the off-highway equipment market, which includes farm equipment. A new report released by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers shows that off-highway equipment manufacturing supports about 1.3 million jobs and has contributed more than $159 billion to the Gross Domestic Product of the U.S. in 2016. The association unveiled the report during its Conexpo-Con/Agg 2017 event being held in Las Vegas. [node:read-more:link]

After living more than 40 years along a road plagued by potholes, Jo Anne Amoura was excited to see city crews shred her block of Leavenworth Street into gravel. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is great. We’re going to get a new street,’” Ms. Amoura recalled. “And then we waited and waited and waited.”Fresh pavement never arrived. Only after the asphalt had been ripped out almost three years ago did Ms. Amoura and her neighbors learn that their street had been “reclaimed,” Omaha City Hall’s euphemism for unpaving a road.“It’s really kind of like living in the country in the city,” said Ms. [node:read-more:link]

Wildfires are getting bigger and hotter across the West, threatening communities and causing billions of dollars in damage as forests become more cluttered and prone to disease. That’s according to a presentation by Paul Hessburg, research landscape ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, documenting how the landscape has changed and what effect humans are having on fire behavior. [node:read-more:link]

Monsanto officials say they’ll use a large corporate ranch in a phosphate-rich area of Caribou County to research sage grouse habitat restoration on land denuded for agricultural activities. Monsanto has hired a Ph.D. involved in sage grouse work and plans to collaborate with university researchers on projects at the ranch, intended to help mitigate for the company’s planned Caldwell Canyon Mine. [node:read-more:link]

Rural voters tended to vote Republican and urban voters Democratic in this election. The divide may have less to do with party labels and more to do with political philosophy. Rural Americans are more conservative than urban dwellers, and their priorities often differ.   In an analysis after the recent election, National Public Radio said the rural-urban divide grew in 2016 from where it was in 2012 and 2008, and it was because rural counties became progressively more Republican. [node:read-more:link]