American Community Media

08/12/2026

A cancer survivor says she's skipping care because of rising premiums, deductible. The state of health care in Trump's America.

Health insurance premiums are expected to rise again in 2027, by at least 15%, after a 25% hike last year, notes Families USA.

08/12/2026

ACoM News Briefing Recap | New Public Charge Rules Have Chilling Effects on Immigrants and Their Children

See More: https://americancommunitymedia.org/media-briefings/new-public-charge-rules-have-chilling-effects-on-immigrants-and-their-children/

The Trump administration is reviving the public charge rule, expanding the discretion immigration officials can use when determining whether some applicants may become dependent on public benefits. The new rule is set to take effect Sept. 18.

Even before its implementation, fear and uncertainty are having a chilling effect on immigrant families. Some are withdrawing from or avoiding critical health and food assistance programs out of concern that receiving benefits could affect their immigration status.

During this ACoM media briefing, experts explain who may be affected by the new public charge rule, why mixed-status families and children are particularly vulnerable to its chilling effects, and how fear surrounding immigration enforcement is contributing to disenrollment from programs including Medicaid and SNAP.

Thank you to our guest speakers:

Joan Alker, Executive Director, Center for Children and Families, Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy

Dr. Giridhar Mallya, Public Health Physician and Senior Policy Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Xiao Wang, CEO and Co-Founder, Boundless Immigration

Experts explain the Trump administration’s expanded public charge rule, its impact on immigrant families and children, and the growing fear driving disenrollment from food, housing, and healthcare programs nationwide.

08/12/2026

“I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve studied and worked here. Being deported to El Salvador would mean starting from zero all over again in a country I don’t know."

Isela García is among the more than 200,000 Salvadorans in the US with TPS. The program is set to expire September 9.

08/07/2026

An arm wrestling match rarely lasts longer than a few seconds. Muscles strain, veins bulge, jaws clench, until a hand is eventually forced to the pads.

For many it’s a test of strength, though for some the sport is also a chance to find a sense of connection that can otherwise feel rare in today’s world.

That was the case for many of those who gathered on a recent Saturday afternoon to compete in the first ever San Francisco Arm Wrestling Club tournament, held at Standard Deviant Brewery in the city’s Mission District.

Patrons sipped craft beers as competitors gripped up over crooked elbows to see who would pull the other down.

The sport — long associated with bars, school lunchrooms, and bragging rights — is enjoying a worldwide resurgence, including in San Francisco.

Read the full story at the link in our bio.

08/06/2026

ACoM News Briefing Recap | Ancient Wisdom, Modern Science: Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza on Saving the Amazon Rainforest

See More: https://americancommunitymedia.org/media-briefings/ancient-wisdom-modern-science-dr-rosa-vasquez-espinoza-on-saving-the-amazon-rainforest/

As the Amazon faces deforestation, mining, biodiversity loss and climate change, protecting the rainforest requires more than new technology. It also requires listening to the Indigenous communities whose knowledge has sustained these ecosystems for generations.

In this briefing, Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza explains how ancestral knowledge and modern science can work together to reshape conservation. The conversation explores stingless bees and their medicinal honey, the Rights of Nature movement, ancient Amazonian land and water management, and the importance of community-led research.

Thank you to our guest speaker:
Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, Founder and Executive Director of Amazon Research Internacional, National Geographic Explorer, and author of The Spirit of the Rainforest.

Dr. Rosa Vasquez Espinoza explores how Indigenous Amazonian knowledge and modern science unite to combat deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change while advancing conservation, biomedical discovery, and protection of the world’s largest rainforest ecosystem.

08/06/2026

“The CEOs are celebrating,” said Masih Fouladi, executive director with the California Immigrant Policy Center. “This is profiteering off of human suffering.”

Fouladi spoke alongside prominent members of California’s Latino, Black and AAPI legislative caucuses during an August 5 press conference in Sacramento where the lawmakers presented a raft of bills squarely aimed at what they describe as rampant human rights violations in private detention facilities.

California's Latino Legislative Caucus is advancing a series of bills aimed at tightening regulations of private detention facilities in the state.

08/06/2026

On this day 81 years ago the US dropped an atomic bomb on , eveling the city and killing between 60,000 to 80,000 people, instantly. Tens of thousands more, most of them civilians, would later die of radiation poisoning. A new collection of poems by Anne Valley-Fox offers a powerful tool for looking deeply into our efforts to confront the violence and the horrors of that age and our own.

In her latest collection, poet Anne Valley-Fox offers a powerful tool for looking deeply into our efforts to confront the violence and horrors of an age.

08/05/2026

GLP-1 medications are changing how obesity and Type 2 diabetes are treated—but important questions remain about long-term use, what happens after treatment stops, effects on children and older adults, and who can afford access.

In this ACoM media briefing, experts examine the promise, limitations and unanswered questions surrounding these medications across the lifespan. The conversation also explains why obesity should be understood as a chronic disease—not a failure of willpower—and why medication should be accompanied by informed care, nutrition, physical activity and equitable access.

Watch the briefing:
https://americancommunitymedia.org/media-briefings/beyond-weight-loss-examining-the-promise-and-risks-of-glp-1-drugs-across-the-lifespan/

Thank you to our guest speakers: Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford (Harvard Medical School), Dr. Dan Cooper (UC Irvine School of Medicine), Jasmyne Cannick, and Dr. Jena Shaw Tronieri ( Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania).

Experts examine the promise, risks, long-term effects, and unequal access surrounding GLP-1 medications as their use expands across children, adults, and older Americans nationwide.

08/04/2026

Fernando fled Colombia in 2022. He was among the more than 80% of Colombians abroad who cast their vote for the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella, who will be sworn in Aug. 7, hoping in part the soon-to-be president would act as a bridge to the White House. Recent messaging suggests de la Espriella is willing to assume that role, though perhaps not in the way Fernando imagined.

US Colombians voted overwhelmingly for Abelardo de la Espriella, whose policies mirror a Trump White House aggressively deporting those same Colombians.

07/31/2026

The Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR released a report July 27 noting that bias attacks and threats at Islamic places of worship have risen by 183% in the past 3 months.

Threats of violence, arson, and intimidation are among the bias-related attacks faced by mosques in the US since May.

“Islamophobia remains an acceptable form of hate in the US. American places of worship are too often seen as targets for cheap political smears and violence,” said CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor in a press statement. “It is a duty on community leaders to ensure our sanctuaries remain places for prayer, reflection, and community. Vigilance is a piece of achieving this outcome,” he said.

Read the full story at the link in our bio.