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Caption: PBS News Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff, left, talks to homeowner Laura Torres, right, in Kentucky. Torres moved into her new home a year ago with the help of Habitat for Humanity. Photo by Frank Carlson/PBS News.

It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.


3 WAYS AMERICANS ARE TRYING TO OVERCOME POLARIZATION

By Judy Woodruff, @JudyWoodruff ([link removed])
Senior correspondent

Since early this year, so much of the news focus has been on Washington. In that time, the “America at a Crossroads” team and I have been on the road, reporting from a dozen different communities ([link removed]) and speaking to people who are working to bridge today’s deep political divides.

This builds on the two years of reporting we’ve done on divisions in this country, while trying to understand the root causes.

Three specific stories come to mind that show how Americans are seeking to overcome our nation’s polarization.

As social trust erodes, this project seeks to repair it

[link removed]
Watch the segment in the player above.


In Raleigh, North Carolina, Jordan Bowman was inspired by his own experiences growing up and formed the organization "Journeymen" to reach out to young men. The nonprofit focuses on those who are experiencing isolation, a lack of direction and motivation, and who are susceptible to emotional and mental health problems, often turning to alcohol or drugs. (Research shows there’s an epidemic of social isolation ([link removed]) among young men across the country.)

This loneliness, in turn, contributes to society's divides. Journeymen finds mentors for these young men, in their teens and 20s, and meets with them regularly ([link removed]) to encourage them to share feelings that men are so often taught to suppress.

High school junior Axel Cuba Arroyo was initially reluctant to join, and did so only at his mother’s urging. But the gatherings, including around backyard firepits, led him to change direction. The program, he said, allows him to share problems and feel safe, thanks to the “tone and the setting of all of us being able to be there, ‘I want you to trust me so I can help you.’”

Using AI to find common ground

[link removed]
Watch the segment in the player above.


At a time when artificial intelligence raises alarms for its effects on employment, education and a lot more, we traveled to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to discover how it’s been used to promote civic engagement. ([link removed])

Leaders in this fast-growing city and surrounding county face classic challenges like a lack of affordable housing and transportation, along with urban-rural tensions. So Kentucky's third largest city teamed up with one of Google’s tech incubators, Jigsaw, to survey as many people as possible about what they want their community to look like in 2050.

Using AI tools, they were able to reach one-tenth of residents and found 80 percent agreement ([link removed]) over what the community wanted — valuable insights for a place planning its future.

A way to restore dignity to political disagreements

[link removed]
Watch the segment in the player above.

I also sat down with Tim Shriver, former head of the Special Olympics, which was founded by his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. He’s also the son of the Peace Corps’ founding leader, Sarge Shriver. Tim, as a member of a famous political family, is working outside politics to try to improve the way Americans treat each other.

Deploring the state of American political discourse today, Tim and others came up with “The Dignity Index,” ([link removed]) a way to measure speech by our political leaders (and even by ordinary citizens). The eight-point index gives high grades for respectful discourse that affirms the value of the other person, but low grades for showing contempt. Looking around at so much of the political commentary right now, Shriver acknowledged it’ll be tough to make change, but insisted we must try.

“My uncle President Kennedy famously said ‘We’re going to go to the moon not because it’s easy, because it’s hard.’”

“What’s the alternative?” he asked. “Let’s just say, ‘I love my country and I just hate everybody in it?’”

What’s next for Crossroads
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This mural stands in east Belfast, a loyalist area of the city. The crossroads team traveled to Northern Ireland to learn about how people there are reflecting on the violence between Catholics and Protestants, decades later. Photo by Frank Carlson/PBS News

Soon, you’ll see the results of another reporting trip we made this year; this one to Northern Ireland.

Why there? Because it’s been 27 years since they managed to put an end to “The Troubles,” a period of bloody sectarian violence between Catholics and Protestants. We wanted to know how different things are today. Have people on opposite sides forgiven those who murdered their loved ones? And are there lessons for America’s divisions? That reporting will air later in August.
More on politics from our coverage:

* Watch: The legality of Trump’s D.C. takeover ([link removed]) as statistics show decline in crime.
* One Big Question: Could Trump expand this approach ([link removed]) ? Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR discuss.
* A Closer Look: How Trump’s immigration policies are affecting caregivers and nursing homes ([link removed]) .
* Perspectives: “We’re allowed to be partisan” in drawing congressional maps, Texas Republican says ([link removed]) .

QUESTIONS REMAIN OVER RURAL HEALTH FUND
By Laura Santhanam
Health Reporter & Coordinating Producer for Polling

In an attempt to get President Donald Trump’s big bill approved, some Senate Republicans carved out a new $50 billion health fund ([link removed]) to help offset the expected effects of the law’s $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts on rural areas.

Many questions remain over how the Trump administration will determine which states get funding and how much of a shortfall will remain after the historic cuts ultimately kick in.

Here’s a brief breakdown of where things stand now:
* A major upcoming deadline. States must submit their applications to participate in the Rural Health Transformation Program by early September, about a month away.
* An estimate to keep in mind. Experts at KFF estimate the fund amounts to 5% ([link removed]) of what the country lost in Medicaid spending.
* A call for more answers. Last week, 27 House Democrats submitted a letter last week to Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. demanding answers by Aug. 15 ([link removed]) about this fund, including deadlines, criteria and if states can appeal decisions from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).


What’s at stake

“When you lose a hospital, the community eventually dies because people leave,” said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., one of the signees of the letter to Kennedy. “This fund does not fix the pain that rural hospitals will go through.”

The temporary fund is frontloaded, expiring after five years, said Joan Alker, CFF’s executive director and co-founder. But many of the law’s permanent cuts are scattered over the next decade and fall along future election cycles, she added.

On top of that, experts told PBS News this rural health fund increasingly resembles a slush fund where CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz holds great discretion over who qualifies for funding and who doesn’t. States are expected to take responsibility for costs once paid by the federal government, but Alker said that’s “not realistic.”

The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to PBS News’ request for comment.

“When states and rural hospitals are really feeling the pinch, this fund's not going to be there anymore,” Alker said.

How one state could be affected

In New Mexico, 43% of residents have health coverage through Medicaid.

At least six hospitals are in danger of closing due to financial burdens placed on them by the OBBBA’s cuts, said Troy Clark, president and CEO of New Mexico Hospital Association. He wants to know what restrictions states may face on how they disperse funds to hospitals.

Vanessa Herrera could potentially lose Medicaid, jeopardizing access to expensive medication for her 7-year-old son who has hemophilia, a genetic blood-clotting disorder.

“A lot of us are just trying to survive out here,” Herrera said. “Having the hospital close by — everything is so important.”

THIS WEEK’S TRIVIA QUESTION
By Matt Loffman, @mattloff ([link removed])
Senior elections producer

Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police marks the first time a president has taken control of the city’s police force since the Home Rule Act was adopted.

Our question: What year did the Home Rule Act go into effect?

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: Which state's redrawn district map led to the creation of “gerrymandering”?

The answer: Massachusetts. ([link removed]) According to the Library of Congress, the portmanteau was first used in an 1812 edition of the Boston Gazette, a response to Gov. Elbridge Gerry’s redrawn Senate districts that were likened to a shapely salamander.

Congratulations to our winners: Brenda Radford and Jim Brydon!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.

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