Featured Stories
Health Foundation Responds to Decision to Retain Healthwatch
LONDON, England, Oct. 29 -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release:
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Health Foundation responds to decision to retain Healthwatch
28 October 2026
Responding to the government's decision to retain Healthwatch, Hugh Alderwick, Director of Policy and Research at the Health Foundation, said:
'The government is right to reverse course on its plans to abolish Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch organisations. This will avoid yet more unnecessary disruption in the NHS and means patients retain an independent voice to influence how the health system works. The NHS has a
... Show Full Article
LONDON, England, Oct. 29 -- The Health Foundation issued the following news release:
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Health Foundation responds to decision to retain Healthwatch
28 October 2026
Responding to the government's decision to retain Healthwatch, Hugh Alderwick, Director of Policy and Research at the Health Foundation, said:
'The government is right to reverse course on its plans to abolish Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch organisations. This will avoid yet more unnecessary disruption in the NHS and means patients retain an independent voice to influence how the health system works. The NHS has amixed record of listening to patients - so it's right that government is also using the bill to strengthen its own arrangements to hear and act on patients' views.
'But the experience of Healthwatch to date has been varied and its impact hampered by budget cuts and a power imbalance with the NHS. So, the decision to retain national and local HealthWatch bodies needs to be paired with sufficient resources and guidance for these organisations to fulfil their crucial roles effectively. Ultimately, changes to culture and management in the NHS will be needed to make policy ambitions on patient voice a reality.'
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Original text here: https://www.health.org.uk/press-office/press-releases/health-foundation-responds-to-decision-to-retain-healthwatch
Freedom From Religion Foundation: Another Catholic Church's Abuse Crisis Comes With an $800 Million Price Tag
MADISON, Wisconsin, Oct. 29 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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October 28, 2026
Another Catholic Church's abuse crisis comes with an $800 million price tag
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling attention to yet another staggering settlement involving sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to an $800 million settlement with approximately 1,300 survivors who say they were sexually abused by clergy. The agreement, announced over the weekend, would be the second-largest settlement involving a Catholic archdiocese
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, Oct. 29 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:
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October 28, 2026
Another Catholic Church's abuse crisis comes with an $800 million price tag
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling attention to yet another staggering settlement involving sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to an $800 million settlement with approximately 1,300 survivors who say they were sexually abused by clergy. The agreement, announced over the weekend, would be the second-largest settlement involving a Catholic archdiocesein U.S. history. It underscores the devastating consequences of decades of institutional secrecy, misconduct and failures to protect children.
The settlement follows more than seven years of litigation and is expected to be formally signed in early November. It represents another extraordinary financial reckoning for an institution that has repeatedly failed to protect children from sexual predators within its ranks.
"Eight hundred million dollars. Thirteen hundred survivors. And that's just one archdiocese," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "These numbers are almost impossible to comprehend, but behind every claim is a human being whose life was forever changed by abuse committed under the supposed moral authority of the Catholic Church. No amount of money can undo that harm."
The New York settlement is only the latest in a growing list of enormous payouts involving Catholic institutions. In 2024, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $880 million to approximately 1,000 survivors, on top of $740 million previously paid in abuse claims. Earlier this year, the Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed to a $395 million settlement involving approximately 500 lawsuits. In December 2025, a federal judge approved a settlement requiring the Archdiocese of New Orleans to pay at least $230 million to abuse survivors.
Together, these settlements represent billions of dollars in compensation for abuse that should never have occurred.
FFRF emphasizes that the financial settlements, while significant, cannot erase the institutional failures that allowed clergy sexual abuse to persist for generations. The Catholic Church's longstanding culture of clerical deference, secrecy and protection of its reputation has too often come at the expense of vulnerable children.
"The Catholic Church has spent centuries claiming to be a moral authority on everything from sexuality to family life," says FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. "Yet its own institutions have been responsible for an astonishing amount of sexual abuse and suffering."
The New York agreement was made possible in part by the state's Child Victims Act, enacted in 2019, which expanded opportunities for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to seek justice, including a temporary window allowing previously time-barred claims to proceed.
FFRF applauds the survivors whose courage and persistence made this settlement possible and urges lawmakers nationwide to ensure that statutes of limitations do not prevent survivors of childhood sexual abuse from holding perpetrators and complicit institutions accountable.
FFRF recently honored one of the nation's leading advocates for clergy abuse survivors at its national convention in Milwaukee. Peter Isely, a survivor of childhood sexual assault by a Roman Catholic priest and co-founder of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), received FFRF's Clarence Darrow Award in recognition of his advocacy. Isely's decades of work helping survivors speak out and demanding accountability from the Catholic Church exemplify the courage and persistence that have made settlements like the one in New York possible.
"Every time another massive settlement is announced, we are reminded that this was never a matter of a few isolated bad actors," adds Gaylor. "The scope of the abuse and the institutional failures demand far more than financial compensation -- they demand transparency, accountability and an end to the culture of religious privilege that helped make these horrors possible."
FFRF stands with the survivors and calls on religious institutions to prioritize the safety and well-being of children over the preservation of their reputations.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 40,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/another-catholic-churchs-abuse-crisis-comes-with-an-800-million-price-tag/
[Category: Religion]
Foundation for Economic Education Issues Commentary: European Free Trade Area Deal Could Keep Vietnam's Tiger Economy on Track
DETROIT, Michigan, Oct. 29 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary:
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October 28, 2026
Vietnam Banks on Europe
Jake Scott
The EFTA deal could keep Vietnam's Tiger Economy on track.
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For most economies, especially those in the West, a growth of 9.95% would be celebrated--but in Vietnam, it has caused legislators to go into a panic. Despite achieving the fastest economic growth since 2022, it has fallen short of a target set by Vietnam's National Assembly in April 2026, of an average annual growth of at least 10% over the next five years.
It is for this
... Show Full Article
DETROIT, Michigan, Oct. 29 -- The Foundation for Economic Education issued the following commentary:
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October 28, 2026
Vietnam Banks on Europe
Jake Scott
The EFTA deal could keep Vietnam's Tiger Economy on track.
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For most economies, especially those in the West, a growth of 9.95% would be celebrated--but in Vietnam, it has caused legislators to go into a panic. Despite achieving the fastest economic growth since 2022, it has fallen short of a target set by Vietnam's National Assembly in April 2026, of an average annual growth of at least 10% over the next five years.
It is for thisreason that Vietnam is banking on the new free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) to provide the final boost.
For anyone who is unfamiliar, EFTA is not the same as the EU, but a distinct group of four nations--Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. The market itself is small, with roughly 15 million people across the four nations, but the per capita wealth is very high: collectively, the EFTA bloc has a GDP of about $1.33 trillion, or about $108,000 per person in 2024.
Not to confuse things too much, but there is some overlap between EFTA and the EU, in that all EFTA nations except Switzerland have access to the EU Single Market through the European Economic Area agreement of 1994.
This distinction is important in context. While Vietnam and the EU have an existing trade agreement, in place since 2020 and intended to eliminate 99% of all tariffs, the new agreement between Vietnam and the EFTA specifically (EFTA-FTA) has been presented by both sides as a way to diversify markets while an ongoing trade war disrupts global trade. Indeed, the value of the deal is expected to boost economies at both ends of the deal significantly: already, Switzerland is Vietnam's largest trading partner within the EFTA, with bilateral trade reaching approximately $3.5 billion in 2025.
Agreed on October 18, 2026, in Hanoi, the deal is expected to come into force, according to the Ambassador for Norway Stein Iversen, "three months after Vietnam and at least one of the four EFTA members complete ratification."
The value of the deal is obvious for the EFTA nations: Vietnam can act as a ready gateway into Asia. Vietnam itself has a population of around 100 million, and--more importantly--the Vietnamese economy is linked to the ASEAN single free trade area (roughly 680 million people). In theory, a Swiss watchmaker could now relocate production to Vietnam, and ship the completed products back to Switzerland, potentially reducing prices for Swiss customers while bringing jobs for Vietnamese workers. Moreover, that Swiss watchmaker could now shop tariff-free to nations like Japan or Australia (provided the origin rules are met).
For Vietnam, however, the deal is part of a wider strategy dictated by the Communist Government towards the economy and domestic policy. Outlined earlier this year as the Vietnamese "Tiger Economy" strategy, the goal is for the economy to grow by 10% every year until 2030 in order to bring it into line with the wider Southeast Asian region. And while 9.95% is an impressive level of growth, when a target is politically motivated rather than economically determined, the risk comes from what--or who--is to blame for the target being missed. With a shortfall this small, it is easy for the government to blame the economy, rather than prompt a re-examination of the target itself.
But the EFTA-FTA is highly attractive to Vietnam for what it might do to the import/export balance sheet. Throughout 2026 Q3, exports rose by 24.5%, itself worth celebrating; but balanced against an increase of imports by 36.7%, this has led to a record trade deficit of $19.42 billion.
However, by gaining access to a market of an estimated 15 million consumers in the EFTA nations, Vietnam has the potential to reach a significant and wealthy market that desires exactly the products Vietnam leads in.
The foremost amongst these is the machinery and electrical equipment that Vietnam produces, of which the EU imported roughly Euros33.8 billion (about $38 billion at time of writing) in 2025--but importantly, more than half of all imports in this category came from Vietnam. EFTA might be small in comparison to the EU's, but reducing barriers to entry for this market which already buys machinery from Vietnam will be a major boost to the Vietnamese economy.
Alongside electrical goods, Vietnam produces many items that are highly valued in the wealthy EFTA economy: textiles and high-end fashion items produced in the Southeast Asian country are particularly appealing, as are every day staples like coffee (which, with cashews and pepper, was worth Euros4.5 billion, or $5.04 billion, in 2025), seafood, and handcrafted items like wooden furniture.
Moreover, the motivation of diversifying the economy in the face of tariffs and import duties is a major one for Vietnam, which acts in many ways as a middle-economy for firms in the United States and China. Vietnam's surplus with the United States reached $122.6 billion, while the deficit with China hit $121.5 billion. With figures so symmetrical between nations in the midst of a trade war, it makes Vietnam look more like a conduit than an economy--but a diversification of markets away from the two sides of a trade war can reduce the dependency risk of being tied so firmly into the supply chain.
The actual contents of the EFTA-FTA deal do not vary massively from the current status quo--Switzerland already scrapped tariffs on all industrial goods in 2024--but for electronics, clothing, and shoes, the deal is there to make trade rules more predictable and concretize zero tariffs as the standard.
The main gains for Vietnam are in food exports. As European nations--both within the EU and in ancillary markets like EFTA, Britain, and neighboring nations--protect their agricultural markets stringently, the new deal promises Vietnam farm concessions in line with the EFTA's recent FTAs with other countries.
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Jake Scott
Dr Jake Scott is a political theorist specialising in populism and its relationship to political constitutionality. He has taught at multiple British universities and produced research reports for several think tanks.
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Original text here: https://fee.org/articles/vietnam-banks-on-europe/
Young People's Health Is at Risk as Global Funding Shrinks
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 28 -- The AIDS Healthcare Foundation posted the following news:
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Young People's Health Is at Risk as Global Funding Shrinks
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As global health funding shrinks and governments face growing financial pressures, millions of young people risk losing access to essential HIV prevention, sexual health education, and other services that can protect them throughout their lives. With hundreds of thousands of young people acquiring HIV each year worldwide, sustained investment in youth-friendly health services and in opportunities for young people to lead prevention
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 28 -- The AIDS Healthcare Foundation posted the following news:
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Young People's Health Is at Risk as Global Funding Shrinks
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As global health funding shrinks and governments face growing financial pressures, millions of young people risk losing access to essential HIV prevention, sexual health education, and other services that can protect them throughout their lives. With hundreds of thousands of young people acquiring HIV each year worldwide, sustained investment in youth-friendly health services and in opportunities for young people to lead preventionefforts is critical to protecting their health and futures.
Globally, 370,000 young people ages 15 to 24 acquired HIV in 2024, including 145,000 adolescents ages 15 to 19. In 2025, an estimated 93,000 children ages 14 and younger acquired HIV. Adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa face particularly high risks, accounting for approximately 160,000 new HIV infections in 2025, with infection rates three to four times higher than their male peers.
Fortunately, effective approaches already exist.
Youth-friendly HIV and sexual and reproductive health services, age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education, and safe spaces for learning and dialogue help young people make informed decisions and protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. But far too many still can't access these resources.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation supports young people through programs such as Girls Act, Boys2Men, and other young people's programs that build knowledge, confidence, and leadership skills. These efforts recognize that young people are not just recipients of health information, but also essential partners in creating healthier communities.
That approach was on display in Ghana last month when AHF partnered with the Ghana AIDS Commission to bring together youth-led organizations and social media influencers. Participants discussed condom use, STI prevention, and barriers to accessing services, then developed messages in their own words to share with their online communities (pictured above).
"Growing up, most of the conversations I heard focused on abstinence, but the reality is that not every young person makes the same choices," said Oduro Nathaniel, an event participant. "Religious institutions can help parents understand that talking about condoms doesn't encourage young people to have sex; it equips them with information that could protect their health and future."
But youth leadership and civil society efforts can't replace sustained government investment. As developing countries struggle with mounting debt and constrained budgets, AHF's Freedom from Debt campaign calls for reforms that let governments prioritize health, education, and other essential services over unfair debt obligations.
Investing in young people's health today means fewer preventable infections, stronger communities, and healthier futures. The knowledge and tools already exist. What we need now is the political commitment and funding to ensure every young person can benefit from them.
Brian Shepherd is the Associate Director of Global Policy and Communications at AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
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Original text here: https://www.aidshealth.org/2026/10/young-peoples-health-is-at-risk-as-global-funding-shrinks/
TPPF Releases New Housing Affordability Research and Housing Regulation Cost Tool
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 28 -- The Texas Public Policy Foundation posted the following news release:
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TPPF Releases New Housing Affordability Research and Housing Regulation Cost Tool
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AUSTIN- Today, TPPF's Taxpayer Protection Project released brand new research analyzing housing affordability in Texas. The research outlines the effects of housing reforms that have already been put into place and the future of housing affordability in Texas. Texas's housing market is challenged by supply-side constraints, rooted in restrictive zoning, large-lot mandates, escalating regulatory fees, and runaway
... Show Full Article
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 28 -- The Texas Public Policy Foundation posted the following news release:
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TPPF Releases New Housing Affordability Research and Housing Regulation Cost Tool
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AUSTIN- Today, TPPF's Taxpayer Protection Project released brand new research analyzing housing affordability in Texas. The research outlines the effects of housing reforms that have already been put into place and the future of housing affordability in Texas. Texas's housing market is challenged by supply-side constraints, rooted in restrictive zoning, large-lot mandates, escalating regulatory fees, and runawayproperty taxation. The American Dream of owning a home is getting further out of reach so we need states like Texas to encourage building, remove red tape and allow more Americans to be able to afford housing.
This research paper highlights the following:
* Texas's housing affordability crisis is supply-driven: a 306,000-home shortfall, falling permits, and a $321,000 median price reflect regulatory barriers blocking construction needed to meet population growth.
* Government regulation accounts for 23.8% of a new home's price ($93,870) and 40.6% of multifamily costs, among the largest single drivers of unaffordability.
* Texas property taxes hit $89.4 billion across nearly 5,000 taxing units in 2025, growing 364% since 1998--far outpacing population and inflation combined.
"The only way the Texas Miracle can continue is if people can afford to live here. A shortage of housing and rising property taxes have made owning a house difficult for all Texans," said Campaign Director Jose Melendez.
"90% of Texans consider housing affordability a problem. The state legislature must take steps to rein in local government spending and cut burdensome red tape so the people of Texas can afford to live," said Policy Director James Quintero.
TPPF is also unveiling the Texas Housing Regulation Cost Tool. This first-of-its-kind tool will allow Texans to see exactly how much local regulations are costing them when it comes to housing. Look up your city or town and see just how much different regulations are costing homeowners.
Read the full research paper here.
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Original text here: https://www.texaspolicy.com/press/tppf-releases-new-housing-affordability-research-and-housing-regulation-cost-tool
Media Advisory: TPPF to Challenge Oakland's $915,000 Tree Removal Fine in Federal Court Thursday
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 28 -- The Texas Public Policy Foundation posted the following news release:
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Media Advisory: TPPF to Challenge Oakland's $915,000 Tree Removal Fine in Federal Court Thursday
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) will appear in federal court on Thursday, October 29, to challenge the City of Oakland, California's enforcement of its Protected Tree Ordinance, which resulted in a staggering $915,000 fine against two property owners for removing trees from their own land.
Plaintiffs Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner own an undeveloped residential
... Show Full Article
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 28 -- The Texas Public Policy Foundation posted the following news release:
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Media Advisory: TPPF to Challenge Oakland's $915,000 Tree Removal Fine in Federal Court Thursday
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) will appear in federal court on Thursday, October 29, to challenge the City of Oakland, California's enforcement of its Protected Tree Ordinance, which resulted in a staggering $915,000 fine against two property owners for removing trees from their own land.
Plaintiffs Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner own an undeveloped residentialproperty in Oakland. In 2020, the Oakland Fire Prevention Bureau ordered the couple to remove dead and dying trees from their property or face ongoing fines. After complying with the City's fire prevention demands, the couple was penalized for removing the trees without obtaining a separate permit. Oakland subsequently imposed a $915,000 fine, threatened to place a lien on their property, and halted all building permits.
TPPF argues that the City's actions violate constitutional protections against excessive fines, constitute an uncompensated taking of private property, and impose unconstitutional conditions on the use of private land.
WHAT: Federal Court Hearing in Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner v. City of Oakland, California
WHEN: Thursday, October 29, 2026 | 2:30 PM PDT
WHERE: San Francisco Federal District Courthouse (450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102)
The hearing presents an important opportunity to challenge government overreach and defend the constitutional rights of property owners against excessive and arbitrary municipal penalties.
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Original text here: https://www.texaspolicy.com/press/media-advisory-tppf-to-challenge-oaklands-915000-tree-removal-fine-in-federal-court-thursday
In South Africa, HIV Care Can Start With a Nutritious Meal
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 28 -- The AIDS Healthcare Foundation posted the following news:
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In South Africa, HIV Care Can Start With a Nutritious Meal
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Food is not separate from health care. For people living with HIV, reliable access to nutritious food can affect physical health, the ability to stay on treatment, and something even harder to measure: whether life feels stable enough to plan beyond tomorrow.
I was reminded of that a couple of years ago while traveling for work in South Africa. A driver from AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Johannesburg office took me to Heidelberg, where
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 28 -- The AIDS Healthcare Foundation posted the following news:
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In South Africa, HIV Care Can Start With a Nutritious Meal
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Food is not separate from health care. For people living with HIV, reliable access to nutritious food can affect physical health, the ability to stay on treatment, and something even harder to measure: whether life feels stable enough to plan beyond tomorrow.
I was reminded of that a couple of years ago while traveling for work in South Africa. A driver from AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Johannesburg office took me to Heidelberg, whereour team supports clinics serving informal settlements called townships.
Once my brain adjusted to traveling on the left, and to the unsettling absence of a steering wheel in front of me (South Africans drive on the left, so the steering wheel is on the right side of the car), the landscape outside "Joburg" felt strangely familiar, as the locals call Johannesburg. The yellow hills and scrubby vegetation reminded me of rural Southern California, where I lived at the time.
Heidelberg itself is tidy and green, with neat houses and landscaped roundabouts. But drive a short distance beyond town and the pavement gives way to rough potholed roads. Homes are assembled from corrugated metal, timber, concrete blocks, and tarps, and the economic divide becomes difficult to ignore.
At a government HIV treatment site supported by AHF, we visited one of our Food for Health projects that helps address food insecurity through nutrition education, community farming, and livelihood support. A small plot in the clinic yard allowed clients to grow vegetables using tools and training provided by the program. Participants ate some of what they harvested and sold the rest to earn additional income, improving their food security and supporting continuity of HIV care.
The patient-farmers proudly showed us their crops. What struck me (pictured above, far right) was that the garden did more than provide food. It turned the clinic from somewhere people simply received care into a place where they could grow, produce, and contribute.
Later, we visited a local Girls Act chapter, an AHF initiative which empowers girls and young women to take charge of their health and develop practical skills to thrive. The girls were electing new officers while eating chicken sandwiches, chips, and soft drinks. An AHF coordinator quietly told me that, for some of them, this might be their only meal that day. That stayed with me.
Public health discussions often focus on medicines, clinics, and health systems, all of which are essential. But health also depends on whether someone has enough to eat. Hunger affects physical health, mental well-being, education, and resilience against disease. It can also make every other health intervention harder.
World hunger is easy to discuss as a statistic. It is harder to treat as an abstraction when the person in front of you may not eat again until tomorrow.
Most of us cannot solve hunger, but nearly all of us can help feed someone.
Denys Nazarov is the Director of Global Policy and Communication at AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He has been with AHF for more than 17 years.
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Original text here: https://www.aidshealth.org/2026/10/in-south-africa-hiv-care-can-start-with-a-nutritious-meal/
