WESTBROOK, Maine – Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday finally endorsed fellow Democrat Troy Jackson in his race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, her first public show of support for the former Maine Senate president, with whom she clashed when Jackson led the chamber.

“I encourage Maine people to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot who will stand up for our values and stand up to Trump,” Mills wrote on X, indicating that she had voted for Jackson at her early voting site on Thursday.

Mills, who ran for Senate herself before dropping out this spring, had been notably silent since Jackson earned the Democratic nomination following the collapse of Graham Platner’s campaign.

Last month, Mills spokesperson Ben Goodman told MS NOW that Jackson had not contacted the governor about an endorsement but that she “would welcome a conversation” with him.

On Thursday, though, it was revealed that behind the scenes there had been a last-ditch effort between the two camps to unite Jackson and Mills.

Jackson told MS NOW at a press briefing in Westbrook Thursday morning that he had recently left a voice message for Mills but hadn’t heard back.

A person close to the governor, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed that Jackson left the message seeking Mills’ endorsement shortly after his final, testy debate with Collins on Oct. 15. But Mills was about to depart on a trade mission to Ireland, which took her out of the country for several days. The day of the voicemail, aides for Mills and Jackson connected about getting them together to discuss an endorsement after Mills returned, the person close to Mills said.

But that meeting never happened.

When Mills’ team followed up this week, Jackson’s campaign “indicated an endorsement from her didn’t fit into their schedule for the final stretch,” the person said.

A Jackson spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry about that version of events.

On Thursday, before Mills posted her support, Jackson argued the lack of an endorsement from the governor was not an essential factor in his race, which polls suggest is razor-thin just five days out.

“Look, this race is not about me and Janet or anything like that,” he told MS NOW. “This race is about people that don’t have health care, people that don’t know how to fill their oil tanks, people that don’t know how to get their prescription drugs.”

“I’m not really sure, like, with the governor — I don’t take it personally or anything like that. I mean, Angus King didn’t endorse me either,” Jackson added, referring to Maine’s independent senator, who has historically not endorsed Collins’ opponents.

Jackson has not been shy about his rocky relationship with Mills.

“We obviously disagreed a lot — it’s no secret,” he said in April. “I mean, the governor vetoed more than 40 of my bills.”

CORRECTION (Oct. 29, 2026, 9:15 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article inaccurately depicted a piece of the timeline of the communication between aides for Jackson and Mills. Originally, the person close to the governor said an aide for Mills attempted to make contact after the governor returned from a trade mission and got no response. The person now says aides for both Jackson and Mills spoke on the day Jackson left the message in an attempt to setup a meeting between the two.

The post Maine Gov. Janet Mills issues muted endorsement of Troy Jackson — after last-minute effort to lock arms fell through appeared first on MS NOW.

Under the leadership of Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, is seeking to heavily restrict traditional Medicare enrollees’ use of remote monitoring devices for their health conditions. A proposed rule would eliminate coverage for these services unless the service is provided at a physician’s office. This rule would particularly hurt enrollees who have difficulty traveling to in-person appointments, such as rural seniors. And it would undercut a key Republican effort to alleviate the harms of last year’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Remote monitoring programs allow patients to collect their health data themselves (such as taking their own blood pressure, oxygen levels or blood sugar) and transmit the data to healthcare providers, who can use the information to help manage the patient’s health. These programs aren’t just convenient; they make it easier to proactively manage chronic diseases before there is an emergency. Patients and providers don’t have to rely on a single data point at a scheduled appointment or waiting until the condition worsens.

Consequently, reliance on remote monitoring has expanded in recent years. Almost 1 million Medicare enrollees received it in 2024 alone. Remote monitoring has proved particularly valuable to those who have chronic medical conditions but face obstacles to in-person appointments. For instance, residents in rural communities and areas with shortages of health professionals don’t need to travel long distances for appointments as frequently. Transportation is a critical social determinant of health, and if one has poor vision or limited mobility, in-person appointments are especially challenging.

To justify the new restrictions, the CMS cites a 2025 report by the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general. Those findings raised concerns about suspicious billing practices and patients not receiving treatment. But the report called for a measured approach: closer monitoring of billing while preserving Medicare enrollees’ ability to benefit from this program. CMS would go much further: Because most medical practices lack the bandwidth to launch and oversee their own remote monitoring programs, requiring the service to be provided by someone at a physician’s office practically eliminates the benefit. In short, where the HHS inspector general suggested a scalpel, CMS would use a hammer.

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‘TrumpRx’ expansion, Medicare, and Medicaid: Morning Joe talks with Dr. Oz May 19, 2026 / 08:08

Already, a bipartisan group of House members is calling on Oz to reconsider the rule, but it fits within a broader context of the Trump administration’s quiet campaign to curtail Medicare’s effectiveness.

Much of the attention on H.R. 1 — what Trump called the “big, beautiful bill” — focused on its draconian cuts to Medicaid, but the law also triggered an automatic $500 billion cut from Medicare between 2026 and 2034. The law also delayed until late 2034 the implementation of finalized rules that would help very low-income Medicare enrollees access programs to help cover premiums and cost-sharing of benefits.

Since then, CMS has allowed a subsidy program for Medicare Part D prescription-drug costs to expire. And it introduced a pilot program in six states that uses artificial intelligence to review the medical necessity of prescribed care. The practice, also known as prior authorization, previously was rarely used in traditional Medicare. The pilot program has already resulted in significant delays in care.

The new CMS proposal, however, is particularly curious in light of how the “big, beautiful bill” came to be. To stanch the proverbial bleeding that rural communities are projected to face from the bill’s cuts, Republicans created a $50 billion fund for rural healthcare. Technological innovation was a central pillar of this effort, known as the Rural Health Transformation Program.

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Medical debt ad exposes party divide on affordability, rural healthcare September 28, 2026 / 08:16

Restricting remote monitoring does anything but foster innovative technologies. And the effects will be felt increasingly in the years to come. The RHTP is a relative pittance compared to H.R. 1’s Medicaid cuts and will do little to prevent closures of rural hospitals or key hospital services. And when a rural hospital closes, the driving time to the next hospital increases by 20 to 40 miles on average, regardless of whether one is on Medicaid or Medicare — which makes the ability to monitor one’s health at home all the more important.

While remote monitoring programs are imperfect and deserve oversight, they help provide healthcare in typically underserved areas. What’s more, by facilitating earlier detection, these programs can result in better patient outcomes, which are less costly to treat. In other words, remote monitoring is good for patients and for the healthcare system itself.

Along with Social Security, Medicare is considered the “third rail” of American politics. Not only is the program popular, but seniors (roughly 90% of its enrollees) vote at high rates, and younger voters prefer to protect the program for when they age into it. The politics of Medicare retrenchment may ultimately prove to be less visible than the consequences of slashing health programs. Elected officials understand the political costs of reducing Medicare spending. Yet under Oz’s leadership, CMS is demonstrating how to weaken Medicare through a series of administrative decisions that preserve the appearance of coverage while weakening access to care. Medicare’s greatest vulnerability may not be outright cuts, but rather the quiet erosion of the benefits on which seniors have been counting.

The post Dr. Oz’s new Medicare proposal would be bad news for rural seniors appeared first on MS NOW.

A restrição do solo urbano e projeções demográficas ultrapassadas agravaram a crise. Jorge Palma defende libertar território e construir cidade.

O conteúdo Estado: o grande agressor. Uma lei dos solos que transformou o território em escassez aparece primeiro em Barlavento.

Descarbonização e Transição Energética, Prevenção e Segurança ao Serviço da Sustentabilidade e Resiliência e Riscos no Transporte Multimodal de Produtos Perigosos, foram temas em discussão. A APS – Administração dos Portos de Sines e do Algarve realizou, nos dias 28 e 29 de outubro, no Auditório do Porto de Sines, a Conferência “Ambiente, Proteção e […]

O Município de Silves vai promover, entre os dias 2 e 10 de novembro, um conjunto de sessões públicas de participação no âmbito da preparação do Orçamento Municipal para 2027, com o objetivo de ouvir a população e recolher contributos sobre os investimentos considerados prioritários para o concelho. As sessões irão decorrer nas diferentes freguesias […]

Com as mãos na terra, 222 crianças das escolas de Caliços, Guia e Sesmarias descobriram como uma pequena semente pode ajudar a cuidar da natureza. Entre 12 e 29 de outubro, passaram pelas Hortas Comunitárias de Alpouvar, onde conheceram o que ali se cultiva, aprenderam a importância dos polinizadores e prepararam as suas próprias «bombas […]

Os ‘ADIAFA’ atuam no Teatro Lethes, dia 14 de Novembro, sábado às 21h00. Os Adiafa são um dos mais emblemáticos grupos de música popular alentejana, alcançando projeção nacional e internacional com o incontornável sucesso “As Meninas da Ribeira do Sado”, o mítico “Estrala a Bomba e o Foguete Vai no Ar”, tema que lhes valeu […]

Sir Patrick Stewart, a preeminent British actor whose career spanned theater, films and television and who achieved his greatest fame portraying Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the TV series “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles after a brief battle with Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia, representatives for Stewart said in a statement Thursday. He was 86.

“His sonorous voice and singular talent will forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre,” the statement said.

In a career spanning more than 60 years, Stewart, who also portrayed Professor Charles Xavier in the Marvel “X-Men” film franchise, won or was nominated for multiple theater and film awards.

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010.

“He explored the human condition in all its poetic complexity and brought hope not only to the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but into science fiction’s most iconic final frontier aboard the Starship Enterprise,” the statement said.

Stewart was born in the town of Mirfield in Yorkshire, England. Prior to his prolific on-screen career, Stewart got his start on stage in the 1960s as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Days before Stewart’s death, fellow Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, who starred as Ensign Pavel Chekov in the original series, also died at the age of 90.

Tributes to the late great actor poured in Thursday evening. William Shatner, who played alongside Stewart as Captain Kirk in the original “Star Trek” series, called it “a heartbreaking week.”

“Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor. From the stage to the bridge of the Enterprise, he brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did,” Shatner said in a social media post. “Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him. I was filled with affection and admiration for him and his work.”

Hugh Jackman shared a photo of himself with his “X-Men” co-star on Instagram.

“We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today. And, in my book, a tremendous friend and man,” Jackman, who plays Wolverine, said. “I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days.”

Marvel Studios said in a statement that it is “deeply saddened” by Stewart’s passing.

“He was a singular talent, a generous collaborator, and a true gentleman,” the statement said. “Our hearts go out to his wife Sunny, his children, his friends, and the countless fans around the world whose lives he touched with his art.”

The post Patrick Stewart, Captain Picard in TV’s ‘Star Trek,’ dies at 86 appeared first on MS NOW.

L’Iran non intende compiere nuovi passi verso un accordo con gli Stati Uniti finché Washington non avrà soddisfatto integralmente le sette condizioni poste da Teheran. A riferirlo è una fonte iraniana informata ad Al Mayadeen, che ha definito le richieste una «linea rossa» dalla quale la Repubblica Islamica non è disposta a retrocedere. Al centro della vicenda anche uno scambio di messaggi tra il vicepresidente statunitense JD Vance e Mohsen Rezaei, segretario del Consiglio supremo di sicurezza nazionale iraniano. La ricostruzione fornita dal presidente Donald Trump, secondo cui la comunicazione USA sarebbe stata una risposta a una richiesta iraniana di medicinali e attrezzature, viene respinta da Teheran come completamente falsa.

L'Iran nega inoltre che lo scambio rappresenti un segnale di cedimento o un progresso concreto nei negoziati. Secondo fonti iraniane, il ricorso alla corrispondenza diplomatica rifletterebbe piuttosto l'incapacità di Washington di raggiungere i propri obiettivi attraverso altri strumenti. L'ex ambasciatore iraniano in Libano, Mojtaba Amani, sostiene che Trump abbia bisogno di un'intesa per salvare la faccia in vista delle elezioni di metà mandato. La posizione iraniana è netta: le sette condizioni dovranno essere soddisfatte tutte contemporaneamente, senza applicazioni graduali. Fino ad allora, Teheran esclude sia la riapertura dello Stretto di Hormuz sia l'avvio di nuovi negoziati. Le richieste comprendono la cessazione delle operazioni militari e delle ostilità su tutti i fronti, incluso il Libano; lo sblocco degli asset iraniani congelati; la fine del blocco navale e petrolifero; la revoca delle sanzioni economiche e politiche; il ritiro delle forze navali e aeree statunitensi dalle aree vicine all'Iran; il risarcimento dei danni di guerra e la cessazione delle minacce e degli insulti rivolti a Teheran.

Particolarmente delicato resta il dossier nucleare. L'Iran accusa Washington di voler utilizzare la questione per privarlo della propria capacità di deterrenza e presentare il conflitto come un successo statunitense. Teheran teme inoltre che un eventuale trasferimento all'estero del materiale nucleare arricchito possa aprire la strada a una nuova aggressione anziché garantire la fine della guerra. Un messaggio è rivolto anche ai mediatori: l'Iran non accetterà che il loro ruolo si riduca a trasmettere le richieste statunitensi e a esercitare pressioni sulla Repubblica Islamica. La mediazione, sostiene Teheran, deve rispettare principi di imparzialità e non trasformarsi in uno strumento per imporre la volontà di Washington.

Infine, sul fronte regionale, l'Iran avverte che qualsiasi utilizzo delle basi statunitensi nei Paesi del Golfo per lanciare attacchi contro interessi iraniani provocherà una risposta proporzionata alla natura dell'aggressione. Una linea dura che segnala come Teheran non sembri intenzionata a concedere aperture unilaterali. La partita diplomatica resta aperta, ma la Repubblica Islamica vuole negoziare da una posizione di forza, senza accettare che la pressione militare ed economica statunitense determini i termini di un eventuale accordo.

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Mentre l’Unione Europea continua a presentarsi come protagonista della politica internazionale, la realtà diplomatica racconta una storia diversa. Il presidente finlandese Alexander Stubb e il primo ministro norvegese Jonas Gahr Støre hanno avuto un colloquio telefonico di un’ora e mezza con Vladimir Putin, senza il coinvolgimento di Kaja Kallas, l’Alta rappresentante dell’UE per la politica estera. Una conversazione inizialmente prevista per appena venti minuti, che i due leader scandinavi hanno definito franca e approfondita. Il dato politicamente più significativo è che a dialogare con il Cremlino non sia stata la rappresentante della diplomazia europea, bensì i leader di due Paesi che hanno scelto di muoversi in autonomia, senza parlare a nome dell’intera Unione.

L’episodio mette in luce le profonde contraddizioni della politica estera comunitaria. Da quattro anni, sottolinea il premier norvegese, l’UE non è riuscita a elaborare un messaggio comune né una strategia condivisa nei confronti della Russia. Una frammentazione che indebolisce la capacità negoziale europea proprio mentre si discute di come porre fine al conflitto in Ucraina. La stessa Kallas aveva ammesso in precedenza che Bruxelles non può svolgere pienamente il ruolo di mediatore tra Mosca e Kiev, dal momento che l’Occidente sostiene militarmente e politicamente l’Ucraina. Una constatazione che solleva interrogativi sulla sua capacità di rappresentare gli interessi diplomatici dell’Unione. Nel frattempo, la russofoba Kallas ha criticato le iniziative negoziali promosse dagli inviati statunitensi Steve Witkoff e Jared Kushner, senza però riuscire a conquistare un ruolo centrale nei successivi incontri diplomatici.

E anche qualora Bruxelles dovesse ottenere un posto al tavolo delle trattative, secondo la ricostruzione proposta dal testo, la delegazione potrebbe essere guidata da figure vicine alla presidente della Commissione Ursula von der Leyen, lasciando ancora una volta Kallas ai margini. Il problema, tuttavia, va oltre la singola figura politica. Le ambizioni di Bruxelles di assumere la guida del cosiddetto Occidente si scontrano con le divisioni interne, l’assenza di una linea condivisa e una strategia sempre più identificata con il confronto e la pressione su Mosca. Il risultato è un’Europa che proclama la propria centralità geopolitica, ma fatica a incidere sui processi diplomatici più importanti.

Mentre alcuni leader cercano canali diretti con il Cremlino, la diplomazia comunitaria rischia di restare spettatrice di decisioni che determineranno il futuro della sicurezza europea.

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Pedir la compra del supermercado, armar una lista de reproducción o reservar una cita médica son tareas que suelen requerir abrir varias apps distintas. Google busca cambiar esa dinámica con una plataforma que conecta aplicaciones externas directamente dentro de la Búsqueda y de Gemini, de modo que los usuarios puedan resolver gestiones cotidianas sin salir de esos dos entornos.

Según informó el blog de Google, la compañía lanzó la versión preliminar de esta plataforma, llamada Connected Apps, con el objetivo de que más desarrolladores integren sus funcionalidades de forma directa en ambos productos.

Junto con este anuncio, la empresa presentó una lista de socios que ya forman parte de la iniciativa, con el fin de ampliar las opciones disponibles para optimizar la vida diaria de sus usuarios.

Cómo funciona la nueva plataforma de apps conectadas de Google

Connected Apps permite a los desarrolladores crear una integración única que luego puede llegar a usuarios con alta intención de compra, tanto desde la Búsqueda como desde la app Gemini. Para lograrlo, según explicó el blog de Google, los desarrolladores deben integrarse con un servidor MCP alojado en la nube o con Android MCP mediante las API de AppFunctions.

El siguiente paso consiste en utilizar la consola de Google Connected para registrar, probar y enviar la aplicación. Antes de que esta pase por el proceso de revisión, cada desarrollador decide si su integración se publicará en la Búsqueda, en Gemini o en ambas plataformas de forma simultánea.

Una vez que la aplicación queda publicada, los desarrolladores pueden hacer seguimiento de métricas de funcionamiento como el tráfico, la latencia y las tasas de error. El sistema también contempla el control de la identidad de marca, lo que incluye logotipos verificados y cuentas autenticadas para cada integración.

Google adelantó que el acceso a la plataforma se abrirá por fases. La compañía prevé sumar más desarrolladores, mercados y productos propios en los próximos meses, lo que sugiere una expansión progresiva del ecosistema de apps conectadas.

Esta plataforma responde a una necesidad concreta: permitir que las funciones de aplicaciones externas se ejecuten sin fricciones dentro de los servicios que millones de personas usan a diario para buscar información o resolver tareas con inteligencia artificial.

Qué aplicaciones ya están disponibles en Search y Gemini

Google confirmó el lanzamiento de más de 50 aplicaciones conectadas que operan tanto en Search como en Gemini. Estas integraciones cubren áreas diversas, entre ellas productividad, venta de entradas para eventos, salud y bienestar.

Entre los socios que ya cuentan con integraciones activas se encuentran Adobe, Experian, Localiza y Peloton. Estas aplicaciones están disponibles en este momento para los usuarios de Gemini, y de acuerdo con lo publicado por Google, se sumarán también a Search en las próximas semanas.

La compañía anunció además una nueva integración con Calm, que se lanzará de manera simultánea tanto en Search como en Gemini. Esta incorporación refuerza el área de salud y bienestar dentro del catálogo de aplicaciones conectadas.

Google reorganiza Gemini: cómo funcionarán las nuevas Skills y Tareas

Google inició una reorganización profunda en las funciones y la nomenclatura de su inteligencia artificial Gemini, un proceso que comienza en octubre de 2026 y continuará hasta 2027 para usuarios de cuentas corporativas y educativas.

Lejos de tratarse de un simple ajuste estético, esta actualización redefine la forma en que los usuarios interactúan con las herramientas de la plataforma, priorizando la integración directa dentro del hilo principal de conversación en lugar de dispersar las tareas en ventanas independientes.

El cambio más representativo es la transformación de los Gems en Skills. A diferencia del formato anterior —que exigía abrir chats separados para cada bot personalizado—, las nuevas Skills se invocan directamente en el chat habitual escribiendo una barra diagonal o mediante la detección automática del sistema.

Además de permitir la combinación de varias instrucciones en una misma interacción (como tono de voz e identidad de marca), adoptan el formato abierto SKILL.md y se integran en Google Workspace. No obstante, en esta fase inicial quedan temporalmente excluidas herramientas como Canvas, la generación de video o música, y la vinculación de archivos de Google Drive.

Por otro lado, el agente autónomo conocido como Spark pasa a denominarse simplemente Tarea, integrándose en un selector junto a la caja de texto. Esta herramienta, capaz de seguir operando en máquinas virtuales de Google Cloud incluso si el usuario apaga su dispositivo, ejecuta procesos complejos como monitoreos o investigaciones en la web.

Para garantizar la seguridad del usuario, el sistema incorpora puntos de control obligatorios que solicitan aprobación previa antes de concretar acciones críticas, compras, envíos de datos o el ingreso de contraseñas.

Finalmente, la función de Acciones programadas mantiene su nombre original dentro del ecosistema, estableciendo un límite operativo de hasta diez ejecuciones simultáneas.