Shalina Chatlani

A new study looks at whether placing health care workers in churches can help eliminate health disparities that disproportionately affect Black communities in the South.

Some cities are investing to revitalize their Black business districts. In Jackson, Mississippi, Farish Street has unique challenges as old and new business try to bring commerce back.

It's now been a year since the American Hospital Association alleged price gouging and asked the White House to investigate and act. Bidding wars among states have only escalated.

Mississippi, one of the states being hit hardest by the omicron variant, is struggling to keep hospital doors open because of staffing issues.

As COVID hospitalizations surge, hospitals in southern states can no longer avoid paying competitive wages for traveling nurses, and that creates tension with local nurses who are usually paid less.

For the people of LaPlace, La. the destruction of Hurricane Ida was on another level. And that has some residents considering moving away before the next one.

Residents of LaPlace in Louisiana have stayed hurricane after hurricane due to their deep ties to their community. State and federal officials are trying to deal with the area's repeated devastation.

"Many people had coronavirus," says asylum seeker Raudel, adding there's little social distancing or mask wearing, and sick and healthy people are mixed. ICE denies this but cases doubled since June.

Weeks after warnings about high COVID-19 infection rates in Missouri and in Southeastern states, vaccination rates remain low and health care systems are stressed.

Several southern states are far behind the White House's goal of vaccinating people against COVID-19. It's becoming a block-by-block, house-by-house effort to encourage people to get vaccinated.