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A study has identified nine rural Mississippi hospitals that are at-risk of closing down. Hospitals in Covington, Holmes, Tippah, Attala, Adams, Noxubee, Tallahatchie, Pearl River and Copiah counties were identified as running the risk of closure. Researchers say they arrived at their findings based on the hospitals' profitability, uncompensated care and Medicaid shortfalls. According to the study, reasons for the hospitals' struggles include the national recession that hit in 2008, population loss in rural areas and lack of capital. (11/12)

USA TODAY analyzed state-by-state data on screenings, incidence and death for these three cancers. The newspaper worked with the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries to compare states’ incidence-to-mortality ratio to see where deaths exceed what’s expected based on how often cancer strikes. States faring worst include Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama, largely because cancers were found late, causing untold suffering and pushing up health costs for everyone. (Ungar, 11/12)