The sight of a disabled octogenarian being removed from her home on a stretcher has reignited public anger about Spain’s housing crisis. Tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets last weekend to protest against the eviction of Madrid pensioner María del Carmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen, and demand “stronger protection for tenants in the face of a housing shortage and soaring rents,” said the BBC. In response, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced this morning a snap general election on Nov. 29 that’s likely to be dominated by the issue.

‘You are not alone’
Abascal had lived in her flat in Madrid’s El Retiro neighborhood for more than 70 years and was paying about $560 per month in rent when the building was bought by investment company Urbagestión in 2018. The firm increased the rent to $2,975 a month, which was “later reduced” to $1,850, well above Abascal’s monthly pension of $1,515, said Euronews.

The courts blocked three subsequent attempts by the company to evict Abascal before she was forced to leave. She was brought out on a stretcher after police used tear gas to clear a path between protesters outside who chanted, “You are not alone.” She was taken to a hospital, suffering from anxiety and extreme exhaustion. But a few days later, she was allowed to return home, and her lawyers said a new eight-year contract was in place with the rent reduced to the pre-2018 rates.

‘Global symbol’
Nearly 10,000 people gathered in Madrid in the afternoon after Abascal’s eviction to voice solidarity and “frustration over the growing difficulties in finding housing,” said CNN. There was also a “huge wave of spontaneous solidarity” protests in Barcelona, Seville and Valencia.

Amid mounting pressure, Sánchez brought forward a long-delayed housing reform bill that must be approved in parliament within 30 days. As it currently stands, the bill bans evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, limits rent hikes for two years and prohibits investment funds from purchasing houses for two years.

Abascal’s case has resonated far beyond Spain. She has become a “global symbol for housing activists,” said El País. “What’s happening here is a signal for all of Europe,” said political analyst Federico Tomasone to the outlet. “This transcends borders. There are many Maricarmens everywhere.”

For Americans in rural communities, getting adequate health treatment has often been an uphill battle. Now, research shows exactly how dire the state of healthcare is in these areas, particularly because of a dearth of surgeons.

How bad is the scarcity?
Currently, 1,180 out of 3,144 U.S. counties — more than a third — have no general surgeon, and at least 951 have “no surgeon in any of 12 surgical specialties,” said a report from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). These shortages represent “15.1 million people lacking access to surgical care.” At least 434 rural hospitals are also in counties with “no identified full-time surgeon.”

Surgeon availability across all specialties is significantly varied and “12 times higher in some regions than others,” said the ACS. And the paucity is likely to increase during the coming years. The U.S. is “projected to be short nearly 28,000 surgeons by 2038, with the workforce meeting just 84.3% of national need,” said another ACS study. The greatest gaps are expected to be in “vascular surgery, ophthalmology, thoracic surgery and plastic surgery.”

What’s the impact?
Rural communities can be harmed in various ways. While many people “assume that surgeons primarily perform elective procedures, many surgeons in rural communities serve multiple roles,” said study co-author Dr. Thomas Tsai, the medical director for health policy research at the ACS, to Time. “Access to surgeons is the keystone for the broader rural healthcare ecosystem.” Part of the problem is that “training isn’t keeping pace with demand, especially as the country ages and needs more medical procedures.”

Bringing in more surgeons is crucial because the “average American may undergo as many as 20 diagnostic and therapeutic procedures over the course of their life,” said Tsai to Fierce Healthcare. The “ability to provide innovative surgical care is a feature and not a flaw of the U.S. healthcare system,” and Americans “need the resources to both expand the supply of surgeons in the U.S. and to sustain viable surgical practices” in rural areas.

Members of the winning Castellers de Vilafranca team form a castell, or human tower, during the 30th Concurs de Castells in Tarragona, Catalonia. The competition, in which participants build tall, intricate human structures, ended with the “first-ever completed nine-person-wide, nine-story-high” tower, said Catalan News. 
Josep Lago / AFP / Getty Images

Unless they are holding back some last-minute surprises, studios have not timed their best horror releases to coincide directly with Halloween this year. They are instead distributing them over the course of the larger pumpkin, sweater and apple-picking season. Whether you are looking for a zombie apocalypse, ghost story or blood-soaked slasher, you won’t be disappointed.

‘Never After Dark’
Airi (Moeka Hoshi) is a sought-after traveling medium who specializes in releasing tormented spirits so they can move on to the next plane of existence. Anchored by Hoshi’s “deeply present, engaged performance,” writer-director Dave Boyle’s film “builds atmosphere and tension to a truly insane final act,” said Brian Tallerico at Roger Ebert. (in theaters now)

‘Resident Evil’
Even hardcore fans of the ’90s-era Capcom game would admit that most of the “Resident Evil” movies have been pretty mid. Now, with “Weapons” and “Barbarian” director Zach Cregger on board, the franchise has been given new life. His “lean, gripping and relentless” film (pictured above) shows “how movies and video games can merge in a way that makes them stronger for sharing their DNA rather than disfiguring them both,” said David Ehrlich at IndieWire. (in theaters now)

‘Victorian Psycho’
The best way to describe “Victorian Psycho” might be “Saltburn” meets “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” The movie refuses to “take itself or its form too seriously” and delivers a “nasty, happy little surprise with grotesque kills and a staunch refusal to pull back on the promises of its title,” said Josh Korngut at Dread Central. (in theaters Nov. 13)