News from around the nation.

Proposed NIOSH cuts could affect health of coal miners. Poll: Voters oppose MO House repeal of Prop A's sick-leave provision and Savannah leaders are calling on Congress.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update.

I'm Joe Ulery.

President Trump may pause auto tariffs to give car makers more time to move production to the US.

CBS News reports he told reporters, auto makers need a little bit of time to shift supply chains from countries like Canada, Mexico and China.

The 25 percent tariffs aim to bring manufacturing back to the US.

But experts warn the policy could raise car prices by 5,000 to $10,000.

Analysts say no car is fully American made because manufacturers depend heavily on foreign parts.

Past tariff reversals have rattled markets and raised recession fears.

The Trump administration has slashed jobs and closed research centers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nadia Ramlagon reports.

Experts say the impact will be felt in West Virginia where coal miners depend on the agency for its Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program.

Scott Laney was a research epidemiologist at the program's Morgantown office until it was shut down.

He says miners won't have access to healthcare or mobile X-ray screening.

Miners are offered chest X-rays throughout their working career with the goal of identifying the earliest stages of black lung and providing a resource to miners where they can move to a less dusty part of the mine.

After decades of being on the decline, black lung disease among miners in recent years has been on the rise, largely driven by increased exposure to fine silica dust.

Despite voter approval in November, Missouri lawmakers are moving to undo part of Proposition A, specifically the requirement that employers provide paid sick leave.

The Missouri House passed the repeal legislation last month by a 96 to 51 vote.

The provision was approved by nearly 60 percent of voters who also supported raising the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.

Prop A proponents say repealing any part of the measure so soon after its approval undermines the will of the voters.

John Davis with the bipartisan polling firm Red America, Blue America Research or RABA says its latest survey shows 75 percent of respondents oppose efforts to repeal the legislation.

Legislators who are thinking about rolling back what voters had approved just this past November should be concerned that there's such a strong response in opposition.

Supporters of the repeal contend that the sick leave mandate is too rigid and burdensome, warning it could lead to reduced hiring or even business closures.

The bill is now in the Senate, which has two weeks to act before the mandate takes effect on May the 1st.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This is Joe Ulary for Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.

A significant federal budget cut will hit Indiana's top medical researchers hard.

Congress has slashed the congressionally directed medical research program by more than half, dropping its national budget from $1.5 billion to 650 million The Indiana University School of Medicine, the largest medical school in the country, received $715,000 from the program last year.

IU optometry professor, Dr. Nicholas Port, says the school used that funding to study mild traumatic brain injuries, including treatment strategies for athletes.

Now the projects may not move forward.

They're only funding well less than 10 percent of the proposals that submitted each cycle each year.

They might only fund 40 percent of what they funded last year.

The federal program run by the Department of Defense supports research with military and public health applications.

With the new cuts, that percentage will likely shrink even more.

This story was produced with original reporting from Kyla Russell for Wish TV.

Clean energy infrastructure upgrades for Georgia's ports are on the line and leaders in Savannah are calling on Congress to protect federal investments already set in motion.

Chatham County Commissioner, Aaron Whiteley, says the Georgia Ports Authority has already planned several projects that will modernize operations and reduce emissions, funded by $48 million from the EPA's Clean Port Program.

These upgrades include hybrid cranes, short power systems, and electric terminal tractors, all a part of a push to cut pollution and improve public health.

Carbon emissions is one of the reasons why asthma rates are so high in black and brown communities.

Now we're expecting around a 47 percent reduction in fuel consumption just by investing in hybrid gantry cranes.

Investments in sustainable ports infrastructure is an investment in the health of our community.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering legislation to prevent excessive rent increases and no-fault evictions.

Our Catherine Carley has the story.

The bill would allow cities and towns to limit proposed rent hikes to the rate of inflation, with a cap of 5 percent.

Carolyn Chu, with the group Homes for All Massachusetts, says corporate investors are purchasing housing units from Brockton to the Berkshires, often doubling what are already high rent prices.

Tenants across the Commonwealth can't wait, and we need to do everything we can to keep people housed and to prevent people from being displaced.

Opponents of the bill argue it could lower property values and make it harder for landlords to maintain existing properties.

Chu says it would help keep families together and out of an already overburdened state shelter system.

This is Joe Ulery for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

Hear us on radio stations big and small, and your favorite podcast platform.

Find our content and trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.