News from around the nation.

New Trump tariffs against Canada are now in effect - Canada’s Carney pledges retaliation; In East Palestine, an Ohio group questions federal inaction on rail safety; Logging plan in Alaskan old growth forest faces resistance; and the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument marks 10 years.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

A new round of tariffs against Canada, our neighbor to the north, kicked off over the weekend.

President Trump's 50% tariffs on scores of Canadian imports expected to affect about 5% of Canada's annual exports to the U.S. The AP notes Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney responded with tariffs against the U.S. set to begin September the 8th, targeting steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics.

Meantime, the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine is still fresh in Ohioans' minds as they worry about future health after effects.

Although there were no injuries, federal lawmakers have not introduced any bills to improve railway safety since the incident.

RailWatch founder Jess Kennard, who lives in East Palestine, says Community Action sends the strongest message to lawmakers to act.

Community voices lead to change, not only in the community, but it's grassroots to global.

What happened in my community in East Palestine, we're changing the game with rail safety.

Norfolk Southern reached a $22 million settlement with East Palestine to resolve all claims associated with the derailment.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

Credit goes to Amelia Wysong with Kent State News Lab for original reporting on this story.

And conservationists pushing back on a massive old-growth logging plan by the U.S. Forest Service that would carve new roads through thousands of acres of Alaska's Tongass National Forest.

The agency says it will revitalize the logging industry and improve habitat and ecosystems for native species.

The Revilla Integrated Research Project aims to log 4,000 acres of old-growth trees in the Tongass near Ketchikan. harvest 83 million board feet for timber, and build more than 40 miles of roadway.

Southeast Alaska Conservation Council's Nathan Newcomer says the development plan threatens the habitat of a number of animals.

He says even the Forest Service has acknowledged the risk.

Deer, bears, wolves, birds like the Queen Charlotte Gosok, they also state that they acknowledge the significant likelihood of impacts to subsistence, including on deer harvests.

I'm Mark Moran.

Next, conservation groups are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Catatan Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine.

Brian Henrichs, executive director of the non-profit Friends of the Catatan Woods and Waters, says the monument's contact station highlights 11,000 years of local indigenous history.

These lands are important to all Wabanaki nations, and it's something that is powerfully felt and acknowledged throughout the landscape.

And it's really part of visiting here is feeling that.

Surprising more than 87,000 acres, the monument is home to endangered Canada lynx, the highly prized brook trout, and lies within the Atlantic Flyway, a major migratory bird route.

This is Public News Service.

New research by a public health group shows that more than two dozen people appointed to oversee sensitive positions in environmental and safety agencies previously worked for large chemical and pesticide companies.

That includes Bayer, which owns Monsanto, the manufacturer of glyphosate, an active ingredient found in the weed killer Roundup.

Despite pushback from Iowans and other farm-dependent states, the U.S. Supreme Court recently stripped people of the right to sue if they develop cancer after using the product.

Stacey Malkin, who co-founded the non-profit public health research publication Right to Know, did a deep dive on the data.

She found at least 26 people in high-level positions with President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture Department, and White House have direct ties to Bayer and other pesticide corporations.

The four people in charge of the office regulating pesticides at EPA are all chemical industry lobbyists.

The Trump administration has also issued pesticide-friendly executive orders.

I'm Mark Moran.

And environmental sporting and community groups in Oregon and across the country are urging Americans to speak up to protect the roadless rule, which is on the chopping block under the Trump administration.

The USDA has opened up a 30-day public comment period around rescinding the rule.

The change would open up 2 million acres in Oregon and about 45 million acres of public land total to road construction and commercial development.

Erin Robertson with Oregon Wild encourages people to think about the places and issues they care about and personalize their comments.

They care about recreation.

If they care about salmon.

If you're a small business that relies on recreation, this is going to impact you.

These are things you can add in a public comment.

And that gives you a little bit more weight than just signing a petition or using a generic comment.

FDA says rescinding the rule will help prevent wildfires.

I'm Isobel Charle.

And many families are hoping to be reunited with loved ones in the United States after a federal judge struck down the Trump administration's ban on processing visas from 75 countries.

The State Department issued the ban in January, arguing that a pause was necessary to ensure the new immigrants don't depend on social services programs.

Attorney Susan Welber is with the Legal Aid Society, one of six legal service providers that represented plaintiffs in the case.

She says most legal immigrants are joining family in the U.S. or have an existing job offer, so they aren't at risk of becoming a public charge.

The court recognized that the ban was basically just discrimination on the basis of nationality.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

This is Mike Clifford.

Thanks for starting a week with Public News Service.

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