News from around the nation.

US judge rules the Trump administration measures against the AI company Anthropic were “illegal and baseless,” a Connecticut group wants incarcerated people’s voting rights restored, and Iowa cyclospora cases prompt call for regional agriculture support.

Transcript

The Public News Service Friday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Ruling the Trump administration had unconstitutionally punished the artificial intelligence company for protected speech, a judge late Thursday permanently barred the Trump administration from enforcing a set of rules aimed at cutting off Anthropik from the federal government.

At issue for Anthropik was its push to pose guardrails on its powerful AI model Claude, which is used by the military. and fears of a new round of floodwaters slowed the surge of survivors in Nepal, where at least 1,000 are missing.

The New York Times notes China sought to allay concerns with state broadcasters saying that the risk of a barrier lake in Tibet bursting had gradually decreased.

Meantime, Connecticut activists want the state to restore voting rights for incarcerated people.

In 2001, former Governor John Rowland signed a bill restoring rights for people on probation, and in 2021, Governor Ned Lamont signed a law restoring rights for people on parole.

Data from the Prison Policy Initiative finds 12,000 Connecticut residents are incarcerated, with most residing in state prison.

James Jetter with the Full Citizens Coalition says voting is a right no one should lose.

Your right to vote ensures you're thinking through community in a broad way.

That reflects your home, your desires, your imagination, on what you want your community to look like.

So when you strip somebody of that, especially during the time of incarceration, they're isolated.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

And in the light of the recent psychospora outbreak that made at least 300 people and more than half of Iowa's 99 counties sick, small farm advocates are calling on regulators to rein in the control of large corporate agriculture operations in favor of regional producers.

The outbreak was tracked to Taylor Farms of Mexico, which supplied lettuce to fast food chains and other restaurants and grocery stores tied to the recent illness.

Taco Bell's shredded lettuce got most of the attention during the cyclospora outbreak, But Farm Action's Joe Maxwell says brand choices consumers have by choosing different restaurants or grocery stores belies the fact that one supplier is providing the same product to many different outlets behind different labels.

Forty percent of the mixed salad kits in the country are tailored farms.

Forty percent.

So regardless of where you walk into, the likelihood is that you could be dealing with Taylor Farms.

The restaurants and the others need to be asking more questions of their suppliers.

I'm Mark Moran.

Next, Michigan Democrats are again pushing a package of bills to help families manage the pressure of a difficult economy.

House and Senate Democrats have refiled nine bills designed to lower costs to provide long-term financial relief for people across the state.

Representative Brenda Carter has reintroduced a previously approved bill that revises the types of properties exempt from bankruptcy.

Instead of being a punitive bill, my bankruptcy bill would hopefully open the door to give more opportunities to people who are struggling financially.

Lawmakers say Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed the earlier versions of the measures on a technicality.

This is Public News Service.

More than 4,000 children were hospitalized for gunshot wounds in Florida between 2018 and 2024, an average of more than one child per day.

An analysis of hospital data by KFF Health News and The Trace found that the injuries are concentrated in a small number of zip codes with large Black and Latino populations, including in Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, and Tampa.

Dr. Jeffrey Goldhagen is a retired pediatrician at University of Florida Health Jacksonville and former director of the Duval County Health Department.

He says the root causes are deeper than crime.

The root causes are grounded in a host of historical issues, generational issues, issues related to racism, issues related to discrimination, and on and on.

Homicide is now the leading cause of death for children and teens nationally.

In Jacksonville, three zip codes rank among the 10 worst in the state for firearm injuries involving children.

The Florida Department of Health does not identify gun violence as a public health issue, and the state's health improvement plan does not mention firearms.

This story was produced with original reporting from KFF Health News, The Trace, Action News Jaxx, and WFTV.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

And Utah voters care deeply about protecting public lands from privatization and development.

That's according to a new analysis.

Researchers aggregated multiple polls and found that most Utah voters opposed selling public land and rolling back environmental protections.

Aaron Weiss, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, points to poll results showing that 75% of Utahns opposed the Trump administration's funding cuts to agencies such as the U.S.

Forest Service and the National Park Service.

What all of these polls very consistently, though, is that Western voters see public lands, waters, and wildlife as a motivating factor in how they vote.

And that is worth keeping in mind as we head into this election season.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Finally, summer may be coming to an end, but there's still plenty of water sports across the Great Lakes state.

With more than a million registered boats spread across Michigan, lakes remain busy with families squeezing in their final days on the water.

One of the fastest growing water sports is wake surfing, where riders use a rope to get onto a wave created by a boat, then let go and surf behind it.

Whitney Bernash, a wake surfer and boating expert with Silver Spray Sports in Fenton, shares what boaters should know to enjoy the sport safely and respectfully.

Really, the biggest thing is that we don't want to be real close to shore.

The boats aren't designed to be close to shore or in shallow water, so we really seek the deepest part of the lakes, and that's also going to give you the best wave for the rider as well.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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