News from around the nation.

American Airlines is boarding flights again, and the FAA lifts its nationwide ground-stop; Santa Cruz, CA wharf collapses in storm, tossing three people into water; Toxic 'forever chemicals' taint rural CA wells. Has Ohio lost its battleground state status? Opponents of factory farms regroup after mixed election results.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

A technical issue briefly disrupted American airline flights nationwide early today, at the start of a busy Christmas Eve for travelers around the nation.

That from ABC News.

They report the FAA requested the ground stop for all flights.

An hour later, Americans said flights were again beginning to board, and the FAA lifted the nationwide stop.

Americans sent in a statement to ABC News, a vendor technology issue briefly, affected flights this morning.

That issue is resolved.

All flights are resumed.

Next, a pier in Santa Cruz, California, partially collapsed in heavy waves brought on by storms, throwing three people into the water.

That from the Washington Post.

Mayor Fred Keeley said there are no serious injuries involved.

We believe that everyone who went into the water is now accounted for and safe.

Next, toxic PFAS, known as forever chemicals, are turning up in wells and water systems in rural areas of San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast, far from industrial sources of pollution.

We get more in this KFF Health News, California News Service collaboration.

Researchers from UC Berkeley and the nonprofit Community Water Center tested 10 private domestic wells and 10 public water systems this year.

Tests showed PFAS and arsenic in a well in Juana Valle's five-acre farm in San Juan Bautista.

So I was tested after having pain in my legs, burning sensation in my joint.

Then I stopped eating what I was eating from the farm, and the levels dropped from really high to a normal level.

PFAS chemicals are used in many consumer products, including cookware, cosmetics, and some types of firefighting foam.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Next to Ohio, where the political landscape has seen a significant transformation in recent years, from a key swing state to a Republican stronghold.

Experts point to a mix of economic, educational, and demographic factors for this trend.

As former Ohio Governor Bob Taft explains, it wasn't necessary for many Ohioans to get a college degree.

And one key divide between Republican and Democratic candidates is Republicans, particularly President-elect Donald Trump, have had more success with voters who don't hold a college degree.

Because we were a big manufacturing state, and big manufacturing jobs didn't usually require a college education.

Ohio, once a Rust Belt stronghold, saw an industrial decline in the late 20th century.

Farrah Siddiqi reporting.

And animal rights organizers are regrouping after mixed results at the ballot box in November, a measure targeting factory farms passed in Berkeley but failed in Sonoma County.

Kasey King is an organizer with the Coalition to End Factory Farming.

We learned that money and the ability to lie during political campaigns is a very powerful combination of factors to be up against.

The coalition raised $280,000 to promote the ban in Sonoma County, even as opponents raised $2.2 million.

This is public news service.

Communities around Indiana will be watching the progress of a unique project coming up for the north central town of Logansport.

The Cass County Community Foundation-backed dream for the new community space includes a permanent farmer's market, an incubator kitchen for small food businesses, and making community garden plots available to local residents.

Community Foundation CEO and President Deanna Crispin emphasized the initiative's focus on uniting the diverse community.

The whole idea behind this proposal was bringing people together through food.

Planners chose Heritage Park for the project and intentionally designed it to honor the town's immigrant history.

They are working with minority groups to ensure inclusivity.

I'm Joe Ulari, Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.

Meantime, researchers are sounding the alarm now about plastics being in everything from the food we eat to the air we breathe.

Plastic is made of fossil fuels and fracked gas from Texas and other oil and gas producing states.

Plastics don't break down in the environment, but break up into tiny particles called microplastics.

Brett Nadridge is with the advocacy group Break Free from Plastics.

He says doctors are finding these microplastics in every part of the human body.

From deep in our lung tissue to maternal human placenta and breast milk, there was a study recently that found microplastic particles in every single human testicle that was tested.

The organization's most recent audit lists the top plastic-polluting corporations as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle.

Microplastics enter the body through the water supply, the soil, and the farm animals that become food.

Finally, the latest internet skin care trend is beef tallow or rendered cow fat, which some folks are using as skin care cream.

But critics say it's not worth the cost of the environment and animals, is a byproduct of factory farming, and isn't particularly effective for skin care.

He adds it's also comparable to coconut oil, which can trigger acne outbreaks for some people.

I think the thing now that comes up though is that it is a lot of fat, and so it isn't guaranteed that it isn't going to clog up your pores if you have a tendency for acne.

Nearly 95 percent of the U.S. rendering market is controlled by two massive corporations, Tyson Foods and Darling Ingredients.

An investigation by the British newspaper The Guardian earlier this year also found that Tyson Foods' slaughterhouses dumped 371 million pounds of pollutants into U.S. waterways between 2018 and 2022.

Nadia Ramligan reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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