News from around the nation.

Nigeria averts unilateral US action by cooperating on airstrikes; More rain heading for southern California, Heightening flood risk; IL pushes clean energy forward; rural town reflects on community gains; CA Working Group fights for more oversight of AI; NYS advocates seek to improve clemency process, rates.

Transcript

The Public News Service Friday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

By publicly cooperating with the United States on Christmas Day airstrikes, Nigeria's government may have averted humiliating unilateral military action threatened a month ago by President Donald Trump.

Security experts say it's unclear whether such strikes can do much to hinder Islamic militants who have long menaced communities in the area.

That's from Reuters.

And from the New York Times, Southern California will receive more rain today after several days of downpours the risk of flooding before weather improves, according to forecasters.

A new wave of precipitation arrived Thursday night, bringing another inch or so of rain to Los Angeles and twice that to nearby mountains.

Meantime, as Illinois looks to progress its clean energy goals in 2026, rural residents are speaking out about how past projects continue to benefit their communities.

A retired doctor and longtime Logan County board member, David Hepler, says the county was an early leader in renewable energy by adopting forward-looking wind and solar ordinances.

Hepler says renewable energy projects now generate about $1 million annually in new property tax revenue for the county, allowing for tax cuts, major school improvements, and expanded student services.

He says the funds also paid for rural fire protection support, economic development, and upgraded roads.

And I shudder to think of the cuts in services that would have to have been made if we didn't develop those projects.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

And 64 groups representing causes related to civil rights, consumer advocacy, and tech accountability are banding together to fight deregulation of the artificial intelligence industry.

The California AI Working Group has signed a letter to members of Congress opposing a bill that would allow financial firms to deploy artificial intelligence without regulatory oversight or enforcement by requesting a waiver in the interest of innovation.

Tina Rosales Torres with the Western Center on Law and Poverty says Senator Ted Cruz pushing a similar measure called the sandbox act that would apply to all sectors not just finance.

If the federal government gets their way with these preemption laws then the state of California cannot stop AI companies from using individuals data however they want.

President Trump recently issued an executive order declaring that federal AI policy would preempt state laws.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Next to New York where advocates want to improve the state's clemency process the restoration of rights project considers the state's process uneven, Fantefa Fana with the Clemency Coalition of New York says the process isn't transparent or accessible.

People don't know what's going on with their applications, they're not getting any updates, people have made many calls to the governor's team asking about their application and when a decision will be made.

Many times they won't get a good enough answer on timeline, what other materials are needed or anything like that.

The project reports only 13 people were granted clemency in New York. a decline from 2024 when 24 people had their applications granted.

This is Public News Service.

Several New York City immigration judges have been fired as part of a national purge of the justice system.

Close to 100 immigration judges nationwide have been let go from the bench by the Trump administration.

Many of the justices being let go have high rates of granting asylum or backgrounds in immigration defense.

Eileen Grinch, an immigration enforcement reporter with Documented, says recently fired San Francisco immigration judge Jeremiah Johnson sees this as an attack on the courts.

He noted that he himself had taken on an extra load of cases in addition to his normal caseload for those who were outside of those detention centers in everyday life.

He said he felt this was kind of a broader strategy to reshape this US legal system into a tool for mass deportation.

There hasn't been an explanation for the firings from the executive office of immigration review.

They've only said they don't comment on personnel matters.

After the firings, the Trump administration has begun to install judges more likely to rule in favor of deportation in New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Santa Ana.

Grinch says the fired judges feel this is the administration's way of skirting the law when it comes to justice for all immigrants.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

This story was produced with original reporting by Eileen Grinch for Documented.

Atrial fibrillation, a dangerous heart rhythm disorder, affects more than 10 million U.S. adults, or roughly four to five percent of the population.

And as Crystal Blair reports, a lab creation from Michigan scientists has opened the door for researchers to study AFib in ways not previously possible.

Even with so many people affected, doctors have been stuck with the same treatment options for years, mostly because studying living human heart tissue hasn't been possible.

Well, researchers at Michigan State University say that barrier may finally be gone, thanks to a new lab-grown model that closely mimics how the human heart actually functions.

Associate Professor Ador Aguirre at Michigan State says his team is now able to create personalized, human-based heart models using donated cells.

We develop technologies to model the human heart.

So we take cells from people and then we can make little hearts that are genetically matched to the person they were derived from.

Researchers say the three-dimensional heart organoids beat on their own and allow scientists to study disease development and drug responses, something that wasn't possible with animal models alone.

Crystal Blair reporting.

And the day after Christmas in Florida often means one thing, enjoying holiday leftovers.

To make sure those meals are safe, experts say proper handling is key.

Toxologist Brad Reisfeld says the magic is trusting your senses, which is a powerful first line of defense when evaluating food safety.

Is it starting to look off?

Does it smell different than when you bought it?

Is the texture weird?

Is it starting to get like slimy or something like that?

And those are all clues that something's going on in terms of the biology and things that might be growing on your food.

[Unintelligible] for those living in a warm climate that can accelerate food spoilage so proper refrigeration is even more important.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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