News from around the nation.

A county in NC pummeled by Hurricane Helene suffers another blow; new MN laws target junk fees, pricey concert tickets; WI ends year on a high note in clean energy; and taking stock of MT's outlook on conservation progress.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

One of China's intelligence agencies hacked the U.S. Treasury Department, gaining access to workstations of government employees and unclassified documents, the Biden administration said on Monday.

That's the New York Times.

They report senior officials with access to intelligence on the breach said it appeared to be entirely an espionage operation and not part of other Chinese efforts to insert malicious computer code into utility grids and water supply systems.

Next one, New Yorker is redoubling efforts to get a pardon from Governor Kathy Hochul.

Pascal Shikori Carpenter has called New York his home for 52 years after being born on an army base in Germany.

But Immigration and Customs Enforcement is trying to deport him for being a Haitian immigrant, which he isn't, and cites a criminal conviction from his youth.

Carpenter worries about President-elect Donald Trump's mass deportation plan, which he says would threaten people like himself with complicated immigration status.

It's very difficult to imagine what day-to-day life would be like when you're constantly worrying if there's going to be a van in front of your house or am I going to be stopped at my workplace and asked to come out and find myself in handcuffs.

Carpenter has presented evidence proving his naturalized status, but prosecutors dismiss it.

He says there hasn't been an official reason to deny the pardon and suspects politics are at play.

But he says he's holding out hope that a pardon could still be granted.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

And with the 2025 legislative session around the corner, the non-profit advocacy group Alabama Arise says it plans to take aim at poverty and systematic challenges that hit families the hardest.

Shantia Hudson has more.

Big issues like health care access, public transportation, and unfair court fines often weigh on lower-income families.

Alabama Arise Executive Director Robin Hyden says it's time for state leaders to step up and tackle these concerns.

Our state, because we underfund the state government and we underfund our court systems, we heavily rely on fines and fees that really disproportionately hurt low-income families and working families.

Hyden believes cutting court fines and fees could be life-changing for some, freeing up money for essentials like food and health care.

And as Arizona farmers grapple with inflation, falling crop prices, and the effects of a changing climate, the incoming Trump administration could take action to reform the nation's industrial agriculture system and offer some help.

Joe Maxwell with the advocacy group Farm Action says net farm income dropped by more than 4 percent this year and by nearly 20 percent in 2023.

Maxwell says voters are taking note.

Eighty-eight percent of rural voters in battleground states during this last election cycle say they would be more favorable toward a candidate who supports cracking down on meat processing monopolies and ensuring local businesses can compete.

Potential steps could end foreign farmland ownership, support low-wage farm workers, and end lobbying by global food corporations.

This is Public News Service.

With the Montana legislature scheduled to gavel in next week, conservation leaders are looking ahead at ways to protect the state's public lands, waterways, and air quality.

Conservation groups are concerned that the state's entire federal delegation and top statewide offices are now in the hands of anti-conservation leaders.

Given the loss of some environmental and conservation advocates in Montana, state Senator Pat Flores, a Democrat from Belgrade, says it's important to protect the progress Montana has made, especially when it comes to water quality.

Now more than ever, we have to stay incredibly vigilant about any erosion at all.

Conservation groups say an anti-conservation supermajority in the legislature was broken by picking up a dozen seats with candidates who support conservation efforts.

I'm Mark Moran.

Meantime an Indiana football field serves as Keontae Newsom's sanctuary.

Before every Ball State game, the senior linebacker kneels on the gridiron, bows his head, and prays.

He says he talks to his second cousin, Dexter Jones, who died a decade ago.

For Newsom, the ritual brings guidance from the father figures he never had.

I talk to him every game day.

I talk to him, my Uncle Jeremy, his mom.

I got a 26-year-old at home.

That's my spot.

Newsom says adversity has shaped his life.

The family moved into Section 8 housing, and he modeled his anger, but lashed out at times, at himself and others.

Now a college graduate, Newsom shares his journey to inspire change.

This story was produced with original reporting from Kyle Smedley for Ball State Daily News.

I'm Joe Ulari, Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.

Finally, in January, low-wage workers in Tennessee will be missing out on pay hikes that are going to be seen in 23 other states.

We get the details from our Daniel Smith.

In the new year, the minimum wage will reach or exceed $15 an hour for some or all employees in eight states and 47 cities and counties.

Jeff Strand of the Tennessee Disability Coalition says the state's current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is simply too low, especially for people with disabilities.

He points to research that shows it costs more to live with a disability in Tennessee, making a higher wage even more crucial.

And so nationwide, it costs 27 percent more income to achieve the same standard of living as someone without a disability if you have a disability.

In Tennessee, that number is 51 percent more income to achieve that same standard of living, bigger effect on people with disabilities.

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

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