News from around the nation.

Search for Savannah Guthrie's mother continues with 18,000-plus calls pouring in; GA loses 209,000 ACA enrollees amid Medicaid debate; New Seasons workers win landmark union contract in OR; Experts: KY pork plant settlement wouldn't protect environmental health.

Transcript

Public News Service Friday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

In a possibly significant development in the search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, investigators have recovered a pair of black gloves.

Investigators have confirmed to News 4 Tucson that a search in the area was extended and a pair of black gloves were located.

The gloves have been submitted for DNA analysis.

Meantime, when someone in Georgia dials 988 during a mental health crisis, they expect a trained counselor to answer, but according to reporting from KFF Health News, that doesn't always happen.

Gaps in staffing and oversight have led to spikes in abandoned calls, raising concern about whether the state's suicide prevention safety net is as reliable as it should be.

For Kaitlin Cook of Cartersville, reaching someone on the other end of the line made all the difference.

She says in 2018, when she was in the midst of a crisis, she would quietly slip outside and call for help behind her car so her boyfriend wouldn't hear her.

They were extremely helpful in not only de-escalating me from being suicidal, also they recommended so many different coping skills.

But state data show not every caller is getting that same experience.

This story was produced with original reporting from Andy Miller for KFF Health News and Rebecca Grapevine for Healthbeat.

Shantia Hudson reporting. as rural communities in Illinois grapple with a shortage of pharmacies, a college in Rockford is working to try to fill the gap locally and nationwide.

More than 70 percent of Illinois counties are considered pharmacy deserts with rural areas disproportionately affected.

Dr. Heidi Olson with UIC Retzke College of Pharmacy says its rural pharmacy education program is a targeted response to the ongoing crisis.

She says it includes specialized training to better equip students to work in areas that often struggle with limited resources.

And then there's also a rural culture that if you didn't grow up in a rural area it's important to be aware that the culture is slightly different and to understand that and to be culturally humble and culturally competent to work in an area like that.

She says about 44 percent of pharmacy program graduates are practicing in rural communities across the country.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

Next, poor access to child care is holding some students back, North Carolina is exploring ways to help parents overcome this barrier.

At NC early childhood reporter Liz Bell says North Carolina is one of only five states that provides grant funds to help student parents access affordable child care.

Students can use those funds to access licensed formal child care in a center or home-based setting and they can also use them to access unlicensed informal care through a family member, a friend or a by Ed NC found 13 of North Carolina's 58 community colleges provide full-time on-campus care while some others provide drop-in care.

This is public news service.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is eyeing New York State for expanding detention capacity.

The agency considered a location in the town of Chester but the Orange County Legislature voted unanimously to reject the proposed facility.

Our Edwin J. Viera has more.

Now Rosa Santana with Envision Fund says a bill in Albany, the Dignity Not Detention Act, is essential to doing more to protect immigrants' rights.

The bill will prohibit any person or any entity in the state of New York from owning or operating an immigrant facility, such as counties that have a contract with ICE.

It will also prohibit any entity from entering into a new contract or receiving payments from immigrant detention.

In 2018, Orange County made close to $9 million from the almost $134 daily fee ICE the county for housing detainees.

Other concerns about ice scouting for locations have been raised based on the conditions of their existing facilities.

And surveillance of Americans is expanding and New Mexico lawmakers are leaning toward increased protections.

The Driver Privacy and Safety Act passed the state senate Thursday and now heads to the house.

It would ban state law enforcement from using automated license plate readers for general surveillance or civil traffic enforcement.

It also identifies personal information that cannot be given to out-of-state third parties.

The American Civil Liberties Union says cameras installed on streets and poles by a company called FLOC collect data on people who are not suspected of any crime.

Danny Zendejas with Media Justice says FLOC's reach is massive.

There are currently over 80,000 FLOC cameras installed across the country with FLOC self-reporting that they are in 49 states.

I'm Roz Brown.

Finally this on Valentine's Day, some Mississippi residents are sending love letters, but not the kind you'd expect.

Instead of candy and flowers, community members in Gloucester are mailing satirical Valentine's Day cards to Drax, an energy giant based in the United Kingdom.

The cards accuse Drax of greenwashing its environmental record while residents suffer from pollution.

Caden Love is Gulf South manager with the Dogwood Alliance, which organized the campaign, and he says the company's version of love for the community doesn't match his name.

Well, the goal is to make the issue more public.

What pellet biomass is a greenwashed issue, meaning it's seen as a clean solution, a non-dirty solution, but in actuality, there's still burning trees, there's still a carbon output, there's still pollution that negatively affects communities.

DRAC celebrated its 10-year anniversary in Gloucester this past December.

The company says its Gloucester facility supports nearly 70 permanent jobs and has $158 million annual economic impact in Emmitt County.

The company also donated more than $250,000 last year through a community fund for local schools.

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

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