News from around the nation.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, a civil rights icon, dies at 84; Expert: Both natural gas and renewables needed for VA energy demand; NM's gray wolves back in crosshairs of proposed legislation; Black farmers face uncertainty, but seeds of the future are planted in the Carolinas.

Transcript

The public news service Tuesday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson, the long-time civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and two-time presidential candidate died Tuesday.

His family said, "Our father was a servant leader, not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world."

Civil rights leader, the Reverend Al Sharpton said in a statement, "Our nation has lost one of its greatest moral voices and paid tribute to a man who carried history in his footsteps and hope in his voice."

They had a lifelong battle with Parkinson's.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson was 84 years old.

Meantime, energy demand in Virginia continues to grow precipitously as the state looks to fully transition to renewable energy.

Data centers in the Commonwealth are expected to triple electricity demands by 2050, according to Virginia's joint legislative and audit review commission.

That, coupled with the growth of electric vehicles, means the Commonwealth will need more energy, but those needs conflict with a law requiring a full renewable energy transition by 2050.

Neil Brown with the Progressive Policy Institute says a combination of fewer natural gas plants and a lagging renewable energy build out would punish everyday Virginians with higher prices.

When we're doing things like reducing the supply, not modernizing plants that are producing energy currently, and then on top of that, not building the anticipated renewables that we wanted to build, all the while there's a spike in demand from data centers and electrification, it just means prices go up.

Many environmental advocates oppose natural gas plants, saying the facilities contribute to air pollution.

I'm Zamone Perez.

And bringing an endangered species back from the brink of extinction is usually cause for celebration, but in the Southwest, wolves may be the exception.

Champions of the Mexican gray wolf are watching a bill introduced in Congress by Arizona representative Paul Gosar to remove the wolf from the Endangered Species Act.

It's supposed to remain there until there's an average of 320 wolves for eight years, and right now there are only 286.

But Gosar and others argue the wolves threaten livestock, game animals, and human lives.

Brian Bird with Defenders of Wildlife says livestock deaths are still rare.

While wolf numbers continue to grow, the ratio of confirmed depredations per 100 wolves is declining.

The recovery program has shown a growing wolf population for at least eight years now.

I'm Roz Brown.

Next, in the past year, the Department of Agriculture has moved toward what it calls a race-neutral policy under President Trump.

One casualty of this shift was the discrimination financial assistance program, which compensated farmers who faced racial discrimination in USDA's lending practices before 2021.

Sheree Jizar is the co-founder of Deep Roots and an urban farmer in Charlotte.

A lot of that momentum was trying to reach black farmers, trying to better understand what the challenges were and then meet those needs.

And so once the administration changed, all of that momentum sort of went away.

The story with original reporting by Herbert L. White with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.

This is public news service.

Advocates for children's online safety say that big tech platforms, including those powered by artificial intelligence, are built to keep users hooked.

And they say kids are paying the price.

In Michigan, Senate Democrats have introduced a package of bills known as Kids Over Clicks to strengthen online safety and privacy protections for children.

Jennifer Tuxel is director the Michigan Parent Alliance for Safe Schools and member of the Michigan Kids Code Coalition.

She says the bills are aimed at rethinking how platforms for kids are designed.

This legislation focuses on safety by design standards for digital platforms used by minors.

Things like stronger privacy protections, reducing harmful algorithm application, and making sure companies consider child safety from the start.

The Kids Over Clicks bills were introduced in December and are now moving through the Michigan legislature.

Supporters expected to come up for discussion very soon.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Next to New England, where schools are coming up with innovative ways to reduce continuously high rates of chronic absenteeism.

Roughly 28 percent of students nationwide continue to miss at least 10 percent of their school year, according to the most recent federal data.

Hedy Chang with the nonprofit Attendance Works says educators are transforming the culture around attendance, choosing to no longer shame students for their absence, but celebrate their arrival.

The key is helping kids feel a sense of belonging, connection, support and that they are wanted and that they see the value of what they're learning in school.

Some Portland, Maine students hold attendance raffles.

Educators in Connecticut and Rhode Island credit a home visiting program for getting kids to school.

Chang says research shows students care more about school climate and feeling safe than they did pre-pandemic.

This story is based on original reporting by Riley Board with the Portland Press-Herald.

I'm Catherine Carley.

Finally, the success of individual trail projects has sparked the idea of growth to expand connectivity between some Missouri towns and counties.

Backers of these trail networks say the goal is to create healthier lifestyles and offer safer active transportation opportunities.

The Rail to Trails Conservancy is steering an accelerator program it calls Trail Nation, a first of its kind project to help rural and small communities build connected trail networks throughout the state.

Technical assistance, capacity building and peer learning will be provided.

Program director Kelly Pack says the idea is to create better local connections from the towns to public lands in the area.

"We're really excited to be working with a group of community leaders in Southeast Missouri in Van Buren and Poplar Bluff area and they are looking at closing some of the critical gaps to the Ozark Trail systems.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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