News from around the nation.

US strikes a deal with Ukraine that includes access to its rare earth minerals, officials say; California researchers explore crops that thrive on salt; Medicaid cuts could hurt low-income Alaskans, damage health care system; MI environmentalists alarmed about potential Line 5 emergency permit status.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Ukraine and the U.S. have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine's rare earth materials.

Three senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.

That's the Associated Press.

One official said that Kiev hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of U.S. military support that Ukraine urgently needs.

The AP notes the agreement could be signed as early as Friday.

Plans are being drawn up for Ukrainian President Zelensky to travel to Washington to meet President Trump, according to one Ukrainian official.

And as climate change warms the planet, salty water and soil are making it harder to grow crops in California and around the world.

Evaporation leaves salt in the topsoil.

Rising sea levels are tainting coastal aquifers.

And fresh water stored underground for irrigation is being depleted.

So researchers are looking into edible plants that thrive on salty water.

Vanessa Molino, a research scientist and lecturer at the University of Newcastle in Australia, says salicornia, or sea asparagus, is a good candidate.

It's salty, fresh and crunchy like sea asparagus or sea beans.

And this oil from the seeds is really rich in fats and protein.

Countries that currently import cooking oil could grow salicornia, which is popular in Mexico and Europe.

This story is based on original reporting by Ashley Stimson for Nexus News Media and Sentient and is part of a collaborative reporting project exploring a just and climate-friendly food system.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Meantime, experts say that Medicaid cuts proposed in next year's federal budget could hurt almost a quarter million Alaskans and threaten thousands of jobs in the state's health care industry.

Congressional Republicans are calling for $800 billion in reductions to the state federal program that provides health insurance to low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities.

Shannon Davenport is president of the Alaska Nurses Association.

She says Medicaid is the cornerstone of health care in a largely rural state like Alaska, and its loss could be disastrous.

We would have people going without health care, children going without preventative health care, from vaccines to checkups.

Something as basic as I start out with a cold, but now I've got pneumonia and I have to be admitted to a hospital, which could have been avoided if they were able to have their Medicaid care.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Next to Michigan, where environmental groups are pushing back as Enbridge's Line 5 tunnel faces emergency review, potentially bypassing full scrutiny and public input.

Sean McBready of Oil & Water Don't Mix believes public outcry over the past week led the Army Curve engineers to remove 600 emergency designated projects, including Line 5, from its website.

Now we don't know whether they've changed the status of those projects, or like the proposed status of those projects, or whether they're still doing the same thing and just attempting to hide it from the public.

Environmentalists warning Line 5 tunnel leak threatens the Great Lakes.

This is Public News Service.

Groups working to address Oregon's shortage of affordable housing are backing a bill to fund the state's Home Ownership Development Incubator Program.

Originally launched by the state in 2022, the program, known as HDIP, funds developers who build housing for low- to moderate-income families.

Katie Curry is with McMinnville Area Habitat for Humanity, which was one of eight projects awarded the first round of HDIP funds.

She says the money helped them ramp up housing construction.

We're just able to build at a much quicker pace and offer these home ownership opportunities for people in our community.

So it's been a game changer.

HDIP funds are available both for non-profit and for-profit organizations, and also for tribes and private developers.

The homes must be priced based on the area's median income.

The state is seeking $50 million to fund HDIP again, and the bill is now in committee in Salem.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

And workers in the fight against hunger in Arkansas are celebrating the passage and signing of Senate Bill 59.

The legislation makes free breakfast available to all school-aged children, regardless of income, and will be implemented in the 2025-26 school year.

Sylvia Blain with the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance says the bipartisan bill takes the stigma out of receiving a free breakfast.

All children that are attending a school that participates in the USDA's school meals program.

And that includes charters as well as many private schools.

She says school districts will continue with the application process and invoice the USDA for students who qualify for free and reduced meals, and the state will cover the cost of students who don't meet the criteria.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

Finally, we head to Indiana, where officials face an EPA threat to pull more than $117 million in clean energy grants.

The agency seeks to reclaim over $20 billion in federal funds nationwide.

Critics of the freeze say it targets projects that power communities and fuel progress, and the move could derail vital work.

Local leaders fear the cut may stall clean energy plans.

Allison Becker with Indiana's Solar for All program calls the money the coalition's only lifeline.

Without it, she says, progress stops.

We have a goal to reach all 92 counties to provide solar opportunities to income-qualified individuals.

But without the grant money, none of that will be able to proceed.

The project, planned to install solar plants in low-income and disadvantaged areas in Indianapolis, funds would transform an old landfill into a solar farm.

This story was produced with original reporting from Kyla Russell for Wish TV.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin cites potential fraud as justification for the freeze.

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

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