News from around the nation.

Israel backs Trump plan and orders military to prepare for Palestinians to leave Gaza; MS families face hardship as state rejects federal summer food aid again; Advocates: Unfair insurance policies causing DE mental health crisis; Conservationists: Study of Atlantic menhaden critical to preserving species.

Transcript

The public news service Thursday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed President Donald Trump's proposal to take over Gaza as Israel's army was ordered to prepare plans for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the territory.

That from CNN.

They report Trump's plan triggered an enormous backlash with leaders from the Middle East and beyond rejecting it as unworkable and illegal.

Netanyahu insisted the plan, which Trump said would involve sending Gaza's residents to neighboring countries and taking long-term ownership of the enclave, was in his words a "remarkable idea," while leaders in the Middle East, including Gazan officials, reaffirmed their position advocating for Palestinian statehood.

Next to Mississippi, where families struggling with food insecurity are bracing for another difficult summer after state officials declined millions in federal funding meant to help low-income children during school break.

The decision impacts more than 324,000 children statewide in these families, with fewer resources at a time when school meal programs are unavailable.

Sarah Strip, with Springboard Opportunities, works with families in federally subsidized housing and says the rejection of USDA's summer EBT program puts additional strain on struggling households.

When they are not receiving those meals during the school year, which affects their ability to be able to do any of the things that they want to do.

If they're hungry, if their children are hungry, that limits what they're able to do.

Governor Tate Reeves cited a desire to reject attempts to expand the welfare state as the primary reason for opting out.

I'm Tramell Gomes.

And mental health advocates in Delaware and beyond claim that certain practices by insurance companies are creating a crisis by hindering many patients from getting the care they need.

Studies find a shortage of in-network providers is causing many patients to pay higher out of network fees or skip care altogether.

Jake Slotin with the mental health advocacy group Inseparable says claim denials, payment clawbacks and low reimbursement rates drive many providers away from insurance networks and sometimes out of business.

It's so much more pronounced in the behavioral health space because of the constraints that we're seeing a lot of insurers putting on network participation, payment rates to the providers.

It's taking an already broad-based workforce shortage across health care and making it way worse.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Next, a small forage fish near the bottom of the food chain has a significant impact on the survival of several iconic predators along the Atlantic seaboard, including bass, bluefish and ospreys.

That forage fish is manhattan.

Jacqueline Higgins is with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

This is the largest fishery on the Atlantic coast.

We don't have any information on how many menhaden are in the bay, how many should be in the bay, how many should be left over to play an ecological role.

A coalition of conservation groups in Rhode Island and beyond is supporting a renewed push for studies on ecology, fishery impacts and the economic significance of the Atlantic manhattan.

This is public news service.

Conservation groups in Maine are calling on the state's congressional delegation to protect federal funding for clean energy technologies.

A new report finds the state has benefited from more than $2 billion in clean energy investments stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law.

Jack Shapiro with the Natural Resources Council of Maine says many of the programs have helped low-income and rural communities.

From a cost-saving perspective, from an energy independence perspective, from a climate perspective, this is the right path to be on and we hope that we continue to have federal support to do that.

Shapiro says the state has received millions of additional dollars in climate resilience funding to better prepare for extreme weather events.

The Trump administration is reported to be exploring ways to cancel already approved loans for clean energy and redirect those funds towards nuclear power and liquefied natural gas.

I'm Catherine Carley.

And a bill introduced by Kentucky lawmakers would increase alternatives to prison or jail for parents convicted of non-violent offenses.

Senior Director of National Campaigns for Dream.org Amanda Hall, who herself was separated from her child while incarcerated, says her son, who's now in college, testified before the Kentucky legislature about how being ripped from his mother left a lifelong imprint.

When my son spoke, he said that he will never forget the day that I was arrested and how that has literally changed his whole life.

Around 12 percent of kids in the Commonwealth have an incarcerated parent, one of the highest rates in the nation.

Considered an adverse childhood experience or ACE, research has linked parental incarceration to higher rates of depression, substance abuse, decreased educational outcomes and homelessness among kids.

Nadia Ramligan reporting.

Finally, new research by social scientists shows that kids who suffer traumatic experiences growing up are more likely to use firearms defensively as adults.

The research, done by social scientists at Rutgers University, asked respondents about abuse and neglect they suffered as kids, depression, their levels of social distrust and sensitivity to perceived threats.

Then they asked them about their use of guns when they feel threatened.

Lisa Cushott, director of ACES 360, an Iowa organization that works with kids who've experienced childhood trauma, says recognizing a kid's triggers early on is critical.

You and I may not perceive threats that another person does because that's based off of our own perspective and experience.

So a person who's experienced significant trauma may see threats in settings or ways that you and I don't anticipate or understand.

Cushott says once people recognize triggers among youth who've been traumatized, it's easier to deescalate a potentially dangerous situation.

I'm Mark Moran.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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