News from around the nation.

The search continues for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of TODAY co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, as investigators examine the legitimacy of reported ransom notes and offer a reward for information leading to her recovery. The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are underway in Italy, with opening ceremonies and early competition drawing attention to U.S. contenders in figure skating and hockey.

Transcript

The Public News Service Friday afternoon update.

I'm Farah Siddiqui.

The search continues for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, as investigators examine the legitimacy of reported ransom notes and offer a reward for information leading to her recovery.

The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are underway in Italy, with opening ceremonies and early competition drawing attention to U.S. contenders in figure skating and hockey.

New research is offering a closer look at pay benefits and retention challenges in Pennsylvania's child services workforce.

Danielle Smith has more.

The 2026 Compensation and Benefits Study from the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services analyzes salaries, paid time off and benefits across 31 agencies and more than 50 job categories statewide.

One of the primary challenges among agencies is employee turnover.

Kathleen Trimble with Pinebrook Family Answers says the industry has trouble matching the starting wages that workers can make at big retailers.

However, she adds, workers often come back.

We have people that have left and have realized that the grass is not always greener because of everything else we offer.

It's the environment.

It's the benefits.

It's the time off.

About a third of the agencies offered sign on bonuses to attract new hires in 2024 with a typical payout somewhere around a thousand dollars.

From workforce challenges to environmental concerns, lawmakers in Virginia are weighing legislation tied to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

House Bill 1048 would stop production fishing until scientific studies prove the practice doesn't negatively impact other fisheries or menhaden-dependent species.

Another piece of legislation would spread quota periods throughout the year to give menhaden the chance to move through the Bay.

Will Poston with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says the fish are vital to the Bay ecosystem.

Everything out in the Chesapeake Bay marine ecosystems eat menhaden because they are so packed with key nutrients.

Virginia is home to the only reduction fishery left on the Chesapeake Bay.

Ocean Harvesters, which owns and operates fishing fleets in the Atlantic, stated proposed restrictions could mean hundreds of lost jobs in a rural area.

I'm Zamone Perez.

Rising health care costs are putting new pressure on families and hospitals in Maine, as recent federal cuts to Medicaid and insurance subsidies take effect.

Supporters of a universal health care model say the current system leaves too many people uninsured or underinsured.

Dr. Donald Kalish with Physicians for a National Health Program says broader coverage could reduce financial barriers to care.

The mom with a sick child would not hesitate to get care.

People who have cancer would go into their cancer treatment plan knowing that it's all going to be covered.

Critics argue a national program would be too costly and limit consumer choice, while supporters point to health systems in countries like Germany and Switzerland that provide universal coverage without restricting access to doctors.

This is Public News Service.

For many older Ohioans, choosing Medicare coverage and long-term care services can feel overwhelming, especially in rural communities.

A new national report highlights just how difficult navigating aging services has become.

A rural Ohioan referred to as Lydia is in her late 70s and enrolled in traditional Medicare.

She says comparing coverage options, especially prescription plans, often feels impossible.

It's hard to compare apples to apples on the telephone.

I mean, they tell you you can go on.

Well, I can go on and look at that, but I don't understand all this stuff.

The prescriptions, the tiers, I don't get what I should be looking for.

Her experience reflects findings from a new bipartisan policy center report, What Older Americans Want Policymakers to Know, which is based on interviews with older adults across the country about aging, caregiving, and long-term care.

Federal workforce cuts and changes to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies may be reshaping the job market in Michigan, with new data showing some workers are being hit harder than others.

Crystal Blair reports.

National figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show unemployment among Black women rose by nearly one and a half percentage points over the past year.

Black women are more likely than other groups to work in government and public-facing jobs. sectors affected by budget cuts and workforce reductions.

Shaquita Hall Jackson is an employment and civil rights attorney.

The government is the number one employer of black people, including black women, is controlled by this administration.

And they come in and wipe out positions, will buy out the force early retirement, and ultimately firing it, especially leadership roles.

This is where we land.

In Michigan, people of color make up about 23 percent of state and local government workers, and black residents about 15 percent of the population.

Supporters of the administration and Project 2025 say shrinking the federal workforce and scaling back DEI programs reduces cost and increases efficiency.

As New York City's historic nurses strike approaches its second month, progress has been made, but key issues remain unresolved.

Union nurses announced a tentative deal on artificial intelligence protections yesterday following an agreement on health care a week earlier.

The 15,000 striking nurses now turn their attention to unresolved complaints involving safe staffing levels and workplace violence protections.

Shela Dominguez is a registered nurse at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, but has been on the picket line since the strike began.

"As nurses, we have to protect ourselves.

Sometimes we get hit, kicked.

Some nurses are having bruises or physically injured because of what's happening."

A 2024 National Nurses United report finds 80 percent of nurses experience workplace violence, but only 20 to 60 percent of incidents are actually accounted for.

Dominguez ads because it might take a hospital security team a bit more time to reach certain floors, they're left to fend for themselves before any help arrives.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

This is Farah Siddiqui for Public News Service.

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