News from around the nation.

10 dead, dozens injured in New Orleans after vehicle plows into crowd in 'terrorist attack' on Bourbon Street; Cruise ships in Maine ports get failing environmental grade; Rare Florida bat's survival hinges on urban conservation efforts. 

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday [editor's note: Wednesday] afternoon update for New Year's Day.

I'm Mike Clifford.

A suspect who was hell-bent on killing as many people as possible drove a pickup truck around barricades and plowed his vehicle through a crowd of New Year's revelers on Bourbon Street at a high rate of speed, leaving at least 10 dead and injuring dozens of others around 3.15 this morning.

That from ABC News.

They report in addition to going at a fast pace, the suspect was allegedly firing a gun as he mowed people down over the course of about three blocks.

He was shot and killed by police when he got out of his vehicle with an assault rifle, the official said.

At least two officers were shot and wounded.

They are in stable condition.

ABC reports the New Orleans Police Commissioner said the Sugar Bowl will be played as scheduled tonight and the FBI has taken the lead in the investigation of the possible terrorist incident.

Meantime, a recent report gives the majority of cruise ships anchoring in Maine ports a failing environmental grade.

The cruise ship report card from Friends of the Earth finds companies including Carnival and Princess Cruises released significant amounts of toxic wastewater and air pollution while docked in cities such as Portland and Bar Harbor.

Report author Marcy Kiever says newer ships may run on liquefied natural gas but are still adding to the industry's climate footprint.

You're driving your hotel around on the ocean.

It's going to use a ton of fuel and generate a significant amount of CO2 emissions.

The cruise ship industry maintains it is highly regulated and has taken steps to install advanced water and air pollution controls.

But Kiever says despite hundreds of industry violations, the EPA has done little to enforce protections for coastal communities.

I'm Catherine Carley.

And beneath the glow of Miami's streetlights and the towering skyline, a rare species of bat clings to survival.

The Florida bonneted bat, one of the most endangered bats in the United States, faces mounting threats from urbanization and habitat loss.

Malia Bayliss with the group Bat Conservation International says conservation organizations are racing against time to protect the species and its fragile habitat.

The largest population and the most dense population is right around Zoo Miami, which is right in the city of Miami.

And these bats really are endangered neighbors for many of the people that live in Miami eating insects as they fly over the city at night.

There have been glimmers of hope.

Last year, Miami-Dade County reversed a plan to build a water park near Zoo Miami, preserving the critical foraging area for the bats.

Beyond habitat loss, the species faces additional challenges, including pesticide use and pollution, which threaten the native insects the bats rely on for food.

Bayliss emphasizes the need for long-term collaborations to protect the Pine Rocklands habitats and urges the public to appreciate their surroundings, highlighting the rare chance to spot an endangered Florida bonneted bat.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

This is Public News Service.

Funding for Indian Health Services has increased over the past decade, but the agency remains underfunded.

In 2021, the life expectancy of a Native American or Alaska Native in the U.S. was just over 65 years.

That's 11 years less than non-Hispanic white people and the biggest gap since 1940.

The IHS must provide health care for Native people.

The former Tribal Health Administrator for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Damon Leadercharge, said in a panel discussion that care can be hard to get.

He says people in his tribe who want to use IHS to give birth have to travel 90 miles to Pine Ridge.

We're not having our babies within our tribal homelands.

If our young parents don't have those type of teachings in terms of maternal child health, that sacred being is going to really start off on the wrong foot.

IHS funding has increased 68 percent over the past decade, but experts say it's still too low.

In 2017, IHS spending per capita was less than half the spending for veterans and less than one-third for Medicare, according to the National Council of Urban Indian Health.

Danielle Kenyon with USD's Sanford School of Medicine says the problems are multi-pronged, so the solutions must be two.

In our state, the tribal lands have a double whammy of facing both the historical piece and being rural.

So we really need to not only grow the hospitals and the providers, but approach this from that health equity lens.

She says that means looking at social determinants of health, which include other qualities of life that relate to health, like access to healthy food and educational and economic opportunities.

I'm Kathleen Shannon with Public News Service.

Finally, former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday at 100 years of age, had a huge impact on the Golden State, far beyond the presidency, as according to California nonprofit leaders.

Carter and his wife Rosalind volunteered for four decades with Habitat for Humanity, helping to build more than 200 homes in California and more than 4,000 nationwide.

Erin Rank, president of Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles, says Carter's selfless example has inspired thousands of people over the years.

And we hear from the homeowners who talk about the impact that had on the trajectory of their life, both to have a stable place to live, but also to have a president who is humble enough to show up and get his hands dirty and really build.

Rank says she'll join a number of families helped by the Carters to pay homage in Washington, D.C. next week when he lies in state at the Capitol Rotunda.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

They note that Carter was also a major opposition figure, condemning the failed Briggs initiative that would have banned LGBTQ+ people from teaching in public schools.

Wishing you a happy new year.

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

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