News from around the nation.

Weather service issues its most severe fire warning for L.A. as winds pick up; Mental health helpline seeks to expand to help fire victims recover; Resisting industry on the Columbia in 2025; CT urged to increase renewable energy to cut ratepayer costs.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The most serious red flag fire warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for swaths of Los Angeles and Vitara counties starting before dawn on Tuesday, underlying the continuing threat in a region weary after nearly a week of firestorms.

That from the LA Times.

A report issuing the warning is one of the loudest ways we could shout according to Rose Schoenfeld, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

She added, "This is a continued extreme fire weather and wind scenario.

Gusts could range from 45 to 70 miles per hour and the air will be quite dry, especially Tuesday, with relative humidity as low as 5 percent.

There will be a higher risk of power outages, rapid fire spread, and extreme fire behavior with fires able to travel swiftly as embers fly at high speeds."

Meantime, mental health groups are stepping up to help victims of the LA fires deal with extreme stress brought on by the disaster.

The California Parent and Youth Helpline is beginning to work at evacuation centers and is looking to partner with community or government entities to provide victims with emotional support.

Dr. Lisa Payan Berlin is president and CEO of Parents Anonymous, which runs the free helpline.

She says people can call, text, or live chat with a trained counselor.

That emotional support really needs to be handled by an experienced professional who's trained to listen and to help people deal with the immediate angst and depression because they don't know where to turn.

The helpline is open 12 hours a day at 877-427-2736 to guide people through the chaos, desperation, and fear.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

And next to Oregon where salmon populations had some significant winds in 2024, including a record number of sockeye salmon passing through Columbia River's Bonneville Dam last summer.

Columbia River keepers Lauren Goldberg says the group is focused on resisting new fossil fuel infrastructure along the Columbia.

She says proposals include an unconventional diesel refinery from Next Clean Fuels and the expansion of an existing interstate gas pipeline, gas transmissions Northwest.

Goldberg says these projects are dangerous for the fish and people in the area.

We defend our nation's bedrock environmental laws to make sure that everybody can drink water without fear of getting sick, can eat locally caught fish.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

And Connecticut environmental groups are dissatisfied with Governor Ned Lamont's energy strategy for the state.

In a State of the State address, the governor called for increasing nuclear energy and bolstering natural gas pipelines.

Lori Brown is with the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters.

The mindset of the governor and some lawmakers is really moving away from investments in the future in clean energy and in renewable energy that will absolutely be better for our state.

It's the long term thinking.

This comes as energy company Enbridge plans to extend the gas pipeline running through the state of Connecticut.

This is public news service.

Next, an environmental group is voicing concerns about the current nominee to lead the federal Office of Management and Budget.

Our Daniel Smith has more.

President elect Donald Trump has tapped Russ Vogt, a co author of Project 2025 to head this office.

Although Trump has long claim, he has no knowledge of the conservative playbook.

David Kiva with E.D.F. Action says in the previous Trump administration vote delayed resources and funding relief to state during weather disasters.

Kiva is convinced votes confirmation would jeopardize Pennsylvania's economic well being.

Pennsylvania farmers, small business owners and citizens continue to deal with severe weather impacts and rising electric bills.

They need our elected leaders in Washington to step up.

Russ vote is intentionally checked out when Pennsylvanians and the rest of Americans have needed help the most votes.

Confirmation hearing is set for January 15th and with lawmakers back in Boise, changes could be coming to Medicaid or rectangle reports.

Voters approved Medicaid expansion in 2018, but Republican lawmakers have consistently said the program is too costly for Idaho.

Some legislators are even considering repealing the expanded program.

However, radical changes such as this could hurt families the most.

Randy LaSalle is a single mom with four kids on Medicaid.

She says at one point she was working two jobs and paying $800 per month per private health insurance, which was more than her rent.

I stopped working two jobs because it just wasn't feasible with trying to take care of a bunch of kids and bouncing between counties trying to keep up two jobs.

Things are a little tighter, but at least I don't have to pay for insurance anymore.

Expansion helped cover people who made too much to qualify for Medicaid and fell into a coverage gap.

The program covers about one in six adults and three and eight Children in Idaho.

LaSalle says she hopes legislators make the program more accessible for families this session.

And finally, advocates want federal regulators to shut down what they say is an illegal coal Hall Road in West Virginia's in the Monongahela National Forest.

While he expects the company to argue it's right to continue using the road in court, he says groups recently sent a letter to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement asking its deputy director Sharon Pacino to immediately shut it down.

It makes no sense.

Allow them to continue operating this Hall Road in the meanwhile, the Hall Road needs to be shut down right now.

And Sharon Pacino has the authority to do that, and we are asking her to do that.

Under federal law, surface coal mining operations are prohibited on protected lands unless a coal company acquired rights established before the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

Nadia Ramligan reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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