News from around the nation.

75% of Americans oppose US attempting to take control of Greenland, CNN poll finds; Canada, China slash EV, canola tariffs in reset of ties; Trump administration announces health plan concept; Congress considers bill to make cars with electronic door handles safer; Michigan Planned Parenthood closures fuel ongoing debate.

Transcript

The Public News Service Friday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Three quarters of Americans say they oppose the United States attempting to take control of Greenland.

According to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, CNN reports the poll finds little appetite for border policy of US expansionism, even as Trump extols the military capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, declaring afterward that the US would run the country, and as he threatens Iran's leadership over their violent crackdown on street protests.

And from Reuters, Canada and China have struck an initial trade deal that will slash tariffs on electric vehicles and canola.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday, as both nations promise to tear down trade barriers while forging new strategic ties.

Meantime, the White House has outlined a new health care plan, just as Texans and many across the nation are facing steep increases in Affordable Care Act premiums.

What the administration is calling the Great Health Care Plan proposes, among other things, to replace insurance company subsidies with direct payments to consumers, presumably through health savings accounts.

The plan is dependent on legislative action.

Yvette Fontenot, CEO of Health Impact Policy Partners, says Congress is currently focused on other things.

The House has just passed a three-year clean extension of the enhanced premium tax credits that has been sent over to the Senate.

So that's what Congress is focused on getting done.

Some other pieces, while they may be considered by Congress, it is not the healthcare emergency that Congress is currently trying to deal with.

She says the plan doesn't address the immediate problem millions of people who are facing a doubling of their health insurance premiums on the ACA marketplace.

The administration claims its plan would save taxpayers over $36 billion and reduce ACA policy premiums by more than 10 percent.

Brett Peveto reporting.

And a bill to make cars with the electronic door handle safer was part of a hearing this week in the Congress.

Stakeholders spoke before members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about a slew of auto-related bills including the recently introduced safe exit act which would require all vehicles with electronic door latches to include accessible clearly labeled manual releases that function without vehicle power.

Cooper Lohr with Consumer Reports says investigations have linked electronic door failures to at least 15 deaths.

We've had people die in incidents because they couldn't exit to their vehicle whereas if they were in that same incident and had a vehicle with a old-time door handle, they would have easily been able to get out of the car.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

And in Michigan, the closure of several Planned Parenthood clinics last spring is renewing debate over access to reproductive health care and the impact of federal funding restrictions, especially in rural and northern parts of the state.

Paula Thornton Greer is CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan.

It isn't a story about health centers closing.

It's a story about what happens when health care becomes a political target.

The Jackson and Petoskey was driven by federal funding changes.

This story with original reporting by Rebecca Sager with the Michigan Independent.

This is Public News Service.

Next to Indiana where lawmakers are moving forward with a proposal that would greatly limit student cell phone use during the school day.

The Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 78 with bipartisan support.

Our Joe Ulori explains.

The bill would prohibit students from using personal cell phones and electronic devices from the start of the school day until dismissal.

Supporters say phones distract students from learning and contribute to academic and mental health concerns.

Committee Chair Jeff Reitz said the bill focuses on keeping distracting devices out of students' reach while school is in session.

What we try to accomplish here is be stored away and inaccessible to a student throughout the school day, which would prevent a student from carrying it.

School-issued laptops and tablets would still be allowed, and the bill includes exceptions for medical needs, language translation, and situations approved by a superintendent.

And Biden-era funding is helping to pay for lead pipe removal in nearly 30 Wisconsin communities.

Officials say the efforts reduce potential health risks and expand access to clean drinking water.

The funding being used by the state's lead service line replacement program largely comes from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, which dedicated $15 billion to identifying and replacing lead pipes nationwide.

Wisconsin faces a significant lead pipe challenge with more than 260,000 known public and private lead service lines and more than 200,000 that may contain lead.

James Robby with Public Works in Oshkosh says communities like his are already seeing major investments.

It's huge for our community because it helps us as an organization help our property owners get rid of those lead pipes.

Experts say lead exposure can harm brain development in children and increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and kidney or nervous system problems I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This story was produced with original reporting from Jonah Balekas for the Wisconsin Independent.

Finally, as the nation prepares to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., concerns about the growth of artificial intelligence and its impact on communities of color is increasing.

Experts say AI will disproportionately impact black workers through displacement and the environmental burden of data centers, which are more likely to be located in marginalized communities.

Keisha Bross, director of the NAACP Center for Opportunity, Race and Justice, says black workers are overrepresented in entry-level jobs, as well as manufacturing and logistics work.

The best thing that these companies can do is really provide educational tools and resources because we don't want people displaced from the workforce.

We want people to be back in the workforce, but also earning a wage that's livable.

The impact of data centers is more clear.

They've already been linked to health impacts for communities that live near them.

Illinois is a top destination for data centers, estimated to have nearly 200 across the state.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

We are member and listener supported, and you can find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.