News from around the nation.

Trump begins second term with series of sweeping executive actions; Addressing Ohio's youth care crisis; Winter Storm Enzo brings rare snow, ice to Gulf Coast; Report highlights needs for GA energy efficiency; Union rep: SEIU joining AFL-CIO will help OR workers.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Today marks President Donald Trump's first full day back in office.

He is expected to sign more executive actions and meet with congressional Republican leaders.

That from CNN.

They report Trump's actions on immigration, which included declaring a national emergency at the U.S. border, will prompt a widespread crackdown.

On Monday, Trump pardoned most of those involved in the January 6 attack in the Capitol.

He commuted the sentences of far-right extremist leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Meantime, finding appropriate placements for young people entering Ohio's child welfare system has become increasingly difficult.

According to Rachel Reedy with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio, the complex needs of children in the system, ranging from behavioral and mental health care to justice involvement, require specialized placements that drive up costs.

We have just heard more and more about the challenges in finding affordable, accessible and appropriate placements for our youth coming into our child welfare system.

These challenges are compounded by rising costs, even as fewer children are entering care.

County commissioners play a critical role in funding child welfare through a combination of federal, state and local dollars, including property tax levies in some areas.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

Next from the Weather Channel, winter storm Enzo bringing rare snow and ice to the Gulf Coast, including historic snowfall totals.

They report moderate snow accumulating in New Orleans, where wind gusts top 35 miles an hour.

Meantime, a new report from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy shows that the Southeast isn't doing enough to invest in energy efficiency.

The report says this underinvestment means higher energy bills, more carbon emissions and greater challenges tackling climate change.

Eddie Moore is the group's decarbonization director and says focusing on energy efficiency could make a big difference for Georgia families and the environment.

If we take energy efficiency seriously, there will be everyday cost savings.

There will be delays of expensive investments, but there's also a reliability benefit.

The report finds that utilities such as Duke Energy in the Carolinas led the Southeastern energy efficiency while Georgia powers performance has declined, reaching its lowest levels outside of the pandemic period.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

And the Service Employees International Union is joining the FLCIO, a move that both groups say will make it easier for more workers to unionize.

Alan Dubinsky is with SEIU Local 49, representing Oregon and Southwest Washington.

He says the two unions have a history of working together and they share many of the same values.

We want to unite people across class lines, no matter where they live, no matter the color of their skin, who they love, so we can stand up to billionaire interests and corporate greed.

SEIU is the nation's largest union of health care workers, janitors and security officers among others.

Combined with the FLCIO, a federation of over 60 national and international labor unions, the group now has 15 million members.

This is public news service.

President Donald Trump said Monday he was issuing roughly 1,500 pardons and commuting the sentences of six of his supporters in connection with the January 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

When thousands stormed the building amid his false claims that the 2020 electoral election was rigged against him.

That from MSNBC.

The report, an attorney from Rico Tario, the Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy, told NBC News Monday his client was being processed for release from FCI Pollock, a media security prison in Louisiana.

Tario is serving 22 years in federal prison and over one million Coloradans are living with a diagnosed mental health condition.

But insurance companies are denying coverage for care their policies promise to pay for.

Jake Williams with Healthier Colorado says insurers reject many claims as not medically necessary, even when a doctor has prescribed the treatment. 75 percent of Coloradans with commercial insurance who have a diagnosed mental health condition have not received the care that they need over this past year.

And there are real consequences to this.

In 2008, Congress passed a law requiring insurers to offer the same access to mental health care as to physical care.

But a loophole in the law allows insurers to determine what care is necessary or appropriate.

An investigation by ProPublica found that United Health Group was using algorithms to deny claims, a practice later deemed illegal in three states.

United defended its claims program, arguing that it ensures patients get safe, effective and affordable treatment.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Finally, conservation groups are celebrating the end of a Massachusetts-based biotech company's pursuit of bringing genetically altered salmon to market.

Aqua Bounty was the first company to get regulatory approval from the FDA to sell a genetically modified animal for human consumption in 2015.

But it faced continuous legal challenges and consumer pushback.

Dana Pearls with Friends of the Earth says people just don't want to eat it.

Grocery stores are refusing to sell it.

Big restaurants are refusing to sell it.

So it's a market response.

Pearls says the altered salmon put wild salmon, along with the fishing and indigenous communities that rely on it, at risk.

In a statement, Aqua Bounty says it failed to raise enough capital to maintain its operations.

Aqua Bounty's Aqua Advantage brand salmon contained added genes from both Chinook salmon and the eel-like ocean pout to make it grow faster.

But polls show most Americans believe genetically engineering animals for protein production isn't an appropriate use of biotechnology.

I'm Katherine Carley reporting.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

Hear us on interesting radio stations, your favorite podcast platform.

Find our content and our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.