News from around the nation.

Trump to tour California wildfire damage ahead of Pete Hegseth Senate vote; Ohio's political landscape, 15 years after Citizens United; MS gets $7M grant for supports to help crime victims heal; AL dean prioritizes bridge-building, empathy training for students.

Transcript

The Public News Service Friday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump plans to travel to California to survey the wildfire damage in his first presidential visit since his inauguration.

He's also expected to visit North Carolina and Nevada.

That from NBC News.

They report the Senate is expected to vote tonight on whether to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, the vote likely to be close after two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said yesterday they could not support him amid concerns about his treatment of women and alcohol use and a sexual assault allegation.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

And this week marks 15 years since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United versus the Federal Elections Commission.

It's a ruling that reshaped campaign finance by allowing unlimited corporate and union spending in elections.

The decision has left a profound mark on states like Ohio.

At a roundtable discussion this week, New York Congressman Joe Morrell, ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, highlighted its local impact.

But first, he remarked on the presence of billionaire donors at Monday's presidential inauguration.

Oligarchy in America.

Well, yesterday was a portrait of that in Ohio, for example.

Electric utility used dark money to cause state house lawmakers to ensure passage of a bill which bailed out the coal and nuclear plants while rolling back clean energy standards.

American Electric Power has reached a multi-million dollar settlement after a federal investigation into its role in Ohio's House Bill 6 scandal.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

Next, for crime survivors in Mississippi, the healing journey often begins with finding resources that can feel out of reach.

A $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice could make a difference as they rebuild their lives.

The funds will ensure support for priority groups, including survivors of child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, and underserved populations.

The Mississippi State Department of Health's Office Against Interpersonal Violence oversees the funds.

Grant administrator Sarissa Eubanks says they'll focus on addressing barriers and providing critical support.

To me, in my words, what this means, this is an avenue to help save someone that's been a victim of crime.

You may not be able to address all issues, but you have a path to start the process.

And this path comes with funding.

I'm Tramell Gomes.

When Samford University in Birmingham is paving the way for students to have meaningful conversations and foster connections across cultural and ideological divides, research has shown political polarization can make people hesitant to engage with those of different opinions.

Samford assistant dean Jonathan Thigpen says he's dedicated more than a decade to addressing this challenge with people studying to be pharmacists.

In doing so, of course, they reflect on their own biases and try to become better.

It's all in context of being a good clinical provider for your patients.

Thigpen believes the key to equipping them to better relate to all types of patients is to inspire interest and prepare them to take that first step.

This is public news service.

Extreme weather has hit Texas over the last few weeks, bringing snow to many parts of the state.

During cold weather, landlords are required to ensure renters have adequate heat.

Chapter 27 of the City of Dallas Code establishes minimum property standards at all residential buildings, structures and premises.

Attorney with the non-profit Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center, Ella Caldill, says property owners have 24 to 48 hours to correct life-threatening conditions, including heating and cooling problems.

So if they're having heating issues and their landlord is refusing to fix their heater, their only option is to go through and file a repair and remedy case.

And in order to file one of those, they do have to recur on rent.

She says tenants can also fix the problems themselves and hope to get reimbursed by their landlord.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

Next a new analysis finds more than a dozen global banks, including the World Bank Group and the United Nations Green Climate Fund, invested more than $3 billion into animal agriculture in 2023, with over three-quarters of the funded projects described as factory farms.

Investments are also taking place in Kentucky, which has over 74,000 factory farms.

Alessandro Ramazzotti with the International Accountability Project says putting this much money into factory farming will have disastrous consequences for people and the planet.

These investments often generate negative consequences for local communities and for animal welfare, hurting at many levels locally, globally, and for the environment, the climate, people and animals.

The World Bank Group, the largest development investor by volume in factory farming, says it's aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement goal of keeping warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

This story was produced with original reporting from Sophie Cavani for Sentient.

Nadia Ramlagan reporting.

And finally, more than three million folks in New York have a diagnosed mental illness, but only about one in three can get the care that they need.

The barriers stem from many factors like so-called fail-first policies, which require people to try and insure a preferred medication first before covering the original prescription.

Matthew Shapiro with the National Alliance on Mental Illness New York State Chapter says another issue is what are known as ghost networks.

In some cases up to 75 percent of providers that the insurance company gives to their clients don't actually exist.

They're no longer practicing in the area.

We call that ghost coverage, where they're telling you coverage is there and it's not.

Crack down on insurers to maintain consistent and accessible levels of care for all.

Another barrier is low mental health care reimbursement rates for providers.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

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

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