News from around the nation.

One of the most destructive firestorms in L.A. history kills 5, burns 2,000 buildings; All five living US Presidents in attendance at Carter memorial; farmers in Mississippi seek greater support amid rising costs; CO community health centers saved $17.3 million in Medicare dollars; Surge of people interested in running for office in battlegrounds post-election.

Transcript

The Public News Service Thursday afternoon update on Mike Clifford.

First from the LA Times, at least 130,000 residents are under evacuation orders because of the raging firestorms in Los Angeles County.

Five people have died in the Eaton fire and several others have been seriously injured.

The Times reports red flag warnings remain in effect for LA County and much of Ventura County today.

And a week-long series of tributes to former President Jimmy Carter culminated today with the solemn state funeral in Washington with all five of the nation's living presidents in attendance.

Carter's 1969 trip to Milwaukee to volunteer is still being felt today.

Brian Sonderman is CEO of Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity.

The former President and First Lady came to Milwaukee, mobilized over a thousand volunteers, built six brand new homes, completed them in one week.

To say that this put Milwaukee Habitat on the map is an understatement.

And small farmers across Mississippi are calling for more government support to help navigate rising costs and industry challenges.

Robbie Pollard, owner of Start to Finish Farms in Panola County, has grown produce to supply food as medicine projects to improve health outcomes in underserved communities.

His farm focuses on sustainable practices and local distribution.

But like many small-scale operations, he faces hurdles in scaling up to meet demand.

Maybe if they can make it easier for small and scale growers to access loans to be able to purchase larger equipment so we can be able to scale up.

While he acknowledged that some government programs, such as food as medicine initiatives, have provided valuable market opportunities, he believes more must be done to address the rising equipment and labor costs.

I'm Tramell Gomes.

Next to Colorado, where the Community Health Provider Alliance improved health care quality and saved $17.3 million taxpayer dollars that would have been paid out by Medicare in 2023.

Brandi Apodaca with the alliance says nearly half of the money saved will go to support community health centers that treat all patients regardless of their ability to pay.

That's good news for clinics struggling with a steep increase in uncompensated care after more than half a million Coloradans were dropped from health insurance rolls.

As Medicaid dollars have decreased to the community health centers due to the Medicaid unwind, these dollars are coming at a critical time.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And over 12,000 people nationwide have shown an interest in wanting to learn more about running for office since last year's election.

The share from battleground states like Nevada has grown by about 50 percent.

Jordan Haynes with the nonprofit Run for Something says his organization is seeing interest in offices at local and community-wide levels.

Those are really important because they're going to be for sign of defense against immigration policy, against having a federal education department.

Hopeful for two reasons, one, building the bench, and two, building local power now.

Haynes says his group also noticed the majority of people entering their candidate pipeline post-election day have been women.

This is Public News Service.

A winter storm is headed for North Alabama and Southern Middle Tennessee, and warning stations are working to provide a safe space for the unhoused.

The National Weather Service predicts that Lawrence, Limestone, and Morgan counties could see up to four inches of snow today through Friday, with some surrounding areas expecting up to two inches.

Sergeant Rebecca Lehman from the Salvation Army in Decatur says they have been preparing for the storm, emphasizing the scope of the need in the surrounding area.

We have about 175 homeless just in the city of Decatur.

We serve Morgan, Limestone, and Lawrence counties, and in those three counties there are no shelters.

The Salvation Army has opened a 24/7 warming shelter since Monday at 4 p.m. and plans to continue until Sunday morning.

The shelter is located at 114 14th Street Southwest in Decatur.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

Meantime, air travel is responsible for about 2.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

It's considered the primary driver of global warming.

With numerous efforts underway to decarbonize the aviation industry, Colorado Aeronautics officials are developing plans to implement the solutions when they become available.

In an article for the Sweaty Penguin, a site devoted to climate issues, Senator Ethan Brown says the Colorado Division of Aeronautics has joined with government and private groups to plan for the transition, whatever it may entail.

There's a lot of developments in the field of sustainable aviation, be it hydrogen-powered aircrafts or sustainable aviation fuels or even electric aircrafts.

What's kind of been missing is what happens when they're ready to roll out.

Researchers are currently testing aircraft powered by low-emission renewables, such as biofuels, hydrogen and electricity, but the time frame for implementation is still up in the air.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Finally, after a month's long delay, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that grizzly bears will retain protections under the Endangered Species Act, despite efforts by several western states to remove them.

The decision is an answer to petitions from Montana, Wyoming and Idaho to re-evaluate or delist grizzly bears in certain distinct population segments, a change that would have put the species under state management.

With the decision, Andrea Zaccardi with the Center for Biological Diversity explains the agency is also proposing erasing lines between population segments entirely.

They're going to look at grizzly bears across their range, where they currently exist and where they could exist in the future, and look at recovery on a broad scale.

The proposed recovery zone includes Washington and parts of the northern Rocky Mountain states.

I'm Kathleen Shannon.

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

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