News from around the nation.

Russia sends waves of ballistic missiles striking Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv; Massive gas pipelines across Alabama and Georgia raise concerns; Fair trade groups react as Trump pulls the plug on the USMCA; Birthright citizenship may have survived, but equal rights remain uneven.

Transcript

For the Public News Service Thursday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

The Russian military sent waves of ballistic missiles reaching into the Ukrainian capital city, Kiev, on Thursday morning.

The move follows weeks of Ukraine's attacks on Moscow that have put pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

The New York Times notes at least 18 people were killed and 80 injured in the attack, officials said, as firefighters raced to extinguish blazes in several districts of the capital.

Meantime, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi are part of a proposed route map for two massive gas pipelines that would span nearly 500 miles and cross hundreds of waterways.

Project opponents say it would primarily benefit other states, not Alabama residents, and would increase reliance on fossil fuels.

Cindy Lowry is executive director of Alabama Rivers Alliance.

She says Alabama communities, some of the most vulnerable, are being asked to bear the risk for energy they may not even need.

Increasing this infrastructure for needs that we don't fully believe are justified, and particularly needs that are predominantly claimed for another state, Georgia, for their data centers and their energy needs.

It's just a lot of impact on Alabama residents that bring a lot of concerns to us.

Kinder Morgan, the company behind the projects, says the pipelines are needed to meet growing energy demand in the southeast.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

And this summer, crowds are flocking to a series of rallies called the Cross-Border Days of Solidarity.

They'll press for workers' rights as the Trump administration renegotiates the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

The three countries missed the July 1st deadline to extend the USMCA, triggering a series of annual reviews over the next decade.

Will Willitsko, director of the California Trade Justice Coalition, believes President Donald Trump is trying to escape his past mistakes.

Rather than try to distance himself from the pact he called the greatest trade deal ever and promise we bring jobs foreign into the country, he should be taking its mandated review serious and pushing for the changes needed to actually create jobs, raise wages, and balance trade for working families.

In future talks, activists are asking the feds to prioritize people over corporate profits, to reject a race to the bottom that attempts to pit working people and free countries against one another, and to emphasize shared interest in well-paying jobs.

Trump says his primary concern involves trade deficits with Mexico and Canada.

Next up, families who immigrated to Illinois may be breathing a sigh of relief after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, but their allies argue it doesn't change the equal rights barriers still facing U.S.-born kids of parents without legal status.

Zane Lakhani, with the Women's Refugee Commission, points to the federal child tax credit, with Republicans last year pushing through changes that blocked eligibility for these households.

So this is a way in which you do not get those vital life-sustaining benefits to which you are entitled to as a U.S. citizen because one of your parents is an immigrant.

She cites regulations limiting access to public housing and other benefits for mixed status families.

This is Public News Service.

As you may have heard, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld West Virginia and Idaho's bans on transgender athletes, allowing more than two dozen states to keep similar policies in place.

The court ruled these bans are consistent with Title IX and the Federal Equal Protection Clause.

It comes almost a year after the high court upheld Tennessee's law banning the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy by transgender teens.

J.G.

A-Loving with the Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network says this deprives trans kids of valuable experiences.

Cases like this try to create moral panic, but what they're actually doing is threatening the entire next generation's access to a full school experience, a full sports and physical exercise experience.

Because we know sports are not just an exclusive experience for athletes.

Data from the Movement Advancement Project finds 50% of transgender youth from ages 13 to 17 live in states with laws banning them from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.

The court's ruling only impacts the 27 states that already have active bans.

I'm Edwin J.

Vieira.

And big trucks and SUVs are contributing to a sharp rise in pedestrian deaths, which have gone up 75% since 2009 in California and across the country.

That's according to a new investigation from the New York Times.

The Times found that about 3,000 pedestrians killed between 2016 and 2024 would be alive today if cars hadn't increased in size in recent years.

Joe Young with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says their research shows larger cars carry a greater risk.

Getting hit with a low-sloped front end like you'd have on a traditional passenger vehicle versus a taller, very blunt front end like you'd see in many of the modern pickups, there was about a 44% increase in the likelihood of a fatality.

These days, the hoods on SUVs and trucks are so high that people are thrown down into the path of the vehicle and get run over, causing much greater injury.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Finally, a pilot program in North Carolina studied how focusing on non-medical intervention could impact residents' health.

A report from the Shep Center at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill shows the Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program, or HOP, took place in 33 counties across the state.

Participants were Medicaid recipients who had at least two chronic conditions, ranging from food insecurity to homelessness.

Katie Huber at the Duke Margulis Institute for Health Policy says Hop connected clients with community-based services to address their chronic conditions.

I think there's about 29 different services that can be offered, but really ranging from anything from a food box with healthy fruits and vegetables to car repairs or rides to job interview, assistance with first month's rent and security deposit to kind of get into housing.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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