News from around the nation.

President Xi Jinping issues a warning to President Trump on Taiwan; Wisconsin energy program cuts costs and carbon in affordable housing; California lawmakers consider bills to promote beneficial fire; Connecticut seniors see benefits of new consumer affordability measures.

Transcript

The Public News Service Thursday afternoon update on Mike Clifford.

China's leader, Xi Jinping, issued a warning to President Trump as they met for a summit in Beijing on Thursday, Xi saying that the Taiwan issue, if handled poorly, could lead to conflict and an extremely dangerous situation.

Xi had warm awards for the 17 business leaders who accompanied Trump to Beijing.

He said U.S. companies are deeply involved in China's reform and opening up, and both sides have benefited from this.

Z added, China's door will only open wider.

Meantime, as Wisconsinites face significant utility cost increases, a program in Dane County is helping apartment owners make their properties more energy efficient while keeping rental prices down.

Run by Sustain Dane, Efficiency Navigator has operated for about five years in Madison, Middleton, and Fitchburg.

Executive Director Claire Schaefer-Olekschak says the program focuses on upgrades that reduce energy costs for tenants, while also lowering carbon emissions in the community.

She knows improvements like better insulation and updated HVAC systems can significantly reduce utility bills.

Someone may rent a place that it puts on paper that it's affordable to them, but then they get their first utility bill and they realize that this is huge and it's beyond what they can afford.

We Energies and the Wisconsin Public Service Commission are requesting electric rate increases.

I'm Judith Ruiz-Branch reporting.

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

Next up, huge swaths of overgrown forests in California pose a risk for catastrophic wildfires.

Today, the State Assembly will consider advancing two bills to promote intentional burns that lower the risk of a disaster.

The Beneficial Fire Capacity Act would allocate 10 percent of the annual wildfire resilience portion of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for beneficial fire capacity building and training.

Colleen Rozier with the Karuk tribe says they'll break ground this year on a fire resiliency center in Northern California, which will bring indigenous knowledge to the premier training center.

Large-scale, high-severity wildfire is increasingly common in California, and it's not a question of if it's going to happen, it's where.

A second bill, the Good Fire Act, would clear away red tape that has hampered beneficial fire in the past.

And several new affordability measures will greatly benefit Connecticut seniors.

Beyond bills creating new utility protections, state lawmakers also passed legislation creating a family caregiver tax credit.

Natalie Shurtleff with AARP Connecticut says the tax credit provides financial relief to people who need it.

Family caregivers often spend a lot of money out of pocket to keep their loved ones at home.

Our data shows, on average, caregivers are spending about $7,200 each year.

Data show more than 773,000 adults in the state, more than a quarter of its population, care for a family member or a friend with a complex medical condition or disability.

This is Public News Service.

More rural voters in Senate battleground states are pessimistic about the state of the country, including those in Texas.

A new report for the Center for Rural Strategies focuses on the negative outlook and breaks down some of the challenges people face.

President for the center, Dee Davis, says 55 percent of rural voters say the rising cost of living is the most important issue, with food prices topping the list of concerns.

I remember when we were first starting to reach out, we would get a lot of, I'm going to be okay, but I worry about my kids.

Now I think we're getting more of, I worry about my kids, I worry about myself, I worry about my community. 16% of those surveyed were from Texas.

Respondents said politicians aren't doing enough to lower costs and the economy is getting worse.

Davis adds the number of voters who want the government to get out of their way dropped from 42% in 2023 to 32% today.

And new data finds so-called deaths of despair are declining nationwide, but Appalachia continues to see higher rates than the rest of the country.

These deaths are associated with drug overdose, alcohol, and suicide, and began to rise nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the research from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Michael Meit, with the Center for Rural Health and Research at East Tennessee State University, says the national rate has now dropped about 5 percent, nearing pre-pandemic levels.

But Appalachians still die from those causes at a higher rate than the rest of the country, and the cause of the gap is complicated.

Overdose, alcoholic liver disease, and suicide.

But the big driver of that is overdose mortality.

Mike says such deaths rose nationwide during the pandemic, likely due to isolation, disruptions in care and peer support.

This story was produced with original reporting from Liz Carey for the Daily Yonder.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Finally, survivors of online scams in New York are backing legislation to hold social media companies accountable for sharing fraudulent ads on their platforms.

A recent report by the Consumer Federation of America finds New Yorkers are losing more than $6 billion each year to online scams.

That includes New York City resident Josh Carrera's mom, who lost more than $100,000 in a romance scam that ultimately harmed his entire family.

They were so sophisticated, the tools made it impossible to completely block them because they just had a million other profiles and phone numbers they could activate.

Carrera is sharing his story as part of today's National Scam Survivor Day.

The bill would require tech companies to prevent, detect, and remove false ads.

It would also give the state attorney general's office and individuals the power to sue tech companies for damages.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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