News from around the nation.

House passes Trump's sweeping tax-cut bill, sends it to Senate; 2 Israeli Embassy staff members killed outside Jewish museum in DC; Federal budget cuts could mean EV tax credit loss for drivers; Alabama's prison medical fees raise barriers to care, burden families; Five years after George Floyd's murder, assessing racial justice progress.

Transcript

The Republican-controlled U.S. House has narrowly passed a sweeping tax and spending bill that would enact much of President Trump's policy agenda and saddle the country with trillions of dollars in debt.

That from The Guardian.

They report the bill would fulfill many of Trump's populist campaign pledges, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on the military and border enforcement.

It would also add about $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36 trillion in debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Meantime, from CNN, two Israeli embassy staff members were killed in a shooting outside the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where the American Jewish Community was hosting an event last night.

The man and woman killed were a young couple about to be engaged, according to Israel's ambassador to the U.S.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed removing a $7,500 tax credit for EV owners.

At the same time, the Republican-controlled House has proposed legislation that would extend the tax credit for EV owners, but only until the end of 2025.

Electric Vehicle Association Board of Directors member John Hyman says the fallout of repealing the tax credit could break down along party lines.

That economic engine that is in those red districts, where there's new battery manufacturing put in, new automotive manufacturing put in, those are the voters that are going to feel most are in those red districts.

And so there are Republican congressmen who are saying not quite so fast."

Analysts say the largest EV automaker Tesla owned by Trump associate Elon Musk would be impacted the most if the tax credit ends.

Next to Mississippi where advocates say thousands of people are stuck in limbo unable to move forward because their criminal records remain publicly accessible.

While recent proposals including the Mississippi Clean Slate Act and other bills would would allow for automatic expungement of certain misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, none have been enacted.

Liesel Pettis, a former prosecutor now with R Street Institute, says the system traps people in poverty long after their sentences end.

If we're going to say, yes, you've done your time and that, you know, come back to being in society, but we're going to hold this thing over your head over everything you try to do to be a productive member of society, it's really counterintuitive.

I'm Tramell Gomes.

And just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's murder, the Trump administration announced it will try to end federal reform efforts involving Minneapolis police.

Under the Biden administration, an investigation of the MPD found widespread civil rights violations, including discrimination against black people and Native Americans.

Michelle Gross of Communities United Against Police Brutality criticized the DOJ's latest move and its timing.

I think a lot of it is really just poor salt in the wound of the community that is still healing from that.

And so I think it's very outrageous. -The Justice Department officials say it was court deadlines, not the anniversary that drove the announcement.

This is public news service. -A bill in North Carolina's General Assembly would roll back carbon reduction deadlines for Duke Energy and allow the company to charge customers for projects even if they are not completed. -Senate Bill 261 removes 2030 goals for the utility to reduce carbon by 70 percent.

Duke Energy to charge for construction works in progress.

North Carolina Chapter Director of Sierra Club, Chris Herndon says the utility could charge for non renewable energy projects and that other states like South Carolina have seen higher rates for projects that were never finished.

So this has the potential to be very harmful for anyone who is paying for energy in North Carolina and anyone who is breathing air in North Carolina.

South Carolina rate payers are still paying off a $9 billion nuclear power plant was canceled during construction.

Supporters of the legislation say North Carolina is growing rapidly and must keep all energy options open.

The legislation has passed in the Senate and moved to the House.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

Next to Wisconsin, where a group of Pierce County residents is awaiting a response to a petition for a contested case hearing for the expansion of the Ridge Breeze Dairy to grow four times its size.

Local business owner, Larry Brenner, says his home, land, and business is about a mile below the dairy sits on.

He says that makes him and tributaries like the Rush River that runs next to his property especially vulnerable to things like manure runoff and accidents.

That river is where my grandpa's land flowed through so the fact that I now have a piece of that river flowing through my property it's very special and boy it's threatened.

Brenner says the expansion could result in almost 80 million gallons of untreated manure annually potentially affecting water sources and causing increased odor issues and noise from hundreds of manure trucks.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

Finally as Memorial Day kicks off the summer, Hoosiers will flock to lakes, rivers and pools and safety should be on everyone's mind.

That includes attentive supervision, knowing CPR, using life jackets, not inflatables, and securing barriers like fences or lock doors around home pools.

Ramos encourages families to assign one person to watch the water.

One that we like to mention is designating a water watcher and this is a person almost to the level of a lifeguard who has no other duty than to watch the water and has the skills and knowledge to act if necessary.

He says the highest risk for unintentional drowning is among children between the ages of one and four and teen boys and adults.

He adds safety around home pools should be treated as seriously as public water parks by planning, staying alert and making sure everyone leaves the area together.

I'm Joe Ulari, Public News Service.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.