News from around the nation.

Judge orders some Texas public schools to remove Ten Commandments posters; Advocate: MS has critical opportunity to pass paid leave law; Wisconsin educators strive to support most vulnerable students; MARA Act could fast-track industrial-scale aquaculture in NH.

Transcript

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

A federal judge Tuesday ordered several Texas public school districts to take down posters displaying the Ten Commandments, and another victory for opponents of a law signed by the States Governor earlier this year requiring the religious passage to be prominently posted in all classrooms.

That from the Washington Post.

They report the preliminary injunction from Judge Orlando Garcia of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ordered 14 public schools to take down their posters by next month.

And a national advocate says paid leave is essential for Mississippi families to thrive and not just survive.

And local politics means it's becoming more realistic for the state to pass a law mandating it.

Lawrence Long with the Jackson-based National Black Workers Center explains the policy would provide critical time off for medical and family needs without the loss of income.

Yeah, families are able to thrive better with policies like this because they're able to take that time off that they need and then they have their income replaced.

And so, what you have is a better functioning society when workers can basically have what they need Long says this is especially critical for low wage workers, gig workers and those in the hospitality industry who are often excluded from such benefits.

Opponents raise concerns about the potential burden on the state's small businesses.

And today is Education Support Professionals Day.

As American Education Week continues, Wisconsin educators are emphasizing how crucial these workers are to schools and the challenges they face when trying to help some of the most vulnerable kids.

A special education paraprofessional in Green Bay, Jamie Komerowski, currently works one-on-one with high school students with disabilities.

In Wisconsin, these so-called ESPs make up about a third of all public school staff.

But Komorowski says it's not enough.

She emphasizes that understaffing often forces her to reprioritize urgent matters on a daily basis, and notes that retention for ESPs is a challenge due to low wages.

Oftentimes, people absolutely love the work that they do, but they cannot afford to keep this job because they have bills to pay.

And unfortunately, when you're being paid Poverty wages, you've got to make some decisions.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

Next to the Coalition of New England Fishermen and Environmental Advocates Warren, new federal legislation could fast-track permits for Large-scale fish farms in the open ocean.

The Marine Aquaculture Research for America, or MERA, Act, aims to boost domestic seafood production by cutting regulations for commercial aquaculture projects.

James Mitchell, with the advocacy organization Don't Care.

Hajar Oceans says multinational corporations could secure 10-year leases in U.S. federal waters.

We're shoving aside intergenerational seafood communities and then replacing it with an industrialized model that's very similar to factory farming on land.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Public News Service.

As the nation marks National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, a Florida expert says it is time to change the narrative around end of life conversations.

Lolita Melhedo, a nurse practitioner with 18 years in palliative care, says despite decades of discussion, advanced care planning remains difficult.

She's helping promote a new affordable online certificate program from Compassion and Choices and the Government of Care Coalition of New Jersey that trains health professionals to lead more effective conversations based on patient values.

I think it's time for us to change the narrative.

Think of advanced care planning not as a checklist of things that the patient has to say yes or no to, but more.

Around having goals of conversation where you're trying to understand the person's values.

Mel Hato says the self-guided accredited courses uses innovative methods, including comical skits, to show health professionals how to improve these crucial discussions with patients and families.

A list of end-of-life resources and organizations are also available at floridahealth.gov.

I'm Tramal Gomes.

And in recognition of National Caregiving Month, advocates in Washington are highlighting the value of family caregivers and the significant challenges that they face.

New data from AARP reveals that 22 percent of adults in the state, over 1. 3 million people, serve as family caregivers for older relatives, friends or children with disabilities.

Marguerite Rowe, state director of AARP Washington, says many caregivers have drained their savings and have had to cut their work hours or stop full-time work entirely.

The bulk of those caregivers, one, remain unpaid.

And there is an incredible toll that's taken on caregivers.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

Finally, about 350,000 people in the U.S. experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year. and a staggering 90 percent of them will not survive.

With that in mind, the association has developed a new set of CPR guidelines aimed at providing effective ways for people without medical training to save lives.

Dr. Ashish Panchal, an emergency department physician at Ohio State University, says it's important for bystanders to act immediately when someone's heart stops.

In that moment when CPR is started, that rescuer's hands is the patient's heart.

Every beat, every compression makes blood flow through the body into their brain and brings that person one step closer to being home with their family neurologically intact.

New guidelines published in the journal's circulation represent the first update CPR guidelines since 2020.

Anchal says the updates include using a single streamed chain of survival for all cardiac arrest scenarios.

Mark Richardson reporting.

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

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