News from around the nation.

Attorney General Pam Bondi vows to appeal dismissal of Comey and James cases; More Kentuckians earning degrees and credentials, new data show; Grassroots efforts to confine CAFOs are growing; Report: Improving dangerous prison conditions key to public safety.

Transcript

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

Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday the Justice Department would take all available legal action, including an immediate appeal after a federal judge tossed out separate criminal charges against the former FBI Director James Comey and New York's Attorney General Letitia James, two of President Trump's perceived foes.

That for the New York Times.

The Times notes the Pentagon said Monday that it was investigating Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona after he appeared in a video reminding military personnel to refuse illegal orders.

The video enraged Trump, who accused Kelly and five other Democrats, who appeared in the video, of sedition.

Meantime, the number of residents in Kentucky with some form of higher education, a degree or credential, is up by 5 percent compared with last year, according to new state data.

Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education President Aaron Thompson says the Commonwealth also currently ranks among the top states in the nation.

Seeing an increase in higher education enrollment.

He says partnerships with colleges and universities and state investment have helped make college costs more transparent.

Only two out of every five of our students that have graduated in our public institutions are graduating with debt.

He adds that right now, around 56 percent of Kentucky's population has a higher education degree or credential, putting the state closer to its goal of reaching 60 percent by 2030.

This is Nadia Ramlagan for Kentucky News Connection.

And a farm advocacy group is seeking a moratorium on new concentrated animal feeding operations in New Mexico.

CAFOs can find 500 or more animals in a small area, which the group Food and Water Watch argues causes harm to air, land, and water quality.

New Mexico has some of the largest mega-dairies, including the country's highest average herd size.

That's forced out family-scale dairy farms, with half disappearing over the past 20 years.

After her small family farm was quickly surrounded by 12 swine CAFOs, Minnesota's Sonia Traum-Aries wrote a book to make others aware of the issue.

I tell people, this is not my story, this is our story.

Because there are so many people out there in rural America who feel victimized by Big Ag.

I'm Roz Brown.

Next, a national report frames criminal justice reform as a funnel focusing on who enters the system, their experience inside, and their success upon release.

For states like Mississippi, which has struggled with dangerous and understaffed prisons, the middle of the funnel is a critical concern.

Anna Zamora is the CEO of the philanthropic group, The Just Trust.

One example of improving the middle is making sure that we are funding and building out rehabilitative programming for individuals so they can get access to skills, get the kind of supportive services like mental health and addiction treatment that they need, learn how to be better parents.

The report advocates for investment to transform prisons from places of pure punishment into centers for rehabilitation.

This is Public News Service.

An increasing number of Massachusetts families are embracing the practice now known as unschooling.

It's an educational approach based on the growing homeschool movement that allows for self-directed learning based on the students' personal goals.

Roberta Van Black, a board member of Advocates for Home Education in Massachusetts, says there's been an uptick in interest since the pandemic, as more parents seek alternatives to public schools.

You may say, you know, I want a very free form, let's just do what you're interested in today.

And then you may discover that you have a child who likes workbooks and structure and likes having a schedule.

So personality can just play into it as well.

Critics argue that unschooling lacks structure and could hinder students' ability to prepare for higher education.

But supporters say self-directed learning improves critical thinking and provides kids with a supportive environment where they can explore their strengths and excel academically.

This story is based on original reporting from Maria Probert with the Boston Globe.

I'm Catherine Carley.

Next, a coalition of faith leaders says the growing number of book bans nationwide is a threat to religious freedom.

More than 2,400 books were challenged at public libraries nationwide last year.

The most frequently challenged titles deal with gender, race, sexuality, and religion.

In 2023, a federal judge blocked an Arkansas book ban from going into effect.

Reverend Paul Brandeis Rostenberg with the nonprofit Interfaith Alliance says libraries and religions are both keepers of stories that deserve protection.

This is a religious duty and responsibility of faith communities to show up for our broader community and show up for everybody in the community.

He says librarians work to ensure people of all backgrounds and faith traditions access the books that are important to them, yet they're being harassed both in public and online.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Philanthropic Foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

Finally in Tennessee, 459 kids in the foster care system still need permanent homes and a new adoption partnership aims to change that.

The state is partnering with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption through its Wendy's Wonderful Kids program.

The partnership will support specialized recruiters to help older and high-risk youth find forever families.

A move Ashley Zarek with the Tennessee Department of Children's Services says will bring child-focused adoption efforts to Tennessee and bolster the state's permanency work.

Find permanency for our longest waiting youth, teens, sibling groups, youth with complex needs.

Those are the populations we typically see waiting the longest for permanency.

The foundation now funds two adoption recruiters in Tennessee and will add 12 more in the first year.

Danielle Smith reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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