News from around the nation.

California voters resoundingly approved Proposition 50, the ballot measure championed by Democrats to enact new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms a fight that became as much a referendum on President Donald Trump as a question of redistricting.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update on Mike Clifford.

California voters resoundingly approved Proposition 50, the ballot measure championed by Democrats to enact new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, a fight that became as much a referendum on President Donald Trump as a question of redistricting.

That from L.A. first.

They report the measure, championed by Governor Gavin Newsom, was a direct response to Trump's demands that GOP-led states, including Texas, rework their congressional boundaries to benefit the president's party ahead of the midterm elections.

Meantime, environmental and community groups are speaking out against proposals to raise gas bills across much of California in order to test a blend of hydrogen with natural gas.

The utilities SoCal Gas, PG&E, Southwest Gas, and San Diego Gas & Electric are asking the California Public Utilities Commission to approve a small rate increase to fund pilot projects in Lodi, Orange Cove, Irvine, San Diego and Truckee.

Earth justice attorney Rebecca Barker represents the Sierra Club and says hydrogen blending just extends the life of gas infrastructure, which contributes to climate change.

Hydrogen blending is a dead-end strategy because at best it could reduce the CO2 emissions by less than 7 percent.

So if you continue to rely on pipeline gas for those appliances, you would still be generating 93 percent of the climate pollution of regular natural gas, but your fuel will have become a whole lot more expensive.

Barker says the money would be better spent helping homes and businesses switch to electric appliances powered by renewable energy.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

And conservation groups say the Trump administration's efforts to roll back the federal public lands rule could bring development to some of Utah's most sensitive natural areas.

The rule approved in May of 2024 was designed to place conservation recreation on equal playing field with extractive activities like mining and grazing.

Vera Smith manages the National Forest and Public Lands Program for the Defenders of Wildlife.

There are amazing outdoor recreational opportunities.

The scenery is unparalleled and those places are struggling.

The Trump administration seeks to prioritize leasing lands for development over conservation activities.

Citizens can leave comments on the plan at regulations.gov through November 10.

And a major criminal justice reform in Mississippi is being called an unequivocal success.

A new report finds the state's 2021 parole expansion has saved taxpayers millions of dollars and says people released under the law are overwhelmingly not committing new crimes.

Felicity Ross is with Forward U.S., the group that authorized the analysis.

The expansion has saved the state an estimated 159 million dollars and then on the public safety front we see that those folks who have come home have not been committing new crimes.

That's a 97 percent success rate according to the report which credits the earned parole eligibility act.

This is public news service.

Students across the Keystone State say they are becoming increasingly aware of how their legislators are failing them.

Pennsylvania College students met with their local congressional representatives last week to encourage them to stop playing political games with the American economy.

As part of Project 26 Pennsylvania, students on several college campuses sponsored events designed to raise political awareness among other students.

Elizabeth Ng, a sophomore at Dickinson College, says they bluntly told politicians to stop sabotaging their future.

The economy is dead, prices are rising, and a lot of students are very unhappy with the cost of employment and how hard it has been to find a job. insists typical post-graduation dreams like owning a home, finding a well-paying job, or simply not being saddled with burdensome debt seem further out of reach each day.

Events were planned at Dickinson, Pittsburgh, Temple, Lehigh, and Penn State.

Mark Richardson reporting.

And a new program in North Carolina aims to help people with severe mental illness from going back behind bars.

The Forensic Assertive Community Treatment, or FACT, teams launched a pilot program this week.

They provide individualized care services for people released from jail or prison who have mental health needs including direct mental health care, housing, job and education programs, and day-to-day suppor.

Kelly Crosby is director of the division of mental health developmental disabilities and substance use services with the state department of health and human services.

She says the fact teams are especially trained to work with probation and parole officers to help facilitate discharge So it's not like they get put on the street and then the fact team takes over.

The fact team begins their work while the person is still incarcerated.

So they work with them.

They understand the terms of their probation or parole.

They help them fulfill those and get treatment at the same time.

First Lady Anna Stein unveiled the nine point five million dollar pilot program this week.

The connection between mental health and crime has been in focus in North Carolina after a man with mental health issues and a criminal record was charged with killing a Ukrainian woman in Charlotte in August.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

Finally, a new coalition formed by groups in more than a dozen states, including Kentucky, aims to secure funding for a regional restoration plan for the Ohio River Basin, which 30 million people rely on for their drinking water.

More than 97 percent of Kentucky rivers and streams draw from the Ohio River, explains Michael Washburn with Kentucky Waterways Alliance.

He says a long history of pollution has imperiled the health of regional waters for decades.

We have PFAS, we have aging infrastructure in our water utilities, and we also have a lot of both aquatic and terrestrial wildlife species that are under threat.

Nearly 70 percent of streams and 64 percent of lakes in the Ohio River Basin do not meet state water quality standards.

This is Nadia Ramlagan for Kentucky News Connection.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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