News from around the nation.

Supreme Court takes up GOP-led challenge to Voting Rights Act that could affect control of Congress; Report: Vaping disrupts learning for NC middle, high school students; Under big question mark, MN boasts nearly 64,000 clean energy jobs; Massive 'No Kings' protests planned across the nation this Saturday.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The Supreme Court is taking up a major Republican-led challenge to the Voting Rights Act, the centerpiece legislation of the Civil Rights Movement that could gut a key provision of the law that prohibits racial discrimination in redistricting.

That for the Associated Press.

They report today the justices are hearing arguments for the second time in a case over Louisiana's congressional map, which has two majority black districts.

A ruling for the state could open the door for legislatures to redraw congressional maps across the South, potentially boosting GOP electoral prospects by eliminating majority black and Latino seats that tend to favor Democrats.

And with the new school year underway, educators are warning about the pervasive issue of vaping in schools.

A new report from the Truth Initiative finds teachers are raising alarm about the popularity of e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products with students in high school and increasingly now middle school.

Data from 2021 shows nearly 24 percent of North Carolina high school students had used a vape product within the last 30 days.

Jennifer Kresslake with the Truth Initiative is the lead researcher for the report and says educators have many concerns about vaping.

They report that vaping is disruptive to the learning environment and educators expressed that they cannot address this problem alone.

They need the support of communities by working to get these products off the shelves and away from school campuses.

Kresslake says the long term health impacts of vaping are still unknown.

Young North Carolinians looking for help quitting can text VAPEFREENC to 88079.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

Meantime, Minnesota's green jobs sector is roaring just as the weight of federal changes sinks in.

Clean energy economy Minnesota's new report says 2024 was another banner year with nearly 64,000 people working in renewable energy fields.

However, the numbers don't factor in more recent moves by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to unravel federal incentives.

Seems Kathy Leibowitz says given the major policy shift, they can't guarantee some jobs will stick around, although it doesn't mean the wheels are falling off either.

We are not predicting that record-breaking growth in the following year, but we're also not predicting significant reversals.

Leibowitz says Minnesota still has a mandate of 100 percent clean electricity by 2040, which should keep this workforce busy compared to some other states where project activity might see a steeper decline.

I'm Mike Moen.

And hundreds of thousands of protesters across California expected to take part in the No King's rallies in at least 258 local communities this Saturday.

Hunter Dunn is the national press coordinator for 50/51, one of the multiple grassroots groups organizing the rallies.

We're not going to back down in the face of chaos, corruption, and cruelty.

We're going to stand up, we're going to make our movement bigger, and we're going to hold politicians to account for capitulating to the billionaires funding Trump's straight-up fascist agenda.

More than 2,400 events are planned nationwide to push back against an array of Trump administration policies.

This is public news service.

Elected officials, labor unions, and grassroots groups recently gathered in San Luis Obispo to show their support for offshore wind energy, even though the Trump administration has moved to re-evaluate offshore wind leases and has pulled hundreds of millions in federal funding.

California voters approved a climate bond that will upgrade port infrastructure in Morrow Bay and Humboldt to be ready to accept energy from offshore wind turbines in the future.

Mark Simonen with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 639 says floating offshore wind carries a lot of economic potential.

There will be operation and maintenance, there will be small manufacturing, warehousing, there's going to be multiple jobs through multiple sectors, so it will be a real positive impact for the working class folks.

But the Trump administration has focused its efforts on boosting the oil and gas industry and has reversed many Biden era renewable energy programs.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

And the West side of Indianapolis could soon see a new community of tiny homes built for people who are experiencing homelessness.

Lynhurst Baptist Church and the nonprofit sanctuary, Endi are partnering to create the project on church property, offering housing and wraparound services.

Pastor Ben Wakefield says the goal is to help vulnerable Hoosiers find stability and safety.

For several years, we purchased this property a while back with the idea, not knowing how, that somehow it was gonna serve that community.

And so we've been waiting for the right partnership, the right time, and we believe it's now.

The project has drawn both support and criticism.

Some neighbors worry about safety and the impact on nearby childcare programs.

Others welcome the plan as a compassionate way to address homelessness in the area.

I'm Joe Ulori, Public News Service.

This story was produced with original reporting from Kat Sandoval for Wish TV.

And finally, the South Fork Coal Company can no longer haul coal through the Monongahela National Forest.

The US Forest Service terminated the company's permit after it filed for bankruptcy and failed to submit an operating plan.

A lawsuit from conservation groups attempting stop the coal hauling is no longer needed after the agency's decision, explains Olivia Miller with the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy.

They had already stopped operations earlier this year and now this is a major step forward for protecting endangered species and restoring one of the state's most beautiful watersheds.

A separate lawsuit against South Fork Coal over water quality violations and reclamation requirements remain paused.

The Forest Service granted South Fork Coal a road use permit in 2021.

Since then, the company has racked up more than 100 violations issued from the state's Department of Environmental Protections.

Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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