News from around the nation.

Tennessee's latest botched execution fuels calls for lethal injection transparency, and working but struggling, that’s the plight of Alabama households as they try to afford the basics, and a new report finds Iowa's largest utilities fail to meet clean energy goals.

Transcript

The Public News Service Friday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Tennessee's latest execution attempt ended without a death, renewing scrutiny of the state's lethal injection process.

Governor Bill Lee calls for a comprehensive third-party review and paused executions for the rest of 2026.

Krista Pike, the state's only woman on death row, remains alive after receiving two doses of phenobarbital on Wednesday.

Laura Porter of the U.S. campaign to end the death penalty says advocates had already raised concerns about the execution team, the drugs protocol, and other factors.

Her group has been pushing the state to be more open about the process, including whether those involved are competent to do the procedure.

All of this stuff is conducted secretly and the state has consistently held they don't have to share any information with anybody about how they carry out execution.

The Tennessee Department of Corrections says staff followed every step of the state's approved execution protocol.

Danielle Smith reporting.

And New York's Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James to serve as a special prosecutor in the Cornell University alleged rape case.

Hochul says James will investigate the 2024 case and, if warranted, prosecute any offenses arising from the investigation.

Meantime, for hundreds of thousands of Alabama households, having an income doesn't necessarily mean being able to afford the basics.

The latest United for Alice report finds 45% of Alabama's roughly 2 million households were either living below the federal poverty level or earning above it, but still unable to afford basic household expenses.

That amounts to more than 911,000 households.

John Bowman, executive director of Hope Inspired Ministries, says his workforce development organization often sees people starting from ground zero, facing challenges that go well beyond simply finding a job.

The biggest barriers, I would say, is transportation, housing, child care.

But once they get to that point where they're working and start getting their own housing, that's kind of when it gets difficult.

The Alice report finds many working households are earning above the poverty line, but still falling short of basic expenses.

The pressure is also showing up across rural America.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

Next, the Sierra Club says Iowa's largest power companies are failing to meet their clean energy goals.

Instead, they're leaning too much on natural gas and coal.

In the latest report, Mid-American IPL received an F because of continued investments in natural gas.

Pam Mackey-Taylor is with the Sierra Club's Iowa chapter.

Instead of looking at 21st Energy Policy, they're staying with the 19th and 20th century policies of gas and coal plants.

That has huge impacts on our health and on affordability.

The utility company says it is investing in alternative energy but must rely on fossil fuels as data centers drive up electricity demand.

This is Public News Service.

In Utah, rural voters often face long distances, unreliable mail service, and changing election rules ahead of the November 3rd midterm election.

The challenges are especially acute in San Juan County.

The Navajo Nation covers about one-third of the county's land, with more than 6,000 people in that area.

Lenise Peterman is Rural Director for Stewardship Utah.

She says rural residents can face both current and historic voting obstacles.

Rural counties, especially when we talk about San Juan, is so large that people who reside on Navajo Mountain literally have to drive four hours to get to a polling place.

The county lists Election Day sites in Blanding, Montezuma Creek, Monument Valley, Navajo Mountain, and Monticello.

Navajo and Ute language help and ballot boxes will be available at each site.

I'm Mark Richardson.

And a new report looked at more than 2,000 farms in Oregon and across the country, finding more sustainable farming practices produced the same amount of food and profits for farmers while storing massive amounts of carbon in the soil.

The Ekdysis Foundation report showed soil at regenerative farms captures about 40% more carbon than on traditional farms, which in turn leads to more biodiversity and healthier food.

Jonathan Lundgren, executive director of the foundation, said if food producers converted row cropping to regenerative practices in North America, it would capture and store one to two years of annual greenhouse gas emissions.

When you compare that to the next technological solution, the results of those other solutions are laughable compared to what our food system is capable of.

Lundgren adds in Oregon, the study looked at hazelnut and vegetable farming.

He says farmers that are integrating animals like chickens into their systems are reducing chemical use and end up with more fertile soil and less dependency on costly fertilizers and other inputs.

I'm Isobel Charle.

Finally, larger planning efforts continue in states like Minnesota about meeting future energy demand.

Federal energy officials and the Minnesota Department of Commerce gathered in Malacca on Thursday to monitor progress on substation upgrades by East Central Energy.

It's getting new advanced sensor technology and other features to increase capacity.

The Department of Energy's Katie Harriza says the timing couldn't be better given all the challenges that lie ahead.

Increasing demand that we have to meet, but also ensuring that the grid is secure from terrible storms or even cyber attacks.

ECE is an electric cooperative serving 70,000 members in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

I'm Mike Moen.

Leaders promoting these upgrades often mention protecting customers from extreme weather events.

This is Mike Clifford.

Thanks for ending your week with Public News Service.

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