News from around the nation.

A US District Court judge orders Trump to restore passes for White House Press, Commercial fishing to be allowed in Hawaii's Marine National Monument, and Trump jokes Helene relief contingent on North Carolina electing a GOP senator.

Transcript

The Public News Service Thursday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Trump's White House press ban met an abrupt end today, saying his ban on the three media outlets was likely unconstitutional.

A federal judge ordered Trump on Thursday to restore White House access for journalists from CNN, MSNOW and Politico for the next 14 days while the case proceeds.

U.S. District Judge Tim Kelly noted the record lacks factual support for defendants contention, that the revocation of plaintiff's hard passes will in fact protect national security or the national security will be endangered if the court orders their pass is reinstated while litigation proceeds.

Meantime, commercial fishing may soon be allowed in the Papahanaamokokea Marine National Monument in Hawaii.

Our Suzanne Potter has the story.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council just voted to work with the National Marine Fisheries Service to develop an experimental fishing permit for the monument.

Lindsay Gardner with the National Wildlife Federation says the council should keep existing protections in place.

We don't believe that it's necessary or appropriate for commercial fishing to be done in previously protected sensitive marine areas.

It's simply not worth the risk of what we stand to lose.

The changes come in response to President Donald Trump's executive orders on restoring American commercial fishing and seafood competitiveness, which assert that the monument protections stifle economic opportunity and put American seafood at a price disadvantage.

And at a recent rally, President Trump joked that North Carolina needs to elect a Republican senator to get disaster relief dollars.

Two years after Hurricane Helene, residents in North Carolina are still struggling to rebuild.

Helene ripped through the southeast United States on September 26, 2024, displacing nearly 400,000 people.

The most severe damage included Western North Carolina around the city of Asheville, where heavy rains and extreme flooding damaged thousands of homes and businesses.

Madison Maxwell is a piano teacher from Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Her double-wide trailer was destroyed by Helene, and her piano studio has flooded multiple times since the hurricane.

These disasters don't discriminate based on connection, political affiliation, or income.

The fact that our relief has been politicized is so deeply disturbing to those of us who are still trying to rebuild our lives.

Michael Watley, the Republican nominee for Senate in North Carolina, was appointed by Trump as the Hurricane Helene recovery czar.

I'm Zimone Perez.

Meantime, a month after a massive Line 5 pipeline spill in Iron County, tribal and environmental leaders are calling on Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers to declare a disaster and hold Enbridge accountable.

Beth Wallace is with the National Wildlife Federation.

This should have been the last straw.

Enbridge was extremely lucky in this moment that this did not ignite and cause mass casualties.

The fact that what caused this event is not being examined is really alarming.

Enbridge has since returned Line 5 to service using a temporary bypass, despite state officials asking the company to halt construction over missing permits.

This is Public News Service.

As of 2019, Ohio state law mandates that selling or providing tobacco products to anyone under 21 is illegal.

While retailers are striving for compliance, one nonprofit says that minors and young adults still find ways to obtain nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, and vaping products.

The WeCard program trains and educates responsible merchants to remain vigilant by scanning IDs, checking for fakes, and denying underage sales.

President Doug Anderson says while retailers have clamped down on illegal sales at the counter, there's still the issue of adults who provide tobacco to those who are underage.

Social access, social sourcing, that not only includes that adult buying or providing age-restricted product, but it also includes bumming and borrowing.

Eighty percent of the time, that's how kids report getting their access.

Any component intended for use in an electronic smoking device is also age-restricted, according to the Ohio Department of Public Health.

I'm Terry D. reporting.

Next research shows New Yorkers and the nation at large don't trust the federal government.

A new Partnership for Public Service poll finds distrust in government is at 56 percent, up from 47 last year.

This isn't uncommon, as polls show trust in government has only declined since it was first studied in the 1960s.

However, it does fluctuate between presidencies, report author Paul Hitland says there's a blurred line between government and electoral politics.

Politics and elected officials are broadly unpopular, particularly Congress.

So that's one challenge people in the government have, is to have the public understand the government is much greater than elected officials.

People do have high opinions of civil servants and their interactions with the federal government, whether it's renewing a passport or going through an airport security checkpoint.

Hitland notes trust can be built back by having government better explain what it does for the American people amid broader transparency efforts.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

Finally, the Trump administration is aiming to remove the 2001 roadless rule.

It protects millions of acres of public lands from industrial development, and Americans have less than two weeks to respond.

Public outcry over potential logging and mining in protected wilderness areas has already led the Department of Agriculture to extend the comment period to October 6th.

Todd Martin with the National Parks Conservation Association says federal officials have failed to schedule any public hearings on the matter, making submitted written comments even more important.

You know, these are public lands.

They belong to all Americans.

And so we feel that folks should be outraged that the Trump administration is proposing to take away protections for 45 million acres of our national forest.

The Trump administration claims the rules repeal is needed to prevent wildfires and improve forest health.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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