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Trump vows to 'kill' Iranian warships that near US blockade; Residents, advocates want Orange County, NY to end ICE contract and New Mexico see progress, fears reversals in child well-being.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, April the 14th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. military has begun a blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas, tempering Trump's earlier vow to entirely block the Strait of Hormuz.

The move sets the stage for a showdown as Iran responded with threats on ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The AP note shortly after the blockade was set to begin, Trump warned on social media that Iranian warships that come anywhere close to the U.S. blockade will be destroyed by a quick and brutal strike.

Meantime, in New York, residents and advocates want Orange County lawmakers to end the local jail's agreement with ICE.

Our Edwin J. Viera reports since 2008, the Orange County Correctional Facility has been used for immigrant detention, but the agreement has come under increasing scrutiny as ICE uses more extreme tactics.

Rosa Santana with Envision Fund says the revenue from the agreement is why county lawmakers haven't ended it, despite poor conditions for immigrant detainees.

There have been a lot of reports of conditions like medical neglect, racism from the officers.

This has been going on for years, but I think this is like the first time all the residents are standing together in solidarity to ask for the contract to end.

Conditions for ICE detainees have been the subject of reports and legal complaints in recent years, but county lawmakers have been pushing back on ICE in some cases.

The Orange County legislature unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the agency's attempts to build a new detention facility in Chester.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

And it took a devastating pandemic and increased federal spending to reduce child poverty in New Mexico and across the U.S., but those dollars are gone and the numbers are rising.

From a nationwide historic low of 5 percent in 2021, child poverty more than doubled to 13 percent in 2024.

A new report from New Mexico Voices for Children shows more kids went without health insurance due to increased costs.

That issue is only expected to get more severe due to changes under the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

It made significant cuts to both Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Emily Wildow is a research coordinator with Kids Count.

So we'll see, you know, people getting hungrier.

We'll see people struggling more and more to make ends meet.

And I think that's especially salient with the rising costs of everything.

Everything's still really expensive for people.

I'm Roz Brown.

And early voting is underway in Indiana.

A retired educator says many Hoosiers head to the polls without a full understanding of how government works.

Former Indiana civics teacher Bobby Fisher says the problem starts in schools, where civic education often takes a backseat.

One reason Americans often lack even basic knowledge, confidence, or conversational know-how in civics and politics is simply that they weren't taught much about how their government works.

This is Public News Service.

An academic known for his research on rural economic development is calling on lawmakers to include support for the non-farm economy in the 2026 Farm Bill, A draft proposal that would set national policy for agricultural nutrition and conservation for the next five years is currently making its way through the Congress.

Christopher Merritt is the director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University.

He explains that there's a critical connection between agriculture and other industries, and lawmakers must consider rural communities as a whole.

A healthy farm economy actually needs a healthy rural non-farm economy.

It's often the case that one spouse manages the farm and the other spouse works in a neighboring community because that's maybe where the health insurance comes from, where the retirement benefits come from.

Merritt notes the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Office manages a range of grants, loans, and technical assistance programs related to affordable housing, community facilities, cooperative development, and broadband expansion.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

Next, a Minnesota health expert says for those who fear missing out on life, tech conveniences like delivery apps can make things easier, but they also limit the need for physical activity.

April is Move More Month, and the American Heart Association notes that less than half of U.S. adults get the recommended amount of physical activity needed for heart health.

Dr. Mary Boylan, a retired Minnesota physician, says people have become too used to sitting and looking at digital devices, including online ordering from stores and restaurants.

She says those options are great for busy schedules, but people still need to make time for moving around when their calendar isn't full.

Now being physically active is another event to add into our life.

It's how a lot of people feel, but that's really not how we need to think about it.

I'm Mike Moen.

Finally, as winters get warmer and drier in Montana and the western U.S., environmental advocates say the ski industry should do more to address climate change.

An analysis by Yale Climate Connections of a ski industry report shows that the industry is taking action, but not with the urgency warranted by the rapidly warming climate.

Auden Schendler led Aspen Skiing Company's sustainability program for 26 years.

He says what's missing is a powerful voice.

You need a large publicly traded company like Vail to publicly lobby, advocate, use voice, use trade group pressure to push on change.

And that just hasn't happened.

Yale Climate Connections analyzed a National Ski Areas Association report called the Climate Challenge and identified several shortcomings with the ski industry's response to climate change.

I'm Laura Hatch reporting.

This story with original reporting by Karen Kirk with Yale Climate Connections.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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