Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Trump agrees to a two-week ceasefire with Iran; Ohio wants to help families. A child tax credit might be the answer; Illinois weighs tougher rules on high-pollution farms; Expanding H-2A farmworker program could increase health, safety risks.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast for April the 8th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will suspend strikes on Iran for two weeks, subject to Tehran ending its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, canceling an ultimatum for Iran to surrender or face widespread destruction after a last-minute diplomatic intervention that was led by Pakistan.

The Guardian notes the announcement of the ceasefire agreement came less than two hours before Trump's self-imposed 8 p.m.

Eastern Time deadline to bomb Iran's power plants and bridges, in a move that legal scholars, as well as officials from numerous countries and the Pope, and the Pope had warned, could constitute war crimes.

Meantime, some Ohio lawmakers continue to push for a state-level child tax credit.

State Representative Lauren McNally first introduced the Thriving Families Tax Credit Bill in the year 2023.

Data confirms that in 2021, most families spent their federal child tax credits on everyday necessities, including groceries, utilities, housing and clothing.

Ryan Vinn, a research analyst with the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, says a number of states have begun looking at state-level tax credit policies to help families.

The child tax credit at the state level can serve as one really important anti-poverty tool or lever that they can pull to help mitigate some of the fallout from that federal retreat.

Altogether, 22 states and Washington, D.C. have created some version of a child tax credit, though only 15 of them are active this year.

This is Nadia Ramlagan for Ohio News Connection.

This story with original reporting by Rebecca Gale for Better Lab Life and the 74.

And as the state of Illinois considers measures to tighten regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations, a recent study highlights the disproportionate health and environmental impacts of meat production on vulnerable populations.

Several bills propose stricter rules on large and medium-sized CAFOs by increasing local control, expanding setback distances from residential areas, and requiring water supply reports for expansions.

Data from the University of Michigan shows these facilities contribute to significantly worse air quality for surrounding communities.

Assistant research scientist Demetrius Gunaridis says people of color, rural residents, and uninsured populations make up the majority of those residing in neighboring areas.

The meat we are eating and consuming has some costs.

We prove once and for all proximity to those facilities means lower air quality and health issues.

Gunaridis says the research team has made their data set publicly available for the first time in hopes of providing systematic evidence for targeted interventions.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Farmers have faced a labor shortage for decades, and an estimated 40 percent of workers hired are undocumented.

But labor advocates warned bipartisan legislation backed by the Trump administration to update the H-2A visa program will make serious health and safety risks for farm workers even worse.

The program gives temporary work visas for seasonal foreign-born agricultural workers.

University of Georgia agricultural professor Cesar Escalante says farmers can't rely on U.S.-born workers who are free to choose jobs in other sectors.

They would rather work in the non-farm sector where the pay is higher.

And because working in the farm actually is not just difficult manual labor, but it's also exposed to a lot of risks, especially health risks.

The bills working their way through Congress would be much easier to pass than comprehensive immigration reform.

To supply farmers with enough workers they can afford to hire legally, the measures would expand the number of H-2A workers allowed, slow wage growth, and extend visas to year-round jobs.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And advocates say lawmakers in Utah's recent session took up items that addressed cost of living issues for the state's residents.

Lawmakers came up short.

One of the most critical issues was housing affordability.

The legislature allocated about $10 million in grants to help first-time homebuyers that limited it to new construction only.

Rod Mosier, a homebroker from West Jordan, says the program ended up benefiting mostly elected officials who were also developers.

So there was a lot of opportunity for the legislators to do anything that would make things a little bit easier, and none of those.

Mosier, who is also a Democratic candidate for Statehouse District 45, says lawmakers did little to solve the problem of affordable rentals and continued policies that make it profitable for investors, not homebuyers, to own properties.

He says Utah has a shortage of roughly 50,000 affordable rental units.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Finally, advocates for Washington's cooperative preschool and parent education program have launched a campaign to save them from closure.

These programs provide affordable early childhood education and workforce development for 4,500 families across the state.

But many do not meet the new framework for employment outcomes adopted by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges last year.

Parent educator Dr. Jarman Leitner says a small language change in the state code could save the program without any need for additional funding.

If state law would just say parent education students can earn credits and they are considered students, then we wouldn't be having to fight for this program.

We're going to continue, but we don't want to have to be faced with this situation again.

Leitner says 10 out of 13 programs across the state will shut down at the end of June without intervention.

I'm Isobel Charle.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.