News from around the nation.

Aiming to boost Black women's voter engagement in Mississippi; Trump campaign reckons with hack; Harris holds fundraiser in San Francisco; Survey: Most Coloradans can't afford basic health care; excessive Illinois rains stir conversation on preparedness.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast august 12th 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford

As the November general election approaches, Mississippi groups are ramping up efforts to boost black voter participation.

We get the details from our Daniel Smith.

The Magnolia State has a history of low voter turnout.

Two years ago, only 33 percent of the state's voting age population cast a ballot.

Cassandra Welsh Lynn with the Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable says her group is spearheading efforts to boost those numbers among black women.

Their power of the sister vote boot camp partners with local leaders to mobilize people to encourage voting both in rural and urban Mississippi.

Inside these boot camps, we are training folks, giving them data.

How many infrequent black women voters do you have in your communities?

Let's develop strategies on targeting and reaching those infrequent or high opportunity voters so that we can get them registered and turn out the vote.

Welsh Lynn notes voter participation is particularly important as the decisions will ultimately affect issues like child care wages and health care.

It is part of their goal to advocate for a higher federal minimum wage and to eliminate the sub minimum wage paid to a tip workers of only $2.13 an hour.

Next from the Washington Post, the trump campaign grappling with the fallout of a hack after news organizations said they received vetting information.

A vice presidential nominee, J. D. Vance, the Republican of Ohio.

On the other side of the aisle, Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in San Francisco after wrapping up a multi-state tour and crucial swing state.

The campaign says the event raised more than $12 million.

The Post ad said singer Celine Dion says the use of her song My Heart Will Go On at former President Trump's rallies is unauthorized and not endorsed.

And more than 70 percent of folks in Colorado believe drug companies, hospitals and insurance companies charged too much.

That's according to a new consumer health care experience.

State survey 90 percent support policy solutions, including making the price of care transparent and ending the practice of surprise billing.

Priya Tlaing with the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative says nearly three in four Coloradans are experiencing financial hardships due to the high cost of health care being uninsured due to high insurance costs or delaying their care because they can't afford it or they're afraid of how much it's going to cost.

People are not able to afford their basic health care costs.

More than two in three Coloradans say they have delayed or gone without health care altogether due to cost.

Nearly 40 percent who did get care have struggled to pay those bills, were forced to deplete their savings, maxed out credit cards, faced collection agencies or went without necessities such as food, heat and even housing.

I'm Eric Galatas.

This is Public News Service.

Next to Illinois where they generally see the hottest and wettest months during the summer and climate change is making them more intense.

The University of Illinois Extension is getting the word out about what people can do to prepare and also to make small changes to benefit the environment.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says the state's annual total rainfall amount rose by almost six inches between 1895 and 2019, a 15 percent increase.

State climatologist Trent Ford says Illinois's climate has become wetter over the last 150 years due to human-caused climate change.

Ford says he would like to see more attention given to the effects of rain on the environment.

All seasons across Illinois have gotten wetter.

More importantly the rain is becoming more intense, meaning it's falling heavier over a shorter period of time.

What that can do is it increases the amount of runoff over the ground and then also can create issues of soil erosion, nutrient runoff and just overwhelm our natural streams and water drainage.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

And a new report shows that undocumented immigrants are paying substantial taxes in Maryland and nationwide.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found undocumented migrants paid more than 96 billion dollars in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, with Maryland seeing more than 770 million dollars of tax revenue.

Report co-author Carl Davis says narratives around how migrants are impacting the nation don't always stand up to scrutiny.

I think we're able to dispel a lot of myths around this one-sided idea that undocumented immigrants are claiming benefits and not paying any taxes.

It's really not tied to reality.

With some undocumented workers being paid under the table, the study found if migrants had access to legal status such as a guest worker program, the states and localities would realize an additional 7 billion dollars in tax revenue annually, while adding another 33 billion in federal revenue.

Brett Pivito reporting.

The study also shows that most undocumented adults have lived in the U.S. for 16 years or more.

Finally, our Deborah Van Fleet lets us know that many seniors report using technology on a regular basis, but those who don't risk missing out due to its role in so much of daily life.

Digital Literacy, a collaborative project in Lincoln, aims to help older Nebraskans strengthen their digital skills.

The City of Lincoln's Aging Partners received an AARP Community Challenge grant of just over $20,000 for the project.

Aging Partners director Randall Jones points to AARP surveys that show older seniors have less confidence in their digital skills compared with their younger counterparts.

Technology has kind of surpassed some of the abilities of seniors, so our goal here is to try to improve knowledge of how to access this valuable resource.

This is Mike Clifford, thank you for starting your week with Public News Service.

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