News from around the nation.

Report: Pennsylvania wage growth surpasses pre-pandemic levels, national average; U.S. unveils price limits for 10 costly or common medications; Unsafe Illinois feed facilities harm workers, compromise public health; Indiana's delegates ready for Harris and Walz.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, August the 16th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

First to Pennsylvania, wage growth has rebounded from pre-pandemic lows and now exceeds the national average.

That's according to the latest Pennsylvania Workforce Trends report.

The data show average hourly earnings for non-supervisory workers grew almost 4 percent between 2019 and this year.

Pay grew even faster among low-wage workers at 9.2 percent in Pennsylvania, but that's not as much as the U.S. average of more than 13 percent.

Carrie Amon with the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association says despite the wage increases, Pennsylvanians are well aware that the cost of living has also been on the uptick.

Workers are in fact paying their workers more in certain occupations and certain percentiles of workers.

So we've seen significant increases, I think almost a 10 percent wage increases in what we would typically call low-wage workers.

For Public News Service, I'm Danielle Smith.

Fifteen of the 22 Pennsylvania local workforce development areas saw increased weekly wages from the first quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2023.

And the Biden-Harris administration Thursday released the results of the first Medicare drug price negotiations, a milestone in Democrats' decades-long quest to have the nation's largest payer use its leverage to lower prescription drug prices, that from Politico.

They report the result is $6 billion in savings across 10 drugs when the new prices take effect in 2026.

Beneficiaries could save roughly $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs.

And a new study shows that more than one million tons of animal waste is produced every year in the U.S.

Opponents say the emissions produced by CAFOs pose a risk to public health.

Confined animal manure, waste and urine fall into slatted floors into a manure pit and are then piped into a pond or manure lagoon.

Queen Mary University of London Global Public Health graduate Elise Pohl explains the disposal process.

And then they take that manure and they pipe it into trucks to fertilize land.

While it is sitting in that lagoon, it emits several different components, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane, endotoxins, carbon dioxide.

Pohl says the facilities usually have no ventilation system which permits particulate matter to float in the air amidst feces and dust.

The Illinois Environmental Council says the state has 30,000 livestock operations, including an estimated 500 large CAFOs, one of the highest numbers of large-scale factory farms in the country.

Large-scale ag producers say they are trying to meet consumer demand and are constantly looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly.

I'm Terri Dee reporting.

This is Public News Service.

We head next to Indiana, a state that will be represented by about 90 delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Michael Schmoll says he's brimming with enthusiasm as the state prepares to send its delegation to the convention, which begins Monday.

Schmoll says the total contingent is expected to number close to 120 people, including guests and family members.

Obviously, our convention is later than the Republican one by a few weeks.

A lot has happened in the last month or so on the Democratic side, and there's just huge enthusiasm.

Despite Indiana not being a key presidential battleground state this cycle, Schmoll remains hopeful.

He points out that the Democratic National Committee is investing significantly in Indiana to boost voter turnout and organize grassroots efforts.

I'm Joe Illary, Public News Service.

Indiana is among the reddest states in the Midwest.

However, Hoosiers put the state in the Democrats' column for President Obama in 2008.

That had not happened in the state since 1964.

And as Social Security marks its 89th anniversary, the program's future remains a crucial topic of discussion.

Jennifer Carlson, state director for AARP Ohio, led a community conversation in Ohio to commemorate the occasion, focusing on the challenges facing Social Security and the importance of protecting it for millions of Americans.

She says the program remains vital for older Americans.

Ninety-four percent of Ohio's voters age 50 and older are more likely to vote for a candidate who will work to protect Social Security.

From our viewpoint, if you pay into it and earn through a lifetime of hard work, you should count on it.

During the event, Carlson emphasized the financial challenges facing Social Security, particularly the risk of a 20 percent benefit cut if Congress doesn't act.

Panelists discussed potential solutions such as eliminating the payroll tax cap and improving the cost of living adjustment formula to ensure the program's long-term solvency.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

Finally, with Connecticut schools starting soon, doctors say healthy practices can help kids heading back to the classroom.

More from Edwin J. Vieira.

In the transition from summer to school time, parents can get kids on a regular meal and sleep schedule.

Dr. Melissa Santos with Connecticut Children's Medical Center feels parents should check in with their kids about their mental health to see how they feel about returning to school.

Doing things like at dinner time, talking about one great thing that happened to them for the day or one thing that wasn't the greatest, sometimes families call it like the hits and pits of the day, it's just a nice way to start talking about, you know, this is what really went well for me today, this is kind of what I didn't think went so well.

Santos notes back to school can be stressful for parents.

She says kids can feed off this stress and might only increase back to school nervousness.

Instead, she says parents can model good stress relief, then kids can learn better habits to address similar issues.

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

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