Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Bill Clinton is hospitalized for observation and testing after developing a fever; Biden commutes most federal death sentences before Trump takes office; Proposed post office 'slowdown' threatens rural Americans; Report: Tax credits shrink poverty for NM kids, families; Tiny plastic pieces enter the body in ways you'd never think of.

Transcript

♪♪ The Public News Service Daily Newscast, December the 24th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized in Washington after he developed a fever, a top aide told NBC News on Monday.

NBC reports the 78-year-old Clinton had been admitted to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital for testing and observation.

They report a source close to Clinton, the 42nd president, said the situation is not urgent.

And for The Washington Post, President Joe Biden Monday said he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row to life without parole, taking the unprecedented step ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, whose incoming administration is widely suspected to restart executions.

Meantime, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has made clear he wants the Postal Service to turn a profit, but advocates warn proposed changes would hurt rural Maryland and the rest of the country.

A plan from DeJoy would make any mail farther than 50 miles from a regional processing center move one day slower.

Annie Norman, part of a group called the Save the Post Office Coalition, says rural areas would be the most impacted by the proposed service cuts.

Rural folks rely on the Post Office to deliver prescription medications or live chicks for their farms.

We're talking about seniors and veterans, folks with disabilities, indigenous communities, and they all need the Postal Service to pay bills and get their social security checks.

The latest proposal builds on previous changes that altered the Postal Service's delivery commitment from three days to five.

Other past changes include multiple price hikes on forever stamps.

DeJoy says his proposal will save the Postal Service $3 billion yearly.

I'm Zimone Perez.

And next up, child tax credits offer a financial lifeline to parents and can lift kids out of poverty, according to a report from the New Mexico Voices for Children.

The group's Jacob Vigil notes that in addition to federal child tax credits, New Mexico is one of 16 states that has its own child tax credit.

He says the credits, including those that are refundable, are among the most effective ways to fight poverty because they return money directly to families who know best how to address their specific needs.

These tax credits play a really important non-stigmatizing role in providing assistance to families in most need of support.

In New Mexico, Vigil says the state returned $132 million to almost 240,000 households this year through the state's child tax credit program.

I'm Roz Brown.

Post-pandemic, the federal child tax credit is no longer fully refundable, which means about 36 percent of New Mexico families earning the lowest incomes are unable to access the full federal credit.

At the same time, a married couple making up to $400,000 receives the full amount of the tax credit.

This is Public News Service.

Communities around Indiana will be watching the progress of a unique project coming up for the north central town of Logansport.

The Cass County Community Foundation-backed dream for the new community space includes a permanent farmer's market, an incubator kitchen for small food businesses, and making community garden plots available to local residents.

Community Foundation CEO and President Deanna Crispin emphasized the initiative's focus on uniting the diverse community.

The whole idea behind this proposal was bringing people together through food.

Planners chose Heritage Park for the project and intentionally designed it to honor the town's immigrant history.

They are working with minority groups to ensure inclusivity.

I'm Joe Ulari, Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.

Meantime, researchers are sounding the alarm now about plastics being in everything from the food we eat to the air we breathe.

Plastic is made of fossil fuels and fracked gas from Texas and other oil and gas-producing states.

Plastics don't break down in the environment, but break up into tiny particles called microplastics.

Brett Nadridge is with the advocacy group Break Free from Plastics.

He says doctors are finding these microplastics in every part of the human body.

From deep in our lung tissue to maternal human placenta and breast milk, there was a study recently that found microplastic particles in every single human testicle that was tested.

The organization's most recent audit lists the top plastic-polluting corporations as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle.

Microplastics enter the body through the water supply, the soil, and the farm animals that become food.

Finally, the latest internet skin care trend is beef tallow or rendered cow fat, which some folks are using as skin care cream.

But critics say it's not worth the cost of the environment and animals, is a byproduct of factory farming, and isn't particularly effective for skin care.

He adds it's also comparable to coconut oil, which can trigger acne outbreaks for some people.

I think the thing now that comes up, though, is that it is a lot of fat, and so it isn't guaranteed that it isn't gonna clog up your pores if you have a tendency for acne.

Nearly 95 percent of the US rendering market is controlled by two massive corporations, Tyson Foods and Darling Ingredients.

An investigation by the British newspaper, The Guardian, earlier this year, also found that Tyson Foods' slaughterhouses dumped 371 million pounds of pollutants into US waterways between 2018 and 2022.

Nadia Ramligan reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

We are a member and listener supporter.

Hear us on interesting radio stations, your favorite podcast platform.

Find our content and trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.