News from around the nation.

Biden mixes up Harris, Trump names at outset of high-stakes news conference; Boosting 'Hope' about climate-change among New Mexico's next generation; HBCU students highlighted during MLB All-Star Week in Texas; With new home energy rebates on the horizon, Minnesota wants to emphasize equity.

Transcript

♪♪ The Public News Service Daily Newscast, July the 12th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Joe Biden mixed up the name of his vice president, Kamala Harris, and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, on Thursday, where the 81-year-old aims to quote concerns that he's too old to run for re-election.

That from Reuters.

They quote Biden as saying, "Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president.

So start there."

And as the nation remains in overdrive on verbal gaffe mode, Biden also mistakenly referred to the Ukrainian President Zelensky as President Putin.

Reuters notes Biden's campaign has been on the ropes for two weeks since his poor debate performance against Trump, his 78-year-old Republican rival.

We head next to New Mexico, where teachers educating young people about climate change don't want them to feel hopeless, and they have worked on and developed curriculum to match that outlook.

Fianna Shapiro at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science says young people recognize that climate change is going to shape their futures, where they live, their vocation, and quality of life.

As part of the 350 New Mexico Climate Education Committee, Shapiro has helped develop Climate Hope, a middle school climate curriculum.

Most students know what it is, know some basics about it.

They might know how it's connected to drought and heat and dryness.

Not necessarily a whole lot beyond that.

It really does depend on the school.

The 350 project has piloted the education curriculum in a handful of Albuquerque middle school classrooms and held a recent teacher workshop to help them prep lesson plans.

I'm Roz Brown.

The four-lesson curriculum includes information about climate justice and the fact that people contributing the least to climate change are often the most affected.

At Major League Baseball's All-Star Week kicks off at Globe Life Field in Arlington, with the Swingman Classic featuring 50 student athletes from historically black colleges and universities.

They're also known as HBCUs.

The game is sponsored by MLBPA Youth Development Foundation, which works to make baseball and softball more accessible for all kids.

Executive Director Jilene Baitres says after the game, some special athletes will be recognized.

We have an MVP, which is focused on the skill and the talent, but we also have a character award where it goes to another young student athlete, and we really want to recognize that young man's impact in their community, how they give back, their academic track record, and it's not solely based on how they're doing as a baseball player.

The students were picked by Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., Major League Baseball representatives and scouts.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

The foundation is teaming up with Mark Cuban and the Heroes Basketball Center for his suit-up experience, providing young men with suits, ties, shoes, socks, and haircuts.

This is Public News Service.

And this month, Minnesotans have a chance to share their thoughts on how the state should distribute home energy rebates.

Starting July 17th, the Commerce Department will host a series of public hearings on rebates funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.

The department's Mia Naceth-Phillips says this aid can help eligible households get appliances and heating and cooling systems that reduce their energy burden.

She says they especially want to reach people who otherwise couldn't afford emerging technologies that make a home's carbon footprint smaller.

And that becomes a repeated theme that I'm having a hard time paying my bills.

How can I have something that is continually combating the high costs of energy use?

Officials say a challenge is creating a robust network of certified contractors trained for specific installations.

A list of the hearing sites and times is on the Commerce Department website.

Remaining events across the state include St. Cloud, Falls, and Duluth.

Meantime, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $271,000 in grants for environmental education projects across the state.

The programs will teach people about wetlands, water quality, biodiversity, habitat restoration, and ways to maintain home drinking water and septic systems.

One of the recipients, Black Swamp Conservancy, is getting nearly $35,000 to train teachers and provide educational materials for students.

The Conservancy's Laura Rodriguez says this grant is important because it helps get kids and teachers outside and interested in nature.

Outdoor learning increases students' physical, mental, and their social health, as well as their overall academic performance.

That also fosters this ethic of care.

We're helping to raise that next generation of active citizens who understand the importance of taking care of our shared landscape.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

And finally, from Arshentia Hudson, the state of North Carolina needs to increase its crisis response capacity for long-term success.

That's according to a new report by the Mental Health Policy Group known as Inseparable.

The report analyzes 988 crisis lifeline responses in every state and proposes improvements.

One key area it says requires attention in North Carolina is the need for more crisis response mobile units and beds.

Kelly Crosby with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges this challenge and says funding from the General Assembly is addressing the need.

You know, we have 19 urgent cares opening across the state.

In the community crisis center space, we've added about 64 new beds for adults and 44 new beds for children.

North Carolina's 988 line receives around 8,000 calls monthly.

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

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