News from around the nation.

President Joe Biden calls on the nation to 'lower the temperature' on politics; Utah governor calls for unity following Trump assassination attempt; Civil rights groups sound the alarm on Project 2025; New England braces for 'above-normal' hurricane season.

Transcript

The Public News Service Now newscast, July the 15th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Joe Biden called on Americans to lower the temperature and political rhetoric in an address from the Oval Office on Sunday night.

NBC calls them high-profile remarks in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

They quote Biden as saying, "Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy."

Biden added that politics should never turn into a killing field.

The speech is only the third Biden delivered from the Oval Office during his term.

Presidents typically reserve the Oval Office for speeches they believe are of the highest national importance.

NBC notes that national unity was the theme Biden first emphasized when he took office, but in a tough re-election fight, they say it's largely been set aside.

Meantime, Utah Governor Spencer Cox is calling for unity, as well as the condemnation of political violence.

Cox has chaired the National Governors Association and led its Disagree Better Initiative, which examines the issues surrounding political polarization in the country, while also looking to cultivate solutions and a culture of respect and civility.

On Sunday, Cox took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and shared his closing statements from the association's recent summer meeting, and said he found his sentiments to be more important and relevant following Saturday's shooting tragedy.

"We can make this a better place.

We can love each other again.

We can disagree without hating each other.

We can have passionate debates, and we do."

Cox is among one of many political leaders that is now calling for unity and for the heated political rhetoric to subside.

President Joe Biden described the violence that took place on Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, as "sick" and said everyone must condemn the attack.

I'm Alex Gonzalez reporting.

Meantime, civil rights groups are sounding the alarm about potential threats to American democracy, posed by Project 2025.

They say it is a roadmap created by the Heritage Foundation for the next Republican president.

The 900-page document calls for dismantling key protections against discrimination, access to reproductive health care, and more.

Maya Wiley with the Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights says Project 2025 aims to undo gains made 60 years ago with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, but she says this agenda isn't new.

"Either we're going to stand on the victory of ending slavery and of understanding the role of a federal government in ensuring that we all have civil rights, or we will not have a democracy, and this is a blueprint for ending it."

Donald Trump has recently distanced himself from Project 2025 after praising the Heritage Foundation's plans in 2022.

Heritage says the roadmap, which was co-authored by top Trump advisers, does not speak for any single candidate, it just provides recommendations.

Many of those track closely with Trump's priorities, including removing regulations and checks on presidential power.

I'm Eric Gillatas.

This is Public News Service.

Next up to New England, where forecasters warn to prepare for an above-normal number of hurricanes this summer.

Hurricane Beryl was already the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record for both June and July, and brought damaging floods to the region last week.

Dr. Jordan Jones is a climate scientist with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, who says a cooling La Niña phase in the Pacific, combined with a record warm Atlantic, are creating dangerous conditions.

"When we have these very clear signals within the environment, it's clear that we're going to get a highly active hurricane season, and we know that from history."

She's referring to the 2020 hurricane season, which generated a record 30 named storms.

The National Hurricane Center predicts up to 25 named storms this season, with four to seven major hurricanes by the end of November.

I'm Catherine Carley reporting.

Remnants of Hurricane Beryl washed away roads last week, leaving people stranded in parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Meantime, folks in Oregon have until July 22 to submit their comments on the implementation of some new environmental restrictions for the state's largest farms.

When the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 85 last year, these regulations were signed into law for confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.

Now, the Oregon Department of Agriculture is working to implement them.

Brian Pozewicz, a staff attorney for Water Watch of Oregon, says the new rules will help protect one of Oregon's most important natural resources.

"All Oregonians should care about that, because all Oregonians should care about our water supplies, both in the streams and rivers, as well as in the groundwater, because those water supplies are precious to everybody."

The regulation means more closely monitoring the amount of water used by large farms and considering the placement of these operations to try to reduce the nitrate contamination in groundwater caused by manure.

This move to protect Oregon's water supply coincides with an increase in demand for water as the state re-enters its wildfire season.

I'm Mason Kennedy.

Finally, from our newest producer on the growing public news service team, Will Walke reports it is being called an historic milestone. 200 people have been exonerated after being sentenced to death.

The exonerees were wrongfully convicted because of misconduct from government officials or other factors, and then set free after being behind bars, sometimes for decades.

Robin Marr with the Death Penalty Information Center says cases like this have been devastating, not just for individual families, but for the nation.

"Communities really lose confidence in the integrity of the legal system and its ability to respond appropriately and keep them safe."

This is Mike Clifford.

Thank you for starting your week with Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

You can hear us on interesting radio stations, your favorite podcast platform.

Find our content and trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.