News from around the nation.

Nevada progressive groups react to Trump Las Vegas campaign rally; Trump probation interview set for today (Monday) after hush money conviction; Arkansas receives mixed results in annual Kids Count Data Book; Massachusetts  could become 11th state with medical aid-in-dying law.

TRANSCRIPT

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The Public News Service Daily Newscast for June the 10th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Donald Trump held a rally on Sunday in Las Vegas, one of his first since being convicted by a New York jury late last month.

The former president made a stop in the Silver State to try and sway divided voters, as recent polls showed Trump with an edge over President Joe Biden.

But progressive groups and leaders are convinced a second Trump presidency would be detrimental to Nevada.

State Representative Howard Watts says many Nevada communities are already feeling the effects of climate change, but only one presidential candidate has made it a priority.

On day one, President Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement that Trump backed out of.

Biden's taken over 320 climate actions during his time in office and put us on the path to cut climate pollution in half by the end of this decade.

Watts says in Nevada, these actions have led to new clean energy projects, generating more than $12 billion in investments for the state and creating almost 16,000 jobs.

I'm Alex Gonzalez reporting.

Earlier this year, Nevada leaders, including the Republican governor there, Joe Lombardo, asked the Biden administration to allow the Bureau of Land Management to release some lands to allow more housing development to meet demands.

Next, from NBC News, former President Trump's scheduled to sit for a virtual interview today with a New York City probation officer from his home in Mar-a-Lago with his attorney, Todd Blanch.

That after he was found guilty on all accounts in the Hushbunny trial against him last month.

The pre-sentencing probation interview will be done over a special virtual network with added security measures, and the interviewer will be a female, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

The probation interview is required by the court as part of the former president's pre-sentencing report.

And Arkansas is ranked 45th in the 2024 Kids Count data book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The annual report ranks states on the overall condition of children in four areas, economic well-being, education, health, and community and family.

Arkansas's education numbers dropped from last year.

Kesa Smith, with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, says the state has a history of under-investing in programs that would help kids get out of poverty.

Arkansas, many years ago, used to be a leader in the area of pre-K education, but we stopped funding it at the level that it was previously funded at.

And as a result, we now see we have a number of three and four-year-olds that are not receiving pre-K education.

The state did see improvements in the area of family and community.

The number of children living in single-parent families in high-poverty areas decreased.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Lawmakers in Massachusetts are considering legislation to allow medical aid in dying as an option for mentally capable, terminally ill adults.

Patients 18 and older with less than six months to live could request medication from their physician to take at their time of choosing and peacefully pass in their sleep.

Melissa Stacy with the nonprofit Compassion and Choices says those with advanced-stage cancers and other debilitating illnesses deserve peace of mind.

The amount of suffering and pain that goes into that is really, really difficult for a patient to withstand and really difficult for them to go through at the end of life when they could have a medication available to them.

The legislation is opposed by the Catholic Church and some disability rights groups who claim the law could be abused, but Stacy says safeguards have been built in and rely on decades of data from similar laws in 10 other states.

I'm Catherine Carley reporting.

30 senators have signed onto the bill, which is now pending before the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

And there's no shortage of food in America, but there is a huge food insecurity gap in New Mexico and other states.

Feeding America's latest report, Map the Meal Gap, looks at local-level estimates of food insecurity and food costs for every U.S. county and congressional district.

It includes data from the United States Department of Agriculture that shows an increase in food insecurity in 2022.

Sonja Warwick is with New Mexico's Roadrunner Food Bank.

The meal gap grew 10 million meals.

We do know that definitely food costs had a contributing factor behind that, and also the fact that pandemic-era extended programs for SNAP benefits came to an end.

Warwick says New Mexico has the eighth-highest hunger rate among all states.

I'm Roz Brown.

Hispanic and Latino New Mexicans who account for 50 percent of the population experience higher food insecurity rates than non-Hispanic whites.

Finally, from our Natia Ramlegon, an upcoming festival in Columbus, Ohio, aims to raise awareness about the plight of pollinators and ongoing conservation efforts.

The rusty-patched bumblebee, listed as a federally endangered species in 2017, is now only rarely spotted in Ohio, says artist Kania Lamar, who recently created a mural in honor of the species in Columbus's Linden neighborhood.

She says public art displays can play a role in capturing attention and inspiring action towards conservation efforts.

While I was working on the mural, community members stopped and were able to have conversations with me and to express their connection to the bumblebee.

The Endangered Species Coalition is commemorating 50 years of the Endangered Species Act by sponsoring murals throughout the country.

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

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