News from around the nation.

Indiana center hosts sites for National HIV Testing Day; SCOTUS mistakenly posts abortion ruling document on website; Helping prevent the 'summer slide' among New Mexico's school-aged kids; Lawsuits allege Amazon responsible for selling chemical used for suicide.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, June the 27th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Today is National HIV Testing Day.

Terry D reports it was first observed in the U.S. in 1995.

Anyone who is sexually active is urged to get tested to know their HIV status.

The site HIV.gov underscores the importance of testing to show self-value, compassion and respect.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 14,000 Hoosiers are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Alan Witsche heads the Damien Center, an HIV/AIDS resource in Indianapolis.

Witsche says the blood test is free and confidential and insurance is not required.

Nobody has to know that you're coming and you can either make an appointment or you can just walk in.

It's just a quick finger prick.

You will have your results in 20 minutes.

He adds testing for other sexually transmitted diseases can be performed at the same time.

A positive test result will alert the Damien Center staff to connect the person to support services and the clinic.

For a negative result, medication is available for HIV prevention.

I'm Terry D reporting.

Ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S. or EHE is the federal program with the aim of lowering new HIV infections nationwide by 75 percent by next year and at least 90 percent by 2030.

And the headline from CNN is it's a stunning accident.

The Supreme Court appears poised to temporarily allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho.

Bloomberg News reported Wednesday citing a document that was inadvertently posted on the court's website in an astonishing breach of protocol.

They report the unsigned opinion showed that three conservatives, Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, sided with the court's three liberals to block the state from enforcing the ban in certain emergency situations.

CNN notes this is one of several cases the court has to rule on in this term.

President Biden has made abortion rights a centerpiece of his reelection push and the erroneous publication comes a day before the CNN debate.

And some kids in New Mexico hope summer never ends while others can't wait to get back in the classroom, but both groups are at risk.

Yaja Aguilera leads New Mexico Save the Children organization.

She says kids need help, especially those living in poverty, so they don't fall behind.

She encourages parents to read books and tell stories to spark their children's curiosity.

Aguilera says New Mexico has a lot of rural areas where it's more difficult to find support.

Some of the challenges for these parents are geographic isolation, the lack of resources.

She says when kids come back to school in the fall, it can take teachers at least two weeks to get them back up to speed if they have lapsed in learning over the summer.

I'm Roz Brown.

This is Public News Service.

Lawsuits are seeking to hold Amazon accountable for selling a chemical that was used by people for suicide.

Eric, take it off, explains.

The substance is known as sodium nitrite and is usually used as a food preservative at low concentrations.

The families of 15 people who died from the substance have sued Amazon in six separate cases.

Kaitlin Scherf, an attorney in Seattle, is defending the family of Tyler Schmidt, a 15-year-old who died by suicide in 2020 near Camas.

If a 15-year-old can't buy cough syrup like NyQuil or Robitussin at the drugstore, they should not be able to buy a suicide drug on Amazon.

Plaintiffs in the cases say Amazon knew as early as 2018 that it was selling a product that was used for suicide.

In 2022, Amazon changed the process for buying sodium nitrite so that purchasers had to get it from a business account.

Etsy and eBay stopped selling the product in 2019.

Amazon says it can't be held responsible if people misuse its products.

And Minnesota will soon host public hearings on proposed water permit changes as it seeks to get control of nitrate pollution from industrial farms.

This week, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released its plan to overhaul standards for a pair of water permits issued to the largest animal feedlots in the state.

The main focus is livestock operations in areas vulnerable to groundwater pollution.

These farms would have to adopt certain practices related to manure application in the fields.

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy's Joy Anderson calls the plan a common-sense approach to a pervasive problem.

She hopes the public takes notice of what's happening.

People who care about Minnesota's drinking water, people who care about the swimability and fishability of our water.

Organizations like hers urge residents to speak up during public hearings scheduled for July.

The proposed changes are expected to face strong pushback from those representing so-called factory farms.

I'm Mike Moen.

This week's move follows a recent order from the federal EPA for Minnesota to clean up contaminated drinking water.

Finally, Shantia Hudson lets us know in celebration of Pollinators Month, Charlotte is using its Bee City USA designation to emphasize the crucial role pollinators play in our ecosystem.

Partnering with local beekeepers, the city is working to educate the community, enhance habitats and reduce pesticide use.

Assistant City Arborist Victoria Aguilar notes that while supporting pollinators is simple, many people aren't aware of their importance to everyday life.

One out of every three bites of food that we eat is pollinated by an insect.

So you think about all the vegetables that you eat, most of those need insects in order to pollinate.

Charlotte's efforts are part of the Keep Charlotte Beautiful program.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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