Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Judge temporarily blocks effort to deport Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia student protests; Power of rural organizing reflected in SD carbon pipeline law; Safety at risk as budget cuts hit Indiana Dunes National Park; Barriers to tracking bird flu mount amid federal changes.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, March the 11th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

A federal judge in New York has blocked any efforts by President Trump's administration to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist who was arrested Saturday night.

That from CNN.

They report to preserve the court's jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition.

Petitioners shall not be removed from the U.S. unless and until the court orders otherwise.

Khalil, who helped lead Columbia University's student protest movement demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, was arrested Saturday night by federal immigration authorities who said they were acting on a State Department order to revoke his green card.

CNN notes the arrest is the latest escalation by Trump in what he calls the first of many arrests to come to crack down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses.

Next, the future of a big carbon capture project in the Midwest was thrown off balance after a new South Dakota law was adopted.

Rural property owners made a big push for the policy and their organizing is getting noticed.

South Dakota's governor just signed a bill that prohibits eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines.

It's in response to a proposed line where the company behind it hasn't secured all the voluntary land agreements it needs.

The Rural Democracy Initiative's Sarah Jane says outcomes like these reflect the mindset of smaller communities when big projects come their way, potentially impacting their way of life.

Rural people are not in the habit of fighting things.

They're in the habit of taking a close look at what's proposed after decades of exploitation.

She's referring to corporations outsourcing jobs from these areas as well as agricultural firms wanting to add larger animal feedlot operations.

Jane says the decline of local news outlets is likely playing a role in how communities are responding.

Without access to key information, she says local voices are enhancing their coordination to have a bigger voice.

I'm Mike Mullen reporting.

And federal budget cuts have forced Indiana Dunes National Park to lay off five employees.

Known for its biodiversity, the park now faces challenges that could affect visitors and the landscape.

Betsy Mayer, executive director of the non-profit Save the Dunes, says the reductions could make the park less accessible and enjoyable for visitors.

Unkempt bathrooms, possibly closed down camping sites, overflowing trash cans.

Despite the setbacks, she says the group, which was formed in the 1950s, remains committed to protecting the Indiana Dunes for future generations.

I'm Joe Ulari, Public News Service.

This story was produced with original reporting from Danielle Zakowski for Wish TV.

Save the Dunes focuses its work on the three northwest Indiana counties closest to the Dunes and Lake Michigan.

More than 2.7 million people visited Indiana Dunes National Park in 2023.

This is Public News Service.

The avian flu is now being detected in humans, and concerns about inadequate testing and tracking methods, along with its pandemic potential, are mounting.

But federal oversight remains in limbo.

At least one person has died from influenza A or H5N1, and almost 70 others have been infected.

Public health officials say those at highest risk are farm workers, but that could change since the virus has already mutated, spreading from poultry to cattle.

Dr. Megan Davis at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says the potential for asymptomatic cases of this flu subtype can make tracking it a challenge.

You suspect there are more, but of the ones that are confirmed, we have only three where we don't have a known animal exposure.

Davis adds if the virus mutates to be transmissible among humans, that would be a big concern.

In Illinois, only cases in wild birds and poultry have been reported so far.

Health officials are urging frontline workers to wear proper protective gear to avoid infection.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This story produced with original reporting by Nina Elkady for Sentinent Health and Wellness.

And Ohio is seeing a growing number of solar energy projects, including the first utility-scale installation in Dayton that will help power a key water treatment facility.

Cities across the state are also working together to expand clean energy access.

The five-megawatt solar array in Dayton will be built on a brownfield site that is also a repurposing project for land that had been burnt and has limited use because of contamination.

Robert McCracken is energy manager for the neighboring city of Cincinnati.

He says it's amazing to be able to produce energy to help with energy resiliency anywhere in Ohio.

There is a lot of great work happening in the sustainability energy field throughout the state of Ohio, and that's happening in large cities and small towns.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

Finally, researchers at Colorado State University have found the state's nearly 23 million acres of forests are currently releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they capture.

As report author Tony Vorster explains, forests act as both sinks and sources for carbon.

Trees naturally absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, and that process is reversed when trees die and decompose.

When you look at the contributors to that release of carbon, a lot of it, 64 percent of it is due to insects and disease, 20 percent of it is due to fire, and about 15 percent of it is areas that have been cut.

Burning fossil fuels is the single largest contributor of carbon emissions, the primary driver of climate change.

I'm Eric Galatas.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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