Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Trump whipsaws on tariffs, giving Mexico and Canada a reprieve; New avian flu plan hatched by USDA, but experts are wary; PA teachers' union reacts to DEI lawsuit against Dept. of Education; Bill to increase penalties could overpopulate WV prisons.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast for March the 7th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Two days after imposing sweeping tariffs on Canada and Mexico, President Trump Thursday abruptly suspended many of those levies, sowing confusion with investors and businesses that depend on trade with the countries.

That from the New York Times.

They report Trump said he would allow products that are traded under the rules of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, the trade pact he signed in his first term, to avoid the stiff 25 percent tariffs that he imposed just two days ago on two of America's largest trading partners.

Next, we head to Minnesota, where more than 50 counties have reported a bird flu outbreak.

The Trump administration has released a new strategy to combat it, but experts have a largely tepid response.

Last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins released a five-pronged strategy and $1 billion investment to keep avian flu in check and reduce rising egg prices.

The new measures focus largely on fixing on-farm biosecurity gaps, as well as push for a new poultry vaccine.

Megan Davis with Johns Hopkins University says it's encouraging, but she worries about the lack of specifics in pivoting away from current methods of handling infected birds where farmers depopulate their flocks.

Our current quarantine and stamping out policy has been in place for quite some time.

There's a reason it exists.

These birds get really sick.

So their animal welfare issues are not going to recover.

She says the U.S. needs to think thoroughly about ways to limit further amplification of an outbreak and monitor what is and isn't working.

I'm Mike Moen.

And the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association are suing the Trump administration over their threats to defund schools it believes are promoting the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Our Danielle Smith has more.

In a letter, the Department of Education laid out its plans to cut funding for schools that don't comply.

Critics say the administration is distorting anti-discrimination laws to block efforts that support disadvantaged students of color.

Author Steinberg with the Pennsylvania American Federation of Teachers chapter warned the cuts could affect nearly 800,000 lower-income students and more than 360,000 special education students.

The Trump administration is now attempting to use the threat of federal funds to infringe on people's rights of free speech.

There is already a mandate that college presidents can't tell schools and colleges what to teach.

Steinberg points out that Governor Josh Shapiro is all for teaching what he called "honest history," as is the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

He knows some Republicans in the state Senate would go along with the Trump administration.

The lawsuit was filed last week in federal court in Maryland.

This is Public News Service.

A bill pending in the West Virginia legislature would increase the length of penalties for serious felony convictions, but critics say it would contribute to prison overpopulation.

The House of Delegates has yet to consider the measure.

Kenneth Matthews, an economic justice associate with the American Friends Service Committee, says extending the minimum time prisoners must serve before a parole hearing would pack the prisons with more inmates waiting for conditional release.

Increase in penalties for offenses will create an increase in the prison population that's already overpopulated and create an increase in the aging population in the state, which is also overpopulated.

West Virginia's overall jail population in 2024 was about 11,000, with an incarceration rate of 674 per 100,000 residents, considerably higher than the national average of 614.

I'm Mark Richardson.

And this is National Consumer Protection Week.

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund wants people to think about what they can do to protect their valuable documents, both physically and digitally.

The group is offering a new guide to help.

Consumer Privacy Director R.J. Cross says it's smart to disaster-proof documents in case of an emergency like a wildfire or flood.

She points out that now is the time to make a plan so you can save yourself a headache down the line.

Having digital copies of sometimes your social security number or having your birth certificate can make it easier for you to navigate the process of those insurance claims and the process of getting replacing the hard copies if you're in that situation.

She adds when deciding to store documents online in the cloud, it's a matter of determining the right combination of security and convenience.

She recommends using a cloud service that offers what's known as end-to-end encryption.

The guide is online at pirg.org/resources.

I'm Alex Gonzalez reporting.

Finally, our Joey Lurie lets us know Indiana Governor Mike Braun issued two executive orders restricting state funds from promoting gender identity and banning transgender women from women's college sports.

One order directs the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to enforce a 2020 Title IX rule, not a 2024 rule, ensuring transgender women cannot compete in women's sports.

A review in 2026 will assess compliance among Indiana colleges.

Braun's orders follow President Donald Trump's February executive order barring transgender athletes from girls and women's sports.

This is crafted to be maybe similar to it, crafted by us to address our point of view here in Indiana.

Trump's 2024 campaign promise to keep men out of women's sports gained broad support.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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