News from around the nation.

Arizona Senate passes repeal of 1864 near-total abortion ban; Campus protests opposing the war in Gaza grow across California; Closure of Indiana's oldest gay bar impacts LGBTQ+ community; Broadband crunch produces side effect: underground digging mishaps.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, May 2, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Arizona lawmakers have repealed the state's 160-year-old statute banning nearly all abortions.

That from the Guardian.

They report the 1864 law, which was reinstated by the state Supreme Court three weeks ago, has made abortions a central focus in the battleground state.

They add in the state Senate, Democrats picked up the support of two Republicans in favor of repealing the ban.

At the same time, Governor Katie Hobbs expected to ratify the repeal, which narrowly cleared the Arizona House last week after three Republicans joined with all the Democrats in the chamber.

And massive protests and tent encampments are growing at universities across California, with classes canceled at UCLA on Wednesday.

That after tensions boiled over into violence.

In addition, police arrested 25 students at Cal Poly Humboldt on Tuesday.

An organizer named Rithik from the Students for Gaza encampment at San Francisco State University recently spoke to Sonali Khotkar for her TV and radio show, Yes Presents, rising up with Sonali.

Students everywhere are appalled at the current genocide occurring in Gaza that is being perpetrated by Israel and backed by the United States.

We understand that our taxpayer money is not going towards our own education, but rather to fund this genocide and wars of aggression across the world.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

SFSU President Len Mahoney has emphasized the university's support for peaceful protest and says the university has already taken steps to divest.

And the oldest gay bar in Indiana has closed, leaving the LGBTQ+ community with one less choice to call home.

We get more in this Ball State Daily News Free Press Indiana, Indiana News Service collaboration.

A water pipe at the Mark III Taproom in Muncie burst in January.

The damage reverberates farther than inside the walls of the building.

For performers like Olivia Ward, the closure of the Mark has left the community without access to the bar's resources, performances, and community outreach.

Ward not only misses the stage at the bar, but also fellow performers and the owners of the bar.

They are home.

They are family.

They've given us a space to just kind of be ourselves.

The Mark opened in 1968, about a year before the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, New York City, where patrons of the gay bar refused to leave during what started out as a routine raid, giving birth to the modern gay rights movement.

The East Central Indiana bar has moved locations, closed and undergone ownership changes, but remained a staple in the state.

This story was produced with original reporting from Megan Holt for Ball State Daily News.

I'm Joe Ulery reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Government leaders acting now with urgency to get underserved communities connected with high-speed internet.

But in Minnesota, underground digging for broadband installation is emerging as a safety concern.

This spring, the Think Tank Northstar Policy Action issued a report that says over the past three years, these installations were the leading cause of damage to buried infrastructure in the state.

Northstar's research director Aaron Rosenthal says telecommunications crews are coming in contact with a maze of electric lines and natural gas pipes, with the drilling averaging more than one and a quarter strikes a day.

That's a level of damage that we think is very concerning.

Minnesotans should not have to choose between high-speed internet and their own safety.

The authors contend these workers receive inadequate training, and a bill in the legislature would beef up standards.

Skeptics worry about impacts such as derailing progress on broadband goals with a wave of federal funding spurring projects.

I'm Mike Moen.

Meantime, several Connecticut counties ranked poorly in the latest state of the air report by the American Lung Association.

Four counties measured for ozone pollution received failing grades, while three others got Cs.

Cs stem from transportation emissions, the state's largest contributor to greenhouse gases.

Ruth Canovey with the American Lung Association in Connecticut says ozone pollution comes with serious health impacts.

I've had doctors explain it as almost like a sunburn on the lung.

It really causes irritation.

High ozone levels can be linked to chest tightness, shortness of breath, coughing, cardiovascular issues, heart issues, worsening of already existing asthma.

There are ways for the General Assembly to tackle air quality issues.

Those related to climate change and renewable energy can help reduce ozone pollution and poor air quality.

Canovey notes the Environmental Protection Agency's new clean truck standards can reduce nationwide emissions by up to 60 percent by 2032 and prevent 1 billion metric tons of carbon pollution.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

Finally, from our Farah Siddiqui, health care providers play a crucial role in suicide prevention.

A recent study shows only 8 percent of hospitals are currently implementing all four recommended suicide prevention practices.

Safety planning, warm handoffs to outpatient care, patient follow-up and lethal means counseling.

Melissa Tolstica with Trinity Hospital in Ann Arbor says a seamless transition from inpatient to outpatient care is critical.

We continue to see a need for really robust programming and not just within the behavioral health world but in the medical world as well.

Our organization really wanted to focus on bringing the behavioral health and the medical services together.

This initiative is being piloted across various units at Trinity Hospitals in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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