Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Trump announces Pam Bondi of FL as new attorney general pick, hours after Matt Gaetz withdraws; House passes bill targeting nonprofits in New York and nation; New Mexico researcher studies why pedestrian and bicyclist deaths are on the rise; Researchers link better outcomes to Minnesota adoption reforms.

Transcript

♪♪ The Public News Service Daily Newscast, November the 22nd, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday evening his new pick for attorney general is Pam Bondi, that from NBC News.

They report Bondi previously served as Florida's attorney general.

The announcement came just hours after former Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew from consideration.

Trump said in a post to Truth Social, "For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans.

Not anymore."

NBC does note the attorney general position would require confirmation by the U.S.

Senate.

Next, House lawmakers passed a bill deemed harmful to nonprofits in New York and nationwide.

House Resolution 9495 passed with a 219-184 vote after failing to get a two-thirds majority in the chamber last week.

The bill gives the Treasury Secretary power to rescind tax-exempt status for nonprofits it deems terrorist-supporting organizations.

On its first vote, it had strong bipartisan support.

Jeff Ordauer with 350 Action says President-elect Donald Trump's rhetoric about the enemy within makes this bill's return troubling.

They're trying to consolidate the number of tools in their toolbox so they can move quickly to call some people the enemy within and shut down organizations supporting causes that are unpopular, supporting causes that are fighting corporate power, fighting structural racism.

15 Democrats, including New York's 3rd District Representative Tom Suozzi, voted in favor of the bill.

This could be due to its other provision, giving tax breaks to Americans wrongfully imprisoned abroad or held hostage by terror groups.

Ordauer says this is the result of a push by groups who want Israel and Gaza's status quo before October 7th restored, which aid organizations could jeopardize.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

Beyond public concern, some experts feel the bill's primary goal is helping President-elect Trump consolidate power within the executive branch.

And the number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed on roadways in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past 12 years.

A New Mexico researcher wants to know why.

University of New Mexico Associate Professor Nick Furincheck says if you're in a car, you're safer than you've ever been.

But that's not true for what the engineering world calls VRUs, vulnerable road users.

Although pedestrian deaths in 2022 were about the same as in 1975, he says they've increased 83 percent since reaching their lowest point in 2009.

Pedestrians and bicyclists are about a quarter of the people killed on our roadways in America.

To put that in context, I think about 400 New Mexicans are killed every year on roads.

About 100 of them are pedestrians, and about 10 are on bikes.

I'm Roz Brown.

Nationwide, about 45,000 Americans lose their lives on roadways each year, including 6,000 pedestrians, and another 76,000 pedestrians are injured.

The newly formed Center for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety is studying why the increase has occurred.

This is public news service.

As we head towards the weekend, this Saturday is National Adoption Day, and the latest findings show Minnesota has made progress in helping kids in the foster-care system secure a better future.

Labor economist Aaron Sojourner helped lead research into reforms Minnesota approved in 2015.

He says states often provide financial support to children in foster care, but this support ends when a child is adopted or placed in a kin guardianship.

Minnesota decided to continue those payments to households that take in a child permanently.

Sojourner says three years after that stable environment was established, positive outcomes took shape.

The kids were scoring much higher on standardized achievement tests.

They were experiencing less turnover in schools and school instability.

He says the incentives also boosted the chances of kids age six and older exiting the foster-care system and moving into a permanent home setting by 29 percent.

I'm Mike Moen.

And walking pneumonia cases are rising sharply in central Indiana, with local physicians noting a significant surge since midsummer.

Our Julian Lurie has more in this Wish TV, Free Press Indiana, Indiana News Service collaboration.

The illness can spread through droplets raised by coughing or sneezing, making it highly contagious.

Dr. John Christensen with Riley Hospital for Children says it's less severe than traditional pneumonia but can escalate if left untreated.

Children die, adults die of it.

Sometimes it invades the brain, and it can cause an inflection there.

Symptoms often, mild at first, can include a sore throat, persistent cough, and chest pain.

Physicians urge parents to monitor for these signs and seek medical evaluation if symptoms wor Senator

This story was produced with original reporting from Kyla Russell for Wish TV.

The CDC reported a jump in diagnosis among children aged 2 to 4, from 1 to over 7 percent within six months.

And La Nina is bringing a cooler, wetter winter to Oregon and likely driving up heating bills as systems work harder.

This is the third year of major price hikes for Pacific Power and PGE, with rates up by 40 percent from four years ago.

One report finds nearly half of Americans struggle to pay their utility bills.

And last winter, a January ice storm and rate hikes saw power shut off for record number of Oregon households due to lack of payment.

Jamie Seymour with Energy Trust of Oregon says this winter, one way to save on energy bills is to lower the thermostat at night.

Every degree you drop that thermostat, you can save about 3 percent on your energy bill.

I'm Isabel Sharlai.

The most helpful way to save money is to keep the heat inside by insulating walls, attics, and floors.

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

Hear us on radio stations big and small, your favorite podcast platform.

Find our content and our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.