Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Trump team barred from agencies amid legal standoff; Health experts speak out against RFK Jr. leading Health and Human Services; ACLU: Mass deportations would be setback for Arkansas economy; Researchers study Connecticut's offshore wind possibilities.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, November the 25th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Advisors to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reached out to the Health and Human Services Department multiple times after Donald Trump tapped him to lead the massive agency, hoping to jumpstart coordination before his takeover in January.

Political reports, they were rebuffed.

Kennedy's inability to communicate with the agency he may soon manage, confirmed by administration official, is just one consequence of the president-elect's continued foot-dragging on signing the standard trio of ethics and transparency agreements with the federal government, something his team pledged to do shortly after the election.

Meantime, groups that are fighting to improve access to health care are asking the Senate to reject RFK Jr.'s nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

RFK Jr. is an environmental lawyer who ran for president and then threw his support to Donald Trump in August.

Matthew Herdman, California State Director with the nonprofit Protect Our Care, says RFK Jr. has falsely linked vaccines to autism.

When he went to American Samoa to talk about vaccine safety there, almost immediately afterwards, there was a large measles outbreak that led to 83 Americans losing their lives.

I would be terrified to see that happen, spread nationwide across our country.

RFK Jr. has said one of his priorities would be to re-examine pesticides that are legal in the U.S. but are banned or being phased out in Europe.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Billions of dollars in federal subsidies for health plans on covered CA are set to expire next year unless the Republican-controlled Senate reinstates them.

RFK Jr. so far has not taken a position on this issue.

And the ACLU of Arkansas predicts if president-elect Donald Trump follows through with his campaign promise of mass deportations, it would have serious negative effects on the state's economy.

The president-elect has said on day one of his new term in office he will launch the largest deportation program in American history.

Sarah Everett with the ACLU of Arkansas says industries such as Tyson Foods and many local farmers rely on the immigrant population to operate.

We're certainly talking about a rise in grocery costs and what we've seen in previous upticks in deportation has been inflation as well as labor costs.

When restaurants have to shut down because they can't find enough employees, the employees who aren't deported lose out too.

She adds immigrants have protection under the fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution.

The Migration Policy Institute estimates there are 58,000 undocumented people living in Arkansas.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

The ACLU is advising people who are legal immigrants to have a plan in place in case they are detained.

This is Public News Service.

We head next to Connecticut, a state that is the subject of an offshore wind study which aims to identify supply chain opportunities for the state and the northeast region.

Connecticut is committed to creating 100 percent zero carbon electricity by 2040.

So far it has procurements for 1.5 gigawatts of offshore wind.

The state's first offshore wind farm will be operational next year.

Kristen Erbach with the Connecticut Wind Collaborative says the study can explore many offshore wind priorities.

To pinpoint areas where supply chains currently all short to propose actionable items to strengthen it and also to boost our local economic growth with the support of local manufacturers, ports, infrastructure development while promoting job creation and sustainable growth in Connecticut.

Other research shows the state can fill supply chain gaps by utilizing the 12,000 person shipbuilding and repair industry.

Some experts believe tapping into this workforce can build up offshore wind development.

But Connecticut's offshore wind future is strained.

Governor Ned Lamont paused a multi-state deal delaying Connecticut's ability to reach its 2030 goals.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

Meantime enrollment at many universities is declining and that's making it easier not harder to get into college.

New research by the American Enterprise Institute shows colleges are admitting a larger proportion of their applicants for the first time in decades.

Acceptance rates at colleges and universities, both public and private, were more than seven points higher in 2022 than in 2012.

Preston Cooper with the American Enterprise Institute says despite the fierce competition among a select number of elite universities, the average school has become easier to get into.

You know, the median school is not rejecting 95 percent of its applicants.

You know, the median school is going to admit well more than half of students who apply and those types of schools that most Americans go to are getting less competitive to get into.

But a study by the Pew Research Center found nearly half of 18 to 29 year olds think it's harder to get into college today than it was for their parents generation.

I'm Simone Perez.

Finally we head next to Wisconsin, a state that ranks 26th in the nation for wind energy.

Wisconsin has about 900 megawatts of installed wind capacity compared to neighbors that produce more than 10,000 megawatts.

Experts say better wind resources in neighboring states and lower solar costs enticing the state to invest in other projects contribute to the lag.

Wisconsin farms are also smaller than those in the Great Plains states, says Sam Donisky with Renew Wisconsin, which is a unique challenge.

You can't just put two turbines right next to each other, right?

The atmospheric dynamics requires a little bit more spacing in between turbines.

And in order to do that, you know, you need a little bit more land.

But Donisky says the state's wind potential is high.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This is Mike Clifford.

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