News from around the nation.

U.S. gender wage gap grows for first time in a decade; Trump has embraced North Carolina's Mark Robinson, calling him 'Martin Luther King on steroids'; Volunteers sought as early voting kicks off in Minnesota; Women's political contributions in congressional races fall short of men's.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, September the 20th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

New research shows the gender wage gap widening for the first time in two decades.

The Census Bureau finds full-time working women make 82.7 cents for every dollar a man makes.

This is down from 84 cents for every dollar in 2022.

Connecticut sees this statewide, particularly in the public sector workforce.

Dr. Jamila Kaye-Taylor with the Institute for Women's Policy Research says states can enact policy solutions to address pay equity issues.

Factoring in things like access to childcare, the affordability of childcare.

We know that childcare is much more expensive in this country.

There have been conversations nationally about price gouging and the price of groceries, even though we know the economy has pulled down.

While the economy is growing stronger, she notes some sectors are still recovering from the pandemic.

Childcare affordability problems existed before the pandemic, but were only exacerbated.

She feels one way Connecticut and the nation can help close the gender wage gap is by expanding their respective child tax credits.

Affording childcare improves women's ability to make sufficient wages to meet their needs and those of their families.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

If the gender wage gap continued on the same slow but steady narrowing trend, all women workers would have reached pay equity with men by the year 2088.

And a new report from CNN uncovering a series of offensive and alarming comments allegedly made by Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson on online forums years ago, jolted the governor's race on Thursday.

That's from the News & Observer.

They report the newly unearthed comments which Robinson denied making and called salacious tabloid trash, prompted a flurry of speculation about whether Republicans in the state would continue to stand by Robinson.

Former President Donald Trump has embraced Robinson's candidacy and has on many occasions praised him.

In the governor's race, Robinson has consistently pulled behind the Democratic Attorney General, Josh Stein, by a fairly large margin.

And early voting begins today in Minnesota.

The state has implemented policy moves with the intent of making voting easier.

Curbside voting is a longstanding option for those with disabilities.

But around the state, new voting machines are surfacing to improve accessibility for those with visual impairments and other disabilities.

Anastasia Belladonna-Carrera with Common Cause Minnesota says they've seen patterns in other states where election staff have had difficulties operating them.

She says it wasn't a problem during Minnesota's primary, but they wanna be vigilant this fall.

How many counties are out there that perhaps are having some of these issues and we're not hearing about it?

Because we just don't have the capacity.

She says that's why trained volunteers are needed at these sites to assist or connect people with resources like the Common Cause Election Protection Hotline.

I'm Mike Moen.

This is Public News Service.

A new analysis of money contributed to the 2024 congressional candidates shows that women contribute about as frequently as men, but dollar amounts are significantly lower.

Kira Sanbumatsu with the Center for American Women and Politics found women contribute more money to Democrats than Republican candidates and more money to women candidates than men.

Men have provided over 60 percent of all the money contributed to congressional candidates, 37 percent by women, and this reflects the larger contributions that men make.

She says men's contributions more often go to Republican candidates.

I'm Roz Brown.

Women are candidates at all three of New Mexico's congressional districts.

Some ballot initiatives this year have taken more than voter signatures to get on the ballot in Nebraska.

They've already withstood major court challenges.

Warren Elf, Mar Deborah Van Fleet.

This month, the Nebraska Supreme Court has served two legal challenges to an abortion-related ballot initiative, even though it got 200,000 signatures.

Both claim the initiative violated the state's single-subject rule.

A third lawsuit argued that neither of the two ballot initiatives on abortion violate the single-subject rule, suggesting both or neither should be on the ballot.

The justices allowed both to remain.

Attorney Josh Livingston, with the firm that filed the third lawsuit, says it's noteworthy the justices agreed on a single-subject rule issue, but stresses their comments about ballot initiatives are also noteworthy.

The opinion did say that the right of ballot initiatives is a protected right, and that needs to be democratically and liberally construed to allow for people to vote.

The Nebraska justices also rejected a lawsuit challenging a ballot initiative that would eliminate $10 million of state funding annually for private and parochial school scholarships.

Nebraska is the only state with two abortion questions on the ballot this year, and the only one with an initiative seeking to restrict abortion access.

Finally, Catherine Carley lets us know Maine officials are stepping up land conservation projects as climate change continues to alter the state's terrain.

New funding from the Land for Maine's Future Program will preserve more than 3,500 acres of farmland, forests, and working waterfront.

Stephen Walker, executive director of the Brunswick-Topsom Land Trust, says the impacts of climate change make it more critical than ever to protect green spaces.

We really are excited about adding it to our list of spaces that will forever be open to the public and available for public recreation.

Walker says new funding will preserve more than 80 acres off West Baybridge Road in Topsom, including more than 4,000 feet of shoreline on the Muddy River Wetland Complex.

It's just one of a handful of land parcels identified as containing statewide ecological significance.

I'm Catherine Carley reporting.

Other recipients of the state funding include the Town of Wells Conservation Commission.

This is Mike Clifford.

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