News from around the nation.

Arizona judge blocks polling place rules, election official predicts chaos; Netanyahu pushes back against new pressure over Gaza and hostages; New ASU program to help tribal governments develop digital sovereignty; Report: New prescription drug cap for Medicare means big savings.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily newscast September the 3rd, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

First to Arizona, where worries of election interference and intimidation are on the upswing.

Secretary of State Adrian Forte says election officials have been preparing to ensure they're ready in November.

But just last week, an Arizona judge rejected Fonte's ask to delay a court order, which blocks certain rules from the state's elections procedures manual, outlining what people can do in and around polling places.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge, Jennifer Ryan-Towhill says some of the provisions, which limit things like what people can wear and do, infringe on First Amendment rights.

Fonte says the manual creates a standard for all 15 counties, but the recent ruling could present challenges for voters.

And losing that standard is really the problem, 'cause we could end up with chaos.

We could end up with folks screaming and yelling at voters in line, and some people in some county might say, "Well, they have a First Amendment right."

Well, what about the voters standing in line?

The recent ruling received praise from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, which challenged the provisions and claimed the 2023 elections procedures manual improperly placed protected political speech at risk of criminal prosecution.

Fonte says he and others will continue to condemn election denialism because it not only hurts democracy, but because it's also bound for business and will hinder economic growth in the Grand Canyon State.

I'm Alex Gonzalez reporting.

Arizona voters say they are still also concerned about how election denialism will impact the election.

Next, from the Associated Press, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday pushed back against a new wave of pressure to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza after hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested and went on strike.

President Joe Biden said that Netanyahu needed to do more after nearly 11 months of fighting and historic inequities have left many tribal nations behind the rest of the nation.

But a new Arizona State University program is designed to launch them into the digital future.

ASU Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty is designed to help Native Americans plan and develop their digital footprint.

Project is a joint effort between the American Indian Policy Institute and ASU Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.

Gracie Morris is the executive director of the project.

She says it's all about providing full access to the digital universe.

It encompasses the exercise of sovereign authority over physical and virtual infrastructure and the tangible, intangible, and virtual digital jurisdictional aspects of acquisition, storage, transmission, and use of data.

Morris says developing a platform for digital information is critical to tribal autonomy.

Program will support tribes in Arizona and across the US in achieving equal access to the governance, social and economic advantages of broadband and other technologies.

Mark Richardson reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Next to California, where hundreds of thousands of older folks will see huge savings on prescription drugs starting in January.

That's according to a new report from AARP.

The Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act caps prescription drug costs at $2,000 per year for people on Medicare, starting in 2025.

Nina Weiler-Harwell with AARP says an estimated 271,000 people in the Golden State will hit the out-of-pocket maximum next year.

Medicare drug plan enrollees nationwide who reach the new out-of-pocket cap will see an average savings of roughly $1,500, or 56 percent, in 2025 for new prescription drugs.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Also, thanks to the IRA, drug companies will have to pay a penalty if they raise their prices higher than inflation.

And Michigan has seen a 10 percent rise in foreclosures this year.

The Middle-Class Borrower Protection Act of 2023, intended to assist middle-class homebuyers, is under fire for potentially increasing housing costs and making home ownership harder.

Critics warn that the bill might benefit landlords and large corporations more than average families by reversing recent FHFA fee changes for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages.

Caroline Nagy is with Americans for Financial Reform.

This bill would order the FHFA to undo that change, raise prices for lower-income folks, first-time homebuyers, and order the FHFA to lower the prices for investors and vacation homebuyers.

Nagy highlighted that backers of the bill passed it in the House very fast, and it concerns her that the legislation was a priority for leadership.

The bill is currently being held in Senate Committee in Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Finally, from a Mark Moran, Practical Farmers of Iowa is looking for landowners who want to help restore natural habitat on their property and get help doing it.

PFI's Habitat Incentive Program offers farmers a financial incentive to plant prairie strips on their land, for example.

PFI's Grace Yee says those strips restore habitat for native species, while at the same time reducing soil erosion.

All of these practices are gonna have multiple benefits, and so they're going to be good for soil health, good for water quality improvement, and also provide habitat for wildlife.

In addition to the prairie strip portion of the Habitat Incentive Program, PFI is also making incentives available to do precision conservation analysis on farmers' land, which helps them make use of unproductive acres.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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