News from around the nation.

Survey sheds light on public sentiment about carbon-capture land conflicts; Hunter Biden enters guilty plea in federal tax case, avoiding a trial; Texas educators prepare for upcoming legislative session; Nebraska Supreme Court to hear 3 abortion ballot initiative cases Monday.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, September the 6th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

In a new poll, 81 percent of registered voters from several Midwestern states say they oppose corporations resorting to eminent domain for private projects.

Companies such as Summit Carbon Solutions have drawn attention in trying to scale up carbon capture technology.

Summit is seeking approval to build a multi-state pipeline that would transport ethanol plant emissions for underground storage in North Dakota.

The advocacy organization, Bold Alliance, commissioned the survey, and the group's Emma Schmid says opposition to how land is secured for proposed routes falls across many demographics.

While we do see that rural voters that carbon capture projects most adversely affect, they do have the strongest levels of opposition.

I was interestingly surprised to see that urban and suburban voters really did not lag far behind.

Summit insists its goal is to secure 100 percent voluntary easement agreements, but it couldn't rule out pursuing practices such as eminent domain as landowner negotiations continue.

I'm Mike Moen.

This comes amid high profile carbon capture efforts in North Dakota and elsewhere.

Next from NBC News, Hunter Biden pled guilty Thursday to all charges in the federal tax case against him, a prize move that avoids a potentially embarrassing trial for President Joe Biden's son.

Sentencing is now scheduled for December the 16th.

Hunter put his family first today, and it was a brave and loving thing to do, as attorney Abby Lowell told reporters afterwards, saying the plea prevented a show trial.

NBC notes that Hunter Biden did not speak to reporters, but issued a statement blasting prosecutors from special counsel David Weiss's office, who he said were focused not on justice, but on dehumanizing me for my actions during my addiction.

Hunter Biden added, "I will not subject my family to more pain, more invasions of privacy, and needless embarrassment."

Next, Texas educators spent the summer in meetings and workshops devising a playbook for the upcoming Texas legislative session.

The Educators' Bill of Rights contains 10 issues based on feedback from K-12 and higher education employees.

Alejandro Pena with Texas AFT says they're taking their concerns directly to lawmakers.

Plain defense is not enough because you might prevent bad things from happening, but things will never get better if positive change is not realized.

The top five issues educators are concerned about include reasonable working conditions, fair wages, secure retirement, quality childcare, and a healthy, safe, and secure working environment.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

Last year, the state of Texas had a $33 billion budget surplus, but funding for public education did not increase.

The next legislative session starts January the 14th.

This is Public News Service.

Next, in an unusual set of circumstances, the Nebraska Supreme Court will hear arguments in three lawsuits about the two abortion-related ballot initiatives, each of which had successful petition drives for the November ballot.

More now from our Deborah Van Fleet.

The first two lawsuits ask the Nebraska Supreme Court to rule to keep Protect Our Rights, which would legalize abortions until fetal viability, off the ballot.

They claim it violates the state's single-subject rule.

The third was filed in response to these on behalf of 29 Nebraska physicians who support Protect Our Rights.

Joshua Livingston is an attorney with a law firm, Koenig-Dunn, which filed this lawsuit.

He says there are two types of access at stake.

These physicians spend their days working with Nebraska patients, and they understand what Nebraskans need and what Nebraskans are asking for.

And over 200,000 Nebraskans signed this petition asking for their voice to be heard.

So the goal is access to healthcare and access to the ballot.

Livingston maintains the only fair outcome would require both initiatives to remain on the ballot or both to be removed.

The Protect Women and Children initiative would prohibit abortions after the first trimester.

And a new report reveals Hoosier homeowners and renters face significant challenges from environmental hazards and climate change.

The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana authored the report titled The State of Fair Housing in Indiana.

It highlights a growing concern over environmental issues like air pollution, lead exposure, and rising water levels, which are disproportionately affecting black and brown communities and families with children.

Brady Ribager with FHCCI says it is environmental racism.

And if you've not heard of that, it's really important to be aware of that as we discuss climate change in our state and ensuring that our formerly redline communities are not the ones that are the least protected when it comes to environmental disasters.

The report reveals that many Superfund sites, polluted areas needing extensive cleanup, are in historically redlined neighborhoods.

I'm Joe Ulare, Public News Service.

Finally, our Edwin J. Vieira lets us know a new report finds Connecticut residents will benefit from Medicare's new out-of-pocket cap.

An estimated 49,000 people in the state would see prescription costs reduced since this cap's out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 each year.

The report estimates the number of residents using the cap will hit more than 62,000 by 2029.

John Erlinghauser with AARP Connecticut says unaffordable prescriptions are forcing people to take matters into their own hands.

We continually hear from folks that cut back on the number of pills they're supposed to take, so maybe they're taking them every other day as opposed to every day, or they're cutting pills in half and taking a partial dose every day.

The Connecticut bill to establish a prescription drug affordability board failed to pass due to last-minute hurdles during the shortened legislative session.

This is Mike Clifford.

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