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Wednesday, December 25, 2024

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Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of the federal death row; Mississippi group working in 71 counties to end homelessness in Mississippi; Farmers no longer feeling Farm Bill anguish, but relief might be fleeting; Addressing Montana's expanding 'news deserts.'

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President-elect Donald Trump considers reclaiming Panama Canal. Lawmakers are uncertain Trump's cabinet will help everyday Americans and, advocates feel Biden must reconsider clemency actions.

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Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Report: Paid leave in MI would benefit workers, economy

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Monday, November 18, 2024   

Advocates for paid family leave in Michigan are urging lawmakers to pass the Michigan Family Leave Optimal Coverage before the 2024 legislative session ends.

Introduced last year, the measure aims to create a 15-week paid family and medical leave program.

Danielle Atkinson, founder and national executive director of the advocacy organization Mothering Justice, a nonprofit empowering mothers of color to drive family policy change, outlined key points her group has presented to lawmakers at a virtual news conference hosted by the Michigan League for Public Policy.

"This is the issue that we see again and again presented by new moms, people who are cancer survivors, and people who are saying goodbye at the end of life to their loved ones, that they can't afford it," Atkinson pointed out. "That they're making choices between loving and making a living."

According to a report from Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, 71% of Michiganders are in favor of the bill. This year's legislative session ends December 19th.

One state labor department report said if Michigan adopted the strongest plan, a worker earning the median wage of around $47,000 a year would pay about $180 a year and someone making minimum wage would pay about $80 a year, as payroll deductions for their leave.

Atkinson believes the Nov. 5 election clearly demonstrated the people's voices were heard.

"We know that in this last election, people voted with their financial restraints and interests at heart," Atkinson observed. "We know this policy is overwhelmingly popular, because it's overwhelmingly needed."

Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., have already passed paid leave policies, including New York and California.


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Juana Valle's well is one of 20 sites tested in California's San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast regions in the first round of preliminary sampling by University of California-Berkeley researchers and the Community Water Center. The results showed 96 parts per trillion of total PFAS in her water, including 32 parts per trillion of PFOS - both considered potentially hazardous amounts. (Hannah Norman/KFF Health News)

Environment

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By Hannah Norman for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Ser…


Environment

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Animal rights organizers are regrouping after mixed results at the ballot box in November. A measure targeting factory farms passed in Berkeley but …

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Farmers in Nebraska and across the nation might not be in panic mode anymore thanks to another extension of the Farm Bill but they still want Congress…


Immigration law experts say applying for asylum status can be very lengthy, and that programs such as Temporary Protected Status can fill the void for people fleeing violence elsewhere in the world. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

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With 2025 almost here, organizations assisting Minnesota's Latino populations say they're laser focused on a couple of areas - mental health-care …

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A new report found Connecticut's fiscal controls on the state budget restrict long-term growth. The controls were introduced during the 2018 budget …

As of August, enrollment in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System had reached 66,114 students, representing an increase of 8.4%, according to state data. (Adobe Stock/AI generated image)

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Nearly a dozen changes could be made to the Kentucky Community and Technical College system, under Senate Joint Resolution 179, passed by lawmakers …

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By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for Arkansas News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collab…

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By Julieta Cardenas for Sentient.Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Texas News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration …

 

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