News from around the nation.

Iran seizes two cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump vows US naval blockade will continue, Democrats get a redistricting win in Virginia, and Earth Day celebrated amid environmental regulation rollbacks.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update on Mike Clifford.

Two cargo ships were seized by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says those ships are now in Iranian waters.

President Trump has extended the ceasefire.

Trump said the U.S. was waiting for a unified proposal from Iran's fractured government.

CNN notes Trump also said the blockade of Iranian ports would continue.

He said lifting the blockade would undermine the prospects of a peace deal.

And another big night for Democrats.

Virginia voters narrowly approved a referendum to redraw the state's congressional map.

AP says the vote was closed, 51.5 percent voting yes, 48.6 percent no.

The vote could give Democrats up to four extra seats as it tries to win back control of Congress.

And parent-teacher association volunteers in Texas and around the country are being celebrated for their community contributions during Volunteer Appreciation Week.

National PTA President Yvonne Johnson says people often associate the organization with fundraisers and parties, but school safety is a number one priority for the volunteers.

It's making sure that we have common sense gun laws and that we are making sure that kids feel safe and supported in schools.

And PTA makes sure that we, the parent or the family, has a seat at the table.

The Robert Driscoll Middle School PTSA in Corpus Christi and the T.C. McCormick Jr.

Middle School PTSA in Buda received grants from the National PTA to create dedicated spaces in their schools for grieving children.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

And advocates for Asian massage workers in Washington are accusing police of excessive force and discrimination after five parlors were raided last week.

The Bothell Police and Fire Department launched the raids over possible code violations and connections to human trafficking.

J.H. Chen with Massage Parlor Organizing Project, or MPOP, says during the raid, police broke down doors, ripped security cameras from walls, and destroyed furniture.

She says Asian massage workers are often unfairly stigmatized and criminalized.

They are blanketly consigned to being trafficking victims.

And the only police response to that is greater criminalization and arrests and things that push workers into further precarity and economic instability.

Chen says it is unclear how many workers were arrested or what they were charged with.

I'm Isobel Charle.

Earth Day, an event originated in the U.S. more than 50 years ago, will be celebrated by a billion people around the globe this week, including folks in Albuquerque.

Camilla Feibelman is with the Sierra Club Rio Grande chapter.

Not only will it just be fun for the kids and for the family, but we're actually wanting to save you a little bit of money by helping you take energy efficiency actions at home.

Earth Day began as a national teach-in to promote environmental awareness.

That legacy continues at the city's third annual Earth Day Festival, where attendees can learn how environmental choices can improve their lives.

This is Public News Service.

At the start of next week, the Region 5 administrator of the EPA, Ann Vogel, plans to visit Marietta College in Washington County.

Our Nadia Ramlagan lets us know clean water advocates say they plan to bring up issues surrounding injection wells for fracking.

That includes their expansion across the state and the harms they pose to local communities.

At a recent town hall meeting, Dee Arnold with Washington County for Safe Drinking Water said the county is the biggest hotspot in the state for injecting radioactive fracking waste underground.

The radioactive waste is coming in daily by trucks.

Think of what the consequences could be if a brine truck is in an accident on the highway or spills its content on a street near a school or downtown.

According to Buckeye Environmental Network, more than 3 billion gallons of fracking wastewater has been injected in Washington County alone.

Next, three new bills before California lawmakers aim to end practices within the justice system.

Some groups argue amount to criminalization of poverty.

Debt-Free Justice California is a coalition of legal advocates, policy experts, and movement-building organizations working to advance racial and economic justice.

Brandon Green with the Western Center on Law and Poverty says Assembly Bill 2121 would stop courts from issuing bench warrants that allow police to arrest people who fail to appear in court for infractions that aren't a jailable offense.

So it gets people caught up within the criminal legal system for things that are very minor, and it costs more money for courts and other entities to be trying to enforce it.

A second proposal, Assembly Bill 2428, would abolish certain administrative costs that advocates say push families into debt.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

And finally, new polling shows six in 10 Americans view Israel unfavorably and support among Democrat voters is collapsing, bringing new focus to campaign contributions from pro-Israeli groups.

Polls show 80 percent of Democrats now hold an unfavorable view of Israel.

New Hampshire Peace Action and other activist organizations are urging those in office to listen to their base and cut ties to lobbyists backing Israeli war efforts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.

Heather Kronk is a volunteer with Prince George's for Palestine.

How can we trust someone who supports genocide around the world?

And how do we trust that person to act on behalf of their constituents at home?

She says the effort is working.

A record 40 out of 47 Democratic senators last week voted to block a sale of U.S. military equipment to Israel, including both of New Hampshire's U.S. senators.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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