News from around the nation.

Trump signs order granting another 90-day extension on harshest China tariffs; WV funders grapple with increased need amid federal funding cuts; Ohio bill would grant legal personhood at conception; For incarcerated people in KY, extreme heat poses danger.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Trump Monday signed an executive order implementing another 90-day pause on additional tariffs on China that were set to take effect Tuesday.

The move again pushes off a deadline for imposing the harshest taxes on Chinese imports as the two sides continue negotiations on the deal.

That from Yahoo News.

They report the extension means headline rates agreed to in May of 30 percent on Chinese imports and 10 percent on American goods will continue for the immediate future until the newest deadline on November the 10th.

Next to West Virginia where community foundations say the need for grants has increased statewide.

That's amid expected loss of funding for federal programs that funnel resources toward the region's most vulnerable households.

Angie Smith from the Bernard McDonough Foundation says her organization recently awarded the Southern Appalachian Labor School $10,000 for home repair building supplies.

Adding the non-profit received around 150 applications for help with home repairs this year.

She says assistance with these types of projects can make a huge impact.

Pointing to an older woman in the southern part of the state who couldn't access delivered groceries from a local food bank.

But she wasn't able to get out and get down her steps to get it when they left it for her.

And so some of the food that was necessary for her wasn't getting to her.

This is Nadia Ramlagon for West Virginia News Service.

And a new bill in the Ohio House would assign legal personhood to a fertilized egg, giving it the same protections as a born person.

The bill was introduced in June and is sponsored by Representatives Levi Dean of Xenia and Jonathan Newman of Troy.

Supporters say it upholds the 14th Amendment's guarantee that no person may be deprived of life without due process.

Austin Beagle, president of End Abortion Ohio, said the bill ensures equal treatment under the law.

The law is discriminating against certain groups of humans based on their physical qualities.

We understand people are going to be angry that they're losing the right to murder another human being.

We understand that some people desire to do that to other people for their own personal gain.

Similar measures exist in 17 states where laws or court rulings grant embryos or fetuses the same status as born people.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

This story was produced with original reporting by Savannah Kapp for Kent State News Lab in association with media and the public interest and funded in part by the George Gunn Foundation.

Lack of air conditioning in prisons can cause unsafe conditions for incarcerated people, especially during the hottest time of the year.

Brian Dahl with One Voice United, an advocacy group for corrections officers says, prison temperatures can exceed 100 degrees in the summer.

When you start increasing the temperatures in those facilities, it's not good for anybody.

It increases the violence, it's a miserable set of conditions.

The group says Kentucky prisons often operate with outdated AC systems or experience power outages, which can trigger a rapid rise in temperatures.

In previous statements to the media, the Kentucky Department of Corrections maintained that all of its facilities have working air conditioning systems.

This is Public News Service.

Social Security Administration workers in New York are joining a National Day of Action on Thursday to honor its 90th anniversary.

Workers are honoring decades of aid the program provides to older Americans and to fight back against cuts to the agency.

This comes as surveys show young people's confidence in social security is at a 15 year low, due in part to reports the program could be insolvent by 2034.

Albany-based claims specialist Jessica Sweet, who doesn't speak on SSA's behalf, says workforce cuts at the agency are causing customer service gaps.

They're calling or they're coming in needing help, and instead of solving their issues, we're forced to book them appointments six, eight, 10 weeks out.

Some offices are ending up with appointments She adds, "It's impossible to give people the service they've paid for their whole lives."

A Center on Budget Policy and Priorities report finds downsizing by the Department of Government Efficiency has failed to accomplish its mission of streamlining Social Security's customer service work.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

And Iowa educators are pushing back on what they see as an effort by the state to limit academic freedom and unfettered speech in university classrooms.

The state's three public universities, the Iowa Federation of Labor and a graduate student union, have formed the Iowa Higher Education Coalition to defend free speech.

University of Northern Iowa journalism professor Chris Martin says there has been a strong effort by the Iowa legislature to insert political influence into the classroom.

You want to have discussions in classrooms where professors feel they can talk about anything that's related to that class and they shouldn't feel like they can't say certain things and risk getting fired.

That's the kind of black cloud that's going to have settled out over the state of Iowa and what we've been having to deal with this year.

The coalition is made up of graduate students, university faculty, and a handful of Iowa labor unions.

The group has created a petition which it is asking educators and students to sign.

I'm Mark Moran.

Finally, today is National Poll Workers Recruitment Day, a nationwide effort to inspire civic engagement and encourage more people to sign up for this critical role. say poll workers are essential in every election cycle, not just during presidential years, to ensure voting is accessible, secure and efficient.

Justin Cuasa with the League of Conservation Voters points to recent changes in the state election policies as a reason the need is especially urgent this year.

"I think one thing I'll say with Georgia is over the past four years we have seen a concerted effort from the state legislature in order to disenfranchise communities, in order to make sure that less people are allowed to vote.

So that's why it's doubly important that we have trained capable poll workers.

Kwassa adds that having more trained poll workers can help cut wait times and guide voters through what he describes as a complicated process in the state.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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