News from around the nation.

Trump announces 'complete blockade' of sanctioned oil tankers to Venezuela; CA's Prop 36 turns one: More in prison, few complete treatment; Caps on nursing education funding threaten TN health-care workforce; OR farmworkers union calls for day of action against ICE tactics.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Trump Tuesday ordered a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, a dramatic escalation in his months-long pressure campaign against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

That from the Washington Post.

They quote from social media, "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled In the History of South America, Trump wrote, "It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be nothing like they've ever seen before."

The Post notes such a blockade could devastate Venezuela's already struggling economy, which depends on overseas oil sales primarily to China and often on sanctioned vessels.

Meantime, tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of California's Proposition 36, which increased penalties for certain drug and theft crimes while promising more drug treatment.

But experts say what really happened is a lot more people wound up in prison, with hardly any going into treatment.

Our Suzanne Potter has the story.

An analysis of state data by CalMatters found in the first six months of implementation, 9,000 people have been charged with a treatment mandated felony, but only 25 completed treatment.

Tara Lawyer is president of CROP, a reentry program with sites in Oakland and Los Angeles.

Proposition 36 promises of treatment was largely empty.

When those thousands of people are released without comprehensive support, they're going to face the same barriers that led them to the criminal justice system in the first place.

She says part of the problem is long waiting lists for reentry programs.

Next, a proposal by the Trump administration could make it harder for people to become nurses.

Nursing would no longer be classified as a professional degree, which would limit federal student loans to $100,000 for graduate programs and $200,000 for professional degrees.

Jennifer McGuire, head with Tennessee Nurses Association, says the move risks undoing years of work to rebuild the profession's image after COVID discouraged applicants.

Tennessee already short about 15,000 nurses and she warns the change could deepen the health crisis and leave patients waiting for care.

So we're gonna lose one in five nurses.

So we really cannot afford to lose more.

We cannot really afford to have a dip in enrollment.

Educational levels in the profession continue to rise with more than 73 percent of registered nurses holding at least a bachelor's degree.

Danielle Smith reporting.

At Oregon's farmworker union, PCUN and its allies are calling for a work and school stoppage day tomorrow in order to show support for immigrant communities that are threatened by increased immigration customs enforcement.

PCUN executive director Reyna Lopez says immigrants are the backbone of the state's economy.

We are the people who cook your food, we care for your gardens.

Our hands tend to grapes that bottle your favorite wines.

They're asking Oregonians to avoid all economic activities including work and shopping for 24 hours tomorrow to push back against what organizers call cruel and illegal tactics by ICE agents.

This is Public News Service.

A new report from the Better Life Lab at North America shows that an uptick in immigration and customs enforcement actions is prompting anxiety among Arizona mothers and their child care providers.

With one in five providers and early childhood educators foreign-born, ICE raids are having a chilling effect on migrants who do this work.

Arizona State University's Chris Herbst says the sharp uptick in ICE raids is having a negative effect on this sector of the labor market because mothers who can't find care for their kids are forced to quit their jobs.

Essentially what's happening is that because parents and particular mothers rely on having stable childcare available in order to work.

Anytime there's a disruption in the childcare market, it obviously disrupts mothers' ability to go to work and do their job.

The Trump administration contends that deporting undocumented immigrants opens up the labor market for more U.S.-born workers to find jobs.

I'm Mark Moran.

And extreme heat is an intensifying issue in North Carolina.

A report could help guide lawmakers toward solutions in next year's session.

Clean Air NC and the North Carolina Public Health Association spoke with people in Charlotte over the summer about the challenges they face from excessive heat.

Kennedy Williams with Clean Air NC says people across communities are experiencing heat in similar ways and also struggling to reach resources that could protect them.

Everybody experiences extreme heat, but most people are like, "Okay, but where's the closest cooling station?

Okay, if I don't have a cooling station, what can I do?

Do I need to stay at home?

Do I need to hydrate?

The report focuses on a few key themes, such as providing more shade and tree canopy to neighborhoods, access to cooling and hydration centers, and assistance with energy costs and air conditioners.

It received positive responses from focus groups this summer, including community members, faith-based participants, emergency responders, and health care providers.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

Finally, record-breaking floodwaters continue to wreak havoc on communities across Washington State.

Farmworkers are some of the hardest hit.

Governor Bob Ferguson has declared a statewide emergency and estimates 100,000 residents could face evacuation orders.

Rosalinda Guillen of Community to Community Development explains that migrant farmworkers face a difficult choice.

They risk dangerous flooding if they stay at work, yet many cannot afford to lose even a single day's pay.

Guillen quotes one worker she spoke with recently.

She said, I'm a single mom.

I'm not going to be able to make the rent because I'm missing these two days of work.

Our communities are living paycheck to paycheck.

So there's a huge impact when they can't work.

Ghian says migrant workers need to be eligible to receive paid hazard leave for extreme weather events in Washington, and her organization will be pushing for that in the upcoming legislative session.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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