News from around the nation.

Vance and Rubio to hold meeting on Greenland as Trump faces Venezuela war powers vote; Pro-democracy groups question plans to build new CA city; Experts: EPA's delay of wastewater standards a setback for Ohio River; Nurses say OR hospital is violating safe staffing laws.

Transcript

The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump said this morning that anything less than U.S. control of Greenland is unacceptable.

Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Mark Rubio will meet with Danish and Greenlandic officials today.

That from CNN.

And they report the Senate is expected to take another procedural vote on limiting Trump's war powers in Venezuela today.

The measure advanced last week with five Republican votes, but the Trump administration has launched an intense pressure campaign to try to flip some of those senators.

And from NPR, the death toll from nationwide protests in Iran has surpassed 2,500, activists say.

Meantime, a new city proposed in Solano County, backed by tech billionaires, is drawing concern from pro-democracy groups that track right-wing philanthropy.

The proposed town, 40 miles north of San Francisco, would be called California forever.

Hackers promise jobs and affordable housing, but local groups like Solano Together are organizing against the idea of a for-profit charter city that would be run by an appointed executive instead of an elected mayor and city council.

Jeremy Mack is executive director of The Phoenix Project, a non-profit that follows donations in the Bay Area.

Philanthropic efforts are being used to subvert democracy in the United States. are able to use their personal wealth foundations to channel into these different efforts that are ultimately in support of the destruction of democratic safeguards.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Elon Musk has built a similar city in Texas called Starbase.

And conservation experts say the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to delay new wastewater treatment standards for coal plants by five years will damage cleanup efforts at the Ohio River.

They add the decision could pose a risk to Kentucky families who depend on the river basin for drinking water.

Michael Washburn with the Kentucky Waterways Alliance explains the Trump administration has hit pause on changes that would have helped reduce levels of arsenic, mercury, bromide, and other pollutants in the region's waterways.

It means for at least five more years, toxic pollution that doesn't have to be there will be flowing into these waters.

These waters that Kentucky families drink from, recreate in, and depend on every day.

This is Nadia Romligan for Kentucky News Connection.

And a new policy at the Saltero Medical Center in Bedford is leaving hospital units short-staffed and putting patients at risk, according to the Nurses Union.

Fred Katz is a registered nurse and board member of the Oregon Nurses Association.

He says over the holidays, the critical care unit was forced to close entirely.

There was a nurse ready to work and was denied that shift because they were in a more expensive incentive scenario.

I think if something happened to one of those preemie babies that is almost akin to criminal.

The nurses union has filed a grievance accusing the hospital of violating his contract as well as Oregon's safe and staffing laws.

Asante calls the claims unfounded and inaccurate.

This is Public News Service.

In Missouri, a lawmaker is renewing an effort to allow people brought to the U.S. as children under the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals Act or DACA to qualify for professional licenses if they have completed their education and passed required exams.

Representative Ray Reed of Brentwood introduced the bill.

He says he was inspired after learning about a St. Louis woman who did everything required to become a nurse only to be blocked at the finish line.

When it came time for her to get her nursing license, the state of Missouri said, "Thanks for paying your taxes, but because you are not a U.S. citizen, we will not license you to be a nurse in the state of Missouri."

He notes this rejection came even as Missouri faces critical shortages in nursing and other key fields.

He says his bill would remove state barriers that prevent qualified DACA recipients from working in the fields they are licensed in.

The legislation received its second reading in the Missouri House and now awaits assignment to a committee.

Crystal Blair reporting.

And funds are being distributed from a federal tax credit program that sent billions to support projects in low wealth and rural communities, including in in North Carolina.

The New Markets Tax Credit Program, which began back in 2000, allocated $10 billion in December, the largest sum in the program's history.

The money will be distributed through financial intermediaries known as community development entities.

The YMCA of Northwest North Carolina and Winston-Salem is a past recipient, receiving $8 million for renovations at its Winston Lake location.

Donna Rogers, the vice president of the organization, says the program helped address critical needs, including roof, HVAC and plumbing improvements.

"It also was the prime opportunity for us to have major community partners with other community agencies to have a holistic approach to addressing economic mobility, health disparities and access to just in general holistic programming and intergenerational programming."

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

Finally, Arkansas is home to several organic farms that offer a variety of sustainability grown products including vegetables, meats and eggs.

A new report shows how organic farming has quietly become the most reliable path to profitability for farmers.

Andrew Smith, Chief Scientific Officer with the Rodale Institute, says organic farms are seeing significantly higher margins than conventional farms and those returns are impacting entire regions.

Counties and actually surrounding counties that have higher numbers of organic farms have median incomes and reduce poverty rates.

The Arkansas Organic Agricultural Project is a statewide effort to help farmers transition to organic production and promote diversity within the agricultural industry.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.