News from around the nation.

U.S. Inflation accelerated in June as Trump's Tariffs pushed up prices; Advocates back bill to end HIV criminalization, stigma in PA; The everlasting graze: SD farmer perfects putting cows on the move; Report: Youth vaping down but Hollywood still glamorizes tobacco.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

Inflation accelerated in June as President Trump's tariff started to leave a bigger imprint on the economy, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to hold interest rates steady when policymakers meet next month.

That from the New York Times.

They report over the course of the month, prices rose 0.3 percent.

That's a notable pickup from a 0.1 percent increase last month. living with HIV can still face felony charges for prostitution in Pennsylvania, but a bill being heard by state lawmakers seeks to remove that penalty.

A poll from 2023 found 76 percent of Pennsylvanians support modernizing HIV laws.

Rhonda Goldfein with the AIDS Law Project says Pennsylvania's HIV penalty is outdated and has only been used about 40 times in 30 years.

She explains in Pennsylvania, prostitution is a misdemeanor, but a felony is charged even when there's no risk of transmission of HIV.

We want to be able to say that there's no connection in Pennsylvania between HIV and crime.

Goldfein points out along with her group, the ACLU, Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association all back the measure.

She adds bipartisan support reflects a shift in attitude towards HIV with many lawmakers preferring science-based laws.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Next drive past any livestock farm and you're likely to see cows grazing in a field but a South Dakota rancher is gaining attention for making sure it's not a permanent grazing spot.

Rotational grazing is an environmentally friendly practice where animals are moved through pastures on a planned schedule so that only one section of land is grazed at a time while the others recover.

In Northwestern South Dakota, Larry Stomproot and his family prefer this approach with their cattle.

By grazing in short periods of time and long periods of rest, it allows that plant to become healthier.

I'm Mike Moen.

And hundreds of millions of American young people are exposed to vaping and smoking in popular movies, TV shows, and music videos each year according to the seventh annual Wadiwa Streaming Report from the nonprofit Truth Initiative.

Jessica Rath with the initiative says, youth and young adults are three times more likely to start vaping when exposed to tobacco imagery and shows.

Animated shows remain a consistent offender.

Five out of six of the top 15 animated shows contain tobacco depictions.

And those are more popular with Gen Z than any other demographic.

Tobacco depictions are down in most popular Hollywood shows, but they are heavily featured in programs like "The Bear," "Euphoria," and "Stranger Things."

Truth Initiative developed a free resource to help people quit, just text X-PROGRAM to 88709.

This is public news service.

More than 100 Environmental Protection Agency employees are now on paid leave after signing a dissent letter.

The changes will undermine scientists' ability to collect data that helps inform policymakers and brings resources to communities exposed to water and air pollution, says Mark Haig, a former EPA regional administrator who spent nearly 40 years at the agency.

Stripping all that away is a real problem and puts people's health at risk, not only in those communities, but across the country.

The union representing EPA employees has called EPA administrator Lee Zeldin's actions retaliation and a violation of workers' protected speech rights.

The EPA has previously stated the letter sabotages and undercuts the administration's agenda.

This is Nadia Ramlagan for Kentucky News Connection.

And a new compassion calculator launched by the group FarmKind aims to help Coloradans who eat meat improve their animal welfare footprints by funneling small donations to verified nonprofit, similar to how polluting companies buy offsets to reduce their carbon footprints.

FarmKind co-founder Tom Norman says the calculator makes it easy for anyone to help end the controversial practice of factory farming, where large numbers of animals are confined in small spaces have produced dairy, eggs, and meat as cheaply as possible.

Most people agree that factory farming is bad.

Almost half of people in America say that they want to see a ban on new factory farms.

But people often don't know what they can do to help with this problem.

Proponents of factory farming have argued that it's necessary to meet growing demand from a rising global population.

But Norman believes the marketplace is shifting.

One recipient of the donations, the Human League, led successful campaigns to get McDonald's, Panera, Starbucks, and Taco Bell to stop using eggs hens confined in cages so small that birds could not stretch their wings or stand upright.

The calculator is online at farmkind.giving.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Finally we head to Connecticut, one of 12 states chosen for a new program to help people obtain non-degree credentials.

Lumina Foundation's Future Ready States program helps adults consider alternatives to traditional degree programs like professional certifications, licenses, and apprenticeships which can be stacked or become degrees.

Reports show Connecticut spent $70 million on these kinds of programs in 2024.

Kristen Fox with the Business Higher Education Forum says this program has several focuses to boost workforce readiness through short-term credentials.

How we define and design credentials of value that are accessible and affordable are ensuring that we are serving all learners and workers in the state of Connecticut and we are not leaving any of our talent behind.

This comes as the federal budget mega-bill expands Pell grants to cover short-term credential programs.

Most Pell grants max out at $7,400, but the workforce grants would be less since they're based on the number of credits, weeks, or hours a program offers.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.