News from around the nation.

Trump says we cannot give up on ICE Traffic Stops, despite DHS pause on stops; U.S. businesses grapple with AI risks, A new survey finds; Global banks invest billions in climate-altering fossil fuels; As Nashville housing crisis grows, Barnes Fund and bonds may boost supply.

Transcript

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

On social media this morning, President Trump declared ICE is doing a great job, one that has to be done.

That despite protests over shootings this week in Maine and Houston, contradicting a new DHS temporary halt to traffic stops, Trump said, we cannot give up on one of ICE's most important and effective crime-finding tools, the traffic stop.

The AP notes in Florida on Tuesday, a third man in roughly a week died during an encounter with immigration officers.

This time, a 28-year-old man was killed after he was hit by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and federal officers, authorities said.

Meantime, just under 50 percent of audit partners for U.S. businesses have a neutral outlook on the economy, but a new survey indicates the risk landscape is changing with more attention placed on artificial intelligence.

The findings are from the Center for Audit Quality, which gathered feedback from the nation's leading public company audit firms serving clients in a range of industries, from retail to mining.

The center's Amy O'Connor says AI has emerged as one of the consistent question marks facing businesses.

I think a lot of the organizations and companies are still in the learning stages of development, governance, and framework to examine AI.

And this is a real risk area that companies are looking into. 62% of auto partners cited technology disruption and AI-related competitive pressure as the leading economic risk in their respective sectors.

I'm Mike Moen.

And despite years of climate pledges, a new report shows the world's largest banks accelerated financing for oil, gas, and coal infrastructure last year to the tune of more than $900 billion.

The annual report Banking on Climate Chaos shows the 65 largest global banks have provided nearly $9 trillion in fossil fuel financing since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015.

Caleb Schwartz, who monitors climate and energy issues for the Rainforest Action Network, says the information reveals that the burden of fighting the climate crisis disproportionately falls on the most vulnerable populations.

These projects are not helping the average American.

They're putting a lot of money into the average American gas company's pockets.

The Trump administration asserts that turning back to fossil fuels is needed for energy demand.

New Hampshire energy prices are up more than 15 percent over the past year.

I'm Katherine Carley.

Next, finding affordable housing in Nashville is getting harder, but this year's city budget is putting more money towards solutions.

Kay Bowers, with Nashville Organized for Action, says housing groups pushed hard to restore funding for the Barnes Housing Trust Fund.

Bowers says the fund isn't guaranteed, so advocates have to fight for it annually.

Barnes Fund grants are used to build affordable rental housing as well as homeownership projects.

For the homeownership projects, grants can be used to build homes at an affordable price to low-income families.

Nashville needs 90,000 new housing units over the next decade to keep up with demand, according to a Unified Housing Strategy report.

This is Public News Service, and rural farmers in Iowa are helping climate scientists get a better understanding of soil moisture levels across the state.

Data has only been available at the local level up to now.

Lee Tesdell's great-grandfather, Sievert, who fought in the Civil War, settled the farm Lee now manages in Lincoln Township in Polk County.

For years, he's been measuring how much rain he gets with plastic gauges.

Now, a solar-powered hydro station, which stands about eight feet tall, can tell him exactly how much rain falls, but he gets more information too, which is sent to the statewide flood center in Iowa City.

They collect rainfall, they collect soil moisture, they collect soil temperature, and they collect shallow groundwater well water.

Soil moisture levels collected and updated every 15 minutes, and that data is shared with other farmers and researchers in real time.

Tasdell calls it very Iowa to see neighbors helping neighbors.

I'm Mark Moran.

Workers at the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland held an informational picket outside the hospital yesterday, calling on Providence Health Systems to settle a fair first union contract.

Caregivers represented by SCIU Local 49, including certified nursing assistants, housekeepers, and dietary staff, have been bargaining since November.

Edward Cummings is on the bargaining team and works in environmental services.

He says the pay Providence offers falls short of what's needed to retain and recruit caregivers, and some people in the thousand-person unit are making just above minimum wage.

We've lost some amazing people.

We've had people leave for fast food restaurants.

Working at a hospital, you'd think like, oh wow, you work at a hospital.

That's pretty cool, but when I tell them how much I make, They kind of laugh at me.

They're like, wow, really?

In a statement, Chief Executive of Providence St. Vincent, Dr. Ray Moreno, calls their offer very competitive and says it reflects the market.

He adds it includes across-the-board raises and pay steps that recognize employees' years of experience.

I'm Isobel Charle.

And in communities across North Carolina and the country, queer youth are navigating an increasingly difficult landscape.

A recent Supreme Court decision gave the power to restrict protections for trans youth to individual states that set off a wave of laws limiting access to inclusive education, activities, and gender-affirming medical care.

Vanity Reed Detterville with the LGBTQ Center of Durham fears it will prompt administrators and teachers to discriminate, bully, and out vulnerable kids.

That will have a health outcome impact that yields disparities greater than what we might be seeing in terms of lack of social inclusion, depression, and self-harm.

For many queer students, school has historically been a refuge when home is not.

I'm Mark Richardson.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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