News from around the nation.

Israel and Iran trade strikes on fifth day of conflict; Congress is holding emergency briefings on security after Minnesota shootings; MA lawmakers consider single-payer health care system; OR farmers block construction of new factory farm; CA lawmakers consider making End of Life Option Act permanent.

Transcript

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

Israel and Iran are trading strikes for a fifth straight day with civilians in flashpoint areas facing waves of attacks.

In Iran, at least 224 people have been killed since hostilities began.

In Israel, 24 people have been killed, that from CNN.

They report President Trump says he's looking for a real end to the conflict, not just a truce, after leaving the G7 summit early.

Trump denied he left to work on a ceasefire and said something much bigger is in the works.

He also warned Iranians to evacuate Tehran.

And for the Associated Press, members of Congress will attend emergency briefings this week after the killing of a Minnesota state lawmaker brought renewed fears and stroked existing partisan tensions over the security of federal lawmakers when in Washington and at home.

Meantime, as health care costs continue to rise in Massachusetts, lawmakers there are considering the creation of a single-payer health care system.

Based on the Canadian model, introduced legislation calls for guaranteed continuous coverage for every resident through a publicly financed plan.

Kimberly Connors with the grassroots group MassCare says it would remove the need for any costly premiums, co-pays or deductibles.

We're bankrupting everyone and we're not treating patients.

We're getting worse results.

We've got to try to do it a different way.

Connors says medical costs are now a leading determinant for personal bankruptcy.

Opponents of a single-payer plan say it would lead to higher taxes and reduced quality of care.

The Joint Committee on Health Care Financing will hold a public hearing on the bill on Wednesday.

I'm Katherine Carley.

And after five years of legal battles, a group of Oregon farmers has won a lawsuit to prevent construction of a new factory farm in Willamette Valley.

The facility, which would have held three and a half million chickens, was proposed by Foster Farms, one of the largest chicken producers on the West Coast.

Citing threats to water and air quality, a group of local women formed Farmers Against Foster Farms.

Co-founder Teresa Mitchell-Claussen, who says her then home was just 350 feet from the proposed site, warns corporate agriculture often breaks promises to small farmers.

They put everything on the line thinking they're doing the right thing, becoming a bigger, better farmer, contributing even more to the world.

And then they realize they were just a pawn in the game.

In May, the facility's permit was ruled unlawful.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

This story with original reporting by Nina Elkady for Sentient.

And California's law legalizing medical aid in dying could be made permanent if lawmakers approve a bill currently before the state assembly.

Advocate Dan Diaz says his wife, Brittany Maynard, moved to Oregon back in 2014 to make use of that state's Death with Dignity Act.

You know, Brittany's gone.

So now I'm fighting for all terminally ill individuals so that they don't have to do what she did of leaving their home state after being told you have six months.

California's End of Life Option Act allows mentally capable terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to get a prescription to end their life.

This is public news service.

The weekend assassination of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman is seen by many as a setback in recruiting future civic leaders who seek out bipartisanship.

One organization doing this work says it is still possible.

Hortman was often credited for being a fierce advocate for causes aligned with their supporters, but also for striking compromises serving as House Speaker in the state legislature.

Jake Loesch with Minnesota Citizens League says training people how to work with elected officials from the other side is a key part of their programming.

He says it might be hard for the public to see, but there are moments where good faith bargaining wins the day.

There are always good bipartisan things that come out of any legislative session here in Minnesota.

I think unfortunately that work doesn't always attract the news headlines.

Loesch's organization has a new program prompting state lawmakers to visit legislators from another party in their home community.

He says that makes it easier for them to see each other as humans, not the enemy.

I'm Mike Moen.

And the mayor of a rural Utah town says the clean energy investments and tax credits created by the Inflation Reduction Act are helping drive economic growth and diversity for her town's energy portfolio.

Mayor of Helper, Utah, Laniece Peterman claims tax credits have been vital for communities like hers as they help modernize their systems.

But the budget reconciliation package now in Congress would eliminate major parts of IRA funding, including clean energy investments.

Peterman says that could be detrimental to locals who've been able to harness the power of tax credits to grow their businesses.

The jobs are there.

We just need to ensure that we have the educational resources available, especially to people who may be transitioning out of a traditional coal plant or coal mining to be able to step into those roles.

But the roles are there.

She adds while federal dollars in rural communities affect fewer people, their impact is triple that of urban communities.

I'm Alex Gonzalez reporting.

Finally, Ohio food banks are urging state lawmakers to approve what they say is a modest budget increase needed to get more fresh local produce into the hands of hungry families.

The request coincides with National Fruits and Vegetables Month and a broader call to support both food access and local farms.

Through the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program, surplus produce from nearly 100 Ohio farms is delivered to food banks statewide.

Fruit Growers Marketing Association President Alex Buck says the funding request isn't just about food access.

It's also about sustaining local agriculture.

Our relationship with the food banks isn't for profitability purposes.

It is the right thing to do to support our communities.

It also allows our farms to be compensated fairly for produce that would not normally make it to the retailers.

Farrah Siddiqui reporting.

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

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