News from around the nation.

A man attacked a march for Israeli hostages in Colorado; Headed to the beach in MA? Watch out for marine debris; Expert breaks down myths surrounding same-sex families and adoption; International students sue NE firm for being recruited to work in CAFOs.

Transcript

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

Authorities said they were investigating an attack in Boulder, Colorado Sunday as an act of terrorism after a man used a makeshift flamethrower to attack demonstrators marching peacefully in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

That from the New York Times.

They report eight people, including a Holocaust survivor, were hospitalized with burns and other injuries, two of them in serious condition.

Officials said the suspect was arrested.

Meantime, federal lawmakers aim to bolster efforts at reducing marine debris, and local ocean advocates say additional resources can't come soon enough.

New legislation would help improve community outreach efforts to reduce and remove plastic pollution and respond to debris created by extreme weather and other disasters.

Fritz McGirr with the Center for Coastal Studies says migrating birds and marine wildlife are ingesting and choking on our waste.

Even in Boston Harbor, those islands are just absolutely covered in foam and plastic waste.

And these are massive nesting grounds covered in man-made plastics.

It's estimated some 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean every year.

I'm Catherine Carley.

Next Sunday marks World Ocean Day and numerous community groups will take part in beach cleanups.

And some same-sex couples who are looking to adopt may feel intimidated or concerned about their prospects.

But adoption experts say that doesn't need to be the case.

An estimated 2 million LGBTQ families nationwide are interested in adoption. and those couples are four times more likely to adopt than heterosexual couples.

Sara McKechnie with the Barker Adoption Foundation says she connects with gay couples that hesitate when making the decision to adopt.

McKechnie says everyone should manage their expectations during the adoption process.

She explains birth parents or older adoptees can express their preferences, but that doesn't usually rule out same-sex parents.

Families are usually worried or anxious that there really is no place or space for adoption for a same-sex couple.

And while it is true that the wait could be longer, very much possible.

And we have successfully done same-sex adoptions from all of our programs.

In 2014, Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe sent a notice to the Virginia Department of Social Services recognizing the right for same-sex couples to legally adopt.

I'm Simone Perez.

And three college grads from Guatemala are suing a Nebraska farm over an internship they say was was supposed to provide them with an opportunity to learn about U.S. farming practices.

Instead, they say Livingston Enterprises put them to work in a large ag processing operation.

Attorney Amal Bouabib with the group FarmStand says they faced dire conditions when they were put to work doing menial jobs in Nebraska factory farm operations.

They had been promised free housing, pretty specific training schedules.

Instead, they were put in housing with 40 other men and they were charged for it out of deductions out of their paycheck. - The Guatemalan citizens had J-1 visas, which allowed them to come to the US for educational purposes.

This is Public News Service.

A new tool that aims to help communities advocate for stronger air quality protections goes live today. - The organization Clean Air NC has launched the Air Keeper Dashboard to provide real-time and historic air quality data in North Carolina.

It maps pollution and small particle matters such as PM 2.5 that can be dangerous to people's health.

Community science program manager with Clean Air NC, Dacia Wall, says the tool was also developed with the community, including community scientists known as Air Keepers. - An Air Keeper is a community member organization, institution that partners with Clean Air NC to host an air quality sensor at their home or business or school or other location.

And by doing so, they contribute to a growing network of local air monitors that help track pollution in real time and make invisible environmental threats Wall says the network centers on the lived experience of North Carolinians.

The dashboard also has an environmental justice focus and includes demographic data such as income and race alongside pollutant exposure.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

And women college graduates are not sticking to traditional compatibility traits when choosing a husband, according to one study.

American Institute for Boys and Men Data say female college graduates have difficulty finding equally educated partners.

University of Indianapolis sociology professor Amanda Miller says historically college-educated women married within the same circles.

Instead of foregoing marriage entirely, Miller explains, more are deciding on exogamy, marrying outside their social group.

They're dipping down into a group of men who do not have a college education but who do make a good living financially.

College-educated women if they can't find a man who has a degree, they're marrying for example someone who's a general contractor and has his own business or a union typesetter who makes a really good living.

The study found that marriage rates for college educated women remain stable even as their primary partners college educated men become scarce.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

Finally California's habitat conservation fund escaped the budget acts for the past two years but this week the state Senate is considering a bill to extend it through 2035.

The money goes to buy land to establish wildlife corridors and keep habitat pristine.

Beth Pratt with the National Wildlife Federation says the fund benefits species all across the state.

Whether you're a humpback whale in the Pacific Ocean, a monarch butterfly overwintering on California's coast, a Chinook salmon spawning in the Sacramento River, or mountain lions roaming in LA's Santa Monica Mountains.

This fund is critical to ensuring that wildlife have a future in California.

In 1990 voters approved Proposition 117 which established the Habitat Conservation Fund and allocated 30 million dollars per year.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

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

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