News from around the nation.

Dow soars 1,000 points after Trump team and China dramatically lower tariffs; Alabama lawmakers send grocery tax cut bill to governor; Probation, supervision after incarceration comes with a catch in NC; How immigrants can protect themselves and their data at the border.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

U.S. stocks surged today after President Donald Trump's trade officials brokered a surprisingly dramatic de-escalation in trade tensions with China over the weekend, dropping tariffs to much lower levels, which some economists say could stave off a U.S. recession.

That from CNN.

They report both sides agreed to ax tariffs by 115 percentage points, still leaving the levies considerably higher than they were before Trump took office in January, but much lower than the historic level over the past month that deeply concerned American businesses, consumers, economists, and investors.

Next to Alabama, where families could get some relief from the supermarket checkout line.

House Bill 386, sponsored by Republican Representative Danny Garrett of Shrewsbill, is now on its way to Governor Kay Ivey's desk.

If signed, it would reduce Alabama's state sales tax on groceries from 3 percent to 2 percent starting September 1st.

Chris Sanders is with Alabama Arise, a statewide advocacy group that's pushed for this change for years.

He says the grocery tax has put too much strain on families who are already struggling.

Our state should not be taxing people deeper into poverty, and the grocery tax is one of the most regressive taxes that we have.

It needs to be a thing of the past, and we are determined to keep advocating until it is done once and for all.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

He notes one solution would be to end Alabama's deduction for federal income tax payments, a loophole he says mostly benefits the state's highest earners.

And the probation and parole process is an opportunity for people to get out of incarceration and into their communities, but burdens on the other side of prison walls can make it hard to stay out.

Nearly a quarter of people in North Carolina prisons were there because of violations during post-incarceration supervision in 2020, according to a study from the Council of State Governments.

That number was down from previous years, but still represents nearly 7,000 people.

Kristi Puckett with the group Forward Justice also works with the North Carolina Second Chance Alliance.

She says probation and post-release supervision, what the state calls parole, allows people to go back home, but it isn't freedom.

Because of the way that society views people with convictions, housing can become unstable, food can become unstable due to the SNAP benefit bans.

Depending on the nature of their charges, they could have a drug tax that has been assessed.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

Next, some people in the U.S. with legal status, including green card holders and visa recipients, have recently faced detention or deportation.

Lam Thuy Vo recently penned an article in Documented New York on immigrants' concerns that their cell phone data could land them in hot water with Border Patrol.

It would be really helpful for you to ask yourself what might happen if data that you have on your devices or that you have on your social media might be leaked to a Border Patrol agent.

Digital security experts say immigrants preparing to travel should assess their digital risk level and take appropriate steps to protect their data and devices.

This is Public News Service.

New research at Iowa State University shows elevated nitrate levels have an outsized effect on the state's most vulnerable populations.

ISU Water Resources Assistant Professor Leo Liu says nitrates, which are prominent in ground and surface water near commercial agriculture operations, exceed safe levels and affect Iowa's most vulnerable.

Such as people of color, low-income populations, elderly and also children.

Despite their negative health impacts, the Iowa Environmental Council reports only 4 percent of public water utilities in Iowa have nitrate removal systems.

I'm Mark Moran.

In New Mexico's decades-long drought combined with climate change have more farmers and ranchers embracing what's called the six healthy soil principles, tailoring how each parcel of land is managed.

New Mexico's farming practices date back at least 2,500 years.

But the state's Healthy Soil Working Group says the arid climate and diverse ecology make a one-size-fits-all approach ineffective.

Climatologist Dave DuBois says the recent storm should improve this year's snowpack, but farmers and ranchers must plan five or ten years into the future.

The scenarios from climate change models are showing us warmer temperatures, hotter droughts and then more evaporation.

How do you manage all that in a system where we still have agriculture as our cultural identity?

Agriculture is the state's third largest industry after energy and aerospace.

I'm Roz Brown.

Finally, we head to Utah, where keeping more renters in their home is one goal of a new initiative.

A report by the Utah Housing Coalition found a 23 percent failure rate in Utah's Housing Choice Voucher program, which project manager Zoe Newman says underscores the need for action.

Multiple bills to help renters have failed in the Utah legislature, and there's uncertainty about how federal funding for housing assistance will fare in the Trump administration's spending cuts.

Newman says they're aiming to fill gaps where they can.

We hope that by developing this system, connecting people to services that already exist in their communities, that we could start working towards a place where potentially we have our own lease that people can kind of hop onto because as we all know, you know, in Utah, the lease is law.

Newman says they see the need for what she calls more holistic leases.

Developing them is a longer-term goal for the coalition, which was launched last week.

About 40 partners have joined so far.

Learn more online at utahhousing.org.

Data show housing affordability and availability are top issues for Utahns.

Newman is hopeful the new coalition will be able to bring stakeholders to the table.

I'm Alex Gonzalez reporting.

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

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