News from around the nation.

Stocks, dollar rally as Trump tariffs hit court roadblock; Federal, state laws pull back and forth on immigration policies in Maryland; NY bill would force drugmakers to report delays in offering generics.

Transcript

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

European stocks and Wall Street futures rose today after a U.S. federal court blocked President Donald Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs from going into effect, sending the dollar up on "safe haven" currencies.

That from Reuters.

They report the little-known Manhattan-based Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by imposing his April 2nd across-the-board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners.

Reuters notes the White House quickly appealed the decision and could take it all the way to the Supreme Court if needed.

And as Maryland resident Kilmar Armando Abrego-Garcia sits in an El Salvadorian prison camp, other migrants in the state are caught in the middle of changing politics and policies.

This year, Maryland state lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would keep local law enforcement from acting as federal immigration agents.

But lawmakers did pass a law that limits access for immigration officers to sensitive areas, like schools and hospitals.

Catherine Jackson with the immigrant advocacy group CASA says actions by the administration to end birthright citizenship are flatly unconstitutional.

The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, no exceptions, period.

This is not about policy reform.

What's happening is we're seeing the Trump administration try to rewrite the Constitution to exclude certain people.

I'm Zimone Perez.

Meantime, a study shows free speech increasingly under assault on college campuses from both right and left.

The nonpartisan nonprofit foundation for individual rights and expression known as FIRE surveyed 58,000 college students.

FIRE's chief researcher Sean Stevens says threats to speech come from all sides.

It's not just left-leaning faculty or students going after more conservative faculty and students for inviting Ben Shapiro to campus.

It's now like the federal government and whatever right-leaning faculty there might be left in the students.

Students were asked about campus culture when it comes to comfort, expressing ideas, tolerance for speakers, disruptive conduct, administrative support, openness, and self-censorship.

Next to New York were groups advocating for retirees or backing a state legislative bill requiring drug manufacturers to notify officials of any pay for delay actions preventing a brand name medication from becoming a lower cost generic drug.

Senate of any steps they take to maintain brand name status after the patent on a drug is scheduled to expire.

For many Medicare patients, the price difference between a brand name drug and its generic equivalent is substantial.

Retiree Mike DeFilippo from Staten Island says for one medication he needs, the cost difference can be overwhelming.

"Under the current insurance that I have now, it would be costing upwards of $900 for just a 30-day supply.

It was beyond my budget."

When a drug company's patent expires, other companies can sell it as a generic or bioequivalent drug, often at a considerably lower price.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

This is Public News Service.

A bill pending in the legislature would require public employees to opt into their unions is being called a direct attack on Louisiana workers.

The measure, House Bill 293, requires teachers, school staff and public employees to either reauthorize or opt out of their union membership annually.

Recent polling shows a majority of Louisianans oppose weakening workers protections.

John Davis with a polling firm, Robber Research, says opposition to the bill comes from the left and right.

There's significant amount of support in Louisiana for continued protections around workers, their ability to organize, and a concern about policymakers shifting away from policies that support those end goals.

The bill has been approved in the state house and is pending a vote in the Senate.

A release by the Louisiana Democratic Party said the bill would force yearly re sign ups and let bosses drop union members at any time.

Backers say the bill prevents public workers from being forced to pay union dues.

I'm Danielle Smith and studies show heavy drinking among women has increased more than 40 percent since the pandemic, putting them at a higher risk of liver disease, breast cancer and depression.

The National Institutes of Health reports nearly one in three women aged 18 to 25 now binge drink on a regular basis.

Dr. Rachel Seiko-Adams with Boston University's School of Public Health encourages women to re-evaluate their drinking habits and know the risks.

"Be more thoughtful about when and why you're choosing to drink and think about that really the lower amount of alcohol you have, that is a prevention strategy.

So your risks will be lower the less you have."

It's recommended that women limit their alcohol intake to one drink or fewer each day.

But Adam says it's important to ask for help if daily routines begin to revolve around alcohol, if family relationships become strained, or if it becomes harder to get to work.

I'm Katherine Carley.

Finally, housing groups across the country this week have declared a national week of action as federal lawmakers consider a budget that eliminates all funding for fair housing programs.

Montana Fair Housing ensures housing in the state is non-discriminatory as mandated by federal law.

But Republicans' federal budget bill, which last week advanced from the House Senate by a single vote has zeroed out all funding for Fair Housing Initiative programs in 2026.

Lawmakers argue groups can still apply for Fair Housing Assistance Program dollars, known as FAP, but Pam Bean with Montana Fair Housing says the state doesn't have that program.

If the budget stands as it is now, there will be no Fair Housing monies coming into the state of Montana.

And to get a FAP, we would have to change our state law.

Bean says the group she receives the most requests from and would be most impacted by people with disabilities including veterans, older Montanans who have age acquired limitations, and those who've worked in the ag, mining, and timber industries.

I'm Kathleen Shannon.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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