News from around the nation.

Trump signals he is open to cutting China tariffs to 80% ahead of trade negotiations; Pope Leo XIV calls Church 'a beacon to illuminate dark nights' in first mass; Medicaid cuts risk health care access for VA military families; Does climate change 'perception gap' silence action in Mississippi? 'Forever families' needed for PA children in foster care.

Transcript

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

President Donald Trump has signaled a willingness to drastically cut the U.S. current 145 percent tariff rate on China ahead of trade talks between the two countries.

That from NBC News.

The report Trump wrote in a social media post Friday morning, "80 percent tariff on China seems right up to Scott B."

And from the BBC, the new Pope, Leo XIV, has called for the Catholic Church to desperately counter a lack of faith in his first mass at the Vatican.

The Pope warned people were turning away from faith and instead to technology, money, success, power or pleasure.

Meantime, Republican lawmakers are considering billions of dollars to cuts to Medicaid.

A new report finds those spending cuts might impact health coverage for Virginia military families.

The report by the Georgetown Center for Children and Families finds more than 850,000 people enrolled in Medicaid have military health insurance, known as TRICARE, as their primary coverage.

One in 10 children of service members with TRICARE is also enrolled in Medicaid.

Retired Army Brigadier General George Schwartz says the youngest, lowest ranking and modestly paid service members would be most affected if Congress passes Medicaid cuts.

They're the most vulnerable and I think these cuts to Medicaid could affect not only their morale but their desire to stay in the military because they use Medicaid for supplementing particularly if they have children with special needs.

I'm Zimone Perez.

Next to Mississippi where new research shows folks may be experiencing the same climate change perception gap found across the globe when people underestimate how much their neighbors share their concerns.

The study published in Nature Climate Change found this pattern holds true in all 125 countries examined including the United States.

Anthony Leisowitz with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication calls it a consistent human tendency.

The average person believes that other people in their own country tend not to worry about climate change that much when in fact the majority of people in most countries do worry about climate change.

He says the gap in perception has real world policy implications.

In the U.S. almost 80 percent of congressional staffers underestimated their constituents support for reducing climate pollution, sometimes by more than 50 percentage points.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

According to NOAA data, the state has experienced a 42 percent increase in extreme rainfall since 2000.

And May is National Foster Care Month.

Carrie Eckert with Bethany Christian Services says their goal is to support families and kids through quality social services.

She shares a quote from the mother of Ellie, a girl from a tough background.

She has made honor roll every quarter, tried out for and made a sports team at her school, enjoys her youth group, volunteers with a club of her peers and in our church.

She handles her homework, manages her emotions, completes her chores, fills up her social calendar.

I'm just along for the ride, cheering her on.

In Pennsylvania, more than 15,000 children are waiting for foster families.

This is Public News Service.

A Michigan group is speaking out after a top congressional leader's comment that lawmakers will likely scrap the $7,500 federal tax credit for buying electric vehicles.

Ending the tax credit could deal a major blow to the EV market and the country's clean energy goals.

Michigan automakers and suppliers have pumped more than $30 billion into the state's EV industry since 2020.

Jay McCurry of Clean Fuels Michigan says her group joined several local and national nonprofits in signing a letter to the U.S.

House Transportation Committee in support of the EV tax credits.

Demonstrating that it's not just industry, not just individuals, but large nonprofits and advocacy groups that really care about continuing to show support for the clean mobility transition.

Despite growing Republican support for EV tax credits, some GOP senators have introduced the Elite Vehicles Act.

It would eliminate the $7,500 credit, a $4,000 credit for buying used EVs, and charging station incentives.

Crystal Blair reporting.

And despite uncertainty about Medicaid funding in Congress, Tennessee is moving ahead to help improve people's health outcomes with a program for community health workers.

The details from our Daniel Smith.

Tennessee's Medicaid program, TennCare, is partnering with the Tennessee Community Health Workers Association to offer an accreditation program that promotes best practices for training and supporting this workforce.

Nikala Boyd with the association says community health workers, or CHWs, link people to care and promote healthy habits.

So in addition to CHWs having individual certification, we are also accrediting the actual CHW program.

So accrediting that program, that organization, that employer.

TennCare will fund grants for up to 14 organizations to complete the accreditation process.

Finally, a new mapping tool shows South Dakota is a big player on the farm conservation scene.

The online feature coincides with polling that reveals most farmers want stronger funding for climate smart practices.

In a recent survey of more than 500 farms across the country, the National Wildlife Federation says three out of four support an increase in long-term funding for the USDA's voluntary conservation programs.

These initiatives incentivize farmers and ranchers to work their land in specific ways that make it more resilient to extreme weather, like prolonged droughts or widespread flooding.

The Federation's Aviva Glazer says survey support was consistent across geographic areas.

Farmers not only supported this funding, but they got a lot of value out of this funding and they cited things like soil health.

Meanwhile, NWSMAP shows South Dakota farmers have enrolled more than 7 million acres in the conservation stewardship program above all other states.

I'm Mike Moen reporting.

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

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