The Public News Service Wednesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Iran, the U.S., and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire, an 11th-hour deal that headed off President Donald Trump's threat to unleash a bombing campaign that would destroy Iranian civilization.

But hours after the announcement, Iran and Gulf Arab countries reported new attacks Wednesday.

Israel contends the deal does not bar attacks on Lebanon.

While both sides are claiming victory, the AP notes Iran said the deal would allow it to formalize its new practice of charging ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Meantime, as demand for new data centers surges across Pennsylvania, lawmakers there are responding to concerns about rising utility costs.

Our Daniel Smith reports one in six families are already struggling to pay their energy bills and utility shutoffs are up 38 percent last year.

In response, the state house recently passed House Bill 1834, which would create Pennsylvania's first regulatory framework for data centers.

Jennifer Quinn with the Sierra Club Pennsylvania says oversight is overdue, noting data centers use large amounts of electricity, water and land and communities are worried.

She says the measure would shield consumers from the extra costs associated with new proposals.

It, first of all, protects ratepayers by requiring data centers to cover the costs they impose on the electric system, right?

So not passing those burdens along to all of the citizens and all the ratepayers here.

The bill will now be considered by the Senate committee.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Next, New York state lawmakers are including the Youth Justice Innovation Fund in their 2027 budget proposals. the program would use existing Raise the Age funds for community-based organizations that provide services to young people age 12 to 25.

These include school support, employment and internship assistance, and mental health counseling as ways to reduce youth incarceration.

Chantal Hines with the Children's Defense Fund of New York says it's challenging for community groups to access this money.

Smaller CBOs, they may not have the access, visibility, or awareness to get to the county executives and the folks who are making determination.

A state comptroller report finds only a third of the more than $1 billion in raise the age funding was spent.

Less than 20 percent of that was spent on community-based services, with most going to youth detention.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

And the Trump administration has officially ended protections for one of the most biodiverse places on earth.

The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the coast of Massachusetts will now be open to large scale commercial fishing.

Jessica Redfern is with the New England Aquarium's Anderson Cabin Center for Ocean Life.

Hammerhead sharks, dolphins, fin whale, mom, and calf.

It's truly incredible and opening the monument and removing these protections puts these species at risk.

The Trump administration says the move will restore American seafood competitiveness.

Conservation groups call it blatant disregard for ocean health.

This is Public News Service.

Farmers have faced a labor shortage for decades, and an estimated 40 percent of workers hired are undocumented.

But labor advocates warned bipartisan legislation backed by the Trump administration to update the H-2A visa program will make serious health and safety risks for farm workers even worse.

The program gives temporary work visas for seasonal foreign-born agricultural workers.

University of Georgia agricultural professor Cesar Escalante says farmers can't rely on U.S.-born workers who are free to choose jobs in other sectors.

They would rather work in the non-farm sector where the pay is higher.

And because working in the farm actually is not just difficult manual labor, but it's also exposed to a lot of risks, especially health risks.

The bills working their way through Congress would be much easier to pass than comprehensive immigration reform.

To supply farmers with enough workers they can afford to hire legally, the measures would expand the number of H-2A workers allowed, slow wage growth, and extend visas to year-round jobs.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And advocates say lawmakers in Utah's recent session took up items that addressed cost-of-living issues for the state's residents.

Lawmakers came up short.

One of the most critical issues was housing affordability.

The legislature allocated about $10 million in grants to help first-time homebuyers that limited it to new construction only.

Rod Mosier, a homebroker from West Jordan, says the program ended up benefiting mostly elected officials who were also developers.

So there was a lot of opportunity for the legislators to do something that would make things a little bit easier, and none of those.

Mosier, who is also a Democratic candidate for Statehouse District 45, says lawmakers did little to solve the problem of affordable rentals and continued policies that make it profitable for investors, not homebuyers, to own properties.

He says Utah has a shortage of roughly 50,000 affordable rental units.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Finally, advocates for Washington's cooperative preschool and parent education program have launched a campaign to save them from closure.

These programs provide affordable early childhood education and workforce development for 4,500 families across the state, but many do not meet the new framework for employment outcomes adopted by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges last year.

Parent educator Dr. Jarman Leitner says a small language change in the state code could save the program without any need for additional funding.

If state law would just say parent education students can earn credits and they are considered students, then we wouldn't be having to fight for this program.

We're going to continue, but we don't want to have to be faced with this situation again.

Leiner says 10 out of 13 programs across the state will shut down at the end of June without intervention.

I'm Isobel Charle.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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