Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Tropical storm watch issued for N.C. as dangerous rip currents forecast up the East Coast; Trump reignites his push to ban mail-in voting after meeting with Putin; NYC public schools still not in compliance with ADA; can public option save MN families from expensive child care? 'Heat dome' of 2021 likely to happen again in OR.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, August the 19th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

A tropical storm watch and storm surge watch have been issued for parts of the Outer Banks of North Carolina as Hurricane Erin, currently a Cat 4 storm, barrels its way northwest in the Atlantic.

Forecasters say, additionally, the storm is expected to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents along the East Coast this week.

That from Yahoo News.

Their report, officials in Dare County, North Carolina, declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuation of Hatteras Island.

And from NBC News, President Donald Trump said Monday he would lead a movement to end mail-in balloting in elections.

The Constitution, Congress, and the states figured to have a say, too.

NBC notes the issue reemerged for Trump as a fixation when the most pressing business before him is his effort to mediate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Meantime, despite a court order, many New York City public schools are still not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In 2023, two thirds of schools weren't ADA compliant, although the city invested $750 million in upgrades.

The money made only one third of the schools accessible, and there are still challenges making sure students with disabilities have the services they need.

Molly Senack with the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York says this affects their ability to get an education.

During the 2022, 2023 school year, 46 percent of students with disabilities were chronically absent versus the 31 percent of students without disabilities.

That is going to be, in some ways, a direct result of students not receiving their services.

This comes as New York City is two years behind on deadlines to complete ADA upgrades to schools by order of a federal judge.

Of the 51 steps US District Court Judge Loretta Preska outlined in her order, a report from an independent monitor finds the city has implemented only 21 of them.

This means some students with disabilities could be without access to transportation, counseling, and other services they need.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

Next, it's a burden many Minnesota parents can relate to struggling to afford childcare or finding an open slot.

The US childcare system is often described as broken with states and local governments pursuing a patchwork of solutions along with limited federal subsidies for low-income households.

The Roosevelt Institute leads a new report that calls for a public option approach with stronger federal investments to close gaps.

The Institute's Lena Billick says, despite the urgency, attempts to solve this crisis for working parents have been uneven at best.

We keep tinkering around the edges, but what we really need is for childcare to be a public good.

The authors suggest that like public schools, there should be a universal network of care sites that can guarantee free slots without means testing.

On average, childcare costs account for nearly 19 percent of a Minnesota family's income.

I'm Mike Moen.

This is Public News Service.

A new report shows segments of Pennsylvania's economy have bounced back from the pandemic, leading to today's historically low unemployment rate and a tight labor market.

The state has seen strong overall growth over the last 12 months when jobs grew 1.4 percent versus 1.1 percent nationally.

Lauren says despite the strong overall job market, some local industries still see challenges.

We see things like education, health, and business services are driving growth and increasing, but we're still seeing construction, manufacturing, and government at a below pre-pandemic level.

The report shows construction jobs fell to 61 percent of their pre-pandemic levels.

That's the second largest decline among Pennsylvania industries.

Manufacturing has fallen to 86 percent of its pre-pandemic level. marking the fourth largest drop.

Danielle Smith reporting.

And a new report synthesizing over 70 studies on the Northwest historic 2021 heat wave found that similar extreme heat events are likely to happen more often.

The deadly heat wave claimed 123 lives in Oregon, according to the Center for Health Statistics.

Karen Bumbaco, Washington's deputy state climatologist, co-authored the report.

She says by 2050, the Northwest will have between 10 and 33 percent chance of a similar heat event happening any given summer.

So that's quite an increase, especially if you look at that higher end where one in three summers you could expect to have a heat wave of a similar magnitude to 2021.

That 2021 heat dome resulted in the deaths of about 500 people across the northwest. 156 all-time daily maximum temperature records were tied or broken, including the warmest temperatures ever recorded in Washington, Oregon and Canada.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

Finally, officials warn federal cuts to clean energy and public lands protections will increase extreme weather risks throughout Arizona.

Crews continue to battle the Dragon Bravo fire in Grand Canyon National Park as the state experiences a mega drought.

Cuts to firefighter health programs and reduced spending for wildlife response and prevention increase the odds more people will be exposed to hazards, says Democratic Arizona Representative Aaron Marquez.

Yet this administration cuts back the very crews who could have prepared us while investing and inviting more fossil fuel extraction that will make the crisis worse.

The Dragon Bravo fire is the largest wildfire in U.S. history burning more than 140,000 acres including more than 70 structures.

It also triggered a toxic chlorine gas leak caused by a burning water treatment facility.

For Arizona News Connection, I'm Nadia Ramlagan.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.