Six minutes of news from around the nation.

President Trump slaps new 50 percent tariffs on Canada; Kentucky residents say a proposed prison ignores environmental risks; ICE targets Maine youth after removal of legal protections; Military's pause of wind farm reviews stalls Minnesota projects.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service, Daily Newscast, July 21, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump is back to the tariff game on Monday, imposing 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol, and dairy products.

The AP notes the new 50% tariffs would exclude energy products, potash, fish, and critical but they would include goods that had previously been protected from the import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement.

They add the move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos with risks of higher inflation.

Meantime, a local citizens group in Letcher County, Kentucky says the federal government appears to be slowly moving forward with plans to build a proposed massive federal prison.

Arnady Aramligan lets us know it is the fifth such facility in the region.

The project, initially funded with $500 million in 2016, faced stiff local opposition and was retracted, but it was revived again a few years later.

The Bureau of Prisons has yet to acknowledge new evidence showing the presence of endangered bat species on the prison site and flood risk to neighboring communities, says Artie Ann Bates, Secretary of Concerned Electric Countians.

The Bureau of Prisons continues to move forward as if that purchase never happened.

Most significantly, they have not updated their environmental impact statement, which is a requirement under the National Environmental Policy Act.

In 2024, a local advocacy group, the Appalachian Rekindling Project, bought a small but critical portion of land where the proposed prison would be.

They secured 63 acres out of 500 total.

Supporters of the prison project say it will bring much-needed economic development to the region.

And ICE raids continue to escalate in Maine.

Legal aid groups say young people are increasingly the target.

For decades, unaccompanied minors who suffered abuse or neglect have been given special immigrant juvenile status and allowed to remain in the U.S. In May, the Trump administration removed their protections, exposing them to arrest and deportation.

Lisa Paricio with the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project says these youth are now living in a constant state of fear.

We have just seen and heard so many reports from families, young people of working age who are afraid to go to work, afraid to seek higher education, afraid to just start their lives.

A ProPublica analysis of court data shows these young people are being detained and deported at roughly three times the rate as during the first Trump presidency, with more than 10,000 removal and voluntary departure orders issued each month.

I'm Katherine Carley.

Starting July 29th, the new state law aims to prevent ice searches at schools, libraries, or medical facilities.

This is Public News Service.

Minnesota is now part of legal action to jumpstart federal reviews of onshore wind projects.

The Department of Defense hit the pause button on security checks, And an independent think tank says that hurts the region's economy.

Last week, Minnesota's Keith Ellison and 18 other attorneys general intervened in a lawsuit against the DOD.

North Star Policy Actions' Jake Schweitzer says the Pentagon routinely evaluates whether wind turbines could interfere with military radar.

But that process has stopped under the Trump administration.

Schweitzer says so far, four proposed Minnesota projects are affected, costing the state jobs.

When we're talking about 4,400 Minnesota jobs being lost as a result of this pause, that's 4,400 folks who aren't bringing home a paycheck.

President Donald Trump has long been a critic of wind energy, and the administration believes moves like these are necessary to address national security threats.

I'm Mike Moen.

Next, organizers working to end homelessness in North Dakota say they're trying to fill gaps left by program closures that help to make housing more affordable for residents.

It's been almost a year since the local pandemic emergency rental assistance program sunsetted.

Andrea Olson with Community Action Partnership of North Dakota says the state has since seen a tenfold reduction in the capacity of its resources.

Olson explains at its peak in 2025, the program was serving about 800 households per month.

Where our program, the North Dakota Homeless Grant Program, can only serve about 80 to 100 households per month.

So it's a staggering scalability.

It leaves a gap that we just cannot fill.

Expired federal pandemic-era funds forced the program to end.

Olson says since it closed, her organization has received an increase in calls from both urban and rural residents in need of financial assistance.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

Finally, along with thinking about back-to-school supplies and schedules, Oregon doctors are reminding families now is the time to plan annual wellness appointments for their kids.

Known as well child visits, yearly checkups ensure kids are on track with vaccines, growth, and overall development so they are ready physically and emotionally to go back to school.

Oregon clinic pediatrician Dr. Meredith Grover says families sometimes skip visits when no vaccines are due, but she stresses that maintaining a relationship with your pediatrician is still important. the growth of the children to make sure their speech is on track, to make sure their physical development's on track.

Are they moving in the way they're supposed to at their age?

These are all things that a parent might not be aware of if they're only coming in for the shot visit.

The more data, the better, she says.

So yearly visits are helpful.

I'm Isobel Charle.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.