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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

WA's Wilderness Roads and Trails in Bad Shape

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Friday, June 22, 2007   

Washington, D.C./Seattle, WA - If you can't fix 'em, close 'em. That's the U.S. Forest Service position on thousands of miles of remote roads and trails in Washington, and conservation groups agree. They are crumbling due to lack of maintenance, affecting wildlife habitat and water quality. Washington Congressman Norm Dicks is asking for federal funding to repair some roads, and take others out of commission. Mike Anderson of The Wilderness Society says closing them makes sense.

“They have old culverts that are rusting out, and once those culverts wear out or get plugged, the water's gonna just run right over those roads and cause landslides, cause terrible pollution of creeks, and hurt a lot of the salmon habitat.”

Anderson notes that if Congress approves the funding, it'll be a big job. There are 20,000 miles of Forest Service roads in Washington alone, and the agency has an agreement with the state that requires major improvements by the year 2016.

The record rainfall last November resulted in $30 million in damage to Forest Service roads in Washington, but the agency receives only three million dollars per year for road maintenance, so they continue to deteriorate.

“It's not a problem that we can just ignore and hope will take care of itself because a lot of these roads are going to fail if they are not closed and properly 'put to bed.'”



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The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

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Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


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The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

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Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

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New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

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