News from around the nation.

Tensions flare in Minneapolis after federal agent shoots and injures man who allegedly assaulted him; A setback for chemical companies in the quest for legal immunity; Report: 1 in 8 in OR are food insecure; rate hasn't dropped since COVID; Formerly incarcerated North Carolinian first to buy, repurpose prison.

Transcript

The Public News Service Thursday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump warned he might invoke the centuries old Insurrection Act to deploy US troops to Minnesota, a state and federal officials' clash over tactics used by immigration agents.

That from CNN.

They report law enforcement and demonstrators clashed last night, near where a federal agent shot and injured a man after he allegedly assaulted the agent.

During the struggle, DHS said two people came out of a nearby apartment and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle.

After the suspect got loose, the officer fired defensive shots, DHS said, striking the initial subject in the leg.

CNN notes last week's fatal shooting by an ICE agent of Renee Goods sparked nationwide protest and prompted the Trump administration to send hundreds more agents.

As part of a coast-to-coast immigration enforcement crackdown.

Meantime, a provision denying people the right to sue chemical companies for nondisclosure of potential health hazards has been removed from a federal funding bill.

After years of large jury settlements regarding the common weed killer glyphosate, chemical giants like Bayer have been lobbying for protection from what they call scientifically unsound lawsuits.

Jay Feldman with the non-profit Beyond Pesticides says companies should be held accountable when consumers are harmed.

"This is a basic tenet in our society and the industry is really trying to take advantage of the fact that the authority of federal agencies that are mandated to protect public health and safety are being weakened.

Bayer asserts their pesticides are safe and undergo rigorous testing by the EPA.

I'm Katherine Carley.

And nearly one in eight Oregonians experienced food insecurity in 2024, a rate that mirrors the national average and has remained high since the pandemic according to the latest reports from the USDA.

Advocates fighting hunger in the state note the new report only tracks data through 2024, meaning the numbers don't capture the impact of recent cuts to SNAP.

Chris Baker with the Oregon Hunger Task Force notes the true picture is likely more severe with food banks, pantries, and mutual aid groups now seeing a growing demand for help.

We're really seeing an unprecedented strain on food providers right now, which we also saw during the government shutdown and the SNAP freeze.

Baker says for the upcoming 2026 legislative session, the task force is urging action to strengthen food access and prevent fraud.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

And a North Carolina man has become the first formally incarcerated person in the nation's history to buy and repurpose an old prison.

The former prison is Wayne Correctional Center in Goldsboro.

Kerwin Pittman is the founder of the Recidivism Reduction Education Program Services, and his organization will use the facility for reentry support services.

It changed the narrative that individuals who may have made a mistake and/or a bad decision can change and should be given an opportunity to thrive.

Pittman says he bought the 19 acre, 80,000 square foot facility to usher in a new era for the formerly incarcerated.

He calls it a beacon of light for second chances across the country.

This is Public News Service.

As the Congress works toward a January 30th budget deadline, federal cuts have been proposed that would put nearly $7 million in nursing, education and research funding at risk.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has moved to eliminate the National Institute of Nursing Research as well as most Title VIII nursing workforce development programs.

Lori Popejoy, Dean of the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing, warns that eliminating the National Institute would undercut the science that guides patient care.

That is the only institute dedicated to nursing research or understanding effective ways to deliver good quality care to patients.

So cutting the National Institutes of Nursing Research is devastating.

Supporters of the cuts argue the changes are needed to rein in federal costs and shift responsibility for workforce training and education funding away from Washington, D.C. and towards states, individual universities, and health systems.

Crystal Blair reporting.

And questions of wrongdoing within Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett's administration continue to plague his current term.

Former Chief of Staff Thomas Cook is accused of using ties to his former boss to obtain a job at a well-known Indianapolis law firm.

He allegedly helped high-profile developer clients to secure city projects, some of whom were donors to Hogsett's 2023 re-election campaign.

However, one expert says Hoosiers appear unfazed when confronted with this scandal.

Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor and author of the book "Scandal, Why Politicians Survive Controversy in a Partisan Era" says social media and the 24-hour news cycle be the reason.

The zone is completely flooded with information.

People are overwhelmed and so they retreat to their own tribal attitudes.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

Finally, animal welfare and farm advocacy groups say a bill moving through Congress would limit Ohio's ability to regulate how farm animals are raised, even if voters or lawmakers choose to act in the future.

The proposed Save Our Bacon Act would override voter-approved laws in more than a dozen in states that restrict extreme confinement practices such as metal gestation crates for pigs, veal crates for calves, and battery cages for egg-laying hens.

Alicia Prigoski, strategic legislative affairs manager with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, says the bill mirrors earlier failed efforts to weaken state animal welfare laws.

It really undermines the will of the voters who have said it is important to us to protect animals from this kind of treatment.

It's important to us to ensure food safety and public health by prohibiting these practices.

Supporters of the bill, including the National Pork Producers Council, argue differing state standards restrict interstate commerce.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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