News from around the nation.

GOP fractures grow as Minnesota shootings erode immigration crackdown support; Turmoil in MN extends beyond ICE as feds eye food assistance; Death Toll Rises From Winter Storm Fern; AZ Native American women speak out about maternal mortality; AL college students offer FAFSA guidance as families weigh costs.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

Many Republican lawmakers are pressuring the Trump administration to launch a full investigation on the second Minneapolis killing by federal agents this month.

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old US citizen, was shot dead Saturday during an altercation with Border Patrol, that from the BBC.

Meantime, Minnesota communities remain steadfast in protecting their neighbors from the controversial ICE operation.

In the courts and the administrative offices, separate clash with federal officials continues as the Trump administration tries to hold up food assistance.

A federal judge this month blocked the USDA from requiring the state to interview and recertify nearly 100,000 households receiving benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The agency threatened to cut off all administrative funding if that review failed.

Rebecca Alvey reported on this story for Civil Eats and she says it's on top of a separate move to freeze nearly 130 million dollars in USDA funding to Minnesota.

Of course a key part of that and a key concern for anti-hunger advocates is how that's going to impact the SNAP program since SNAP is funded through USDA.

Agency leaders say the action is due to instances of high-profile fraud in the state.

I'm Mike Moen.

And the Weather Channel reports the number of deaths is rising from winter storm Fern with at least nine deaths blamed on the storm in and a two-man died of hypothermia.

That was also the cause of death for a woman in Kansas and one of two deaths in Texas.

Next, Native American and Alaska Native people have the highest pregnancy-related mortality ratio among major demographic groups in the U.S., according to reporting from KFF Health News.

Native organizations and some states are now working to increase tribal participation in state maternal mortality review committees to better track and address these deaths.

Cindy Gamble, a tribal community health consultant of the American Indian Health Commission says indigenous women are at a higher risk.

The maternal mortality is one part of that, is one piece of that.

When you look at the health indicators of chronic health diseases, you see that our people have disparate rates of disease compared to everybody else.

Native women in states like Arizona and Washington have created panels to review fatality cases to make recommendations to healthcare system.

Mark Richardson reporting. this story with original reporting by Jasmine Orzarko Rodriguez for KFF Health News and the free application for federal student aid known as FAFSA is underway.

Kayana McCall, a student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham says FAFSA plays an important role in how students plan for the cost of higher education.

Even families that don't believe they will qualify for a need-based aid should still apply only because it's like a financial breakthrough when you go into college.

Education advocates say completing the form early can help families better understand their options before tuition bills and enrollment deadlines arrive.

This is public news service.

Some New Yorkers want the state to do more to address housing issues.

Governor Kathy Hochul is proposing regulatory reforms to speed up housing construction.

But advocates for affordable housing note little is being said about increasing the state's housing access voucher program or expanding rent stabilization beyond New York City.

Sumathi Kumar with Housing Justice for says upstate cities like Kingston face challenges in using rent stabilization protections.

Landlords have constantly sued the city over minute bureaucratic details.

What ends up happening is the tenants who are supposed to be rent stabilized are left in limbo.

Not sure if their protections are going to go away one day or continue.

She's eager to see lawmakers in Albany pass a bill known as the REST Act to allow most other municipalities to enact rent stabilization without such issues.

Several cities attempts at implementing rent stabilization have been blocked by lawsuits.

Despite pushback from the real estate industry, the bill received positive feedback at a 2025 New York Assembly hearing.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

And Missouri education leaders are taking a new approach to help students battling substance use disorders stay in school and on track for their future.

State data suggests nearly four percent of Missouri kids between ages 12 and 17 are dealing with addiction or have recently been in treatment, a challenge that recovery high schools are designed to meet head-on.

Lisa Sorino, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, explains what sets a recovery high school apart.

It provides comprehensive high school curriculum and educational services.

It provides wraparound services for students who are experiencing substance abuse and co-occurring related disorders.

Missouri allows the board to approve up to four recovery high schools in metropolitan areas.

Three newly approved schools including one sponsored by Vivo St. Louis are expected to open in the fall of this year.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Finally antibiotic use in farm animals has moderated over the last decade but new Food and Drug Administration data show a large increase.

In 2015 US farmers bought over 10,000 tons of antibiotics, the same kinds used on humans for their chickens, pigs and cattle.

Growing public concern over antibiotic resistance brought a decrease in use and changes in federal regulations.

By 2017, farm antibiotic use had been cut in half, and it remained there until 2024, when sales climbed by 16 percent.

Steve Roach, with the Food Animal Concerns Trust, says it's the fastest increase they've ever seen.

You look in a little bit more detail at the specific animals.

On the chicken industry, it was totally unprecedented.

But for all of them, it's much higher than it's ever been in any year since we started collecting data.

This story was produced with original reporting from Lisa Held for Civil Eats.

I'm Brett Pivito.

This is Mike Clifford.

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