Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Report: Christian nationalism gaining believers in IN, Report: Federal government wrongly accuses NYS of Medicaid fraud, NM Latino group: Solar, wind can boost environmental justice.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Stone Newscast, April 10, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

A federal judge Thursday ruled the Defense Department is violating his earlier order to restore access to the Pentagon for reporters, a setback in the administration's efforts to impede the work of journalists.

The U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman sided with the New York Times for the second time in a month.

He had earlier said the Pentagon's new credential policy violated journalists' constitutional rights to free speech and due process.

The AP notes on Thursday the judge said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's team had tried to evade his March 20th ruling by putting in a new rule that expel all reporters in the building unless guided by escorts.

Meantime, a new report finds New York State is being wrongfully accused of Medicaid fraud.

Our Edwin Javiera reports, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz sent a letter to state officials accusing them of running a fraud-ridden Medicaid program.

It also claims a little more than 5 million New Yorkers on Medicaid received home care in the first part of 2025.

Michael Kinyukin with the Fiscal Policy Institute says this stems from a basic math error by federal officials.

After reviewing the numbers and puzzling on it a bit, I realized what they were actually doing is adding up the monthly unique users in the program to get an annual total.

He explains that there were 100,000 users in March, April, and May, then they interpreted the data as 300,000 total users in three months.

Can you can feel the misreading of the data should have been obvious since New York only has around 7 million Medicaid enrollees total, most of whom are non-disabled adults and kids with no need for home care.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

Next, Georgia has secured more than $27 billion in EV and battery manufacturing investments more than any other state.

But a new year-end report from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Atlas Public Policy finds the state lags in one key area, making it easy for Georgians to actually own and charge EVs.

Stan Cross, the Alliance's electric transportation director, says there's a disconnect.

A lot of work has been done to attract business to the state, but not a lot of work has been done to set conditions that make it easy for Georgians to own EVs and have the charging infrastructure deployed that they need.

Georgia ranks first in the southeast for EV manufacturing, but EV sales lag the national average at just 8.2 percent.

The state also saw a billion dollars in cancellations last year.

Cross says attracting factories isn't enough if residents can't easily charge at home or on the road.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a $52 million make-ready program and a $6 million community charging program to expand EV charging access.

Georgia Power will also launch a new vehicle-to-everything electric school bus pilot.

This is Public News Service.

A North Dakota coalition has moved a step closer to getting a state measure that would offer free school meals to all K-12 students on the November ballot.

The Together for School Meals initiative collected about 26,000 more signatures than what is required for the petition.

Cheryl Carey with the Sacred Pipe Resource Center is a member of the coalition.

She says free school meals would benefit indigenous populations her organization serves and all families as affordability concerns continue to impact more communities across the state.

The reality is providing the lunches in the school system is for the overwhelming number of middle class people who are just getting by.

And we really need that assistance so that the kids can have a really robust educational experience.

The coalition says the program would save North Dakota families an average of about $1,000 per student per year.

Critics of the measure say the state shouldn't have to pay for free meals for families who can't afford it.

The North Dakota Secretary of State has up to 35 days to verify the signatures before it can be approved as an official ballot measure.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

And the current administration has prioritized fossil fuels over renewables, But that hasn't stopped New Mexico from embracing wind and solar, with nearly 300 days of sunshine is among the top 12 states for solar production, even as it's also the second largest oil-producing state.

Last month, $10 million in bonds were approved for a new community solar farm near Las Cruces that could power 1,000 households.

Carlos Matutes with Green Latinos says state tax credits help those who want to install solar, But more could be done, considering 40 percent of rural communities experience double-digit unemployment.

If we're focusing on building out utility-scale renewables, that's a bridge between poverty and prosperity, a just transition that can actually work for our communities.

I'm Roz Brown.

Finally, Christian nationalism is gaining support in Indiana.

According to new research, the ideology emphasizes the U.S. should be guided by conservative Christian principles. in its national identity, public policy, and culture.

Data from the Public Religion Research Institute show that 12 percent of Hoosiers are considered adherents, while 25 percent are sympathizers.

CEO Melissa Deckman says most Christian nationalists believe in MAGA politics, conspiracy theories, and oppose immigration.

At about 8 in 10, Christian nationalists' adherents also score high or very high on a right-wing authoritarianism scale.

So I think it's important at a time when we have to fight for democratic values in our country.

As midterms near, many are watching to see how and if this ideology will influence voters.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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