Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Trump administration faces new court pressure over wrongly deported man; Retired IRS staffer feels 'hurt' over info sharing agreement; New findings suggest reviving coal would be too costly for U.S.; and WI sees higher voter turnout among Native Americans.

Transcript

The Public News Service daily newscast for Wednesday, April 16th, 2025.

I'm Mike Moen.

Federal judge said Tuesday she'll order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of a man mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.

According to the Associated Press, the judge also disregarded this week's comments by White House officials and El Salvador's president that they were unable to bring back Embrego Garcia.

His case has become a flashpoint as President Donald Trump follows up on campaign promises of mass deportations.

Despite acknowledging the clerical error in the case, the White House insists Garcia is part of a notorious street gang, but he was never charged with a crime and has denied the allegations.

Tax filing season has wrapped up, but the backlash over a new IRS policy concerning undocumented individuals isn't going away.

A retired agency official from Illinois says her heart breaks for the people she served over the years.

A deal was recently struck between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to share sensitive taxpayer information of those facing deportation, with officials saying locating violent criminals is part of the goal.

Yolanda Ruiz is a retired Chicago resident who worked for the IRS for 33 years.

She did outreach work in Latino communities, including tax filing workshops.

She would stress that submitting a return would not overlap with immigration enforcement.

In that outreach, I would always reassure undocumented immigrants that we would not share their personal information with ICE.

I also encouraged filing and paying their taxes because it could ultimately help them with legalization and citizenship.

Researchers note people without legal status still pay income taxes through a specialized number.

In 2023, those households paid nearly $90 billion in total taxes.

But Ruiz, who isn't speaking for the agency, worries the new agreement will undo the trust-building folks like her carried out.

In other news, Indiana Governor Mike Braun has rolled out a sweeping health and government assistance initiative, backed by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Joel Ulrey reports.

The Make Indiana Healthy Again program seeks to reduce welfare spending, increase work participation among benefit recipients, and launch his new health studies.

Braun signed several executive orders that overhaul the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

He said the changes require work participation for able-bodied adults, reinstate income and asset checks, and ending the use of SNAP dollars to buy some sugary items.

Today's first executive order removes candy and soft drinks from taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits.

The governor also ordered studies into diet-related chronic illnesses in children and the health risks of food dyes.

This is Public News Service.

A new research brief outlines the obstacles America would face in trying to reopen coal plants, an idea prioritized by the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that aims to boost coal production, despite coal's shrinking presence in the energy sector.

The administration says the move can help meet growing electricity demand with the emergence of data centers.

But the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis predicts giving coal-fired power plants new life would be costly.

The Institute's Dennis Womstead says it doesn't make sense.

It's not an evil conspiracy to push coal out of the market.

The reality is that coal is the most expensive resource.

He points to Exxal Energy's Sherco facility near Minneapolis, a coal plant being phased out and replaced with a massive solar operation.

Womstead says utilities are planning for other sources because they've proven to be reliable and less costly.

The analysis says 24 of the 102 recently closed U.S. coal plants are already torn down, and restarting others would require big investments due to their age.

Turning to election news, the municipal clerk in Wisconsin's capital city has quit amid investigations into how she failed to count nearly 200 absentee ballots in the November elections.

That according to the Associated Press.

Madison's mayor announced city clerk Maribeth Whitsell Beal's resignation this week.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission launched an investigation in early January after learning that Whitsell Beal had failed to count 192 ballots and didn't inform the commission until December 18th, more than a month after the election and weeks after canvassing was complete.

The ballots didn't affect the outcome of any races or referenda.

Meanwhile, voter turnout from tribal communities in Wisconsin has increased in recent years, with historic numbers for the state Supreme Court election this month.

Judith Ruiz Branch reports.

The Menominee reservation turnout increased by more than 80 percent from the spring 2023 election.

Both the Red Cliff and Bad River bands of Lake Superior Chippewa saw turnout jump more than 60 percent, according to Wisconsin Conservation Voices.

The group works with tribal communities through its Wisconsin Native Vote Program.

Organizer Maria Haskins says listening sessions, roundtables and regional dinners have been crucial in building relationships and getting people to the polls.

"With people seeing their peers being more active in the polls and becoming more informed about a lot of these issues is what is really motivating them to go out and cast their ballot because I think that people are realizing their vote is their voice."

Haskins says communities shared concerns at these events about issues like the opioid epidemic, which is severely affecting tribal communities.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

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

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