Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Gunman identified who killed eight children in Louisiana in the deadliest US mass shooting since 2024; Rural New Mexico hospitals face increasing financial challenges Michiganders have opportunity November 6 to change state Constitution Amargosa named on list of 10 'most endangered' rivers.

TRANSCRIPT

Public News Service daily newscast for April the 20th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

In the eighth deadliest mass shooting in the nation since 2004, eight children were killed Sunday in a domestic attack across three Shreveport, Louisiana homes.

The children who died ranged in age from 1 to 14, according to police.

They've identified the gunman as Shamir Elkins, the Shreveport Mayor's Communications Director, told CNN, and investigators believe Elkins is related to at least some of the victims.

The gunman was fatally shot by officers after carjacking a vehicle, two adult women, and one teen was also wounded in Sunday's attack.

And as school districts across New England address the impact of smartphones on students' mental health, leading child development experts are urging schools to implement bell-to-bell bans.

They say restricting phone access throughout the entire school day can improve learning, social development, and overall well-being.

Kate Blocker, director of research at the nonprofit Children and Screens, says exceptions can still be made for students with disabilities, medical, or academic needs.

Early signs are showing that these more restrictive policies, the bell-to-bell policies, are having more positive outcomes, but that other learning time-based policies are having positive impacts as well.

About 30 percent of schools nationwide now have a ban on cell phone use throughout the school day, while close to 80 percent ban them during class time.

Blocker says the key to any phone-related policy is consistency to ensure both teachers and students know what's expected.

This story is based on original reporting by Sam Gonnett with Capital News Service.

I'm Katherine Carley.

Next, rural hospitals in New Mexico and across the nation are experiencing financial hardship, and it started even before recent changes in federal funding.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 drastically cut funds for both Medicaid and Medicare over the next decade.

But as far back as 2016, hundreds of hospitals located near urban centers began securing what's called administratively rural status for Medicare purposes.

Burton Eller with the advocacy group National Grange notes the dual hospital classification unlocked reimbursement rates designed to support care in genuinely rural communities, where nearly a quarter of folks struggle to pay hospital bills.

These large urban hospitals and teaching hospitals, they don't need it.

They've got paying customers that they can get their operating margin from.

I'm Roz Brown.

A 2025 study at the University of Iowa found negative economic impacts to businesses and a general decline in access to health care in the 150 communities where rural hospitals have closed over the past 15 years.

Original reporting for this story by Liz Carey and The Daily Yonder.

This is Public News Service.

Michigan's Constitution has remained unchanged since the early 1960s, but that could change if voters support Proposal 1.

Placing a constitutional convention on the ballot every 16 years was established when voters approved Proposal 3 in 1960.

Michiganders will vote on suggested revisions on November 6 to determine whether they want a group of delegates to decide whether to amend the current Constitution or draft a new one.

Michigan State University law professor Quinn Yergin says, in his view, more conservatives want changes.

Given how tight control over the Michigan Senate and House has been in recent years, we could have a very, very tight convention in terms of party control one way or another.

I would expect that that would probably dictate much of what ends up happening.

If voters adopt that constitution or any subsequent changes, the previous document might be replaced or there could be individual and distinct amendments.

It effectively gives the convention the ability to propose whatever changes it wants, including shredding it and starting from scratch.

This story was produced with original reporting from Alyssa Burr for the Michigan Independent.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

And Colorado Governor Jared Polis expected to sign a law passed by the state lawmakers last week that denies farm workers overtime protections granted to all other workers.

The move comes after agriculture industry lobbyists claimed that farm wages have grown at a much faster pace than other sectors.

But Daniel Costa with the Economic Policy Institute says when adjusted for inflation, wage growth for farm workers has been almost identical to other low-wage workers.

He adds farm worker wages as a share of farm owner profits have not budged for at least two decades.

Farm owners see that they can use the significant power that they have politically to try to increase their profits a bit by squeezing this powerless group of workers.

Colorado is also facing historically low snowpack reservoirs and decades of drought exacerbated by climate change.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Finally, Nevada's Amargosa River has the dubious distinction of making the top 10 list of most endangered rivers in the United States.

The 2026 report from the nonprofit American Rivers chose the Amargosa because it's threatened by development, including mining, lithium exploration, and large-scale solar projects.

Mason Vole with the Amargosa Conservancy describes it as a river of groundwater in one of the hottest and driest places on the planet that nonetheless supports more than 100 species unique to that area.

It is one of the most important biodiversity havens remaining in North America.

The landscape, because of these isolated springs and wetlands, hosts an extraordinary concentration of rare, unique species found nowhere else in the world.

The river runs from the Oasis Valley in Nevada to Death Valley in California.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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