Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Food insecurity spreads across IN suburbs and rural areas, Colorado lawmakers consider clawing back 'corporate welfare' and soaring diesel prices hit Washington State family farms' bottom line.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Doe newscast for April the 7th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Trump threatened to force a news organization to turn over the name of an anonymous source who revealed details about a U.S. airman who went missing in Iran.

Trump said in a press briefing Monday, we're looking very hard to find that leaker.

They didn't know there was somebody missing until the leaker gave the information.

So wherever it was, we think we'll be able to find out Because we're going to know the media company that released it, and we're going to say national security, give it up or go to jail.

The Washington Post notes the Justice Department in 2025 rescinded a Biden-era policy that safeguarded journalists from subpoenas during leak investigations.

Meantime, Indiana hunger is rising as more working families struggle to put food on the table.

Our Joe Ulory has more.

The issue is simple.

Costs keep climbing while wages lag and support programs are shrinking.

Kate Howe, executive director of the Indy Hunger Network, says the problem is spreading into everyday households.

The increase in costs of everything, housing, utilities, gas, and of course food.

The stagnation of wages, the difficult job market right now with unemployment increasing has made it really hard for people to make ends meet.

A recent Central Indiana study found 54 percent of households faced food insecurity at some point last year, including families above the poverty line.

Critics of government spending argue assistance programs must be more targeted, but hunger groups warn cuts are already tightening access.

And after congressional Republicans cut Medicaid funding and their One Big Beautiful Bill Act, lawmakers in Colorado are considering legislation that would make larger corporations pay a fee for retaining low-wage workers that qualify for the safety net health insurance program.

Colorado is facing a $1.5 billion budget shortfall, largely due to rising Medicaid costs.

And Democratic Representative Lisa Fure says the state can't afford to keep subsidizing Amazon, Walmart and other corporations pulling in record profits.

We as taxpayers, as Coloradans, are footing the bill of a lot of these large employers' health care of their employees.

And that's just not OK.

The Colorado Retail Council told the Denver Post that companies are already paying their fair share because a significant portion of their taxes goes to fund Medicaid.

A Walmart spokesperson said any fees collected under House Bill 1327 would likely be passed along to consumers through higher prices.

I'm Eric Galatas.

According to a recent report, the nation's top 20 companies paying low wages spent a combined $260 billion buying back their own stock.

Perrette says if Walmart provided health coverage to all their employees, it would amount to a fraction of 1 percent of their annual profits.

This is Public News Service.

The conflict in Iran has caused fuel prices to soar.

Washington state farmers say that hits them hard when they're putting crops in the ground.

Diesel prices have reached record highs with a statewide average over $6.50 a gallon.

Jason Vander Koi, a farmer in Saget Valley, says the price hikes are coming right at the beginning of spring fieldwork.

We're really starting to go through some diesel.

When everything's rolling, we can go through 5,000 gallons in a week.

So the timing is just way off on this.

It's going to impact us quite a bit.

Vander Koi says during spring planting, fuel usage spiked to five to seven times than normal usage.

His 2,200-acre farm has 1,300 milk cows and grows seed crops like grass born in alfalfa.

I'm Mark Richardson.

And April is Financial Literacy Month, and anti-poverty officials in South Dakota are doing their best to factor in more of this education for clients working themselves out of hardships.

Eric Kuntzsweiler leads Inner Lakes Community Action Partnership, which covers more than a dozen counties in east-central South Dakota.

He says helping people understand key aspects of handling their finances often comes up when case managers work with housing applicants.

A body of research shows systemic barriers keep this information out of reach for many, and Kuntzweiler says it's something they see a lot of.

They do a pre-test and a post-test, and usually when they come in and do a pre-test on financial literacy, they score quite low.

But by the time they go through this class, it's really eye-opening that they're in the upper 90s to 100 percent.

Kuntzweiler says successful enrollees also have an easier path toward home ownership.

Interlakes Community Action and other offices around South Dakota just applied for a grant in hopes of taking this money education statewide, including an online portal.

I'm Mike Moen.

Finally, many rural folks in Tennessee count on local medical offices for affordable care, and a new federal payment rule could help dialysis patients maintain access to those services.

The 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule boosts support for office-based procedures, including increased reimbursements for dialysis centers.

Dr. Omar Davis with Bluff City Vascular says low reimbursement rates have caused many clinics to close or sell out, driving patients back to hospital settings where they're more likely to have a catheter inserted.

He notes research from the Healthy People 2030 initiative showing a 25 percent increase in catheter use last year.

Our patients do better when they dialyze with a fistular graft versus a tunneled catheter.

Morbidity and mortality rates are significantly higher with catheters.

Unfortunately, there's a direct correlation with the decline in dedicated access centers and a rise in catheter rates.

Danielle Smith reporting.

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

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.