Six minutes of news from around the nation.

White House announces comprehensive review of Smithsonian exhibitions; Tropical Storm Erin could become the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2025 season; From CA to Ukraine, officials tout clean energy for global security; Research explores what North Carolinians need to beat extreme heat; Ohio imam seeks release, citing rights violations at Butler Co. jail.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Still Newscast, August the 13th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The White House plans to conduct a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian Institution's museum exhibitions, that ahead of America's 250th anniversary next year, to ensure the museums align with President Donald Trump's view of American history, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.

ABC reports in a letter sent to Lonnie Bunch, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the White House writes that it wants to ensure that the museum reflects the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story.

And from the Weather Channel, Tropical Storm Aaron is tracking quickly westward through the open Atlantic waters and should become increasingly organized in the coming days, potentially reaching major hurricane intensity this weekend, as it tracks just north of the Caribbean Islands where it could bring rain and gusty winds.

They note Aaron's long-term future through next week is still somewhat uncertain, so interest around the Caribbean, the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda should continue to monitor the forecast.

And a group of veterans and elected officials says the ongoing war in Ukraine highlights the need for a global clean energy transition, including in California.

Despite economic sanctions, Russia continues to earn hundreds of billions of dollars from oil and gas as it carries out military strikes on Ukrainian oil refineries, Blue Lake City Council member and Army veteran Catherine Napier says her small community north of San Francisco is taking steps to reduce oil dependence and its harmful impacts.

Our energy dependence on fossil fuels is not a problem that gets solved somewhere else by someone else.

It starts in small places like Blue Lake.

She says her town is generating more solar power, building a battery energy storage system and converting old sawmills into logistical sites for offshore wind power.

President Donald Trump, who has criticized clean energy development, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week.

I'm Katherine Carley.

Next, North Carolinians are filling the heat this summer.

Some are asking what communities could do to cool down.

The North Carolina Public Health Association and Clean Air NC collaborated on the heat mitigation meetings.

Tiffany Fant of Soul Nation led the focus groups, saying there are mutual concerns shared across the community, such as a lack of air conditioning at home.

Having to go out into community to air condition places when a heat wave hits.

Another commonality is the acknowledgement of the lack of trees in their communities and understanding how that plays a role in being able to cool off personally, but also being able to help cool off community.

Lack of access to water was another concern.

Fance says one solution brought up in meetings is a community response team that could conduct welfare checks when heat waves are in the forecast to prevent tragedies.

The meetings brought together four groups, faith leaders, health care workers, emergency responders and community members.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

This is public news service.

The legal team representing a Cincinnati religious leader is asking a federal court to release him from ICE custody in Butler County, citing civil rights concerns.

The case of Ayman Soleiman, known locally as the interfaith Imam, is drawing broader attention for what advocates say could set a dangerous legal precedent.

Attorney Frenchelle Daniel at the Muslim Legal Fund of America says Soleiman's detention came after the government's disputed termination of his asylum status and raises larger concerns for immigrants' rights.

What the government is doing is just wrong.

And while this is just one case, the implications are far-reaching.

It sets precedent, and we don't want that precedent out there.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security hasn't publicly responded to the Habeas petition.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

This story was produced in association with media and the public interest and funded in part by the George Gunn Foundation.

And the number of folks in Colorado age 65 and older is projected to grow by 30 percent over the next decade.

A new report shows the state is not prepared for rising costs associated with an aging population.

Colorado's Taxpayers Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment that requires voter approval to increase state revenues, is seen as a major barrier to current and future budget shortfalls.

AARP Colorado State Director Sarah Schooneman says $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid under President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending bill could impact people living in long-term care facilities.

Primarily our nursing homes are funded through Medicaid and with cuts at the national level.

What's going to happen to all of the older adults who are in nursing homes?

Where are they going to go?

Who is going to help support them and what does that look like?

Even before Medicaid cuts kick in, the Colorado Fiscal Institute projects the state would have to find an additional $420 million by 2035 and more than $688 million by 2050 to meet its share of long-term care costs.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Finally, a 40,000-acre bottomland hardwood forest south of Tallahassee is being preserved through carbon credits to buffer hurricanes, absorb floodwaters, and protect endangered species like the Gulf sturgeon.

Aurora Sustainable Lands, the nation's seventh largest private forest owner, manages the project on one of the largest intact tracts of land in the eastern U.S.

Keiki Worthington is the company's vice president of carbon operations and explains the urgency amid rising threats of hurricanes and other storms.

The forests that surround the river are the unique bottomland forests.

They're full of cypress and tupelo trees, trees that are used to seasonal flooding and are really great at helping slow down water as it floods.

A 2025 ecosystem marketplace report shows demand for high integrity carbon offsets has surged 62 percent since 2023.

I'm Trammel Gomes.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.