Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Zelensky brings backup to the White House as Trump aligns more closely with Putin; Police searching for multiple shooters who killed 3 and wounded 9 after dispute at a Brooklyn lounge; Nebraskans push back on anti-immigrant legislation; Opponents of TX redistricting say proposed maps would hurt minorities; Seafood fraud threatens Biloxi's shrimping heritage, report finds.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, August 18, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

This time when President Zelensky of Ukraine arrives in the Oval Office, he'll come with backup.

That from the New York Times.

They report an array of European prime ministers and presidents are flying in for the meeting today to make sure that a viable, defensible Ukraine survives whatever carving up of its territory is about to happen at the negotiating table.

The Times notes they're also there to make certain the transatlantic alliance emerges intact.

And from CNN, police searching for multiple shooters who killed three people and wounded nine others in a shooting authorities say stemmed from a gang-related dispute at a crowded Brooklyn lounge overnight.

Police have identified 12 victims from the shooting that took place early morning at the Taste of City in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood.

Meantime, migrant worker advocates in Nebraska have written a letter to the state's congressional delegation, urging them to initiate an update to the nation's immigration laws.

Some of which date back to the 1970s.

Nebraska Appleseed's Darcy Trummanhauser says sudden deportation efforts will disrupt Nebraska workplaces, separate families, and cause economic and labor ripple effects that hurt local communities.

We need better ways to transition from temporary to permanent status for neighbors, friends, family members who've been part of local communities for 20, 30 or more years who don't have a way to apply for residency.

Nebraska Appalachian and other members of the Nebraska Alliance for Thriving Communities are calling on Nebraska's Washington lawmakers to support the Promise and Dream Act, which would create stability for DACA and temporary protected status immigrants.

The legislation's been pending for 24 years.

I'm Mark Moran.

More than 70 organizations across Nebraska are pushing for updated immigration laws, but face a political tide of opposition in Washington.

And opponents of proposed redrawn congressional maps in Texas say the changes will hurt Latino, Black, and Asian voters.

Governor Greg Abbott placed redistricting on the agenda for the special legislative session after President Donald Trump said he wants to flip Democratic seats.

Tanya Chavez with the nonpartisan La Union del Pueblo Intero says the redrawn maps are unfair to minority voters.

The proposed map disrupts minority representation in K-12 South Texas and Central Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

And the proposed map appears to have one goal, and that is to change the district just enough to force out the representative chosen by Latino voters.

If the proposed maps are approved, four of the new seats would be majority Hispanic districts.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Next to the Gulf Coast, where Biloxi's century-old claim as the seafood capital of the world is under threat, as a report finds 82 percent of tested coast restaurants falsely labeled imported shrimp as local Gulf catches.

The study by Seed Consulting, which genetically sampled 44 restaurants, estimates such fraud costs U.S. shrimpers nearly a billion dollars annually.

Dave Williams is the report's lead researcher.

He says the findings expose a crisis for the region's identity.

"It is a real slap in the face of our industry that the actual city that is known as the shrimp capital has so many inauthentic products served.

It's just wrong."

The 2024 investigation identified only eight establishments, including Biloxi's White Pillars and Ocean Springs Vestige, that accurately source Gulf shrimp.

Mississippi passed seafood labeling laws in 2024, requiring restaurants to clearly state if shrimp is Gulf caught or imported, with fines for violations, but enforcement remains a challenge.

Based on original reporting by Boyce Uphold for the Food and Environment Reporting Network.

I'm Trammell Gomes.

In the meantime, Illinois students headed back to school will be scored differently on standardized tests since the Illinois State Board of Education has changed what qualifies a student to be deemed proficient.

What are known as the cut scores for math and English language arts on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness will be lower, while cut scores for the Illinois Science Assessment will be higher.

Jennifer Kermes, who oversaw policy and research at Advance Illinois at the time of the interview, says the state's standards are among the highest in the nation.

She adds educators and administrators felt they weren't painting an accurate picture, particularly at the high school level.

What school districts were finding is that students who were deemed not yet proficient, those students were actually demonstrating readiness for college and career in lots of other ways.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

And Massachusetts lawmakers have released what they say is a roadmap to greatly reduce poverty in the state by the year 2035.

The recommendations are based on testimony from community groups that work with low-income families as well as people struggling to get by in one of the most expensive states in the nation.

Democratic State Senator Sal DiDomenico says the goal is to put cash in people's pockets and create opportunities for long-term economic growth.

We know there are many steps to do this.

This is a very serious issue and we're going to take this approach where we're going to keep building over time. says it's unacceptable that roughly 70,000 Massachusetts children live in what's considered deep poverty or 50 percent below the federal poverty level.

I'm Catherine Carley.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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