Six minutes of news from around the nation.

North Carolina beach towns brace for a surge of dangerous seas; 'Boston will not back down': mayor hits back at Trump officials' sanctuary city threats; TennCare expands coverage to include obesity medications; Immigrant power growing in northeast Colorado town; MN dairy farmers get vocal about confronting corporations; AL oncologist warns NIH, NCI cuts could put cancer patients at risk.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, August 20th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Governor Josh Stein of North Carolina declared a state of emergency Tuesday as the outer bands of Hurricane Aaron inch closer to the state, increasing the likelihood of life-threatening rip currents this week.

That for the New York Times.

They report the state's emergency management agency said the storm surge or the abnormal rise of water generated by a storm could reach as high as four feet on Wednesday.

And from The Guardian, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has hit back sharply at the Trump administration's legal threats over sanctuary city immigration policies, declaring Boston will not back down.

Wu told a news conference outside Boston City Hall Tuesday the U.S. Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is.

Stop attacking our cities to hide your administration's failures.

And despite widespread funding cuts in the federal reconciliation bill, Tennessee's Medicaid program 10-Care is expanding access to care by covering FDA-approved weight management medications.

With nearly 38 percent of Tennessee adults living with obesity, the policy change marks a significant step towards addressing one of the state's most pressing public health challenges.

Gary Daugherty with the American Diabetes Association says the new 10 care partnership broadens access to treatments for obesity and diabetes.

Previously, 10 care only covered obesity medications for beneficiaries under the age of 21 and that created a gap in care.

So the new policy will cover medications for obesity management for both adults and children.

Dardy says 10 Cares coverage of weight management medication will help many of the 2.6 million Tennesseans living with obesity while also cutting health care costs and reducing obesity related complications statewide.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Meantime a grassroots community in Fort Morgan, a small town 80 miles northeast of Denver, has continued to welcome people seeking safety in the U.S. from civil war, cartel violence, and other dangers.

Guadalupe Lopez came to the U.S. in 1998 from Venezuela.

She says it's important to connect families with someone they can trust to help them navigate a completely foreign process with paperwork and other hurdles.

And so by having someone on the ground, it really makes a difference for people to have clarity about what their next step might be.

In 2012, Lopez was put in shackles during a traffic stop and turned over to U.S. immigration authorities.

She faced her first court appearance alone with her husband, but after being introduced to a community of activists, supporters stood by her side at the second hearing.

Lopez has been dedicated to helping others ever since and gained legal residency last year.

I'm Eric Galatas.

This is Public News Service.

So do you know which farm the milk in your fridge comes from?

dairy farms in Minnesota say they're increasingly worried it's not from their cows but rather factory farms.

Dairy farms have long been at the heart and soul of Minnesota's agricultural sector but data show corporate consolidation has helped lead to a dramatic shrinking of independent producers of milk, cheese and other dairy products.

State Attorney General Keith Ellison says his office is interested in making use of antitrust laws to prevent small farms from selling off their land.

Dairy farmers that are small are innovative, they're efficient, but they just sort of have the deck stacked against them.

Ellison says establishing market fairness overlaps with other needs of rural residents including health care and high-speed internet access.

Dairy consolidation woes are likely to be raised during an August 24th town hall in Painesville featuring Ellison and hosted by the Land Stewardship Project.

I'm Mike Moen.

And Kentucky's received about $62 million in grant funding from the EPA's Solar for All program to expand access to solar power and help households reduce utility costs.

But communities will no longer see those funds after the Trump administration announced the program's cancellation.

In 2023, the Commonwealth created a proposal that aimed to reduce participating households' monthly energy bills by up to 20 percent.

It mainly reaches low-income households and communities that do not often have access to renewable energy, explains Julia Finch with Sierra Club's Kentucky Chapter.

Another goal was to provide jobs and trainings in renewable energy and to create a workforce that is ready to engage with renewable energy.

So we see this as a huge setback.

Louisville and Eastern Kentucky counties had planned to use $150 million to create a forgivable solar loan program for low-income households, as well as build community centers powered solar panels for use during natural disasters.

This is Nadia Ramligan for Kentucky News Connection.

Finally, federal cancer research that has fueled life-saving treatments in Alabama and beyond for decades could soon take a major hit.

The Trump administration's 2026 budget proposal calls for slashing the National Cancer Institute funding by nearly $2.7 billion and cutting the National Institute of Health by more than 40 percent.

Dr. Qasim Hassani is an oncologist and health policy researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

At UAB at least, you know, we've seen how quickly research turns into new therapies for our patients here in Alabama, here in Birmingham.

But if funding drives up, that progress stalls.

So the end result is more suffering and fewer lives saved.

Hassani explains that reductions would be especially harmful for research areas that don't typically attract private investment.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

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

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