Six minutes of news from around the nation.

CEO Sooting Suspect Luigi Mangione Charged with 5 crimes in PA; College costs still a major hurdle for TN students; East TX program connects residents to services, frees up 911; Pathways developed to reduce dementia risk in CO.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily newscast, December the 10th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Luigi Mangione is in custody in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as a suspect in the brazen Midtown Manhattan murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, according to authorities.

We get that from ABC News.

They report Mangione, a 26-year-old from Maryland, has been arrested by Altoona police on unrelated charges.

He has been charged with five crimes, including carrying a gun without a license, forgery, falsely identifying himself to authorities, and possessing instruments of crime.

ABC notes the charging document alleges Mangione lied about his identity to police and carried the ghost gun without a license.

And a new report from the Sycamore Institute reveals the persistent challenge of college affordability in states like Tennessee.

More from our Daniel Smith.

Despite state and federal aid programs, many students still struggle to cover the costs of higher education.

Sycamore Institute Executive Director Brian Stracely says maintaining scholarships is a challenge for some students because of academics, service, or renewal requirements.

He says students often drop out due to housing costs, food insecurity, and transportation issues.

There are also sort of cost of living challenges frequently where housing, obviously, across the board, across the country, has gotten a lot more expensive.

And some of these scholarship programs, they won't pay for living expenses.

They will only pay for tuition and fees.

According to the report, Tennessee's post-secondary education costs vary widely by institution type.

For the 2023-2024 school year, average costs range from more than $21,000 at public two-year colleges to more than $44,000 at private four-year institutions.

Next up, first responders in the East Texas City of Longview are getting help from a recently formed organization.

The GLOW program helps connect residents with services they need.

Amy Hooten with the City of Longview says people sometimes call 911 for non-emergency issues.

Life, transportation, food insecurities, they have trouble getting their medication, don't really have family support.

They're not able to connect with the resources that are available in the community, and so that's what we do.

She says GLOW is made up of eight entities within Longview, including the city, the county, United Way, both hospitals and mental health services.

It's funded through a grant from Episcopal Health Foundation.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

The program was formed toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once residents sign up, a needs assessment is performed to determine what services they're lacking.

She says the assessments are beneficial, especially in addressing non-medical drivers of health.

This is Public News Service.

Scientists have identified steps people could take right now to reduce their risk of dementia in the future.

Dementia, a disease with profound impacts on families, loved ones, and caregivers, affects more than 55 million people globally, including some 6 million in the U.S.

But new research shows that people can reduce their risks by making even small changes in their daily routines, for example, through exercise and eating more vegetables.

Sarah Locke with AARP says there are also important steps policymakers can take to make it easier for people to maintain healthy behaviors.

When we do that, we can disrupt dementia, and that's a really exciting possibility given that so many of us, as our nation is aging, are facing that risk.

Dementia is the third largest cause of death in the nation for people age 70 and older, and two-thirds of Americans have at least one major potential risk factor.

People who smoke five cigarettes per day have a 16 percent higher dementia risk than non-smokers.

People with pre-diabetes face a 25 percent increased risk, which rises to 50 percent with full-blown diabetes.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Meantime, Utah is leading a battle over control of public lands, with New Mexico and other western states caught in the crosshairs.

Utah's Republican officials want to sell off nearly 20 million acres and have enlisted 13 other states in a lawsuit headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The lawsuit argues the federal government shouldn't control Bureau of Land Management parcels within Utah's border, and per the Constitution, can only own a state's military bases.

Jessie Dubelle is with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.

The consequences of this are far more reaching than just the BLM, and it's also far more reaching than just the state of Utah.

This would affect public lands everywhere.

If the high court agrees with Utah's argument that the federal government cannot hold public lands indefinitely, Dubelle says federal ownership of national parks, forests, or wildlife refuges could be challenged.

I'm Roz Brown.

Finally, today is International Human Rights Day, and much attention has been paid to North Dakota's growing refugee population.

In the federal fiscal year that recently ended, the organization Global Refuge says North Dakota welcomed more than 280 refugees, nearly double the previous year.

Field Director Dan Hanaher says there's room for more, with employers clamoring for individuals to fill open jobs.

He says by welcoming these populations and helping them meet basic needs right off the start, local economies function better.

Whether it's manufacturing, health care, retail, refugee resettlement, and immigration is a key to our economic success.

I'm Mike Moen.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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