Six minutes of news from around the nation.

GOP senator: Hegseth is either lying about second boat strike or incompetent; Black leaders still mobilizing for midterms despite NC gerrymandering; Marketing overhaul: Transforming SD ranchers into 'influencers'; High school vocational training boosts attendance, graduation rates; FoodShare's back but SNAP snafu keeps Wisconsin families hungry.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, December the 3rd, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Republican Senator Rand Paul on Tuesday accused Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth of either lying in his public response to news reports that the U.S. military carried out a follow-up strike on a suspected drug boat in September or being incompetent.

That was CNN.

They quote Paul as saying, "Secretary Hegseth said he had no knowledge of this and it did not happen.

It was fake news.

It didn't happen."

And then the next day for the podium, the White House saying, "It did happen."

So either he was lying to us or he's incompetent and didn't know it had happened.

Meantime, a federal court decision allowing North Carolina to establish a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterms is a hurdle to representation for the state's black population, to civil rights advocates.

But black leaders in the state aren't throwing in the towel.

The U.S. District Court decision is a win for Republicans, who are aiming to add a seat for the party in the U.S. House.

It's part of a larger effort to redraw maps in favor of Republicans in states across the country after a call from President Donald Trump to do so before the midterms.

The judges in the North Carolina case said they wouldn't weigh in on the bias of the new map.

But President of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference Deborah Maxwell notes that reshaping of two districts dilutes the power of black voters in eastern North Carolina.

It's really odd that they would say that they did not choose it because of race, but you chose the area to eliminate a potential black congressperson which that area has had for decades.

The judges wrote that plaintiffs have not made a clear showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of any of the claims advanced in their preliminary injunction motions, meaning the map will go into place for next year's election.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting. and overseeing a farm is no longer just about chores in the fields and barns.

Direct-to-consumer marketing is changing the game and South Dakota ranchers see digital platforms as another way to promote what they raise and how they do it.

In western South Dakota Gwen Kitsand of Kitsand Family Farms says they're now active on sites like Facebook in hopes of expanding their customer base for products like lamb meat.

She says there are consumers who want to hear the farm's story and how it's and the other is the presence of AI is complicating things, with consumers sometimes asking questions that stem from misinformation.

I'm Mike Moen.

This is Public News Service.

As New England high schools work to expand their vocational training programs, many are taking cues from one New York City high school student-centered approach.

DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx offers a dozen career and college pathways, which allow students to gain industry certifications, as well as college credits and even a paycheck.

Principal Pierre Orby says an initial listening tour found the majority of students needed to work to help provide for their families.

He says on-campus internships have helped boost attendance and get them excited to learn.

For many students, they would take an opportunity to work here in a confine that they were safer than to be outside trying to make ends meet.

He says the school hired teachers from industries that students wanted to work in themselves, including nursing, music production, and commercial art.

The graduation rate last year reached 95 percent compared to 48 percent just a decade ago.

This story is based on original reporting from Elizabeth Hubeck with Education Week.

I'm Catherine Carley.

And food share funds may have been restored in Wisconsin, but local organizations are speaking out about how program disruptions caused by the government shutdown are still preventing some residents from being able to access healthy food.

Grow It Forward in Minnetowoc County multiple food access programs.

CEO Amber Dogg says while the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has resumed, the government shutdown delayed the approval of their application to accept food share at their Winters Farmers Market until at least February or March.

She says some regional farmers looking to accept food share at their farm stands are experiencing similar delays.

So this prevents small rural farmers, but also grocers from being able to have necessary funding and resources to keep their shelves stocked and their purveyors paid and their staff employed."

Dogg says for every food share dollar that is spent, it provides nearly double that in economic impact.

Last year, Manitowoc County ranked third in Wisconsin for the percentage of farmers' market sales made using food share.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch, reporting.

Finally, optometrists have provided free vision care to around 50,000 folks in Kentucky through the Kentucky Vision Project. but access to eye care remains out of reach for many in low income households.

The American Optometric Association says one in every four kids has a vision disorder that requires diagnosis and treatment.

Executive Director of the nonprofit Good Vision USA, Matt Janinoff says when kids are struggling with their eyesight, poor academic performance follows.

They're less likely to attend school, they're less likely to complete school.

Students with a vision impairment that are unaddressed between two and four months of learning every year.

Kentucky ranks among the top states in the nation for the highest rates of vision acuity loss according to the CDC.

Nadia Ramlagan for Kentucky News Connection.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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