Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Police hunt for gunman after UnitedHealthcare CEO is killed in Midtown Manhattan; Record number of women to serve in state legislatures nationwide; Onions caused McDonald's E. coli outbreak, but beef production still a concern; Detroit suburb revitalized by federal funds.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, December the 5th, 2024.

I'm Mike Clifford.

A furious manhunt underway in Manhattan after the head of one of the nation's largest health insurers was gunned down Wednesday in what police called a brazen targeted attack.

That from the New York Times.

The Times report's video shows what investigators said was the pistol jamming during the shooting and the assailant quickly clearing the jam and resuming to fire.

And on the video, Thompson collapses on the sidewalk before the gunman flees.

Next, 2025 will bring a new record number of women serving in state legislatures nationwide.

More than 2,400 women will hold state legislative offices, representing more than 33 percent.

Maine ranks ninth in the nation for statehouse gender parity, with women holding 43 percent of seats.

Jean Sinstack, with the Center for American Women in Politics, says she's pleased the trend is moving in the right direction.

We need to see bigger jumps in terms of the numbers of women running and getting elected in order to get closer to parity.

We're certainly making progress, but there's a ways to go.

Sinstack says when women run for office, they win, and that's good for democracy.

She says research shows women are more likely to build consensus among lawmakers and work across the aisle.

The election of Republican Kelly Ayotte as New Hampshire's next governor means a record 13 women will serve as a state chief executive next year, including Maine Governor Janet Mills.

Sinstack says these women serve as role models for other women to run for public office, but adds recruitment efforts for women candidates are still lacking.

I'm Katherine Carley.

Next to Nebraska, among the states affected by the recent E. coli outbreak, trace to onions and McDonald's hamburgers.

Federal officials say they now are certain about the source, but broader questions about the overlap with beef production linger.

This week, key federal agencies closed the investigation that pinpointed onions from a Colorado farm while also ruling out burger patties.

Ahead of that conclusion, some food safety experts wondered more about bacteria and manure from factory farms where livestock is raised, finding its way to produce operations.

Florida State University's Prashant Singh explains.

Manure sometimes, if not properly processed, in large operations, can spill over fresh produce.

More specifically, contaminated dust particles from waste at concentrated animal feeding operations can land on fields of lettuce.

Separately, a California carrot company last month launched a voluntary recall because of an E. coli outbreak.

Environmental groups note many carrots in California are grown near factory farms.

Singh points out that meat production has accelerated under evolving technology, with regulations enforced by the USDA.

But produce is monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, and he says the resources are vastly different.

I'm Mike Mullen reporting.

This is public news service.

A Detroit suburb is undergoing a transformation with funds for the American Rescue Plan Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Canton Charter Township is 31 miles west of Detroit with more than 98,000 residents.

It's investing in downtown revitalization, infrastructure upgrades and future industries such as EVs and clean energy.

Canton supervisor Anne-Marie Graham-Hudak highlights the energy efficient projects, which include buildings following energy policy.

We also are building a fourth fire station.

We're going to utilize geothermal and solar.

We are going to be the first in Michigan headed for zero energy, hopefully, you know, carbon emissions.

That's one of our goals.

For three years, Canton has earned Michigan's Green Community Gold status, a prestigious award that recognizes communities for their significant efforts in environmental sustainability.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Meantime, some experts contend part of the reason that Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential election was because of the intersection of sexism and racism.

Back in 2016, Nevadans supported making Hillary Clinton the first woman president.

In 2020, the Silver State backed Joe Biden and Harris, the first woman vice president.

But just last month, Nevada was won by now President-elect Donald Trump, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund.

Latasha Brown says despite the loss and Trump's relentless personal attacks on Harris, millions of Americans did vote for her because of what she embodied.

We cannot also accept this idea that because she was a woman and she was Black, that that in fact was a scarlet letter for her.

In fact, part of the reason why he attacked it was because it was a superpower as well.

Brown argues that while Trump made a conscious effort to weaponize gender and race, it also was what made Harris so attractive to many others.

I'm Alex Gonzalez reporting.

And the final federal plans for Greater Sage Grouse Habitat in Wyoming and other western states were met with criticism last month.

But some say the overdue plans need to be passed.

The final environmental impact statement from the U.S.

Department of the Interior revises policies on nearly half of sage grouse habitat across 10 states.

Some environmental advocates say the plans aren't protective enough for the birds, whose populations have declined about 80 percent across their range since the mid-1960s.

But Allison Holleran with Audubon Rockies says work needs to be able to happen on the ground now.

We have wasted 10 years.

We have serious issues with climate and drought, an invasive species, wildfire eating up our sagebrush.

These plans have an ability to put our words into action finally.

I'm Kathleen Shannon.

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

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