Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Supreme Court clears the way for Republican-friendly Texas voting maps; In Twin Cities, riverfront development rules get on the same page; Boston College Prison Education Program expands to women's facility; NYS bill requires timely state reimbursement to nonprofits; Share Oregon holiday spirit by donating blood.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast for December the 5th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for Texas lawmakers to use newly redrawn congressional maps favoring Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.

That from the New York Times.

They report the decision overturned, at least for now, a lower court ruling that the new maps were likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

That decision had blocked lawmakers from using the maps in the midterms.

The Times notes the Supreme Court's order comes days before a December 8 deadline for candidates to file to run for office in Texas.

It marks a victory for Texas Republicans and for President Trump, who has pushed GOP-led states to revise their congressional maps to try to secure Republican victories in the midterms.

Meantime, the health of the Mississippi River doesn't just have to do with what's in the water.

Environmental groups say smart city planning helps protect the river's edge and in Minnesota a major milestone could soon be reached.

Next week the St. Paul City Council is expected to become the 25th and final local government in the Twin Cities to approve DNR-led development standards for metro area cities along the river.

Colleen O'Connor-Toberman with Friends of the Mississippi River says prior to this push it was sometimes challenging for environmental advocates to gain momentum in fighting projects they opposed, and it was hard for developers to have a clear idea of what they could propose for this corridor.

Letting each city kind of go on their own and do it their own way wasn't resulting in a consistent development and consistent protection for the river.

In crafting their own regulations each city along this stretch had to include restrictions like height limits for certain structures and limits on land alterations in sensitive areas.

The group hopes to see less bluff erosion and high-rise buildings disrupting scenic views.

I'm Mike Moen.

And a group of incarcerated women in Massachusetts will soon get a chance to further their education and earn credits towards a college degree.

The Boston College Prison Education Program will work with a dozen women at the Medium Security Facility in Framingham on courses related to applied liberal arts.

Program Director Patrick Conway says he's seen firsthand how supportive learning can transform the lives of people behind bars.

The amount of talent in these facilities, it's such a shame if that's not being tapped into and I think programs like ours hopefully really effectively tap into it and allow opportunities Boston College professors will teach the courses and students will be encouraged to continue their studies on campus upon release.

Research shows that when people in prison are able to complete educational programs it cuts recidivism rates by more than half in some cases compared to those who did not participate.

I'm Katherine Carley.

The Women's Program was inspired by Boston College's years of work at the State Prison for Men in Shirley where four graduates earned their degrees earlier this fall. 15 formerly incarcerated students are also currently studying at BC.

This is Public News Service.

Next to New York where legislation in Albany would reinforce deadlines for the state to reimburse nonprofit organizations for the wide variety of public services that they provide.

The bill changes the state's contracting law to address nonprofits challenges getting paid by the state for everything from social services to disaster recovery.

The New York Council on Nonprofits finds the state owes 650 million dollars to nonprofit groups with more than half worried about how they'll operate without these funds.

Dr. Sharon McLennan-Weir with the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York says many nonprofits struggle as they wait for state dollars.

What happens a lot of times is that these nonprofits are using whatever reserves they have.

If their reserves run out, they're using lines of credit, and when that runs out, they are essentially out of business.

Research indicates nonprofit groups most often take out interest-bearing loans and then absorb the interest payments.

McLennan-Weir adds the government shutdown greatly affected groups like Sydney when federal money didn't trickle down to the states.

The bill has been delivered to Governor Kathy Hochul.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

We had next to Indiana, one of 26 states with a certified abandoned mine land program.

Its purpose is to eliminate health, safety, and environmental hazards left behind by unpermitted mining.

Governor Mike Braun has praised Indiana as one of the nation's top coal-producing states and says the state is equipped to reclaim rare earth elements from coal and coal byproducts through rare earth recovery.

Director of the abandoned mine land program Kit Turpin says sites mined before 1977 and left in an unreclaimed condition are eligible for federal funding.

On these abandoned mines there's these coal processing waste piles that are left behind.

We call them gob piles.

They have rare earth elements in them and right now they're sitting on the landscape and in many cases they're impacting the waterways of Indiana.

Gap piles are mixtures of coal, rock and other debris that lack vegetation and can be environmentally hazardous due to acid mine drainage.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

Finally, as some folks in Oregon get swamped with holiday chores, travel and winter weather, some may not take the time to donate blood like they normally would.

You may not realize that it takes about 1,000 donors a day just to maintain a healthy blood supply for hospitals in the state.

Isabel Anderson is with the American Red Cross Cascades Region, covering Oregon and southwest Washington.

She says overall, blood supplies are stable for now, but the O+ blood supply is dwindling.

"That's really important because it's the most used blood type in hospitals.

So we're really looking for people of all blood types, but especially if you have that O+ blood type, we'd love you to come in and roll up your sleeves and donate." explains O positive is the blood type most needed because it's the most common found in nearly 40 percent of the population.

I'm Isabel Charlet.

This is Mike Clifford.

Thank you for wrapping up your week with Public News Service.

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