Six minutes of news from around the nation.

2nd Amendment backlash follows portrayal of Alex Pretti by some Trump administration officials; 'A real deep wound': The push for survival in MN areas targeted by ICE; 2nd Amendment backlash follows portrayal of Alex Pretti by some Trump administration officials; Report: Black female unemployment spikes amid federal pushback against DEI; with recent tax changes, extra value added to ID's free aide sites.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, January 29, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The fatal Minneapolis shooting of Alex Pretty involved federal agents and the instant portrayal of him as an armed individual engaged in domestic terrorism by some top Trump officials.

It has sparked a Second Amendment backlash against the administration.

That's from ABC News.

Multiple gun rights groups have criticized Christie Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel for publicly condemning Preddy for bringing a gun to a protest despite Minnesota officials confirming he had a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Noem said of Preddy during a news conference just hours after he was shot, "I don't know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign." to meet daily needs while surrounded by federal immigration officers.

A local philanthropic arm is distributing new financial relief in hopes that grassroots organizing and civic engagement doesn't lose energy.

The Headwaters Foundation for Justice says it's providing $120,000 in emergency funding to organizations throughout Minnesota assisting with mutual aid.

Co-executive director Bilal Alqatout is sad to see businesses shuttered in culturally rich neighborhoods.

He argues it puts pressure on households struggling to pay rent and cover basic needs.

It's going to be a real deep wound to heal and it's going to take quite a bit of time.

Local organizers say unlike the racial reckoning after George Floyd's murder and the COVID-19 pandemic, there isn't much in the way of help from the government.

The Trump administration describes the local resistance as overly hostile, but national observers mostly paint a different picture, suggesting Minnesota is a model for how to respond to this kind of crisis.

I'm Mike Moen.

Meantime, the debate of what mix of power sources best ensures reliability during extreme weather in Texas is resurfacing after winter storm Fern.

While the storm strained grids in several parts of the country, Texas avoided the kind of widespread outages seen during the deadly 2021 freeze, renewing questions about how the state's power system is evolving.

Michelle Solomon is with clean energy research group, Energy Innovation.

She says the latest cold snap offered a revealing look at what's keeping the grid holding up under pressure.

Because Texas has been able to add so much wind, solar and batteries in the last few years, they so far have been able to ride through the cold temperatures quite well and with many fewer issues than they did during winter storm Uri when they had a lot of power outages.

But industry groups and state officials say traditional power plants are still doing most of the heavy lifting.

The Texas Oil and Gas Association said during the storm that natural gas infrastructure showed serious grit.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This is public news service.

As President Donald Trump continues to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion policies, thousands of black women in Indiana and nationwide are losing their jobs.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the unemployment rate for black women increased nearly one and a half percent from January to December of last year.

That includes thousands in federal rolls laid off due to budget cuts.

To cover living expenses, many of these workers must apply for full or partial government assistance.

Employment attorney, Chiquita Hall-Jackson, believes economic uncertainty and job losses linked to Trump's orders have hit black women the hardest.

The government is the number one employer of black people, including black women.

If the government is controlled by this administration, especially for employment, and they come in and wiping out positions, will buy out the fourth or fifth retirement and ultimately firing and targeting black people in their roles, especially leadership roles.

This is where we land.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

And you probably noticed tax season has arrived.

And with recent changes, free services like those provided by the AARP Foundation in Idaho could be even more important than recent years.

The foundation's tax aid program offers in-person help to people with low and moderate incomes of all ages.

Karen Cummings is the tax aid state coordinator for AARP Idaho.

She says recent changes to the tax code from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress last year could increase demand as people figure out how the new rules apply to them.

Taxpayers that earn tips, taxpayers that earn overtime, and those can be very, very convoluted and confusing.

And so we are going to be here to help them get through that and prepare their tax return.

It's a lot to take in.

There's a lot of changes this year.

Most sites in the state will begin offering their services at the beginning of February.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

Finally, to West Virginia, where lawmakers are working on a bipartisan bill that would tap into state rainy day funds to help improve local water infrastructure and drinking water quality.

The Coalfield Clean Water Act would provide a one-time $250 million investment to municipalities for water treatment maintenance and upgrades.

That's a small price to pay for the economic and public health impacts associated with safe drinking water, says Reverend Kaitlyn Ware, a pastor at United Methodist Church.

If we cannot get safe drinking water into communities, you're losing fire services, you're losing businesses, you're losing residents.

You don't have economic development if you don't have safe drinking water.

Many residents drive up to 20 minutes to collect spring water and continue to report tap water appearing orange or black in color.

This is Nadia Ramlagan for West Virginia News Service.

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

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