Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Trump's effort to quell MAGA revolt over Epstein files seems to add fuel to the fire; As public sentiment shifts, MN watchdog criticizes ICE tactics; IN food pantries hit by SUN Bucks blackout; EPA employees on paid leave after signing "declaration of dissent."

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service to a newscast July the 15th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Trump has come to the defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi amid an all out revolt among his MAGA base over the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

But his effort over the weekend to quell the outrage only seemed to add fuel to the fire.

That's the take from ABC News.

They report Trump in a lengthy post said, we have a perfect administration, the talk of the world, and selfish people are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.

ABC notes Trump's post was ratioed, meaning the post received far more replies than likes or reposts.

That's often a sign of widespread disapproval, despite the fact Trump was on his home turf, truth social.

And new public polling indicates Americans are less enthusiastic about mass deportation efforts.

In Minnesota, frustrations are mounting over how some immigrants are being targeted by ICE agents when trying to see their case go through the courts.

The latest Gallup survey shows 38 percent of respondents favor deporting all immigrants, coinciding with the Trump administration's hardline stance.

That's down from 47 percent last year.

Erica Zurowski of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee says her staff witnessed plainclothes officers waiting outside immigration court hearings after a client made a required appearance.

We watched him plead to not take him as they took him away.

We asked the ICE officers if we could have one minute just to let him know what his appeal rights are.

They aggressively said no.

She says through executive actions, immigration judges, and ICE agents, people expecting to have their cases heard fairly are being denied due process.

The Department of Homeland Security says it's reversing Biden-era policies and that ICE is following the law by placing undocumented people in expedited removal.

I'm Mike Moen.

This story produced in collaboration with Yes Media.

Indiana families are navigating the summer without Sunbuck's, a federal grocery benefit that delivered $100 per child last summer.

Governor Mike Braun's administration chose not to participate in 2025, citing prior planning gaps.

Mark Lynch, director of advocacy for Indy Hunger Network says the funding blackout hit the state hard.

We really are feeling and seeing the impacts of not having the Sunbucks program this year.

So that $120 per summer for those students that they had last year have created some longer lines at our food pantries.

State leaders say administrative hurdles kept Indiana out of the program.

Supporters argue that skipping Sunbucks puts pressure on food banks and leaves low income families with fewer options.

I'm Joe Ulari, Public News Service.

The Indy Hunger Network and other partners continue to support Hoosiers through tools like the Community Compass app, which shows nearby meal sites and grocery assistance programs.

This is public news service.

More than a hundred Environmental Protection Agency employees are now on paid leave after signing a dissent letter.

The changes will undermine scientists' ability to collect data that helps inform policymakers and brings resources to communities exposed to water and air pollution, says Mark Haag, a former EPA regional administrator who spent nearly 40 years at the agency.

Stripping all that away is a real problem and puts people's health at risk, not only in those communities, but across the country.

The union representing EPA employees has called EPA administrator Lee Zeldin's actions retaliation and a violation of workers' protected speech rights.

The EPA has previously stated the letter sabotages and undercuts the administration's agenda.

This is Nadia Ramligan for Kentucky News Connection.

And a new compassion calculator launched by the group FarmKind aims to help Coloradans who eat meat improve their animal welfare footprints by funneling small donations to verified nonprofit, similar to how polluting companies buy offsets to reduce their carbon footprints.

FarmKind co-founder Tom Norman says the calculator makes it easy for anyone to help end the controversial practice of factory farming, where large numbers of animals are confined in small spaces to produce dairy, eggs, and meat as cheaply as possible.

Most people agree that factory farming is bad.

Almost half of people in America say that they want to see a ban on new factory farms.

And people often don't know what they can do to help with this problem.

Proponents of factory farming have argued that it's necessary to meet growing demand from a rising global population, but Norman believes the marketplace is shifting.

One recipient of the donations, the Human League, led successful campaigns to get McDonald's, Panera, Starbucks, and Taco Bell to stop using eggs from hens confined in cages so small that birds could not stretch their wings or stand upright.

The calculator is online at farmkind.giving.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Finally, we head to Connecticut, one of 12 states chosen for a new program to help people obtain non-degree credentials.

Lumina Foundation's Future Ready States program helps adults consider alternatives to traditional degree programs like professional certifications, licenses, and apprenticeships, which can be stacked or become degrees.

Reports show Connecticut spent $70 million on these kinds of programs in 2024.

Kristen Fox with the Business Higher Education Forum says this program has several focuses to boost workforce readiness through short-term credentials.

How we define and design credentials of value that are accessible and affordable are ensuring that we are serving all learners and workers in the state of Connecticut, and we are not leaving any of our talent behind.

This comes as the federal budget mega bill expands Pell Grants to cover short-term credential programs.

Most Pell Grants max out at $7,400, but the workforce grants would be less since they're based on the number of credits, weeks, or hours a program offers.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.