Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Tropical Storm warnings now span the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Louisiana; Immigrants' rights leaders in California slam changes to public charge rule; Patient cost cuts for Indiana hospitals on the horizon; Lake swimmers in Nebraska urged to watch for harmful algal blooms.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Bertha is now the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The National Hurricane Center says the center of Bertha, located about 140 miles south of Panama City, Florida, maximum sustained winds were about 40 miles an hour.

Additional strengthening is expected as the storm approaches land.

NBC News notes a tropical storm warning in effect now for a wide area from the Akalakami River in Florida, westward to southeastern Louisiana at the Jefferson and Plaquemines Parish line.

Meantime, starting in September, it may become harder for some immigrants in California and elsewhere to get a green card.

Support organizations cite changes finalized Monday by the Trump administration to the public charge rule.

The feds are rescinding a Biden-era policy that promised government officials would not hold it against a green card applicant if they or their family used non-cash benefits like housing vouchers and food stamps.

Benjamin Chow with the California Immigrant Policy Center, says U.S. citizen children in mixed status families could lose out on necessary services.

We're afraid that families who are in need of food will choose not to access CalFresh, even though a child in that household is eligible.

The Department of Homeland Security contends the previous policy encouraged dependency on taxpayer money.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

And Indiana lawmakers are changing how hospitals charge for patient services.

The focus of a new law is to keep costs affordable, but hospital administrators warn the opposite could happen.

Hospitals that don't keep prices below the threshold by 2029 could lose their tax-exempt status and would have to cough up millions in state taxes.

Brown University School of Public Health professor Chris Whaley says an Indiana resident with commercial insurance is currently paying among the highest prices in the country for hospital care.

What several states, including the state of Indiana, have decided to do is to limit how much hospitals can charge patients with commercial insurance.

And in Indiana, that limit is set at around 265 percent of what Medicare would pay.

Hospital leaders argue that price controls won't address operating costs involving labor, technology, and pharmaceutical prices and could instead lead to reduced services.

This story was produced with original reporting from Phil Gelwitz and Samantha Liss for KFF Health News.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

Next, as swimmers head for Nebraska lakes to cool off this summer, health officials warn make sure the spot you choose is safe.

David Schumacher is with the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment.

What we're looking for is a scum-like, almost as somebody wears spilled paint on the surface of the lake.

It would have the oily sheen to it.

We describe it as John Deere green in color.

Recent health alerts in Colfax, Stanton, and Gage County have been lifted, but Nebraska health officials warn harmful algal blooms can develop quickly during the summer.

This is Public News Service.

Minnesota is now part of legal action to jumpstart federal reviews of onshore wind projects.

The Department of Defense hit the pause button on security checks, And an independent think tank says that hurts the region's economy.

Last week, Minnesota's Keith Ellison and 18 other attorneys general intervened in a lawsuit against the DOD.

North Star Policy Action's Jake Schweitzer says the Pentagon routinely evaluates whether wind turbines could interfere with military radar.

But that process has stopped under the Trump administration.

Schweitzer says so far, four proposed Minnesota projects are affected, costing the state jobs.

When we're talking about 4,400 Minnesota jobs being lost as a result of this pause, that's 4,400 folks who aren't bringing home a paycheck.

President Donald Trump has long been a critic of wind energy, and the administration believes moves like these are necessary to address national security threats.

I'm Mike Moen.

Next, organizers working to end homelessness in North Dakota say they're trying to fill gaps left by program closures that help to make housing more affordable for residents.

It's been almost a year since the local pandemic emergency rental assistance program sunsetted.

Andrea Olson with Community Action Partnership of North Dakota says the state has since seen a tenfold reduction in the capacity of its resources.

Olson explains at its peak in 2025, the program was serving about 800 households per month.

Where our program, the North Dakota Homeless Grant Program, can only serve about 80 to 100 households per month.

So it's a staggering scalability.

It leaves a gap that we just cannot fill.

Expired federal pandemic-era funds forced the program to end.

Olson says since it closed, her organization has received an increase in calls from both urban and rural residents in need of financial assistance.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

Finally, along with thinking about back-to-school supplies and schedules, Oregon doctors are reminding families now is a time to plan annual wellness appointments for their kids.

Known as well child visits, yearly checkups ensure kids are on track with vaccines, growth and overall development so they are ready physically and emotionally to go back to school.

Oregon clinic pediatrician Dr. Meredith Grover says families sometimes skip visits when no vaccines are due, but she stresses that maintaining a relationship with your pediatrician is still important. the growth of the children to make sure their speech is on track, to make sure their physical development's on track.

Are they moving in the way they're supposed to at their age?

These are all things that a parent might not be aware of if they're only coming in for the shot visit.

The more data, the better, she says.

So yearly visits are helpful.

I'm Isobel Charle.

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

Find our toast indicators at publicnewsservice.org.