Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Appearing before a GOP-led Senate Committee, Fauci repeatedly invokes the Fifth Amendment; New threats loom for Arizona's Indigenous voters; Reproductive rights debate expected in the next Texas legislative session; AARP poll: Older Georgia voters prioritize Affordability and Social Security.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service, Daily Newscast, July the 30th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Grilled for hours by the GOP-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Dr. Anthony Fauci Wednesday repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the fact he received a pardon in early 2025 from Democratic President Joe Biden, Some Republicans pursuing a years-long campaign for his arrest suggested he could still face charges for any perjury committed during Wednesday's hearing.

In a public letter, more than 150 infectious disease experts and other scientists wrote that no credible evidence has been produced to support these absurd charges.

Meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day can still be counted.

While the move is a win for Arizona's indigenous voters, voting rights advocates say the debate highlights the challenges Native people face in trying to submit a ballot in person.

The sheer geography, vast distances between physical polling places and lack of transportation, all present obstacles for indigenous voters.

In many places, the nearest polling place may be miles away.

But Arizona Native Votes Janie Parrish says many people on reservations also lack physical addresses, which creates its own set of problems.

Even in some rural towns, they have physical addressing, but not on a lot of tribal lands.

We still predominantly use P.O. boxes.

That means we have to go to a U.S. post office or another location to pick up mail.

But our folks still vote by mail.

The Trump administration has pushed back on the high court's ruling, asking justices to allow the president's executive order to be implemented.

I'm Mark Moran.

And advocates for reproductive rights in Texas are preparing for the upcoming legislative session following a recent meeting of the Senate Committee on State Affairs.

During the interim charges hearing, lawmakers heard testimony on election security and the implementation of House Bill 7, which prohibits the manufacture, mailing and distribution of abortion inducing drugs.

Raven Freeborn, executive director of Avow Texas, believes the two topics go hand in hand.

This isn't just about abortion.

If lawmakers can punish people for intent in one area, they can and will extend that logic anywhere else to protest, to speech, to health care and to voting.

According to the Guttmacher Report, more than 42,000 Texas residents had clinician provided abortions in 2025.

Republican lawmakers want to further restrict the use of abortion inducing medications.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

Before HB7, Texas already had one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country.

The 90th Texas legislative session starts on January 12, 2027.

This is Public News Service.

Older voters in Georgia are highly motivated to vote this November, and their top concerns are the cost of everyday items, health care, and protecting Social Security.

That's according to new polling from AARP.

To get a pulse for what's top of mind for older voters here in the Peach State, some issues remain constant while others reflect the realities of today.

Adrian Bell is associate state director for AARP Georgia.

He says these issues cut across party lines.

Affordability, the cost of groceries, the cost of health care, cost of housing, cost of gasoline, that is all among the top concerns and issues that we feel may drive this election.

The poll found that 88% of voters 50 and older rated themselves a 10 out of 10 in motivation to vote, compared to 62% of voters under 50.

In the Senate race, 52% of all voters preferred incumbent John Ossoff.

But among voters 50 and older, 53% support Republican Mike Collins.

In the governor's race, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms leads overall, but Republican Rick Jackson leads among older voters.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

And autistic students are attending college in far greater numbers than previously believed, according to researchers at Michigan State University.

Earlier estimates placed the population of autistic college students as low as 60,000 nationwide.

Those figures were based on old and limited data, including a sample form more than 25 years ago.

MSU associate professor Brad Cox began studying autism in higher education after his son was diagnosed at age four.

He says the new numbers are dramatically higher than what was previously estimated.

Our latest study is one that suggests that there may be almost 300,000 autistic undergraduates currently attending college in the United States.

That means it's a population worth paying attention to.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Finally, as anti-immigrant policies are enacted and intolerance for diversity spreads, Groups that are representing Indian Americans say they're well-positioned to help heal America's divide.

Research shows a dramatic rise in anti-India rhetoric on social media, fueled by false accusations that Indians are stealing American jobs.

Ramesh Vishwanath Kapoor is president of the U.S.-India Security Council.

He says even former President John F.

Kennedy saw India as an example for the U.S. on how to get along.

We need a beacon of hope and I think the Indian American community with their culture and religion can put that together.

India has done that.

There are so many different groups that are there.

Kapoor says Indian Americans played a large role in the 2008 U.S.-India nuclear deal in which India volunteered to stop testing nuclear bombs.

I'm Catherine Carley.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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