Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Congress passes 'One Big Beautiful Bill'; rural NH residents could lose out on healthcare options due to new budget; national pride is at an all-time low according to a new Gallup Poll; an AL fire chief discusses firework safety on the Fourth of July; an IL poli-sci professor says white English speakers are commonly seen as 'American'; a KS electric vehicle manufacturer worries about impacts of ending tax credits; and a WV coal mining lawsuit moves ahead.

TRANSCRIPT

Public News Service Daily Newscast for Friday, July 4th, 2025.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

The Congressional Budget Reconciliation Bill passed the House of Representatives by a 218 to 214 vote.

Only two Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill.

Proponents cheer the bill as the cornerstone of President Donald Trump's agenda to cut waste, fraud, and abuse from federal spending, but critics call the bill harmful, noting it slashes funding for social safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP, and now heads to the president's desk for his signature or veto.

Healthcare advocates say rural patients will have even fewer options due to provisions within the federal budget plan.

Catherine Carley has more.

In addition to significant cuts to Medicaid, providers that offer abortion care would be prohibited from accepting Medicaid payments for any other family planning or reproductive care services.

Kayla Montgomery with Planned Parenthood of Northern New England says the restriction could close nearly 200 health centers in rural and medically underserved areas.

We're talking about cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, birth control.

It pushes those services further out of reach for millions. - More than half of the 2 million patients nationwide who rely on Planned Parenthood have Medicaid insurance, which is already prohibited from paying for almost all abortions.

Backers of the Senate's budget plan say it's needed to trim federal spending, but efforts to defund Planned Parenthood have been decades in the making. - With the 4th of July holiday weekend here, North Dakotans might be out at parades, firework shows and barbecues.

But new polling indicates many Americans are struggling to feel good about the state of the country.

Mike Mullen has that story. - A new Gallup survey shows 58 percent of US adults say they're proud to be an American.

While there are some partisan splits, the overall percentage is a record low for the annual poll question.

Barbara Hedrick with the League of Women Voters in North Dakota says it's not surprising given the sharp divides between the two major parties.

But she feels there's something else at play. - There is still an after effect, I believe, from the pandemic, from that separation from each other that we had. - Hendrick says the pandemic was so politicized as another complicating factor that prevented the country from healing.

She says it's understandable some Americans are very concerned about various rights being taken away.

However, she notes the US has deep flaws throughout its history, and there are still many more rights afforded today than in past decades. - While many in Alabama may be looking forward to a weekend of fireworks, Montgomery Fire Rescue is reminding residents using them inside that city's limits is against the law.

Captain Tavon Ping Pond says possession, sell or use of any fireworks is illegal in Montgomery and could lead to fines.

He encouraged his families to enjoy the city's public celebration instead of putting themselves and their neighbors at risk.

First and foremost, it's illegal to use fireworks, possess or even sail within the city limits.

Anything to do with fireworks should be off limits and it should be left to a trained professional.

Montgomery will host a free public fireworks display at the Riverfront Amphitheater starting at 8 p.m.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

This is public news service.

With Donald Trump in the White House, Illinois and the nation face new challenges about who belongs in the United States.

Nationality has become a flashpoint and studies show folks tend to have an implicit bias about who fits the bill for being American.

Judith Ruiz Branch reports.

Experts say many associate the term American with white people who speak English even if they initially say otherwise.

University of Chicago psychology professor Catherine Kinsler explains people don't always consciously exclude individuals from being American and can be vocal about how ridiculous the notion of being white to be American sounds.

And yet those same people when given a more subtle task of what they think of when they think of what it means to be American, they might just be a little bit faster to identify somebody who's white and who speaks English as being American versus somebody else.

She says humans categorize others using cognitive shortcuts, which can cause prejudice and stereotypes and lead to real world consequences like determining hiring decisions and ultimately making individuals feel like they don't belong. - President Donald Trump's budget bill would end some tax credits one Kansas manufacturer says are vital to American competitiveness abroad.

More from Zimone Perez. - Curt Nikens runs a company that manufactures electric yard hostlers, chargers, and battery storage systems in Kansas City.

He explains his industrial customers use a $40,000 tax credit to help purchase his all-electric yard hustlers for loading and unloading cargo.

Senate Republicans voted to cut that tax credit by September.

Nyken says EV manufacturers and renewable energy companies in general frequently compete with Chinese manufacturers who are subsidized by their government.

If we don't support clean energy from materials to manufacturing to assembly, even clean energy products all the way up to vehicles in this bill, then we are really handing dominance to China for all of that.

Policies like the EV tax credits from President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act have been in the Trump administration's crosshairs.

Republican lawmakers have argued that market competition should be the driving force on which vehicles, electric or gas, people drive.

A federal judge has ruled in favor of Appalachian Mountain Advocates and the Center for Biological Diversity, allowing portions of the Monongahela National Forest to be protected from mining activities by South Fork Coal Company.

The court ruled the company's bankruptcy proceedings weren't enough to pause the lawsuit.

Attorney Andrew Young with Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance says the Federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement will ultimately decide if coal hauling will be allowed to resume.

The agency will issue a decision on those valid existing rights determining whether or not this surface mining company has a valid right to conduct these operations in the forest.

The U.S. Forest Service is also named in the suit.

Plaintiffs say allowing coal trucks and heavy equipment into the violates the Endangered Species Act.

The court's decision allows both the lawsuit against the Forest Service and the ongoing administrative appeals within the Department of the Interior to proceed while the coal company remains in bankruptcy.

Nadia Ramligan reporting.

I'm Edwin J.V. for Public News Service.

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