Six minutes of news from around the nation.

The extreme heat this weekend is suspected of causing 25 deaths in New Jersey; Report: H.R.1 cuts outpace rural health funds in Ohio; Michigan study uncovers gene that could lower colorectal cancer risk; Summer wildfires cause higher ozone levels throughout Iowa; new report finds Corporate tax dodgers see 3,000% return on political lobbying.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, July the 6th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Officials say this weekend's extreme heat on the East Coast likely caused the deaths of 25 people in New Jersey.

New Jersey Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard Washington said, unfortunately, many of these individuals were found in homes without air conditioning, adding a few were outside their residences, some on the street and some in parked cars.

ABC News notes New Jersey Governor Mikey Sherrill said that thunderstorms Friday night and over the weekend across the state knocked out power to nearly 300,000 utility customers and that wind gusts of up to 80 miles an hour toppled trees and power lines.

Meantime, Ohio is predicted to lose thousands of jobs and billions of dollars due to the passage of H.R.1 last year.

A health group says that Trump's Rural Health Transformation Fund, an initiative approved under H.R. 1, does not make up for the bill's wide-ranging cuts to social wellness programs.

According to the Commonwealth Fund analysis report, the loss in funding for health care and the SNAP Federal Food Assistance Program could eliminate up to 52,000 jobs and reduce the state's GDP by around $5.5 billion.

Health Policy Institute of Ohio analyst Brian O'Rourke says families will struggle to afford basic costs.

We're losing a lot of federal funding for these programs, which is going to potentially shift more costs onto Ohio, which will pressure our state economy.

We're going to see an intersection with the broader affordability trends that people have been talking about for the last year.

Congress authorized Ohio to receive $200 million from the Rural Health Transformation Fund to address fears of Medicaid cuts leading to rural hospital closures.

The program will invest $50 billion nationwide by 2030.

Critics argue it will not be enough to save Ohio's medical workforce and will leave too many workers unemployed.

This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

And researchers in Detroit say they've identified a naturally occurring genetic variant that appears to lower the risk of colorectal cancer.

It is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S. and the second leading cause of cancer deaths.

The study, led by scientists at the Barbara Ann Carmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University, found that about 14 percent of people carry the gene.

Alan Johansson, lead author of the project, says the discovery is the result of decades of research.

My mentor in the late 90s discovered this mutation, this DNA variant called 6A.

And ever since then, we've worked on this extensively and we've finally uncovered that individuals carrying this are at a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Those involved in the study caution that more research is needed before the findings change patient care.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Cash register politics is alive and well in the U.S., according to a new Public Citizens report.

After spending $852 million on political campaigns and lobbying, 88 corporations took in about $105 billion in pre-tax income last year and paid no federal income taxes.

Researcher Eileen O'Grady says combined, these companies saw a 3,000% return on their investment by avoiding nearly $22 billion in taxes they would have had to pay if not for laws passed during the first and second Trump administrations.

And she says those savings allowed companies to spend even more to influence lawmakers.

So what we're seeing here is a self-reinforcing loop where corporate cash buys policy and policy pays cash back.

Colorado firms Antero Resources, Liberty Energy, and Liberty Media were among the corporations featured in the report, which taps data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Proponents of tax cuts have long argued that companies can use those savings to grow their business and boost federal tax revenues by raising wages and creating jobs.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And research from the University of Iowa shows that a 20% increase in the number of large wildfires in the U.S. last year is damaging air quality in Iowa and other Midwestern states.

The data suggests fires have reversed progress the region had made in reducing emissions from other sources.

Nearly 79,000 wildfires scorched more than 5 million acres in 2025 up sharply from the previous year.

University of Iowa biochemical engineering professor Jun Wong says emissions from vehicles and power plants had been reduced, improving air quality in the region.

He says now, because of the increase in wildfires, that trend is going in the opposite direction.

Because of the increase of fire emissions in the upwind regions, California, northwestern U.S., Canada, air quality in the Midwest regions is worsened.

An online map shows a large area of higher ozone levels and dirty air concentrated in the Midwest and Plain State.

I'm Mark Moran.

Finally, July is typically the hottest month of the year in Kentucky, but a new report reveals how climate change is making it even hotter.

Heat index values topped 110 degrees in parts of the state last week as a dangerous heat wave gripped much of the eastern U.S. Daniel Swain is a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

He says greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere are causing historically unprecedented levels of extreme heat on multiple continents.

I wish, as a climate scientist, I wish it were a fluke or I wish that it wasn't part of a sustained long-term trend in that direction.

But, alas, it is.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Mike Clifford, and thank you for starting your week with Public News Service.

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