Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Georgia GOP lawmakers say no to redistricting session; Tracking 2026 women gubernatorial candidates in Minnesota and nationwide; Georgia libraries are community hubs, but funding fights persist; Activists plan a 'Day of Solidarity' to examine U.S.-Mexico trade policies.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service daily newscast June the 18th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

GOP lawmakers in Georgia rejected Governor Brian Kemp's call to redraw congressional and legislative districts during a special session.

Concerns were raised about moving too quickly after the U.S. Supreme Court weakened Federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters.

CNN notes that House Speaker John Byrne sent Kemp a letter hours before the session was to begin Wednesday, and he announced the decision as demonstrators filled the Georgia Capitol with chants of Black Votes Matter.

So far, 10 states have enacted new congressional districts ahead of the November midterm elections.

Georgia would have been the first state to change districts for the 2028 elections.

The decision by voters is a setback for both Kemp and Trump, who urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional districts to their advantage.

Meantime, it's hardly a multitude, but a record number of women currently serve as U.S. governors, and a record number also are seeking the office in the November election.

Minnesota is one of several states where a woman has never held the top job.

Kelly Dittmar tracks how women are doing in the political arena as director of research for the Center for American Women in Politics.

She says they still represent less than a third of the country's governors, and this year, six incumbents are term-limited, and the Iowa governor is retiring.

In order to keep the number at the record level that we have today, which is 14 women governors, we have to at least elect six new women governors in this cycle.

Four other states where a woman has never been put forward for the governor's office also are fielding candidates this year, including Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

I'm Roz Brown.

Next, as you probably know, libraries aren't just about books anymore.

Over time, they've become community hubs with educational resources, working space, and free internet access.

Radha Ashok is director of the Bartow County Library System.

She says libraries have always been early adopters of technology, and that requires funding.

Not everybody can buy 3D printers.

Not everybody can have a software to convert a VHS into a digital form. libraries really need the funding more and more right now.

So we provide access more to the people who do not have access to it.

Funding tensions continue to play out across Georgia.

In New Harley, the city council voted to fund the local library, but with some conditions.

The library board says the city's memorandum of understanding threatens its independence, while some council members say the library needs to innovate.

During this local debate, one resident told the council the library saved her life.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, formerly Carnegie Corporation of New York.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

A 2025 study found every dollar invested in Georgia libraries returns three or four dollars to the local economy.

This is Public News Service.

Nearly 69 million Americans receive social security benefits, including more than two million in Michigan.

A new trustee's report warns Congress has less than a decade to address a projected funding shortfall before automatic benefit cuts could take effect.

The report projects that combined Social Security trust funds will be able to pay full-scheduled benefits until 2034.

Bill Sweeney, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs at AARP, says a reduction in benefits could have ripple effects across the state.

If Congress doesn't fix this, if Congress allows an automatic cut to go into effect, It would be absolutely devastating for the $53 billion that Social Security contributes to Michigan's economy every year.

But Sweeney still remains optimistic.

He notes Congress has never allowed Social Security to miss a payment in the program's more than 90-year history.

And while the report projects a future funding shortfall, he says there is still time to act.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Checking the calendar, it's been 40 years since Congress made major changes to Social Security.

And activists and civil society organizations say the Trump administration is manipulating the trade agenda by putting the interest of billionaires and corporations ahead of working people in North America.

The cross-border days of solidarity against a rigged trade rally is planned this weekend in El Paso, part of a series of educational events at the border.

Organizations say the meeting is planned ahead of the pending renegotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement trade deal.

Kathleen Stout, a retired political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, says previous agreements brought wealth to the businesses, but not necessarily the workers.

My special interest is in border inequalities, because the more that we can reduce inequalities at borders, the less exploitation there will be.

The U.S.-Mexico border was in the 40 most unequal borders in the entire world.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Finally, our Nadia Ramlagan lets us know that outcry continues across the state of Ohio after FBI agents raided the offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative last week, the group that runs the largest voter registration program in the state.

The agents took documents, equipment, and questions staff members, explains Caitlin Johnson, Senior Communications Director at Innovation Ohio.

Johnson says over the past few years, there's been a troubling trend of statewide efforts aimed at silencing voters.

Whether it's through gerrymandering the districts to draw black and brown people out of power and influence or, you know, purging people from the rolls or now these new potential amendment that will be on the ballot.

This fall, Ohioans will decide on a constitutional amendment that would require photo ID to vote.

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

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