Six minutes of news from around the nation.

JD Vance warns California faces suspensions of more than a billion dollars over alleged fraud issues; The Federal budget could shutter America's Tribal Colleges and Universities; Mississippi hospitals are vital to the state's well-being and economy; Poll: Some Texas voters are concerned about the state of the nation.

TRANSCRIPT

The public news service daily newscast may the 14th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The message came from the vice president, J.D. Vance.

He announced Wednesday the Trump administration is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California and at the same time threatening to suspend federal funding to all states that they do not aggressively prosecute fraud in their Medicaid programs.

NBC quoted Vance at the White House as saying there are California taxpayers and American taxpayers being defrauded because California isn't taking this program seriously.

But also, he said, you have people who have been prescribed medications they don't even need.

Meantime, tribal colleges and universities founded to serve Native American students across America could face crippling federal budget cuts under the Trump administration's proposed 2027 budget.

Eric Galatas lets us know Education officials warn if the budget is approved by the Congress, schools will be forced to close within a year.

Cheryl Crazybull, president and CEO of the Denver-based American Indian College Fund, says the proposed cuts do not align with the administration's priorities to support rural America and expand access to higher education.

She notes most tribal colleges and universities are in rural areas and serve entire communities.

Farmers and ranchers, small businesses, they're training teachers, they're training health care workers, they're actually training a lot of agriculture workers.

So they're doing a lot of things that shore up rural communities.

This is the second budget proposed by the Trump administration that called for cutting funding for tribal colleges and universities, or TCUs, which have traditionally had strong bipartisan support.

The administration has argued that cuts to social programs, including education, are necessary to eliminate fraud and waste and to shrink the size of the federal government.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And doctors, nurses, and support staff at Mississippi hospitals are being recognized during National Hospital Week for their vital contributions to health and financial well-being.

The 99 community hospitals across the state, including VA hospitals, stand-alone psychiatric hospitals, and rehab facilities, employ more than 120,000 employees.

They also serve as economic drivers for many rural communities, pumping more than $18 billion into the state's economy.

Dr. Chris DiRienzo with the American Hospital Association says it's important to realize how the facilities impact cities and towns.

Across those hospitals, a baby is born about every 15 minutes.

About every two minutes, someone from Mississippi is admitted to the hospital to be cared for for a heart attack or a stroke or a car accident.

And every 20 seconds, a Mississippian seeks care in one of a Mississippi hospital's emergency departments.

Federal changes to Medicaid funding and the end of Affordable Care Act subsidies are expected to impact health care systems in Mississippi and across the nation, especially in rural areas.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is Public News Service.

More rural voters in Senate battleground states are pessimistic about the state of the country, including those in Texas.

A new report for the Center for Rural Strategies focuses on the negative outlook and breaks down some of the challenges people face.

President for the Center, Dee Davis, says 55% of rural voters say the rising cost of living is the most important issue, with food prices topping the list of concerns.

I remember when we were first starting to reach out, we would get a lot of, I'm going to be okay, but I worry about my kids.

Now I think we're getting more of, I worry about my kids, I worry about myself, I worry about my community. 16% of those surveyed were from Texas.

Respondents said politicians aren't doing enough to lower costs and the economy is getting worse.

Davis adds the number of voters who want the government to get out of their way dropped from 42% in 2023 to 32% today.

And new data finds so-called deaths of despair are declining nationwide. but Appalachia continues to see higher rates than the rest of the country.

These deaths are associated with drug overdose, alcohol and suicide, and began to rise nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the research from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Michael Meit, with the Center for Rural Health and Research at East Tennessee State University, says the national rate has now dropped about 5 percent, nearing pre-pandemic levels.

But Appalachians still die from those causes at a higher rate than the rest of the country.

And the cause of the gap is complicated.

Overdose, alcoholic liver disease and suicide.

But the big driver of that is overdose mortality.

Mike says such deaths rose nationwide during the pandemic, likely due to isolation, disruptions in care and peer support.

This story was produced with original reporting from Liz Carey for The Daily Yonder.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Finally, survivors of online scams in New York are backing legislation to hold social media companies accountable for sharing fraudulent ads on their platforms.

A recent report by the Consumer Federation of America finds New Yorkers are losing more than $6 billion each year to online scams.

That includes New York City resident Josh Carrera's mom, who lost more than $100,000 in a romance scam that ultimately harmed his entire family.

They were so sophisticated, the tools made it impossible to completely block them because they just had a million other profiles and phone numbers they could activate.

Carrera is sharing his story as part of today's National Scam Survivor Day.

The bill would require tech companies to prevent, detect, and remove false ads.

It would also give the state attorney general's office and individuals the power to sue tech companies for damages.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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