Six minutes of news from around the nation.

California Muslim community reeling after mosque shooting in San Diego; Election protection campaign aims to safeguard access to PA ballot; Phoenix holds large-scale hepatitis C screening; North Dakota tribal educators warn of economic fallout from federal cuts.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service daily newscast for May the 19th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Leaders in the Muslim community and police are looking at ways to increase security around mosques and Islamic schools across California in the wake of a deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday.

Our Suzanne Potter reports.

The incident killed three people and wounded a gardener.

Two teenage suspects were found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a nearby.

Sarah Ballou, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations in San Francisco, says the crime is personal to many.

This is the biggest mosque in San Diego County and school was in session.

So, so many Muslims I know either knew someone there or knew someone who had someone there.

Ballou says the Muslim community has been fearful for several years following the war in Gaza and now the war in Iran.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

The Islamic Center incendio has been through difficult times before.

In 2016, supporters of President Trump and counter-protesters rallied across the street from the site after Trump tried to ban entry into the U.S. by people from several majority Muslim nations.

Before the Monday incident, the Gun Violence Archive had recorded 150 mass shootings in the United States this year alone.

And today is Pennsylvania's primary election, and a national coalition of voting rights groups is ramping up voter protection efforts to safeguard access to the ballot.

Leaders from a coalition that includes Common Cause Pennsylvania says their 2026 election protection campaign will help voters navigate challenges at the polls and push back against what they describe as growing threats to fair elections.

Jill Green with Common Cause Pennsylvania says the 866 Our Vote hotline is at the center of the campaign, a long-running national resource that connects voters to volunteers who resolve issues in real time.

We pull our programs together and we recruit hundreds of volunteers across the Commonwealth.

We train them to answer voter questions, address any kind of issues with voter registration at the polling place.

The election protection campaign comes as states across the South move to redraw or eliminate districts representing black and brown voters following the Supreme Court's Louisiana v.

Calais decision.

Danielle Smith reporting.

And in an effort to identify unknown carriers of hepatitis C, health care advocates are conducting a public screening in Phoenix tomorrow.

Brennan Palfrey, senior director of Venn Center's viral outreach program, says large-scale screenings are the best way to slow the spread.

In the state, we currently have around 90,000 cases, but in the United States, that number is much higher, closer to 2.7 to 3.9 million cases in the U.S. alone, and then estimated over 50 million globally.

Unlike other strains of the virus, there is no vaccine, but treatments are available for those who haven't.

This is Public News Service.

In North Dakota, administrators say slashing federal funding for tribal colleges and universities would cause negative ripple effects for the state's economy.

For the second year in a row, the proposed federal budget aims to entirely eliminate dedicated funding for TCUs.

Leander McDonald, president of United Tribes Technical College, stresses that TCUs rely entirely on federal funding to operate because of the government's trust and treaty responsibilities to tribal nations.

He says the proposed budget fails to align with the Trump administration's priorities to support rural America and expand access to higher education.

Every federal dollar invested in TCUs returns $1.60 in tax revenue, which demonstrates the efficiency and impact of this investment, while at the same time helping us as tribal colleges and universities provide higher education opportunities to those in isolated rural areas.

McDonald says his school serves both native and non-native residents and about 70 percent are first-generation college students.

The administration argues the cuts are needed to downsize the federal government, eliminate waste, and offset proposed increases in defense spending.

I'm Judith Rui's branch reporting.

Next, Iowa sustainable energy advocates and environmental officials warn that cuts to the federal sustainable rivers project managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will threaten aquatic species while hampering its historical economic benefits.

Jim Howe, senior policy advisor with The Nature Conservancy, says the SRP has had economic, recreational, and environmental health benefits for nearly 25 years by improving and increasing healthy wetlands.

Wetlands provide habitat for fish and ducks and shorebirds.

We're getting better boating opportunities, better fishing opportunities, better duck hunting, better bird watching.

The administration has paused spending on the SRP and other Army Corps of Engineers conservation programs to instead focus on more traditional energy infrastructure.

I'm Mark Moran.

Finally, supporters of a bill to help youth and adults experiencing homelessness access a free Massachusetts state ID card hope their years of advocacy could soon pay off.

The state Senate has passed a measure that would waive required fees and allow applicants to list a homeless service provider or state agency as their place of residence.

Julia Garvey with the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless says without ID, people can't get a bank account, pick up prescriptions, or apply for a job.

So if folks can't afford that $25 to get an ID, then the chances of them being able to exit homelessness go down because they're missing that crucial document that they need.

She says service agencies get requests for help to pay the fee each day from people across the Commonwealth, and some funds are available.

The bill passed the state Senate each of the last four legislative sessions and is currently with the House Ways and Means Committee.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Public News Service.