Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Talks reported to be underway to close Florida's Alligator Alcatraz; Indiana GOP primaries shake Senate leadership; More than 93,000 North Carolina buildings to receive high-speed internet; City and state leaders consider solutions to New York housing crisis.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service daily newscast for Friday, May the 8th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The person close to the DeSantis administration says Florida is in talks with the Trump administration to shut down a high-profile immigration detention center that opened last summer in the Everglades and has cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars to operate.

The New York Times reports the shutdown talks are preliminary, but officials at the Department of Homeland Security have concluded that it is too expensive to keep operating the center, known as Alligator Alcatraz.

Homeland Security officials have also come to consider the center ineffective.

Three people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal talks.

Meantime, Indiana Governor Mike Braun is signaling possible changes in Senate Republican leadership after several incumbents lost their primaries this week.

Six Republican state senators who opposed mid-decade congressional redistricting lost Tuesday's races, and another contest remains extremely close.

Braun says the election results could open the door to leadership changes in the Senate.

I said all along that if you're not doing things in a way that are going to make lives for Hoosiers better, that you can't stick with the same old game plan.

So I'll let them work that out on their own.

I think it gives them the option of having new leadership if they choose to get it.

The Indiana Senate is currently led by Rod Bray, though Braun did not mention him by name.

The governor and Senate Republicans have clashed repeatedly over issues like property taxes and congressional redistricting.

Braun wants the maps redrawn.

The General Assembly not scheduled to return until later this year. though lawmakers could face pressure over leadership and legislative priorities ahead of the 2027 session.

Next, more than 93,000 homes and businesses throughout North Carolina are scheduled to receive high-speed Internet access by 2030.

That's due to funding from Biden-era legislation.

Governor Josh Stein announced the state received approval to begin the first round of more than $1.5 billion of investments in broadband projects.

The money comes from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program.

Dave Kaiser with the NC Rural Center says the digital divide impacts all facets of people's lives.

Broadband access is really a defining priority, and there's been a lot of push nationwide to expand the infrastructure of it.

The digital divide is seen across all sectors of the economy, whether it's economic opportunity, educational access, health care connectivity.

These broadband improvements are financed by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden.

North Carolina received the fifth largest allocation of funds of any U.S. state or territory.

This story was produced with original reporting from Melissa Burr for the North Carolina Independent.

I'm Simone Perez.

President Trump disputed disbursement of the Biden-era infrastructure funds at the beginning of his second term and tried to revoke an executive order guiding distribution of the money.

This is Public News Service.

Despite ongoing efforts from state and city officials, New Yorkers want more done to protect tenants from the housing crisis.

This comes two years after good cause eviction protections were enacted.

While 21 localities have opted into the law since then, some feel it's not enough.

Upstate cities tried implementing rent stabilization policies, but ultimately couldn't because of lawsuits from real estate companies.

The Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants, or REST Act, would provide them with access to those policies.

Sumathi Kumar with Housing Justice for All says the bill is vital.

It's a much stronger set of protections that really gives tenants power in their homes, lets them organize without fear, and it goes further than good cause.

So we're seeing now across upstate New York, the tenants need more.

She notes the upstate New York housing crisis continues due to limited housing stock and rising rents.

While the REST Act has strong support from lawmakers and residents, landlords oppose it, saying it threatens housing access.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

And as Teacher Appreciation Week wraps up, a North Dakota educator is highlighting the importance of prioritizing recruitment and retention amid teacher shortages and state funding concerns.

In his guidelines for the next state budget cycle, Governor Kelly Armstrong is calling on a freeze to education spending, along with potential cuts.

Landon Schmeigel, secondary teacher at Legacy High School, says while his district is compensated well compared to the rest of the state, teachers' salaries have not kept pace with inflation overall.

As the cost of gas, groceries, and health care continue to rise, He's concerned that freezing the budget would be detrimental.

How do we make sure that we're not only attracting new talent, but how do we make sure that we're taking care of people who have invested their entire life into public education?

Supporting schools, supporting educators is not a partisan issue.

An investment in public education is an investment in the posterity of our country.

Research from the National Education Association shows North Dakota ranks 40th in the nation for average public teacher pay.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

Finally, a new poll shows that 85 percent of folks in Missouri strongly support legal access to birth control.

Family planning advocates say it's a strong indicator of the need for state lawmakers to expand access to birth control across the state.

Michelle Trippiano with the Beacon Reproductive Health Network says Missouri women face numerous obstacles to obtaining contraception.

There are many barriers that impact access to birth control, including insurance barriers, costs, transportation, and lack of clinic access.

The poll released by the Missouri Foundation for Health found that about three out of ten Missourians say high cost or access to insurance were major barriers to obtaining birth control.

In 2024, Missouri lawmakers passed a measure defunding health clinics such as Planned Parenthood.

I'm Mark Richardson.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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