Six minutes of news from around the nation.

U.S. officials warn allies about possible renewed strikes on Iran, Minnesota candidates push new federal oversight of Big Tech, and Massachusetts college students mobilize young voters ahead of the midterms.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast for Friday, October 30th, 2026.

I'm Joe Ulori.

U.S. officials have warned Middle Eastern allies to prepare for possible renewed American strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliation against energy facilities and other infrastructure.

President Trump has not made a final decision, and there are also new diplomatic efforts underway to restart negotiations.

Minnesota is among the active states for new laws that regulate big tech firms and social media, and the candidates hoping to represent the North Star State and the U.S. Senate have visions of what new federal oversight could look like.

Our Mike Moen reports.

Some of Minnesota's notable tech regulations are being challenged in court, including the first in the nation law banning AI-generated fake nude images.

Those developments are unfolding alongside talks about what else can be done to protect the public.

Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Peggy Flanagan has hinted at a potential pause in advanced AI development, noting concerns about chatbots.

When we hear about young people who have died by suicide because of the conversations with these chatbots, I can't even believe that this is something where we are still questioning whether they should be regulated.

Her opponent, Republican nominee Michelle Tafoya, is emphasizing the need to rein in social media platforms when they're used as tools to coordinate gang violence.

Massachusetts college students are making a final push to get more young people to vote in next week's midterms.

Campus groups are running phone and text banks and helping students figure out ballots and polling locations.

In Burns, a UMass Lowell junior with a new voters project says many first-time voters just need some guidance.

You just turn 18, you have this capability of making change, so why not do it?

But they just don't have the information or tools yet to be able to do that.

A Tufts University survey found about two-thirds of college students plan to vote.

Their top concern, regardless of politics, is the cost of living.

A national bus tour pushing for lower health care costs wraps up today after four weeks on the road. to protect our care sick of it.

PIX Healthcare Now Tour made October stops in Scranton and Bethlehem, putting Pennsylvania family struggles with insurance bills and access to care in the spotlight.

The advocacy group spent four weeks gathering stories from patients, providers, and families.

Organizers say rising premiums, coverage losses, and prescription costs mean difficult choices.

April Niver from Easton says coverage gaps leave patients gambling on how much care they need.

We're left with trade-offs.

We make trade-offs for a plan that might not offer us as much coverage for certain things because we're rolling the dice here.

I'm Mark Richardson.

This is Public News Service.

This Menopause Awareness Month, Washington doctors are reminding people that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women.

Our Isobel Charle has the story.

Research from the American Heart Association shows paramenopausal women are twice as likely to have low cardiovascular health scores than women with regular menstrual cycles.

Though the data is grim, women's health expert Dr. Ori Holtzman encourages people to look at menopause as a window of opportunity.

This is a great time to sit down with your clinician and review risk factors like your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar.

Understand your long-term cardiovascular risk.

Holtzman explains when estrogen levels drop, it leads to changes in body composition and within blood vessels that can impact the heart.

Experts advise getting about 20 minutes of moderate exercise per day and eating a diet rich in plant-based foods to keep your heart healthy.

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month ends, a Michigan survivor is calling for more federal support for cancer research and better access to clinical trials.

Lisa Cummings was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35, just six months after losing her mother to the disease.

Now a 27-year-old survivor and oncology nurse, she recently joined hundreds of patients and survivors in Washington to meet with lawmakers.

Cummings is backing a bipartisan bill aimed at reducing financial and travel barriers that can keep patients out of clinical trials.

What are we going to do for these people who have cancer?

The only reason I'm alive today is because the research was done and the medication was invented.

The American Cancer Society says the U.S. cancer death rate has fallen 34% over the past three decades, thanks in part to advances in research and treatment.

Scientists in Arizona are working to create environmental features that mimic nature in an effort to preserve soil amid dangerous heat, wildfires, and prolonged drought.

Scientists are building little dams with rocks, logs, and other vegetation in streams and ditches to trap water and slow erosion.

These human-made structures are similar to those constructed by beavers, and they help water spread across the landscape and soak into the ground.

The Nature Conservancy's Kimberly Shonick says in cooperation with Taproot Collaborative, this strategy is fostering a healthy ecosystem in the Pinaleno Sacred Springs Restoration Project in southern Arizona. creating good habitat for birds, squirrels, a lot of frogs, salamanders even.

Those wet areas, that's where animals like to go.

So mountain lion, bobcat, those wet areas are really important for animals that are moving through that area.

The Pinaleno Project is led by the Taproot Collaborative.

Seanick says more water spread across a wider swath of the landscape can also help keep vegetation green.

I'm Mark Moran.

This is Joe Ulori for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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