Six minutes of news from around the nation.

With two months to go, Missouri midterm elections are up in the air after a pair of conflicting court rulings, and High Indiana electric rates fuel scrutiny of utility CEO pay, New York may see more pollution from a federal vehicle standards rollback.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service, daily newscast, September the 9th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

With two months to go until the midterm election, two conflicting rulings on the state congressional map for Missouri left the state not knowing which way to go.

The New York Times notes First Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied a request from Missouri officials to use a congressional map in November that was redrawn to give Republicans an edge in the midterm elections.

Soon after, a district court Georgia, Missouri ruled the other way, ordering the state to rely on that map, which had been used in last month's primary election.

The Times notes the dueling corridors left Missouri where it began with no agreement about which congressional maps should be in effect in November and no immediate route to resolving that question.

Meantime, high electricity rates in Indiana are putting utility profits and executive pay under scrutiny.

Our Joey Ulory covers Indiana.

Center Point Energy reported more than $1 billion in company wine profit in 2025 and about $12 million in total compensation for its parent company CEO.

Citizens Action Coalition Program Director Ben Inskeep wants closer scrutiny of executive salaries as electric bills continue to rise.

At the end of the day, ratepayers are paying those costs.

So I think at a time when we're facing an affordability crisis across Indiana, those types of costs need to be further scrutinized.

The financial figures cover CenterPoint's multi-state business, not just Indiana.

CenterPoint says its executive pay programs help attract qualified leaders and reward financial performance, safety, and customer service.

Norick says his group submitted 333 signatures seeking the governor's support for another rate review.

Inskeep wants lawmakers to limit executive compensation charged to customers.

Both urge Hoosiers to tell lawmakers how utility costs affect their budgets.

And New Yorkers are concerned about increased air pollution as the Fed rolls back vehicle standards.

Congress is considering resolutions that would reduce state authority to limit tailpipe emissions, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considering rolling back federal fuel economy regulations.

According to New York State data, vehicle emissions account for 60% of pollution in cities alone.

Margaret Lafar with the state's Department of Environmental Conservation believes the current standards will help the state reach its clean air goals.

We still are working to meet the 2015 ozone standard in the New York City metro area.

We've known for a really long time that we need reductions from the motor vehicle sector in order to reach those goals and to have cleaner air in New York.

The Trump administration says these are necessary changes to lower costs for Americans.

But data show clean vehicle and fuel economy standards are one of the best ways to keep families from feeling the full pinch of gas prices and emission health costs.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

New York's transportation sector accounts for 34% of statewide greenhouse gas emissions.

This comes as the latest State of the Air report finds more than 152 million Americans still live in counties with poor ozone and air quality.

This is Public News Service.

A landmark law and one of the country's largest sources of funding for maintenance and repair on public lands expired last year.

Now, a coalition of environmental groups is pressing the Congress to restore it.

Committees in both the House and Senate have passed a bill to reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund, meaning the next step would be floor votes.

President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act in 2020, which established the fund.

Rebecca Konefke with the Pew Charitable Trusts says the bill gives a boost to the environment and to the outdoor economy.

LRF has funded more than 1,600 projects across the country, and in 2025, the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund was estimated to support an average of 17,000 jobs and contribute $2 billion to the U.S. economy.

She adds that in 2024, 332 million visits to national parks contributed an estimated $56 billion and more than 340,000 jobs to the U.S. economy.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Next lawmakers in Washington and Oregon are demanding answers from ICE and GEO Group, the company that runs the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, after 140 detainees went on a hunger strike.

The center has been plagued by reports of inedible food and lack of sanitation for years.

Washington Congresswoman Emily Randall says she has been denied her legal right to access the facility twice and was only allowed after a lawsuit forced the issue.

I'm laying the blame squarely at the leadership of GEO, but also at the president's desk, because this is a system that is meant to make it hard for members of Congress to have oversight.

And it's a system that is meant to dehumanize the individuals who are detained here.

The Seattle Times reports GEO Group promised better food options and larger portions to end the strike.

The notorious conditions in the center are part of what spurred a protest last June, which ended in federal conspiracy convictions for three Washingtonians known by supporters as the Spokane Three.

I'm Isobel Charle.

Finally, concerns about rural health care in South Dakota have people coming together to make their voices heard.

United Today, Stronger Tomorrow, a nonprofit working to protect access to health care, has led town halls across the state where people are sharing their experiences and viewpoints.

The group's Diane Chamberlain says she was encouraged by all the new faces at the meetings this summer.

People need to be heard.

They need to feel safe.

They need to feel like they don't have to defend their illnesses, their need for care.

Chamberlain is concerned people might not be aware of major changes ahead, which she describes as potentially painful.

Those include new Medicaid work requirements starting in January.

I'm Laura Hatch reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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