Politics and views in the United States.

U.S. and Ukraine agree to minerals deal, officials say; Defense Sec. Hegseth tied to Idaho-based Christian nationalist church; As federal cuts hit Wisconsinites, one group pitches in to help; Funds sought to help address Oregon housing shortage.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Newscast February 26, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Ukraine has agreed to turn over the revenue from some of its mineral resources to the United States.

An American and Ukrainian official said on Tuesday in a deal that follows an intense pressure campaign from President Trump that included insults and threats.

That from the New York Times.

They report the final terms of the deal unknown and it was not immediately clear what, if anything, Ukraine would receive in the end after days of difficult, sometimes tense negotiations.

The Times notes Trump had insisted he wanted a payback for past military aid to Kiev, shifting American alliance with Ukraine to a nakedly mercantile footing.

Meantime Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ties with a controversial church based in Idaho.

Critics say the church's Christian nationalist views could guide his role in the Trump administration.

Hegseth is part of a church in Tennessee associated with the communion of reformed evangelical churches founded by Doug Wilson in Moscow, Idaho in the 1970s.

The church holds extreme beliefs, including that the United States should follow biblical law.

Julie Ingersoll is a religious studies professor at the University of North Florida who has studied Christian reconstructionists like Wilson.

She says Hegseth's church is not like a megachurch in which you walk in and think of yourself as a member.

That's just not how this kind of a church system works.

In order to join, you have to attest to believing the same things.

And in order to remain a member, you have to continue to believe those things.

Ingersoll says membership is strict and if people's beliefs change, they can be brought before the church courts on heresy charges.

Wilson began his movement in part because he found a lack of sufficient Christian school options for his daughter.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

And communities in Wisconsin are feeling the widespread effects of federal cuts.

Some organizations are pitching in to help those who've experienced funding freezes and mass layoffs.

Rural areas depend heavily on federal funds for vital services like health care, education and infrastructure.

And farmers who were counting on federal grant reimbursements are reeling from payment delays, waiting in some cases for up to $70,000.

Nonprofits like the Wisconsin Farmers Union headed by Julie Bomar are seeing some of their grant funding slashed for diversity related programs.

Something changes about every day with this and it's a really crazy, chaotic time both for nonprofits like ours, but also for the farmers that we work with.

And so the uncertainty is really critical right now.

She says the Farmers Union held a town meeting last week so elected officials could hear firsthand from community members about what they're experiencing.

The Trump administration says the federal cuts are an effort to optimize efficiency and clean up what it calls fraud and waste.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Groups working to address Oregon's shortage of affordable housing are backing a bill to fund the state's home ownership development incubator program.

Originally launched by the state in 2022, the program known as HDIP funds developers who build housing for low to moderate income families.

Katie Curry is with McMinnville Area Habitat for Humanity, which was one of eight projects awarded the first round of HDIP funds.

She says the money helped them ramp up housing construction.

We're just able to build at a much quicker pace and offer these home ownership opportunities for people in our community.

So it's been a game changer.

HDIP funds are available both for nonprofit and for profit organizations and also for tribes and private developers.

The homes must be priced based on the area's median income.

The state is seeking $50 million to fund HDIP again, and the bill is now in committee in Salem.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

And workers in the fight against hunger in Arkansas are celebrating the passage and signing of Senate Bill 59.

The legislation makes free breakfast available to all school aged children regardless of income and will be implemented in the 2025-26 school year.

Sylvia Blaine with the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance says the bipartisan bill takes the stigma out of receiving a free breakfast.

All children that are attending a school that participates in the USDA's school meals program, and that includes charters as well as many private schools.

She says school districts will continue with the application process and invoice the USDA for students who qualify for free and reduced meals, and the state will cover the cost of students who don't meet the criteria.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

Finally, we head to Indiana where officials face an EPA threat to pull more than $117 million in clean energy grants.

The agency seeks to reclaim over $20 billion in federal funds nationwide.

Critics of the freeze say it targets projects that power communities and fuel progress and the move could derail vital work.

Local leaders fear the cut may stall clean energy plans.

Allison Becker with Indiana's Solar for All program calls the money the coalition's only lifeline.

Without it, she says, progress stops.

We have a goal to reach all 92 counties to provide solar opportunities to income qualified individuals, but without the grant money, none of that will be able to proceed.

The project planned to install solar plans in low income and disadvantaged areas.

In Indianapolis, funds would transform an old landfill into a solar farm.

This story was produced with original reporting from Kyla Russell for Wish TV.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin cites potential fraud as justification for the freeze.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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