Six minutes of news from around the nation.

National Archives location closures could limit access to Tribal enrollment information; a new report raises questions about how PA students learn about plastics; childcare advocates are looking for new guidance; Wisconsin’s gubernatorial election will determine future energy costs for the state.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast for Wednesday, October 14th, 2026.

I'm Joe Ulori.

Pennsylvania is battling its worst measles outbreak in 35 years with more than 1,100 confirmed cases and six measles-associated deaths.

The latest involved an unvaccinated 39-year-old woman.

A national bus tour pushing for lower health care costs stops in Columbus and Savannah today.

Protect Our Care is urging Congress to restore Affordable Care Act tax credits, reserve Medicaid cuts, and expand Medicare drug price negotiations.

Cancer survivor and small business owner Laura Packard says the issue is personal.

The Affordable Care Act saved my life, but Republican cuts to health care and the big bill last year have resulted in increased costs for everybody.

Personally, my insurance plan went up 21% for the same exact plan as last year, and it's going up double digits again for next year.

Georgia's ACA premiums are projected to rise nearly 21% in 2027.

Governor Brian Kemp's administration defends its Pathways Medicaid program, while Senator Raphael Warnock says the state has mismanaged it.

As Michigan prepares for November's midterm elections, transgender voters are raising concerns about discrimination, intimidation, and barriers to casting a ballot.

An outreach leader in Detroit says working with black transgender women in the city and other communities has brought firsthand accounts of harassment and voter suppression to light.

Denise Poindexter is a case manager for the Ruth Ellis Center.

I stayed in a hotel going from Traverse City, Midland, Bay City, Grand Rapids, and howling.

I was serving community members that have been victimized, harassed, discriminated against.

State election leaders say they're taking these concerns seriously, adding that poll workers received training on protecting voters' rights.

They warn anyone attempting to intimidate voters can face prosecution.

Voters can check their registration status and find election information at michigan.gov slash vote.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Missouri election officials are working to clear up voter confusion after months of legal fights over congressional maps.

The state used new boundaries in the August primary, but a Missouri Supreme Court ruling restored the 2022 maps for November.

Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon says about 40 percent of county voters changed districts between the two elections.

There have been some issues where people are getting candidate mail or seeing campaign advertisements and they're not sure which one they're supposed to be in.

We've provided information on our website.

Whichever way we were going to have to go with the maps, they would know where they were going to be voting.

This is Public News Service.

Members of the American Federation of Teachers are participating in the political process by helping voters in the upcoming midterm elections.

Our Frida Ross has details.

Volunteers are being recruited to be democracy defenders in Texas and across the country.

Samantha Vogel is a middle school social studies teacher in San Antonio.

She says volunteers will work in their communities to ensure voters have the information they need leading up to and on election day.

Support and protect ways that they can cast their ballots and ensure that every ballot is counted.

One of the things we're encouraging people throughout our community to do is to vote early.

It's harder to test early votes.

AFT members interested in participating should contact their local leaders to sign up.

The teachers union is partnering with the AFL-CIO for the initiative.

The organizations hope to assist two million voters during this election cycle.

Iowa's dirty water is taking center stage in this year's Secretary of Agriculture race.

Incumbent Mike Nagg, who relies on the support of ag interest is working to convince voters that he will clean up the water.

Challenger Chris Jones is campaigning almost entirely on science and calling on farmers to take a more natural approach to growing crops and livestock.

Chris Jones spent nearly a decade as a research engineer monitoring the state's rivers and streams, which is what prompted him to run for office.

You know, Iowa farming is all about controlling nature.

That's when we make it look neat and tidy.

Colorado voters will decide if state revenues should be earmarked to respond to some of the biggest impacts of climate change.

Colorado's croplands, forests and watersheds are much drier after this past winter's record-setting low snowpack and decades-long drought.

Wildfire season is now year-round.

Nearly 300,000 acres have gone up in smoke in 2026.

On November 3rd, Colorado voters will get to decide if a portion of existing sales taxes should be dedicated to address these growing threats.

Curtis Hubbard, spokesperson for the Yes on Prop 137 campaign, says the measure would invest $175 million per year to prevent catastrophic wildfires and protect and conserve Colorado's land and water.

That will make it safer and easier for firefighters to do their jobs.

And importantly, it helps secure the clean water that our families, farmers and ranchers depend on.

The money would come from taxes already collected when people buy sporting goods and outdoor equipment.

Critics of Prop 137 warn that taxpayers will end up on the hook.

A Common Sense Institute report projects that, depending on your income, tax refunds under Colorado's Taxpayers' Bill of Rights would drop by $26 for individuals and by as much as $166 for joint filers.

I'm Eric Galatas.

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

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