News from around the nation.

Latinos are facing higher energy costs amid the affordability crisis, medical providers and insurers squabble over underpaid bills, and LGBTQ+ advocates say trans violence is systemic, not just individual.

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast PM Update for October 20, 2026.

I'm Mary Sherman.

Rising energy, grocery and fuel costs combined with longer, hotter summers are putting financial pressure on Americans.

Latino households are especially hit hard, paying an average of 20% more for energy than other households.

Alternative energy advocates are urging greater investment in wind and solar power.

Kevin Moran with EDF Action says higher energy bills also strain Latino-owned small businesses in Arizona, which generally earn less than other businesses.

They own over 22 percent of Arizona small businesses.

Of course, they employ tens of thousands of Arizonans and their businesses on average earn less than non-Latino businesses.

So what does that mean?

It means increases in energy bills are a bigger challenge for them.

And as affordability remains at the top of voters' minds, in Virginia, a former Democratic congresswoman narrowly leads the Republican incumbent in one of the state's most competitive congressional districts.

The poll from Christopher Newport University finds that Elaine Luria leads Republican congresswoman Jen Kiggins 46% to 43% in the race to represent the Hampton Roads area.

Meanwhile, cost of living issues led as the top issue for many voters at 24%, followed by threats to democracy and immigration.

Virginia Tech political scientist Karen Holt says affordability will be motivating for different types of voters, but it doesn't always explain dynamics in local races.

There probably is a bit of majority support in the district for saying top issue is affordability.

But at the same time, that's going to vary by Democrats, Republicans, and independents, not only in terms of the rank ordering of those issues, but also in terms of whether or not that is a voting issue.

Kiggins defeated Luria in 2022.

The two women, both Navy veterans, are competing in what analysts say is one of the most closely watched house races in Virginia and the country.

Cook Political Report rates the district as even, making it a major toss-up each election cycle.

I'm Zamone Perez.

Now to Tennessee, where Medical Service is speaking out against a practice called downcoding, saying it cuts health insurance payouts and adds additional paperwork.

Danielle Smith has the story.

Senate Bill 2155, a proposal addressing the practice, went through the legislature this year, but it failed to pass.

It would have restricted downcoding that prevents providers from being paid less than the billed amount.

This failure today creates financial problems for hospitals, which are already struggling from federal cuts.

Gina Leary, who runs Medical Services Management, says insurers are allowed to downcode any mid-level providers' work.

What they'll do is they'll come back on an explanation of benefits or remittance advice, and they'll downcode it from a level four to a level three visit without even seeing the record.

They automatically do that to the physician assistants.

Senate Bill 2155 failed in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee in April.

The American Medical Association says it strongly opposes any blanket or automatic downcoding by insurers.

This is Public News Service.

Discussions about violence against transgender people often focus on individual acts of harm.

But one advocate for the trans community says that misses the bigger picture.

Yasmeen Prosper is founder and executive director of TransUnited, a Florida nonprofit that connects trans people to jobs, housing, and resources.

She says violence shows up in systems too.

Violence is not just a physical action.

It also is shown up in oppression in the ways that the system is designed to keep trans people, specifically those who are most on the margin of poverty, black trans people, rural trans people, at harm.

At least 36 transgender and gender non-conforming people were killed in the U.S. in 2024, and the majority were black or Latina trans women, according to a report by the Human Rights Campaign.

Prosper says people who can't afford housing or stable work often have to make risky choices to survive.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

Colorado advocates are pressing lawmakers and technology companies to do more to stop AI-powered scams aimed at older adults.

The effort is moving beyond public warnings.

The United to Stop Online Scams Coalition says its next phase will focus on state and federal legislation, stronger platform rules, and easier ways for victims to report fraud.

Kate Kleinert is a widow who was scammed by someone who posed as a doctor and romanced her online.

Before it was over, she had lost $39,000.

She says the high-tech industry is to blame.

So many of us scam survivors carry so much shame.

And I'm here to tell you, it is not on you, it is on them.

Meta, Google, and other tech companies have allowed this to happen for years and made billions from it.

A proposed bill in Colorado and other states would give attorneys general oversight and let consumers sue tech platforms. 72 total human cases of bird flu have been reported in the U.S. since February 2024.

And in Arkansas, the USDA reports the virus has been detected in commercial broilers in Clay County.

We get the story from Freda Ross.

Bird flu is most prevalent during the fall and spring, and research from the University of Arkansas could help farmers and ranchers better protect their flocks.

Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics Jada Thompson says biosecurity measures implemented after previous outbreaks should be increased when waterfowl migrate into the region.

There are periods of time where you're going to have an increased risk of disease spread related to these birds migrating.

And so if we can start thinking about setting these signals up and then you know to become hypervigilant, adding in the extra things to try to really reduce introduction on your farm.

She says ranchers should inspect and repair fencing and netting to make sure waterfowl can't access the farm's perimeter and ensure food sources are also properly covered.

I'm Mary Sherman for Public News Service.

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