Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Labor Secretary is now the third cabinet departure the second Trump term; PA groups rally in Harrisburg against data centers, deportation; New England fishermen praise a new USDA Office of Seafood; Michigan group pushes to get big money out of politics.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service to a newscast for April the 21st, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez de Rimmer has resigned, making her the third cabinet member to depart during Trump's second term.

She had been facing a probe from the Labor Department's Inspector General for potential misconduct, including the use of department resources for personal trips and having an affair with a member of her security team.

That investigation already resulted in multiple top staffers being placed on administrative leave and then ultimately leaving their posts.

An attorney for Chavez de Ramer told NBC News Monday that her resignation was not the result of legal wrongdoings.

Rather, it was a personal decision.

Meantime, about 150 folks in Pennsylvania representing around 15 advocacy groups are organizing a rally at the Capitol in Harrisburg on Wednesday.

They plan to protest the tech industry's growing influence in data centers for artificial intelligence and urge lawmakers to safeguard residents and the environment.

Mary Collier with Pennsylvania Stands Up says that they're meeting with lawmakers to push for policies that protect residents, affordability and natural resources.

We're going to declare our firm opposition to the construction of new immigrant detention centers and also our opposition to the construction of new hyperscale AI data centers across Pennsylvania.

Collier says a new report out Wednesday details Big Tech's growing footprint in Pennsylvania and its impact on local communities.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Next, New England's commercial fishermen are applauding the USDA's creation of a new Office of Seafood.

The move follows President Donald Trump's executive order to boost domestic seafood production and processing capacity and aims to expand access to federal programs long geared towards American farmers.

Noah Oppenheim is with the Fishing Communities Coalition, which advocates for independent fishermen nationwide.

This is a wonderful turn of events and I think, frankly, a generational game changer for fishing and seafood.

He says for decades, American fishermen have missed out on opportunities to add healthy proteins to America's food supply.

Dietary guidelines released by the USDA earlier this year revealed a new inverted food pyramid, which encourages at least three or more servings of seafood per week.

I'm Katherine Carley.

And a new push to limit corporate money in Michigan politics appears to be gaining traction.

Supporters say the measure would increase transparency and reduce pay-to-play politics, where political donations can influence government decisions.

Christine McElverry leaves voters, not politicians.

It's wildly popular.

We are on track to meet our goal.

And the bipartisan support is amazing with voters.

Voters, regardless of political party, are furious about how money's corrupted politics.

According to a survey commissioned by supporters of the proposal, There is strong bipartisan support for restricting political contributions from monopolies and companies that seek government contracts.

This is Public News Service.

Colleges in Florida are part of a national movement to reinvent how students get into college, moving away from confusing paperwork and toward a system that welcomes them.

A grant initiative from Lumina Foundation will provide over $3.5 million to help states and institutions simplify that journey from high school to college.

Madeline Puma-Riega, president of Miami-Dade College, says her school has already cut application times dramatically by rethinking what students actually need to prove.

Our application process was like 45 minutes long, like 30 to 45 minutes long.

So we've created, you know, the questions where a student can finish applying within 7 to 10 minutes.

Puma-Riega says the old application was essentially a digitized paper form of the same challenging questions.

She says Miami-Dade is working to redesign the process to be more intuitive for students, especially those who are first in their families to attend college.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

Elected leaders and clean transportation advocates in Washington state are urging the Congress to include robust investments in electrified transportation in the upcoming surface transportation bill.

The law, which is reauthorized about every five years, will update policies and funding for federal highway transit and safety programs before the current law expires in September.

Michael Mann of Clean and Prosperous Washington called on lawmakers to support the state's electrification efforts at a recent press conference.

We need Congress to exercise its power of the purse, to strengthen the power of our democracy, in order to power our transportation system on cleaner and cheaper fuels that don't lock our economic future into whoever has the keys to the state of Ormuse.

Mann said leaders in Washington have put $200 million from the Climate Commitment Act into EV infrastructure.

I'm Isobel Charle.

And the San Joaquin in California was just named the second most endangered river in the country.

That's according to a new report from American Rivers.

The river already runs dry in places due to drought and excessive diversion of water for agriculture.

Now the international cement company, Cemex, wants to expand an existing gravel mine near Fresno, something conservation groups say will spell disaster for the salmon and steelhead trout run.

Sharon Weaver says the huge pit would be a particular threat to nearby Lake Millerton.

It's going to involve blasting and drilling.

The proposal is for a 600-foot-deep hole next to the San Joaquin River.

That could have very significant impacts on water quality, water quantities, air quality, and contamination potential.

The San Joaquin runs from the Sierra Nevadas, joins the Sacramento River at the Delta, and then empties into San Francisco Bay.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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