Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Texas doctors say abortion bans impact care for expectant mothers, Oregon nonprofit has stepped up to fight the state's housing crisis and Arizona libraries now offering free streaming service.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast for Friday, August 14th, 2026.

I'm Joe Ulory.

More rain is hitting Indiana today, threatening to worsen catastrophic flooding.

Governor Mike Braun says the Hoosier State is responding to widespread damage.

All of our resources will be attentive to make sure that we get things back in order.

Power restoration, a lot of cleanup from heavy rain.

Braun declared a statewide disaster emergency after storms flooded homes, washed out roads, and forced water rescues.

A changing climate could make foodborne illness outbreaks harder to contain.

University of Arizona researcher Erica Ostoff says extreme rain and drought can help pathogens survive and spread through soil, farms, and waterways.

With climate change, they illustrate the same broader principle.

Climate affects environmental conditions.

Environmental conditions affect pathogen persistence and movement, and those changes can alter human exposure.

Otsoff says health and agriculture officials should use climate data to prepare for future food safety threats.

Newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly told faith leaders he and President Donald Trump are working on a national abortion ban.

Freda Ross with the latest now from Texas where residents are already living under strict restrictions.

Pro-life advocates want stricter mandates on the distribution of abortion-inducing medications.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed multiple lawsuits against doctors who have mailed Mifepristone into the state.

OBGYN Dr. Anitra Beasley says doctors put the health of their patients first, but Texas laws make it more difficult.

The focus should be completely on the patient, not whether I can lose my license, not whether there's going to be a huge fine.

Texas already has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.

Healthcare workers in Kansas City join nationwide international pickets at HCA healthcare facilities, demanding higher wages and better staffing.

Service Employees International Union member Leila Abitabi says low pay is driving workers away.

We were concerned based on the staffing.

A lot of people are leaving because of the wages being low.

Workers want a path to $25 an hour and stronger benefits.

HCA says it remains committed to reaching fair agreements.

Now to Enterprise Oregon, where an old flour mill is giving rise to a new idea for affordable housing.

Two years ago, the iconic structure was acquired by Working Homes to preserve 27 housing units plus eight commercial spaces.

Kelsey Juvie says the nonprofit and the Energy Trust of Oregon are committed to improving the building's energy efficiency.

Full electrical upgrades in a 40,000 square foot building.

They need full plumbing upgrades, new windows, and it's registered as a historic landmark.

Like other states, Oregon has a severe shortage of affordable homes, estimated at roughly 96,000 units.

I'm Roz Brown.

This is Public News Service.

As subscription costs to online streaming services like Netflix continue to rise, Arizona libraries are making similar services available for free.

And all it takes is a library card.

The streaming app Canopy is associated with public libraries and universities. offering mostly independent and arthouse films instead of new releases.

However, there are some contemporary titles available.

Elizabeth Bush with Mesa County Public Libraries in Grand Junction, Colorado, describes the app's wide range of content.

They also have some blockbuster movies, for example, like Everything Everywhere All at Once is currently on Canopy.

They have a lot of kids' materials, The Great Courses.

There's a lot of documentaries, and all of them are free. it takes to access Canopy in Arizona is a library card.

And if people can't make it to a brick and mortar location, there are e-library cards available that also allow access to the free streaming service.

I'm Mark Moran.

From books bringing people together, now to a Virginia effort trying to turn the page on political division.

A new report finds non-partisan community projects can ease political tensions in rural areas.

Community works chapters bring Democrats and liberals together with their neighbors to tackle shared local concerns.

Study co-author Nicholas Jacobs says researchers saw measurable change in just two years.

These are not the new bastions of political comedy where everybody is sitting around singing kumbaya, but there was a measurable, substantive, and statistically significant difference across all these measures.

Researchers found hostility towards the opposing party fell in participating counties while it grew elsewhere.

Supporters of public education advocates in Massachusetts want Governor Maura Healy to reject a new federal school voucher program aimed at expanding school choice.

The program offers tax credits to individuals who donate to so-called scholarship-granting organizations, or SGOs.

These private nonprofits distribute that money as vouchers to students attending private, religious, or public schools.

Anthony Clough, an education policy analyst with Mass Budget, says families earning up to $500,000 a year would be eligible.

This is designed to help wealthier families, which can actually crowd out in the application process those from lower-income households, English learners, and other students that actually deserve academic enrichment.

Backers of the voucher program say it would create new resources for after-school programs or tutoring.

But Clough says guidelines for the program reveal states would have little say over how SGOs operate, including adherence to state academic or non-discrimination standards.

I'm Katherine Carley.

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

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