Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Wildfire approaches Reno, Nevada, forcing thousands of evacuations; New federal soot air standards could help North Carolinians; Colorado ranks near bottom for homegrown educational attainment; the Trump administration appointed chemical lobbyists to key oversight positions.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service daily newscast August the 24th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Authorities say the fast-growing wildfire destroying homes in northwest Reno on Sunday was human-caused.

The AP notes the Hawk Fire began Saturday and quickly grew to 20 square miles as it spread across the Humboldt-Toyabe National Forest, where rugged foothills are ringed with homes and businesses on the Nevada side of the California state line.

The fire moved exceptionally fast on Saturday night, jumping over fire trucks and making it difficult for responders to get to hotspots while residents were trying to get out.

Meantime, North Carolina clean air organizations are cheering on a series of court rulings that forced the Environmental Protection Agency to implement new regulations on soot levels.

Under President Joe Biden in 2024, the EPA strengthened National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Fine Particulate Matter, commonly known as soot.

Republican-led states and fossil fuel industry groups sued to prevent the decision from taking effect, and the Trump administration joined the lawsuit.

However, a D.C. Circuit Court invalidated the challenge in June.

Andrew Whalen with Clean Air NC explains that 1 in 10 North Carolina children have asthma, and a reversal of stricter standards threatens their health.

Asthma, of course, has been directly linked to particulate matter exposure.

So if the EPA succeeds in its efforts to roll back these standards, it invites more pollution back into our state.

And it's going to erase many of the hard-won gains that we've seen across North Carolina.

The moves by the Trump administration were part of a major deregulatory push they believed burdened companies and aimed to lower operational costs and expenses for corporations.

I'm Zamone Perez.

And Colorado ranks number two in the nation for the percentage of residents with college degrees.

That's according to a new Strata Education Foundation report.

But the state ranks near the bottom when it comes to developing its homegrown talent.

The foundation's data show most college-educated workers in Colorado didn't attend high school in the state.

Colorado Department of Higher Education's new executive director, J.B.

Holston, says it's widely known that people with degrees or professionally recognized credentials earn more money, but many still don't know about all the options available.

There's no long door.

Whatever pathway, be it a certificate, an associate's degree, be it something in the trades, a bachelor's degree, be it a PhD in optoelectronics, so you can work in the quantum industry or whatever, all those are equally good.

The state's latest return on investment report found that median earnings one year after graduation for those with bachelor's degrees were $48,000 a year and $46,000 for those with associate degrees or certificates.

Colorado businesses say their biggest and most persistent challenge is finding the right talent to fill positions, Holston says it's his agency's job to create affordable, flexible pathways that provide the skills necessary to land good-paying jobs.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

I'm Eric Galatas.

This is Public News Service.

New research by a public health group shows that more than two dozen people appointed to oversee sensitive positions in environmental and safety agencies previously worked for large chemical and pesticide companies.

That includes Bayer, which owns Monsanto, the manufacturer of glyphosate, an active ingredient found in the weed killer Roundup.

Despite pushback from Iowans and other farm-dependent states, the U.S. Supreme Court recently stripped people of the right to sue if they develop cancer after using the product.

Stacey Malkin, who co-founded the non-profit public health research publication Right to Know, did a deep dive on the data. she found at least 26 people in high-level positions with President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture Department, and White House have direct ties to Bayer and other pesticide corporations.

The four people in charge of the office regulating pesticides at EPA are all chemical industry lobbyists.

The Trump administration has also issued pesticide-friendly executive orders.

I'm Mark Moran.

And environmental, sporting, and community groups in Oregon and across the country are urging Americans to speak up to protect the roadless rule, which is on the chopping block under the Trump administration.

The USDA has opened up a 30-day public comment period around rescinding the rule.

The change would open up 2 million acres in Oregon and about 45 million acres of public land total to road construction and commercial development.

Aaron Robertson with Oregon Wild encourages people to think about the places and issues they care about and personalize their comments.

They care about recreation.

If they care about salmon, if you're a small business that relies on recreation, this is going to impact you.

These are things you can add in a public comment.

And that gives you a little bit more weight than just signing a petition or using a generic comment.

FDA says rescinding the rule will help prevent wildfires.

I'm Isobel Charle.

And many families are hoping to be reunited with loved ones in the United States after a federal judge struck down the Trump administration's ban on processing visas from 75 countries.

The State Department issued the ban in January, arguing that a pause was necessary to ensure the new immigrants don't depend on social services programs.

Attorney Susan Welber is with the Legal Aid Society, one of six legal service providers that represented plaintiffs in the case.

She says most legal immigrants are joining family in the U.S. or have an existing job offer, so they aren't at risk of becoming a public charge.

The court recognized that the ban was basically just discrimination on the basis of nationality.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

This is Mike Clifford.

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