Six minutes of news from around the nation.

U.S. Military's boat strikes planning takes on new significance; New campaign aims to end death penalty in NC and the nation; Amid ICE raids, immigrant children find peace on Boston soccer fields; New bill would boost MT ecosystem restoration; Colorado invests $1.7 million total to food pantries, banks.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, December the 4th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Before the Trump administration began attacking people suspected of smuggling drugs at sea, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved contingency plans for what to do if an initial strike left survivors.

That from multiple sources in the New York Times.

They report the military would attempt to rescue survivors who appeared to be helpless, shipwrecked and out of what the administration considered a fight but it would try again to kill them if they took what the US deemed to be a hostile action like communicating with suspected cartel members.

The Times notes after the smoke cleared from a first strike September 2nd there were two survivors and one of them radioed for help.

Admiral Frank Bradley who commanded the operation ordered a follow-up strike and both were killed.

On orders from Trump and Hegseth the US military has attacked 21 boats killing 83 people as part of a legally disputed policy of executing people suspected of smuggling drugs.

Meantime, a coalition of groups from around the country, including North Carolina, has formed the U.S. campaign to end the death penalty.

The alliance hopes to build on a decades-long momentum to abolish capital punishment.

The coalition includes groups from across the political spectrum, as well as faith groups, civil rights organizations, and people exonerated from death row.

Director of the campaign Laura Porter says public support for the death penalty has decreased steadily in the past three decades and less than half of people ages 18 to 54 support it.

She also notes that new death sentences remain at historic lows.

In a country of 348 million people there will be less than 30 new death sentences in 2025.

There's no greater indicator of how Americans feel about the death penalty than in the jury room and juries are sending very few people to death row.

This year has seen an uptick in the number of death sentences carried out.

This is largely due to Florida, which accounts for more than a third of executions this year.

North Carolina has not carried out an execution since 2006.

I'm Eric Tegethoff reporting.

As ICE raids continue in Boston, a free soccer program is helping immigrant kids cope with the fear of their parents being deported.

Coaches with the nonprofit Soccer Without Borders are working to build their players' confidence and skills while trying to reassure families that the soccer fields are still safe. program manager, Caitlin Silva, says there's an excitement among the players to grow as athletes and feel proud of their cultural backgrounds.

"The soccer field is an amazing place to momentarily forget all the stresses that are going on in the world and for them to be kids again."

The program serves more than 1,000 kids ages 7 to 20 with two practices a week and games on Sundays.

Silva says it's okay if players don't always feel comfortable showing up.

She says with some immigrant parents afraid to leave their homes, the program has now shifted to a local league that requires less travel.

This story is based on original reporting from Marcelo Rodriguez with the Boston Globe.

I'm Catherine Carley.

This is public news service.

New legislation for members of the Montana Congressional Delegation aims to make environmental restoration projects easier and less expensive.

Montana Congressman Troy Downing and Senator Steve Daines are sponsoring the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act.

It would exempt floodway restoration from federal floodplain permit reviews.

David Brooks with Montana Trout Unlimited cites a farmer who lives along Trout Creek near Helena.

He wanted to shore up about 100 feet of steep river bank and plant willow trees to stop erosion.

Brooks says the whole project would have cost about $1,000, but the permitting costs were far higher.

Because it's in a mapped floodplain and had to go through floodplain permitting review, the estimated cost for that modeling and review was 10 to $15,000.

And so the landowner could not afford to do it.

Under current policy, any proposed project in a regulated floodplain must prove it won't cause any rise of flood elevations.

Brooke says this bipartisan legislation is a common sense solution and would allow a certified engineer to sign off on low risk projects, verifying they won't jeopardize infrastructure.

I'm Laura Hatch reporting.

And even after the federal government reopened and release food assistance funding, Coloradans are still turning to local food pantries to put food on the table.

State officials recently added $1.2 million to this year's Community Food Grants Program to help five feeding Colorado food banks purchase food in bulk and deliver it to hunger relief partners throughout the state, like the pantry operated by the North 40 Mountain Alliance, which serves communities near Redfeather Lakes.

Alliance director Darlene Kilpatrick says that money is critical to meet growing demand.

We have families that both parents are working, they're struggling to get by, or someone has lost their job and they have no money for food.

To be able to offer food to give them that sense of security and hope can be life changing.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Finally, as folks in Michigan think about their charitable giving this season, health leaders say vision care remains one of the most overlooked needs, especially in underserved communities, even as the World Health Organization and the United Nations recognize it as essential term development.

Studies show every dollar invested in vision care yields up to $28 in economic benefits.

The Gary Bernstein Community Health Center in Pontiac is Michigan's largest volunteer led free clinic.

CEO Mary Lewis says people often don't think about vision care until it becomes a crisis and many of the uninsured patients they see are already facing health problems that threaten their sight.

So we're seeing patients who are chronically ill and as we know diabetes especially can really impact someone's vision.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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