Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Partial US government shutdown enters third day as funding standoff continues; NH lawmakers consider 'Medicare for All' bill as health care costs spike; Cold snap sends Ohioans to ER as winter risks continue; Push grows for PA in-home care funding in Gov. Shapiro's budget.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, February the 3rd, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump called on the House of Representatives to approve the Senate PASS spending package without making changes.

That from CNBC.

Conservative Republicans in the House are threatening to tank the bill to reopen the government unless it includes a controversial voter ID measure known as the SAVE Act.

CNBC notes the House scheduled to begin taking up the Senate amended bill after the upper chamber replaced a full year Department of Homeland Security spending bill with two weeks of stopgap funding.

Meantime, a bill before New Hampshire lawmakers supports a national Medicare for All program.

The legislation calls on the state's congressional delegation to support an effort by independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to create a single-payer, federally run health insurance program that replaces most private insurance plans.

Dr. Donald Kalisch with the New Hampshire chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program says it ensures coverage as a basic right rather than an employee benefit.

The mom with a sick child would not hesitate to get care.

People who have cancer would go into their cancer treatment plan knowing that it's all going to be covered.

Critics contend a national program would be too expensive and limit consumer choices.

But Kalisch says the U.S. could follow the German and Swiss health care models, which offer universal coverage that allows people to choose their doctor without any in-network restrictions.

I'm Catherine Carley.

And as snow moves across Ohio, emergency physicians say that cold-related injuries are sending people to emergency rooms.

Emergency physicians say winter weather can pose risks for those who aren't traditionally considered vulnerable.

Dr. Ryan Marino, an emergency physician and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine explains cold exposure can affect anyone.

This cold is a risk for everyone and not that everyone needs to be scared or worried about it, but just that cold can affect people in more ways than we think about regularly and it does affect everyone, not just older people or younger people, but everyone.

Health officials say snow can increase exposure risk by soaking clothing and extending time outdoors, accelerating cold-related injuries.

I'm Mark Moran.

Next to Wyoming, where the new session kicks off February the 9th.

The state's largest advocacy group for people age 50 and older is urging lawmakers to bring in scams associated with cryptocurrency ATMs.

Alan Stuber is a Gillette police detective.

Between our two departments last year alone, we're looking at roughly just in Gillette, county over probably three million dollars if it most.

Stuber says in 2025 his department investigated over 75 cases where residents were conned into depositing money into crypto ATMs money they never saw again.

This is public news service.

Governor Josh Shapiro delivers a state budget today for the next two years and more than 70 Democratic leaders are among those hoping and includes a boost for the state's in-home care system.

They're pushing for more funding to stabilize these services for more than 400,000 people who need them.

Pennsylvania Home Care Association CEO Mia Haney says a lack of caregivers has left over 112,000 monthly home care shifts uncovered, putting seniors and people with disabilities at risk of losing essential day-to-day help.

Our hope is that Governor Shapiro will include in his proposed budget a starting point, a step in the right direction for home care to recognize the need to acknowledge that these home care workers are underpaid and need to be supported.

Haney notes two taxpayer funded studies show Pennsylvania must invest more than $800 million and raise Medicaid rates by 23 percent to stabilize the in home care system.

She points out Pennsylvania lags far behind surrounding states, which pay in-home care workers 25 to 75 percent more.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Next West Virginia lawmakers are considering a bill that would weaken protections and oversight requirements for working youth.

The legislation would eliminate rules that define which jobs are too dangerous for minors and remove requirements for direct supervision when children work with hazardous machinery explains Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.

The concern, of course, is that by eliminating state categories of barred occupations, by kind of weakening the guardrails and parameters around children working in industries that can be more dangerous, it would result in more injuries for children.

House Bill 4005 passed the House Government Organization Committee and is now headed to the full House of Delegates.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, nationwide in 2024, more than 4,000 children were employed in violation of federal child labor laws.

This is Nadia Ramligan for West Virginia News Service.

Finally, many people on Medi-Cal lost coverage in January for popular drugs like Wigovi and ZepBound, which treat obesity.

According to reporting from KFFHealth News, officials are recommending a healthy diet and exercise as alternatives, but experts say that advice is unrealistic.

University of Southern California, Professor Ann Peters is an endocrinologist who works with Medi-Cal patients in East LA.

She says this policy change makes little sense.

It seems quite short-sighted because that excess fat is associated with a huge number of other health conditions.

And that these are people who've tried for years to lose weight.

And these drugs are really good at helping people lose weight in a way that they haven't been able to before.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

Find your trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.