Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Epstein files: Reps ask judge to appoint monitor to ensure all documents released; US Border agents shoot, wound two people in Portland, city officials say; Under ICE tensions, MN faith leaders lean into community mission; IN death penalty bill stirs controversy, contradictions; Report: Political debates causing more stress, ending friendships.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, January the 9th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Two members of the House of Representatives asked a federal judge in New York to appoint a special master and independent monitor to ensure that all materials related to Jeffrey Epstein are released by the Department of Justice.

That from CNBC.

Thomas Massey and Democrat Ro Khanna blasted the DOJ for failing to meet a December 19 deadline to release all of the files.

DOJ has stated it still needs to review more than two million documents related to Epstein.

And from ABC News, two people shot by federal agents in Portland, Oregon Thursday, according to local police.

Officers confirmed federal agents had been involved in a shooting.

The Portland Police Department said, adding, "Portland police were not involved in the incident."

Next, a group of Minnesota faith leaders gathered Thursday to condemn the fatal shooting carried out by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis.

Pastors from several denomination spoke at an event in honor of Renee Good, the protester shot and killed by an ICE agent.

Her death has sparked nationwide debates about whether the shooting was justified and the growing presence of ICE agents in cities across the nation.

Reverend Susie Hayward of the Creekside United Church of Christ says some congregation members have already been transporting neighbors worried about being arrested to work in school while delivering groceries to their homes.

All of this is driven out of their grounding and commitment to the greatest command to love God and love neighbors.

Many non-faith entities are also part of the mutual aid movement in Minneapolis, but Hayward says at a time in political debates has shaken up various aspects of the Christian faith she feels it's important for religiously active people to reflect on the core beliefs.

I'm Mike Moen.

And the cost availability and limited shelf life of pentobarbital, the drug used for lethal injection in Indiana, are the foundation of a Republican-authored bill introduced during this week's legislative session.

Senate Bill 11 calls for the death penalty to be conducted by a firing squad if pentobarbital is inaccessible.

Additional wording in the bill says that a condemned person has the right to die by firing squad if they request it.

An organization that would like to permanently replace the state's sentencing and death penalty procedure says this does not provide proper recourse for the incarcerated.

Sarah Kraft, interim president of the Indiana Abolition Coalition, says the current system lacks transparency.

"Indiana law shrouds the execution process in secrecy.

The law already does that.

As you may know, Indiana is one of the only states in which a neutral media witness is not able to be in the execution chamber."

Kraft claims the idea that the bill provides a choice is quote a false pretense.

The inmate and their attorney cannot receive information in advance of the execution about what method will be used she explains.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

This is public news service.

Meantime the US House has passed legislation that would extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years, a move supporters say that could prevent sharp premium increases for millions of Americans.

Since the subsidies expired in December higher premiums have already prompted some of the 477,000 Ohioans on ACA plans to drop their coverage.

The bill passed Thursday in a 230 to 196 vote, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats including three from Ohio, but its future is uncertain in the Senate.

For some Ohioans the outcome could directly affect whether coverage remains affordable.

Justin Carter, who lives in Columbus and recently aged out of his parents' insurance plan, says premium increases pushed him to make a difficult decision.

In the last couple of months, my insurance jumped up.

My previous plan, I think, went up almost three times.

So then I kind of had to have this conversation with myself with, "Hey, do you want to keep paying for the same insurance or do you kind of want to wait and see what happens?"

So I ended up actually canceling my insurance.

Republican opponents say extending the subsidies is too costly.

Farah Siddiqui reporting.

This story was produced in association with media in the public interest and funded in part by the George Gunn Foundation.

For many in Mississippi, like Americans across the country, political conflict is moving beyond policy debate to become a source of personal stress.

That's according to new research from Florida State University's Institute for Governance and Civics.

The National Report finds 63 percent of Americans now say discussing politics with those they disagree with is stressful, a significant jump from 45 percent in 2013.

Ryan Owens, director of the Institute, says the data points to a deeper problem where people increasingly view political opponents as fundamentally immoral.

They are reporting they're losing friends more as a consequence of politics.

And for me, one of the more alarming things, across both sides of the political spectrum, Americans are starting to see members of the opposite party as more immoral and more dishonest than the average American.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

Finally, there was a time in the US when support for nature and conservation was as American as apple pie.

It's more partisan now, and one group wants Congress to help reduce the divisiveness.

60 years ago, there was almost unanimous support by lawmakers for passage of the 1964 Wilderness Act and for the 1973 Endangered Species Act.

Now, while many Democrats still support the laws, some Republicans in Congress want to weaken both.

The group Nature is Nonpartisan launched last year to address the issue.

The group's Amelia Joy says the partisan back and forth has left communities behind.

If there's anything that we can agree on, it's nature, it's stewardship, it's that our kids and our grandkids should be able to enjoy the same natural beauty that we do.

And that's a point that no one can disagree with.

I'm Roz Brown.

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

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