Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Elon Musk continues to blast Trump spending with 'Kill the Bill'; AR summer food programs prepare to feed students; Study: Blacks and Latinos burdened by being 'superusers' of gasoline; NYC midwives union approves strike authorization.

Transcript

The Public News Service Delaware Newscast for June the 5th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Elon Musk is continuing his attacks on President Donald Trump's signature bill on Wednesday with a barrage of posts on X slamming the mega bill, saying in one that no one should be able to stomach it, while another instructed his more than 200 million followers to call members of Congress to kill the bill.

That's from ABC News.

They report Musk, who until recently had largely scaled back posting about politics, on Wednesday alone had already posted or helped amplify posts on X, criticizing the bill more than 25 times.

Musk wrote in a post, "MAGA's spending bills are bankrupting America.

Enough."

And with the start of summer, organizations across Arkansas are ramping up programs to ensure that kids have access to healthy food.

The No Kid Hungry campaign, operated by Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and share our strength connects kids to federal food programs.

Director Patty Barker says students can receive meals at designated sites, such as schools or community centers, through the summer EBT program that provides families with $120 per student each month, or the non-congregate meals for students in rural areas.

That's a several meal day package.

A box could be for a few days or even for a week's worth of meals provided for pickup by the parents or distribution straight to the home of the students.

There are USDA authorized summer meal sites in almost every Arkansas county.

A link to find meal sites is available on the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance website.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

Arkansas ranks fourth highest in the nation for childhood hunger.

With nearly one in four kids facing food hardship that is down 19 percent in the last 10 years.

And as federal electric vehicle incentives face potential rollbacks, a new study is highlighting the burden of gasoline costs on Black and Latino drivers and policy interventions that can help support equitable EV adoption to help ease the burden.

The fuel equity report shows Blacks and Latinos are super users of gasoline spending on average 15 percent of their paycheck to fuel their cars.

In Illinois, residents pay the second highest gas taxes in the nation.

Dr. Shelley Francis with EV Hybrid Noir says systemic factors like disinvestment in public transportation, economic segregation, and long commute times all contribute to the disproportionate impact.

They're also more likely than average to be driving these older, less fuel-efficient cars due to income as well as financing barriers that they may experience.

The an average of $4,900 a year on fuel and maintenance, but barriers like affordability, charging access, and education persist.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This is public news service.

Midwives at New York City's Jacoby Medical Center and North Central Bronx Hospital have voted to strike.

The new unanimous strike authorization comes as they've worked with an expired contract for two years.

Negotiations lasted this long because the Physicians Group of New York keeps changing negotiators.

Midwife Roxanne Winston says a strike is their last resort to get Pagni to bargain in good faith.

The lack of investment in the midwifery staff has resulted in a lack of investment, lack of time for our patients, and that is a safety issue.

We can't stand idly by.

For us, we're saying enough is enough.

We need to be able to protect our patients.

A 2023 Commonwealth Fund report finds midwives help reduce maternal mortality and maternal health disparities, which are prominent in the Bronx.

Negotiating is challenging since Pagni employs Winston and her colleagues, but New York City's Health and Hospitals Agency is in charge of funding for their proposals.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

And as Congress continues to push for cuts in additional work requirements for Medicaid eligibility, experts warn that more Kentuckians could lose access to treatment for substance abuse disorder.

In 2021, more than 54,000 were receiving treatment for opioid use disorder, says Ashley Spaulding with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

She adds the program is critical for people in recovery.

They're getting prescription medications that are evidence-based for treating opioid use disorder.

And if these cuts go into effect, then people are going to lose access to their treatment, to their prescription medications.

Medicaid funding is used for medications like Suboxone and Methadone, harm reduction tools such as Narcan and fentanyl strips, and other community-based services.

According to federal data, last year overdose deaths in the Commonwealth decreased for the third year in a row.

Nadia Ramligan reporting.

Finally, research indicates that living shorelines are more effective at protecting Florida's fragile coastal areas from the wave action of hurricanes and other major storms than artificial structures.

The study analyzed the results of shorelines in the regions around Cedar Key, an island off Florida's nature coast during Hurricane Idalia in 2023.

Researchers found that living shorelines reduce wave energy and storm surge by 28 percent in hurricane environments.

Savannah Berry, a marine biologist and co-author of the study, says it demonstrates that natural barriers can be more effective than artificial structures.

Living shorelines basically restore a gradual slope from the dry land to the ocean.

That shoaling natural slope along with all the complexity of the biological components is what slows down current and wave energy.

The study found that living shorelines, typically constructed from recycled oyster shells or other materials, better protect communities from storm surge, sea level rise, and erosion.

I'm Tramell Gomes.

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

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