Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Arrests now top 250 in immigration crackdown across North Carolina; Utah workers group calls for better wage scale on public projects; Shoppers want 'Made in USA' products but say they're hard to find; Honoring the humanity of those lost to anti-trans violence; Medical professionals urged to take jobs in rural Virginia.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service daily newscast, November the 20th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Federal agents have now arrested more than 250 people during a North Carolina immigration crackdown.

Centered around Charlotte, the state's largest city, that for the Associated Press.

They report the operation that began over the weekend is the latest phase of Republican President Donald Trump's aggressive mass deportation efforts. that have sent the military and immigration agents into Democratic run cities from Chicago to Los Angeles.

The AP notes that immigration officials have blanketed the country since January pushing detention counts to an all time high above sixty thousand.

Meantime, a coalition of lawmakers, businesses, and workers is proposing a plan. to establish a wage standard for all publicly funded construction in the state of Utah.

The group, calling itself the Blue Collar Caucus, wants to standardize pay policies for trade workers across the state.

More than 70 percent of Utah voters support pay equity with public construction, according to a recent poll.

State Representative Planner Clancy Says pay rates for the same job can vary widely across the state.

So, if we're building a road in St. George or a new courthouse in northern Utah or doing repairs on our beautiful state capital, that we're making sure we're not Pricing people out of the market.

Clancy says state lawmakers are looking at legislation to level the playing field for Utah's contractors and workers in the public construction process.

Currently, pay rates can vary from the $7. 25 minimum wage to $20 an hour for the same work.

Mark Richardson reporting And even though folks in Wisconsin and people across the country are planning to cut back on spending this holiday season, a new survey shows the majority of shoppers have a strong preference for buying American-made products.

Even so, availability, price, and labels of origin often influence their purchasing behavior.

The annual Made in the USA poll shows more than 80 percent of Americans say they would purchase more American-made products if they saw more of them in major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Amazon.

Scott Paul with the Alliance for American Manufacturing says people also overwhelmingly want to see the country of origin labels for online goods so they can make more informed choices.

There's been a lot in the news about tariffs and costs and concerns about that.

But it's striking to find that Americans still strongly value products that are made in the United States.

Paul says the Alliance's annual holiday gift guide makes it easier for consumers to buy local gifts.

It features American-made gift options from every state across various price points and categories, including goods from more than 20 Wisconsin companies.

Judith Ruiz Branch Reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Transgender people lost to acts of violence are being honored today.

Even as more anti-trans legislation is introduced in the U.S. and violence against them has increased.

November 20th is Transgender Day of Remembrance, set aside to raise visibility of transgender people. and acknowledge the community's contributions to society.

Matteo Nevels with The Lavender Rights Project says the current political climate is contributing to the dehumanization of trans people.

National narratives are designed to erase us.

We're not your political scapegoat.

We're not something that people should use to score points.

We're human beings, and we deserve for our humanity to be honored.

The first day of remembrance was held in 1999 and is now observed across the US and in many other countries.

I'm Roz Brown.

And rural health care advocates are using Rural Health Care Day Today to highlight challenges facing rural hospitals and medical centers.

In Virginia, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University found more than 40 percent of neighborhoods in the state lack adequate access to primary care physicians, primarily in rural areas.

Beth O'Connor with the Virginia Rural Health Association says issues like the costs of attending medical school mean future doctors often look for higher-paying jobs in urban areas, making it more challenging to bring people from urban areas to rural ones.

Sometimes you can get a kid from an urban area to go to a rural area, but it's much easier to get a student from Grundy. to go back to Grundy than it is to try to recruit a kid from Alexandria to go to Grundy.

O'Connor adds concerns about broadband access and commute times can push people toward urban medical settings rather than rural ones.

I'm Zimone Perez.

Finally, a new order from the Oregon Governor, Tina Kotek, directs state agencies to put more energy towards making the state's ecosystems More resilient to climate change.

The order sets a decade-long goal to protect and restore an additional 10 percent of the state's Lands and waters.

Nils Christofferson is with Wallawa Resources, a nonprofit based in Northeast Oregon.

He praised the governor's order for its strong vision, especially the idea that healthy ecosystems and healthy local economies go hand in hand.

Can focus our programs, policies, and investments to support the families and individuals who stored these lands.

With clear guidance about the targets, I think that's where we'll see tremendous benefit for rural Oregon.

The order directs state agencies to identify science-backed strategies to respond to intensifying droughts, wildfires, heat, and sea level rise brought about by climate change.

A 2021 proposal from the Oregon Climate Action Commission found that natural and working lands reduced U.S. emissions by 12 percent in 2019, and that protecting and restoring them could double this reduction.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

We are member and listener supported.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.