Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Hegseth says Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad, and it will be live streamed, California health plan choices narrow as open enrollment begins, and a Bill to permit industrial aquaculture off Virginia coast stalls in the Senate.

TRANSCRIPT

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

I'm Mike Clifford.

It's scheduled to be the first military execution in more than 60 years, and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says it will be live-streamed. 56-year-old former U.S. Army Major Nidal Hassan, who fatally shot 13 unarmed U.S. soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, is set to be executed by firing squad.

Hegseth said Thursday, we'll make sure that people are able to watch it and that it's public because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things.

The BBC Notes asked if Hassan had made any final request or reached out to President Trump.

Hegseth responded, don't care.

We'll see him on December the 3rd.

That's the pending date for his execution.

Meantime, tens of thousands of folks in California are going to have to choose a new individual Medicare Advantage plan once open enrollment for Medicare starts.

That happens next Thursday.

That's because multiple companies are dropping their plans for 2027.

Sharp Healthcare, United Healthcare, Humana, and Aetna have all sent out notices that some plans will no longer be available next year.

Stephanie Fahuri oversees the health insurance counseling and advocacy programs known as HICAP for the city and county of Los Angeles.

She says it's important to find out if your plan will still cover your medications and if your doctors still accept your plan.

I recommend that people confirm with their doctor or hospital system to confirm which plans they will be accepting in the upcoming year, because that does seem to change quite a bit.

Between October 15th and December 7th, you have the opportunity to switch between original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, join, drop, or change a Part D prescription drug plan, or move from one Advantage plan to another.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

People should also be aware that the costs are increasing for Medicare prescription drug benefits for 2027.

And pressure from ocean conservation organizations and other environmental groups have led to a pause on a federal bill that would allow for some large-scale aquaculture along the U.S. coast.

The Marine Aquaculture Research for America, or MARA Act, would direct federal agencies to study commercial-scale offshore projects for finfish and other shellfish.

The goal would study the viability and environmental impacts in an effort to boost domestic seafood production.

But public opposition helped delay a key Senate committee vote, while a bipartisan group of lawmakers planned to continue discussions.

Jim Walsh, with Food and Water Watch, says there's no need to study the issue because to him, it's already clear the practice is harmful.

We don't need a research project to tell us that putting thousands and thousands of fish in a confined cage where you're dumping tremendous amounts of pesticides and other things into the ocean to make these systems work is going to create harm.

I'm Zamone Perez.

This is Public News Service.

Organic farmers in New York are worried about pending farm bill proposals.

The House passed one version, while the Senate Agriculture Committee passed another.

Some organic farming groups are glad to see slight funding increases for conservation programs and cost-sharing initiatives in the Senate version.

Leanna Hoods with the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of New York says organic or not, dairy farms struggle without a farm bill.

The more the farm bill gets delayed, the more they continue to be uncertain about their next steps.

And that's from how the crop insurance works to how the pay price for farmers works and research.

She notes the Senate Ag Committee version of the bill doesn't include language to improve data collection for organic dairies to better address challenges they face.

Other improvements, Hood says this version of the bill needs are cost increases for the organic certification cost share and funding for farmers to transition to organic.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

The latest Farm Bill reauthorization expired at the end of September, leaving the next one's fate uncertain.

Next, food security groups are dismayed by the lack of significant punishment for major egg producers accused of price gouging.

A Department of Justice investigation alleges Cal Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the U.S., and others work together to artificially increase egg prices while blaming the increase on the bird flu.

Palmein's profits increased tenfold to over a billion dollars in a year in 2022 during the first major wave of bird flu.

Sarah Cardin with Farm Action says the company is settling with the DOJ instead of going to court.

But the settlement is not nearly high enough to protect consumers from future misdeeds.

The financial penalties are just not severe enough.

The fine is about 0.23% of the profits they made in one year.

So instead of being disincentivizing, it's really more of like a cost of doing business.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

Finally, duck hunting is one of the most significant outdoor economic drivers in Arkansas.

Hunters pump more than $300 million into the local economy each year, but the number has been dwindling as the waterfowl population has decreased.

During the fall, rice farmers typically flood their harvested fields to create habitats for migratory birds, but in recent years, fewer farmers are planting rice due to economic hardships.

Ryan Askren with Five Oaks Ag Research and Education says if farmers aren't profitable, they can't provide the winter habitat the birds need.

The hunting opportunity really drives the habitat.

People being able to have successful hunts on properties incentivizes the flooding of a lot of these, the pumping costs and work that goes into it.

So if you don't have those people wanting to come hunt, then the habitat's very likely going to struggle.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is Mike Clifford, and thank you for wrapping up your week with Public News Service.

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