Six minutes of news from around the nation.

5 police officers shot, 3 dead in Pennsylvania, FBI investigating; Report: Pennsylvania math, reading scores rank among nation's best; IN groups' tiny homes to fight homelessness; ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel off air for Charlie Kirk comments; IL advocates urging Midwesterners to oppose Roadless Rule repeal.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service daily newscast September the 18th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Three officers were killed and two remain in critical but stable condition after a shooting Wednesday afternoon in rural central Pennsylvania.

That from CNN.

The report, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Colonel Christopher Parris said the shooting suspect is dead after being shot by police.

The shooting appears to have occurred while officers were serving a court order. a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

CBS News reports schools in Spring Grove area school district sheltered in place because of the incident but have since got the all clear for law enforcement according to the district website.

A message online says the move was made out of an abundance of caution and no students or schools were involved.

Meantime Pennsylvania students continue to excel in reading and math according to the latest public education by the numbers report.

It offers a comprehensive look at school funding, enrollment, educator pay and academic performance across the state's 1.7 million public school students.

Christopher Lilienthal with Pennsylvania State Education Association says that while the pandemic caused test scores to decline nationwide, Pennsylvania still ranks among the top states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the nation's report card for fourth and eighth graders in reading and math.

It's fourth grade reading.

Only four states had statistically significant higher scores than Pennsylvania.

In fourth grade math, only three states had statistically significant higher scores than Pennsylvania.

We're doing all right compared to the nation.

The report notes that more than six in 10 Pennsylvania high school graduates plan to continue their education after graduation.

Danielle Smith reporting.

And Indiana groups are taking new steps to address homelessness with a plan for a tiny home community in Indianapolis.

We get more from our Joe Uluri.

The effort could serve as a model for other parts of the state.

Benjamin Wakefield, senior pastor of Lynnhurst Baptist Church, says the project will provide more than shelter.

It's not just here's a house. Good luck.

This is a wraparound service project that really welcomes people and loves them right where they're at.

Supporters say the approach combines housing with access to services like recovery programs, food pantries, and case managers.

Critics of similar projects in other states have raised concerns about neighborhood impact and long-term funding, which may come up as the Indiana plan moves through city zoning approval.

This story was produced with original reporting from Malia Van Ostrand with Wish TV. - And from Variety, Disney's ABC said it would take Jimmy Kimmel's popular late night show off its schedule indefinitely after one of the biggest owners of TV stations in the U.S.

Nextstar media said it intended preempt airings of the program following remarks the host made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

This is public news service.

Environmental advocates are urging residents in Illinois and across the Midwest to oppose the Trump administration's proposal to repeal the roadless rule.

The conservation policy safeguards more than half a million acres of undeveloped land in national forests across the Midwest from road construction and logging.

Kelly Thayer with the Environmental Law and Policy Center says these lands have remained untouched for decades and represent some of America's most pristine wilderness.

He stresses that cutting them down to allow logging, mining and roads would accelerate climate change and threaten the water source for many communities.

Ironically, the rule is preventing fires and the Trump administration wants to repeal it in the name of fighting fires.

The truth is that roads and people who use them are the greatest cause of forest fires.

He emphasizes how critical it is for people to voice their concerns now, given the U.S. Department of Agriculture only provided a 21-day public comment period, which ends tomorrow.

People can submit comments online at regulations.gov.

I'm Judith Ruiz-Branch Reporting.

And a new report shows that more young people in Alabama and across the country are carrying guns, but experts say locking them up is not the solution.

Richard Mendel is report author of From Punishment to Prevention.

He explains that youth gun carrying has stayed steady over the years despite an overall surge in gun sales during the pandemic.

In representative surveys about five percent of American youth ages 12 to 17 say that they've carried a gun in the previous year.

That translates into over a million kids carrying firearms.

Mendel says while the numbers are troubling, the majority of those youths are not committing violent crimes.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

Finally, new data reveals a stark trend in Florida's health coverage for kids.

The state's child uninsured rate rose from 7.4 percent to 8.5 percent between 2022 and 2024, representing an additional 67,000 uninsured kids.

Joan Alker with Georgetown University Center for Children and Families says the consequences are severe and points directly to the state's actions.

Florida had a net enrollment decline during its unwinding period of about 20 percent of children covered in Florida's Medicaid program, over half a million.

And that was a concern to us at the time because most children who are uninsured today are actually eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, but they're just not enrolled. - Allker's analysis shows this decline propelled Florida to rank 46th in the nation for its rate of uninsured children.

She notes that many children who lost coverage likely remained eligible, but were dropped due to procedural errors.

The Florida Department of Children and Families, which managed the eligibility and unwinding process, published information stating its goal was to ensure those no longer eligible for Medicaid were transitioned to other coverage options.

I'm Trammell Gomes.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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