Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Attempted hack disrupts campaign finance filings, high voter registration fails to guarantee turnout, and healthcare advocates warn voters about rising costs and Medicaid changes.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast for Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

I'm Joe Ulori.

An attempted hack has disrupted the Federal Election Commission's campaign finance filing system, according to Reuters.

The outage blocks new spending reports just a week before the midterms, but should not affect voters' ability to cast ballots.

Alabama has one of the highest voter registration rates in the country, with roughly 92% of eligible voters registered.

But registering isn't the same as actually voting.

Our Tramiel Gomes has more.

In the May primary, only about 23% of registered voters cast a ballot.

Kenesha Brown is coordinator for the Roll into the Polls Voting Initiative, a nonpartisan group founded in 2016.

She says apathy is the real barrier this year, but they're fighting back with education and information.

We also educate on what's on the ballot and who's on the ballot.

For example, we have been pushing out information on constitutional amendments and local ballot measures.

Brown says the group has been hearing from frustrated voters, especially older ones, after redistricting negated some primary votes in state Senate races.

She says they've been reminding voters that the election is still important.

Election day is November 3rd.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

With the midterms days away, health care advocates are warning Arizona voters about rising costs and Medicaid changes.

Protect Our Care is bringing its 15-state bus tour to Arizona this week.

National organizer Adam Hoyer says people are sharing now higher premiums and Medicaid cuts are affecting them.

Officials, advocates, providers, and then a whole lot of healthcare storytellers, people who can share firsthand experience about what these higher premiums have meant for them, these Medicaid cuts have meant for them, and some of the tough choices that they've been having to deal with as a result.

A Pew Research Center report finds nearly three in four voters are concerned about health care affordability.

The tour stops in Tucson and Flagstaff Thursday and Phoenix Friday.

Indigenous high school students in Nebraska are getting a head start in the challenging job market.

The latest federal jobs report shows teen unemployment at 14.5% nationally compared with 4.2% overall.

A Winnebago-based apprenticeship program operated by Ho-Chunk Incorporated is helping students earn academic credit while gaining hands-on work experience.

Terry Lee Medina, the company's community programs manager, says the experience can also help students make informed career choices before investing time and money in additional education.

Save them some money if they know, like, oh, I want to go out to be a teacher or I want to go be a construction worker.

They know what their avenues take to do that and then hopefully return on investment.

Since launching in 2022, the program has helped more than 200 students gain on-the-job experience.

Medina says program graduates have gone on to pursue vocational certifications, college degrees, military service, and careers within tribal organizations.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This is Public News Service.

Imagine being too unhealthy to work, but still being forced to out of necessity.

That's the dilemma facing a western Wisconsin family which says high out-of-pocket cost and changes to federal programs put more pressure on their budget.

Our Judith Rui's branch has the story.

Small business owners like Sarah Burns say it's now too difficult to find affordable coverage from ACA marketplace plans.

Her husband Rick, who has bipolar disorder and a history of suicide attempts, returned to work full-time, largely because the family needed health insurance after recently losing their BadgerCare coverage.

I don't think Rick would have taken a job if we didn't have to worry about health insurance.

She worries the demands of full-time work could undermine her husband's recovery after a previous mental health crisis forced him to leave his job.

Their tough choices coincide with pending Medicaid work requirements under a major federal policy law adopted by Republicans.

Significant spending cuts are forecast in the coming years.

Supporters say the changes reduce unnecessary spending and strengthen program accountability, but health care advocates warn higher costs will leave more people uninsured.

Seniors in Mississippi have the opportunity to make changes to their Medicare coverage plans right now.

Open enrollment runs until December 7th, and recipients can change how they get coverage, switch drug plans, or adjust their Medicare Advantage plan.

Melinda Bertucci with AARP Mississippi says seniors should consider the four C's when making changes.

Those are coverage, cost, convenience, and customer service.

Medicare health and prescription drug plans are rated in how they perform in different categories, such as responsiveness and care, member complaints, and customer service.

She adds many Medicare recipients simply let their coverage roll over from one year to the next, and they could be paying too much or missing out on additional benefits.

Enthusiasm is growing among private landowners in Oregon to bring back the practice of prescribed burns, thanks in part to the work of Prescribed Burns Associations.

The associations are networks of landowners, community groups, and forest agencies that work together to make burning more accessible.

Micah Schmidt is a fire specialist with Oregon State University and helped establish the Northeast Oregon Prescribed Burn Association.

He says PBAs help landowners overcome barriers that make prescribed burning difficult.

We've got people really excited across the region to either burn on their land or to come help someone else burn.

It's hard for landowners to implement a burn of meaningful size on their own.

And so it's a way to build collective capacity, build community ownership, and put fire back in the hands of the people.

Schmidt says most people burn their land to reduce wildfire risk.

Oregon land is adapted to burn every 5 to 20 years, and fire also controls invasive species and promotes wildlife habitat.

After Europeans colonized the area in the 19th century, Oregon largely banned controlled burns that Native Americans had practiced for millennia.

I'm Isobel Charle.

This is Joe Ulori for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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