This is the radio copy of our latest local newscast. Local newscasts air on WHEE at 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. weekdays
WRITE IN: Just days before a potential default, Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Saturday that House Republicans and the White House have reached a tentative deal. ABC’s Alison Kosik has more VERBATIM: The breakthrough days before June 5th, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned the U-S could run out of cash to pay its bills on time. The deal will have to pass the Republican-controlled House and a Democrat-controlled Senate. Speaker McCarthy says he’ll speak with the president Sunday afternoon and vote on the measure Wednesday. He’s pledged to give House members 72 hours to review the legislation before a vote
Travis and Mandi Hundley of Martinsville won the 9th annual Gauntlet Business Competition and Program on Thursday at the War Memorial in Vinton. The program includes ten weeks of classes, followed by a competition where businesses compete for cash, grants, and in-kind prizes and services. The winners own the wellness bar in uptown Martinsville, an IV and vitamin hydration lounge that offers alternative health and wellness options. They took home a prize package valued at more than $23,000.
WRITE IN: Travelers are back in the air for the big holiday escape. Memorial Day, the unofficial kick-off to summer, is expected to be busy – and that could mean the summer travel season will be busy as well. ABC’s Michelle Franzen reports. VERBATIM: Millions of Americans are on the move for the Memorial Day weekend holiday, in numbers not seen since before the pandemic. For the trip home on Monday, air travelers are being advised to arrive early to allow time for those long security lines. And those driving experts say the worst time to be on the roads will be between noon and 3 pm.
WRITE IN: You can now “Sponsor a Stone” to honor men and women who died serving in the U-S military, honored this Memorial Day weekend. A Pennsylvania cemetery caretaker with a passion for history cleans and restores veterans’ headstones. William Bray started the “Sponsor a Stone” program that seeks donations for the ongoing effort at Brush Creek Cemetery… VERBATIM: It’s just a way of learning history. The stones that fell over, the veteran’s stones… I researched them, and I have gotten new stones for the Civil War veterans and I’ll be working on the Revolutionary War veterans
WRITE IN: Hundreds of thousands of Americans are in danger of losing their Medicaid coverage – as pandemic-era benefits disappear with the end of the public health emergency. Local legal aid groups are assisting people in getting back on their state’s Medicaid lists. Trevor Hawkins is with Legal Aid in Arkansas (At least 19 states have started removing people from their Medicaid rolls — Kaiser Family Foundation estimates about 17 million people may lose coverage in the coming months. States are federally mandated to notify recipients about upcoming changes – but procedural complications, delayed or missed notices, have left thousands in the dark, or struggling to get some kind of coverage back.) VERBATIM: We’ve been pretty successful so far in helping those people but they’ve still gone days without access to medications or having to delay doctor visits.
