News from around the nation.

Inconsistent messaging from the White House on the Iran timeline; a report warns of economic fallout from mass deportations; and a advocates push for a critical minerals trade policy that protects workers and the environment.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update.

I'm Mary Sherman.

Oil prices are dropping after President Donald Trump signaled that the war with Iran would end soon.

However, during a Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sparked concerns that the conflict could linger, stating it wouldn't end until "the enemy is totally and decisively defeated."

Tennessee could face economic fallout from mass deportations as state lawmakers continue to work with the Trump administration on proposals to tighten immigration enforcement.

A new bill introduced in January would give local agencies more authority to cooperate with federal officials on detention and deportation.

David Kalik with the Immigration Research Initiative believes deportations could reduce jobs and tax revenue.

If you start to deport large numbers, you're going to see across the board impacts on the state economy, particular impacts in some areas, certainly in construction, care workers like housekeepers and home health aides, in farming and in restaurants.

House Bill 1711 requires schools, hospitals, universities, local governments, and other public entities to verify and report immigration status.

Danielle Smith reporting.

The feds are seeking public comment on a proposed trade deal to secure critical minerals like cobalt, nickel, and lithium, which are used in cars, phones, and other electronics.

We get the story from Suzanne Potter.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative is looking to strike a deal with multiple other countries to boost production and secure supply chains.

Arthur Stamoulis with the non-profit Trade Justice Education Fund wants the Trump administration to make sure U.S. tax dollars don't contribute to child labor or toxic pollution in the mines.

They need to have strong binding standards on labor rates, the environment, indigenous rights and community consent throughout the supply chain.

And we need to ensure that those standards are backed up by swift and certain enforcement mechanisms that include meaningful facility-specific penalties for violations.

The Trump administration is considering deals that would establish a price floor.

A bill to create a Wabanaki Studies Specialist within the main Department of Education awaits funding from the state, and tribal youth say the lessons can't come soon enough.

The position would oversee compliance with the 2001 law, which requires inclusion of both tribal history and contemporary culture in all public K-12 schools.

Sage Phillips with the Wabanaki Alliance says she hopes educators can better challenge the narratives that Native people exist only in the past.

"I always like to say we've been here, we're still here, and we're going to be here for the next seven generations and beyond.

I think that's a really crucial understanding and Wabanaki Studies certainly helps push that forward."

Educators statewide say they've struggled to implement the Wabanaki study's requirement, with most districts relying on a select set of online lessons.

The bill would also ensure Wabanaki advisors would be hired to help the new specialists create courses for all main teachers to use.

This is Public News Service.

A new study reveals that the solar market in the U.S. added fewer new installations last year compared to 2024.

The findings come after the Trump administration scrapped subsidies and tax breaks as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Now to Washington State where a new law will increase access to medication abortions.

In 2023, the state spent about $1.2 million dollars on a three-year supply of mifepristone and misoprostol, two medications commonly used for abortion and miscarriage care, as a safeguard against legal threats to access.

But much of the medication still remains undistributed and is set to expire.

Family doctor Zoe Taylor says the new law removes barriers so the medication can be sold for cheaper or donated more easily.

She says this will be a big help because the medication can cost patients hundreds of dollars.

There are people every day who can't afford this medication who need it in this country and there are providers who are trying to stay in the black but trying to let people pay what they can.

And so if we can donate it to those providers too, I mean, this is just such a no brainer.

Initial rules required the state to sell the medication at list price plus a $5 fee, which was higher than provider rates, hindering distribution.

Republican lawmakers argued against the new law, saying the fact that the stockpile of medication is about to expire shows the initial purchase was unnecessary.

I'm Isobel Charle.

Medical insurance for many working families is increasingly becoming unaffordable, even for those covered through employer-sponsored plans.

Nadia Ramlagan reports from West Virginia.

Employers have consistently covered about 20 to 30 percent of the cost of employee plans, But as overall costs have gone up, workers end up paying more toward those plans each year, says David Radley, a senior scientist with the Commonwealth Fund.

"If employees keep paying more and more into their insurance plan, but their wages aren't keeping up, then employees are paying a higher share of their wages to buy that insurance."

In 2024, around 760,000 people in West Virginia are covered by employer-sponsored insurance, representing about 44 percent of the state's population, according to the Association of Healthcare Journalists.

This is Nadia Ramlagon for West Virginia News Service.

And in other health news, over the past 20 years, the number of adults living with diabetes in the US has doubled.

Researchers from the University of Houston studied 23 programs across the country that helped people successfully challenge their eating and exercise habits to help manage their prediabetes.

Shada Motlog is study co-author. attended exercise sessions or health education classes.

Some were digital, using mobile apps, websites, or any other wearable devices or text messages.

And some programs focused on changing the environment.

And the study found successful programs set goals, provided clear instructions and social support, and gave personalized feedback.

This is Mary Sherman for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewservice.org.