News from around the nation.

Strikes escalate across the Middle East as Iran attacks the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia; Midterm elections today in North Carolina, Arkansas, and Texas; a West Virginia bill cuts hefty tax breaks for data centers; and how clean energy goals are tied to high-quality union jobs

Transcript

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, March the 3rd, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

Secretary of State Mark Rubio Monday said the Trump administration has done plenty to keep Congress apprised of its military campaign in Iran, even as lawmakers in both parties have decried what they say is a lack of details on the plan.

Rubio's defense comes as the House and Senate speed towards votes on War Powers legislation that would curb President Donald Trump's ability to order further military action in the Middle East.

Politico notes Rubio argued the administration has complied with the law 100 percent and shrugged off the threat of a War Powers vote in the coming days.

Meantime, taxpayers in Colorado and across the U.S. could be on the hook for over $750 billion if the Trump administration moves forward with plans to roll back bonding requirements for oil and gas companies operating on public lands.

That's according to new analysis.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management requires companies to post bonds to ensure that well sites are properly plugged after drilling is complete.

David Jenkins with Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship says if bonding costs drop back to paltry 1960 levels, bad actors will continue to skip town and leave messes for taxpayers to clean up.

"If they promise to clean up as a condition of the permit, then we've got to hold them to that.

And anyone saying we shouldn't hold them to that is just turning their back on taxpayers."

There are currently some 130,000 abandoned oil and gas wells on public lands.

That's due in part to previous bonding levels as low as $1,700.

The actual cost of cleanup is over $70,000.

The Trump administration believes rolling back regulations on fossil fuel companies, including bonding requirements, is necessary to unleash American energy and achieve its goal of energy dominance.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And an 11th hour reversal by New Mexico lawmakers will give the state's teachers about $25 more of a paycheck.

After the state Senate removed a 1 percent raise from the state budget, the House restored the increase hours before the session ended last month.

Whitney Holland leads the American Federation of Teachers in New Mexico.

She says it might sound like a small amount, but it can help pay for groceries or the co-pay necessary for a student's field trip.

For a working person, $25 a paycheck makes a difference.

Like I filled my gas tank this morning and that was roughly $25.

It helps.

In addition to teachers, the 1 percent raise applies to police officers, firefighters, and other public employees.

To find the roughly $70 million needed for the raise, lawmakers opted out of a recent federal change that allows a tax cut for large corporations.

I'm Roz Brown.

And the Supreme Court Monday appeared sympathetic to a marijuana users' challenge to a federal law that bars people who consume illegal drugs from having firearms. rights advocates argue the law falls afoul of the Constitution's Second Amendment, which protects the rights to bear arms.

This is Public News Service.

Next to Kentucky, where lawmakers are considering a bill that would make water fluoridation optional by removing a statewide mandate that water systems serving more than 3,000 people be treated with a natural mineral.

Supporters say the bill would allow for more local control on fluoride exposure.

But dental Health experts, like Jennifer Harrison, a dental hygienist and member of the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition, say fluoride prevents cavities for people who can't afford a trip to the dentist.

She adds the issue is compounded by a lack of dental care practitioners in many parts of the state.

"We have several counties, I think the last check was maybe six in Kentucky that have no dentists at all."

House Bill 103 passed the House and now sits with a state Senate committee.

Harrison adds that in some Kentucky high schools, kids as young as 16 receive full mouth extractions because of poor dental hygiene.

This is Nadia Ramlagon

Next, domestic violence remains a serious problem in Tennessee, but Savannah's law aims to raise public awareness with the statewide registry of repeat offenders.

Between January and October of 2025, at least 37 Tennesseans were killed in 33 incidents linked to domestic violence.

Erica Downing, who leads the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center, says Savannah's law is drawing national attention as other states push for similar registries.

Tennessee is the first state with a public registry focused specifically on persistent domestic violence offenders.

There is a time restriction for the convictions and it depends on the number of prior convictions.

And so the first prior conviction, the offender will be removed from the list after five years from the date of the most recent conviction.

Downing says the registry should never be used to place responsibility on survivors or suggest they could have prevented what happened by checking it.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Finally, a summit in Northeast Oregon this month will bring together landowners, state agencies and conservation groups to talk about the future of the state's vast grazing lands.

Marci Schrader is with Wallowa Resources, the group that is organizing the summit around the theme "Deep Roots and Fresh Faces."

She says it's a chance for stakeholders to learn from each other and strategize about how to contend with many challenges facing modern ranching, like invasive species, drought, and wildfire.

Conservation and agriculture are not opposing forces.

Through collaboration, technical support, Locally driven solutions, ranchers are leading meaningful efforts to care for the land in ways that really do benefit entire communities.

Schrader adds the summit will highlight new grazing technologies, including virtual fencing, which uses GPS enabled collars to track and control where cows roam.

I'm Isobel Charle.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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