News from around the nation.

Iran names Khamenei’s son to succeed him. Military veterans join nationwide anti-Iran war protests. TSA staff shortages lead to three-hour security lines for travelers at some airports. And a lawsuit claims JBS discriminated against immigrant workers.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

Iran named a hardliner, Ayatollah Muthajabah Khamenei, to succeed his late father as Supreme Leader Monday, that's signaling no let up in the war launched by the U.S. and Israel.

Meantime, U.S. veterans continue to denounce American military intervention in Iran as the war now enters its second week.

More from our Catherine Carley.

Protests were held this weekend across the nation, where attendees said Congress needs to stop the Trump administration before more service members or innocent civilians are killed.

Air National Guard veteran Jesse Gillis is a member of New Hampshire's Veterans for Peace.

He says the president has failed to justify his actions.

It's not worth the money.

It's not worth the loss of service members, nor to the people there.

This isn't going to help them by any means.

President Donald Trump pledged to keep U.S. casualties to a minimum before overseeing the dignified transfer of six service members killed by a drone strike in Kuwait.

Governor Kelly Ayotte has announced the deployment of the New Hampshire Air National Guard as part of Operation Epic Fury.

The U.S. Senate failed to pass a bipartisan resolution last week to stop American military action in Iran without congressional approval.

And a partial government shutdown has resulted in TSA staffing shortages that have led to shockingly long lines at airports, including those in Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta.

In some cases, travelers are advised to arrive more than three hours early because of the disruptions.

And grassroots organizers in Wisconsin are urgently rallying residents to oppose a controversial anti-Semitism bill to be voted on this month.

The legislation would codify the definition of anti-Semitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance into state law and create enhanced criminal penalties for it.

With more than 700 reports of incidents against Jews in Wisconsin since 2015, supporters say it aims to combat rising acts of anti-Semitism.

But opponents, like Jewish leader and former state Rep.

Sandy Pash, argued the bill is part of a push to criminalize those who criticize Israel, including pro-Palestinian speech.

She says it threatens First Amendment rights.

"Yes, there is a rise in anti-Semitism, but there is a rise in all forms of hate under this government.

We are seeing increasing Islamophobia, anti-trans, anti-immigrant. for this administration and bill to only deal with one form of hate does not make you safer.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

And three Haitian workers are suing the meatpacking giant JBS for discrimination and wage violation.

FarmStand senior attorney Amal Bouaibib says the lawsuit is about a vulnerable group of Haitian immigrants who were recruited by JBS as a class of people who would be working without fully knowing their rights.

JBS was doing that to increase its bottom line, to churn out more meat at more dangerous speeds at the expense of these workers health and safety.

Farmstand claims the workers were poorly trained in two languages they did not understand for dangerous tasks that eventually led to injuries.

This is public news service.

A non-profit group in Idaho that supports students who have been refugees says events like the war in Iran can have a painful impact.

Our Laura Hatch reports Idaho is home to more than 7,700 people have arrived as refugees since the year 2015.

The organization One Refugee helps those with refugee backgrounds get a college education.

Its Idaho director Jeanne Levinsky says political developments nationally and internationally directly affect these students and their families.

It can remind them of the past traumas that they themselves may have faced with war and displacement and also just general sentiments around immigration right now.

There's just been a lot of uncertainty.

One refugee has helped more than 500 students from 38 different countries since the program started in 2014.

It operates in Idaho, Utah and Arizona with Idaho's office opening in 2020.

A new report considers two New York universities to be among the most hostile campuses for free speech nationwide.

The Council on American Islamic Relations, or CARE, report evaluates 51 colleges and universities that it says suppressed free speech about the war in Gaza and pro-Palestine protests.

It found Columbia University and the City University of New York were the most restrictive about pro-Palestinian speech.

Dr. Mariam Hassan with CARE says there are ways these two schools, and many others, can improve their rankings. their policies, review their adoption of IRA or any similar definition that's targeting student activism, review their biased statements.

Some of these professors were calling the protesters terrorist sympathizers.

IRA is the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

The report notes 12 schools adopted the Alliance's strict anti-semitism definition.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira.

Finally, farmers, conservationists, landowners, and hunters in the Mississippi alluvial valley are addressing a decline in waterfowl numbers in the region.

The MAV is known to have the highest concentration of waterfowl on the continent but experts say drought, farming efficiencies and economic issues for rice farmers have resulted in lower numbers.

Ryan Delaney with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership says farmers have to choose between making a profit or maintaining the waterfowl habitat.

And when we see declines in waterfowl.

We see declines in hunter participation in these areas.

We see declines in revenue streams in these areas.

That combines with an ag economy that is doing less than stellar, creates a significant economic situation in rural America. - He says they hope to at least maintain the current quality of waterfowl habitats.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is Mike Clifford.

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