News from around the nation.

Trump takes to social media to warn Iran that 'the clock is ticking'; Missouri school district brings farming to the classroom; Wisconsin agroforestry program plants seeds for rural growth; District of Columbia childcare fund on chopping block as advocates decry proposed cuts; Ohioans walk nearly two weeks for climate protest.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump used a social media post to launch his latest warning to Iran, telling them the clock is ticking.

Trump added Iran had better get moving fast or there won't be anything left to them, reviving threats to annihilate the country with efforts stalling to end the war.

The U.S. and Israel began nearly three months ago.

NBC notes the warning came as the United Arab Emirates said a drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant, while Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones from Iraqi airspace.

Meantime, rural schools in Missouri are finding new ways to reconnect students with agriculture, even if they don't grow up on a farm.

The Golden City R3 school district used a $50,000 grant to help launch a new school farm and animal science classroom, giving students hands-on experience through its Growing Future Farmers of America, or FFA, program.

Superintendent Dennis Kimsey says many local students are interested in agriculture, but no longer have access to family farms at home.

What started out as an empty seven acres, now it's fenced in.

It has cattle and pigs and chickens.

And next year we're going to be able to house a goat and sheep.

And kids are going to be able to have their student projects for their FFA.

And the district hopes the program will help prepare students for careers tied to Missouri's agricultural economy.

Crystal Blair reporting.

Next Day Conservation Group is working with landowners in Wisconsin to create diversified agricultural systems for long-term environmental and economic gain.

Program organizers say agroforestry practices taking shape in spring green combine trees with farming to improve biodiversity and wildlife habitat while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Patrick Michaels with Canopy Farm Management says blending perennial crops and shrubs with annual crops and livestock also have local economic benefits.

He explains perennial varieties offer higher revenue per acre compared to traditional corn and bean operations.

They also support additional employment opportunities in the area because these are food crops that need to be harvested, processed, and distributed in a way that requires and enables more economic activity than just commodity row crops.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

And a first-of-its-kind program in Washington, D.C., meant to boost the wages of child care workers, faces steep cuts by D.C.

Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Ann Gunderson with the D.C.

Fiscal Policy Institute says dramatic cuts to the pay equity funds budget will negatively impact the ability to retain early child care workers.

We would likely see facilities who are forced to reduce wages for their educators and or increase tuition.

The moment you're decreasing wages for your workers, they leave.

She says the child care field already has some of the highest turnover rates in the country.

Credit for original reporting on this story goes to Rebecca Gale for Better Lab Life at New America and The 74.

This is Public News Service.

Tobacco control advocates are celebrating a unanimous ruling by Oregon Supreme Court upholding a Washington County ordinance that bans the sale of all flavored tobacco products and menthol cigarettes.

Finding is not preempted by state law.

The ordinance was first approved in 2021 and upheld by voters the following year, but retailers then sued the county to block enforcement.

Christina Bodemer with the American Heart Association says flavors play a key role in youth initiation and continued use of tobacco products.

The tobacco industry aggressively markets their products where youth are most exposed.

Retailers are near schools, they use social media platforms, and this is all because their profits depend on addiction.

Bodimer points to research showing four out of five youth who have ever used tobacco products started with a flavor.

Retailers argued the ban would hurt business and that state licensing law does not allow for local restrictions.

I'm Isobel Charle.

And folks in Ohio are marching across the state for the next two weeks, calling for climate-friendly policymakers to pass legislation that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

More now from our Nadia Ramlagan.

Rachel Kutzley with Save Ohio Parks helped organize the event.

She says when the march ends, protesters will have a chance to speak with lawmakers about their concerns. so that they can hear directly from their constituents that this is an important issue to them, that we want more climate-friendly policies, and we want less, basically, fracking and natural gas in Ohio.

Energy-intensive data center proposals continue to stir debate.

A new report from Save Ohio Parks finds that requiring data centers to meet or offset their energy demand with 100 percent solar, wind, and energy storage, either co-located or off-site, could help balance demand with environmental and energy costs concerns. for taxpayers.

Finally, a year after the Trump administration canceled the Digital Equity Act, grantees in Maine are reflecting on the impact and finding ways to help close the state's digital divide.

Grants totaling $35 million were terminated, leaving some 130,000 Mainers without the technology and digital skills training they need to be safe and successful online.

Andrew Butcher, president of Maine Connectivity Authority, says libraries lost funds to upgrade facilities and better equip staff.

The losses hurt Maine's children, students, parents, our economy, civic health, and our ability to get ready for the future.

Butcher says Maine libraries were a key part of the state's plan to better protect seniors from online scams and help residents better navigate artificial intelligence.

But the Trump administration said the approval of nearly $3 billion for broadband deployment nationwide was illegal and prioritized members of racial and ethnic minority groups.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Philanthropic Foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Mike Clifford.

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