News from around the nation.

Markwayne Mullin confirmed by the Senate to head Homeland Security; calls to reverse cuts to the ACA on its 16th anniversary; opioid settlement funding is being used to keep moms with their children; and women in Illinois are driving end-of-life reforms.

Transcript

The Public News Service Tuesday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The U.S. Senate approved Senator Mark Wayne Mullen.

As the country's new head of the Department of Homeland Security, the vote was 54 to 45.

Mullen, a former mixed martial arts fighter, will oversee the nation's immigration enforcement, border protection, and airport security.

Trump nominated Mullen after removing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Meantime, long lines still being reported despite Trump's decision to dispatch ICE officers to at least 14 airports, including Atlanta and New York's JFK Airport.

The Affordable Care Act has just turned 16.

California leaders are calling on the Congress to reverse massive cuts to health care made by Republicans last year.

The ACA opened up Medicaid to 20 million more Americans, allowed adult children to stay on their parents' policies until age 26, and banned price discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the public pressure remains critical.

The people out there are the bosses.

That mobilization makes all the difference in the world.

Helped us pass the bill, helped us save the bill, and now it's going to have to help us get it all back.

Republicans have tried and failed to repeal the ACA dozens of times.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

Covered CA estimates that 130,000 Californians who lost the subsidies ended up downgrading their coverage to less expensive bronze plans.

Next to Ohio in Trumbull County, the Brighter Beginnings Recovery Center is part of a state effort to transform how patients who are battling substance abuse experience recovery.

The new facility is a partner of the Ohio Sobriety Treatment and Reducing Trauma or Start Program, which provides broad social work services to families involved with law enforcement and child services.

Marilyn Pape, Executive Director for Trumbull County Children's Services, says funding from opioid settlements is expanding housing options for moms who stay clean. moms who are at least 90 days sober.

And if they are in treatment and on the recovery journey, they can actually come live at this house with their child.

Pape says Brighter Beginnings has helped six families successfully reunify and transition to independent living in its first year.

And she hopes the program is able to expand and provide more housing for parents and kids.

According to national research, caseworkers estimate that 50 to 80 percent of the parents they work with struggle with substance abuse.

This is Nadia Romlagan for Ohio News Connection.

And this Women's History Month, an organization advocating for end-of-life reform, is highlighting the significant role of women from Illinois in driving the movement.

The state recently became the first in the Midwest to legalize medical aid in dying.

Kaylee Riley, with Compassionate Choices, says Illinois residents Susie Flack and Deborah Robertson were instrumental in getting the legislation passed.

The work we do is really driven by the stories of people who are directly impacted by both good end-of-life care and end-of-life care that falls short.

Riley says the bill is nicknamed Deb's Law because of Robertson, who served as a leader despite living with a rare form of cancer.

This is Public News Service.

Pennsylvania is a leader among 30 states boosting river health and safety by removing outdated dams.

In 2025, nationwide efforts reconnected nearly 4,900 miles of rivers, the largest amount ever restored in a single year.

Jessie Thomas-Blate with American Rivers says there's been 433 dams removed in Pennsylvania since 1912, including 14 last year, the most of any state.

She says removals can be done for various reasons.

Some of them were done for ecological reasons.

Some of them were done to benefit public safety.

Some of them were removed because the dams were just falling apart and needed to come out of the river.

So there's different motivations behind the project.

But ultimately, they all benefit the health of the river and the sustainability of the communities that they're in.

According to American Rivers, more than a quarter of the dams removed were dangerous low-hit dams, often referred to as drowning machines.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Next to rural Alabama, ambulance coverage can be a matter of life and death, but low reimbursement rates from insurers have made it difficult for providers to keep enough ambulances on the road.

A new bill in the state legislature would mandate that commercial insurers allow ambulance services into their networks and set minimum payment rates.

Stephen Wilson, director of operations for Hanes Ambulance, describes the coverage gaps in rural counties that often result in service delays.

You pick a rural county in Alabama, we typically have one, maybe sometimes two ambulances available in those counties.

And, you know, when one of those ambulances goes out on a call, then a second call comes in in that county.

We have to send an ambulance from one of our more urban areas.

The bill, which has passed in the Senate and cleared a House committee, would set new reimbursement rates for ambulance services and allow them to be paid for treating patients on scene, something they currently do for free.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

Finally, saffron is not a common spice used in most U.S. homes, but that could change as farmers in New Mexico and other states experiment with crops that need less water.

As climate change increases water scarcity, researchers at New Mexico State University are exploring how saffron fares in central and southern parts of the state and how to integrate the crop with others already grown there.

Lead MSSU professor Saeed Zatab Salmasi says saffron is being cultivated in states such as Vermont and New Hampshire, but he thinks the land of enchantment has an advantage.

I believe New Mexico is a better environment for growing saffron because this crop doesn't like much water.

On the other hand, New Mexico has a lot of sunshine and that could increase quality.

I'm Roz Brown.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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