News from around the nation.

Trump threatens to 'obliterate' Iran's energy facilities if deal not reached soon; NM's data privacy law aims to protect immigrants, innocent citizens; KY bill removing minors from eviction filings moves forward; TN program helps families bond, promotes early child development.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. may blow up and completely abriterate Iran's electric plants and oil wells if a deal to end the war is not reached at the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.

Trump told the Financial Times he could take the oil in Iran and seize the export hub of Karg Island.

At the same time, U.S. sources say the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran as thousands of American soldiers and Marines arrive in the Middle East.

Meantime, recognizing that technology designed to help solve crimes can also be weaponized against innocent people, New Mexico has adopted a law privacy advocates and civil rights groups are calling groundbreaking.

The Driver Privacy and Safety Act passed this year establishes the first statewide regulations for automatic license plate reader data.

Many watchdogs fear information collected by such systems could be used to track where people seek medical care, where they worship, and who they visit.

License plate readers have helped law enforcement solve crimes, but Joe Cardillo with Progress Now New Mexico questions whether local police should even use a private company as an outside vendor.

Yes, it's convenient.

Yes, it's helpful.

But maybe these local jurisdictions should be in charge of their own cameras and in charge of their own data hosting and security and protection.

I think that's also one of the questions that comes up.

I'm Roz Brown.

And when eviction filings are put on public record in Kentucky, they include everyone that is listed on the lease, and that often includes children.

House Bill 338 would require landlords redact the name of minors on any eviction document and automatically explain dismissed evictions from a person's record.

Our Nadia Ramlagon has the story.

Many Commonwealth residents live paycheck to paycheck, and one emergency or car repair can set a family back on rent.

If they've caught up and no longer face eviction, the initial filing can impact their ability to secure future housing.

Republican State Representative Susan Witten of Louisville is lead sponsor of the bill.

This has overwhelming support.

It passed the house floor 95 to zero.

We worked with a bunch of stakeholders, including the apartment association, the circuit court clerks, the district court judges. 44 percent of Kentucky renters are cost burdened, and many live with the threat of eviction.

Next, the home visitation program is helping Tennessee families strengthen relationships with their kids and get them ready for kindergarten.

Chappelle Osborne Arnold with Tennessee's Save the Children says nearly 90 percent of brain development happens before the age of six.

She says parents are a child's first teacher, and the program gives families the tools and confidence to support early learning at home.

And they work with the parents on those fine motor skills, social-emotional skills with their kids, self-care skills, early reading and language, early math skills.

Research shows 40 percent of Tennessee kids aren't prepared for school, a challenge that's even greater in rural areas where child care, transportation, and resources are limited.

This is Public News Service.

Around 560,000 folks in Nevada spend nearly 500 million hours a year caring for older loved ones in their families.

That's according to a new report from AARP's Public Policy Institute.

The report, called Valuing the Invaluable, finds that this work would be valued at more than $10 billion a year if we paid caregivers $21.57 per hour.

Dr. Myesha Minter-Jordan, CEO of AARP, says most of the work is unpaid, yet caregivers are the backbone of our long-term care system.

They're managing medications, coordinating appointments, assisting with essential needs like bathing and dressing, navigating insurance claims, and many are doing all of this while working.

The report finds that across the country, 59 million caregivers put in almost 50 billion hours of care worth more than $1 trillion.

I'm Suzanne Potter.

In a small town of Ozola, Texas brands itself as the biggest little town in the world.

It's now benefiting from a windfall of funding from energy companies who want to earn tax abatements from their wind farms.

County Judge Frank Tambunga says the contracts that Crockett County has with NextEra Energy and other energy companies stipulate that the utilities must make donations to local nonprofits.

Because we've been able to help our Helping Hands, Head Start program, our food bank.

We've helped the Salvation Army and the Ministerial Alliance.

So we try to make the best of having an abatement.

He says the companies are also required to repair any roads that they damage.

Tambunga says many residents don't like the tax breaks, but he feels the donations improve the community.

Ozona is the only town in Crockett County hosting a population of 2,800 people.

This story was produced with original reporting from Becca McNeil for Grist.

I'm Frida Ross reporting.

Finally, the Endangered Species Act helped bring some Florida animals and plants back from the brink, from the Florida panther to the West Indian manatee.

But the Trump administration could change that as soon as this week.

It's convening a special committee, nicknamed the God Squad, to pursue an exemption that would allow gulf drilling without full consideration of its impact on wildlife.

One species at risk is the rice's whale.

With only about 50 remaining, Mary Lou Flores with the Endangered Species Coalition says the law has been a bedrock of conservation.

The Endangered Species Act has really been the cornerstone conservation law that has really helped us protect numerous species, including the American bald eagle, over the course of its existence.

And so it really does play a very special role in conservation in South Florida.

I'm Tramiel Gomes.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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