Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Trump takes both sides on whether the Iran war will end soon; South Dakota now allows voters to challenge other voters' citizenship. Seafood groups question Trump administration's repeal of mercury emissions standards; and AARP Wyoming's growing slate of healthy fun now includes birdwatching.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, March the 10th, 2025.

I'm Mike Clifford.

On a day when the fighting in the Middle East sent tremors through global markets, President Trump offered contradictory signals about the war, suggesting it could be ending soon, and then a few hours later, leaving the timing open-ended.

Trump first said the war was very complete, pretty much, during a phone interview Monday, telling a CBS reporter, "We're very far ahead of schedule."

The New York Times notes oil prices and stocks swung widely all day as investors appeared preoccupied by the lack of a clear off-ramp for the fighting.

The markets plunged during early hours of U.S. trading but rebounded Monday afternoon with Trump's comment that the war is close to complete and the price of oil dropped.

And two men faced charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction after a pair of homemade bombs were tossed during protests near New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdami's home on Saturday.

Meantime, alongside a federal push to overhaul voting requirements, is a new South Dakota law focused on citizenship.

Outreach leaders for the state's immigrant population warn of negative consequences, while state leaders contend it's another way to ensure election integrity.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump is pressuring congressional Republicans to send him a bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote.

South Dakota's new statute signed into law last week will soon allow voters around the state to challenge the citizenship of other voters.

Taneza Islam with South Dakota Voices for Peace argues there's a body of data that shows there's no pattern of non-citizens trying to vote in U.S. elections.

What is the real purpose on making it absolutely impossible it seems for people of color to have the right to vote?

The American Immigration Council says more than half of the state's immigrant population is comprised of naturalized citizens.

Islam warns of potential racial profiling and administrative headaches for local offices.

Governor Larry Roden says the change further strengthens the security, transparency and trust in the state's election system.

I'm Mike Moen.

Next, some U.S. based seafood groups say the rollback of mercury emission standards from coal-fired power plants will harm fisheries in Maine and elsewhere.

The Environmental Protection Agency has repealed a Biden era rule meant to reduce toxins like methylmercury that accumulate in fish, calling it unnecessary and a hindrance to American energy dominance.

Kevin McKay is the chief operations officer at Safe Catch, a seafood company with its own mercury testing technology.

He says fisheries are already struggling to stay afloat.

This EPA ruling is affecting everybody in the industry, whether it's from a mercury standpoint or sustainability at the fishery standpoint.

President seafood production, but McKay says by repealing environmental standards, the administration is, as he puts it, polluting the fish tank.

I'm Katherine Carley.

This is Public News Service.

We head next to the Lone Star Estate, where an environmental activist is in the second week of a hunger strike to protest Dow Chemical's application to relax rules on discharging plastics into the state's coastal waterways.

Diane Wilson is a shrimper and director of the San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeepers.

He and other activists have spent years collecting samples of evidence of Dow and other producers' plastic emissions in Texas canals and waterways.

She claims Dow is now trying to legitimize what it's already been doing illegally.

"We're trying to get zero discharge of plastic.

They are basically asking the state of Texas to legalize plastic pollution for them.

Wilson began her hunger strike on March 2nd and vows to continue it until Dow withdraws its request.

In January, the company requested a release from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's requirement only discharge trace plastic particles from its Seadrift plant.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Next to Indiana, which now has more safe haven baby boxes than in the other state, our Joe Lurie tells us the device allows parents in crisis to anonymously surrender a newborn.

A heated climate controlled box in designated safe places alerts first responders when opened.

The system connects to Indiana safe haven law which allows parents to legally surrender a newborn up to 30 days old without facing charges.

Mary Claire Malloy, a health reporter with Mirror Indy explains how the boxes work.

There are about 150 of these boxes around the state.

They're often in the walls of fire stations, near hospitals or inside hospitals. essentially can open the door if you are in a crisis and then leave your baby in there and alarms will trigger.

More than a quarter of the nation's baby boxes are in Indiana.

The nonprofit Safe Haven Baby Boxes reports roughly three infants a year are surrendered using them in Indiana.

This story was produced with original reporting from Mary Claire Malloy for Mirror Indie.

Finally, when the pandemic forced many organizations to pivot to online meetings and events,

KARP Wyoming asked its members what they wanted to stay active and socially engaged.

Since then, the state's largest advocacy group for people age 50 and older has created a virtual event center that offers everything from line dancing and yoga to photography and art classes.

Outreach director Jennifer Beyer says on Fridays throughout March and April, they're offering For the Birds, from backyard to binoculars, where participants will learn how to spot, identify, and track wild bird populations.

There are all sorts of cool websites where you can track bird migration and there are apps that you can use to listen to bird songs and identify birds while you're walking.

There are also in-person birding field trips planned for Cheyenne, Laramie and Sheridan in partnership with the Audubon Society.

I'm Eric Galatas.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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