Six minutes of news from around the nation.

President Donald Trump justifies his use of a mail-in ballot. Voting rights advocates say the SAVE America Act will disenfranchise voters with disabilities. And more people are losing faith in the American Dream.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service daily newscast for March the 27th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The White House now weighing unilateral action to pay TSA officers if Senate Democrats and Republicans cannot quickly agree to a deal on the Department of Homeland Security's budget.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune described the potential plan to Republican senators at a closed-door lunch, according to four people familiar with his comments.

The Washington Post notes the move would sidestep Congress as millions of travelers face record security delays, largely because of staffing problems at TSA.

The idea follows more than five weeks of gridlock on Capitol Hill that have left TSA officers working without pay.

Meantime, artificial intelligence and cloud computing are fueling rapid growth in data centers across the nation.

We get more from our Eric Galatas.

Data centers require vast amounts of water and electricity, and Colorado lawmakers are considering a measure that aims to address concerns about higher utility bills, depleted water resources, and increased reliance on fossil fuels.

Michigan State University Assistant Professor Gene Hardy says deciding where to site a data center is important.

If you are going to build a data center in a largely agricultural community, and the data center moves in and all of a sudden needs to use tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of gallons of water from local aquifers.

Senate Bill 26102 would require data centers to optimize and report their water use.

The measure would also require operators to tap new renewable sources like wind and solar and cover all of their energy costs, including any expansions to the electric grid.

Opponents claim the bill would cut Colorado out of the AI sector and send thousands of new jobs to other states.

I'm Eric Galatas.

And more schools in New England are working with the national nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise to help students recognize safety threats.

More than 75 schools in Massachusetts alone are using its Say Something anonymous reporting system, which allows students to share a concern 24 hours a day via text, phone, or a school's website.

Lisa Golden is the safety director for Salem Public Schools.

Families and students were asking us, if I have a problem and I can't find a trusted adult, who can I go to if I have a problem?

If I know that another student's having a problem or they're struggling with something.

She says students have used the system when they feel depressed or worried they may harm themselves.

Sandy Hook Promise says the system has helped more than 5,000 students nationwide cope with a mental health crisis and saved more than 1,000 lives.

Educators say Sandy Hook Promise programs help create more of what they refer to as upstanders, students who witness bullying or harmful behavior and choose to report the incident rather than look the other way.

This story is based on original reporting by Emily Miranda Aguilar with Capitol News Service.

I'm Catherine Carley with New England News Service.

This is Public News Service.

State officials are warning folks in Utah now that an unusually dry winter season could mean that water will be in short supply during the spring and summer months.

Utah is facing a significant water shortfall due to record low snowpack, which is at about half of normal levels.

State officials are urging residents and communities to conserve water, follow local watering guidance, and prepare for ongoing drought impacts.

Laura Haskell is with the Utah Division of Water Resources.

Typically, we would have 16 inches of water.

In Utah, about 95 percent of our water supply actually comes from our snowpack.

Haskell says most western states have experienced a dry winter season, aligning with atmospheric cycles seen in previous years.

She adds that although reservoirs are currently around 68 percent full, reduced spring runoff means the state will rely heavily on stored water this year.

I'm Mark Richardson.

Haskell says nearly all of Utah is experiencing drought conditions, raising continued concerns for major bodies of water like Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell.

An environmental advocacy group says going a day without using plastic is nearly impossible, but that's exactly the problem.

Plastic production is crucial to the Pennsylvania economy, with the industry generating over $16 billion in annual shipments.

Melissa Valiant with Beyond Plastics says industry giants have made people dependent on their products while shifting the blame for pollution to the public.

She says policy change in Pennsylvania and across the country is badly needed.

For way too long, it's been half a century now, that the fossil fuel and plastics industry have tried to put the blame on consumers.

This is not a problem created by consumers.

It is a problem created by companies.

Danielle Smith reporting.

The EPA cites data that finds that carcinogenic chemicals found in plastic can lead into tap water, which may cause a wide range of health disorders.

Finally, as our country approaches its 250th anniversary, the traditional American dream has become more difficult to attain, says one Midwest professor.

Recent polling mirrors this view as more than half of Wisconsinites and people across the country say they're worse off now than a few years ago.

Washington University professor Mark Rank says economic security, personal fulfillment, and a hope for a better future are all key parts of the American dream, which people assumed they could achieve through hard work.

But Rank says stagnant wages and big cost of living hikes have dampened their optimism.

This idea of more and more people falling behind in terms of the American dream really explains a lot of the disillusionment, a lot of the frustration, a lot of the anxiety that people are experiencing in this country today.

I'm Judith Ruiz Branch reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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