Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Midterm elections in NC and TX could determine the balance of power in the Senate; End of nuclear weapons pact signals demise of U.S. diplomacy; WA voting rights advocates: SCOTUS ruling could harm voters of color; NM's senior senator leads opposition to Pearce EPA nomination; CT residents face challenges affording everyday life.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, March the 4th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The midterm elections kicked off Tuesday.

Roy Cooper, the former Democratic governor of North Carolina, and Michael Watley, a former chairman of the RNC, won their primaries in a closely watched race that could decide control of the Senate in November.

And in the Lone Star State of Texas, where the most money was spent on any race, GOP John Cornyn appears to be headed for a runoff.

He was pitted against two challengers.

Next, as the conflict in Iran continues, New Hampshire anti-war groups warn the end of a long-standing nuclear pact between the U.S. and Russia could trigger a new arms race.

Alicia Sanders-Zachary is with the international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.

It's very concerning and certainly the risk of nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear use is now much higher than it was before the Israeli and U.S. strikes.

Since 2011, the New START treaty placed limits on both countries' nuclear arsenals and allowed for on-site inspections.

Washington voting rights advocates say a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling could disenfranchise voters of color and open the door to gutting the Federal Voting Rights Act.

The ruling for Louisiana v. Calais will be released soon, which will determine if race can be considered when drawing voting districts, even to correct proven discrimination.

Neelu Jenks with Fair Vote Washington says the Voting Rights Act has long been used to ensure that communities of color can elect their preferred candidates through the creation of majority-minority districts.

This is a fundamentally important decision to the very fabric of how much change has happened in our nation since 1965.

These are rights that took generations to win that can be undone by a handful of decisions.

Those challenging Louisiana's congressional map argue that race played too big a role in drawing its lines, going beyond what's needed under the Voting Rights Act.

Jenks warns that if the Supreme Court agrees, it could open the door to legal challenges across the country against districts meant to address discrimination, including in Washington.

She adds that if it's released soon, the decision could impact the primaries in the fall.

I'm Isobel Charle.

And people who care about conservation have long memories, and they haven't forgotten unflattering statements about public lands made by the man the Trump administration has picked to oversee them.

New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce faces a confirmation vote to lead the Bureau of Land Management as early as today.

He appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week to pitch his credentials.

Demise Foster, with Conservation Voters New Mexico, believes alarms raised about the nomination by environmental conservation and hunting groups are warranted.

He's tried to shrink public lands.

He's tried to block the designation of national monuments.

He is not a champion of our public lands and having him oversee this agency is terrifying.

I'm Roz Brown.

This is Public News Service.

New research finds a higher cost of living is pushing older Connecticut residents to move.

AARP's Vital Voices survey finds more than a third of residents age 45 and older have considered leaving the state in the last year to search for lower housing costs and taxes.

The state passed bills to reduce the high cost of living, though Nora Duncan with AARP Connecticut says there's more the state could be doing.

One is eliminating the remainder of the income tax on social security.

Another is a caregiver tax credit, which is modest, probably about $2,000 per person.

The family caregiver tax credit would help the state's 773,000 caregivers with various aspects of daily life.

Duncan notes many in the group surveyed fall into the sandwich generation where they care for a family member and raise kids at the same time.

She notes this financial squeeze comes from saving for college and helping family members with medical conditions.

I'm Edwin J. Viera.

And a bill that would boost protections for abortion and gender affirming care, providers and patients, has passed the Oregon House and moved to the Senate.

The measure would bar state agencies from aiding federal or out of state investigations into legal health care provided in Oregon.

Marcia Garcia-Medina is with the ACLU of Oregon, which helped write the act.

What we're doing is we're making very clear that as a state, our agencies will not be willingly or voluntarily cooperating or providing any personally identifiable information of our patients or providers in the state of Oregon that provide legal health.

She says the Strengthening Provider and Patient Privacy Act is a response to the Trump administration's attacks on reproductive and gender-affirming health care rights across the country.

Critics of the bill argue it could hinder investigations from outside agencies into medical malpractice cases.

And as part of National Literacy Month, educators in Arizona classrooms are investing in long-term strategies to improve student literacy.

They marked their efforts this week with Read Across American Day, which falls on the birthday of Theodor Geisel, or Dr. Seuss.

You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

That famous quote from Geisel motivates teachers to interest their students in reading.

National Education Association President Becky Pringle, who has more than 30 years of classroom teaching experiences in Arizona this week, she says parents also play a huge role in the future of literacy.

You are their role model.

If they see you reading, or if you take out time from your day and read to them, or listen to them read to you, That not only is a model for them that you enjoy reading and you think is important, but it's an aspiration for them too.

During National Literacy Month, the association encourages kids to spend lots of time in the library.

I'm Mark Moran.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service.

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