News Wrap: California seeks to rename César Chavez Day following sexual abuse revelation

Geoff Bennett:

We start the day's other headlines in California, where lawmakers are trying to rename Cesar Chavez Day following explosive allegations that the late labor leader sexually assaulted women and girls decades ago.

Governor Gavin Newsom is backing a proposal to rename the March 31 holiday as Farmworkers Day. It follows Washington state's Governor Bob Ferguson saying he won't issue a proclamation honoring Chavez this year.

There are also canceled celebrations in Texas and in Chavez's home state of Arizona. The fallout comes after The New York Times first reported about his history of sexual abuse and assault yesterday. That includes Dolores Huerta, the civil rights leader and co-founder of his union who says Chavez raped her back in the 1960s.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is the latest official to warn that small airports in the U.S. may have to close if the partial government shutdown continues. It comes as the TSA says that about 10 percent of its airport security officers failed to show up to work yesterday. The agency employs some 50,000 such workers.

And Duffy says things will only get worse if and when those workers miss another paycheck next week. Such absences have led to long lines at airports across the country with little warning for travelers, and that's led to confusion and frustration.

Marty Morales, Air Traveler:

It was three hours and 45 minutes, so missed our flights. We're stuck trying to figure out, what are we going to do now, try to get another flight to -- our luggage is there, but we're not.

Shawn Walker, Air Traveler:

Well, I had the plan to come here early. And I showed up four hours early, and the line looked like this.

(Laughter)

Shawn Walker:

Maybe I didn't have to.

Geoff Bennett:

The delays come as a record number of air travelers are expected this spring, with an industry group saying more than 170 million people will take to the skies this March and April.

A small community in Southern California has tied the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. in the month of March. And forecasters say other places could get even hotter in the coming days. North Shore, California, which is outside of Palm Springs, reached 108 degrees on Wednesday.

Only Rio Grande City in Texas has gotten that hot this early, and that was more than 70 years ago. The National Weather Service says Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Palm Springs also tied or topped their own March temperature records. And they expect this summerlike heat wave to last through early next week.

Two dozen Democratic-led states are suing the Trump administration over its decision to repeal a scientific finding that had been central to the fight against climate change. The states, along with about a dozen cities and counties, say the EPA acted illegally when it rescinded what's called the Endangerment Finding.

That conclusion formed the legal basis to regulate emissions from cars, power plants, and other sources. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is helping lead the suit, said -- quote -- "Instead of helping Americans face our new reality, the Trump administration has chosen denial."

An EPA spokeswoman dismissed the lawsuit, saying it's, in her words, clearly motivated by politics.

An immigration judge denied the asylum claim of the family of Liam Conejo Ramos today. He's the 5-year-old boy photographed in a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack as he was detained with his father earlier this year. A family lawyer said the judge ordered that they be deported to Ecuador.

The boy and his father were held at a Texas detention center after being taken into custody in a Minneapolis suburb back in January. A judge ordered them released 10 days later. His case fielded an outcry over the administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota. The family's lawyers are appealing the ruling.

On Wall Street today, stocks struggled following the latest spike in oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average lost around 200 points on the day. The Nasdaq fell roughly 60 points. The S&P 500 continued its downward trend, shedding nearly 20 points.

And, once again, the Finns have cracked the code of contentment. The 2026 World Happiness Report ranked Finland as the happiest country for the ninth year in a row. Fellow Nordic countries Iceland and Denmark rounded out the top three, with Costa Rica in fourth place. That's the highest ranking ever for a Latin American country.

The U.S. landed further down the list, in 23rd place, though, that's up one spot from last year. The findings from the Wellbeing Research Center at Oxford University were based on a poll of around 100,000 people across 140 countries who were asked to rate their lives on a scale of 0 to 10.