The Daily Rundown - January 6, 2026
π¦ The Environmental Protection Agency will propose a drinking water limit for perchlorate. The harmful chemical is found in things like rockets and other explosives. The Associated Press reports that the EPA said it doesn't think a limit will provide a major public health impact and that it was acting only because a court ordered it.
In 2011, the agency said the substance needed to be regulated but reversed its decision during the first Trump administration when a new analysis had found the chemical was less dangerous than previously thought. According to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, an ongoing and significant cleanup began in Southern Nevada when perchlorate was detected in the Lower Colorado Basin in 1997.
π In an unprecedented change, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing the number of vaccines routinely recommended for all children from 17 to 11. On the new schedule, vaccines that had previously been recommended for all children β such as those for rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, meningitis and seasonal flu β are now more restricted. They are recommended only for those at high risk or after consultation with a health care provider, a category called "shared decision-making."
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long questioned the safety and effectiveness of many childhood vaccines. With this overhaul, the administration is taking a dramatic step to pare down the schedule of immunizations routinely recommended for all children. Read the full story by NPR's Pien Huang and Rob Stein here.
π The Nevada DMV is warning of a scam on social media, in which businesses claim they can provide driver's licenses, Reno's KOLO-TV reports. They became aware of the scam after a person reported losing more than $800 to a business she contacted online hoping to obtain a driver's license. The DMV noted that licenses and identification cards can only be obtained through official DMV channels. Also, the department does not ask for payment through social media, gift cards, wire transfers or third-party messaging apps. Scams involving the DMV are common, said DMV Director Tonya Laney, who urged people to be cautious.
π₯ A Sierra Nevada-based utility company is teaming up with ALERTWildfire to expand wildfire camera coverage around the Tahoe Basin. Through the partnership, Liberty Utilities will sponsor maintenance and repairs for new cameras. ALERTWildfire is a camera-monitoring network operated by the University of Nevada, Reno. Live-stream videos help firefighters detect smoke plumes faster, enabling a quicker response. Liberty Utilities says the partnership aligns with its own Wildfire Mitigation Plan. The partnership comes as utility companies across the West invest more heavily in tools like ALERTWildfire to reduce wildfire risk.
π£οΈ Henderson's Reimagine Boulder Highway is halfway done, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The project's goal is to make a 7.5-mile stretch of the roadway safer and more traffic friendly. It aims to do this by reducing the number of traffic lanes from six to four, widening sidewalks, adding elevated bike lanes and 100 streetlights, and having a bus line running down the center.
The cost is, at the moment, $184 million. That's up from the original $172 million, after the Regional Transportation Commission asked for more bus shelters. Boulder Highway was built in 1931 coinciding with the start of construction of Hoover Dam, then called Boulder Dam.
π UNLV's Shelbee Brown is the Old Trapper Mountain West Player of the Week for the second week in a row, the league announced today. The 6-foot forward led the Lady Rebels to a second 2-0 week in conference play. She averaged 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in victories over Fresno State and Air Force. UNLV has started conference play with four straight wins and are now 9-5 on the season. They will host Utah State on Wednesday, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Part of these stories are taken from KNPR's daily newscast segment. To hear more daily updates like these, tune in to 88.9 KNPR FM.
