Two of Scott Pruitt’s top aides provided fresh details to congressional investigators in recent days about some of the EPA administrator’s most controversial spending and management decisions, including his push to find a six-figure job for his wife at a politically connected group, enlist staffers in performing personal tasks and seek high-end travel despite aides’ objections. [node:read-more:link]
Roberts, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, along with the ranking Democrat on the committee, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, of Michigan, were largely responsible for coordinating the drafting of the Senate version of the bill. [node:read-more:link]
The EPA is expected to ask a federal judge in New York to rule in its favor on a lawsuit challenging the delay of the 2015 waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule, according to a document filed last week announcing plans to file for summary judgement. Attorneys general of 10 states and the District of Columbia sued the EPA in February, alleging the agency's final rule suspending the WOTUS rule is unlawful. A motion for summary judgement asks a court to rule on the merits of the case without a trial taking place. In addition, the states filed a prior similar motion, asking the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
nergy Secretary Rick Perry on Thursday warned the leaders of Northeast states who are trying to block natural gas pipelines that they will face a “real reckoning” of higher energy costs and vulnerabilities in their power grid.“The citizens of New York are paying more for energy,” Perry said during a panel session at the World Gas Conference in Washington. “Their health and well-being is being put in jeopardy. [node:read-more:link]
Last year, food banks statewide came up with an idea. Using funding from the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System and donations from the dairy industry, they got 12 tanker loads of surplus milk a local co-op was going to dump. (Milk-transport trucks can hold anywhere from 5,000 to 8,000 gallons.) They took the rescued milk to local cheesemakers and made thousands of pounds to give away free at food pantries and shelters. For farmers, it meant total revenue of $165,000. Philabundance purchased 27,680 pounds of that cheese for donations, but then took the idea one step further. [node:read-more:link]
The United States has amassed its largest stockpile of cheese in the 100 years since regulators began keeping tabs, the result of booming domestic production of milk and consumers’ waning interest in the dairy beverage.The 1.39 billion-pound stockpile, tallied by the Agriculture Department last week, represents a 6 percent increase over this time last year and a 16 percent increase since an earlier surplus prompted a federal cheese buy-up in 2016.Analysts say warehouse stocks have swelled because processors have too much milk on their hands, and milk is more easily stored as cheese. [node:read-more:link]
In pigs, endocrine disruptors can alter gene expression in a way that also affects the next generation. The study findings could potentially apply to humans, too. [node:read-more:link]
Jesse Laflamme, CEO of Pete and Gerry’s Organics is to be complimented on his initiative to file a citizens petition with the FDA to amend the definition of “healthy”. The FDA considers that eggs are too high in total and saturated fat and cholesterol to be designated “healthy” by food processors. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services consider eggs to be a part of a “healthy diet”. [node:read-more:link]
Canada today announced it would make good on a threat of retaliatory tariffs on more than $12.6 billion worth of U.S. products, effective July 1. Among the casualties of Canada’s response to the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada is about $170 million worth of U.S. beef products. [node:read-more:link]
When a person thinks of animal rights organizations, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is typically not the first one that comes to mind.However, the group’s recent antics (let’s just go with that word for now) prove that it could very well be the most dangerous animal rights organization out there. With an above-the-law type of attitude, DxE seems to take pride in the fact that its members have been arrested for doing what it believes are justifiable crimes in order to prevent farm animals from, again for what it believes (is), suffering. [node:read-more:link]
