Florida State

The Conversation U.S.

Perhaps 90% of flowering plants require animal pollinators – and most of them are insects. But it’s not just bees doing this important work.

Fewer bees and other pollinating insects lead to shrinking crops

The widespread adoption of factory farming presents significant ethical and environmental challenges, with potential solutions involving cultural, political and dietary shifts to more sustainable food systems. In short:. Factory farming harms billions of animals and contributes to environmental issues like climate change and antibiotic resistance. Despite efforts to combat it,...

Ending factory farming could mitigate climate change and pandemics

Iowa State

Nebraska State

Nebraska and Iowa are among 11 states urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to standardize farm chemical labeling to prevent state-level inconsistencies. Aaron Sanderford reports for Nebraska Examiner. In short:. Nebraska and Iowa Attorneys General are part of an 11-state coalition requesting the EPA to establish a unified rule for...

Nebraska and Iowa push for national farm chemical labeling standards

Each summer, nearly 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) of rice is cultivated in the Florida Everglades Agricultural Area, a roughly 1,100-square-mile (2,800-square-kilometer) area south of Lake Okeechobee. Farming here requires a delicate touch. The area has lost nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) of soil in the past century through a process...

Scientists Use Rice Cultivation to Preserve Soil in Florida’s Everglades Agricultural Area

For many home gardeners, raised garden beds are a wonderful solution to their yard woes. Raised beds can help you incorporate the exact right soil for your picky plants or extend the amount of garden space you have. But not every plant will do great in a raised bed. Some...

10 Plants You Should Never Grow in a Raised Bed

In a landmark move, the EPA has suspended the use of a pesticide known to harm fetal development, citing urgent health concerns for pregnant women and their unborn children. Maxine Joselow and Amudalat Ajasa report for The Washington Post. In short:. The EPA issued an emergency order to suspend dimethyl...

DCPA, a pesticide linked to fetal harm, faces emergency ban by EPA

Polk County, FL

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Fort Meade, FL

Uncovering Florida

The Polk County Sheriff's Office has made an arrest after conducting an investigation into a case of credit card fraud involving 28-year-old Burger King employee, Kellyn Miley. The incident was discussed in detail during this morning's briefing with Sheriff Grady Judd.

Burger King Employee Caught Using Customer's Credit Card for Food at Former Job

New Haven, CT

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Herbie J Pilato

He was born on April 2, 1949, in New Haven, Connecticut, and died of a heart attack at only 63 on August 14, 2012, in Palm Beach Gardens. His birth name was Ronald Gabriel Paolillo, but his stage name was Ron Palillo who was best known as Arnold Dingfelder Horshack on TV's hit 1970s sitcom, Welcome Back, Kotter.

The Tragic Death of 'Welcome Back, Kotter' Actor Ron Palillo: A Look Back

South Carolina State

Explore Beaufort SC

The mantis shrimp is one tough customer. Beautiful and deadly are two words you don’t typically use to describe shrimp, but the mantis shrimp is definitely in a class of its own; earning a reputation as the ‘savage boxer of the sea’ and one of the most fearsome creatures in the ocean. And, they're right at home here in South Carolina.

Savage Boxer of the Sea: The Deadly Beauty of Mantis Shrimp

In a divided vote on Senate Bill 1084, which would make a variety of regulatory changes including putting a ban on lab grown meat state-wide, Florida’s Senate and House ultimately decided to pass it, sending it on to Governor DeSantis for approval. DeSantis officially approved it on May 1, 2024, and the law came into effect on July 1, 2024.

DeSantis Signed New Florida Law: Selling Lab Grown Meat Is Now A Second Degree Misdemeanor

Hollywood child stardom has taken its toll on many actors through the decades. Lani O'Grady, for one, found fame in the 1970s on the TV family series, Eight is Enough. O'Grady followed in the footsteps of her brother, actor Don Grady, an original Mouseketeer and member of another popular TV family show: My Three Sons. Their mother, Mary B. Grady, was a talent agent who represented several child actors. But Lani, who would also eventually become an agent, died in 2001 just one week before what would have been her 47th birthday.

TV's 'Eight is Enough' Star Lani O'Grady Found Fame Early in Life but Died a Tragic Death

I don’t know about you, but I love a good tropical vacation. Having grown up in Zone 11, creating my own tropical paradise in the backyard was a cinch. Here in Zone 9, however, things are a little more complicated, and our winters aren’t all that cold. But it does freeze here, and many plants only last one season in the ground.

27 Tropical Plants That Thrive Indoors

A farmer who has spent nearly 20 years expanding his work into other industries says diversifying has been key to keeping his business alive. Wade Lane Farm in Rugeley, Staffordshire, was taken on by Anthony Froggatt's family in the 1920s and went from being a mixed farm to an arable one by the 1990s.

Crisp and oil expansions bring security for farmer

Alaska State

Juneau, AK

An outburst flood from Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier inundated homes in Juneau, highlighting worsening summertime flooding with few solutions in sight. Joshua Partlow reports for The Washington Post. In short:. The Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska, caused severe flooding after meltwater burst through, affecting more than 100 homes. Glacial outburst...

A glacier in Alaska causes record flooding in Juneau

The Lens

This year’s area of low oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico is larger than average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Thursday. The “dead zone” is approximately 6,705 square miles , as measured last week. Within NOAA’s 38 years of measuring the dead zone, this year’s assessment marks the 12th-largest area of low to no oxygen, which can kill fish and marine life.

Gulf ‘dead zone’ larger than average, larger than expected for 2024, scientists announce

Tennessee State

John M. Dabbs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) has issued a health alert to clinicians statewide following reports of severe acute illnesses and adverse effects of consuming Diamond Shruumz™ brand chocolate bars, cones, and gummies. The warning comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received reports of serious health issues linked to these mushroom-containing edible products.

Tennessee Health Alert: Severe Illnesses Linked to Diamond Shruumz™ Products

A company backed by Silicon Valley billionaires aims to create an eco-friendly city in Solano County, California, but faces local opposition over environmental concerns and land use. Sachi Kitajima Mulkey reports for Grist. In short:. California Forever, led by former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek, plans to build a new...

Tech billionaires’ plan to build eco-friendly city faces opposition in California

Ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay are facing breeding issues, possibly linked to a decline in their primary food source, Atlantic menhaden. Timothy B. Wheeler reports for Bay Journal. In short:. Researchers found that ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay have a lower reproductive rate, with many nests failing to produce young,...

Osprey nests in Chesapeake Bay face new challenges

Chicago, IL

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Foodie in Chicago

Shortly before 3 AM, people in the Chicago area may have felt their houses shake as a 3.4-magnitude earthquake occurred about 60 miles west of the city. (CHICAGO) The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 3.4-magnitude earthquake around Somonauk, IL. Somonauk is in DeKalb and LaSalle Counties, 64 miles west of Chicago.

Did You Feel the Earthquake?

Eleven popular avocado oils recently tested have detectable levels of phthalates, according to a new report from Mamavation. Partnering with EHN.org, the environmental wellness blog and community had 11 avocado oils tested by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab and found levels of phthalates ranging from 76 parts per billion to 56,808 ppb. Five of the 11 brands had levels lower than 800 ppb.

Phthalate chemicals found in popular avocado oils

NewsBreak

Florida farmland faces threats from development and climate change

Florida's agricultural land is rapidly shrinking due to increasing development and climate change, jeopardizing the state's position as a major supplier of fresh winter produce in...

Florida farmland faces threats from development and climate change

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