Quick hits: SS Edmund Fitzgerald mystery remains; internet carriers team up; complex beef pricing; what to wear for extreme-weather reporting

At 729-feet, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the longest ship traveling through the Great Lakes
before it was 'swallowed' by Lake Superior. (Wikipedia photo) 

It's still a story investigative reporters are exploring: What caused the massive SS Edmund Fitzgerald to sink 17 miles from the safety of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin? "On November 9, 1975, the ship left Superior, Wisconsin, with more than 26,000 tons of taconite pellets aboard. By the next evening, Lake Superior had swallowed the Edmund Fitzgerald whole," reports Andrew Daniels of Popular Mechanics. "One answer may be the ship’s cargo hatches. Ric Mixter, who visited the Fitzgerald wreck in the 1990s, said that if he could return, he would take photos of every hatch clamp and investigate where the taconite ended up." Read Pop Mech's deep dive on the famous ship's final voyage here. Listen to Gordon Lightfoot's haunting ballad about the fate of the Edmund Fitzgerald and its 29-member crew here. 

It's expensive for U.S. ranchers to increase their herds.
(Photo by Daniel Quiceno M, Unsplash)

Why can't farmers just raise more cattle so the price of beef will come down? "Ranchers say it's not that simple," reports Jack Dura of The Associated Press. "It’s never been so expensive for Americans to buy a steak or hamburger. … The dwindling number of cattle is a key reason the average price of all uncooked ground beef in the U.S. was $6.86 per pound in March." Even with high beef demand and high prices, ranchers still have to consider the cost of adding to their herd. Livestock owners are already paying more for the cattle they do have because drought and wildfires have left ranchers no choice but to pay for additional feed and water to be delivered to herd sites. 

Despite efforts to get the entire country online, many U.S. residents still live in areas without internet access, but that problem could soon change. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Communications announced that they are "setting aside their differences and forming a joint venture that will help end wireless dead zones across the U.S., especially in rural and underserved areas," reports Connor Hart of The Wall Street Journal. "The companies said the initiative will help the U.S. extend its global leadership in wireless communications technology … "

Handwritting letters is good for the human brain.
(Photo by T.D. Aran, Unsplash)

Handwriting letters may seem more than a trifle old-fashioned, but revisiting the aged tradition of letter, pen and stamp can reap benefits. Elizabeth Passarella of The New York Times writes, "Research shows that writing by hand lights up multiple parts of your brain — areas that are associated with creativity, memory and your senses — in a way that emailing does not. … Unlike chatting, writing makes you slow down and decide which details of your life are meaningful enough to share." Readers interested in tips to get started with a letter-writing habit can click here.

Whether it's tornado, wildfire or hurricane season, journalists need to be ready to hit the natural disaster beat. But first, preparations need to be made, and extreme-weather reporter Judson Jones is here to help reporters look good no matter what Mother Nature blasts. "Shortly after returning from a trip to chase hailstorms, Jones gave me a rundown of his core outfit packing list that keeps him ready for any assignment," reports Kyle Fitzgerald of Wirecutter. "We talked about why the way he unpacks is as important as the way he packs, as well as the need to bring multiple hats." After years of trial and error, Jones has even found a jacket that keeps him dry during hurricane rain and winds and is stylish enough to wear to dinner post-storm reporting. Read his picks and tips here. 

The world loves American cheese and butterfat products.
(Photo by Edward Howell, Unsplash)

Global cheese and butterfat demand continues to climb, helping American dairy farmers slice off profits even as milk production continues to increase. Cheese exports in March broke records with "over 63,435 metric tons exported, which is an all-time high for single-month exports," reports Sarah Jungman of Dairy Herd Management. The 2026 gain represents a 29% jump in cheese exports over March of 2025. "Butterfat and anhydrous milk fat exports also set a single-month record at 17,074 metric tons shipped, 109.9% higher than March of 2025." During the first quarter of 2026, Mexico exported the largest chunk of American dairy products.