Should the world's most widely used weedkiller have a warning label for possibly causing cancer?

Thousands of customers are suing Bayer for its
weedkiller, Roundup, allegedly causing cancer.

Bayer is battling thousands of lawsuits from customers alleging the world’s most widely used weedkiller, Roundup, is causing cancer, report Patrick Thomas and Lydia Wheeler for The Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Supreme Court must decide whether Bayer’s failure to provide a warning label on their product is illegal.

The federal government and Environmental Protection Agency determined Roundup is safe for use, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) “prohibits states from imposing different or additional warnings from those required under the federal law,” the reporters explain.

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015, though the EPA and federal government claim it isn’t.

The plaintiffs argue that Bayer should take extra steps to warn consumers of the risks the herbicide might pose, the reporters add.

While states can pull products from the market, Justice Neil Gorsuch questioned why they can’t hold companies liable for failure to warn customers, the Journal reports.

Bayer continues to argue that federal law is created to provide uniformity in the labeling of herbicides. The reporters add that Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked, “If the label is illegal in one state and legal in another state, that’s uniformity?”

After four years and many obstacles, 'Internet for All' is unlikely to reach every American

BEAD may not be able to live up to its 'Internet for All' promise.
 (Photo by Jay Heike, Unsplash)

After years of planning and delays, most states have accessed at least a portion of their federal grant funding from the $42.45 billion rural broadband expansion program. Some states are likely to break ground later this year, while others continue work to lock in approvals and installation contracts.

"States have six months to finalize contracts with participating internet service providers and complete required environmental and historic reviews, before construction can begin," reports Jericho Casper of The Daily Yonder.

It has been more than four years since the Biden administration announced the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. Since then, it has gone through multiple phases and two presidential administrations. The Trump administration mandated that states trim their requests, meaning only half of the program's funding has been sent or awarded to states.

With roughly half the money spent, many state planners are wondering: What happens to the $22 billion in unspent funds? Casper explains, "The U.S. Commerce Department put the funding aside for "so-called 'non-deployment' uses,'" but what those are has remained unclear.

Lawmakers asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to explain what states can expect the funds to cover, but "he offered few specifics, saying only that guidance would come within two months," Casper reports. Lutnick did say that "states would be able to pursue 'new and exciting things' with the money."

Meanwhile, delays and uncertainty are likely to hurt programs already underway. Casper writes, "State broadband offices in Colorado and New Mexico report that some providers who initially expressed interest may ultimately default on preliminary awards."

Providers have seen their costs multiply over time and may be rethinking their bids. Casper adds, "Fiber suppliers say prices have jumped as much as 40% in recent weeks. . . . For some providers, particularly those serving remote areas, the administrative burden may outweigh the benefits."

The program's complexity and legislative heavy lifting continue to slow its progress. "Industry experts have described BEAD as the 'most complicated broadband grant program ever,'" Casper reports.

And while lawmakers have tried to speed the process, legal battles with local governments and industry providers over broadband permits continue. Casper adds, "The program once billed as 'Internet for All' is expected to reach fewer households and businesses under the revamped plan, and experts say closing the remaining gaps will require sustained investment."

Hantavirus is a less common, but often deadly illness. Awareness and prevention are the best defenses.

Deer mice are the most common carriers of hantavirus.
(Photo by Melvin Zettl, Unsplash)

Not every cautionary tale about diseases spread by critters is limited to vector-carriers like ticks and mosquitoes. Rodents also spread some less-discussed but equally deadly illnesses, like hantavirus, which is most often transmitted to humans by deer mice.

The recent illnesses and deaths aboard an Atlantic cruise ship serve as a sobering reminder that while deer mice are little and perceived as "cute," they can spread hantavirus. "Six people on board a cruise ship were affected by suspected cases of hantavirus, and three died," reports Evan Bush of NBC News. The disease is "relatively rare but devastating threat without a vaccine, treatment or cure. . . . More than 890 cases of hantavirus were reported nationwide from 1993 to 2023."

Hantavirus can be transmitted to humans through contact with saliva, droppings or urine of infected rodents. Bush explains, "People tend to get hantavirus when they disturb droppings or urine from mice in the dusty corners of barns, cabins or outbuildings near forested land, including during cleaning."

The disease is most common in the southwestern U.S., where deer mice are found. But that doesn't mean it can't be found elsewhere in the country, Bush reports. Human to human transmission is also possible.

Initially, hantavirus presents as a flu-like illness, which can be difficult to differentiate from Covid or other forms of influenza that cause coughing, fatigue and body aches. But it can develop into an aggressive respiratory disease. 

Dr. Jeff Duchin, an expert on hantavirus, told Bush, "The fatal, rapidly progressive pulmonary illness can come on very quickly, in hours. That, itself, can become fatal on a very short timeline." The disease weakens blood vessels, allowing fluid to fill the lungs, which eventually causes death.

Since there is no vaccine or medicine to treat hantavirus, prevention is the best protection. When disinfecting a rodent infestation, Erin Phipps, a public health veterinarian in New Mexico, recommended "wearing gloves, using N95 respirator, opening windows and relying on disinfectants," Bush reports. 

Phipps told Bush, "Never sweep up or vacuum mouse droppings, since this can spread particles up into the air."

Virginia's coalfields are losing residents at an alarming rate

The population in Virginia’s coalfield's region is dropping at an alarming rate, with Buchanan County down 51% from its peak in 1980, writes Jim Branscome at Cardinal News, which covers Southwest Virginia.

Virginia’s seven Central Appalachian coalfield counties collectively lost 7,208 residents between 2020 and 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Buchanan County had the biggest five-year loss of them all at 9.1%, among the worst in the entire 60-county Central Appalachian area, Branscome adds.

Buchanan County had the largest five-year change in population of the seven Virginia coalfield counties. (Chart via Cardinal News, data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Click to enlarge)

The two main factors working together to create the alarming trajectory for Virginia’s coalfields are people leaving the region and the number of deaths exceeding the birth rates, Branscome writes. 

The median age in Buchanan County has almost doubled since 1980, from 26 to 47, Branscome reports. While the county is projected to lose 48% of its current population by 2050, its current annual rate of decline shows this loss occurring closer to the late 2030s, adds Branscome.

A USDA miscount of 4.5 million acres of corn is adding to a loss of trust among farmers in federal data

For profit-parched farmers, USDA data report errors can be costly. Farmers already face losses, and many fear they can no longer rely on USDA predictions. (Graph by Lori Hayes, Farm Journal)

After one of its worst corn-harvest predictions "in recent memory," the U.S. Department of Agriculture blamed a lack of farmer survey responses for its miscount. But the steep decline in the number of farmers who returned surveys points to farming communities that may no longer trust the USDA, reports Kevin Draper of The New York Times. "Corn estimates were off by 4.5 million acres last year. A lack of survey responses, not job cuts, led to the miss, the Agriculture Department said."

While a 5% undercount may not seem like much, it may have affected commodity purchases and farm incomes. Draper explains, "Estimates of crop size are some of the most closely read [USDA] reports." Traders use those reports to decide on commodity purchases, which influences the prices farmers receive for their crops. Farmers use the information to decide when to sell their crops for the best price.

But amid deep staffing cuts at the USDA, many farmers worry that its reports are no longer reliable. "The corn miss prompted Farm Journal, an agricultural publication, to ask respondents to its monthly survey whether they remained confident in department data," Draper writes. "Most of the farmers, ranchers and economists polled responded 'no.'"

Because farmers compete in commodity trading markets, the accuracy of USDA data helped them gain a leg up over traders who use sophisticated algorithms to manage their purchases. Shay Foulk, who farms 1,500 acres and runs a seed business near Peoria, Ill., told Draper, "People trade the reports whether the reports are true or not. . . .The farmer just feels they are at a disadvantage if those numbers are inaccurate."

Among the USDA sections where Department of Government Efficiency cut thousands of jobs, the "National Agricultural Statistics Service, which produces crop reports, was one of the hardest-hit divisions; it lost 34% of its staff," Draper reports. NASS used to employ roughly 800 employees. It now has about 500.