Across North America, in places such as Illinois, Iowa and Texas, farmers are busy growing the crops the world depends on for food, fuel and fiber.

But as their tractors roll across fields, a pressing concern weighs heavily on many farmers: the rising cost of synthetic fertilizers, widely considered essential for crop production.

...Read more

Though researchers have been studying the animal deworming drug ivermectin for decades, there is no evidence that it’s a safe or effective way to treat cancer in people.

However, a June 2026 study put the topic back in the spotlight. After being downloaded more than 85,000 times before its official publication, the study gained ...Read more

It’s pretty commonly known, and not very startling, that free-ranging cats eat birds and small rodents. But the degree to which they eat insects might surprise you.

We are biologists who for many years have been trying to figure out what feral or outdoor-roaming pet cats eat outside.

When domesticated cats – Felis catus �...Read more

It begins with the music: a late 1990s rap song. Then someone appears on screen, moving slowly into a pose that can only be called deeply, theatrically serious. Then comes the reveal: The video fades from the person into a medieval painting of a haloed man doing almost the exact same pose.

Videos imitating “church fathers,” ...Read more

President Donald Trump warned a fragile ceasefire with Iran may be over, raising the prospect of an end to peace negotiations and a potential renewal of full-on fighting between the two countries.

“For me, I think it’s over,” he said on Wednesday in Ankara, sitting next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the military alliance’s ...Read more

The fate of the state’s $2 billion plan to maintain health insurance for low-income and disabled Californians is now in the hands of Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor and Republican administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

State Republicans appealed directly to Oz in a letter on Monday, asking him to reject Gov. ...Read more

As the deadly New World screwworm spreads through Texas, posing significant risk to the U.S. cattle herd, experts are still puzzling over the mystery of how it got there.

The parasite fly’s larvae, which feeds within the wounds of warm-blooded animals, was first detected in a calf in Zavala County at the start of last month, marking the first...Read more

In September 2016, a distraught mother sent infant formula maker Mead Johnson a message:

"REMOVE ME FROM YOUR LIST!!!! DO NOT EMAIL OR MAIL ME ANY MORE!

"It is because of your animal based pre-term artificial baby food crap that you peddle to hospital NICU's that my son is dead from NEC."

The mother was referring to neonatal intensive care ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Even though almost every incumbent running in the primaries moved onto the general election, the sniping between the South Carolina House GOP caucus and the Freedom Caucus carried over into a new set of summer arguments.

The latest gripes between the two factions that has divided state House Republicans is over whether people...Read more

State and local health officials are tracking dozens of cases of an illness caused by an intestinal parasite with symptoms including "explosive" bowel movements.

Cyclosporiasis, caused by the parasite Cyclospora caytanensis, spreads through contaminated food and water.

Pennsylvania had recorded 28 cases this year as of last week, including 14 ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The United States launched fresh airstrikes in Iran and revoked a waiver that allowed it to sell oil globally, further imperiling a peace agreement after a series of attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The “powerful strikes” were meant to “impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The United States launched fresh airstrikes in Iran and revoked a waiver that allowed it to sell oil globally, further imperiling a peace agreement after a series of attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The “powerful strikes” were meant to “impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Dana Williamson, a former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom, will be sentenced in September after she pled guilty in May to bank fraud, filing a false tax return and lying to the FBI. Williamson’s sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 17 at the Robert T. Matsui federal courthouse in downtown Sacramento, according to ...Read more

NEW YORK — Upper East Side residents demanded answers from health officials at a town hall Tuesday as the number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the area climbed to 23, with 17 people hospitalized, according to the latest figures from the city’s Health Department.

Several of those hospitalized are in critical condition in the ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Three Democratic senators are investigating a U.S. government agreement barring past tax probes of President Donald Trump and his businesses, saying they want to determine whether the deal also protects companies affiliated with his family.

“Under the guise of a so-called legal settlement, the Trump administration has ...Read more

FRESNO, Calif. — Despite losing billions to President Donald Trump’s administration last year, the California High-Speed Rail Authority is seeking new federal money to help pay for construction in the Central Valley.

The rail authority on Tuesday confirmed it has applied for “approximately” $500 million from the Federal Railroad ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lawmakers, district attorneys and community members celebrated the signing of Assembly Bill 46 in a Tuesday press conference.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 46 into law on June 29. The newly signed law, authored by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove, expands courts’ ability to deny mental health diversion to ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Somali and Muslim communities in Minnesota are once again condemning a social media post by President Donald Trump, alleging it communicates “anti-Muslim bigotry” toward children.

On Monday, Trump posted a 14-second video clip showing children singing in graduation outfits, with girls also wearing hijabs. The children had ...Read more

Caribbean leaders agreed Tuesday to ask the Caribbean Court of Justice to weigh in on the disputed reappointment of the secretary-general of their 15-member regional grouping in an effort to defuse a controversy that has been dominating their annual summit.

The decision follows closed-door discussions on Monday after Trinidad and Tobago Prime ...Read more