Perdue: On the road again, to visit Mastronardi in Michigan

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, , visits with Lef Farms President Henry Huntington at the greenhouse company in Loudon, N.H., in early September during a "Back to Our Roots" RV tour. Perdue and USDA staff are again traveling in an RV this week, with plans to visit Mastronardi Produce in Coldwater, Mich.

Companies Very Positive About USDA Deregulating Plant Development Technology

COMPANIES VERY POSITIVE ABOUT USDA DEREGULATING PLANT DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY Apr. 2, 2018 Wired.com reports: FOR YEARS NOW, the US Department of Agriculture has been flirting with the latest and greatest DNA manipulation technologies. Since 2016, it has given free passes to at least a dozen gene-edited crops, ruling that they fall outside its regulatory purview.

USDA recalls thousands of pounds of ‘high-risk’ beef

PFP Enterprises is recalling approximately 7,146 pounds of raw beef products that were produced and packaged without the benefit of federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Saturday. The frozen and fresh beef items were produced on March 23-24, 2018.

Swampy McSwampface: EPA Chief Ruining Environment Living in Polluter Lobbyist Condo

As key figures of the Trump administration face mounting concerns about conflicts of interest, a growing number of critics are calling for the resignation of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt after ABC News revealed that last year he rented a D.C. condo owned by the wife of a top energy lobbyist, in what some are describing as "a sweetheart deal." "This deal stinks like the swamp Scott Pruitt is mired in.

High School Switches To ‘Africentric Math’ To Attract Black Students [VIDEO]

A Canadian high school switched to "Africentric Math" to attract black students to go into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields, according to Canadian Broadcasting's Wednesday report. Nova Scotia's Auburn Drive High School math teachers are skipping their previous eurocentric approach to teaching mathematics so black students will gain more interest in the subject, the CBC reported .

Trump officials prepare to undo fuel-efficiency targets despite some automakers’ misgivings

Top Trump administration officials are engaged in a heated debate over how to undo federal fuel-efficiency targets for cars and light trucks, as manufacturers voice concern that a major rollback of an Obama-era rule could go too far and fracture the nation's auto market. The internal negotiations over relaxing carbon-emission limits for cars and SUVs slated to be sold in model years 2022-2025 underscore the challenge officials face in trying to fulfill President Trump's 2017 promise to ease the regulatory burden on Detroit.

Soybean acres to exceed corn for the first time in 35 years

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Sam’s Club Chicken Recalled After Plastic Pieces Found in Meat

If you're a frequent Sam's Club shopper, you might want to check your pantry in light of a massive recall just announced by the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service . Nearly 100,000 pounds of canned chicken breast have been contaminated with large pieces of plastic, and the company who makes the product for Sam's Club is issuing a warning after customers found the nasty surprise in their meals.

Secretary of Agriculture Perdue Issues USDA Statement on Plant Breeding Innovation

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today issued a statement providing clarification on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's oversight of plants produced through innovative new breeding techniques which include techniques called genome editing. Under its biotechnology regulations, USDA does not regulate or have any plans to regulate plants that could otherwise have been developed through traditional breeding techniques as long as they are not plant pests or developed using plant pests.

Congress pours money into fight against Louisiana’s wetland pest

The fight against an insect invasion that's killing coastal wetlands is receiving long sought-after help from the federal government. Congress plans to contribute $500,000 to help control or eradicate the tiny Asian insect, known as a scale, that's been destroying roseau cane, a sturdy, erosion-resistant reed that holds much of the lower Mississippi River Delta together.

Jeff Sessions Gets Time Magazine Cover Story, But No One Can Get Past That Photo

FEBRUARY 02: U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, a committee member, waits for the beginning of a meeting of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee February 2, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Committee chairman Sen. John Barrasso suspended the rules and passed the confirm of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to become the next administrator of Environmental Protection Agency with only Republican votes, after Democratic members have boycotted the meeting for a second day.

Hemp gains powerful ally to free it from marijuana ties

In this Aug. 13, 2015, file photo, hemp plants tower above researchers who tend to them at a research farm in Lexington, Ky. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday, March 26, 2018, he wants to bring hemp production back into the mainstream by removing it from the controlled substances list that now associates it with marijuana, its illicit cousin.

iphone fingerprint scanner

As security and encryption for mobile devices grow more sophisticated, the same techniques that keep users' data secure also make it nearly impossible for law enforcement to examine the contents of a phone without the user's permission. Even if the phone's manufacturer agrees to help officials unlock the phone, unencrypted data may not be available.

A chronological look at the evolution of data mining in Canadian politics

Canadians have long been the targets of data harvesting, from credit cards keeping tabs on users' shopping habits to the personal information on warranty cards being used by companies to advertise replacement goods. In recent years, the availability of big data and breakthroughs in computing technology have allowed advertisers and political actors to crunch huge amounts of data and, through social media, micro-target narrow demographics in their bid to either boost sales or expand their political power.

Experts call for transparency, oversight around how political parties mine data

For years, Megan Boler's research focused on the power of social media as a democratizing force, giving voice to the voiceless and empowering everyday people to come together and participate more meaningfully in how they are governed. But the University of Toronto social justice professor said that even in the heady days of the Arab Spring and Obama's social media-aided ascendency to the White House, there were slivers of concern about how the technology might be abused.