BLM director opposes federal land ownership (Washington Post): The acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, the Interior Department agency that oversees a tenth of the land in the United States, has advocated previously for the sale of all federal land.
Hottest July for the world (BBC): Last month was the hottest July ever recorded, marginally ahead of July 2016, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, and it follows the hottest June globally.
Climate scientist leaves USDA (Politico): Lewis Ziska, one of the top climate scientists in the nation, is quitting at USDA in protest of the department’s efforts to bury his study that says climate change could reduce the nutritional value of rice.
When the economy’s good, cracker prices rise (Wall Street Journal): Food companies are betting that consumers are willing to pay more for food during this period of economic growth, hiking prices on products from Ritz crackers to burritos.
A major matzah merger (New York Times): Keyco will buy Manischewitz in what amounts to a huge merger in the kosher foods space; the two companies account for more than 50 percent of the kosher market.