Seven states join milk tests: Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington joined a USDA program of weekly testing for the bird flu virus in milk fresh from the farm; California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon, and Pennsylvania were the original entrants for tests that began this week. (USDA)
New House Ag members: Chairman Glenn Thompson said six newcomers would join 23 returning members on the House Agriculture Committee in the new session — Republican Reps. Dan Newhouse of Washington state, Tony Wied of Wisconsin, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, Mark Harris of North Carolina, Mark Messmer of Indiana, and David Taylor of Ohio. (House Agriculture)
Harris leads Freedom Caucus: Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, the chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the USDA and the FDA, was re-elected chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, comprised of conservative House Republicans. (Freedom Caucus)
GE pig kidney transplant: Surgeons transplanted a gene-edited pig kidney into a 53-year-old Alabama woman who was on dialysis; a Virginia company provided the kidney from a pig with 10 gene edits that made it more compatible with a human. (CBS News)