How restaurants manage wage increases (Eater): In New York City, restauranteurs are adjusting their business models to comply with new policy that raised the minimum wage to $15 at the end of 2018.
RIP, melomys (Sydney Morning Herald): The Bramble Cay melomys, “a little brown rat” that lived on a small island in the Torres Strait near Papua New Guineau, is the first known instance in which human-caused climate change led to the demise of a mammalian species.
A little pollution is good for you (Los Angeles Times): “More than any before it,” the Trump administration has sought industry advice in setting pollution rules and accepted the conclusions of scientists who say low-level exposure to carcinogens or radiation poses no harm.
Personal reparations to Kaw Nation (Wichita Eagle): The great-great granddaughter of a Kansas homesteader donated $10,000 from the sale of the family farm to the Kanza Heritage Society, the first time in Kansas history that any kind of reparation has been made to the Kaw Nation.
Too kind to ethanol (Reuters): Some Republican senators have threatened not to vote to confirm Andrew Wheeler as EPA administrator because he rejected a staff proposal to reduce the corn-ethanol mandate from its current 15 billion-gallon level.
USDA agency working on hemp insurance (DTN/Progressive Farmer): The Risk Management Agency, which oversees the federally subsidized crop insurance system, is working on coverage for industrial hemp.
Soy sales suffer if car tariffs arrive (AP): If the United States imposes tariffs on European cars, the EU will walk away from a commitment to buy more U.S. soybeans, said EU officials.