Ernst may break with Wheeler (Des Moines Register): Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, running for re-election in Iowa, said she will be “ready to call for the resignation” of EPA chief Andrew Wheeler if his agency fails to assure an ethanol mandate of 15 billion gallons a year.
Welding accident shut down meat plant (HPPR): The fire that closed a huge Tyson Food meatpacking plant, producing 5 percent of the nation’s beef, was likely started by a “spark, ember, or flame” from a welding torch, says an investigation by the fire department in Garden City, Kansas.
Cow cabbage yields anti-cancer drug (STAT): Cow cabbage, also called cow lily, which grows in the highlands of the West, contains a substance, cyclopamine, that led to an outbreak of one-eyed lambs but may now be a tool to treat skin cancer.
SNAP benefits restored after power cutoff (USDA): SNAP recipients in 28 California counties will receive a replacement of 60 percent of their October benefits to make up for food that was lost when power companies shut off electricity this month to reduce the risk of wildfires.
Number of overweight children doubles (New Food Economy): The portion of the world’s children between the ages of 5 and 19 who are overweight has nearly doubled since 2000, says a UNICEF report, which projects that in 2025, at least 43 million children younger than 5 will be overweight.